Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dwalin sat under the shade of an apple tree as he watched the Hobbit hole that the Wizard marked as ‘burglar’. Dwalin had been observing the Hobbit that lived in this particular hole for a handful of days and he couldn’t say he was impressed. He watched through the window by the round green door as the Hobbit checked his coat pockets once more before moving to head out of his small home. Dwalin watched the ease with which the Hobbit walked down the path between the hills, presumably towards the market. Once the Hobbit was out of sight Dwalin pushed himself to his feet to follow. 

    Tailing the Hobbit is easy and doesn’t require much thought, so he spent the time it took him to get to the markets wondering why the Wizard chose this Hobbit. Passing by an orange grove, Dwalin plucked an orange from the tree. When Dwalin first arrived, three days after the Wizard left the mark on the door, and found the correct Hobbit hole he found it empty. It took four days for the Hobbit to show up. During that time Dwalin watched over the Hobbits home for him. When Dwalin first saw the Hobbit it looked as if he had just gotten back from a long journey. When the Hobbit got up to the door he crouched down and started muttering about how he just had the door painted and how anyone could go around scratching up his door.

    Dwalin chuckled at the memory thinking about the fiery temper the Hobbit seemed to have and wondering if all Hobbits were like him. Once the Hobbit had obviously cleaned up he sat outside the Hobbit hole and smoked on his pipe. Where he was quickly joined by the gardener that Dwalin had seen milling around in the Hobbits' absence. They talked for a while before the supposed ‘burglar’ claimed the need for sleep and they parted ways. Since then it's been a constant back and forth between his home and the market. Today seemed to follow much of the same pattern until Dwalin felt something hit his leg.

    Glancing down Dwalin realized it was the Hobbit he was supposed to be following staring back up at him with an unimpressed brow raised. They stayed staring at each other waiting for the other to talk, Dwalin could feel the eyes of the other Hobbits in the market watching them. Dwarrow are known for their stubbornness and Dwalin will not be the first to crack. Seeming to sense his rise in stubbornness the Hobbit rolled his eyes. 

    “Bilbo Baggins at your service.” He said with a shallow bow. Brow raising as he waited to see what the Dwarf in front of him would do.

    “Dwalin son of Fundin at yours and your family’s.” He returned with a bow, hands crossed in front of himself. Seeing as that was all he was getting from the stubborn Dwarf Bilbo turned and waved his hand. Signalling the Dwarf to follow him.

    “I’ve been wondering when you would stop stalking me and come to me, but Hamfast my gardener said it might be more prudent if I come to you first. It seems he was right.” This was said with a curl of the shorter man lips. Letting the other know he wasn’t upset. 

    “Since you’ve been watching me all week since I got back I thought it was time to invite you in. Since you seemed pretty content to just look from a distance I thought ‘why not let him watch me up close’. We are going to get the last of my groceries from the market and you will join me for tea. Then you will retrieve your belongings from the field across the way and enjoy the comforts of my guest suite.” Dwalin nodded along. To the oblivious outsider it sounded as if the Hobbit was ordering him around, but Dwalin could hear the inherent question to those words. 

    Pleased the Hobbit let out a hum and they continued on in silence. Most stall owners were pretty weary of the Dwarf the Hobbit had stalking around behind him and so gave Mr. Baggins his food and they went about their business. On their way out of the market they were stopped by an ear splitting shriek. 

    “BILBO BAGGINS! HOW DARE YOU COME HERE WITH THE LIKES OF- OF A DWARF?! FIRST YOU GO ON A BLOODY ADVENTURE AND WERE GONE MONTHS, AND YOU COME BACK WITH A DWARF!” Turning the two meet the gaze of an irate Hobbit lass who was huffing and puffing as if she had run a great deal. Bilbo raised an unimpressed brow at the display his cousin was making and made short work of letting his cousin know exactly what he thought of her. 

    “Lobelia, you have absolutely no right to stand there and judge me for the company I keep, or the adventures I go on. Not, when I caught you on an adventure all your own, or is it traditional for Bracegirdles to lay with men after they’re married?” Bilbo had no need to yell as Lobelia had gathered everyone's attention with her screeching. In the ensuing silence you could hear a pin drop. Lobelia stood there flustered and opening and closing her mouth in quick succession obviously having no idea how to respond to something like that.

    “How dare you make such accusations! I would never cheat on Otho!” Turning towards the crowd Lobelia tried to make a quick escape, but was stopped in her tracks.

    “If that's true then who is the man making his way through the crowd towards you?” Bilbo asked with an unimpressed look on his face. Dwalin turned his head to the right and true enough there was a human man making his way through the crowd. 

    “Lobelia? Sweetling? Is everything alright?” The man asked, resting a hand on her tense shoulders. Looking up Lobelia made eye contact with Otho.

    “I don’t know this man! Bilbo must have hired him to pretend like he knew me. Otho please I haven’t been unfaithful.” Otho looked to Bilbo then dropped his eyes.

    “I’m sorry, Bilbo. That I didn’t believe you when you told me the first time that you caught her with another. I am also sorry about the grief that she has caused you over the years. I knew that she wanted my money and Baggin's name, but I always loved her. I let my love for her blind me. I am sincerely sorry. If you wish to strike me from the Baggin’s clan tree I understand.” Otho said with a voice thick with apology and regret. 

    “Otho, I know that you married her because you loved her. That is why I never took legal action against her, because I knew that  you actually cared for her even though she didn’t care for you. I forgive you and will not strike you from the Baggin’s clan tree. Only on the condition that you divorce her, and since she was unfaithful you are not required to pay her any stipends. I want to see the signed contract at the end of the week.” Bilbo placed his hand on Otho’s shoulder and with a quick squeeze turned and left with Dwalin trailing behind him.

    Once they were out of earshot of the other Hobbits Bilbo let out a long sigh. Dwalin being on the road for as long as he has makes sure to keep any questions he has until they are within the Hobbits hole. They stopped by the field Dwalin was camped in and broke down camp together. Dwalin watched from his peripheral vision as the Hobbit methodically took down his side of the camp.Once finished the two made the rest of the short walk to the Hobbit’s hole quickly. 

    Once inside the Hobbits shoulders seemed to lose all the remaining tension they had and he relaxed. That subconsciously made Dwalin relax as well.

Chapter Text

“Okay! Shoes go in the cubbies and weapons go in the barrel. After you’re done with that I will show you to the guest suite. Then I’m sure you’ll be wanting a bath.” With that said the Hobbit turned to walk down the corridor to the right, but paused just out of the entrance and turned around to face the Dwarf. 

   
    “Should I be expecting anyone else to show up tonight?” He asked curiosity, shining in his bright green eyes.

    “Not tonight.” Dwalin said, struggling to get his boots off. Once his boots were off and in the cubby Dwalin looked up to see if the Hobbit had any other questions only to find that he had walked off without Dwalin noticing. Surprised, Dwalin dropped his axe’s and sword into the barrel and started down the hallway. Looking around Dwalin had to admit that the hole was better on the inside than he thought it would be. 

    The Dwarf had imagined a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms with an oozy smell, or maybe a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing to sit on or eat. Though there was none of that here. The Hobbit’s hole was comfortably furnished with wooden walls and finely crafted chairs, and windows strategically placed throughout the hole so the people inside could see outside. Everyone on the outside would have a hard time looking in, unless they knew where the windows were located. So engrossed in his surroundings Dwalin nearly assaulted his host when he came out of what must have been the bathroom. If the running water was anything to go by.

    “Oh, forgive me. I didn’t think you would be on the other side of the door. Come this way to the guest suite.” Turning the Hobbit walked by three more doors before finally opening one. 

    Stepping into the room Dwalin placed his pack down beside the door. For a room with only two small windows there was an abundance of natural light flooding into the spacious guest suite. There was a rocking chair in the far left corner by one of the windows with a quilt on it, and Dwalin would bet that if he looked outside he would be able to see the passerby’s on the street. Beside the rocking chair was a distinctly Dwarven fire place. 

    “That is some finely crafted Dwarrow mason work.” Dwalin said slowly tracing the geometric patterns on the mantle. Brows raised and head tilted toward his host in curiosity. 

    “Ah yes, well I was talking with a master stone worker in Bree about commissioning this brick work for my guest suites. There were two Dwarrow working the forges behind him, and doing absolutely nothing wrong, when the master’s apprentice said the Dwarrow had broken some tool or other that the master was working on. The master immediately threw the Dwarrow out with no questions asked and I withdrew my submission and instead propositioned the Dwarrow he had just dismissed from his service. In front of his shop, in the middle of Bree.” He paused here to look over the fireplace with a fond look. 

    “Neither Bifur nor Bofur were stone mason’s unfortunately but they were wood carvers and they did make all the bed frames in the guest suites. They recommended a master stonemason from the Blue Mountains.” Dwalin’s eyebrows rose in surprise when he heard the name of his fellow company men. Though he quickly became distracted when a lock of the Hobbits’ honeyed curls had come loose from the bun on the top of his head and tickled his ear. This was the first time Dwalin had actually looked properly at the Hobbit. Bilbo had longer hair than every other male Hobbit Dwalin had seen so far in the Shire. Dwalin watched transfixed as Bilbo absentmindedly pushed his hair behind his ear, and when Dwalin looked at the pointed tip, so like an Elves but entirely different, he thought he saw a flash of metal. He was so engrossed trying to get a good look at the ear cuff that he almost missed the rest of his tale.

    “The master stonemason, FIli, brought his brother Kili along, now his brother was a troublemaker. I knew that the moment I laid eyes on him. They did admirable work and in less time than what Bree’s Master stonemason said it would take him. I paid them handsomely for their work, and I have been the envy of Hobbiton ever since.” Fond amusement was shining in his eyes as he looked over the intricate carvings on one of the bed posts. Dwalin was frozen in shock, not only had Bilbo hired two of their company members, but he had also met the princes all on accident.

    “Yer just a plethora of surprises.” Dwalin dwalled pride puffing his chest as he stared at the work his kin had accomplished. 

    “Well us small folk have to stick together.” He said with a shrug walking back to stand in the doorway. 

    “I hope it is to your liking?” He asked with an encompassing hand gesture. Dwalin nodded and started going through his pack, pulling out a new set of clothes. 

    “Well I’ll show you to the washroom and get started on dinner.” With that the smaller being turned and made his way out the door and back down the way they came. Once they were back to the washroom Bilbo opened the door and turned off the faucet. 

    “These are for your hair and body. There is a comb on the vanity there as well as lotion, and clean towels in the cupboard next to it. Place your dirty clothes in the hamper by the door and any chainmail or armor you can hang up. If you have a need for me just pull this cord and a bell will sound.” The Hobbit closed the door on the stunned look on the Dwarf’s face. 

It had been a long while since Dwalin had bathed in a proper bath. Ered Luin had working pipes but there was a limited supply of warm water by the time the women and children bathed. The water was cold and slightly dirty when the men were able to take a bath. Pushing such thoughts from his mind Dwalin went about getting ready for his bath. Placing his clean clothes on the vanity top and his dirty clothes in their correct places Dwalin eagerly eased himself into the piping hot water. Letting out a weary sigh Dwalin released all the tension he didn’t even know he had been carrying. He laid that way for a while, with his head back and his eyes shut.

Finally not wanting to let the water go cold Dwalin set out to clean himself, and clean he did. By the time he was done Dwalin had scrubbed off all the layers of dirt and an extra layer of skin. His hair and beard has been washed twice with the earthy smell of Bilbo’s cream rinse. Reluctantly, Dwalin stood from the basin and watched as the once pristine but now dirty bath water as it swirled down the drain. 

Grabbing a towel from the cupboard Dwalin sat down at the vanity and got to work on his hair. Running his fingers over his beard he almost gasps in surprise at how silky it feels. They haven’t had enough money to spend on necessities let alone on frivolous items such as hair cream. Reaching for the blue bottle on the table top in front of him, Dwalin poured a coin sized amount into his palm and started messaging it into the roots of his beard hair. Then repeated the process with the remainder of hair on his head.

Then he grabbed the bigger clear lotion and started to rub it into his skin. Once that was done he got dressed and combed out his hair and beard. Taking extra care with any tangles or knots. Dwalin sat there for a minute just staring at the Dwarf staring back at him from the mirror. His skin felt nice and soft rubbing against the fibers of his clothes, and his hair was shining and silky. Dwalin was astonished he looked like a different Dwarf and felt better than he had in ages. 

Standing Dwalin made his way back to the front door and stopped not knowing where to go. He heard the sound of metal hitting wood and started walking in that direction. On his way he passed by a den area as well as a dining room before finally ending up at the kitchen. Looking around Dwalin was surprised with how comfortable the room was. The floor was dark wood but lightened when it met the cabinet or the wall. To Dwalins left there was a small breakfast nook as well as a set of cabinets. Turning to his right Dwalin found the pantry door slightly open next to the stove. The stove was pretty big and connected directly to the sink and the preparation counter. Where Bilbo was currently standing using a knife cutting the meat they had recently purchased into proper portions.

    “What are ye makin’?” Dwalin rumbled from the doorway.

    “Bacon- wrapped venison steak with grilled asparagus, garlic mashed potatoes, freshly baked bread with gravy. I also made apple turnovers for dessert.” Bilbo said not once taking his eyes off the meat in front of him.

    Dwalin watched as the Hobbit put two pans on the stove top lighting a fire beneath them and set about pouring oil, seasoning and mushrooms into one of the pans. He then took the slices of venison and rubbed salt and pepper on each side then gently placed them in the sizzling pan. Bilbo placed a cover on top of the pan and grabbed the bacon and placed it in the other pan. 

    “Is there anything you want me ta help with?” Dwalin asked, feeling useless just standing there letting his host do all the work. 

    “You are my guest. It would be rude of me to assign you tasks.” Bilbo said, easily dismissing Dwalins concerns.

    “Dwarves pull their own weight, laddie. It would be remiss of me for not helping you when you willingly gave me room and board without asking for anything in return.” Dwalin said not giving an inch. 

    “That's what the Dwarrow who did the stone and wood work for me said. They were already doing so much work for me and the least I could do was make them dinner. They refused to sit still.” Bilbo huffed out a laugh and motioned for Dwalin to step forward. 

    “You can start peeling the potatoes and I’ll get the asparagus ready and then we can wrap the venison in bacon. Don’t worry I made extra bacon so we can snack.” Bilbo muttered conspiratorially to Dwalin. 

    Dwalin took up the knife and started peeling the skins from the potatoes as he watched Bilbo from the corner of his eye. The Hobbit was cutting the ends off the asparagus and seasoning them with some pepper. He then set them to the side and took the top off the venison and grabbed some wooden sticks with sharp ends and proceeded to wrap the bacon around the steak. Dwalin watched transfixed as Bilbo effortlessly worked on the food in front of him.Once Bilbo plated their food he walked it out to the dining room. Before making his way to the pantries to grab ale and wine and place them on the table as well. As soon as Bilbo sat down they both started to eat their food.

    “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” Bilbo hesitantly asked, stealing glances of Dwalin out of the corner of his eye. Dwalin grunted his acknowledgement but continued to eat dinner. 

    “I noticed when the other Dwarrow were here that they were a little on the thin side, yet ate as much food as I would place in front of them.” Bilbo seemed to hesitate and moved his food around nervously before he placed his silverware down and stared resolutely at Dwalin.

    “I also noticed that your belt had new notches on it and that your clothes were almost hanging off your frame. I know warriors need more food to maintain their musculature to stay in top condition. Are…” Here Bilbo paused again to carefully consider his wording.

    “Is there a food shortage in the Blue Mountains?” Bilbo asked, looking worriedly at his new companion. Dwalin looked at the food spread before them; it was just the right amount for the two of them. 

    “This meal Master Baggins is more food than one Dwarrow Family will eat in a day. We Dwarrow usually have crafts focused on gems, metal, or stone with few others seeking crafts in other occupations.” Dwalin paused, took a sip of his ale and looked Bilbo in the eyes. 

    “When we lived in Erebor we produced our food but it wasn’t much. We relied heavily on trade with the city of Dale and the Greenwood Elves. Then the fire drake Smaug came and laid waste to our people and neither the men of Dale nor the Elves of Greenwood would help us. We made our way to Moria, an ancient Dwarven stronghold but our scouts came to us before we could reach it and told us that it was overrun with Orcs. We didn’t have the numbers to try and reclaim that mountain, so we went through the Gap of Rohan and headed towards Bree.” Dwalin paused and took a heavy drink of his ale before continuing his story.

    “We came down the North-South Road and camped outside Bree for a few nights. Then followed the river Branduin past a few hills and made our way to the river Lhun to Ered Luin.” Dwalin swallowed the last of his ale and Bilbo stood and poured him a fresh cup. While he was up Bilbo dipped back into the kitchen to grab some marmalade and biscuits brought them back to the table and set about making a few for them to nibble on. 

    “Thank you, when we got to Ered Luin it was destitute, there had not been any Dwarrow there for some time. It was abandoned and in need of serious repair. We set up camp just outside of the entrance. We didn't want women, children, or our injured getting crushed in the corridors of their new homes. Dwarrow-dams are just as fierce warriors as men are, so they were safe and we were able to get all the able bodied men in to fix up what they could. A lot of the mountains aren’t able to be fixed, the damage is severe. Even as we fixed what we could, there was not enough room for all the Dwarrow that we brought with us, so some Dwarrow must remain above ground.” Dwalin stared at something over Bilbo’s shoulder, his gaze miles away. Bilbo stood up and made his way to his study he started grabbing up all his spare parchment papers and inkwells and quills.

    Once he made his way back out to Dwalin in the kitchen the dishes were in the sink and the food put back in their proper places. With Dwalin back at the table drinking the last dredges of his ale. Bilbo set down the parchment, inkwells, and quills in front of each of their seats before getting more ale for Dwalin and brewing a pot of tea for himself. Finished with that Bilbo came back and sat down, sipped his tea and turned his attention back to Dwalin.

    “What is your official title in the mountain?” Bilbo asked, startling Dwalin with the seemingly abrupt change in topic.

“I am Captain of the Royal Guard and cousin to King Thorin II named Oakenshield.” Dwalin stated, slightly alarmed, that he revealed such information to the Hobbit he had only known for a few hours.

“What I am about to do is offer you an official alliance with the people of the Shire. Depending on the type of alliance you and your people could be considered citizens of the Shire 

“I, Bilbo Baggins, Master of Bag End representative of the people of the Shire offer you, Dwalin Fundin Captain of the Royal Guard representative of his Royal highness King Thorin II named Oakenshield offer unto you and yours an alliance between our peoples.” Bilbo stated, standing tall and bowing at the waist to Dwalin while holding out his hand. 

Dwalin could feel the tension in the air, he knew that this would be a pivotal moment and play a heavy part in what would come in the future. Dwalin stood and accepted Bilbo’s hand and was amazed at the rush of sensation that passed through him at that moment. Straightening up Bilbo maintained eye contact with Dwalin for a moment more and gave a gentle squeeze of their clasped hands before letting go to spread open a rolled up scroll. It was a map of the region stretching from Rivendell past Eren Luin. This map had the borders of the Shire highlighted in a dark green ink. 

“According to the citizens of Bree the Shire’s borders start at the Barrow Down hills and end at the Tower Hills. Officially, the Shire’s true borders start at Weather Hills and include the North Downs, Emyn Uial or the Hills of Evendim as you may know them. Along the banks of River Lhun back around Tower Hills and the South Down hills.” Bilbo said, tracing a finger around the areas on the map. 

“That is such a large area, and I didn’t notice any Hobbit towns along the way.” Dwalin drawled, focusing on the path his kith and kin took to reach Ered Luin.

    “You wouldn’t have. Hobbiton is technically the Capital of the Shire with most of the politically important families having settled in or around Hobbiton. Any other settlements of Hobbits would be small and grouped together and away from the Men folk towns.” Bilbo stated, nodding his head.

    “You stated earlier that an alliance could mean that the Dwarrow of Ered Luin would be considered citizens of Hobbiton. How would that work?” Dwalin asked, head tilted to the side inquisitively. Usually Dwalin left the political arrangements to his brother and his King, being kin to the King means that he could act as a  political advisor. It didn’t mean he liked it but Bilbo has proven to be a generous and kind Hobbit, so Dwalin feels any deal made between the two of them would be beneficial to both. Dwalin held Bilbo’s eyes calmly as the gentle Hobbit considered him for a minute before seeming to come to some sort of decision.

Chapter Text

“I’m sure you’ve noticed that all Hobbits walk everywhere they go. Not a single Hobbit will be seen riding a pony or a cart.” At Dwalin’s nod Bilbo continued his story.

    “That is because Hobbits are intrinsically tied to the earth. No matter where we are or what part of our body is touching the ground we can tell if the soil is good. What types of crops to plant and when the best time for harvest is. We can tell if something traumatic happened if the ground is sick or cursed. We also contain some magic. Which I am sure you felt earlier when we clasped hands and started the alliance process.” Dwalin nodded again running his fingertips absentmindedly over his palm which was still slightly tingling. 

    “When a Hobbit settles somewhere, as long as they feel safe, they pour their magic into the land; it isn’t an immediate effect but a constant and subconscious thing that we do. The land recognizes us, and because we do this our lands are bountiful and greedy men have tried to subjugate my kin and take advantage of our gifts. If your issue was just a shortage this winter we would be able to enter into a short term trade agreement without any issues.” Bilbo paused to finish his tea before continuing.

    “The only way to truly keep the Dwarrows of Ered Luin from the brink of starvation would be to enter an alliance instead. The difference between an alliance and a trade agreement is that the trade agreement would be for a certain quantity of food for a short period of time in exchange for a service from your people. An alliance is similar to a trade agreement, but with a blood pact added in which would mean that the Shire would recognize you as a part of us. Your people would be given the same benefits as every other Hobbit. Would you like some more ale or tea?” Bilbo asked, standing to make himself another cup.

    “Tea I think for it seems we have much to do, and I would rather have my full capabilities about me.” Dwalin said, running his hands over his bald head. Bilbo set the sweet smelling tea and a few biscuits premade from the market in front of Dwalin before settling back in his chair.

    “Once we have the alliance details straightened out some Hobbits would have to settle around the mountains. Should they wish your people would be able to come and settle anywhere within the Shire. Do you have any questions so far?” Bilbo asked, nibbling on a biscuit and allowing Dwalin to take in all the information.

    “Do you have an alliance with the men of Bree?” Dwalin asked, curiously as he had seen many a Hobbit there.

    “No, we have a trade agreement with the men of Bree that we revise and renew every year. In the past they have tried to take advantage of our gifts with the land for their profit. We do not trust them and may never trust them enough to enter into an alliance.” Bilbo said, truthfully sipping on his honey tea. 

    “Why a blood pact instead of say, a marriage? What would be expected in return for the help your people would give us?” Dwalin couldn’t help but let his suspicion leak into his tone. Granted Bilbo has been nothing but polite and helpful thus far, but all the years of working with the men folk has made Dwalin weary.

    “I understand your concern but we ask nothing you wouldn’t do for your own people. We are a peaceful race and most others ignore us, but that doesn’t mean that we have been untouched by those who mean us harm.” Bilbo sighed, and set his biscuit to the side.

    “Hobbits only marry one person, the love of their lives, we abhor arranged marriages. We would never subject ourselves or anyone else to what could end up being a loveless marriage. The blood pact, between two different races means that for all intents and purposes any and every Dwarrow currently settled in the Blue Mountains would become part of our kin. ” Bilbo stated, smiling gently at the stunned Dwarf.

    “The Shire’s borders would then encompass Ered Luin?” Dwalin asked, after a momentary pause. Setting his tea cup down Bilbo nodded his head.

    “With how vast the Blue mountains are the borders will automatically encompass the largest settlement, but as more Dwarrow settle the Blue Mountains the borders will expand to encompass them all.” Bilbo stated, grabbing a quill and spare parchment to start writing out their agreement.

    “So the alliance contract is only stating that the Dwarrow will become citizens of the Shire? Will this contract be recognized and honoured by the ruler of the Shire?” Dwalin asked, noticing that was the only thing the Hobbit was writing.

    “Yes, there is magic in blood even if you don’t think you have magic, or haven’t seen any of your people with magic. As soon as we shook hands everyone in the Shire knew that we were making an alliance, and while we will have to explain why we made an alliance no one will try and back out of it. If it was just a trade agreement we would have gone down to the Thain's house tomorrow morning to discuss that contract.” Bilbo paused to dip his quill in the ink. 

“Once this contract is signed we can figure out what is needed to send immediately to the Blue Mountains and start gathering it on the marrow. I will be right back with the ingredients to make the ink we need to sign the contract.” Dwalin nodded and picked up the parchment to read what was written. Dwalin despised the flowery language that politicians used. Mainly because they used it to hide loopholes and other conditions they had not agreed to beforehand. Looking over the contract Bilbo wrote Dwalin could not see any hidden conditions or loopholes. Satisfied, Dwalin finished his tea and the last biscuit while he waited for the Hobbit to return.

“Alright, you will put three drops of your blood into this inkwell and I will put three drops of mine into this one.” Bilbo stated, setting down an inkwell, ornate knife, a small plain white cloth and a snow white quill in front of Dwalin. Dwalin watched as Bilbo used the knife to prick one of his fingertips and put three drops in before wrapping the cloth around the injury. 

A small line of smoke lifted from the inkwell, and after a moment of watching Bilbo picked up his quill and Dwalin watched as the once white quill suddenly became a dark red as it seemed to absorb the liquid in the well. Dwalin was entranced as he watched the Hobbit sign his name at the bottom of the parchment and how the ink seemed to glitter in the candle light. Dwalin picked up the knife and copied what the young Hobbit had done, and signed his own name at the bottom, still staring in awe as the parchment multiplied into four copies of itself.

“Come Dwalin we must burn the quills and inkwells. While no one in Hobbiton would think to try and use our blood quills it is better to be safe than sorry.” The Hobbit said softly, making his way to the fireplace in the living room with the inkwell and the quill. 

“How is this fire going to destroy the metal inkwells?” The quills Dwalin could understand feathers could burn.

“The magic imbued in the inkwell is the only thing holding it together once it’s set in the fire the magic dissipates and the quill and inkwell turn to dust.” Bilbo stated, placing his inkwell and quill in the fire. Dwalin watched as a green flash went over the objects and then they slowly started to crumble into dust. Once Bilbo’s items had become dust Dwalin placed his own in there but instead of a green flash there was a steel color, but his still crumbled into dust. Heading back into the dining room Bilbo placed three of the parchments in front of Dwalins place setting and gathered the remaining two before setting them aside. 

“One copy is for you, another for your King and one for any advisors he may have. I will keep one copy for myself and give the other to the Thain tomorrow. Now what essentials do we need to send to the Blue Mountains?” Bilbo asked, grabbing a different sheet of parchment and starting a list.

“Medicine, healers, and food to start.” Dwalin said, rubbing his eyes suddenly exhausted.

“How many are injured? What type of injuries do they have? Are any ill with diseases?” Bilbo asked, rapid fire questions barely giving Dwalin any time to think the questions over.

“Dwarrow are hardy and do not catch diseases like the men folk do, but with our lack of food we have heavily malnourished men and women. We try to keep the children fed with as little as we have. We have two pregnant Dwarrow-dams, and we only have a few healers none of which have the knowledge to help with childbirth. The only injuries we have are broken bones from working the mines, and maybe some concussions.” Dwalin finished with his limited knowledge of their medical needs. 

“Do Dwarrow have difficulty with childbirth? We would have to send any midwives to help. We will need dieticians to help with those who are malnourished, and trauma healers in case of any severe accidents until we can send our orthopedic healers.” Bilbo mumbled to himself.

“Yes, Dwarrow pregnancies are long and hard on the Dwarrow-dams, and some women have a lot of difficulty getting pregnant let alone maintaining a pregnancy.” Dwalin said sadly. 

“We will need to send nutrient rich foods in bulk first before we send any seeds. We will need to send our soil experts to check out the land and maybe even land healers. From the sounds of it there may be a minor curse or sickness in the land. It wasn’t so long ago that Dwarrow lived in the Mountain, so there is no reason for it to be so desolate.” Bilbo said, finally taking a break to look up at Dwalin and noticing the sleepy look in his eyes.

“Oh dear, forgive me I’m sure you are very tired. Let us retire for now and continue in the morning before we meet with the Thain.” Bilbo said, gathering up the papers and inkwells and depositing them in his study before he came back out and escorted Dwalin back to his room. 

“If you have any need of me tonight I am just down the hall third door on the left. I hope you have a good night, Dwalin.” Bilbo said, softly turning to leave. Dwalins’ hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Thank you, Bilbo. In such a short amount of time you have done much for my people.” Dwalin said, emotion making his voice thick. Bilbo smiled brightly reaching up and grasping Dwalins’ wrist.

“Of course, Dwalin. They’re my people now as well.” Giving one last squeeze to Dwalin’s wrist Bilbo turned and made his way to his room.

Dwalin stood in the hallway staring after the strange creature for a moment more before shaking his head and making his way inside.

Chapter Text

Bilbo got very little sleep the night before but was still up bright and early to make first breakfast. He didn’t want to wake Dwalin up so he kept it simple and made oatmeal with some berries and cinnamon as add-ins. After having finished his meal Bilbo grabbed the parchment that had his list of things to send to Ered Luin and went over it. 

The Hobbit got lost in his scribbling and looked up just in time to notice that it was time for second breakfast. Pulling out a skillet Bilbo starts cooking up some ham, hash browns, eggs and sausage. As he was finishing Dwalin walked into the kitchen still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

“Good morning! You’re just in time for second breakfast.” Bilbo sent a brilliant smile the Dwarfs way as he took their plates into the dining room. He went back into the kitchen to grab some orange juice and milk.

“Second breakfast?” Dwalin grumbled, voice still heavy from sleep. 

“Aye, it’s the second meal of the day. We still have five meals to go next is elevenese.” Bilbo nodded along as he piled Dwalin’s plate with food. Dwalin stared slack jawed at the creature sitting before him. 

“Seven meals! What do you do on the journeys you take? Do you stop for every meal? You’d never get anywhere!” Dwalin exclaimed, picking up his utensils and beginning to eat.

“I lower it down to three meals a day and snack when I can. It takes a lot of energy using our magic like we do, but when we travel we don’t use as much so we eat less.” Bilbo chuckled warmly having expected that reaction. 

Once they finished their food and had cleared the table Bilbo went over his list with Dwalin and having nothing else to add the two decided it was time to head to Tookborough to talk to the Thain. As they walked several Hobbits gave the pair a curious look but none were weary of the Dwarf any longer. The two were greeted by several of the Hobbits, a few even stopping them to ask what they were up to.

“Why are they less weary of me now?” Dwalin asked, greeting a small pebble who had come up to say hi.

“You’re kin now. Every Hobbit in the Shire knows that and you will be treated accordingly. If you stick around long enough you will be invited to birthdays, weddings, naming days. If you choose to marry and have babies with a Hobbit they will be cherished and celebrated by all.” Bilbo said, stopping to give one of the children a hug before continuing on. Letting Dwalin mull over the new information. It took them a little over an hour to reach Tookborough, but when they finally did an older Hobbit was waiting for them outside.

