Healing, Magic, And Unexpected Adventures

Chapter Seventeen - Barrels and Fish

The wind was fresh on my face. It had been so long since I was out in the open, I had forgotten how good it felt. My knuckles tightened slightly on the railing - I knew I would never take my freedom for granted again. And I wasn't just talking about physical freedom.

'How does a halfling healer end up escorting a group of dwarves?' the man asked me. He had told me his name was Bard.

We were up at the back of the boat whilst the rest of the company sat at the front. It was the best position to get the fresh air.

'I was lucky enough to gain a reputation with a person of influence,' I answered. 'He recommended me, and I had nothing better to do.'

'You look like you have travelled a long way.'

'We had a few unexpected detours,' I responded. My mind went back to Goblin Town, and then how Fili had laced his fingers in between mine. I couldn't help a brief glance as he sat with his brother.

Bard chuckled at the flatness of my tone - he too understood and appreciated the use of sarcasm.

'Why does all your trade come from the Woodland realm?' I asked.

'What do you mean?'

'It seems like a pretty bad idea to make all your trade rely on one place,' I said. 'If anything were to happen to it, then Laketown would suffer.'

'The Master of Laketown is not the smartest man there,' he said. 'He prides himself on intellect he does not have. He bleeds the town dry for riches, and the Woodland realm are willing to satisfy any thirst left over. He does not think he needs trade with anyone else.'

'He sounds stupid,' I said, and Bard chuckled again.

The fog had gathered around us, making it hard to see. Bard moved the boat through the water with a practiced ease, but the others didn't share the same confidence I had in his abilities.

'Look out,' Bofur called from the front as a shape loomed into view. Bard was turning away from it before it appeared, but nobody but me noticed this.

'What are you trying to do?' Thorin demanded. 'Drown us?'

'I was born and bred on these waters, Master Dwarf,' Bard replied casually. 'If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here.'

They began muttering, and I left the freshness of where I was standing to try and calm some of them down.

'Bard,' Bilbo was saying. 'His name's Bard.'

'How do you know?' Bofur asked.

'I asked him.'

'I don't care what he calls himself, I don't like him,' Dwalin said.

'We do not have to like him, we simply have to pay him,' Balin told him. 'Come on now, lads, turn out your pockets.'

The dwarves busied themselves with offering up what money they had. I had never come with any, and lent on the railing, letting the wind play with the loose strands of my hair.

My eyes were keener than the dwarves, so I was the first to see it. There, out of the thinning fog, came the outline of a mountain.

I inhaled, looking at our destination. Fili  heard, and his eyes snapped to where mine where looking. Slowly, one by one, I heard each of the dwarves standing to view their home.

'It's beautiful,' I said.

'The money,' Bard said. 'Quick, give it to me.'

'We'll pay you when we get our provisions, but not before,' Thorin told him.