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Not at all according to plan

Chapter 153: Kili

Chapter Text

The air was cold enough to make their breath frost and glitter like stars in the torchlight. Below, in the foregate, Dain’s carters were hitching up the goats and leading them out through the gate. Lord Elrond’s tall gelding was saddled and ready along with the does that would carry Thorin, Kili, Dwalin, and cousin Thorin. Twenty warriors on war boars were waiting at the first turn of the River Running.  The elfking’s honor-guard, seven Elves from Mirkwood, Tauriel, the Elven pack-horses, and Thranduil’s enormous elk would be at the lakeshore tonight. 

After all the planning and packing staring at maps it was finally time to go.   “I’m a little…unsettled,” Kili admitted. “I’ve never been away from you. My whole life, you have been there.” 

Fi laughed. “You go hunting without me all the time.” 

“Yes. For a few days. We’ll be gone months!” 

Fi sighed. “And I wish I were going with you.” 

“That goes without saying. I’m going to have much more fun than you will.” He glanced over. Fi looked woebegotten. “You’ll have Balin and Dain and Ori to help. And Dori–he’s very good at organizing. And food is arriving regularly. So.” 

“You’ll look after Uncle, won’t you?”

“Not in a hurry to be king?” 

“How could you even say that? That’s rotten!” 

“Well, you’re being all–” Kili waved a hand helplessly. “We’ll be fine. There are hardly any orcs left in the world. And we won’t travel fast–”

“Most of the orcs left in the whole world are in the south. The actual south , Kili. Where you are going.”

Kili hunched slightly. “Yes. All right.” Below, the last cart was headed through the gate. “If Amad comes before we return–” 

“She won’t. The caravan probably won’t even be to Mirkwood by then.”

“Yes. But if she does get here before us, tell her I’m sorry I couldn’t wait. And I’m not avoiding her because, you know. I’m really not.”

Fi smiled slyly. “Mum will be so happy about me getting the greater gift she won’t even notice you’re gone. Or married to an Elf.” 

Kili kicked her playfully in the boot. He considered wrestling, but they were in full view of everyone and Fi was about to be regent. So she should be dignified. And reliable. And wise. 

Below a silence fell.  Thorin was coming to the foregate. He wore light armor and a thick fur cloak. His hair was in travel braids and Orcrist was strapped across his back. And he was walking with a slight waddle.  “I’ll look after him,” Kili whispered. 

*** 

The road through Dale and on to the Long Lake had been repaired enough that the royal procession could reach the camp on the lakeshore before dark. It was a nice camp: tents already raised, supper cooking over a camp stove, and no worries about packing up in the morning because there was a crew for that. 

The boats of Laketown had been anchored far from shore; retreating orcs had pillaged and burned Esgaroth, but they were not great swimmers, and almost all of the barges and fishing boats had survived. In the morning, again before dawn, they had used a hastily-erected stone jetty to load the entire procession onto boats and begin the trip down by water. The sun came up to find all of them sailing across the calm water. 

Kili had asked Lord Elrond, since he had commanded the winds atop Ravenhill during the battle, if he could speed their travel along the lake.  He had expected a simple yes or no. Instead, he got nearly an hour of Second Age history and a good lot of magical theory. The conversation left him both horrified and relieved….and with the intent to eventually research the forging of magic into mithril. 

But no. They could only use the natural wind and the skill of the Lakemen manning the boats for them. 

The shore–still grey and leafless–was boring. And there was nothing to do for hours. But. It was not a bad day. The sun glinted on the water. The wind was chilly and damp and sweet-smelling. Tauriel looked breathtaking standing on the deck with her hair blowing about.  

They slept one night on the boats and the next afternoon disembarked at the far shore and set up camp.  Thorin had two ravens with him, and he sent them up to scout.  They came back quickly with word of a party of ‘few’ Men (ravens could not count past three) and heavily laden donkeys. Traders.  The Men from the boat went to meet them–they could offer them a ride back toward Erebor, if they would take it. 

 Most of the company was Dwarves and Mirkwood Elves, who did things quite differently. There were also two Elves from Rivendell and three Men: Princess Sigrid (currently wearing trousers in the Dwarven style as the page Siggy) and a trader and his down-river wife who were acting as guides. The mounts included horses, ponies, goats, and an elk. 

Getting everyone off the boats and setting up camp was the first real test of the procession. Kili and Tauriel had been put in charge of the planning because they needed to combine strengths of each style while avoiding disagreement and replication.  

The biggest disagreement so far had been over who was to stand guard at night.  The Elves needed less sleep than mortals, and so maintained they were better suited.  The Dwarves disagreed; what was the point of anyone standing guard if they could not see well in the dark. It seemed to be posturing over superiority, but Kili suspected it was distrust. The habits of living together peacefully over the winter were very new, while the habits of assuming the others were unreliable were old and well-practiced. 

They solved the problem by putting Tauriel in charge of a rota: from the time Kili gave the order to make camp until they pulled out of the next morning four shifts of guards, each composed of three Dwarves and three Elves, would patrol. 

Fortunately, both Elves and Dwarrow were good travelers. Also fortunately, they were all busy enough that there wasn’t a lot of time to find things to squabble over. During the day, the Elves scattered about and scouted ahead, finding the path most convenient for the carts. Dwarves wrangled the carts, since (draft horses being less reliable over uncertain terrain) they were pulled by Iron Hills’ goats. 

At the ford of a small tributary a day south of the lake, the procession smelled woodsmoke.  Nori slipped off and returned with a report of a small farming village in the woods.  Elrond, Kili, and the Man trader approached on foot with coins and tools to trade. The farmers were frightened at first. They had never seen either a Dwarf or an Elf before. Three people was not a frightening group, though, and eventually they had come out of the stockade with bread and salt and a blanket to sit on. The visit was mainly answering questions.  When the visit was done, they caught up with the procession at camp bearing fresh butter, honey, and three large jars of cider.