“Bilbo Baggins! It is very nice to see you. Why must you always come on business?” The older Hobbit pulled Bilbo into a hug.

“It is nice to see you, Gerontius. I must always come on business because I am always busy. I will try and make more time to see you.” Finally being released from the hug Bilbo turned to Dwalin.

“May I introduce Dwalin son of Fundin, Captain of the Royal Guard and cousin to King Thorin II named Oakenshield.”  Bilbo said with a smirk.

“At your service, sir.” Dwalin said bowing in greeting.

“None of that sir business now.” the old man exclaimed, grabbing Dwalin by the arm and pulling him into a hug. Though this one didn’t last as long as the one with Bilbo.

“It is my understanding that an alliance was struck last night and though I do not have all the details you can rest assured that we will honour and help you and yours in any way we can.” Dwalin turned to look at Bilbo who had a small smile on his face as he watched the two of them.

“Here is your copy of the contract.” Bilbo said, handing over the contract.

“Ah, good good. Now come in and we will discuss everything over elevenese.” Gerontius said, ushering both into the smial. That was when Dwalin made the connection that the older Hobbit was the Thain.

 He stood in astonishment, he had just been hugged by the ruler of the Shire. After the Thain’s wife served them elevenese and sat down they started talking about the situation the Dwarrow of the Blue Mountains were facing. Both Gerontius and Adamanta were aghast at the conditions the Dwarrow were in. 

“Isengrim!” Gerontius yelled, startling Dwalin.

“Yes pa?” The young lad said, glancing at the other occupants.

“I need you and your siblings to go grab the Masters of the families. We have emergency supplies we have to get ready. Tell them this is urgent and to not dawdle.” Nodding the young boy collected his siblings and off they went. While the remaining party stayed and discussed the best way to get the supplies up the Mountains the quickest. Dwalin wrote out a missive that he would send to the Dwarrow before the supplies reached them. He signed it and sealed it with his stamp, so they would know it was authentic. By the time he came back into the kitchen from the study with letters in hand there were a bunch of Hobbits running around. Dwalin stood there completely lost until Bilbo spotted him and came to him. 

“Are those the letters we are sending? We will need to send them now if they are to get there before the supplies.” Bilbo said, taking the letters and handing them to another Hobbit who had some leather armor on. The Hobbit quickly left and Bilbo got everyone's attention and they all settled down around the table. Adamanta brought out some and a plate of cookies while everyone was being brought up to speed about the alliance and the urgent need to get supplies up to Ered Luin.

“This is outrageous!” Yelled out one Hobbit red in the face and fanning himself. Before Dwalin could get defensive thinking they weren’t going to help the same Hobbit continued.

“How could we not have known that our neighbors were starving? My youngest, Mayflower, just finished her midwife lessons. She, Petunia and Leilani will go to help the Dwarrow-Dams.” He finished, having calmed down some. 

“Aye, Master Boffin it is a shame we should have reached out sooner.” Agreed a rather portly Hobbit. 

“I have plenty of extra harvest that we can send up to the Mountains and still have some to spare. A few oxen as well that would be good for farming and heavy pulling.” The portly Hobbit continued marking numbers out of a ledger he had brought with him.

“Thank you, Masters Boffin and Bracegirdle. Your contributions are noted and appreciated. Though we will need more.” The Thain said, nodding and writing down each offer. The meeting went on with each Hobbit offering more than Dwalin had thought they would. It wasn’t a show to see who could one up the other either. They were genuinely offering their harvests or healers. By the time dinner rolled around the meeting had drawn to a close and would start gathering up and sending the caravans of supplies up to the Mountains. They decided to send the healers first with food following closely behind. After eating dinner at the Thain's house Bilbo and Dwalin took their leave, promising they would be back on the marrow to help coordinate. 

“I did not expect the meeting to be so efficient. It would have taken Dwarrow weeks to get to this point. Not ‘cause they don’t wanna help, but ‘cause everyone would be yelling and trying to one up the other.” Dwalin said, once they had reached Bag End. Taking off his boots and hanging up his cloak. 

“Hmm, if it is not an emergency then Hobbits can be much the same way.” Bilbo agreed, making his way to the kitchen to start a simple dinner. Both were too exhausted for anything too extravagant, or flavorful. Bilbo decided on beef stroganoff and put some water on to boil and sliced beef in a pan to start cooking. With a lid on the beef Bilbo takes the noodles and adds them to the boiling water. In a saucepan he adds beef broth, worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. Once the noodles are done Bilbo drains them and sets them aside and takes out the beef and puts oil and mushrooms on the stove to cook. 

Hearing a noise behind him Bilbo turns to see Dwalin taking plates and cups down to set the table. With a smile Bilbo turns back to the sauce and adds cornstarch and sour cream to thicken it up. Once it is at a good consistency Bilbo adds the beef and the mushrooms and lets it cook for a few more minutes. Bilbo goes into the pantry to grab some bread rolls and bring them and the noodles to the table. Going back to the kitchen Bilbo turns off the stove and puts the sauce in a bowl and brings it to the table. Looking around Bilbo notices that Dwalin also got silverware and ale for the both of them.

“Ah, thank you very much for setting the table Dwalin.” Bilbo said, as he started serving the older Dwarf. 

“You’re welcome, I’m not much good in the kitchen, ‘less you need me to reach something on a high shelf.” Dwalin shrugged, using his fork to spear some noodles and beef. Humming in appreciation Dwalin took another bite. Enjoying the tastes Dwalin quickly ate the rest of his food using his bread roll to soak up the remaining sauce.

“It has been a long while since anyones enjoyed my food with such gusto.” Bilbo chuckled, drinking the last of his ale. 

“It has been a while since I have enjoyed such good cooking.” Dwalin agreed, smiling as he stood to help clear the table. Both Hobbit and Dwarf worked together to clean and dry the dishes. Exhausted Bilbo led the way to the guest suite where the two said their goodnights.

The next morning Bilbo woke well rested and made his way to the kitchen, and got to making grits. Once he was finished with breakfast Bilbo went outside and smoked his pipe, and was a little surprised when he felt the warm weight of Dwalin settle in next to him. Instead of talking Bilbo held out his pipe to share with his new companion. They spent a good portion of the morning outside enjoying the breeze, but before long they headed back inside. After a quick second breakfast the two of them made their way back to Tookborough. 

By the time they made it there everyone was running around and setting up the caravan. Dwalin saw that the rear wheel pin was starting to slip out, so he grabbed a small hammer from nearby. Lifted the caravan up a little off the ground and with one strong hit had the pin back in its proper place. Looking up, Dwalin saw that the Thain and Bilbo were watching him. Bilbo with an unreadable look as his eyes roved over Dwalins form while Gerontius had a more calculating expression. 

“Alright! Now that everyone is here I want this caravan out of here by luncheon. The first wagon will have a small portion of food just enough so that all the Dwarrow and Hobbits may eat until the rest of the food gets there.” Gerontius said, pointing to the wagon and barrels sitting next to it. 

“If we can fit any medical supplies on there make sure you mark them. The next wagon to go will be the rest of the medical equipment and some of the medical personnel. The third and final wagon will have the rest of the medical personnel and their personal belongings. Make sure you packed light. Bedroll, cloak, handkerchief, snacks, clothes, and hygiene products. If you need more supplies whether it be food, medicine, or personal. Make sure to send word with Dane Lightfoot he will be taking messages to and from.” Pausing Gerontius looks at everyone with a smile.

“I want to thank each and everyone of you for volunteering. You are appreciated. Now the clock is ticking, let's get to work.” With a sudden burst of speed all the Hobbit lads and lasses started putting items onto the wagons.

Dwalin spent most of the afternoon lifting the heavier items onto their respected wagon. By the time the first wagon was full and ready to head out the children had come out to try and help though it mostly felt as if they were actually just hindering their process. When the first faunt saw Dwalin they stopped and stared then scampered off. Only to bring all of the faunts to him. They followed him around as he went to each wagon to pack up. Eventually one of the faunts grabbed his hand as he was reaching for something. He stopped and turned his entire attention to her.

“Your hand is so big. Will you pick me up?” She said in wonder as his hand closed around hers. Dwalin smiled and reached down to pick her up and rest her on his shoulder, and continued on assisting the other Hobbits. Soon a few of the other Hobbit children asked if he could pick them up as well. The next time Bilbo saw him he had a faunt on each shoulder two hanging from his forearms and two holding onto his hands. Bilbo couldn’t help but giggle at the sight the warrior Dwarf made.

“Dwalin!” Bilbo called out, with mischief in his eyes. 

“Have you seen any of the faunts? I’ve not been able to find them! Grandma Ada made tarts for them, but we haven’t been able to find a single one.” Bilbo said, concern coloring his voice.  Dwalin tilted his head and considered the mischievous Hobbit before him.

“Nope, cannot say I’ve seen any wee pebbles ‘round here.” He said turning around quickly to swing the faunts around. Ignoring the giggles he got in return.

“I’d be more than happy to help Mistress Adamanta eat those tarts though.” Gasps and squeals filled the air as the faunts got down off the Dwarf to protect their treats.

“You’re very good with children.” Bilbo said, as they watched the last two wagons leave and head towards the Mountains.

“Aye, all Dwarrow love children but we have very few. It is an honour to be able to play with your pebbles.” Dwalin said, a soft smile lighting up his face. 

“We finished just in time for luncheon. Let's head inside and eat then we can go back to Bag End.” Bilbo said, laying his hand on Dwalin’s arm. 

After a delicious lunch the duo made their way back to Bag End. While Dwalin went to take a bath Bilbo sat outside to smoke. He hadn’t been sitting out there long when a white haired Dwarf made their way to his gate. Giving a smile Bilbo stood up and made his way down to open the gate. 

“Good evening! I am Balin son of Fundin at your service.” He said with a bow. Now that Bilbo was looking closer there was a resemblance between Dwalin and Balin. 

“Good evening, I’m Bilbo Baggins at yours and your familys.” Bilbo replied, opening the gate and gesturing him in.

“You are just in time. I was going to get started on dinner. Your brother is currently in the bath but whenever he is done you are more than welcome to it. Let me show you to the rooms you will be staying in.” Bilbo said, opening the door to the smial. 

“You can put your boots in the cubbies and any weapons in the barrel.” He said and waited patiently as the older man complied.

“My brother is here? Do you mind my asking how long he’s been here?” Balin asked.

“Hmm, my gardener said that he got four days before I came home. So I would say nine days in total.” Bilbo said, as he started down the hallway. 

Balin hummed noncommittally as he watched the Hobbit walk passed a door with the sound of water behind it. Before coming to a stop two doors down and opening the door. Balin was in awe as he took in the stone and wood work that decorated the room.

“I will leave you to get settled when you’re ready make your way to the kitchen, and after dinner I can help you fill the bath.” Bilbo said before closing the door and making his way to the kitchen.

He lit the oven and began mixing ground beef together with some herbs and spices. Bilbo paused momentarily and tilted his head to the side as if listening to something. He heard the door closer to the kitchen and knew Dwalin had finished in the bath. Pulling out a pan Bilbo shaped the meat into a loaf and put a cover on top before putting it into the oven. He pulled out the peeling knife and the potatoes and set them aside for Dwalin, while he busied himself with cutting the green beans and started the bacon. He smiled when he felt Dwalin come to stand next to him and peel the potatoes. They worked together in companionable silence. Once the potatoes were cut and put in the boiling water Dwalin turned to set the table.

“Oh, will you please set the table for three tonight, Dwalin?” Bilbo asked as he stirred the green beans.

“Are we having a guest?” Dwalin asked, as he got the extra plate down.

“Hmm, just don’t drop my plates.” Bilbo said, glancing coyly at Dwalin’s confused expression. Dwalin placed the plates down and turned to find their guest only to stop short as he came face to face with his brother. 

“Balin!” Dwalin exclaimed, grabbing his brother into a headbutt and holding that position.

“Dwalin. What are you doing here so early?” His brother questioned, having witnessed the quiet domestic scene between the Dwarf and the Hobbit.

“I came to check out the newest addition to our company.” Dwalin said, gesturing towards the Hobbit.

“Oh?” Was accompanied with a raised eyebrow.

“He will make a good addition to our company. They sent supplies up to Ered Luin.” Dwalin said with awe in his tone as he turned to look at the Hobbit. 

“Oh?” Balin said again. Eyebrows pushing towards his hairline as he looked at the Hobbit.

“We can discuss everything after dinner. Come now let’s sit and enjoy this food and company.” Bilbo said bringing the food to the table. Dwalin picked up the plates and set them around the table before going to grab ale for them to enjoy. Balin enjoyed the food, it was delicious, but kept sending curious looks at his brother and the Hobbit.

Chapter Text

After dinner the brothers made their way to the sitting room while Bilbo made a detour to his study to grab his copy of the alliance and the list of supplies that have already been sent. When he came back Dwalin was putting more logs on the fire. Bilbo handed the papers to Balin and sat down in his favorite armchair pulling a fur blanket over his lap, and a book from the side table next to him. 

    “Master Baggins-” Balin began.

    “You may call me, Bilbo, Master Balin.” Bilbo said quickly not wanting to have any stiff formal conversations.

    “Bilbo then. Are there more pages to this contract?” Balin asked, unwilling to believe this is the only page of the contract. Though the signatures at the bottom tell him otherwise.

    “No, that is all. The second paper is all the supplies that we sent to the Blue Mountains. The caravans left this afternoon.” Bilbo assured not looking up from his book. 

    “I do not mean to be rude, Bilbo, but what are the Hobbits getting out of this deal?” Balin asked, skepticism written across his face. Bilbo looked up and sighed. He placed his book aside and gave all his attention to Balin.

    “The Dwarrow of Ered Luin are now citizens of the Shire. Every Hobbit in the Shire will do their utmost to make sure the Dwarrow of the Blue Mountains not just survive but thrive.” The sincerity coming off the Hobbit surprised Balin. He turned to his brother to see him with a soft smile on his face. 

    “They truly wish for us to treat them as we would our own.” Dwalin said softly. Balin nodded his head absent mindedly and looked back at the supplies list. 

    “These supplies are very generous and will last us through the winter.” Balin said, adding these numbers to the list of current supplies they already had at Ered Luin. Bilbo let out a full belly laugh, his face turning a light shade of red with mirth. Balin looked at his brother only to see him chuckling quietly as well.

    “Those are only the emergency supplies; there is much more to come.” Bilbo said, once he had calmed down. Balin looked at him in astonishment and raised an eyebrow. Bilbo got up and made his way to the study to grab the second supply list. 

    “By the time this week is out our next set of wagons will be making their way to the Blue Mountains.” Bilbo said smoothing his hands over the fur blanket.

    “What would happen to this agreement should the Dwarrow leave Ered Luin?” Balin asked, curiously.

    “The agreement is between our two races. The only reason our borders extend to the Blue Mountains is because that is the closest Dwarrow settlement with easy access to Hobbits.” Bilbo paused to let that sink in.

    “If the Dwarrow of Ered Luin moved to say, Erebor, our alliance would be weak and the Dwarrow would not be considered citizens.” Bilbo said, glancing between the brothers. Dwalin felt his chest tighten and muscles stiffen at the mention of Erebor, and saw Balin do much the same out of the corner of his eye.

    “If a single Hobbit or a group of Hobbits decided to call Erebor their home, then the Dwarrow of Erebor would be considered citizens again right?” Dwalin asked, remembering their talks from a few days ago.

    “Yes, as long as there is a Hobbit present to give their magic to the lands that the Dwarrow settle the Shire’s borders will expand to include that land. ” Bilbo finished with a small smile at Dwalin. 

    “Balin, I am sure you have more questions but if you would like I can fill the bath for you before I get started on supper.” Balin looked to Dwalin for answers at the mention of another meal, and Dwalin just shook his head.

    “Yes, that would be nice, thank you.” He replied standing to follow the Hobbit towards the bathing room. Stopping in his room to grab a change of clothes, he watched as the basin filled with water. 

Bilbo showed him where the towels, hair creams, and soap was before leaving to start supper. Balin was left to enjoy the first hot bath he has had in a long while. It was a luxury that he had taken for granted while Erebor still stood. Lathering his hair Balin thought of the strange creatures he had encountered in the Shire. He had heard tales of the small beings of course, but all their tale’s had the same narrative. 

The Hobbit’s of the Shire were weary of all outsiders, much like Dwarrow are. As Balin made his way through Hobbiton and towards Bag End he found himself greeted by Hobbits passing him on the road, or in their gardens. Children would stop him to ask questions either about Dwarrow, his travels, or his favorite food. Smiling Balin rinsed his hair and started scrubbing his body.

Bilbo had talked about magic and expanding borders, Balin wondered if that had to do with the lack of hesitance from the other Hobbits. He had never met a group of people who are as generous as the Hobbits. The contract was very clear cut, there are no loopholes for the Hobbits to use to exploit them either. Balin wanted to believe that this was as good as it seemed, but his past experience with other races makes him hesitate to trust the good will of the Hobbits. 

Balin relaxed in the tub for a moment before heaving himself up and out. His muscles were warm and relaxed making him sway a little as he toweled off. Balin dressed and styled his beard before making his way back towards the kitchen. 

“Do Hobbits have other alliances?” Balin asked curiously as the Hobbit only mentioned trade agreements.

“We do though Dwarrow are the first that have become citizens of the Shire. When we made the alliance our magic decides what kind of alliance is needed.” Bilbo began, spooning soup into his bowl and grabbing a piece of bread.

“That is really my role here in the Shire. I manage our alliances with other races. Not many Hobbits like to leave the Shire, I list the names of Hobbits willing to leave and not fill up a fourth of a piece of parchment.” Balin nodded along not having seen any Hobbits outside the Shire on their travels.

“My mother managed the alliances with the Elves of Rivendell and Mirkwood. I took over that position when she passed on. Though we have alliances with them they are not considered citizens of the Shire.” Bilbo paused, and touched the ear cuff on his right ear.

“Now that I’ve made an alliance with you I will manage that one as well. Because of the type of alliance we have that means our alliances are now your alliances.” Everyone sat in silence for a moment taking in the new information and enjoying the warm soup. Balin thought he wouldn’t be able to eat much but found that the soup wasn’t too heavy and settled lightly in his stomach.

“If the Dwarrow move and there are no Hobbits wherever they move to then your political allies are no longer our own.” Dwalin surmised, surprising Balin being so involved in the discussion.

“Correct, which is why I told you that Hobbits would need to settle in the Blue Mountains. Even though we have the alliance without Hobbit’s and their magic it becomes dormant.” Blibo said, pushing his plate aside and leaning back in his chair. 

“Would Hobbits be willing to settle Ered Luin?” Balin asked.

“Yes, when we signed the alliance contract the Shire’s borders immediately encased the Dwarrow settlement. Which will make it easier for Hobbits to settle there. That will not be the case if the Dwarrow move.” Bilbo paused to sip his ale.

“If a Hobbit were to go with us when we settled somewhere else would it attract more Hobbits?” Dwalin asked, intrigued by the intricacy of their magic.

“Would that new settlement then become part of the Shire?” Balin asked.

“Yes and yes. Having one Hobbit there already makes it a part of the Shire as long as the Hobbit is happy and healthy. Most Hobbit families have an average of five to nine children.” Bilbo chuckled at the shocked looks on their faces.

“Our population is always expanding, though there may not be enough room for all of them here. We would be able to produce enough to sustain our population; we wouldn’t have enough room for everyone to have a smial of their own.” Bilbo said picking up their plates and taking them to the sink to wash them. Balin stood and helped the Hobbit dry the dishes and put them up in silence. 

“We appreciate what you and your kin are doing for us, Bilbo.” Balin started as they sat around the table once again.

“It’s our understanding that the Dwarrow of Ered Luin are now considered kin and kith due to the alliance?” Balin questioned, Bilbo nodded watching the older Dwarf curiously.

“I don’t mean to offend you, Bilbo. When our king learns of the alliance he will be happy to have the help, but once he sees how open ended it is he may call it into question.” Balin said softly.

“Would he believe that the alliance would not let us try to take advantage of your people? Would not calling you kin make him believe that we would not do wrong by you?” Bilbo inquired, not angry or irritated. Mostly just confused.

“Magic can be corrupted or used to harm others. Do not think our kin haven’t helped us they have but their good will ran out long ago.” Dwalin said with a look of disgust on his face. Bilbo nodded slowly as he thought over the new piece of information.

“Could the alliance be amended? It would be best if we had a clause or two in the alliance for duplicity and agreement. It would settle King Thorin more knowing that both sides could not take advantage of the other.” Balin said gently, trying not to anger their host. 

“We had to add clauses similar with the Elves of Mirkwood though that was brought up during the initial writing, but we can make amendments. Though it can only be done by the people who originally signed the contract or their direct descendants.” Bilbo said.

“If you would like we can start the amendments in the morning. Now I would like to discuss the original reason you are here.” Bilbo said taking his hair out of its bun and running his fingers through it.

“Did you not tell him of why we are here?” Balin asked, confusion evident in his tone.

“No, we immediately started with the alliance; it slipped my mind.” Dwalin answered sheepishly.

“Oh, I know why you’re here.” Bilbo surprised the two Dwarrow, but before they could say anything he continued.

“You want to retake Erebor.” Bilbo smirked at the Dwarrow before him.

Chapter Text

“How did you know?” Dwalin asked shock coursing through his body.

    “When last I was in Mirkwood I overheard some Elves wondering if the Dwarrow that used to live there would come back now that the dragon was presumed dead.” Bilbo said, shrugging.

    “I didn’t think much of it, and a year went by and I came back from Rivendell to find a rune on my door, and a Dwarf in the pasture across my home.” Bilbo chuckled, sharing an amused glance with Dwalin.

    “Then the alliance business kept my mind otherwise occupied. Coming back home today I saw the rune again and was going to ask when Balin showed up. I remembered Dwalin told me a little about how the Blue Mountains were settled.” The corner of Bilbo’s lip pulled down in a frown.

    “So I knew Ereborian Dwarrow had settled in the Blue Mountains and that they now plan to retake Erebor, but not what my role in all this will be.” Bilbo finished. The trio sat in silence for a moment as the two Dwarrow glanced at each other.

    “We do plan on retaking Erebor.” Balin stated.

    “We have also heard the rumors that Smaug is dead, and we plan to travel to Erebor and reclaim our home before anyone else does.” Dwalin said, hands clenched into fists. 

    “We have asked our kin to help us, but it is unlikely they will want to face the dragon's wrath should he be alive. They should help because Thorin is a King regardless of jewels, but they will be forced to help if we have the Arkenstone. We need a burglar who is not a Dwarf to go in and retrieve the stone.” Balin said having settled into his teacher role. 

    “So you want me to come on a journey with you to Erebor and steal from a dragon who may or may not be dead?” Bilbo asked, eyebrow raised incredulously.

    “Yes, we would welcome any Hobbits who wish to settle in Erebor with us after we reclaim the mountain.” Balin said. 

    “I have heard tales from the Elves of a dragon sickness that can affect the Dwarrow, and the line of Durin in particular. What if your King becomes sick? Would your King honor that deal?” Bilbo asked concern etched into his expression. Balin and Dwalin looked between the two of them having known of the possibility that Thorin may succumb to that disease.

    “It is highly probable that Thorin will succumb to the dragon sickness. There is no way to know if he would disregard our treaty with you or not.” Dwalin muttered somberly. Balin glanced at him sharply but Dwalin just rolled his shoulders.

    “I will need to research and think on this.” Bilbo finally said after a long silence.

    “For now we should rest, we have a busy day tomorrow.” Bilbo said standing and walking down the hall. 

The two Dwarrow were quick to stand and follow him. They stopped outside the brothers rooms and said good night before Bilbo made his way to his own room. Bilbo did not sleep peacefully that night and was up before dawn. Grabbing a change of clothes Bilbo made his way to the ensuite bathroom. Filling the tub up with hot water Bilbo placed his sleep clothes in the basket by the door. Once the tub was full Bilbo got in and sunk down until the water reached his chin. 

Sighing Bilbo let the hot water take away his stress and the grime from the past few days. Not wanting the water to cool Bilbo let his hair down and dunked under the water quickly so he could start washing his hair. Lathering the cleanser in his hair Bilbo used his fingertips to massage his scalp. Tying his hair up Bilbo let his hair soak in the lather, he grabbed the soap and began to scrub his body. Avoiding the hair on his feet Bilbo used a foot scrub on his foot soles to get the remaining dirt off his feet before grabbing the later for his hair and rubbing it into the hair on his feet.

 Rinsing the lather from his hair and feet Bilbo drained the tub and grabbed his towel drying himself off before he applied lotion to his body and feet. Heading towards the vanity Bilbo grabbed his hair lotion and applied it first to his feet then to the hair on his head. Turning Bilbo grabbed the trousers and shirt he had lying on the vanity seat and put them on before sitting down and brushing out his hair. 

Seeing how long his hair was Bilbo entertained the thought of cutting it, but ultimately decided against it. Pulling his hair back Bilbo started the process to plait his hair. Once he reached the end Bilbo grabbed his leather tie and secured the end. Grabbing his towel Bilbo put it in the soiled linen hamper before making his way to the kitchen, but was interrupted by a knock on the front door. Grumbling Bilbo made his way and opened the door.

“Mr. Boggins!” Twin voices exclaimed his only warning before he was tackled to the ground. 

“Baggins.” Bilbo huffs out amusement clear in his voice. Chuckling the younger Dwarves stand and help their host to his feet, each gently bumping foreheads with the Hobbit. 

“You are just in time for first breakfast. Go settle into your rooms and come join me.” Bilbo said, smiling largely as they took their shoes off and put their weapons away before racing off to their rooms. 

Smile still firmly in place, Bilbo made his way to the kitchen to get started on first breakfast. Turning on the stove Bilbo grabbed bread, eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and cinnamon out of the pantry and put them to the side french toast. Bilbo poured the oil in a pan and let that heat up before grabbing a bowl and putting the eggs in. Grabbing a whisk Bilbo whipped the eggs until it was all mixed together. He then added the milk, vanilla and cinnamon giving it another good mix before turning to the bread. 

Slicing the bread in half Bilbo dipped each piece in the egg mixture before placing it in the frying pan. As he was turning the pieces over he heard the sound of small feet hitting the floor boards. With how light the steps were he knew it was Fili and Kili making their way to the kitchen. Turning he was going to tell the boys to wash up only to stop as he inspected their already clean hands.

“Alright, set the table and grab some juice, lads.” Bilbo said with a laugh as they jumped into action. 

Putting the finished toast on a plate Bilbo quickly added the last of it before turning and heading for the pantry. Grabbing the syrup from the top shelf Bilbo made his way out to see the table set and each seat paired with everyone's favorite juice. Smiling Bilbo placed the syrup on the table before flipping the toast. Once those pieces were finished Bilbo made his way to the table and set the toast on the table. Kili and Fili filled their plates while Bilbo sat down and took a sip of his apple juice.

“I’m glad to see you again, boys.” Bilbo said, before tucking into his food.

“We are glad to see you as well, Mr. Baggins. We missed your company and cooking.” Fili said, trying and failing to keep syrup out of his beard.

“We had hoped the Hobbit, Tharkun chose would be you, but we weren’t sure.” Kili finished. Brown eyes shining with contagious affection. Bilbo found himself smiling despite trying to eat his food.

“Eat and tell me about your days since last I saw you.” Bilbo encouraged, not wanting to think about the reason they were actually here. 

The kitchen was filled with laughter and most likely exaggerated tales. With all the noise it was no wonder the trio sitting at the table failed to notice the older Dwarves standing in the doorway. After one embarrassing tale of Kili’s hair getting stuck in his bow and finally relenting to allow Fili to place braids in Bilbo caught sight of Dwalin and Balin sharing smiles. 

“Good morning Dwalin and Balin. I hope we weren’t too loud.” Bilbo said, looking to see that it wasn’t yet time for second breakfast. 

Kili and Fili got up and greeted the older Dwarves with a knock to their heads. Chuckling, Bilbo stood and began clearing the table to start on second breakfast. Bilbo decided on poached eggs, more French toast bacon and fruit salad. Bilbo started with the eggs, putting a little vinegar in the water he set it to boil, then grabbed a baking sheet for the bacon. 

Bilbo grabbed the pan he used for the French toast and put it back on a burner to warm up, and went to grab some fruit grown from his own garden and placed it next to the stove. Pulling two bowls from the cabinet and a knife from the block on the counter Bilbo got to work skinning the cantaloupe and scraping out the seeds. He put the seeds in the smaller of the two bowls and set it aside, he proceeded to cut the cantaloupe into cubes and put it aside in the larger bowl. 

Bilbo saw Dwalin step up to the sink and start washing dishes while Bilbo checked on the water, and he could hear the others in the room start setting the table and grabbing beverages. Bilbo stirred the boiling water and quickly cracked an egg in while it was still spinning. While the egg was cooking Bilbo put the bacon on the baking sheet and slid it into the stove. Before he could start on the toast Kili was there mixing everything together and starting to fry it.

“I’ll make a gentle Hobbit of you yet, Kili.” Bilbo teased, patting the young Dwarf on his shoulder. Ignoring the huff he got in return. Checking on the egg Bilbo pulled it from the water before repeating that step with multiple eggs. Bilbo pulled the bacon from the stove and put it on a plate and grabbed the fruit he set them on the table. Quickly checking the eggs Bilbo deemed them done and gently scooped them out of the water and onto a small plate setting it on the table. Dwalin brought out some juice from the pantry and Fili grabbed clean cups. Breakfast and clean up was a quiet affair, and once they were done they settled into the living room.

“Okay we have a few things to do today.” Bilbo started, settling back into his arm chair. 

“Fili, Kili I know you’ve traveled far and if you want to scamper off for a bath and a nap you know where everything is.” Bilbo said, smiling at the two younger boys. They nodded though they didn't get up and move.

“Otherwise I have dragon sickness to research and Balin and Dwalin have an alliance to amend. You two can use my spare study and write up any revisions you want to make and I will be in my library trying to find anything I can on dragon sickness.” Bilbo said, receiving nods from both brothers.

“What can we do?” Fili asked, seriousness he had rarely seen in the young man.

“If you won’t nap then you can either help Balin and Dwalin or come with me.” Bilbo said, smiling gently at the young man. Balin sent Bilbo a strange look, but Bilbo was watching the boys decide.

“I’ll go with Bilbo, and Fi will stay with Dwalin.” Kili said, finally after sharing a look with Fili. 

“Alright, if anyone needs me for anything you can go to the kitchen and pull the cord by the pantry. A bell will sound throughout the house and let me know you need something.” Bilbo nodded, and stood gesturing for Kili to follow him.

Chapter Text

Bilbo and Kili made their way past the sleeping quarters towards Bilbo’s study towards the back of the house. Opening the door to his study Bilbo ushered Kili inside first before shutting the door and making his way to the bookcase in the back of the room. Bilbo winked at Kili and with a flourish lifted a secret wood panel beside the bookcase and pulled on a cord hidden inside. Kili stared in wide eyed shock as the bookcase moved across the floor to the opposite wall.

    “When did this get here?” Kili asked, awe plain in his tone as he ran his hand down the stone wall before they descended the stairs.

