In a Father's Embrace

Chapter 19

Thraya paced about nervously. "Why did I let him go?" she asked no one in particular.

"Patience, young one," Gandalf advised. "Master Baggins is so much more than meets the eye."

"I know, I know..."

"Then trust him. He volunteered for the task because he believed he could do it. Have a little faith."

"Trust and worry aren't mutually exclusive," she snapped. "I can trust him to hold his own and still worry that he'll encounter a situation far past his abilities. Just because..." she trailed off at the sound of a warg howl. "That's definitely closer than the last one," she breathed. "That's not good."

"No, it certainly isn't," Gandalf agreed.

She stood still, listening intently. Between the wind, the distant steps of wargs and the sounds of the local wildlife, she was picking up something...some footfalls of some creature larger than a warg. Before she had time to properly worry about it, she caught the sound of subtle feet and heavy breathing.

Bilbo...

She turned towards the sound and her eyes fell on his approaching figure dodging through the terrain as fast as he possibly could.

"He's back!" she called to the party. "Bilbo's back!"

"How close is the pack?" Thorin asked immediately.

"Too close," Bilbo answered, gasping for breath. "Couple of leagues, no more. But that's not the worst of it."

"What's-" Thraya was cut off by Dwalin.

"Have the orcs picked up our scent?"

"Not yet, but they will soon. We have another problem."

"What's the problem?" Thraya asked urgently.

"Did they see you?" Gandalf demanded. "They saw you!"

"No, that's not it!" Bilbo's tone was growing gradually more frustrated.

"Good, what did I tell you?" the wizard rambled to the dwarves. "Quiet as a mouse. Excellent burglar material."

"Will you listen?" Bilbo shouted over the dwarves' conversations. "I'm trying to tell you there is something else out there!"

"What is it?" Thraya asked. Bilbo opened his mouth to answer her but was interrupted once again by the wizard.

"What form did it take? Like a bear?"

"Ye...yes, but bigger. Much bigger."

"That's comforting," Thraya grumbled.

"You knew about this beast?" Bofur demanded. The wizard gave no answer and instead looked very perplexed.

"Gandalf knows about a lot," Thraya reasoned. "It doesn't necessarily mean he's always prepared for it. Give him a moment!"

"I saw we double back," Bofur suggested.

"And be run down by a pack of orcs?" Thorin growled angrily.

"There is a house," Gandalf said. "It's not far from here, where we might take refuge."

"Whose house?" Thorin asked. "Are they friend or foe?"

The look on the wizard's face was anything but comforting. "Neither. He will help us or he will kill us."

Thorin looked reasonably unhappy about the situation. He chanced a nervous glance at Thraya who shrugged, then grimaced from the movement of her wounded arm.