Thorin's Jewel

A sickened forest

Kylaney woke in the morning and wandered around with bilbo until she found the dwarves.

Visiting with Thorin last night, she discovered he was caring, unlike she had thought of dwarves. She thought that dwarves were selfish cold-hearted beings, but visiting with Thorin made her question if she was wrong.

Kylaney sat down at the table.

~Kylaney's pov~

Beorn handed me a big mug of what seemed to be milk.

I smiled and looked up at him. "Thank you."

Beorn nodded and continued to serve the dwarves.

"So you are the one they call Oakenshield?" Beorn asks Thorin. "Tell me, why is Azog the defiler hunting you?"

Hold up. Azog is hunting him? What did I get myself into?

"You know of Azog? How?"

"My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the orcs came down from the north. The defiler killed most of my family. But some he enslaved. Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin changers, torturing them, seemed to amuse him."

"There are others like you?" Bilbo asked.

"Once, there were many."

"Now?"

"Now, there's only one." "You need to reach the mountain before the last day of autumn?" Beorn asked while sitting down.

"Before Durin's day, yes." Gandalf answered.

"You are running out of time."

"Which is why we must go through Mirkwood."

Ouhhh, elves.

"The darkness lies upon that forest. Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the orcs of Moria and the necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not. Venture there, except in great need."

"We will take the Elven road. Their path is still safe."

Where am I in all of this? Do I get to go home?

"Safe? The wood elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They are less wise and more dangerous."

Ouch. I'm pretty sure I'm an wood elf.

"Says the skin changer." I mumbled under my breath.

Thorin, who was standing behind me, nudged me telling me he heard me and telling me to shut up.

"But it matters not." Beorn added.

"What do you mean?" Thorin asked.

"These lands are crawling with orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive."

Ouhhh, mission impossible. I'm joining their 'company' or whatever, sounds like a fun way to die.

Beorn stands up. "I don't like dwarves...they're greedy and blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own..." Beorn said while picking up a white mouse.

Oh shoot.

"...but orcs, I hate more." "What do you need?"

Phew.

~not too long after~

Beorn granted the dwarves ponies and horses.

Thorin walked over to me, who was standing in the sidelines.

"Are you coming with us, lady Kylaney?"

I just shrugged.

"As Beorn said, 'these lands are crawling with orcs.'. It would be folly to be on your own."