    “My dad built this smial as a gift to my mom. Every nook and cranny was designed with her in mind. My father knew of her fondness for adventures and knowledge, so he built her a home that reflected that.” Bilbo said, pausing just inside the staircase to pull a hidden lever and close the book case. Kili worried for a moment that Bilbo wouldn’t be able to see, but as soon as the bookcase closed the stairwell was alight with crystals. 

    “Oh, wow.” Kili whispered, amazed by the lights very few knew how to make the crystal lights, and Kili had never seen so many in one place. 

    “My mother was gifted these by a Dwarf from the Iron Hills for translating an Elvish contract.” Bilbo said, fondly as he led the way down the stairs.

    “Did your mother bring anything back with her from her trips?” Kili asked, noting they didn’t go too far underground.

    “Oh yes, she brought back whatever caught her eye. Even if it belonged to someone else. She would charm them and they would give over the item as a gift.” Bilbo said, smiling gently as they reached the bottom of the stairs. 

They entered into a grand cavern that had a maze of bookcases throughout the room. The floor beneath Kili’s feet was covered in the softest of rugs. As they stepped further into the room Kili noticed each rug was different but no less soft.

“I know this isn’t as grand as the library in Erebor, but this is my mothers library.” Bilbo said, carefully running his fingers over the spines of the books in front of him. 

“These all belong to your Amad?” Kili asked, awed.

“Most of them have been passed down through her family or my fathers, but others have been brought in by my Amad.” Bilbo agreed, happy to be sharing something of his families with the young lad.

“How long did it take your father to build the smial?” Kili asked, as Bilbo led them through the maze of books.

“It took him eight years. He had one of the Dwarrow that was passing through to do the stone work, and make sure everything was secure. Other than that he built the rest of the house himself.” Bilbo answered, coming to a stop in front of two cases.

“These are the only books on Dwarrow my mother was able to collect. Let us hope that there is something here about dragon sickness.” Bilbo murmured. 

“There are some written in Khuzdul that I won’t be able to read and those start on the second case second shelf.” Bilbo added, absentmindedly as he started reading the first tome, and walked over to a plush looking chair. Kili nodded to himself and gently grabbed the first book on the second shelf, before following Bilbo and taking up residence across from him.

‘ This is a dark time in Dunland, Orcs are attacking most everyday. We have asked King Jongrar Stiffbeard to send for help, yet he refuses. Each time we ask he is stroking that blasted ring on his finger.’ Kili’s mind flashed to the lost King Thrain, who was last seen with the line of Durins’ ring of power.

‘The ring has a disturbing presence, at first I thought it might have to do with the immense power it supposedly had. It doesn’t feel right, something is terribly wrong here, and I intend to find out what.’ The Dwarf who wrote this book didn’t sign their name at the end like Kili expected, but it made sense in a way Kili thought if it was found that Dwarf might be executed. 

Kili skipped a few pages looking for references to the ring or dragon sickness he had made it to the last page before he found another reference.

‘King Jongrar has locked himself away in the treasury. He’s gone mad! He killed a guard for trying to make him leave. All of Dunland knows that King Jongrar has dragon sickness and I believe we have finally figured out what caused it.’ Kili leant forward in anticipation.

‘Many believed that King Thror of Erebor fell to dragon sickness because of the Arkenstone, but no that is not what drove him to lust for gold so. The rings of power are cursed!’ Kili stared at that sentence in shock for longer than he cared to admit.

‘I have succeeded in getting King Jongrar to take the ring off and leave its immediate vicinity. Though that did not help for the ring's taint had corroded the King's skin and seeped into his blood.’  

“In order to affect their mind the ring had to first infect their body.” Kili whispered, not realizing he had said anything out loud. 

“What was that lad?” Bilbo questioned, not looking up from his own book. A quill and parchment laid out on the nearby table.

“May I borrow a quill and parchment, Bilbo?” Kili asked, instead of answering. 

Bilbo searched his expression and nodded gesturing to the stack in front of him. Kili quickly got to work writing down a brief summary of what the book said and his own hypothesis. Once he had everything written down he went back to finish the page.

‘Even when away from the ring King Jongrar still lusted for gold just as much, and nothing we did could save him. No prayers, or rituals cleansed the rot that had infested his very soul. We know it is no rot of the mind with thanks to Lyn, our best stonemason, she has the most powerful stone sense in all of Dunland. She no longer sensed our King when he deigned to walk the halls of Dunland only the ring.’ Kili didn’t have the very good stone sense but he knew enough to know that when he sensed someone he didn’t sense their physical body but their soul. Really that's what they were doing. They were reading the stone's soul, so of course it would carry over to people as well. Turning back to his paper Kili wrote out his theory on the rings and dragon sickness.

“I found something.” Kili stated, softly, not looking up at Bilbo.

“What is it, young one?” Bilbo responded patiently. 

“The rings of power are what cause Dwarrow to fall into gold sickness.” Kili said eyes still on his paper.

“Good, what brought you to that conclusion?” Bilbo asked, kindly.

“This is a journal of a Dwarf from Dunland, which is south of Moria, he documented what happened to his King. Did they tell you what happened to King Thror and how the dragon came about?” Kili asked, needing to make sure Bilbo was up to date and didn’t need any background. Bilbo nodded and Kili continued.

“King Jongrar didn’t find an Arkenstone in his mountain, so how could he get dragon sickness if that is one of the only ways to get it? If he didn’t get it from a dragon or an Arkenstone then it must have been something else.” Kili paused and braced himself to say this next part.

“There are only a few things that King Jongrar and King Thror have in common. They are both descents from the original seven Dwarrow and they both had rings of power.” Kili paused, and risked a glance at Bilbo but found only polite curiosity, so he continued.

“There are no documented cases of gold sickness in the first age. Dragon sickness is a term that was coined around the beginning of the second age after the war of wrath, so that leaves one thing that they have in common.”

“The ring.” Kili and Bilbo said simultaneously.

“Okay, so we take the ring from King Thorin. Then we don’t have to worry about it right?” Bilbo asked, hoping it was that simple.

“No, King Jongrar was separated from the ring in his final moments, but was still mad. The ring invaded his whole body and his soul. It burnt his finger to inject its venom into his body to affect his mind stronger.” Kili said, sadly.

“I can see how that would help. Dwarrow are notoriously stubborn and I don’t think mind magic would be enough to persuade a Dwarf to do something they didn’t want to do. The ring may have had to weaken the body, which would weaken the mind and make them vulnerable.” Bilbo added in thought.

“We can take the ring from King Thorin and then cleanse him.” Bilbo said, trying to draw up a plan.

“Uncle Thorin doesn’t have the ring, it was lost when his father disappeared with it.” Kili said, shaking his head.

“Then we can just put a protective ward around him to ward it off.” Bilbo said, desperately hoping that would be the end.

“Uncle has a scar on his right ring finger I asked about it once he said King Thror had him wear it to get him used to the ‘sting of power.’” Kili said, using air quotes.

“So we need to cleanse him to be sure that there are no residual side effects of the ring that might cause him to fall into gold sickness. That has to go into the alliance, the alliance's magic will act as a second ward in case the cleansing doesn’t work.” Bilbo sighed rubbing his temples.

“What kind of cleanse do you think he will need?” Bilbo asked, as he stood to start putting away books.

“Is there such a thing as a soul cleanse?” Kili asked, looking up in time to see Bilbo freeze and nearly let go of the book he was holding.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure a soul cleanse is what he needs?” Bilbo whispered, not turning to look at Kili.

“Yes, the book mentions a Dwarrow- dam trying to use her stone sense to track the King and instead of feeling the King all she felt was the ring and its influence.” Kili said, watching Bilbo wearily.

“Are you sure the ring wasn’t masking his presence?” Bilbo asked.

“I’m sure. Stone sense feels the very soul of beings. Rocks aren’t sentient like you and I are, but they still possess a soul. It’s how we know where the weak spots are in stone so well and how we can tell a tunnel will collapse before it does.” Kili explained.

“As long as the King was standing on stone that Dwarf would have been able to sense his soul, but the ring corrupted him. Twisted him to something that was no longer Dwarrow.” Kili trailed off somberly. 

“A soul cleanse… It is very serious business. Only a master of the art can perform a soul cleanse. Once the process has started it cannot be stopped, to stop a soul cleanse will mean death for the cleanser and the cleasenee as well as anyone in attendance.” Bilbo muttered gravely, He turned slowly to face Kili. 

“There are benefits to the cleanse, because it cleanses the body as well as the mind, it can cleanse the bloodline as well. There are three types of cleanses. Body, mind, and soul.” Bilbo walked down a path between two bookcases before pulling a small journal and making his way back.

“So if Uncle was to get the soul cleanse it would cleanse any who share his blood. Even Fili and myself?” Kili asked, uncertain.

“Yes, as well as any children King Thorin may have as well. Hobbits as far as I know are the only ones who have mastered this ability to cleanse. I have asked the Elves of both Mirkwood and Rivendell what they do if someone becomes so corrupted to the point it disfigures their soul.” Bilbo sat down beside Kili and hesitatingly opened the journal he brought back.

“Both said they killed the poor Elf. That there was no saving them at that point.” Sighing Bilbo flipped to the middle of the book. The language on the page was one that Kili had never seen before.

“This journal is the only book which contains the different cleansing rituals. It’s written in Hobbitish, no one outside of the Shire has ever learned it. I think many of the races believe Hobbits only speak common.” Bilbo smiled, mischief shining in his eyes. 

“Would we be able to learn?” Asked Kili, excitement coursing through his body.

“Of course, you’re a Hobbit now.” Bilbo exclaimed.

“If you want me to teach you we can start after we prepare a good presentation on why we need to put the King through a grueling and painful procedure such as this.” Bilbo said, sobering up quickly. 

That is how Kili and Bilbo spent the remaining time in the library throwing ideas around and finding the right words. By the time they both found something they agreed upon they had missed elvenese, lunch and afternoon tea. The duo gently placed the books back onto the correct shelf and gathered their papers and made their way up the stairs.

 They had just stepped out into the study when the door banged open. Bilbo reacted on instinct and stepped in front of Kili while simultaneously pulling a sword from its sheath attached to his chair. Bilbo whipped around, sword in hand and using his right foot kicked the intruder in the knee, causing him to collapse. Once he had him on the ground he had the sword pressed against his throat.

“Bilbo! Stop!” Fili cried, wanting to rush forward and stop him from attacking. Bilbo blinked his eyes and looked up at Fili and Balin standing in the doorway and then down to Dwalin on his knees with Bilbo’s sword pressed against his beard.

“Dear Yavanna! I am so sorry.” Bilbo exclaimed, removing the sword and placing it gently on top of his desk. He returned to Dwalin still on the floor and held out his hand.

“I am so very sorry. I didn’t even pause to consider it might have been you opening the door. I just heard the door slam open and reacted.” Bilbo kept apologizing as he helped Dwalin to his feet.

“It’s alright lad. My brother needed to be taken down a little.” Balin said, chuckling. Dwalin grumbled something in Khuzdul that sounded vaguely rude, but Bilbo wasn’t going to say anything about it. 

“It is alright, Bilbo. We couldn’t find you and Kili and assumed the worst. We had just checked the study when we heard something heavy sliding across the room.” Dwalin said, taking a seat in a nearby chair to rest his leg after that kick.

“We barged in wanting to take the intruder, if there was one, by surprise. I didn’t count on a feral Hobbit, and the surprising strength in his kicks.” Dwalin teased.

“Feral Hobbit! You’ve not yet seen a feral Hobbit.” Bilbo exclaimed, causing Fili and Kili to burst into laughter. Dwalin and Balin joined them while Bilbo stood there and pouted, though he had a hard time keeping a smile off his face.

“Why didn’t you ring the cord in the kitchen?” Bilbo finally asked, once everyone had calmed down. He was met by silence from the Dwarrow.

“You forgot about it didn’t you?” Bilbo asked, a smile flitting across his face.

“ I know how serious Hobbits take their meals so I suggested we go look for the two of you when you didn’t come back for elevenese.” Fili said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Then you missed lunch and afternoon tea, we got really worried.” Filli said, concern still shining in his light blue eyes.

“Thank you for your concern, lad. I’m sorry we caused such worry.” Bilbo said softly, moving closer to wrap his arms around the young Dwarf. Fili returned the hug without hesitation pulling the Hobbit closer.

“Are you alright, Dwalin?” Bilbo asked, staying closer to Fili even after the hug ended.

“I will be fine. Bruised but nothing, a hot bath and a good meal won’t fix.” Dwalin said, right on cue Bilbo’s stomach grumbled.

“Let’s go make dinner then I know we are all hungry.” Bilbo said, putting his sword back in its sheath and closing the bookcase that led out to a staircase. Ignoring the curious looks Bilbo grabbed Kili and Fili by the hand and led them out towards the kitchen.

“Are you truly alright, brother? A hit like that to your knees could have really harmed you.” Balin asked, concern in his tone as they lingered in the study.

“Aye, I am okay. It would have been worse if I had tried to lock my knee, as it is, I went with the blow in my surprise and it lessened the impact I had with the floor.” Dwalin said, a small smile making its way across his face.

“That was very good technique, he had a strong stance.” Balin said, watching his brother's face carefully.

“Aye, it was, wasn’t it. I should have asked him to spar with me when I got here, but there was a lot going on. I should ask him soon, or maybe we can leave the spar up to our fearless leader when he gets here.” Dwalin said, a smile still firmly in place as they made their way leisurely through the smial.

“You know how he can be with outsiders, Dwalin. He will doubt and belittle Bilbo.” Balin said, as they came to the entrance of the kitchen.

“He will try but Bilbo will not let him continue those doubts or degrading words.” Dwalin said, after a moment of silence as they watched Kili and Fili cut some vegetables and put them in a pan on the stove. 

Balin found himself watching Dwalin more than their Hobbit host since he came to the smial. Dwalin went to the cabinet to grab plates and cups right next to Bilbo, and the Hobbit seemed to unknowingly turn himself towards Dwalin before he seemed to know he was there. When sitting down for meals Bilbo sat in the seat next to Dwalin, and when they were using the sitting room Dwalin sat close to Bilbo’s arm chair. 

Balin wondered if that was a side effect of the alliance or if there was something else at play. Dinner was a happy affair but had an underlying tension, and whenever Kili would get lost in thought with a somber look on his face Bilbo was there cheering him up. Dwalin, Balin and Fili were all very curious as to what kept the usually high spirited Dwarf so down. After dinner the mood plummeted and they all cleared the table and silently followed Bilbo back into his study.

“Before we get into the revisions you three have come up with, I believe what Kili and I discovered while researching gold sickness may be more pressing.” Bilbo said, sitting behind the desk Kili pulled a chair up next to them. 

Balin immediately tensed up, the seating arrangements made it seem like Kili was siding with Bilbo. Balin hadn’t thought that whatever they would find on gold sickness would cause tension, but it seemed that it might. Bilbo was intentionally separating himself from the Dwarrow and Kili sitting with him showed he was siding with Bilbo, even if the lad didn’t realize what he was implying. Dwalin handed over the parchment with their revisions and the contract for the quest, also having noticed the intentional distance between them.

“We are also formally inviting you to become part of our company on the quest to reestablish Erebor as a Dwarven kingdom once again.” Balin started, having seen the confused look Bilbo was giving the contract.

“We can add a clause into the alliance that should either party ask for assistance whatever support either kingdom can give they shall.” Bilbo said, setting the contract aside. Bilbo and surprisingly Kili read through the revisions with Bilbo answering any questions Kili had.

“There are a few things I would like to reword. For instance ‘neither race may betray any secrets, or military intelligence, etcetera. To ‘neither race shall knowingly betray any secrets, or military intelligence’.” Bilbo said, emphasizing the word ‘knowingly’. 

Balin nodded with easy acceptance, writing on a separate sheet of paper their agreed upon contract. They continued this way for an hour before the Hobbit came to a stop.

“The last thing I want to add could be a deal breaker, but it is not something that I will compromise on.” Bilbo said, tone turning serious. Kili straightened in his seat next to Bilbo leaning closer to the Hobbit.

“In Bilbo’s library there are quite a few books in Khuzdul. The first one I picked up was a journal of someone who was close to King Jongrar Stiffbeard of Dunland. Possibly one of his advisors.” Kili started, knowing the blow would be softened if it came from him rather than Bilbo.

“In the journal it talked about the King’s corruption. Which described the same symptoms and behaviors as King Thror.” Kili said, quietly hoping to lessen the impact. Balin’s brows furrowed in confusion. While Dwalin had his head tilted in contemplation. 

“There wasn’t an Arkenstone in Dunland though. How could he have gone mad with gold sickness?” Fili questioned, confused with the conflicting ideals.

“The journalist touched on that as well. They didn’t have an Arkenstone like we did, so what else would they have in common?” Kili asked, wanting to see if anyone could connect the dots. When no one spoke he continued. 

“They both are descendants of the Seven Fathers, so they were gifted with rings of power.” Kili finished, he didn’t realize how tense he was until Bilbo laid a hand on his forearm and he relaxed. 

“King Thror had a ring of power and I remember our father saying he never took it off. Not to bathe, eat, or sleep.” Dwalin murmured, eyes glazed thinking back on the memory. 

“Uncle Thorin doesn’t have Durin's ring of power.” Fili said, expressing a mix of anger and confusion.

“Remember the scar on his right ring finger Fi? King Thror made him wear the ring to get used to its power. It has already infected him, but I think being so far from the Arkenstone has lessened the impact it has on his decisions and mind in general.” Kili said, beseeching his brother to understand. 

“There’s a way to fix it.” Dwalin stated, staring at Bilbo. It wasn’t a question but Bilbo nodded his head anyway.

“The ring enters through the body to corrupt the mind and once the mind and body have been corrupted the soul is next.” Kili said somberly. 

“The only way to get rid of the corruption once and for all is to cleanse the soul, but that is a truly risky thing to attempt.” Bilbo said, speaking up since they began discussing this.

“Hobbits are the only creatures in all of Middle Earth who can and are willing to cleanse the soul. I have asked the Elves of Greenwood and Imladris if they in all their long years have cleansed any of their people. They have cleansed the body and mind, but they believe it is an impossible task to cleanse a soul. They would sooner end their suffering than attempt that.” Bilbo said, somberly head bowed.

“There is one soul cleanser here in the Shire and she is actually my grandmother. She would be willing to do it. I would need to have it put into an amendment that when King Thorin arrives in the Shire he will be cleansed of the rot in his soul, and any kings or queens after him will be required to see a soul cleanser before taking the throne. If they show symptoms before they take the throne then they need to be seen then and checked again before they take the throne.” Bilbo said, tone hard leaving no room for objection. Dwalin and Balin glanced at each other but before they could say anything they were interrupted. 

“I’ll do it.”

Chapter Text

“Uncle?” Fili asked, concern making the one word heavy.

“I had a good childhood with King Thror. I remember the day they found the Arkenstone. It was like something snuffed out the light in his eyes. He was cruel and held no love for his family, his only love became for gold and precious gems.” Thorin said, staring off to the left. He blinked and looked at Fili.

“I do not wish for you to suffer the same.” He said. Kili teared up and ran around the desk and jumped into his uncle's arms. 

Thorin caught him easily and held his other arm out for Fili. The lad happily fell into his embrace. Deciding to give them a moment of privacy Dwalin turned back to find Bilbo looking at him. Dwalin smiled and moved to occupy the seat Kili had vacated. 

“We will add that into our alliance. Let us sign it before he changes his mind.” Dwalin said, earning a huff from Bilbo. The two set about adding to the magical contract, not aware that they had an audience watching them. 

“I, Bilbo Baggins, Master of Bag End representative of the Shire ask you, Dwalin Fundin, Captain of the Royal Guard and representative of his Royal Highness King Thorin II named Oakenshield to amend our alliance and allow these new clauses to help our people grow.” Bilbo stood and bowed at the waist and held his hand out towards Dwalin once more.

“I, Dwalin Fundin, Captain of the Royal Guard and representative of his Royal Highness King Thorin II named Oakenshield agree to amend our alliance and to help our people blossom.” Dwalin said, his hand clasped firmly in Bilbo’s.

They stood there for a moment holding hands as their magic made them glow. Once they released each other's hand they immediately got to work on adding those clauses into the alliance. They didn’t even need to speak as they worked in tandem with each other. Once they had finished Bilbo got up and grabbed two new inkwells, two snow white feathers, two strips of white clothes, and an ornate knife. Dwalin didn’t even hesitate to lift the knife and cut open the tip of his left index finger, the other Dwarrow watched on in intrigued horror as he dropped his blood into the inkwell and cleaned the knife off before passing it to Bilbo.

 Once both parties had wrapped their injuries in the white strips. Dwalin picked his quill up and dipped it into the inkwell, and used the now blood red quill to sign his name at the bottom of the new sheet. Once Bilbo signed his name they both got up and dropped the inkwells and quills into the fire. There was a wave of magic through the room as the objects burned and the magic made duplicates of the alliance again.

“The wave of magic you felt not only made new copies but also destroyed the old copies we had.” Bilbo said, sitting down again at his desk. He picked up one copy and gave it to Balin, another to King Thorin and lastly one to Dwalin.

“We will have to go to the Thain's house tomorrow to give him the new contract, and to get King Thorin cleansed, but otherwise since there is nothing else we can do. Let me get my new guest settled. We will have a midnight snack then it is off to bed.” Bilbo stood and headed towards the door, the Dwarrow following behind.

“I assume you would like to be near your nephews, King Thorin?” Bilbo said, Thorin nodded his agreement. They continued down the hallway before they stopped a couple doors down from Dwalin and Balin’s room. Bilbo opened the door and all five Dwarrow stepped inside, and Dwalin was surprised to find that his room was completely different from the room Thorin was granted. 

“This is Fili’s work.” Thorin said, immediately spotting the fireplace work and running his hand over it. 

“Aye, it is. Fili did all of my fireplace mantle with his brother's help in assembling and heavy lifting.” Bilbo’s voice was full of pride as he looked at the boys.

“So, this is the Hobbit that my nephews were telling me about.” Thorin said, turning to look Bilbo over with a critical eye. 

“You overpaid them.” Thorin said, testing the Hobbit.

“I did no such thing. They did amazing work and were kind and compassionate while they were here. Honestly, they deserve more money than what I gave them but they refused to take any more.” Bilbo said, amused chastisement in his voice.

“ You were being generous.” Fili said, a sheepish look on his face.

“ You allowed us to stay in your home for free.” Kili said, a small soft smile on his face as he wrapped his arm around Bilbo’s shoulder.

“Of course, you had come all the way from Ered Luin to work on my smial. By Hobbit standards the two of you are grown, and that is how the rest of the Shire treated you. I know that by Dwarven standards Kili had just reached his majority, and you surpassed yours by five years.” Bilbo replied, returning Kili’s half hug without any thought, rubbing his back in soothing paternal strokes.

“Kili was all bright smiles and enthusiasm and Fili was so nervous I was sure he would start grinding his teeth. I wanted to make sure the two of you were treated fairly and with kindness. I know you wouldn’t have gotten that at the Inn in Bree.” Bilbo said, not the least bit sheepish for watching after the two pebbles. Fili and Kili had twin looks of exacerbation on their faces, but smiled at the Hobbit nevertheless.

“I thank you for taking such good care of my nephews. Not many would.” Thorin replied somberly, giving the Hobbit a full bow. Bilbo was already waving him off with his free hand.

“Nonsense! You have great boys and I am happy I got to know them, and that they’re here now.” Bilbo said, squeezing Kili’s waist before detaching himself and moving back towards the door. 

“I will get started on that midnight snack and let you get settled in. If you need help turning on the bath please do not hesitate to ring for me.” Bilbo gestured to the cord hanging in the corner by the door, before taking his leave. Dwalin found himself staring at the spot the Hobbit had just occupied, before turning back to the other Dwarves in the room to find them already watching him.

“What?” Dwalin said, his voice regaining its gruff grumbling quality.

“We need Bilbo to come back.” Fili started, his tone amused.

“Yeah, at least with him around, Dwalin is in a better mood.” Kili finished, smile firmly in place.

Dwalin rolled his eyes, not deigning to respond and walked over to the chair closest to the fireplace and took a seat. The others followed his lead, Kili stooping low to start a fire.

“Tell me of your Hobbit, Dwalin.” Thorin said.

“He is kind, generous, and an amazing cook, but I am starting to think all Hobbits are.” Dwalin said, drawing a chuckle from Balin.

“Nope! Fi and I have had Gram Adda’s food and I am sure Fi will agree that Bilbo’s is better.” Kili said, tone very serious for the subject matter.

“I have had Mistress Adamanta’s food as well and it was very good, but I agree with you Kili, Bilbo’s is better.” Dwalin agreed easily.

“My first four days in the Shire were spent watching an empty smial. Bilbo was away on business when I arrived. When he returned he knew I was there immediately even though I wasn’t in his direct sight line. I trailed him, but he caught me not even halfway to the marketplace.” Thorin raised a skeptical brow but kept silent.

“He all but demanded that I make use of his guest rooms without even an explanation of why I was there spying on him. I agreed and we walked to the marketplace together. Once there he began shopping and during his conversation with one of the stall owners a dreadful female Hobbit came screaming at Bilbo.” Dwalins face screwed up in a sneer.

“Lobelia Sackville-Baggins.” Fili said, disgust dripping heavily from his voice.

“One and the same.” Dwalin confirmed. Before they could continue their talk there was a knock on the door.

“I’ve finished with the snacks if anyone is hungry.” Bilbo said, poking his head around the door to take in the view of the five Dwarrow sitting near the fire. As if on cue Thorin’s stomach rumbled.

“I’ll take that as a yes. C’mon I’ve got plenty for everyone.” Bilbo said, turning to head towards the kitchen. All the Dwarrow followed him. When they got to the kitchen Bilbo was putting out cups and Dwalin turned towards the pantry and grabbed some tea and cranberry juice. Thorin went to help but Balin grabbed his arm and motioned for him to watch. Once Dwalin came back out he set down the tea and immediately grabbed the already whistling kettle and set to working filling cups. 

Thorin didn’t understand what Balin wanted him to see, and he was going to say so until it happened. Dwalin was pouring hot water into a cup by the seat closest to the wall. There wasn’t much room to maneuver around his considerable bulk, and if Thorin wasn’t watching closely he wouldn’t have seen it. Without making a sound Bilbo came up behind Dwalin with three plates of food in his arms. Dwalin set down the juice reached behind him to grab one of the plates out of Bilbo’s hand and set it on the table. Without pausing he pulled the seat in front of him out so Bilbo could use it to climb between him and the table.

“Thank you, Dwalin.” Bilbo threw over his shoulder as he finished putting the food out. Everything happened in a span of seconds, Thorin wouldn’t have known the two had only known each other for a couple of days with how in sync they are.

“Tables set!” Bilbo said, turning around to address the other four Dwarrow. Dwalin came up behind him giving his brother and cousin a searching look.

“Thanks, Bilbo!” Kili said, digging into the relative feast placed before him.

“Yes, thank you Master Baggins.” Thorin said, as he moved to the seat to the left of  Kili which was next to the head of the table. Again Balin grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the chair on the right of Kili. Thorin looked up to protest and saw Bilbo and Dwalin taking their seats next to each other. Thorin raised his brow at his advisor but sat down to enjoy his meal.

“This is delicious, Bilbo, thank you.” Balin said, into the quiet of the dining room.

“You’re welcome.” Bilbo said, sipping on his tea.

“Excuse me for prying Master Baggins, but I had a question about the magic of the alliance.” Thorin said, looking between the Hobbit and Dwarf.

“Of course, ask away.” Bilbo replied.

“Does the magic bind the individuals who sign it to each other?” Thorin asked, with no subtly causing Balin to sigh.

“Oh no, it binds the signers to the contract. Unless it is a marriage contract, but Hobbits haven’t had a marriage contract in a little over three hundred years.” Bilbo said, contemplating as he slowly chewed on a piece of fruit. 

“We do not allow for contracted marriages any more. The men of Bree have tried to force a marriage contract on one of the Took lasses. The only thing that could be done at the time was to call for the Shire to judge the contract.” Bilbo paused to drink the rest of his tea. 

“What happened to her?” Fili asked, his eyes wide in fear.

“The magic of the Shire deemed it invalid and got it’s revenge on the men.” Bilbo said, reaching out and patting Fili’s hand. 

“What happened to the las?” Dwalin asked. 

“She became Thain, and the current Thain is actually a direct descendant of her line.” Bilbo finished. Leaning away from the table and patting his stomach.

“Oh, she was next in line for your throne and that is why they chose her.” Balin surmised.

“No, the Shire picks the Thain.” Surprisingly Kili answered.

“Though I do believe that is what the men thought when they tried.” Bilbo finished, nodding at Kili.

“How’d you know?” Fili asked.

“I questioned Bilbo about it, when we stayed here the first time. We were comparing our two governments and I asked who was next in line for the Thain's throne.” Kili answered, snagging the last of the turnovers. 

“You were talking about politics?” Thorin asked, disbelief coloring his voice.

“Kili will make a great diplomat one day.” Bilbo said, a small smile on his face.

“He has been intrigued about Hobbit culture since he came here. Many of his correspondence was about our laws and treaties with other nations.” Bilbo replied.

“Oh, that reminds me. How is Ori?” Bilbo said, excitedly.

“He is doing well! He will actually be the official Scribe of our company, so you will get to meet him in person soon.” Kili finished, gulping down his juice his eyes started to droop.

“Alright, I think it is time for bed.” Bilbo said, getting up and moving behind Kili.

“Okay, it has been a long day. Good night, Bilbo.” Kili said, giving him a hug before moving onto his uncle, Balin and lastly Dwalin. Fili stood up and bade them good night before they retired. 

“That’s a good idea lad. We will need to get going early tomorrow to go see the healer.” Balin said. Him and Thorin gave their good night and left. 

“Thank you, Bilbo.” Dwalin said, staring intently at the Hobbit.

“You’re very welcome, Dwalin.” Bilbo said, returning his gaze.

“I don’t just mean about the snack.” Dwalin replied. Watching Bilbo walk closer to him.

“I know, and while I am frustrated with how the world has treated you. I am also glad you’re here and our people are getting the help they need.” Bilbo said, lifting his hands and resting one on Dwalin's jaw and the other on his shoulder. They stayed like that for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. When they finally broke apart they cleaned up the table and kitchen, before making their way down the hall. With quiet good nights the two parted ways to get some much needed rest.

Chapter Text

The morning came quickly, and with it the mouth watering scent of bacon. Thorin laid in his quiet comfortable bed for a couple moments just enjoying the softness and the lack of urgency. It had been longer than Thorin liked to think about where he could have a lie in and not worry about kingly duties. The creaking of his nephew's door had Thorin freezing in place and opening his eyes to watch the door. When nothing else happened Thorin was getting ready to push up from his bed. When he heard the soft, sleep rasped voices of his nephew’s.

“Sshh, Fi. You’re going to wake up uncle.” Kili whispered, voice unwittingly carrying to Thorin’s room.

“ I am not, Ki.” Fili grumbled.

“I wonder what Bilbo made for first breakfast.” Fili sighed, dragging his feet down the hall away from Thorin’s door.

Thorin laid back in bed relieved knowing everything was okay. Unable to go back to sleep, Thorin got up and began getting ready for the day. Once he was dressed he left his room and wandered down the hall, looking at the decorations. Much to his surprise, many Dwarven art pieces were proudly displayed on the walls. Some of which he recognized as coming from his nephew’s, as well as Bifur and Bofur. Thorin stopped when he heard the sound of laughter coming from the dining area, and started making his way there. He stood in the doorway watching. 

The Hobbit had his back turned to him and was talking animatedly to his nephew’s and Dwalin. Thorin felt Balin step up next to him and the two watched on as the Hobbit brought his story to an end, hands going up in the air in exaggeration as he was met with laughter.

“Is that why you won’t let us meet Elladan and Elrohir?” Fili asked, head in his hands and tilted to the side in curiosity.

“Yes, all of Middle Earth would surely fall should you four meet.” Bilbo snarked, an exaggerated shudder racking his body.

“Are the two of you going to come eat? We have to leave soon.” Dwalin said, gesturing to the two empty seats beside him. Bilbo comes around and sets juice and tea down before leaning over Dwalin’s shoulder to refill his cup.

“Aye, we are. Master Baggins, I saw Dwarven art work on your walls. How did you come by them?” Thorin accused Dwalin's head snapped up and glared at Thorin.

“Most of it was given to me by Fili and Kili while they stayed with me, but other pieces came from Bifur and Bofur. They gave them to me as parting gifts, they also sold some wood figurines to the faunts while they were here.” Bilbo replied, before Dwalin could say anything. He had a hand on his shoulder to calm him. He gave a gentle squeeze before letting go and moving back to his seat.

“I see.” Thorin said, nodding his head slightly and glanced at Balin.

“What can we expect from the soul cleanse?” Kili interjected, changing the topic and trying to break the tension.

“It will be a long and arduous process.” Bilbo sighed, taking a sip of his juice.

“Aunt Adamanta’s mother is the only current master soul cleanser. Grammy will meet with King Thorin today and assess how far the rot has spread. This part is long but painless.” Bilbo muttered, rubbing his hand around his left eye. Picking up a piece of bacon he chewed slowly thinking about his words.

“Grammy will probably want to meet with and assess all of you first, just so she can get a baseline of what is healthy and good for a Dwarf. We’ve only done a soul cleanse on one Dwarrow, but that was in the first age. When Hobbits were more nomadic.” Bilbo ate some more of his breakfast before he decided he was done and got up to put his dishes and the rest of the food up.

“What happened to them?” Kili asked, breakfast forgotten. Intrigue and curiosity written across his face.

“Orcs were first created by manipulating and corrupting the souls of Elves and Men. When Melkor had succeeded with them he moved on to the other races. The Fae fled our world never to return. Pixies turned malevolent and vicious to protect themselves.” Bilbo said, staring out the window over the sink. Sighing he turned back around to face the five Dwarrow.

“It is said when he tried to corrupt a Hobbit they returned to the earth. Into soil, plants and trees. Finally, he got a hold of Dwarrow and tried to corrupt them. Melkor tried to enter their mind and drive them mad, but Mahal had given his Dwarrow a shield of Mithril to protect themselves.” Smiling Fili stood to collect the dishes around the table. 

“Next he tried to corrupt their body, but Mahal made his Dwarrow as resilient as the mountains they call home. Melkor couldn’t get through their mind or body to get to the Dwarrows soul. He was getting angry and frustrated he was letting his guard down.” Bilbo moved towards the table and sat down.

“The Dwarrow saw their chance to flee.” Dwalin stated, his tactical mind running through scenarios. 

“Yes, Melkor left a sharp object close to their cage. The taller Dwarrow grabbed it and almost let it go, it burnt his hand. He gripped it tighter, grit his teeth and swung the makeshift blade as hard as he could. He hit the lock once, twice and finally a third time before it broke and the door opened.” Bilbo looked around at the Dwarrow before him.

“Melkor confronted them before they could make their escape. The taller Dwarf stood in front of the rest with his blade, and Melkor was astounded. The Dwarrow looked at his arm and found that his hand was completely black with black veins running up his arm past his elbow. The blade was cursed.” Kili gasped, immediately making the connection.

“Melkor saw that Dwarrow could be corrupted through objects over a period of time.” Bilbo nodded, smiling at him.

“Yes, but before he could enact anything those Dwarrow escaped his clutches and a couple of months later ran into a group of Hobbits. They were concerned for the taller Dwarf because he was acting differently. Even after he got rid of the cursed object the darkness had spread across his entire body, he resembled more Orc than Dwarf. After a week-long soul cleanse the healer finally cleansed all the rot from his soul.” 

“It took a week?” Fili asked.

“Yes, and it nearly killed both the healer and the Dwarf. Healer Babblingbrooke had to draw on the other Hobbits' power to make sure that he could finish and didn’t leave anything else behind.”

“Will it be that bad for Uncle?” Kili questioned.

“I don’t believe so, but I am not a soul healer. Speaking of which, we will be late if we don’t get moving now.” Bilbo said, hopping out of his chair and heading for the door.

The Dwarrow followed behind grabbing their traveling coats and putting on their shoes. They watched as the Hobbit flitted this way and that way, gathering things into a basket and then shrugging on his coat. After Bilbo locked the door they started walking in silence towards Took Borough.

As they passed the smials children ran out to great Kili, Fili and Dwalin and would shyly wave at Thorin and Balin from behind one of them. The parents and strangers they passed on the street would stop and talk to them about a variety of things. Thorin and Balin were shocked at the welcoming attitude the Hobbits had towards foreigners, and voiced their bewilderment in Khuzdul.

“ Why are the halflings being so open? ” Thorin asked Dwalin.

“ The magic makes us their kin. ”  Dwalin replied, swinging a small child around in a circle before putting her back on the ground.

“Bilbo! Dwalin!” A small child interrupts whatever Thorin was going to respond with by jumping into Bilbo’s arms and then demanding a hug from Dwalin. 

“You came back! Will you play with us again? I told all of my cousins and they want to play with you too!” The little pebble said in a rush, then seemed to notice the other Dwarrow behind him. 

“You brought friends for us to play with!” She gasped, and started wiggling in Dwalins arms. Dwalin set her down and she ran towards Thorin and grabbed his hand.

“ Will you play with me?” She asked, with the biggest saddest pout she could muster.

“I would love to play with you, but I have a meeting with your Grammy first.” Thorin said, smiling at the little girl who still hadn’t let go of his hand. 

“You’ll play with me afterwards right?” She said, gripping his hand with both of hers.

“If I am able to, I will play with you.” Thorin replied, gently squeezing her hands. 

With a squeal the little girl pulls excitedly at Thorin's hand to hurry him along the path. Thorin, smiling and suddenly full of energy sprintz forward to pick the little girl up and place her on his shoulders. He twirls around holding her hands to keep her secure on his shoulder.

“Uncle!” Kili yells. Opening his arms and gesturing towards himself. 

Thorin nods and walks closer to Kili before he grabs the little faunt and tosses her through the air towards Kili. Kili caught her easily and turned towards Fili who was further up the road, and threw her again to his older brother. The young girl let out a laughing scream as she was caught by Fili. The two brothers ran up the path and passed the young girl back and forth, but were interrupted as Bilbo called out to them.

“BOYS! We are here!” Pointing to a smial on the right. Laughing, the boys set the girl down and raced towards the front door. 

“Oh you beat us!” They cried out in unison as the little faunt cheered and high-fived everyone. Before anyone could knock on the smial the door opened and stood in the doorway is none other than Grammy Took.

“Grammy!” The little girl squealed and ran towards her. She was enveloped into a hug and given a kiss on the head.

“Hello, Lilium and Bilbo lad. It has been a while since you last spent any time with your dear old Grammy.” She scolded him while pulling him into a tight hug.

“ I apologize, Grammy.” Bilbo said, returning the hug.

“May I introduce to you Dwalin son of Fundin Captain of the Royal Guard and signee of the alliance between the Dwarrow of Ered Luin and the Hobbits of the Shire.” Dwalin moved forward to stand beside Bilbo and bowed deeply.

“It is a pleasure to meet you.” He rumbled as he straightened up.

“Standing on Dwalins left is King Under the Mountain Thorin II named Oakenshield, son of Thrain. The blonde Dwarf is Heir to the throne Crown Prince Fili son Dis. The Dwarf with the silly grin on his face is Prince Kili son of Dis. Lastly we have Balin, son of Fundin Chief Advisor to the King Under the Mountain.” Bilbo finished, each member he called out came forward and bowed to the older Hobbit.

“It is a pleasure to meet all of you. I am Grammy Alstroemeria. Please come in. I have some poppy seed snack cakes waiting just for you.” Everyone made their way inside the Dwarrow stopping to take off their cloaks, shoes and weapons.

They were escorted into a cozy room off of the main dining area where seven steaming cups of tea and cakes were sitting for them. Grammy Alstroemeria guided everyone to sit around the table. Moving people around to be set in a certain order. Grammy sat with her back to the wall opposite the door they entered through with Thorin directly across from her. Bilbo sat to her left with Dwalin between Bilbo and Thorin. Balin sat on Thorin's left followed by Fili and finally Kili on Grammys' right. Lifting her cup Grammy took a sip, looking at Thorin in contemplation.

She then turned her gaze to Dwalin and studied him. Dwalin met her gaze, the hair on the back of his neck rising and making him tense. Alstroemeria let out a quiet hum as her eyes flickered to Bilbo and back to him. Her attention then turned towards Kili. Who was in the process of stuffing a poppy seed cake in his mouth when their gazes locked. He gave a grin, or as much as he could with his mouth full of cake. 

With a quiet chuckle she moved onto Fili who was looking at Kili in fond exasperation, but his smile dropped as he met her eyes. Fili shifted uncomfortably the longer Grammy Alstroemeria looked at him. Finally her gaze left Fili and rested on Balin. The old advisor was used to maintaining eye contact and wasn’t unnerved by it. What did bother him was her eye color. Her iris was almost iridescent as they locked gazes and she judged his soul.

“Hmm, follow me.” Grammy Alstroemeria said standing and leading them out of the sitting room and further into her smial. 

They passed by guest suites, bathing rooms and activity rooms. The smial seemed impossibly big on the inside as they descended down. At the end of the hall was a set of stone doors with runes carved into them, and a bucket of mysterious liquid sitting beside it. As they got closer to the doors Thorin saw that there were runes carved into the floor in front of the door and along the sides meeting at the top. In the middle of the door were four runes inside a circle with three runes equally spaced around the circle in a triangle. Coming to a stop Grammy Alstroemeria pulled four iron needles from her pocket.

“Each of you will take a needle and prick your finger until you draw blood. Then you will smear the blood on one of the runes.” Fili, Thorin, Balin and Dwalin each pulled a needle and one by one they approached the door and smeared their blood on their chosen rune.

Dipping a brush into a bucket that was next to the door Grammy straightened and brushed the shining liquid along the circle. Then she turned to Bilbo and Kili and held out two shining silver needles. 

“Is that Mithril?” Thorin asked in awe. As the lads and Alstroemeria each stepped forward and smeared their blood on the runes outside the circle.

“It is. These were made in the first age by Durin the Deathless. He said that his Lord our Lady’s Husband commanded him to make them. He didn’t know why until a century or two after he made them. He met healer Babblingbrooke who had healed Durin's own flesh and asked for nothing in return.” 

She was interrupted by a rumbling through the ground. Turning they saw that the doors were opening to allow them entrance. Dwalin, Balin, Fili and Thorin entered first followed by Kili and Bilbo with Alstroemeria bringing up the end holding the bucket that sat outside the doors. Once everyone was inside the doors closed behind them. 

“He gifted healer Babblingbrooke with tools of Mithril to help her and future healers heal corruption. Lay on the stone slabs inside the circle.” Alstroemeria instructed, once everyone was laying on the stone she turned to Bilbo and Kili.

“Stand on one of the runes outside the circle.” They did as she told them to and watched as she took another brush and dipped it into the bucket and made her way to each Dwarf that was lying down and covered their faces with runes.

Once that was complete she stepped out of the circle and gently tipped the bucket to the side to allow a stream of liquid to escape. Grammy slowly made her way around the circle filling it with the shining liquid. Once that was done she made her way to her spot and held her hands slightly out in front of her, palms facing the circle.

“Kili, Bilbo repeat after me. This will be painful for them but no matter what you must not stop chanting.” Getting nods from both of the boys, Alstroemeria began chanting. At first nothing happened and then Thorin let out a blood curdling scream.

Chapter Text

“Bifur, have you seen my pipe?” Bofur asked, looking under the kitchen table and not seeing anything. Bofur straightened up and turned and nearly ran right into Bifur.

“Mahals beard, Bifur. My heart nearly stopped. You are far too quiet, we should get you a bell.” Bofur said, hand over his heart. Bifur merely grunted before holding something out in his hand.

“Ah, my pipe! Wonderful, thank you Bifur.” Nodding Bifur turned to leave when Bofur called after him.

“Why is there dirt in my pipe!?” Bifur let out a loud laugh as he made his way towards their packs and the door. Bofur followed behind him muttering under his breath as he tried to get the dirt out of his pipe.

“Come brother, we must get Bombur so we can leave.” Bifur said in ancient Khuzdul. Opening the door only to see a troupe of Dwarrow rush past them, weapons in hand.

Bofur and Bifur exchanged a quick look between themselves before taking off down the path packs and weapons in hand until they got to the opening of a small clearing. They came to a halt next to Lady Dis, staring at a lone Hobbit lad staring at them with wide eyes. Looking around at the gathered Dwarrow the Hobbit straightened his shoulders and began to speak.

“I have a missive from Dwalin, son of Fundin Captain of the Royal Guard. I was told to await a reply by the Thain of the Shire.” He said holding out a letter. 

Lady Dis flicked her wrist and the guard on her left marched forward and grabbed the letter and delivered it to her. Quickly opening the letter Dis read through it, glanced at the Hobbit and started over again from the beginning.

“What is the meaning of this?” She asked him holding the letter too tightly.

“Wagons are on their way up the mountain and they are only an hour or so behind me. They carry supplies for you.” He said, matter of factly.

“Why are we getting supplies from halflings?” Dis muttered, her teeth grinding together.

“I dare say that was quite rude of you. We are Hobbits my fair lady, we are not half of anything.” He countered with a frown pulling down his lips. Crossing his arms over his chest he continued.

“As for the supplies it has come to our attention that you are not getting the proper food you need. I can understand why this soil seems to be sick.” He bent down and grabbed a handful of soil to inspect before a full body shiver made him drop it and dust his hands off.

“On behalf of your King, Dwalin made an alliance with the Hobbits of the Shire.”

“And your Thain accepted this alliance without meeting with our King?” Dis interrupted, confusion written across her face.

“Yes, the Shire is a land filled with magic. One could almost say that it is sentient, so when it learned that there were people nearby that were suffering, it leaped at the opportunity to help. You may have felt it.” He said, looking at each Dwarrow before him.

“A burst of magic was sent out as soon as the alliance was offered. The air may have smelt cleaner, a child may have slept easier, your aches and pains may have gone away. Some more sensitive to magic may have felt it brush over them as a calm and protective presence.” As the young man said this, Bofur watched Bifur touch the axe embedded in his head, and Lady Dis touched her heart.

“What is expected of us in return?” She questioned softly.

“Nothing. You are citizens of the Shire now, and we take care of our own.” The young Hobbit said with a firm nod of his head.

“Citizens of the- hold on a moment lad.” Dis started only to be interrupted by the Hobbit again.

“Oh dear Yavanna! How rude of me I didn’t introduce myself. I am Dane Lightfoot at your service. I will be in charge of running any correspondents you may have to and from the Thain or other Hobbits.” He bowed with a flourish.

Straightening up the lad turned around and stared into the trees from the direction he came. Bofur shared a look with Bifur and gripped their weapons tighter in anticipation. It was silent for a couple of minutes before they finally heard something. The sound of hooves stomping on the ground. The sound got closer and Bofur could feel his body switch between hot and cold with anxiety. Finally they saw a creature break through the tree line and the confusion was palpable as a cow of some kind came into view followed by a cart with a Hobbit lass at the helm.

“Ah, Petunia! It is wonderful to see you. You got here faster than I thought you would.” Dane said coming forward to offer to help the young lady down.

“Dane dear cousin, they sent you to deliver the messages ahead of us. It’s no wonder we caught up to you so fast.” Petunia said, giving her cousin a hug once she was safely on the ground. Grabbing the reins of the cow she walked the beast closer to where the group of Dwarrow gathered.

“Hello! My name is Petunia Brandybuck at your service. I am a trauma healer. I have food in my cart and have four more carts coming in behind me with the medical supplies. More carts will be coming later this week with the rest of the promised food, and any other supplies. Take me to your camp and I will set up.” No one moved for a minute. Completely caught off guard by the commanding tone of the little lass, no one made a move.

“Dwalin has made an alliance with the Hobbits of the Shire in blood. His letters give a detailed list of the supplies we will be receiving. He says there is no price to be paid.” Dis turned to address the Dwarrow gathered around her in Khuzdul. The gathered Dwarrow lowered their weapons and relaxed at her words. They started talking amongst themselves, finally letting the hope and excitement take over.

“Follow me.” Dis stated in westron to the Hobbits. 

Turning and marching her way back towards the mountain. Bifur and Bofur followed after her and everyone else stayed put allowing the Hobbits to go first and follow behind them. With Two guards staying behind to show the other carts the way. 

“I know you and your brothers had planned on leaving today. I would appreciate it if you delayed your departure so Bombur could help us sort through the food that we will be getting.” Dis said quietly to Bofur.

“We would be happy to help you out in any way we can, Priestess.” Bofur said, Bifur grunted in agreement.

“I am thankful to you. I don’t know what my brother thought he was doing, leaving me here and making me regent in his absence.” Dis muttered, letting her displeasure show on her face.

“You are a Priestess, our ritual keeper. If anything were to happen to you we would be lost. You are highly respected, even if King Thorin chose someone else we would still look to you.” Bifur said, speaking for the first time since they left their home. Dis gave a sharp intake of breath at that. 

She nodded her head finally accepting the role of regent and her importance to their people. They finally made it back to the mountain and Dis turned to look at the Hobbits that were walking behind her.

“The letter Dwalin sent said there would be food being sent along. Those wagons can be set up in our market place, so they can be closer to our kitchen and storage areas.” The Hobbits nodded along.

“Let’s head into the mountain then. This wagon I rode in on has enough food to get us through this week. We are doing an early harvest this year, so we can get the rest of the food up here as quickly as possible.” Petunia said. Bifur held his hand out for the reins so he could guide her cow into the mountain.

“Thank you, darling. Be sure to watch where you put your feet. Tulip is a heavy ox and I know we wouldn’t want any broken bones.” Petunia said, easily handing over the reins. 

“The other wagons have medical supplies, medical personnel and our personal belongings. Please be sure to have them settle near the entrance to the mountain. I want us to be available to whomever may need us.” Petunia ordered, she turned in her seat and spoke to Dane.

“Of course, cousin. I will keep an eye on them to make sure they get into trouble.” He replied cheekily.

“I’ll hold you to that.” She said, with a soft laugh.

“Master Dwalin said that there are two Dwarrow-dams who are expecting correct?” Petunia aimed her question at Dis.

“Aye we do. They live in the mountains in case any unsavory characters decide to attack our settlement up top.” She replied warily.

“Okay, I will need to speak with your head healer once we drop the food off. Pregnant Hobbits need to be outside in the sunlight and interact with the earth or they might lose the baby. Our healers need to know if the Dwarrow biology is that different from our own.” She said looking up at the impressive architecture inside the mountain.

“How does the lack of sunlight and earth make Hobbits lose their children?” Bofur asked, in confusion.

“Our creator is Lady Yavanna, wife to your Lord Aule, and she is the caretaker of all living things. Hobbits are her children, we are intrinsically connected to the earth. So much so that if the earth is sick or dying we can feel it and can become sick or die ourselves.” She paused, to pull a sweater out of a bag on the bench next to her, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“We also have been blessed by our Lady with the ability to heal the land and the people who reside on it. We are also very fertile, every Hobbit has the ability to create life. Man or woman it doesn’t matter.” She finished explaining as they arrived at the kitchens.

“Bombur! We have a surprise for you.” Bofur yelled, gathering their brother's attention.

“A surprise?” Bombur questioned looking between the wagon, the Hobbit and the Dwarrow standing on either side. 

“Aye, Dwalin has sent the Hobbits of the Shire with food for us.” Bofur yelled, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look towards the Hobbit lass.

“Truly?! That is wonderful news. I was just completing our inventory list of what we had in stock. It won’t take me too long to add what is in that wagon onto this list. We can still leave today, as soon as I get this done.” Bombur said, making his way over to their group. 

“Oh no, this isn’t all the food. There are at least a dozen more wagons to follow in the coming days.” Petunia stated, already rummaging around in the back of the wagon. 

“A-a dozen wagons of food?” Bombur questioned, looking at his brothers in confusion.

“Oh Aye. This cart is to get us through the week until the other carts arrive then you’ll be set through winter and spring.” Petunia said, jumping out of the back of her cart with a box in her arms.

“Of course when spring rolls around you’ll probably have some Hobbits migrating to settle on the mountain with ya. Having seen the absolutely stunning work the Stone mason’s and the woodsmiths did at Master Baggins house I know for sure there will be many Hobbit’s commissioning work from you to build a new home on the mountain.” Petunia rounded the cart to see all the Dwarrow standing in stunned silence.

“You know Master Bilbo?” Bifur grunted, in Khuzdul.

“I’m sorry, dear one. I didn’t understand that.” The lass said, smiling slightly at Bifur before turning and placing the box down. Bifur turned and nudged Bofur and gestured towards the small lady.

“Oh, sorry. He said,`Do you know Master Bilbo?’” Bofur said, taking his hat off and wringing it in between his hands.

“Yes of course! He’s the Hobbit Master Dwalin made an alliance with.” Bofur, Bifur and Bombur were excited about that news while Dis tilted her head in confusion.

“Bilbo Baggins. Where have I heard that name before?” Lady Dis muttered.

“We recommended Master Bilbo to you and Thorin when Fili and Kili wanted to go work in the world beyond Ered Luin.” Bifur stated, his Khuzdul clearer in his excitement.

“He is also the lad we worked for when we were in Hobbiton. Oh I hope we get to see him when we get to the rendezvous spot with the others.” Bofur said.

“If you're going to be meeting up with Master Dwalin then you sure will see Mr. Baggins. Lately all the Dwarrow coming into Hobbiton have lodgings at Master Baggins home in Bag End.” Petunia said, moving to grab another box only for it to be grabbed for her by a nearby Dwarrow.

“Thank you!” She said, a large grin stretching across her face.

“Yer welcome.” was the gruff response as the Dwarrow quickly spun away from her and went to deposit the box by the first one. 

“Do you know how many Dwarrow have made it to Master Baggins' home?” Lady Dis asked, thinking about her sons making the journey safely. 

“I passed a white haired Dwarrow on my way to Annuminas by lake Evendim. A day or so later I made camp on that side of the river Lhun Fili and Kili were on their way and camped with me. It was so nice to see them again. That was the last Dwarrow I saw on my way here. The others may know more.” Petunia finished, trying to help unload the wagon but kept getting redirected. 

“How do you know my sons?” Dis asked, shock and suspicion written across her face.

“Master Baggins brought Kili and Fili to young Drogo’s birthday party, and they fit right in. Those boys of yours are a delight! All of the ladies and even some lads are quite smitten with them. The faunts love them both, not as much as Master Baggins, I’m quite sure if he could he would adopt them.” Petunia said, in a rush coming to stand by Lady Dis.

“Adopt them?” Dis said looking at Bofur in confusion.

“Oh aye. That's the last of the supplies from my cart. I think we should head back up and see if the rest of the caravans have arrived yet.” Petunia said, gliding past the stunned Lady Dis and moving to hop onto her cart. 

The trek back to the surface was quiet for the most part, Petunia kept asking questions here and there about the architecture. When they made it to the door Petunia noticed runes carved up both sides.

“What do those runes mean?” She asked Bofur, who has been answering her questions.

“They are well wishes for safe travel and return home.” Surprisingly Dis answered, stopping to gently touch the runes along the wall.

“All Dwarven settlements are gifted them by our creator Aule. To keep us safe and to guard our entrances while we are settling in. The magic in these runes has been sucked dry in an attempt by the previous Dwarrow to refresh the mines, but all it accomplished was making them that much more vulnerable to raids.” Lady Dis’s hand clenched into a fist anger reawakened by the foolishness of their kin.

“Why don’t you replenish the magic?” Petunia asked, getting off her cart to come stand close to Dis.

“We lost many things when we took refuge here. We lost our home, our people, our knowledge and our magic. Our last ritual keeper died of infection before they could teach me very much. I don’t have even a fourth of the knowledge they did.” Dis smoothed her hand down the stone before letting it drop. Petunia hesitantly put her hand up as if to touch the runes, turning to Dis she glanced at her for just a moment before her hand made contact with the wall. At first nothing happened and unbeknownst to everyone in the room but Petunia the rune underneath her hand flashed green. She removed her hand and looked at Dis again.

“I am sorry for the great loss you and your people have suffered. I am not so sorry that I got to meet you, or any of the other gentle Dwarrow. We will help you in any way we can. Thank you for sharing this with me.” Petunia gave a small smile, looked up at the runes again before turning and walking out of the entrance.

“Speak up las! I cannae hear ya.” Turning Petunia looked to her left and saw a greying Dwarf holding an ear horn up while trying to listen to one of the Hobbits that must have arrived while they were down in the mountain. 

“Ah, Petunia I would like you to meet Oin. He is the head of our healer guild, he will be working closely with you for a couple of days’ but he will be leaving to join my sons at Master Baggins.” Lady Dis said, leading Petunia up to the group of Hobbits and Dwarrow.

“Then you will be working with his apprentice and the precious few other healers we have.” She finished coming to a stop next to Oin’s shoulder.

“ Oin, let me introduce you to Petunia, she is a trauma healer. She will be working with you and your apprentice Granute.” Dis said sweeping her arm towards the Hobbit at her side.

“She has trauma? She seems fine.” He said, looking the girl over in concern.

“Oh, no. She meant I heal physical trauma and will be working with you and your apprentice.” Petunia said, speaking clear and enunciating her words so Oin can hear her.

“Hello, pleasure to meet you! I will only be here for the next three days, then you will be dealing with my dolt of an apprentice.” He said, gesturing to the young man behind him. Granite rolled his eyes but nodded his head in acknowledgment at Petunia.

“Wonderful, Dane! Will you take care of Tulip for me please. Now Oin, give me a quick rundown of all your current patients and the medicines you’ve already given them. Cicily has the list of medicines each cart has and how they are labeled.” Oin gestured for Granute to go find Cicily and took the Hobbit towards his makeshift hospital tent. 

Lady Dis watched them walk away before turning and looking towards the right side where the other Hobbits had already started to set up tents and beds for their new patients. She watched as they ran around each other laughing and giggling as they organized. Dis put her hand over her heart, remembering the warmth that had filled her the night before her children left for the Shire. Being around so many Hobbits the warmth slowly started filling her chest again.

Dis sent a quick prayer up to Mahal as she entered the mountain thanking him for this unexpected gift and hoping they wouldn’t have to feel the sting of betrayal once more.

Chapter Text

Bilbo glanced around the room at the Dwarrow laid onto the stone slabs. After Thorin’s first scream the others were quick to follow suit not having expected the severe pain. Bilbo wanted very badly to offer words of comfort but he had to keep chanting with the others. Glancing to his left Bilbo felt pride swell in his chest to see Kili chanting with a determined look on his face. Kili was subconsciously reaching in and tapping into his magic stores. Bilbo watched as the purple hued magic washed over their group in waves. 

He kept a strong steady force over each of the Dwarrow it seemed to be helping their cause to rid the Dwarrow of the gold sickness, and to help prevent it. Bilbo looked to his Grammy to see her already taking in the vibrant magic and giving a warm smile towards Kili. Bilbo looked back at Dwalin and noticed that shimmering gold was being pulled from his body and dripping to the floor. Glancing at Fili and the others showed the same thing happening to them as well. With renewed determination Bilbo chanted louder and with more passion to draw the sickness out of his new friends. 

Slowly Fili and Dwalin stopped screaming and seemed to lay there panting, their cleansing was complete. Balin and Thorin continued screaming and started thrashing on their stone slabs. The sickness was fighting back and didn’t want to leave. Suddenly two new voices joined in the chanting.

“Veni ad me, Domine et Domina. Sana hunc spiritum, sana hanc animam. Venite ad me Domine et Domina. Mens et corpus erit sanum.” Dwalin's deep voice rasped out, his head turned to the side to see his brother. 

Fili repeated the words, his voice hoarse from screaming, and all his attention was on Thorin. Balin stopped thrashing, his scream was stuck in his throat and his face was twisted in pain. Until finally he sagged against the stone beneath him exhausted. Everyone's attention turned to Thorin who was still thrashing and screaming. The pool of gold around his stone was by far the biggest, as the chants focused solely on him the gold liquid seemed to be pulled out of him faster and faster. Until finally with one last scream and his back bowing up off the table the gold stopped flowing. Thorin was still and the chanting slowed to a stop, everyone was still gathering their strength. 

“Everyone stay where you are. This is not over yet, there are still two more things we must do. Thorin, Fili, Balin and Dwalin disrobe and lay your clothes on the gold.” Grammy said, stepping out of her circle and towards the closest Dwarf, Fili. 

Each Dwarrow hastened to do as she asked, letting their clothes fall into piles beside their stone slabs. She reached into the concealed pocket on her dress and pulled out a kindling set. Grammy sprinkled the dried herbs on the quickly drying pools of gold and clothing around Fili’s stone. Then she quickly struck two smooth rocks together and the herbs caught the sparks and a bright cerulean flame sprang to life and burned the pool of gold and clothes leaving nothing but a pleasant smell in its wake. She repeated this process with the other three Dwarrow, and quickly finished off the last of the gold sickness. 

“Now we will take you to the baths. These baths will be filled with herbs, ointment and salts to help sooth you. This was a very stressful day, and your body, mind and soul needs to rest and recuperate.” Grammy said gently, helping Balin down from his slab. 

Bilbo moved to help Dwalin and Kili helped Fili. Then together both boys helped Thorin off his slab, the group moved slowly towards the door they entered through. They walked down the hallway a short distance and stopped at a bathing room. There were four tubs in the room, Grammy and Bilbo made short work of filling each tub with steaming water. They added some lavender, jasmine, rosemary and peppermint. Followed by some type of salt that they mixed into the water, and lastly they poured in a clear ointment. Dwalin was the first to get in his tub and he lowered himself down with a groan.

“What kind of ointment did you put in the baths?” Dwalin drawled, eyes closed and resting his head against the edge of the tub. 

“It is my own mix of muscle relaxant and pain reliever. I brew a big batch for myself and Grammy before I leave on a journey.” Bilbo said, standing beside Dwalin’s tub watching him relax. 

“That cleansing took its toll on your body just as much as on your mind and soul. The muscle relaxant and hot water will loosen up your muscles. The pain reliever will help with any pain from the gold being pulled from your body.” Bilbo paused, and moved towards Fili to help him into the tub.

“The salt is called epsom salt, and it helps soften skin, reduce soreness and reduce stress. The herbs we added will soak the water with their scent and the steam will help ease your mind.” Bilbo finished, returning to Dwalins’ side. 

“Kili, Bilbo and I will leave you to soak in the tub for a while. If you have any need for us please pull the cord that is attached to each bathtub. There are spare clothes for you in the cupboard with the towels, and food will be waiting for you whenever you’re ready to get out.” Grammy said, ushering the other two from the room and towards the kitchen.

“Do you think they could be convinced to stay the night and let themselves recover before making their way back to Bag End?” Grammy asked, once they were in the kitchen.

“No.” Kili and Bilbo said simultaneously, giving each other a tired grin Kili continued.

“Please do not take offense. They will want to stay somewhere they feel safe.”

“I understand, It is just about supper time. I will make a simple hearty snack and when you get home make them something with meat and rice in it. It will help rejuvenate their systems.” Grammy explained, as she puttered around the kitchen putting together some food. 

Bilbo made some chamomile tea while they waited. It wasn’t much long before they heard the patter of bare feet coming up the hallway. Bilbo looked up and saw Fili enter first followed closely by Thorin and Balin with Dwalin bringing up the rear. Each of them had on the same simple blue tunic over black trousers, and they each looked like they would fall asleep standing. Bilbo smiled softly as he got up and moved over to greet them.

“How do you feel?” Bilbo asked quietly.

“Tired, like I could sleep for the rest of my life.” Fili mumbled, dragging Bilbo into a hug and leaning heavily against his smaller body.

“We will go home shortly. You have to eat a small snack and drink some water before we can leave.” Bilbo said, gently rubbing Fili’s back and hugging the young Dwarf to him. Turning Bilbo handed Fili over to his brother who had been standing behind them silently.

“How are you guys feeling?” Bilbo asked as they took seats around Grammy Alstroemeria’s table. 

“My mind feels clear. As if I had been living in a fog, only now after the cleansing my mind is free. Before, I didn’t think that curse affected me too much, but now I know the effect and am happy to be rid of it.” Thorin said, staring at the food before him. The table was quiet as everyone took in what Thorin was saying.

“Please, tell me Alstroemeria that this is a permanent solution. That we are rid of this curse for good.” Thorin pleaded, the desperation clear in his tone as his eyes seeked out the iridescent orbs of the old healer.

“Please, put your mind at ease. Today we not only cleansed your soul but your bloodline as well. You are no longer susceptible to dragon sickness, even if a dragon itself were to curse you using your own blood.” Grammy said, reaching out and taking a hold of Thorin's hand. Thorin gripped her hand back as if it was his lifeline to this plane.

“Unfortunately, this curse scar will remain. Curse scars are neigh-on impossible to get rid of, but do not let this be a reminder of weakness. You were already fighting the curse on your own, keeping it at bay with the tremendous love you have for your people.” Grammy stroked over the scar on Thorin’s right ring finger.

“Thank you.” Thorin murmured, he brought Grammy’s fingers up to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. 

“Oh my, you’ll make this old woman swoon if you keep that up young man.” Grammy teased, fanning herself with her unoccupied hand. 

That wrung quiet chuckles from everyone at the table and they ate the rest of their meal in silence. Once everyone had finished they all gathered at the door to wish Grammy goodbye.

“This is the last time I will see any of you. I feel a pull towards Ered Luin. It is finally time to pass along my knowledge to the next Spirit Leader.” Grammy said, staring in the direction of the mountain.

“Oh, is it one of the Hobbits that have gone to settle on our mountain?” Balin queried.

“No, Dwalin and Bilbo have corrected our path. We are now on the path our creators had intended for us. We were always intended to live together in harmony, so the next Spirit Leader will be Dwarrow born.” Grammy said, a smile breaking out on her face. 

“My sister, Dis, is our current Priestess, you may find what you’re looking for with her.” Thorin said, bowing to Grammy as he exited her smial.

“Oh, I just might.” Grammy muttered, she stood watching as they made their way down the path back towards Bilbo’s smial.

The walk back to Bilbo’s smial was a quiet one, everyone was exhausted from the cleansing and just wanted to eat and fall into bed. They made it back to Bilbo’s smial without incident. Bilbo and Fili made their way towards the kitchen while Thorin pulled Kili into the living area. They all settled in and almost immediately started to fall asleep while Bilbo and Fili made supper. 

Fili was cleaning a huge pot of rice for everyone while Bilbo prepared the cucumbers, quinoa, cherry tomatoes, avocados, and olives. Fili put the rice on to boil and started on the dressing. Once the vegetables were prepared Bilbo moved on to the chicken. He turned on the stove and coated the pan in olive oil and set it to heat up. Bilbo grabbed some oregano and garlic and added it to the hot pan. Then he seasoned the chicken breasts with salt and pepper before adding them as well.

Once the rice was finished cooking Fili scooped some out into bowls then added the vegetables Bilbo prepared earlier. Once the chicken finished cooking Bilbo sliced it up into strips and added it to the top of the bowls. Right as Bilbo was placing everything onto the table there was a knock at the door.

“Fi, will you finish this for me, please?” Bilbo asked, as he wiped his hands down on the kitchen towel next to the stove.

“Of course.” Fili answered, moving to get cups. Bilbo was met in the front hall by Dwalin who had gotten up to answer the door.

“It’s okay, I got it, you can grab the others and take them to the dining room.” Bilbo smiled softly and rested his hand on Dwalin’s forearm. Dwalin grunted and moved to do as Bilbo asked. Bilbo opened the door only to be bowled over by two very enthusiastic Dwarrow. 

“Bilbo! Oh we missed you something awful.” Bofur said, standing up and gripping his hat between his hands as Bifur helped Bilbo to stand.

“ Aye, when Ms. Petunia told us that all the Dwarrow were coming here, to your home we could not wait to leave. ” Bifur added, while they were not strictly allowed to teach Bilbo Khuzdul he was able to pick up on a couple words during their stay here.

“Welcome friends, there lay a fierce for you. Enjoy the hostility of my home.” Bilbo tried out the greeting he had learned from Bifur and Bofur during their last stay with him.

“Haha! That was so close! You’re still getting fierce and feast as well as hospitality and hostility mixed up.” Bofur said, then out right laughed at the pout Bilbo shot him.

“I didn’t know that you could speak Khuzdul.” Thorin said, standing in the hallway surrounded by the other Dwarrow.

“ I am extremely good with languages, excluding Hobbitish. I speak Quenya or High Elven, Sindarian and Rohirric. Bofur told me that you cannot teach outsiders your language, but I was able to pick up some words while they worked or when they had a conversation with each other.” Bilbo said, turning to face Thorin head on and putting himself in between the two groups.

“Peace Bilbo, I was only curious. No one is in trouble, our two races are kin now, yes?” Thorin asked, holding his hands up palms forward and taking slow steps towards the four in the doorway.

“King Thorin?” Bombur asked, unsure about the sudden change of character.

“It’s gone.” Bofur said, his hat back in place and his eyes unfocused and looking around Thorin.

“What is?” Bombur asked.

“The shadow that was tainting his soul. It’s gone.” Bofur confirmed, staring back at Thorin with clear awe filled eyes.

Chapter Text

Once everyone was settled at the table with food and beverages passed around Kili started telling an elaborate tale of how two Hobbits and a Dwarf defeated the dastardly gold sickness and sealed the During bloodline so that such a thing could never happen again. Bofur was nodding and cheering along the Kili’s tale deceiving everyone into thinking he believed what the young prince said. At the end of the tale he turned to Bilbo.

“How much of what the lad said is true?” He asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Hey!” Kili shouted in indignation. Everyone laughed as the young man pouted and picked at his food petulantly.

“All of it.” Bilbo said plainly. Wiping his mouth and sending a small smile to the now smug Kili.

“Grammy, Kili and I did a cleansing that cleared the gold sickness from them and sealed the bloodline so it couldn’t happen again.” Bilbo paused and glanced at Thorin.

“I think though, just to be safe, that it would be best if the Ring of Power stayed lost. Since we believe it was the catalyst for the curse anyway.” Bilbo said cautiously, not wanting to offend the King.

“I believe you would be correct Mr. Baggins.” Thorin said, he sighed and slumped in his chair before speaking again. 

“I wish there was a way for any jewels, or jewelry to be assessed and deemed benign. I would make it a law and enforce it through our guilds, that every piece needed to be tested and passed before being sold.” Thorin murmured, finishing his drink before straightening up. 

“Hobbits do something similar with soil, right Bilbo?” Kili asked, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

“We do, I can write to our Shamans, they deal with sickness in the land, and see if they know anything we could use for that. I will also write a letter to Grammy and ask her the same.” Bilbo said, grabbing his bowl and cup and standing from the table. 

“I’ve got the dishes Bilbo.” Balin called out, standing as well and joining him.

“Thank you, Balin. Bifur, Bofur and Bombur, if you follow me I can escort you to your rooms and the bathing chamber.” Bilbo said, gesturing to the hall. 

They followed him down the hall Bifur and Bofur took the rooms across from Balin’s room and Bombur got the room next to Balin. Once they grabbed a change of clothes and set their things down Bilbo showed each of them to their bathing chambers. Bilbo filled each tub with warm water and let them know if they needed anything they could pull the cord in the corner. Once he had seen to them Bilbo made his way to his study to begin drafting his letters. 

Bilbo quickly finished his letters to both Grammy and the numerous Shaman in the Shire and picked up his pipe and Old Toby tobacco and decided he would sit down for a smoke after putting his letters in his box. Walking outside Bilbo deposited his letters in his box and made his way up to the bench by the door. Sitting down Bilbo packed his pipe and lit it taking a long drag before blowing a smoke ring. As he watched the ring drift off Bilbo thought back on the last few days, and the new spark of life that’s been infused into his home. 

Mother would have loved this. Bilbo thought as laughter drifted to him through the opened window. A sad smile graced his face as he thought of his mother’s laughter joining that of Fili and Kili’s. Blowing another smoke ring Bilbo closed his eyes and let the sound of family wash over him. That’s how Fili and Kili found him eyes closed with a small smile and his pipe slowly dying.

“Bilbo?” Fili questioned uncertainty, not wanting to interrupt. 

Bilbo cracked open one eye and glanced at the two young men standing in his doorway. Smiling, Bilbo patted the seat on either side of him. Both young men jumped and settled into Bilbo’s sides.

“Are you okay?” Kili questioned, laying his head on Bilbo’s shoulder. 

“Yes, it has been a long time since my home has been so full.” Bilbo started, patting Kili’s hair and running his hand along Fili’s back.

“Hobbits are not meant to be solitary creatures. My mother and father tried so hard to conceive and were so relieved when they finally conceived me, but they were unable to have any more children.” Bilbo paused and passed his pipe to Fili. He learned that Kili didn’t like to smoke.

“Why didn’t you live with any family members or have someone live with you?” Fili asked, trying to replicate a smoke ring.

“I was six years from my majority when my parents died. I've always been more mature than children my own age, so the Thain gave me a choice. I could move in with my closest relatives and have them take on the Baggins name until I hit my majority.” Bilbo paused and took the pipe back from Fili, puffing on it for a bit before passing it back.

“Or, I could claim the Head of the Baggins family early and take on all of the responsibility of being head of an almost extinct family.” Bilbo said, sighing as he leaned into Kili a bit more.

“You choose to become the Head of the Baggins clan.” Kili said with certainty. 

“That’s right. It’s been twenty four years since I became head of the Baggins clan, twenty four long lonely years by myself.” Bilbo replied, puffing on his pipe some more showing Fili how to blow a proper smoke ring.

“I still don’t know why you didn’t have someone live with you.” Fili said, watching the way Bilbo blew smoke rings easily.

“To invite someone not related to you to live in your home is the equivalent of asking them to be your life partner. Inviting a relative to live with him would seem like he couldn’t handle the responsibility of being clan head.” Kili responded, tilting his head back to check that he got it right with Bilbo.

“Correct, even all these years later it would seem like that. I could marry a lad or lass and build the Baggins clan, but I want to marry for love. As silly as it sounds, my parents were soulmates, they used to tell me all the time about how they met.” Bilbo smiled a silly grin at the two youths beside him.

“My mother was an adventurer and she pursued my father. She came home from visiting the Elves of Rivendell and saw him for the first time in the marketplace. As soon as she saw him she said she felt magic run down her spine, and proclaimed it was love at first sight.” Bilbo tapped the ashes out of his pipe.

“My father always interrupted her and said ‘You didn’t even see my face, only my buttocks.’ and my mother always responded with ‘It was such a wonderful buttocks I couldn’t help but fall in love with you.’” That earned a chuckle from all three seated on the bench. Everyone was silent for a moment before Kili jumped up and exclaimed.

“Because we are staying here with you will the other Hobbits see it as us trying to claim you as our life partner?” Surprised Bilbo couldn’t help but let out a full belly laugh. Seeing the older Hobbit laugh made both Fili and Kili smile. Once his laughing died down Bilbo responded to Kili.

“No, not at all. When Dwalin and I made the alliance the magic needed at least a day to settle and it was already late, so it was only natural for him and any other Dwarrow to stay with me.” Fili nodded along in understanding.

“What about once the alliance has settled? If say, Dwalin, was to stay with you, what would that be considered?” Fili asked, a sly glance directed at his brother. Kili returned Fili’s look with one filled with warning. 

“That would really depend on the situation. Of course, everyone in the company is more than welcome in my home. I dare say, I would miss the lot of you should you leave and not visit.” Bilbo said, tilting his head to the side.

“If there was no reclaiming the mountain and this meeting was only about the alliance, if Dwalin were to stay with me in my home, after the other Dwarrow have left, the Hobbit population would see it more as a political arrangement.” Bilbo replied, standing and stretching.

“But, if Dwalin were to leave with the other Dwarrow and come back after a stretch of time it would be seen in a more romantic light.” Seeing the confused looks on the young lads faces Bilbo smiled.

“What I mean to say is, to the people of the Shire, if Dwalin were to return to his home in the mountain for a couple months, then show back up at my door with the intent to live with me, permanently. To them it would be a declaration of engagement.” Bilbo replied, ushering the lads to the door. No one noticed a shadow move quickly passed the open window.

“You have to understand, to Hobbits' home and hearth are one of the most important things to us. To have someone abandon their home for yours, shows that their home is wherever you are.” Opening the door Bilbo let Fili and Kili in first then closed and locked the door.

“On the other hand, say if I was willing to settle in Erebor after it is reclaimed that would be seen as a more political move than a personal one. Even if I am doing it for personal reasons.” Bilbo walked the boys down the hallway to their room. They said goodnight at their doors and went to bed. The shadow stood in the hallway with a contemplative look on their face before quietly making their way to their own room. 

Loud banging woke Bilbo from his sleep, looking out the window he noticed the sun hadn’t risen yet. 

“It is not even time for first breakfast. Who could possibly be at the door at this time?” Bilbo grumbled, pulling on his robe and making his way to the front door. 

In his half asleep state Bilbo didn’t notice the shadow of a tall figure following behind him. As he neared the doors the knocking sounded once again, and Bilbo called out to the person on the other side.

“I’m coming, just a moment. Please, stop banging on the door, you will wake the others.” Once he reached the door he took the time to unlock it and took a deep breath in before opening it.

“Hello, my name is Bilbo Baggins. How can I help you?” Bilbo asked the three Dwarrow in front of him.

“H-hello Mr. Baggins, my name is O-ori son of Ri. These are my brothers Dori an-and Nori at your service.” Dori and Ori bowed while Nori just gave a two fingered salute. 

“Oh, Ori! It is so good to finally meet you in person. Fili and Kili have told me much about you, and I have enjoyed your letters immensely.” Bilbo exclaimed, stepping forward and seeping the young Dwarf up in a hug. Surprising Dori and Nori who tensed up until Bilbo let go of their younger sibling.

“Dori and Nori, it is great to finally put faces to your names. Ori talks about you two in his letters. It is a pleasure to meet you.” Bilbo said, reaching forward and enthusiastically shaking both Dori and Nori’s hand.

“Come in, come in. I will show you to your rooms and the bathroom and get started on first breakfast.” Bilbo moved aside so his guest could come in and in doing so bumped into a solid figure behind him.

“Oh good morning, Dwalin. We didn’t wake you did we?” Bilbo asked, tilting his head back to look up at Dwalin upside down. With all four Dwarrow and a Hobbit crowded in the entryway there wasn’t enough room to maneuver around the tall Dwarf.

“You did not, no, but they did with their incessant pounding on the door.” Dwalin grumbled, Bilbo could feel the vibrations of his words against his back.

“Oh so sorry about that. Since you're up you can help me with breakfast.” Bilbo said, leaning his head back some more and brushing against Dwalin’s beard.

“Of course.” Dwalin said he inched his way around Bilbo and the other three Dwarrow then turned and made his way to the kitchen.

“Alrighty, follow me and I will take you to your rooms.” Turning Bilbo missed the looks the three Dwarrow exchanged and headed down the hall. 

Dori and Ori were settled into rooms next to Bifur while Nori was next to Bofur. Once they had settled in Bilbo brought them to their bathing chambers and explained where everything was for each of them and how to call for him if they needed anything. Making his way back to the kitchen Bilbo was pleasantly surprised to find hot tea waiting for him.

“Thank you, Dwalin.” Bilbo murmured, sitting down and enjoying his tea. 

They enjoyed their tea in companionable silence once the tea was gone Bilbo got up to start breakfast. He decided on crepes with a cream filling and strawberries. Getting out a griddle Bilbo lit the stove and placed the griddle on top he set a square of butter on it to start melting.

“Dwalin, can you grab the flour, salt, strawberries and sugar from the pantry, please?” Bilbo asked, glancing at the broad shoulders behind him. 

With a nod Dwalin got up and made his way to the pantry. Bilbo grabbed four eggs, oil and vanilla from the counter and went to cold storage to get milk and cream cheese. When he came back Dwalin had the dry ingredients he needed waiting for him.

“Thank you, Dwalin.” Bilbo said, absently patting the Dwarf on his arm.

“What are ya making?” Dwalin mumbled, his voice still rough with sleep despite the tea he had.

“Crepes with cream filling and strawberries. They’re a lot like pancakes, just sweeter.” Bilbo said, measuring out all the ingredients before adding them into the bowl and mixing.

“Do you think Fili and Kili need sweets this early in the morning?” Dwalin asked, raising an eyebrow at the Hobbit.

“Usually, I would agree with you, but everyone had such a trying day yesterday. I thought a little bit of sweet would be a good reward.” Covering the food Bilbo quickly took it to the cold storage room and set it on top of some ice before coming out and starting on the filling. 

“You’re sweet enough for the lot of us I believe.” Dwalin said casually as he started cutting up strawberries.

 Flustered, Bilbo went back down to grab the crepe mix he let rest earlier and got started making crepes. Dwalin watched closely over the Hobbits shoulder as he thinned the batter on the griddle and let it cook for a minute before flipping it over onto the other side. Once Bilbo had made about six crepes Dwalin started setting the table for five people. After everything was ready Dwalin turned and watched the small Hobbit spread the cream and strawberries along each crepe and roll it up. Dwalin walked up to the Hobbit after he finished the last crepe and pressed to his back as he reached over his shoulder to grab the remaining strawberries and crepe to take them to the table.

Bilbo walked to the cold storage one last time to grab juice and distract himself from the lingering feel of Dwalin pressed against his back. Bilbo started to fill up cups with juice when he heard the sound of small feet making their way to the kitchen. Looking up Bilbo saw little Ori looking around the kitchen with both of his brothers not far behind.

“Hello! Come have a seat, we just finished.” Bilbo grinned as Ori happily made his way to a seat beside Dwalin. His brothers were a little more hesitant.

Dwalin sat down and pulled Bilbo’s seat out for him and once Bilbo was seated the other two sat down as well.

“It looks delicious, Master Baggins.” Dori began, but was interrupted by the small Hobbit.

“Oh pish posh, none of that formality now. You can call me Bilbo.” Another smile was directed Dori’s way.

“Bilbo then, it looks wonderful, but what is it?” Dori questioned.

“They’re called crepes, similar to pancakes only thinner.” Bilbo watched as Dori took a bite and let out a surprised oh. With a small huff of breath at the exclamation Bilbo set to eating and everyone else followed his example.

“Young Kili told me that you were going to be the scribe on our journey to Erebor Ori. Are you excited?” Bilbo asked once they finished with their food.

“I’m more nervous than excited.” Ori answered honestly, turning to face their host.

“That’s understandable, you are just passed your majority. This is going to be an arduous journey and there is always risk when traveling great distances.” Bilbo nodded his head, ignoring the glare that Dori sent his way.

“But, you will be surrounded by friends and warriors who will teach you how to navigate the new environment you’re in. I am sure that by the end of our journey you will be not only a scribe but a warrior scribe.” Bilbo said, winking at Ori. He started gathering his plates intent to properly get ready for the day and start second breakfast.

“You really think so?” Ori whispered, making Bilbo’s ears twitch to try and catch the sound.

“Oh Ori, I know so.” Ori gave a watery smile and followed Bilbo to the sink. 

Once all the dishes were washed Bilbo retired to his room to bathe and get ready for the day. After bathing Bilbo dressed for the day and used a damp towel to dry his hair. With damp hair Bilbo began to separate his hair out bringing a few pieces to frame his face and braid the rest back in a loose plait. Brushing out the hair on his feet Bilbo deemed himself ready enough to leave his room. On his way back to the kitchen Bilbo ran into Bifur and Bombur and he walked back with them to get started on the second breakfast. 

“Is there anything I can help with Master Baggins? I am the Master Chef in the blue mountains. I would be happy to help.” Bombur asked, with a small smile on his face.

“Sure! I am making a full breakfast with the addition of pancakes. I have left over batter from when we made crepes this morning. Feel free to pick up anything and get started.” Bilbo said, already laying bacon on a pan to put in the oven. 

Nodding Bombur went to familiarize himself with Bilbo’s pantry. Bilbo popped the first tray of bacon into the oven and started to prepare the next one. Bombur came out of the pantry with tomatoes, beans, sausage and eggs. Working together Bilbo and Bombur had everything ready to go in a short amount of time, and on the table just as the rest of the Dwarves started to make their way in.

Bilbo watched as everyone sat down and started eating, the low murmur of the others talking beat back the loneliness that usually accompanied Bilbo. He had a smile on his face as he started to eat his own food. Feeling a knee knock into his own Bilbo looked up into Dwalin’s eyes and saw the concern for him there. Bilbo gave Dwalin a wide grin to reassure his friend that there wasn’t anything wrong. Once the dishes were clean everyone moved to settle into the living room. 

Bilbo sat in his arm chair with Dwalin on his right and Fili settling onto the floor in front of him, with his hair undone and hanging loosely around his face. Fili reached back and handed Bilbo a small brush. Taking the brush Bilbo began to slowly and gently work the bristles through Fili’s hair. Neither noticed when the low talking came to a halt, or the many eyes trained on them. Once the lads' hair was brushed out Bilbo traded the brush in for the beads that usually adorn the blonde mane. Separating each piece out Bilbo began to braid his hair with an ease that surprised everyone.

 “Did Fili and Kili teach you how to do Dwarven braids?” Bofur asked.

“I would watch them do each others hair, during one of their rest days Mrs. Gamgee came over for tea and brought her youngest daughter with her.” Smiling at the memory Bilbo slipped the bead in place at the end of the braid.

“She demanded that I plait her hair like I did mine, so we spent half an hour brushing out her hair and braiding it. She fell asleep halfway through so once we were finished Mrs. Gamgee took her back home. That night after dinner both boys asked if I wouldn’t mind doing their hair.” Braiding the next section Bilbo readied the next bead to be added.

“Fili would walk me through Kili’s braids and vice versa with Kili. At the time they couldn’t tell me why they had to do those specific braids but I assumed it was a status symbol. Or a way to identify their lineage.” Finished with that braid, Bilbo smoothed down Fili’s hair finger brushing through the silk like strands. Bilbo noticed Kili already had his hair done.

“How many more should I expect to be joining us for the journey to Erebor?” Bilbo asked, leaning back in his chair Fili resting against his legs.

“We are just waiting on two more. Oin and Gloin. Oin is our healer and Gloin is our treasurer.” Dwalin said.

“Don’t forget Tharkun.” Kili helpfully reminded everyone.

“Who is Tharkun?” Bilbo asked, confusion written across his face.

“The wizard, you may know him as Gandalf.” Thorin replied.

“Of course, I should have known that Gandalf was behind all this. Stupid meddling wizard.” Bilbo muttered, missing the grins Kili and Fili sent him.

“Why does just his name cause such a reaction?” Bombur asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

“He sticks his nose in places it does not belong. He comes to town whenever he pleases and causes trouble.” Bilbo was getting visibly upset.

“The last time he came through I wasn’t even here, and he helped himself to my home. He pilfered through my belongings in my study, obviously looking for something and not finding it. He threw everything on the floor.” Standing up Bilbo paced in front of the fireplace.

“It took me a month to straighten out my study when I got back. Only after I put everything back in order did I notice one of my fathers maps missing.” In his agitation Bilbo had pulled his top lip back to expose his teeth in a sneer. Dwalin couldn’t look away; he was entranced by the irate Hobbit.

“Bil-Bilbo?” Came the timid voice of Kili. He had never seen Bilbo so angry. 

He was almost frightened to bring attention to himself. At the call of his name Bilbo paused in his pacing, closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. When he opened his eyes again his anger had been banked and he felt calm enough to answer Kili.

“I am sorry for my behavior, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” As he spoke Bilbo dropped his shoulders down and tried to relax his tense muscles. 

“It’s alright, I’ve just never seen you so angry before.” Kili replied, standing up and taking hesitant steps to Bilbo.

“I don’t usually have anything to be angry about.” Bilbo replied, opening his arms for the young Dwarf. Kili went willingly to him and gave him a tight hug.

“The map he stole was a Dwarvish map. It was the last gift my father gave to my mother before they passed.” Bilbo muttered.

“What kind of map was it?” Ori asked, breaking the tension in the room.

“It was a map written in runes with a single mountain in the upper left corner with a red dragon circling the top and a compass on the right. My mother thought there was something peculiar about it, it seemed to glimmer in the moonlight sometimes.” Bilbo paused, pulling away from Kili.

“She was going to take it to Lord Elrond in Rivendell to see if he could find any hidden messages. She passed before she could make the trip.” Sadness filled his eyes, his anger forgotten temporarily. Glancing to his King and brother, Dwalin looked back at the Hobbit in front of them.

“Bilbo, Tharkun rallied Thorin using a key and a map to convince him to gather a company to try and retake Erebor.” Bilbo looked at Dwalin with his eyebrows furrowed.

“You mean?” He murmured.

“We have your map.” Dwalin finished Bilbo’s thought.

Chapter Text

“If he gave my map to you then why not just have you all gather here and then ask to use my map?” Bilbo questioned.

“I would not have risked my people to make such a journey without the proof that seeing and holding the map and key.” Thorin replied.

“You wouldn’t have even made the journey here on the promise the map was here?” Bilbo asked, incredulous. Thorin shook his head in a negative answer.

“I wouldn’t have met any of you if he hadn’t taken the map from me.” Bilbo said, looking at Dwalin with a swirl of mixed emotions shining in his eyes.

“Then I am glad that he did, so I could meet you.” Bilbo finished in a hushed voice. Finally taking his eyes from Dwalin and hugging Kili a little tighter to his body.

“Do you know why the map glimmered in the moonlight?” Bilbo questioned, excitement coursing through him and making him hop in place a little bit and thoroughly changing the subject.

“It sounds like it could be moon runes.” Balin said, rubbing his beard in thought. 

“None of the Dwarven books in Westron have mentioned moon runes.” Bilbo said absently, releasing Kili from his hug and making his way back to his seat.

“No, they wouldn’t.” Thorin replied, standing and making his way from the room.

“We are a secretive race, Bilbo, any books published in Westron wouldn’t have any information of importance. Especially moonrunes, as they are a way for us to hide secrets in plain sight.” Balin replied. Just then Thorin walked back in with a scroll held tightly in his fist.

“Ithildin script is nearly undetectable. If you hold this paper up to a candle you cannot see any indication that there is something there.” Thorin explained, holding the scroll out to Bilbo.

Gently taking hold of the scroll Bilbo opened it and let a small smile form on his face as his eyes traced over the familiar runes and lines of the map. He held the map in front of the fire light and couldn’t see anything through the paper.

“Can anyone in our company or in the Blue mountains bring the runes forward?” Bilbo inquired, holding the map close to his chest.

“No, I believe that the only ones who can bring forth moon runes are in the Iron Mountains and Sharbhund.” Balin answered.

“Usually, our Priestess or Shaman would be able to, but our last Priest died before they could pass their knowledge onto Priestess Dis.” Ori said, helpfully.

“Ah, that's right you told me your amad is the Priestess.” Bilbo said, a smile aimed at Kili and petting Fili’s hair.

“Why did your amad want to ask Lord Elrond to look at the map?” Nori questioned, speaking up for the first time during their conversation.

“My mother was the alliance liaison, she managed all of our alliances. She was very close friends with Lord Elrond and he is the reason that we have as many books as we do.” Bilbo explained.

“He would tell her stories of his time in the ages of old, and she would come home and tell them to me. There was one story she told me about the War of Elves and Sauron.” Leaning back in his chair Bilbo brought his feet up and curled up in his chair.

“Sauron tricked the Elves of Eregion to make the rings of power. Once they were completed it is said he went to Mordor where he made another ring of power, but this one was able to control the other rings of power.” Bilbo paused to adjust his position before continuing.

“In secret the Elves had three of their own rings made and were able to see past his deception and foiled his plans that were years in the making. Since Sauron was unable to influence the Elves with the rings he tried to use force.” Bilbo continued seeing he had everyone's attention.

“This war went on for years with the Elves barely able to hold back Sauron's armies. This is when Imladris was founded, and brought refuge to some of the Elves for a short time. The Elves that didn’t settle in Imladris secured passage through Khazad-dum. Also known as…” Bilbo trailed off.

“Moria.” Ori said in a breathless tone. Bilbo nodded, smiling at him.

“Sauron was relentless and focused his attacks on Imladris. The Elves were barely able to counter their attacks let alone fight them off. For six years this went on before it finally came to a head when Sauron tried to hit Lindon and take the rings of power back.” Bilbo took a deep breath before continuing.

“Lord Elrond, Galadhrim, Numenor and the Dwarrow of Khazad-dum came together to finally put an end to Sauron and his reign of terror. They succeeded, they were able to push Sauron back to the wastelands and destroy him and his army.” As the story came to an end everyone was silent.

“What does this story have to do with Lord Elrond being able to read moon runes?” Dori asked, breaking the silence.

“According to my mother Lord Elrond mentioned that before the war with Sauron ended the leaders of the Elven armies were taught how to identify moon runes. That Lord Elrond had a pretty close relationship with Durin III that he also taught him how to read the runes, and how to make them.” Bilbo replied with a smile.

“Lord Elrond could read the map?” Kili questioned.

“Yes, but the question is will King Thorin let him.” Bilbo said, trailing off and looking at Thorin. Everyone was silent as they waited for Thorin to speak.

“King Thror spoke of Lord Elrond often and fondly before he fell into the gold sickness.” Thorin paused, suddenly looking old and weary.

“That was many years ago, long before your time Master Baggins. I have not had any contact with him or others that know him on a personal level. Tell me Mr. Baggins should I put my trust in this Elf?” The room was still no one dared move while their King and host were staring each other down.

“I cannot tell you with whom you should place your trust, I can only vouch for his character.” Thorin cocked an eyebrow at this but stayed silent.

“My own experience with the Lord of Rivendell has been a good one. I find him to be a kind and fair ruler. He is a good teacher, he helped me hone my skills with a blade. He would be best suited to teach Priestess Dis the moon runes, he would also be able to offer further assistance to the Blue Mountains colony. He is one of the best healers this side of the Misty Mountains, save for Grammy of course.” 

“Of course.” Thorin agreed easily, Fili, Kili, Balin and Dwalin nodding along as well.

“He heals indiscriminately and does not allow any in his house to disparage other races. He has the gift of foresight, his gift is more of a vague feeling about events to come rather than a definite picture of future happenings.” Bilbo paused, and took a deep breath before continuing.

“I know in my soul that Lord Elrond will help us on our quest to reclaim Erebor as well as in helping the colony in the Blue Mountains, in whatever way we ask of him. If he does not then I have the ability and the inclination to terminate our alliance with them.”

“Your faith in this one Elf is so great that you honestly expect him to help us and not to betray us?” Nori questioned, a sneer crossing his face.

“It is.” Bilbo answered honestly. The room was quiet as Thorin made his deliberation. He switched his gaze from the Hobbit to glance at Dwalin, before focusing back on the Hobbit.

“I will trust in your judgment Master Baggins. We will make our way to Rivendell once we leave your home.” Thorin said with finality. 

“Do you know how far behind you Gloin and Oin are?” Balin asked Dori and Nori.

“They said they would leave the morning following our departure. I believe they should be here this evening if they left before the sun rose.” Dori replied back.

“Unless Oin tried to check on his patients again, then he would have gotten distracted.” Nori butted into the conversation.

“How soon after they arrive are we leaving?” Dwalin directed his question toward his King.

“They should be allowed to rest before we start our Journey and we will need to pack up supplies and plan our route. I have a feeling our host will have suggestions on our stops.” Thorin said with humor in his voice.

“Yes I will, I also need to pen a note to Lord Elrond and to King Thranduil and let them know we will be making our way to their realms and will need safe passage through Mirkwood to the otherside.” Bilbo said, standing he started to make his way out of the room.

The silence was stifling as the Hobbit left presumably to his study, to draw up those letters. Dwalin sighed and glanced at this brother who had a grimace on his face.

“Why is Master Baggins sending a letter of our arrival to King Thranduil?” Thorin asked, voice devoid of emotion.

“Bilbo is the alliance liaison, that means he governs all of the Shire’s alliances. Even the ones with the Elves of Mirkwood.” Balin said patiently to the suddenly irate King.

“From what I gathered he has a good relationship with King Thranduil, but if he is willing to terminate the contract with Lord Elrond who by all accounts sounds like a good Elf. Would he not do the same for Thranduil? Who we know would turn us out and try to stop our quest.” Dwalin said, urging his King to understand and not let his anger consume him. The Dwarrow sat in silence for a little while longer.

Eventually King Thorin let out a sigh and manually tried to relax his tense muscles. Once he finally finished he looked at Dwalin and spoke to his friend.

“I will wait and see how the introduction with Lord Elrond goes. I am putting my faith in your Hobbit, Dwalin.” Thorin replied, looking at Dwalin.

 Dwalin nodded in gratitude standing Dwalin made his way to Bilbo’s study. Knocking quietly on the door there was a quiet greeting heard on the other side. Walking into his study Dwalin closed the door behind himself and turned to find his Hobbit sitting behind his desk.

“Ah Dwalin, I’m just finishing up the letter to Lord Elrond, is there anything you want me to add?” Bilbo asked, glancing up at the tall Dwarf.

“What will you write to the disgraceful King of Mirkwood?” Dwalin asked, sounding weary. He took a seat in front of Bilbo’s desk letting his head fall back to stare at the ceiling.

“That I will be traveling with a small convoy to Esgaroth the City on the Long Lake to conduct business with a man named Bard. During my travels I’ve heard that the people of the Lake are loyal to him and not their greedy master.” Bilbo said, riffling through a pile of parchment to find a particular letter.

“The Rangers, who sometimes guard our borders, go further in their travels than I do. I made a deal with them to send me any interesting information that they may come across. I’m actually expecting a letter to come soon.” With a sound of triumph Bilbo handed Dwalin a letter that looked as worn out as Dwalin felt.

‘ Dear Master Baggins,

       I hope this letter finds you warm and safe in your Hobbit hole during this cold winter. We have just finished with our business in the Iron Mountains and are making our way to Esgaroth. While we were in the Dwarves most welcome company they told us the tale of Erebor, and said we would pass it on our way to the City on the Lake. I must say seeing that lonely peak in the distance took my breath away. With the tale of desolation still vaguely fresh on our minds the mountain leaves a haunting impression on myself and my men. When the wind whistles by at just the right angle it almost sounds like the echoing screams of Dwarrow long since past. 

    As we set up camp on the hill our scout came back with troubling news of an Orc pack in close vicinity to the Lonely Mountain. Usually we wouldn’t have been able to spot them, but the leader of the Orc pack had a curious case of alabaster skin and only one arm. We abandoned our camp and silently made our way to Esgaroth through the night and got there very early the following morning. We stopped just outside the gates to rest our steads when a group of City men came out and greeted us. The head of them being a fisherman called Bard. We wrongly assumed Bard was the Governor of the Lake town, but it is in fact a man only known as ‘The Master of Laketown’. The Master is greedy and slowly bleeding the town dry of money and resources. I’ve seen Bard share what little food he has with his fellow townsmen. As we were leaving the young Prince Legolas had struck up a conversation with Bard. They have some type of agreement with the Elves that the Master is not aware of. Prince Legolas will take us through the Mirkwood to King Thrandiul’s halls where we will stay for a short time before making our way to Rivendell. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Your friend,

Strider’

“This is troubling, an Orc pack was seen so close to the mountain. Are they looking for a way in?” Dwalin asked, rubbing his hand across his head. 

“They could be, or they could be looking for places to set up an attack. They may suspect that Dwarves might start making their way back to their ancestral home.” Bilbo answered, gathering sealing wax, a stamp and a tri-colored ribbon.

“You can take the letter out and show it to King Thorin while I seal my letter, and start on the one to King Thrandiul. Would you mind asking if anyone wants me to add anything to my letters, please?” Bilbo suggested, waiting for the wax to melt.

Dwalin nodded and got up, making his way out to the living room. Letter clutched tightly in his hand. When he made it back to the den Dwalin immediately looked for the spiked hair of Nori, and seeing him sprawled across the couch didn’t reassure Dwalin as much as he thought it would. 

“The Rangers sent Bilbo a letter dated back to last summer. They were passing through the Iron Mountains and spotted an Orc pack near Erebor.” Wide eyes looked at him and hesitantly took the letter. Reading over it quickly Thorin let out a low growl and passed the letter off to Balin.

“We will have to plan our route carefully to avoid any attacks.” Thorin began, only to be cut off by three rapid knocks on the door.

“I’ve got it!” Bilbo called from the study, hurriedly making his way to the front door.

The Dwarves could hear a short conversation and the thudding of several heavy objects hitting the floor. Then quiet, Dwalin was getting restless and was getting up to make his way to the front when Bilbo came around the corner. Behind him two Dwarves followed and upon seeing their kin brightened up and came around to greet everyone. After Dwalin greeted them he made his way to Bilbo’s side.

“I’m going to make lunch. I think our afternoon is going to be quite busy planning our trip and packing.” Bilbo said, a smile on his face as he watched the rowdy Dwarves settle down and talk.

“I’ll assist you.” Dwalin said, and together they made their way into the kitchen to prepare a meal for thirteen Dwarves and one Hobbit.

Chapter Text

“Dwalin’s helping cook? Brother, I think the wee Hobbits put some kind of spell over our kin.” Gloin said, watching the two retreating figures.
“Nay, the Hobbits not done a thing to him. Upsides beating some manners into his thick skull.” Bofur replied, smiling in the direction of the kitchen.
“We’ve obviously missed a great deal. Tell us what you’ve been up to?” Oin said, a peculiar look crossed his face as he stared in the kitchen's direction.
Over the next hour Thorin and Balin explained everything that has happened since they had arrived. When they got to the removal of the gold sickness Oin yelled an expletive as he got up and examined everyone. Rolling their eyes they allowed him to fret over them reassuring himself that they were not hurt during the process.
“So, it’s gone. Truly?” Gloin asked, staring at his King in awe.
“Truly. The Hobbits have proven themselves very hospitable here. What news do you have of Ered Luin?” Thorin questioned, retaking his seat.
“The Hobbits arrived with Dwalin’s letter and supplies. It took no time at all for them to get set up. They’ll be taken care of through the winter and into late spring.” Gloin said, running through the list of supplies off the top of his head.
“Though the Hobbits did say they would send us some of their harvests when that gets done, and we’re expecting quite a few more Hobbits to arrive.” Oin added on.
“Aye, I believe a shipment will be going out in the next few days. With luxury items.” Dwalin murmured, standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
“Come on, dinner is done.” Turning he made his way back towards the kitchen.
Slowly the Dwarrow followed behind him each taking their seats and pouring themselves a glass from their preferred beverage. Gloin and Oin looked at the table laden down with food and their stomachs’ started to grumble. A small laugh sounded behind them and they turned to see their host bringing in a tray with four brown sugar pineapple hams roasted a beautiful brown.
“Dig in!” Bilbo said, gesturing towards the food on the table.
Not needing to be told twice the Dwarrow dug in with gusto. Bilbo smiled and reached forward for the vegetables before trying to battle the Dwarrow for any of the meat. When he turned back to the meat two hams had already been devoured and they were working on the third. Before he could reach for any of the meat Dwalin slapped a dozen pieces onto his plate for him.
“Thank you, Dwalin.” Bilbo said, picking up a piece of meat and biting into it. Dwalin grunted his acknowledgement.
Dinner was a quiet affair, everyone enjoying their meals and the cozy atmosphere. Once most of the food was gone Bilbo stood and made his way into the kitchen to bring out dessert. Bilbo brought in three trays of chocolate covered croissants and chocolate covered strawberries.
“What’s this?” Gloin asked, staring distrustfully at the green poking out from the dessert.
“Chocolate covered croissants and strawberries. It’s all very sweet.” Bilbo replied, picking up a strawberry and taking a bite.
He closed his eyes and let out a soft moan at the sweet taste flooding his mouth. With his eyes closed Bilbo missed the heated look Dwalin sent his way. Cautiously, the Dwarrow also reached for a dessert. Each let out appreciative hums at the rich flavor of the desserts. Just as Bilbo was biting into a croissant there was a knock at the front door. Bilbo set his food down and made his way to the entrance to see who it could be at this time.
“Ah, Otho. I was expecting you sooner than this. You almost missed the deadline.” Bilbo said, with a cold look on his face.
“I am sorry Bilbo. She wouldn’t sign. I had to invoke the head of the Bracegirdle clan in order to get her to sign the papers.” Otho said, holding out a copy of the divorce papers.
Bilbo moved to the side and allowed Otho entry into his smial. Closing the door Bilbo turned and gestured for Otho to follow him to his study. Not bothering to close the door Bilbo reached up to the thickest tome on his shelf. Pulling it down Bilbo placed it gently on his desk. They watched as the tome magically opened itself to Otho’s chapter.
“Her name will be struck from the Baggins family tree. The divorce will be noted in your chapter of this tome’s pages.” Bilbo stated, staring at Otho who nodded his head.
“I am sorry cousin, but this will hurt if only for a moment.” Bilbo said, reaching across the table to grip Otho’s hand.
“I understand, cousin.” Otho said, resignation on his face.
“I, Bilbo Baggins, Master of Bag End, head of the Bag End family, recognize the severance of heart strings between Otho Baggins and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins. May this act as proof of their physical severance.” Bilbo said placing the divorce papers in the tome.
Nothing happened for a while, then the pages of the book shone a bright green and the divorce papers were accepted into the family register. Nodding Bilbo reached in his desk for a quill. This quill was pitch black, and almost seemed to suck in the light around it.
“Lobelia Sackville-Baggins has no claim to the Baggins name in any way shape or form. She will be striked from the Baggins family registar, and is to never carry the name Baggins again. From this day onward she is to be known as Lobelia Sackville-Bracegirdle.” As Bilbo spoke, the quill in his hand seemed to pulse with magic.
Bilbo pressed the tip of the quill just to the left of Lobelia’s name on the registar and slashed a thick red line through her name. There was a moment pause as nothing seemed to happen, and then Otho let out a groan and the red ink seemed to eat away at Lobelia’s name. Once it was finished there was nothing but a blank space left beside Otho’s.
Otho had his hand placed over his heart and tears streaming down his face. As Bilbo put away the quill and closed out the ceremony.
“Otho Baggins you are hereby free of any commitment you previously had to Lobelia Sackville-Bracegirdle. You are to have no further contact with her. You are free to pursue and court another of your choosing.” Bilbo paused, to take a breath before continuing.
“Any future engagements must be approved by the Head of the Baggins Clan and the marriage must be blessed by the Shire. Failure to secure either will result in your name being removed from the registrar.”Bilbo locked eyes with Otho, trying to convey the severity to him.
“I understand Master Baggins and thank you for the grace and patience you have shown me.” Otho said, and with those accepting words the family registrar closed with a flash of green magic.
Otho leant back in his chair breathing deeply, while Bilbo returned the book to its spot on the shelf.
“How’re you feeling cousin?” Bilbo asked, softly coming to stand next to his chair.
“Like my heart has been torn in two.” He stated, tears still leaking out of his eyes.
“I know you truly loved her, and I am sorry she has hurt you so.” Bilbo said, hands twitching at his side to reach out, but thinking better of it.
“You tried to warn me that she wasn’t the best sort, and ended up suffering too. I do not blame you cousin.” Otho said, looking up at him, his hand resting over his heart.
“You will go see Grammy and get treated for a broken heart. Do not let this fester.” Bilbo said.
“I don’t need to, truly I-” Otho started, trying to sit up.
“You will see Grammy and get treated. That is an order as the head of your family. She is not worth losing your heart for, Otho.” Bilbo demanded, magic lacing his words and settling over him like a blanket.
“Yes, Master Baggins.” Otho said, bowing his head as more tears fell.
“Grammy will be making her way to the Blue Mountains to search for a new Soul Leader. You will accompany her there and do as she asks, and help where it is needed. I believe it will do you some good, cousin.” Bilbo said, gentling his words.
“I will do so. Lord Bracegirdle and a few of his boys stopped by my smial and collected Lob- her things earlier this morning. I will pack my things and head to Grammy’s. Thank you Bilbo.” Otho said, his tears slowing to a stop as he stood.
The two Hobbits made their way to the front entrance silently, and Bilbo stood in the entryway watching his cousin walk home until he couldn’t see him anymore. After another moment standing there watching the spot his cousin disappeared Bilbo made his way back into the house, and to the kitchen.
In the kitchen he was wrapped in two burly arms, and let himself melt into the contact. Sighing, Bilbo pulled away and looked up to Dwalin’s face and gave a small smile. Turning he saw the table cleaned with the exception of his half eaten croissant. Huffing a laugh Bilbo made his way to the table to finish his dessert.
“Is everything okay, Bilbo?” Fili asked quietly.
“Lobelia is no longer a part of the Baggins clan. Otho will be joining Grammy as she goes to Ered Luin.” Bilbo said, just a quiet. They nodded and let him finish his dessert in peace.
“Before we leave I need to check that all the shipments are on time to head to Ered Luin, and inform the Thain of the interim head of the Baggins clan until my return.” Bilbo said, tilting his head to the side and thinking.
“We should be hearing back from the Shamans and Grammy soon in regards to testing gem purity. I need to make more ointment for Grammy, and we need to start collecting everything we need for travel.” Bilbo continued.
“It is a four day journey from here to Rivendell. I will be bringing copies of our contracts with the elves of Rivendell and Mirkwood, and I need to send off the letters to let them know we are coming.” Bilbo looked at everyone and while Gloin seemed upset about something everyone else seemed to be on the same page.
“Oh, I thought I saw something in the library about Dragons, so I also want to look at that before we leave. I will be ready to leave in three days time.” Bilbo finished, standing up and stretching.
“I’m going to the library to research. If you have a need for me please pull the cord.” Bilbo gave a pointed look to Fili, Dwalin and Balin at this.
Turning Bilbo made his way to his study and pulled the lever to go down into the library making sure the door shut behind him. Once in the library Bilbo scrubbed a hand over his face and settled the other on his hip. He was tired, performing clan magic always took so much out of him. Shaking his head Bilbo made his way past the section for Dwarrow towards the back. Snuggled firmly against the rock wall was a single shelf on Dragons.
The book he read when researching Dragon sickness referenced a book on Dragons Bilbo thought he recognized. Lookin over the titles, Bilbo found the one he was looking for. It was written in High Elvish. Patting his pockets Bilbo pulled out his glasses and sat down at a nearby table to start reading. Bilbo read in silence for a while before sighing in irritation and putting the book back in its spot.
“That’s not what I thought it was. It’s only detailing how others have killed Dragons.” Bilbo stood in front of the shelf for a long moment.
Turning Bilbo was getting ready to leave when a flash of blue caught his eye. Curiously, Bilbo turned and grabbed the book from the shelf. It was a small journal that had seen better days. Returning to his table Bilbo carefully set the book down and began to read it.
In my search for the ancestral home of the Hobbits, I stumbled upon something quite marvelous. Far past the Greenwood in what we now know as the Northern Waste I have found Dragons. These are not the creatures we know of now; these are wingless creatures that walk on all fours with a serpentine body. I have made camp not far from what I think is their den.
I did not expect to find anything out here, but as soon as I stepped onto the sand I could feel a magic pulse beneath my feet and knew I had to continue on. Though I had been warned multiple times that there was nothing but death past the Grey Mountains I had to continue.
I have decided to camp here for the foreseeable future in the hopes to document the differences between them and the winged beasts we know.
Below this passage were two images drawn on the page of the beings that the author has described. Bilbo stares at it in quiet contemplation. Both creatures had two big spikes out the back of its head with smaller ones circling around their head and chin. Along the back of their neck and spine there seemed to be more spikes. Leading to a soft tuft of hair or fur at the tip of their tails.
Each Dragon seemed to have different designs on them. A variation of shapes that made the dragons unique. Bilbo traced over the design with his finger. There was a niggling feeling in the back of his head that he had seen this image somewhere before. Turning the page Bilbo continued reading.
As I made myself dinner and prepared for bed I couldn’t shake the feeling I was being watched. Looking around I couldn’t see anything. The Dragons had long since moved into their cave. I finished my food and tried to sleep, but sleep eluded me. The feeling of being watched stayed strong. To rid myself of fear I sang. I sang the song of Lady Yvanna how she guided us home to the Shire. I sang hymns and lullabies that my mother sang to me.
Slowly the feeling of being watched dissipated until finally I could sleep. I slept so deeply and woke up truly relaxed. The happy feeling of restful sleep disappeared as I opened my eyes to find myself inside the Dragon’s den. As I sat up to look around I came face to snout with one of the Dragons.
I let out a startled breath and the Dragon moved away from me so it could get a better view. The next thing to happen shocked me to my very core. The Dragon spoke to me, but his mouth didn’t move. His words were spoken in my mind. He told me his name is Drage, and they had brought me into their cave after hearing my songs.
They knew I would come eventually, and my singing told them I was there and it was time. Drage told me his mate Tarak has foresight and that it was important that they meet me when I get here. They told me the story of a time before the people of Arda had been awakened by the Valar.
A time of peace and harmony, where every being could live together. How Dragons had been charged to look after the other creatures of Arda. That included the Elves, Dwarves and men once they were awoken, but Morgoth tried to corrupt the gentle beasts. Unbeknownst to Morgoth, Eru Iluvatar had given the Dragons a form of protection.
Bilbo paused, his reading and readjusted his position. Awe shining in his gaze at how wondrous it must be to talk to such old and wise beings.
Eventually, Morgoth figured out that Eru Iluvatar had given each dragon a small gem whose color matched that of the Dragon’s magic. At this Tarak appeared beside me and lifted her head to show a blue gem the size of a grapefruit nestled just under her chin. When she lowered her head the gem blended in with the color of her scales.
Another picture was drawn at the bottom of this passage depicting the Dragon with its head raised and the gem on display. Bilbo hummed while he looked at this image. He knows he’s seen it somewhere, but can’t put his finger on it.
Morgoth stole the gems from the Dragons and was able to corrupt them. The corrupted Dragons grew wings and breath of fire, and a longing for the gem that was stolen from them. They tried to fill the hole left in them by hoarding gems and other items of the same color but it was never enough.
Sorrow crossed Bilbo’s face as he thought of all the beings that had to suffer because of Morgoth.
By the time the remaining Dragons, few though we are, figured out a way to save them it was too late for many of them. Many died in the Battle of the first age, and of the few who lived many were later killed by Humans and Dwarves. Drage and Tarak told me of the few siblings and relatives they were able to save by giving them their gem back.
When questioned on how to get the gems they remained silent. Tarak told me they would soon be departing this world and would not be able to save the last of their kin. I volunteered to help their lost Dragon, and they looked at me quietly for a moment. Tarak told me it is not my fate to help the lost Drake find his way.
In years to come a Hobbit would be the one to help the lost Dragon find his way. All they have to do is speak his name and give him the gem.
They gave me a gem sparkling gold so much like the wheat in the field back home. Which shines just as brightly as the sun.
His name just like his very being was corrupted. Say his name. Konakonakonakonakonakonakonakonakonakonakonakona.
The word ‘Kona’ continued to be written throughout the rest of the journal. Bilbo just stared at those words, his mind reeling at all this new information. He sat there for a moment before pushing away from the table and taking the book with him made his way up the stairs. Once he made it back in his study he stopped and listened for his guests.
He heard a few soft snores coming from the bedrooms further up the hallway, and distant murmurs past that. Looking through his window Bilbo notes that it’s time for dinner, and makes his way to the kitchen. Bombur is in the kitchen making something for everyone, and Kili and Fili are helping him by setting the table.
“Hey Bilbo, hope you don’t mind that we got dinner started already. We didn’t want to disrupt your research too early.” Bombur said, noticing the Hobbit standing in the doorway.
“Not at all, do you need help with anything?” Bilbo asked, smiling at the two young Dwarves.
“If you could get everyone to the table that would be lovely. I think Thorin and Dwalin are outside sparring.” Bombur replied, pulling multiple fish from the stove.
Nodding Bilbo went to the den area and let Gloin and Dori know that Dinner was ready.
“I’ll grab Nori, Ori, Bifur and Bofur. They went to lay down for a nap.” Dori said, turning back down the hall.
Bilbo heard a clang and turned to bring in the last two from outside. Walking outside to his backyard Bilbo found Thorin deflected an ax swing. Turning to look at Thorin’s sparring partner, Bilbo felt his eyes grow wide at the sight before him. Dwalin stood without a shirt holding one ax in a defensive pose while the other swung sideways to try and land a hit on his opponent. Bilbo drank in the sight of Dwalin’s bare and hairy chest glistening in the last rays of sunlight.
He watched the muscles of Dwalin’s arms bunch and tighten to change the swing of the hit at the last second. How his other hammer came up aiming for Thorin's solar plexus. Bilbo was entranced as Dwalin dipped under Thorin’s swing and around his side coming up behind him.
Bilbo took in the broadness of Dwalin’s shoulders that tapered down to an ass he just wanted to bite into. Bilbo didn’t notice the spar was over until a shirt suddenly covered the beautiful expanse of Dwalin’s back. Blinking Bilbo missed the knowing look Thorin sent his way as they turned to face him.
“Dinner’s ready.” Bilbo said with a smile. Trying to keep the lustful thoughts from appearing on his face.
Nodding, the three made their way into the dinning room. The others were already there but waited for their missing members before they started eating. Dinner was a loud affair as everyone laughed and told tales. Bilbo couldn’t keep the soft smile from his face as he relaxed into the excited atmosphere.

Chapter Text

Once everyone finished with dinner they made their way to the living room and sat around the fire and Bilbo began to explain what he found about Dragons in his research. They all sat quietly during Bilbo’s explanation.

“If the Dragon is alive how do we find the gem?” Fili said, glancing around at everyone in attendance. 

“We have the name ‘Kona’, we just need the gem. Did the journal happen to say where it was?” Kili asked, looking at Bilbo.

“No, it didn’t. I have seen this image of the dragons somewhere before and I think that might have a clue as to where we can find the gem.” Bilbo replied, then sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“I can’t for the life of me remember where I’ve seen it.” Bilbo stared, into the flickering flames of the fire wracking his brain. 

“Why are we even trying to save this Dragon when it would be better off dead?” Gloin demanded, slicing through the idle chatter. Dwalin and Bilbo both glared at the red haired Dwarf.

“Oh aye, a dead Dragon is easier to deal with than a living one. If the beast is alive, what would be easier to do?” Dwalin drawled, sarcasm heavy in his tone.

“Give the blasted wyrm a gem or fight it in vain hopes that we can kill it this time?” Thorin said, emphasizing ‘this’, glaring harshly at Gloin.

“I agree it would be wise to have plans in place should the fire drake still be alive.” Balin agreed, stroking his beard.

Gloin grumbled but stayed quiet after multiple agreements from the Dwarves around him. Rubbing his eyes Bilbo looked out the window, it was late.

“I think I will retire to bed. Maybe some good sleep will refresh my memory.” Bilbo stood and stretched.

The others wished him a good night and Bilbo went to his room. Starting a bath and gathering shorts to sleep in Bilbo stripped down and relaxed into the warm water. Bilbo thought back over his day while the swirling water worked away the accumulated stress. He couldn’t get the image of Dwalin’s bare chest glistening in the sun out of his mind. Nor the way his muscles moved and bunched as he sparred. 

Thinking of that image, Bilbo's heart started to race and heat pool deliciously in his groin. Flushing Bilbo gently ran his hand down his chest; stopping briefly to pinch and flick his nipple. Letting out a small moan Bilbo continued his path down his body till he reached his erection. Gripping his erection he gave himself a firm tug, and let out a low groan. He used his other hand to reach past his hard cock, and slip a finger into his tight heat.

Bilbo tightened his grip on his cock and added a second finger. Wondering what it would feel like to have Dwalin's thick fingers opening him up. Preparing Bilbo to take his undoubtedly massive cock.

“That's a good lad, Bilbo.” Dwalin muttered into Bilbos ear as his fingers slowly worked him open. Nipping his ear pulled a strangled moan from the man beneath him.

Pulling away Dwalin took in the visage before him letting out a deep growl in appreciation. Bilbo had a flush running from his cheeks down his neck and ending at his collarbone. Leaning back down, Dwalin licked a strip up his neck to his chin, and nipped the skin there. 

“Look at you all red and desperate fer me. Yer almost ready with how wet you are I’ll slide in so easily.” Dwalin rumbled, sending vibrations from his chest to Bilbo’s pulling a sharp cry from the Hobbit. 

“Dwalin, please… I need you. I want to feel you filling me.” Bilbo begged the man towering over him.

“I love hearing you beg, amralime .” Dwalin rasped, pulling his fingers out of Bilbo’s tight heat. Gripping his cock Dwalin placed the head at Bilbo’s opening.

“Once we do this you will be mine. Are you ready, my Bilbo?” Dwalin questioned.

“Yes, please. I’m yours.” Bilbo replied, impatiently rutting against Dwalin’s engorged cock.

“As I am yours.” Dwalin said, finally sliding into Bilbo. 

Bilbo opened his mouth in a silent scream. He could feel the heat of Dwalin’s heavy cock carving out a home for himself. Dwalin groaned and moved slightly, adjusting to the tightness around him. Feeling his Dwarf move in him Bilbo’s cock gave a violent twitch and started spurting cum up his chest.

With a moan of pleasure Bilbo opened his eyes. Blinking in the low light of his bathroom, and let out a sigh as the pleasure of his climax settled through his body. After a moment Bilbo scrubbed himself clean and let the now cold water swirl down the drain. Bilbo pulled on his shorts forgoing a shirt entirely. 

Laying in bed, Bilbo lamented on how big and cold the bed is without a partner to share it. Sighing, Bilbo stood up to light a fire in his fireplace. Kneeling, Bilbo grabbed the kindling and began to light the wood sitting patiently. Glancing up, Bilbo admired the way the moon light fell across the stone.

Gazing at the stone a peculiar image etched into the hard surface caught his eye. A wingless dragon, with its head down and claws pointing out of his room. Blinking Bilbo looked at the dragon for a moment not comprehending then he let out a gasp. Following the finger it led out of the door and Bilbo had an old memory rise up of his father.

“Then you take the kindling and strike the match stone against the other.” Bungo Baggins explained to a young Bilbo. 

“Dad, what’s this?” Young Bilbo asked, finger gently running across the image etched in stone.

“That my dear is a dragon. Legend has it that this is the true form of the dragons, and that one day a Hobbit lass or lad will help the last of their kin reclaim their form.” Bungo smiled at his curious little lad. 

“I bet it’ll be mom.” The young Hobbit said, grinning proudly up at his father.

“I’m sure she could, but if you want to know what this old Hobbit thinks. I bet it’ll be you, my boy.” Bungo said, settling a kiss on his son's head. 

“Dd-aaadd.” Bilbo whined leaning away from the kiss.

Bilbo didn’t realize he was crying as he ran out of his room and into the den. There were only two Dwarves left when Bilbo burst into the room. They looked on in confusion and concern at seeing the underdressed Hobbit.

“Bilbo, what’s wrong?” Dwalin asked, standing and stepping toward the other man.

“My dad told me, all those years ago. He told me about the dragons and I forgot. I’m such an idiot.” Bilbo muttered, kneeling in front of the fireplace and setting about dampening the fire.

Once the fire was down Bilbo leaned forward and found an image of the dragon etched into the stone with its head raised showing off a gem. He looked around for an opening or secret lever, but he couldn’t find anything. Cursing Bilbo stood and ran his fingers along the wood next to the mantel. 

Still not finding anything Bilbo removed his mothers portrait from the wall and upon seeing nothing lifted his fathers and heard a click. Which caused a chain reaction and the back of the fireplace lowered revealing an engraved wooden box, gently Bilbo pulled the box from its hiding place. Turning around Bilbo came face to chest with the tallest Dwarf in the company.

“I think this is it.” Bilbo said, looking up at the Dwarf in front of him.

Dwalin didn’t say anything, eyes wide and staring at the Hobbit before him with heat in his eyes.

“Open it, Bilbo.” Thorin said, when it looked like Dwalin wouldn’t say anything.

Bilbo finally looked around Dwalin and noticed Thorin. He checked to see if the other Dwarrow were present, but it looked like the only ones up were Dwalin and Thorin.

Nodding Bilbo went to move around Dwalin, but stopped short when he let out a short growl. Looking up Bilbo was confused as he saw Dwalin taking off his shirt and holding it out to him. Tilting his head slightly Bilbo accepted the shirt from the Dwarf. Dwalin gently took the box from Bilbo, and hesitantly pulled the shirt over his head. 

The hem of the shirt fell to the middle of Bilbo’s thighs, and one side of the shirt slid down revealing a tantalizing view of his neck and shoulder. Dwalin’s gaze swept over Bilbo’s form with a hum of approval. Bilbo gave a small smile and held his hand out for the box. Wordlessly, Dwalin handed the box over and stepped slightly to the side so Bilbo could move around him. Bilbo walked toward the table in the middle of the den, and felt the heat of Dwalin follow closely behind him.

A shiver passed down Bilbo’s back, and his blood started to rush down to his groin. Shaking his head, he pushed the arousal down and focused on the Dwarf in front of him. Bilbo took a seat on the couch in front of the table and felt more than saw Dwalin sit next to him. His body tensed up as Dwalin slid an arm behind him and crowded close.

Bilbo had to bite back a whimper from escaping his mouth as Dwalin’s breath fanned across his neck and close to his ears. Glancing at the other Dwarf in the room a blush formed on Bilbo’s face when he noted the amusement in the others' faces. Clearing his throat Bilbo placed the box on the table and slowly opened the lid.

Bright light flooded the room and its three occupants had to close their eyes against its brightness. Cautiously they opened their eyes and to their surprise were greeted with the golden warmth of a spherical gem. Thorin and Dwalin were surprised with the cut and clarity of the gem. Bilbo let out an amazed gasp and blindly reached out to grasp the nearest part of his Dwarf.

The light flickered for a moment before sparks of blue began to shoot from the gem before them. Bilbo felt Dwalin’s arm wrap around his waist as if getting ready to run if this proved dangerous. Slowly, the blue sparks merged together to create a partial image of a wingless dragon.

“Tarak?” Bilbo whispered, confusion lacing his voice.

“Hello, Bilbo Baggins.” The soft voice replied.

“Wh-what is going on? How are you here?” The Hobbit questioned leaning forward towards the apparition. Dwalin tightened his hold on the Hobbit to keep him from falling forward.

“I used the last of my magic on the gem to give the chosen Hobbit a message.” Tarak answered gaze never wavering from the beings before her.

“The journal said you had foresight. Did you know all of this would happen?” Bilbo asked.

“Yes, I knew this would happen.” Was the dragon’s reply.

“Could you have stopped Smaug from attacking Erebor?” Thorin asked, unshed tears in his voice.

“I could not. We had lost many Dragons in the first age either to Morgoth or to the ensuing battle. Kona was taken at a very young age and corrupted. As it is we lost the remainder of our kin stealing his gem.” Tarak spoke, sorrow laying heavily in her voice.

“When he was released and attacked Erebor my mate Drage and I were the only remaining Dragon’s, and we were at the end of our life cycle.” She paused and her form flickered.

“My foresight allows me to see things that have already come to pass. Events that will come to pass, or things that might never happen. One event that I have seen since I was a hatching was this.” Tarak gestured her head at the three of them before her.

“I have seen this company gather at young Bilbo’s home, and adventure forward to release the mountain from our kin. My mate and I waited; we waited for Bilbo’s ancestor’s to feel the call of our magic.” Tarak paused, and her magic flickered more.

“Finally, many years after my mate and I should have perished and moved onto the place where all soul’s rest. Balbo Baggins came to us and claimed Kona’s gem. Knowing the gem was safe my mate and I passed on to be with our creator and fallen brethren.” Tarak’s visage was starting to dissipate around the edges.

“I have very little time left, so I leave you with these parting words. Speak Kona’s name before giving him the gem. You must see his golden magic before he can claim the gem. If the gem turns black there is no saving him.” As she spoke those words her magic fully faded from the room.

Leaving behind three gaping beings surrounded by the pulsing light of the Dragon gem before them. The three of them sat in silence for a moment before Bilbo burst into giggles.  Leaning back fully against Dwalin. The two Dwarves shared a look before they too joined him in laughter. The sound of their laughter rang through the room and spilled into the quiet house. 

“I think I will retire to my room before anything too exciting happens. We can tell the others at breakfast what has happened tonight.” Thorin said, standing and stretching before wishing them a good night. Now alone Dwalin and Bilbo sat there quietly neither wanting to leave the other so soon.

“They’re not going to believe they missed that.” Bilbo whispered, with awe shining in his eyes. Dwalin grunted, the hand wrapped around Bilbo’s waist was slowly rubbing circles into the cloth covering his body.

“Oh, you probably want your shirt back.” Bilbo said, reaching down to pull it off, but Dwalin stopped him.

“Keep it.” He said, smoothing the fabric back down to lay against tanned skin. Bilbo sat quietly suddenly very aware of how intimately they were holding each other.

“In my culture an exchange of clothing with someone outside of family is a claim of sorts, and accepting the clothes and wearing them is an acceptance of the claim.” Bilbo whispered out into the room around them. Eyes not leaving the glowing gem.

“It’s the final step before marriage. Are you proposing to me, Dwalin?” Bilbo asked, anxiety making his voice shake and the hand resting on Dwalin’s thigh to clench slightly. 

“Would you be so opposed if I was?” Dwalin whispered, in Bilbo’s ear. Lips lightly brushing along the sensitive side.

Bilbo let out a low keen pressing his legs tightly together and letting his head fall back. Dwalin bent his head forward, running his lips down the arch of Bilbo’s neck to the junction where his neck and shoulder meet. Tonguing lightly at the area Dwalin savored the harsh pants that filled the air around them. Before he pulled back to look at Bilbo’s blushing red face.

“N-no-o. I wouldn’t. Th-though it would be quite scandalous to skip straight to marriage. Many might think we’re marrying because you’ve given me the blessing of a child.” Bilbo murmured, tilting his head to the side allowing Dwalin more room. 

Dwalin froze teeth pressed into the skin of Bilbo’s neck. Bilbo wiggled in place lost to the haze of pleasure. Dwalin released the flesh from his grasp and looked down at Bilbo's face. 

“Ye can carry pebbles?” Dwalin hesitantly spoke into the silence of the room. Bilbo blinked up at him and nodded his head. 

“Yes, can male Dwarrow not carry their young?” Bilbo asked, brow quirking in question.

“Nay, only Dwarrow-dams can carry children.” Dwalin replied, slowly processing this new information.

“Do- do you not want children?” With me went unsaid but not unheard between the two of them.

“I’ve always wanted children, but I do not have any inclination fer women. I had resigned myself to never having any of my own.” Dwalin replied, nuzzling into the soft skin of Bilbo’s neck. 

“I didn’t know you could have children, but I’d have a whole litter with you.” Dwalin murmured into Bilbo’s skin.

Lifting him up and situating him on his lap, so his back is against Dwalin’s chest. Bilbo let out a squeak that turned into a moan as he felt Dwalin’s hard length pressed against his ass.

“I think we shou-ld have a proper conversation about our cultures and courtship rites. In Hobbit courtship we cannot have penetrative sex before marriage, but we can do other acts as we explore each other's bodies.” Bilbo said, throwing one arm behind himself to grab the back of Dwalin's head and bring his mouth back down to his head.

“Dwarf culture demands a chaperone until the proof of intent is made. The most I’ve heard courting couples can get away with is heavy petting and kissing.” Dwalin muttered, kissing and nipping at the skin before him.

Bilbo stood up quickly, but before Dwalin could complain he sat right back down. Now properly straddling Dwalin’s lap. He placed his hands on Dwalin’s face and brought it close to his and pressed their lips together. The first press of their mouths together is hard and intense. Tongue and teeth clash together as they meet for the first time.

Dwalin’s hands naturally fall to hold Bilbo’s waist in his grasp. His hands rubbing soothing circle’s into his hips, as their kiss turns languid. They pull apart and Dwalin gently knocks his forehead against Bilbo's; they stay pressed together breathing in each other's air. Leaning in, Bilbo pressed one, two, three kisses to Dwalin’s lips before he sat back on his lap. Running his hand over Dwalin’s beard and burying his hand in his chest hair. Playing with the strands there. 

“I agree, tomorrow we will find time together and go over our courtship. We should have no problem with finding a chaperone. We’ve got nine Dwarves who will keep us in line.” Dwalin smiled at the Hobbit in his lap.

“You’re leaving out Fili, Kili and Ori. Afraid you couldn’t handle their teasing?” Bilbo mused, lips kissed swollen and pulled up in a smile. 

Dwalin hummed distracted by the delicious disheveled picture his Hobbit made. Leaning in, Dwalin pressed another kiss to his lips. Pulling back slowly Dwalin nipped at the skin before soothing the hurt with his tongue. 

“We should retire for the evening. It’s getting rather late.” Bilbo said, running his tongue along his bottom lip. Standing, Bilbo held out his hand out to the Dwarf to help him stand.

Once, standing Dwalin wrapped his arm around the Hobbit’s shoulders drawing him close to his side. Bilbo bent down to close the lid and pick up the box. Together they walked down the hall to Bilbo’s room. Stopping in front of it Dwalin leaned down to claim another kiss from his Hobbit.

“Until tomorrow, my Dwarf.” Bilbo whispered against Dwalin’s lips.

“Until tomorrow, my Hobbit.” Dwalin returned, pressing another swift kiss to his lips before Bilbo disappeared behind his bedroom door. 

When Dwalin returned to his own room he looked at the first courting gift sitting on his night stand, and a wide grin broke out over his face. As he layed in bed he couldn’t help picturing Bilbo asleep next to him.

Chapter Text

Gloin and Oin had left days ago to meet with Thorin and her sons at Master Baggins' home. Dis felt a pang of loneliness; her sons the farthest they’ve been from her since they were pebbles. Lady Dis looked around at all the movement in the camp thanks to the new Hobbit residents, but today they seemed especially excited.

“Tulip, what has all the Hobbits in such a good mood?” Lady Dis asked the young Hobbit as she was walking by.

“Oh, Mistress Alstroemeria will be journeying with Otho Baggins to our camp here.” Tulip replied, stopping to stand next to Dis.

“Who is Mistress Alstroemeria to your people? She must be important to cause such a stir in our home.” Lady Dis questioned, watching two Hobbits move medical supplies into a tent.

“She has a similar title to you Lady Dis. She is what you would call our Priestess. She provides spiritual guidance and healing to all in the Shire.” Tulip said, excitement leaking into her tone.

“Oh, why would she be coming here?” Lady Dis inquired looking at the Hobbit shifting from side to side.

“There’s a rumor that she is coming to find and train her replacement. She is over a hundred and fifteen years old. Some of the other Hobbits think she is coming to pick one of the Hobbits here.” Tulip said, leaning closer to Lady Dis as they gossiped next to each other.

“You don’t think she’ll pick a Hobbit?” Lady Dis questioned, hands clutched behind herself.

“If Mistress Alstroemeria was going to choose a Hobbit she would have done so by now. No, I think she is going to choose a Dwarf.” Tulip replied, eyeing Lady Dis pointedly. Dis furrowed her brows watching the Hobbit closely.

“We usually have the elderly stay in the habitable part of the mountain. We need to make room for her.” Lady Dis started, changing the subject abruptly.

“Mistress Alstroemeria will choose where she stays. She usually stays where she is needed the most for ease of access.” Tulip responded, graciously not mentioning the change in topic. With that Tulip turned to continue her duties leaving Lady Dis to think on what has been said.

“You two I need you to clear out a room inside the mountain as close to the entrance as you can get. It should be big enough for two.” Lady Dis ordered two Dwarven guards standing beside her.

Nodding they made their way into the mountain to start on their new task. Most Dwarrow would say the heart of the mountain is in the most need of work, but Dis knows otherwise. She can sense the magic deep in the heart of the mountain but is unable to reach it. It feels like there is a block stopping her from getting to it.

Sighing Lady Dis returned to the mountain and made her way past the kitchens and deep into the surrounding caverns. She allowed her magic to guide her to the ritual room. The room was in complete disarray. Books and herbs littered the ground; various statues had fallen into disrepair and were missing chunks of rock.

Biting back tears Dis started gathering the materials that laid strewn across the floor. Most of the ritual ingredients would need to be thrown out and replaced. She would need to see if any of the Hobbits could procure the plants necessary. Looking through the books Dis finally released a sob as she came to realize most of these would also need to be thrown out.

The damage ranged from the spines of the books to the pages themselves. Doused in some kind of liquid it was impossible to make out any of the words written across the pages. Sitting down Lady Dis allowed herself to grieve the loss of even more of their culture.

She cried for all the hurt and pain her people had experienced since that blasted Dragon took their home from them. After what felt like hours Dis finally put the book down and lent against the cool stone next to her. Sniffling, she looked up and found herself leaning against a statue of their maker, Mahal. Briefly Dis rested her forehead against his stone, and slipped to her knees in front of him and began praying.

“Hear me and know I speak from my heart.” She moved her hands above her head palms facing out and closed her eyes.

“I thank you for guiding us to a safe shelter, and protecting us from harm.” Dis bowed her head, hands still up and sitting back on her heels.

“Give my brother strength and wisdom to lead this expedition. I beg you, my maker, to bless Thorin’s company and guide them safely to Erebor.” Cold smooth stone slid along her palms. Dis took a deep breath and pressed closer to the soothing cold.

“Hobbits have joined our camp. They claim we are their kin and kith. Your lady wife, Yvanna has blessed us. Her children have given us aid in our most dire of times.” The sound of wind echoed around the room carrying the smell of flowers.

“We were desolate and starving. I know in my very soul we would have lost many this winter.” Silent tears rolled down her cheeks. A soft warm touch gently wiped the tears from her face.

“Our people have started to heal since they’ve arrived. The sorrow and grief do not hang as heavily around our camp.” Skin warmed stone gently pulled Dis to her feet.

“Hear me, and know that in you I trust and I will follow wherever you lead.” The warm stone released Dis’s hands, and the smell of flowers slowly dissipated.

Opening her eyes, Dis inhaled sharply as she took notice of the changes in front of her. Where once Mahal stood proud with his hammer raised high. Now he was turned slightly to the left, his hands holding what looks like a hand shaped out of a flowering bush. Dis’s eyes followed the arm up to a delicate shoulder, and Dis suddenly realized she was staring at Lady Yvanna.

“It is as it always should have been. Our Lady Yvanna and Lord Mahal were always meant to be worshiped together.” A soft voice whispered into the quiet of the ritual room.

Dis whipped around not having heard anyone approach. Once she laid eyes on the figure in the doorway the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

‘Her magic is strong’ Dis thought staring at the old Hobbit.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you dear.” The Hobbit said, entering the room to stand next to Dis staring at the statues. Dis turned with her baffled by this old Hobbit.

“I wasn’t expecting anyone to come here. These parts of the mountain haven’t been excavated, so everyone has been told to stay away.” Dis explained, gaze roving over the older Hobbit.

“It’s safe. The remainder of the magic that used to flow through these halls has coalesced deeper to protect the heart of the mountain.” She explained, raising a hand and gently running her fingers over Mahals statue.

“How do you know? The magic is blocked, and I have tried everything to reach it.” Dis exclaimed, brows furrowed suspicion trying to rear its head.

“Oh, how rude of me. My name is Alstroemeria, but you can call me Grammy. The magic is locked to try and protect the mountain. The previous occupants were greedy and didn’t show the proper respect to Mahal or this mountain.” Grammy explained, Dis’s eyes widened knowing now who this is.

“Hello, Mistress Alstroemeria. I apologize for how rude I was. We have done the rites and rituals giving thanks for giving us shelter and allowing us to be safe here in these lands, but the magic is still out of my reach.” Dis whispered, frustration bubbling hot in her chest.

“Hmm, have you done any with the Hobbits here?” She asked, turning finally to look at Dis.

“This was my first one since the Hobbits came to stay with us. We’ve been so focused on packing and organizing the food, medicine and housing. I haven’t had time to pray let alone get everyone together for a ritual.” Dis was embarrassed to admit to another spiritual leader.

Alstroemeria smiled and gestured at Dis with her hands. Dis stared for a moment before closing her eyes and breathing deeply. With each breath she relaxed and sent tendrils of her magic out. Dis found the mountains magic and just like before the barrier was still in place, but it felt different. Her magic brushed against the barrier and it gave a little, but not completely. The mountain’s magic rushed up to meet her and Dis realized how thin the barrier had become.

“It’s thinner. Just from praying?” Dis questioned, opening her eyes and realizing she was crying. Grammy leaned forward and gently wiped her tears from her cheeks.

“The Hobbits have had time to start pushing magic into the soil on the mountain's surface. Our magic has had time to mingle with yours.” Grammy pulled away and gestured back towards the statue.

“Our magic built up and today while you were praying you directed the ambient magic and the combination created this. It was able to spread and infiltrate the deeper parts of the mountain, and-”

“It weakened the barrier.” Dis said, interrupting Grammy.

“Yes, exactly.” Grammy grinned.

“Why?” Dis asked, why now?

“It is as it was always meant to be. Our two races together at last.” Grammy explained, watching Dis closely.

Dis reached out her hand and rested it carefully on top of the statue's clasped hands. A pulse of her magic washed over the statues and she swears she felt the brush of theirs as well.

“I would like to train you to be the Priestess for our combined races.” Grammy stated suddenly.

“Why me?” Dis asked, was caught completely off guard.

“I almost thought Kili would be the next spirit leader for our races, but I think his destiny has something different in store for him. I knew the next leader would be a Dwarf and Kili was so close I knew it had to be you, and this just goes to show I am correct.” Grammy gestures towards the addition to the statues.

“You’ve met my sons?” Dis questioned.

“Yes, Kili helped Bilbo and I rid your son, brother, advisor and guard of their gold sickness.” The old Hobbit said, smiling widely at the young Dwarf.

“My son did that? You cured his dragon sickness?” Dis asked, new information swirling in her head making her dizzy.

“He did.”

“Please, I would be honored if you would accept me as an apprentice.” Dis bowed her head.

“The honor would be mine.” Grammy said, her hands coming to rest on Dis’s cheek.

“I brought with me multiple blank journals. You will need one for you to journal your personal thoughts and feelings and another for notes. I have also brought all of the relevant Dwarven text from my library.” Dis straightened up and Grammy’s hand fell to hold onto her arm.

“You were able to purchase spiritual texts from Dwarves? Generally, we shield that information for outsiders.” Dis was curious about this Hobbit.

“These texts have been passed down to each spirit leader since Babblingbrooke healed a Dwarf in the first age.”

Chapter Text

Bright light is the first thing that Bilbo registers as he wakes in the morning. Groaning Bilbo stretches his arms above his head, and basks in the warmth of the morning light. A giggle and silly grin suddenly escape Bilbo as the events of the previous night replay in his mind. 

Oh, sweet tulip. Bilbo sat up, face flushed as he remembered how intense last night was between his Dwarf and himself. 

Running his hands through his disheveled hair Bilbo licked his tingling lips before ghosting a light fingertip over them. Shivering Bilbo flopped back down on his bed. His hair cascading around his head in a shimmering halo. A sudden knock at his door finally roused Bilbo from his bed. Grabbing his robe which he neglected last night Bilbo tied it off before answering the door. 

The sight that greeted him brought a soft smile back to Bilbo’s face. Standing tall and proud in the Hobbits' doorway was Dwalin. Dressed in a nicer dark blue tunic than Bilbo had seen in their limited acquaintance and a pair of dark trousers and dark boots. What truly surprised the Hobbit is the missing twin axes that usually adorned Dwalin’s back. Slowly trailing his eyes back to Dwalins’ and smiled wider at the smug grin seated on the Dwarfs handsome face. 

Bilbo reached out and gently ran his fingers across Dwalin’s cheek towards his neck. Gripping tightly onto the back of the Dwarf’s neck Bilbo stood on the tip of his toes to pull his Dwarf in for a long kiss. Dwalin smiled into the kiss, his strong arms curling around the Hobbits small waist to tug him closer. Dwalin gently pressed the Hobbit into the doorway so they were lined up shoulders to hips. 

Bilbo groaned and deepened the kiss, lapping his tongue against the seam of Dwalin’s lips. Dwalin opened his mouth and snaked his tongue out to meet with Bilbo’s. Their tongues twined together in an intoxicating dance. Bilbo took this opportunity to wind one of his legs around Dwalins’, so he was now straddling his thick thigh. 

Trying to get closer Dwalin pressed his leg harder into the Hobbits crotch. At the unexpected stimulation Bilbo jerked forward and let out a soft mewl. Dwalin broke away to glance down at his Hobbit and let out a growl.

Sometime during their kiss Bilbo’s robe had opened and fallen off of one shoulder exposing his unblemished flesh to the hungry Dwarf’s gaze. Lifting his hand Dwalin gently brought the robe down further until his nipple was exposed to the cool hallway air. Bilbo did a full body shudder causing his hips to twitch against his Dwarfs leg. A moan ripped from deep in the Hobbits chest at the continued friction. 

Dwalin growled one of his hands coming down to hold the Hobbit against him and his head lowered to lick gently at the tempting pink nipple. Bilbo let out another soft moan and would have bucked his hips if Dwalin wasn’t holding him in place. Bilbo reached his hands up and gripped the hair on Dwalin's head and forced his head closer to chest. Encouraging the Dwarf to suckle from him. 

Dwalin groaned and latched onto the nipple freely offered by the Hobbit, and used the hand holding tightly to the Hobbits hip to guide his movements on his thigh. Bilbo let out another soft sound at the gentle suction and the pleasant friction provided to his aching cock. 

“I can feel how wet you are fer me, love. Yer soaking my trousers.” Dwalin whispered, against Bilbo’s chest. 

Bilbo arched into his mouth at the delicious vibrations against his sensitive nipple, and nodded his head absently.

“If you don’t want to get caught, keep yer voice down.” Dwalin continued, placing lingering kisses on the skin of his throat and leading up to his ears. 

Taking his other hand Dwalin placed two fingers on the Hobbits lips. Bilbo opened his mouth and eagerly accepted Dwalins fingers. Dwalin moaned as he watched his Hobbit work his mouth and tongue on his fingers like they were his dick. That thought had Dwalin moving Bilbo faster on his thigh and leaning down to his ear.

“Ye look so good sucking on my fingers. I bet ye would look even better suckin’ on my dick.” Dwalin whispered into his Hobbit's ear.

Bilbo whined and tried to buck faster against Dwalins hold, but the Dwarf was stronger than the Hobbit and held him in place easily. Bilbo moaned heatedly against Dwalins’ fingers at the show of pure strength from his Dwarf. 

Bilbo could feel himself getting closer to the edge of release, and pulled sharply at Dwalin’s hair. Dwalin groaned and latched onto his Hobbit’s ear licking along the shell before sucking the tip into his mouth. Bilbo let out a muffled scream, his release washing over him suddenly like a tidal wave. His whole body shuddered violently in his Dwarf’s grasp. 

Dwalin held tightly to his shaking Hobbit’s frame; murmuring sweet words into his ear. As Bilbo’s body slowly stopped shaking he leaned boneless against Dwalin’s solid build. He gently ran his fingers through Dwalin’s thick hair.

“Good morning.” Bilbo croaked, smiling into Dwalin’s shoulder.

“Mornin’.” Dwalin chuckled, petting down Bilbo’s back. 

“Would you garden with me after breakfast?” Bilbo questioned. 

“Aye, I would love to.” Dwalin responded, planting a kiss on Bilbo's hair. 

They stayed standing in the hall leaning against the door for another moment before Bilbo started squirming. Dwalin gently set him down on the floor, staying pressed close to the Hobbit’s side. 

“Come in and let me take care of you.” Bilbo said, rubbing his hands up the inside of Dwalins’ thighs.

“If I come inside I will be tempted beyond my limits, and I want to follow both of our courting rites. I want ye to be mine with no room for contest.” Dwalin mumbled, kissing Bilbo’s cheek.

“I’m already yours.” Bilbo muttered, rubbing his face in the cloth of Dwalin’s shirt.

His hands played with the ties of Dwalin’s trousers. Dwalin growled at the minx of his Hobbit grabbing both of his hands in one of his and pulling them away from his body. 

“Yer a fucking temptress.” Dwalin groaned.

“Get dressed before ye miss breakfast. We still have much to talk about.” Dwalin continued, guiding Bilbo back into his room. 

“Fine.” Bilbo pouted, leaning up he stole a kiss from Dwalin before moving fully into his room. 

Dwalin watched as Bilbo shut the door and leaned against the door frame. He finally moves away from the door only to freeze as he comes face to face with Kili.

“Wow, you're already breaking the courting rules.” Kili said, raising an eyebrow and glancing between Dwalin and the closed Hobbit door.

“Not technically courting yet.” Dwalin ground out.

“Do not treat Bilbo like he is someone to satisfy your desires with.” Kili said sharply.

“He deserves to be romanced, and courted. Not to be used and thrown away.” He continued, stomping forward toward the other Dwarf.

“I don’t plan to. We'll be gardening together and talking about how to meld our different courting rites together.” Dwalin explained, arms defensively crossing in front of his chest.

“He is my one. I want to be with him fer the rest of my life.” Dwalin continued, staring at the young Dwarf.

“You’re going to garden with him?” Kili asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Aye.” Dwalin nodded at him watching the younger Dwarf.

“Caring for a garden with your courting partner is an important part of the Hobbit courting rites. He’s probably doing it now because we’ll be leaving tomorrow for the journey.” Kili guessed, relaxing after hearing that he plans to court Bilbo.

“What did you get him for the first gift?” Kili asked.

Dwalin pulled out a small box from the pocket of his trousers and held it up for Kili’s inspection. Kili opened the box and let out a low whistle.

“You made this?” He questioned.

“Aye. I borrowed some tools from Bofur and Bifur but I hand made it every night before I went to bed.” Dwalin said, a smile making its way to his face.

“He’s going to love it!” Kili squealed in excitement.

“Who's going to love what?” Bilbo questioned stepping out from his bedroom and standing next to Dwalin.

Kili quickly closed the box and handed it back to Dwalin. Then gave Bilbo a shit eating grin.

“What’s that?” Bilbo asked, wrapping his arms around Dwalin’s waist and trying to peer at the box in his other hand.

“This is for ye.” Dwalin said, holding the box out to him, and wrapping his other arm around his shoulders.

“I would be honored if you would allow me to court ye.” Dwalin said, wrapping both arms around his Hobbit.

“Oh, Dwalin.” Bilbo breathed out as he opened the box and peered in to see a beautiful wooden hair clip.

The light gleamed off of a clip shaped like an oak leaf. A representation of the old oak tree on top of his smial. Bilbo’s eyes misted as he gently lifted the beautifully crafted clip and turned it and saw Dwalin’s maker mark on the back.

“I know it’s not the fanciest first gift-” Dwalin started.

“Hush now. I love it. Will you put it in my hair?” Bilbo asked, looking over his shoulder at Dwalin.

“‘Course.” Dwalin said, eyes wide as he reached out towards the plait his hair was in currently.

Undoing the plait Dwalin gently ran his fingers through the golden curls on his Hobbits head. Once it is untangled he starts braiding the first courting braids into his Hobbits hair right above his ears. Then gathered the unbraided pieces and placed it in the clip and slid the wooden stick in to hold the clip in place. He lifted the braided pieces and entwined them below the clip and finished off with a leather tie.

“As the courting progresses I’ll add more and more braids to your collection until we’re married.” Dwalin whispered in Bilbo’s ear.

Bilbo shivered but turned in place and wrapped his arms around Dwalins neck. Leaning up Bilbo placed a kiss on Dwalin’s lips. Dwalin leaned in trying to deepen the kiss but was interrupted by a throat being cleared behind them. Glancing up they both looked into the smug smile of Kili leaning against the wall. 

“Congratulations. Bilbo, you're late for breakfast.” Kili said, Bilbo groaned and knocked his head into Dwalins shoulder.

“Come on. Let me show off my courting braids and gift then we can go out to the garden.” Bilbo said, pulling away from Dwalin and grabbing his hand to lead him to the kitchen.

____________________________________________________________________________________-

This is something similar to what I was picturing. I finally figured out how to add pictures, lol.

Chapter Text

Bilbo entered the kitchen first followed closely by Dwalin with Kili trailing behind them. Bombur had prepared breakfast for the company and most of the group sat around the table eating and chatting between each other. Bilbo noted that Oin and Gloin where not yet at the table and started to make a plate of the wonderful breakfast that Bombur had made for everyone.

“Today, we need to finish any traveling preparations and plan our route to Erebor. I have finished penning my letters for Lord Elrond and King Thranduil.” Bilbo said, turning to Thorin on his left.

“Is there anything you wanted me to add?” Bilbo questioned. Taking a bite of the hash browns on his plate.

“I-” Thorin started but was interrupted by a loud spluttering.

“Why are ye sending letters to the treeshaggers?” Gloin shouted, coming in behind Bilbo.

Bilbo turned and raised a questioning eyebrow to the irate Dwarrow behind him.

“I am letting them know of our travels so we may have a guaranteed save haven. As I’m sure your company men have informed you there appears to be Orcs waiting in the wings to ambush us.” Bilbo replied dryly. Resigning himself to the confrontation Gloin has been building up to since his arrival.

“So ye say, but what do we have for assurances but yer word?” He snapped, stomping closer to the table.

Bilbo’s brows furrowed and his mouth formed a sneer as he stood and slipping the table knife into his pocket started towards the Dwarrow to meet him halfway.

“My word should be enough. I have opened my home to you and offered you and yours guest rights.” Bilbo glowered.

“I have offered the lush bounty of the Shire to the Dwarrow of Ered Luin. I have kept them from starving and offered them the protection of my lands, and magical protection to your King and heirs .” Bilbo said, anger swirling in his chest and slowly spreading through his limbs.

Gloins eyes widened at something going on behind Bilbo, but the Hobbit was too angry to turn away from the Dwarrow in front of him. Gloin finally looked back at the Hobbit his eyes hardening and a sneer returning to his face.

“At what cost to my kin?” He snapped.

“You couldn’t get your greedy hands on our King or heirs so you settled for the cousin of the King?” He continued, hand reaching out the touch the courting braids twisted through the golden curls.

“You want to talk about cost?” Bilbo yelled. 

At this point the glasses, silverware and plates are rattling on the table, but Bilbo takes no notice. Grabbing Gloins hand he twists around and pulls him over his shoulder and slams him onto the ground of his dinning room. Before Gloin can react Bilbo grabs hold of his beard and pulls the table knife from his pocket and holds it to the base of the Dwarrows beard.

“I am the Master of Bag End. Lord of the Baggins clan, friend to the Elves of the Greenwood and trusted advisor to the Lord of Imladris.” Bilbo slipped into Khuzdul to drive his point home.

“I am the beloved first grandson to the Thain of the Shire. I am the courtee of Dwalin Fundin.” Out the corner of his eye Bilbo notices Dwalin standing at his back facing Oin.

“I demand no cost from you and yours as there is nothing a glorified biscuit accountant could offer to satisfy a repayment for all that I have done, and all that I will do on our journey.” Bilbo finished pressing firmly and drawing a small amount of blood from the underside of Gloins chin.

“For all that he has done for us before even signing up for our journey Bilbo would have been named a trusted friend of the Dwarrow of Erebor. That is an oversight on my part, and I apologize for not naming you so sooner.” Thorin rumbled from the table. Standing and making his way towards the two.

“Have you no honor?” Dwalin sneered towards the Dwarf on the the floor.

“To verbally attack my One in his own home. To besmearch his character after all he has done. By our own laws Bilbo has the right to shear your beard.” Dwalin continued, still standing guard behind his hobbit.

“Dwalin is right, Bilbo. You may shear his beard and all Dwarrow will know that he has brought shame to the name of Durin.” Thorin confirmed.

Bilbo lifted the knife from Gloin’s chin and set it against his sideburns and started to shear the grey beard from Gloin’s face. The whole dinning room was quiet and the only sound to be heard was the rasping noise of the knife against Gloin’s face. Once, the beard was completely removed from Gloins face Bilbo stepped away and stared down at the Dwarrow still on the floor.

“As you are not familiar with guest rights I will inform you that you have thirty minutes to retrieve your belongings and leave my land. You will not be allowed onto my property until proper repentance has been made.” Bilbo informed him, tone flat as he stared down the Dwarrow.

“I’ll make sure he leaves.” Fili said, hauling Gloin to his feet and marching him down the hall towards his room.

Once, they are out of ear shot down the hall Bilbo turns to Oin.

“I do not agree with what my brother said, and I am very sorry Master Baggins.” Oin intoned. Bowing deeply to the Hobbit.

“The apology is not yours to make, but I do not hold the actions of your brother against you.” Bilbo replied.

“I understand, lad.” Oin said, turning to make his way back towards his room.

As Oin leaves Dwalin places his hands onto the Hobbits shoulders. Bilbo leans back against his broad chest and looks at Thorin.

“What do I do with this?” Bilbo asked, holding out the handful of beard.

“You can hold onto it and give it back to him once he has atoned properly for the slight he has made. Or you can burn it showing that the slight is unforgivable and his beard will not grow back forever showing his shame.” Thorin explained.

Bilbo nodded and doing a simple twist wrapped the beard around his wrist and tied it off with a leather tie.

“Is this okay? Or do I need to hide it away?” Bilbo questioned.

“That is perfect, my love. ” Dwalin replied, voice rumbling through Bilbo’s back.

“Congratulations, Bilbo. I hope your courting is blessed.” Ori said, smiling at the Hobbit.

“Thank you, Ori.” Bilbo replied, smiling at the young scribe.

“Aye, thank you, Ori.” Dwalin said.

“Dwalin gave you the first courting gift. How do Hobbits court? Do you also give gifts?” The scribe asked in excitement.

“The first part of courting for Hobbits is testing compatability, and setting the tone for our courtship.” The Hobbit answered leaning into Dwalin’s side.

Dwalin wrapped his arm around the Hobbit’s shoulders pulling the smaller being closer to his body. 

“So, we will begin with gardening. Our magic will mix and if we are compatible the Shire will bless our courting.” Bilbo continued.

“As far as gifts we do give those, but they are not extravagant or fine gems. It’s usually something handmade.” Bilbo finished.

“How long is a Hobbit courtship?” Thorin asked.

“It can last anywhere from three months to a year. It depends on our compatibility, and usually the family will have some suggestions on the length of the courtship.” Bilbo said.

“If your done with your breakfast will you join me in my garden?” Bilbo asked, placing his hand on Dwalin’s chest righ under his beard and tilting his head to look up at the Dwarf.

“‘Course.” Dwalin replied, rubbing his hand down Bilbo’s side.

Bilbo lead Dwalin through his home and to the back garden. Stopping at the chest nestled next to the door Bilbo pulled out some gardening tools, and lead Dwalin to a plot of land that seemed to just have green grass sprouting from the ground. All of the party except for Gloin and Oin follow the two outside and sit around to observe.

“We’ll need to use the hoe’s to clear the soil, and then shape it into mounds.” Bilbo started holding out a hoe to Dwalin.

“I don’t know much ‘bout gardening, but shouldn’t we have seeds or something?” Dwalin asked, holding the hoe in his hand.

“As we work the land and our magic comes together the Shire will judge us and when they decide to bless our courtship then they will shape our magic into a sprout.” Bilbo explained before he showed Dwalin how to start plowing.

“How long does a Dwarven courtship last?” Bilbo asked, the two of them slowly working their way through the plot.

“Generally, between one to four years.” Dwalin replied, glancing up to the Hobbit.

“Our journey to Erebor will take the better part of a year to get there, and then we’d need to settle the whole dragon business.” Bilbo replied, muttering more to himself than to Dwalin.

Dwalin paused in his plowing to stare down at Bilbo. Bilbo was bathed in the mid morning light the soft light making his golden hair shine. The glaze of the oak leaf glinting beautifully in Bilbo’s courting braids. Bilbo glances up at Dwalin to find the tall Dwarf staring at him with a soft gaze.

“Being surrounded by nature suits you. You shine in the sun, my love.” Dwalin praised, gently rubbing his fingers along Bilbo’s cheek.

“Oh, Dwalin.” Bilbo breathed out, grabbing Dwalins’ hand and kissing his fingers.

The two stood for a moment basking in each others presence. Before silently they returned to plowing.

As they plowed and talked the company watching them noticed a soft glowing start to surround the two. Bilbo was glowing a deep almost emerald green, and Dwalin was glowing a steel grey. As they finished clearing the soil the company noticed a white almost iridescent color start to rise from the land.

Ori gasped, and quickly started noting down what was happening in before them. Dwalin said something to Bilbo that caused the latter to laugh loudly, and with his joy the magic surrounding the two glowed brightly before returning to it’s previous state. Bilbo and Dwalin started shaping the soil and try as they might the company couldn’t see what they where doing from their seats.

As Bilbo and Dwalin continue to work their magic began to mix with the iridescent white. The emerald lightens to a bright green and the steel grey to a light grey, and as the two mixed it created a sage green. Once the magic has been mixed thoroughly Bilbo and Dwalin stop and move to stand outside of the plot of land and the sage magic pulses once, twice and three times before being absorbed into the middle of the plot of soil.

A few minutes pass in silence as Bilbo curls into Dwalins’ side, and Dwalin’s hand rests on Bilbos’ hip. Then suddenly sage green magic shoots up from the soil and in it’s wake is a single sprout. As Dwalin opens his mouth six more magic beams shoot from the ground surrounding the first sprout, and four more sprouts grow from the ground.

Bilbo smiles wide and leans up to kiss Dwalin. The company stands and makes their way over to were the Hobbit and Dwarf stand. Looking at the ground the the company see’s a hexagon surrounding the triangles in the center.

There is one triangle with the top point pointing towards the bottom of the hexagon, and the second triangle has the top point pointing towards the top of the hexagon. In the middle is a small triangle pointed in the same direction as the second triangle. The first sprout is settled in the middle of the small triangle and the other six are spread  around the the outside of the two triangles facing opposite directions.

“We’ve been blessed!” Bilbo exclaimed.

“Congratulations!” Ori said, running up to hug Bilbo. Making sure not to step on the soil or sprouts.

“We will spend the journey courting and once we have reclaimed Erebor and after yer crowning and the anyone who wishes to move to Erebor from Ered Luin has been settlede we will be married.” Dwalin said.

“I would be honored to officiate your wedding Dwalin and Bilbo.” Thorin said, gently bringing his forehead to rest carefully on Dwalins’.

“Now, we must get on to preparing for our journey tomorrow. Why don’t we split up?” Bilbo questioned.

“Some can go to the market and get anything that is needed, and some can stay here to pack up what we need.” Ori agreed.

The company split into two groups Balin, Bifur, Ori, Nori, Kili and Fili were sent to the market to acquire what ever anyone needed. Bombur, Bofur and Dori packed up all of the food that was easy to travel with for our journey and prepared what was left for dinner for the night and breakfast for the morning.

Bilbo, Thorin and Dwalin retreated to the Hobbit’s study to plan their route and review the responses received from the shaman and Grammy. Bilbo sent out the letters he wrote allowed Thorin to read to King Thrandiul and Lord Elrond. While Oin was sequestered in his room thinking over the squirmish this morning he smiled at the strength of the Hobbit and hoped his brother quickly realized his mistake and made amends. After checking his current stock he brewed and restocked the medicines in his pack for their upcoming journey.

As the six Dwarrow returned from the market Bombur finished lunch and everyone came together for this meal. Once, they finished they each separated to their own rooms to back up their belongings. Everyone congrugated in the parlour and Thorin broke down the route they will be taking.

“Bilbo has been kind enough to inform me about which areas we should avoid on our journey.” He began.

“There has been rumors of trolls in the woods between the Shire and Imladris. Unfortunately, we will not make it to Imladris tomorrow, so we will need to camp in those woods.” Grumbles of discontent began to come up among the Dwarrow.

“I know I would rather not camp there as well, but we don’t have much of a choice. Once we get to Imladris we will ask Lord Elrond to see if there are moon runes on the map.” He continued cutting through the noise.

“From there we will traverse the Misty mountains and try to make that trek in one day.” Thorin said.

“The Misty mountains have never been particularly safe, but in recent years it has gotten worse. I have had to travel through them with the help of the Rangers. At this time the Rangers are in Rohan and are not able to accompany us at this time.” Bilbo interjected.

“We will then make our way to Mirkwood. We will make camp outside of Mirkwood as Bilbo has reached out to the Elves of the Wood to escort us across their cursed land.” Thorin continued a sneer on his face.

“This is the last stretch of our journey and our last stop before Erebor will be in Esgaroth. Then finally to Erebor.” Thorin finished making eye contact with the other Dwarrow.

“We purchased ponies in the market today along with other supplies, so we can leave after breakfast in the morning.” Balin said.

“Thank y-.” Thorin started.

A loud knocking rang through the room interrupting Thorin. Bilbo frowned, looking around making sure all Dwarrow are accounted for.

“I wonder who that could be.” He said, standing to go open the door.

Bilbo opened the door his eyes widening as he looked up at the tall figure that stood on the other side.

“Gandalf?” Bilbo questioned.

Chapter Text

“Bilbo Baggins, I’m glad that you remember me.” Gandalf said, smiling down at the Hobbit.

“Remember you? Of course, I remember the Wizard that my mother called her dearest friend.” Bilbo started a small smile on his lips.

“The same friend who couldn’t be bothered to attend my mothers funeral. The same dearest friend that has not set foot into the Shire in some twenty odd years until a few months ago to steal from Belladonna’s orphaned son.” Bilbo continued, his smile turning into a sneer as he tore into the grey Wizard standing in front of him.

“You, Gandalf, forsook your friendship with the family of Baggins at our greatest time of need, and stole one of the few heirlooms left by my mother after her passing.” Bilbo’s angry rant drew the attention of the Dwarves in the living room. 

“I forbid you from entering any Baggins property and henceforth renounce our ties to Gandalf the Grey.” Bilbo stated green magic swirling between the two and Gandalf’s own magic reacted to the angry words. Rising slowly to sooth the anger that is radiating off the Hobbit.

“Bilbo-.” Gandalf started, wide eyed and beseeching to the Hobbit before the agitated magic physically threw him off of Bilbo’s land.

With that done Bilbo turned and stomped off deeper into the house. Dwalin threw a glare in the Wizards direction, and followed after his Hobbit. Thorin made their way to the edge of Bilbo’s property to speak with the old Wizard.

“You stole from my kin, Tharkun.” Thorin began, brows furrowed and eyes wearily taking in the Wizard.

“I stole from no Dwarves, Thorin.” Gandalf huffed angrily. 

“A lot has changed since last we spoke, Tharkun.” Thorin spoke.

“So, I can see Master Dwarf.” Gandalf said through gritted teeth.

“No, you cannot. The Hobbits are not what we, what I, expected them to be when you first told us to meet you in the Shire.” Thorin cut in somberly.

“They have been more than accommodating they have saved my people from starvation, and it all started with that young Hobbit.” Thorin pointed towards the open door.

“All Hobbits might not be kin by the blood through our veins but they are the kin of our hearts. Bilbo, is being courted by Dwalin my cousin and Balin’s brother.” Thorin revealed, Gandalf gasped and his eyes widened.

“So yes you technically may not have stolen from a Dwarf, but you did steal from a Dwarf’s kin and we take that just as seriously.” Thorin paused watching Gandalf closely.

“We leave in the morning and make for Imladris.” Thorin sighed turning and walking towards the open door. 

Thorin left Gandalf to stare after him in shock. Bilbo slammed his bedroom door open and began pacing around the room angrily muttering under his breath. Dwalin stood in the doorway watching as his Hobbit made circuits around the room.

“I knew eventually that I would see him. Speak with him even on this journey.” Bilbo started still pacing the length of his room.

“I didn’t believe it would be this soon, or that I would react with so much rage.” The Hobbit came to a stop and blew out an angry sigh.

“He took something precious from you, beloved. Of course you would react the way that you did, and from what you have shown me the way you tore into him was deserved.” Dwalin said, walking into the room and grabbing Bilbo’s wrist gently and leading him over to the bed.

Dwalin sat down on the bed and pulled Bilbo between his legs and settled his large hands on Bilbo’s waist. Now sitting on the bed Bilbo and Dwalin where the same height.

“ My jewel , you where absolutely magnificent dealing with both Tharkun and Gloin. You allowed them both an opportunity to make amends, and not many would be able to offer forgiveness for what they’ve done.” Dwalin rumbled, hands slowly rubbing  circles into Bilbo’s hips.

“While I have no memories of Gandalf myself I remember the stories my mother would tell me of her travels with him and I feel like not at least giving him a chance to be the person my mother remembered would be a disservice to him.” Bilbo responded, letting out a sigh and leaning his weight more heavily against the Dwarf in front of  him.

“I think Gloin is just clinging to the mentality that all outsiders will take advantage of Dwarves, so of course I had to give him the chance to open his eyes. To see all of the good and the possibilities that are now open to both of our people.” Bilbo continued.

“We’re building the foundations to something truly outstanding, darling. Once he sees and understands then I will be able to forgive what he said.” Bilbo explained, swaying in his Dwarf’s  grip.

“ Magnificent .” Dwalin rumbled smiling at his Hobbit.

Using the grip he had on the Hobbits hips Dwalin pulled Bilbo further into his embrace.  The Hobbit came willingly wrapping his arms around Dwalins' neck and sliding his fingers into the long hair there. Dwalin leaned forward at the same time as Bilbo and their foreheads knocked together gently.

With a background of sunlight streaming in through Bilbo’s windows the two were enveloped in a warm glow as they basked in each others presence. It felt like a matter of seconds that a soft knock on the door frame disturbed the tranquil scene. Separating slightly the two looked and found Thorin in the doorway.

“Thorin.” Dwalin greeted wrapping his arms around the Hobbit’s waist.

“We will follow Bilbo’s direction when it comes to interacting and listening to the advice of the Wizard.” Thorin states without preamble.

“We have a solid plan there is not much that Gandalf can advise on unless something happens on the road.” Bilbo replied dryly, taking a seat on Dwalins thigh.

“Hmm, I figured but I wanted to show our support for you and the volatile relationship you have with him.” Thorin said. 

“I appreciate that Thorin, you, Dwalin and Balin have been a great support for me.” Bilbo replied, standing and moving to clap Thorin on the shoulder.

“I’m going to get started on dinner the others should be back shortly.” Bilbo said, and walked around Thorin to head to the kitchen.

“How’re you doing, cousin?” Thorin asked, leaning against the door frame much like Dwalin had a short while ago.

“Truthfully, utterly besotted with the Hobbit, cousin.” Dwalin replied, a wide grin splitting his face.

“Who would’ve thought you’d find someone that matched you so well. You where so sure you would never find your One .” Thorin teased lightly.

“I truly didn’t, he is everything I could wish for. I thank Mahal everyday that I’ve found him.” Dwalin replied. 

Sudden loud voices echo down the hall leading to the entryway. Dwalin huffs out a laugh before standing.

“It seems the others are finally back we should go assist them with their parcels.” He said gesturing past Thorin.

“Hmm, and share the latest gossip about what happened with Tharkun.” Thorin replied turning and making his way to the front of the Hobbit home.

“You are just as bad as those gossip monger Dwarrow-Dam’s at Ered Luin.” Dwalin laughed following after his King.

Thorin sends an unrepentant smile over his shoulder towards Dwalin as they make their way to the entrance. Bombur, Bofur and Dori stood in the entry way chattering to each other as they attempted to remove their cloaks and shoes.

“Welcome back.” Thorin said, the three Dwarves get louder as they in turn greet their fellow Dwarves.

“Let us help you with these while you get out of your travel items.” Dwalin stated, holding out his arms to take some of the items from the three Dwarves.

Now with their burden handed off they are able to successfully remove their travel items while Thorin and Dwalin bring the food stuffs to the kitchen. Bilbo was busy at the stove so Thorin and Dwalin deposited their goods into the pantry. In that time Bombur joined Bilbo in the kitchen to assist in getting dinner done so they can start on preparing the food for travel.

More voices in the entryway caught Dwalin’s attention and knowing it was likely the rest of their party he returned to greet them. 

“Welcome back, brother!” Dwalin exclaimed, knocking his forehead against Balins’.

“Dwalin, we got everything on the list and the Hobbits threw in some extra supplies as well.” Balin said, greeting his brother and Thorin.

“Deposit it in the den. We will distribute everything after dinner.” Thorin instructed. Quiet murmurs of agreement sounded from the group of Dwarrow as they moved towards the den to leave the goods they brought with them.

Dwalin moved back to the kitchen to see if there was anything he could assist his beloved in completing. It looks like Bombur was able to help Bilbo finish dinner in record time and so the Dwarf decided to help set up the dining room. As if by magic the remaining Dwarves made their way to the kitchen as soon as the last dish was set upon the table.

Chuckling, Dwalin pulled out Bilbo’s seat dropping a kiss on the crown of his head and taking the seat next to him. Dwalin filled a plate with meat and some sides and handed it to his Hobbit before he filled his own plate. Low murmurs spread across the table as the company savored what is the last night of comfort until they made it to Rivendell. Dwalin felt a nudge to his calf and turned to look at the Hobbit beside himself with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s got you all broody?” The Hobbit teased, leaning in to whisper to the tall Dwarf.

“It’s our last night in yer home.” Dwalin said, leaning closer his hand coming to rest on the back of Bilbo’s seat.

“Hmm, yes and no.” Bilbo said, popping a piece of broccoli into his mouth.

Dwalin hummed slightly distracted as he watched the way the muscles in Bilbo’s jaw work. He had to fight the urge to trace the flesh with his mouth as Bilbo swallowed.

“Yes, it will be the last night in my ancestral home. No, it won’t be the last night that we are in my home. My home will always be where ever you are, my love.” Bilbo said.

His hand coming up to his Dwarf’s chest, and lightly ghosting his fingers along the cloth of his shirt til he made contact with skin. Bilbo slipped his hand under the hem of Dwalins’ shirt to rest against his pectoral feeling the strong beating of his heart. They sat there holding and touching each other for what felt like hours but what was likely only minutes. A throat clearing brought the Hobbit and Dwarf back to themselves and remember that they are in the middle of dinner.

“Was Amad and Adad this love struck when they courted Irak’adad ?” Fili asked, looking between Dwalin and Bilbo.

“Hmm, your Amad and Adad where actually much worse. They could barely keep their hands off of each other. I had the unfortunate duty of being the more regular chaperone to your parents.” Thorin replied, smiling at his two nephews.

“Oh aye they caused quiet the scandal among the majority of the old council members. Vili, was very much in love with your Amad and would do anything she asked of him.” Balin spoke up, sharing a commiserating glance with Thorin.

“What di-did Adad look like?” Kili hesitatingly asked.

“ Amad doesn’t talk about him at all and I don’t remember him.” Kili finished, fiddling with his hands.

“Fili, looks a lot like Vili. He has the same hair color and similar stature. However, Fili inherited Durin’s eye color and hair texture.” Thorin explained, gesturing vaguely to Fili.

“You Kili, inherited your Adad’s kind heart, eye shape, eye color and hair texture. Vili’s hair also didn’t hold braids very well. Similarly to yours, Kili.” Thorin paused looking at the two of them.

“You two are the perfect mixture of your parents. I know your Amad doesn’t talk about Vili, and that’s because they where bonded as One . She almost followed him to our ancestors hall of waiting. The only thing that kept her here with us was the two of you and not wanting to leave the two of you without both parents.” Thorin sighed, standing and making his way to the now crying boys.

Bilbo slowly stood up and gestured everyone into the den to try and give the three a moment of privacy. Everyone but left Thorin and his nephews in the dining room to bond and talk about their lost loved ones. Everyone settled around the den relaxing and chattering softly amongst themselves.

A while later Thorin, Kili and Fili settled in amongst the others in the den and joined in the conversation.

“Before it gets too late we need to divide up the the supplies that we will each carry on our travels.” Thorin said, and everyone stood to gather their packs and reconvened in the den.

Various food stuffs, blankets, cloaks and even the odd handkerchief are passed around to each member. As the bags are filled the Thorin regaled the story of Tharkun’s arrival to the company members who may have missed it. Many hissed in displeasure at the mention of the Wizard, but soon laughter rang out as Thorin explained in explicit detail how Bilbo gave the Wizard a dressing down. 

Many of the company were in agreement with Thorin that they would follow Bilbo’s lead since it was the Hobbit that was dealt such a slight. Once all of the bags had been packed Bilbo stood and made his way to his bedroom. He picked up the box with Kona’s gem inside and brought it out to the den.

“Thorin, Dwalin and I were going to explain what happened last night to all of you at breakfast, but it seems that things got away from us a little there.” Bilbo started, box lying in his lap as he looked at the company in front of him. 

“We found Kona’s gem last night. It was hidden by my father in the fireplace. There was an ancient magic waiting with a message for us from one of the ancient Dragons, Tarak.” Bilbo paused and opened the lid of the box spinning it around so the other’s would be able to see the glowing gem inside.

“We have the ability to end the corruption on Smaug and return him to his natural state of being, Kona. We cannot simply give him the stone as corrupted as he is, but if we speak his name and see his golden magic we can give him the stone.” Bilbo continued giving an abbreviated version of what they heard last night. 

“What will happen then? He’ll be a good Dragon? He’ll pinkey promise not to invade our lands again?” Nori snapped, idly spinning a dagger in between his fingers.

“I don’t know what exactly will happen Nori, but I do know that this is probably the easiest way for us to deal with the issue of the sleeping Dragon.” Bilbo replied.

“How do you know he isn’t dead? He hasn’t terrorized anyone in fifty years.” Dori questioned, eyeing the stone cautiously.

“Tarak said the stone would turn black if we gave it to him while it was still corrupted. So, one can assume that if the stone and Dragon are so tied if he had died the stone too would meet the same fate.” Bilbo reasoned, everyone made vaguely agreeing noises.

“I agree that this would be the easiest way to end our dragon plight. The original plan was to have our burglar, you Bilbo, go in by themselves to confirm if the Dragon was dead.” Balin said, itching at his beard in thought.

“That won’t be happening.” Dwalin rumbled looking around at the gathered Dwarves.

“Nay, brother it won’t. If we must say his name until we see his magic then it might be prudent for all of us to enter the mountain and find various points and call the name together.” Balin continued, looking around at the other members of the company.

“The kids-” Dori started, looking over at Ori.

“We are not kids, Dori!” Ori yelled at his oldest brother.

“We are all past majority, and have agreed to come on this journey voluntarily. We have trained for this all of our lives. You cannot continue to treat us like children. That could get us all killed.” Exasperated Ori threw his hands up and stormed from the den.

“He’s right Dori.” Nori said, looking after his youngest brother.

“You may not like it, but he is right. You’ve raised him to be a fine young Dwarf. You must let him forge his own path forward.” Nori stood also leaving the den.

Dori sighed and nodded to the company around them and made followed after his younger brothers. With most of the plan finally figured out everyone started to disperse into their own quarters for the night. Dwalin and Bilbo where the last to leave the den walking hand in hand till they reached the master bedroom.

“Who will care for your home while you travel?” Dwalin asked, delaying their parting for as long as he could.

“The Gamgee’s will look after the day to day things, and my cousin Drogo will take on duties of the Head of Family while I am away.” Bilbo replied, pulling the Dwarf in by their clasped hands.

“Good night, my Dwalin.” Bilbo said, standing on the tip of his toes and ghosting his lips across the Dwarfs.

“Dream of me for I shall dream of you, beloved .” Dwalin said, leaning forward the scant few inches that remained between them and sealed their lips in a kiss.

Bilbo tangled his hand in Dwalins beard as their kiss depend, and Dwalins hands tangled in the loose hair under Bilbo’s oak hair clip. They kissed for a few more moments before separating and knocking their foreheads together to bask in their developing bond. The hoot of an owl outside the hallway window cause the two to separate and with one lingering kiss Bilbo slipped into his room.

Bilbo laid curled under his sheets as a smile curved over his lips. The coming journey will be hard, but with his Dwarf by his side he knew they would make it.

_______________________________________________________

As the morning sun broke through the window in the kitchen the shape of the resident Hobbit could be seen twirling around in the kitchen preparing a filling breakfast for his company. They would be leaving in a few hours and Bilbo wanted to share with his company of Dwarves one last Hobbit meal. Warm arms circled around his waist and Bilbo’s smile gentled as he leaned against his Dwarf for a few moments.

They separated as a timer went off and Dwalin began setting the table in what had quickly become a routine for the couple. As they prepared for breakfast together the domesticity of the moment made the two forget about the looming departure and allowed them to just enjoy the feeling of love they shared for each other.

Just as soon as plates of food where set on the table the sound of socked feet could be heard coming down the hallway. Kili rounded the corner a sleepy smile on his face as he greeted the courting pair. With the arrival of Kili, Bilbo knew that Fili wouldn’t be far behind his brother, and sure enough the blonde Dwarf stumbled into the kitchen not a minute later.

Bilbo laughed softly and leveled a kiss to the young Dwarfs forehead ushering him into the seat next to his brother. Bilbo and Dwalin took their seats and the four began to fill their plates. As if summoned by the sound of food being consumed the rest of the company made their way to the breakfast table send out garbled greetings as they arrived. Breakfast was a quick affair as Thorin was eager to get on the road.

Bofur and Bifur offered to wash the remaining dishes as everyone dispersed to get ready for the day. Once dressed Bilbo grabbed his bag double checking that Kona’s stone was safely tucked away, and made his way to the entrance hall. He was met with Dwalin strapping his boots to his feet, and oilskin cloak attached to his shoulders.

Bilbo smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of his beloveds’ head his own cloak weighing down his shoulders. Dwalin, paused and looked up at his Hobbit and returned his affection by kissing his knuckles.

“Do you know were the ponies Balin bought might be? I don’t remember seeing them yesterday.” Bilbo asked, his hand rubbing into Dwalins shoulder.

“If they’re not in the front or back he might’ve let them graze in the field across tha way.” Dwalin answered, resuming his work of getting his shoes on.

Opening the front door Bilbo set his pack down outside and glanced around. Sure enough across the grassy road thirteen ponies could be spotted grazing by the fence. He set to work bringing the ponies in from the pasture and tying them to his fence posts so the rest of his company could saddle their own pony.

He grabbed his bag brought it to his pony and started to attach it to the back end and make sure it was secure. Bilbo could admit he wasn’t the biggest fan of riding ponies being so far from the ground felt unnatural to him. He would prefer to walk, but there was a sense of urgency that settled into his shoulders. Taking the ponies would allow the Dwarves to travel quicker. 

It would be just as quick for me to travel on foot as it would be for Dwarves to travel by pony. Bilbo thought, a small smile crossing his face.

Eventually, the Dwarves made their way outside and began saddling their ponies as well. As everyone climbed their horses and started to get their baring Bilbo called out.

“I’m going to lock the door does anyone need anything from the smial?” The Dwraves seemed to think on it before calling in the negative.

As Bilbo made his way back to the smial he looked inside and grabbed walking stick.

“Couldn’t leave without you now could I?” The Hobbit muttered to himself. Locking the smial door Bilbo turned and made his way back to his horse.

He noticed Gloin hastily strapping down his pack and clambering onto the pony and choose to ignore him for now. Bilbo situated his walking stick through the straps holding down his pack and jumped onto the back of his pony. Grabbing the reins Bilbo pulled his pony to stand beside Dwalin. 

“We will make our way through the main streets of Hobbiton and towards Bree and onto the East Road that will lead us to Imladris.” Thorin said, turning his pony and starting the journey through Hobbiton. 

As they rode through Hobbiton Market the Hobbits that were out and about waved and wished them a safe journey. Many Hobbits offered the company members small snacks as well as blessings. The Dwarves accepted all the gifts with grace. Bilbo turned around and watched Gloin for a moment. 

At first the white haired Dwarf was tense and refused to acknowledge the Hobbits, but a small child being carried on their parents shoulder held out a handmade wooden ax. Gloin looked at the offering and the small child and accepted the gift exchanging words that had the small child smiling. Gloin looked at the wooden ax in his hand and glanced up and locked eyes with Bilbo. 

The two locked eyes for a moment before Gloin looked away staring at the crowd that continued to send their well wishes as they left the market. Bilbo turned around and glances at Dwalin; who raised an eyebrow at the interaction. Bilbo shrugged and shared a small smile before looking forward as they continued on their way.

Eventually, the passed the Green Dragon in and spotted Gandalf perching himself on top of a horse fit for a Human man of his stature. Bilbo did not acknowledge Gandalf and true to their words the other Dwarves followed his lead. Gandalf joined the end of their line next to Gloin who though also currently on the ousts with the company took their queue and did not acknowledge the Wizard.

Most of the company rode in companionable silence with the exception being the twin Dwarves that took up riding behind Thorin and Balin but in front of Dwalin and Bilbo. They kept looking around commenting on the scenery and shooting jokes back and forth between themselves. Just as they crossed the border between Hobbiton and Buckland Thorin called a halt to their parade for a quick break.

Everyone dismounted their horses and allowed them to graze as Bombur and Bilbo began making a quick midday meal. Now that they where traveling they would only be consuming three meals a day with snack as needed instead of the seven that the Dwarves had grown used to. After everyone had eaten and they had been allotted time to rest they resumed making their way to Bree.

Hours passed as the company kept marching at a steady pace; Bilbo reckoned they would reach the outskirts of Bree by three or four in the afternoon. Sure enough they reached the border of Buckland and Bree by a quarter to four. Just as they where crossing over the border a wave of warm magic swept through the company.

Everyone stopped and turned their horses to look behind them and there in the distance was the mountainous range of Ered Luin. Seeing the whole mountain range was awe inspiring, but what really stole the breath from the company members was that a small section of the mountain was glowing an iridescent white. It brought to mind memories of the magic that mixed with Bilbos and Dwalins just a day ago in the garden. It brought to mind the feeling of the cleansing earlier in their stay in the Shire.

The whole company associated that color and warmth with their experience staying in the Shire, and now it seemed that the Shire was sending them on their journey with a blessing of it’s own.