The Dragon Witch: A Hobbit x Reader

May 3, 3008: The Shreik Of An Orc

We kept riding through the terrain, heading towards a forest. We got inside and found a rocky cliff ledge. Thorin and Gandalf both agreed to rest here. Every Dwarf humbly accepts this as they almost all drop where they stand.

"Uncle, you could have at least told us that Erebor was halfway across Middle Earth. My legs feel as if they are going to fall right off!" Fili whines as he "gracefully" descends from his pony. I also see Bilbo struggle as he gets down. He stumbles a bit and almost falls flat on his face. "My goodness everyone is just falling apart," I say laughing behind my hand. I descend off of Raja and have to find my balance.

We all pull out our sleeping rolls to get them in position and start gathering wood for a campfire. Most of the Dwarves had already left for the world of dreams. Though some of us are not able to ease into rest because of Bombur's snoring, me included.

I'm just sitting by the fire with Fili, Kili, and Kenai resting in my lap, sharing small tales of previous adventures we'd had. I decide to get up when I see from the corner of my eye, Bilbo getting up to sneak his pony an apple. I sit Kenai down and walk toward Bilbo and grab some extra meat from the pack I made for Raja.

I pull out some rabbit that had been killed recently and feed it to Raja. I look at Bilbo and put my fingers across my mouth like a zipper (we were never here). We both were pulled from our silent conversation by a stray shriek that ripples in the air. He looks towards the brothers by the fire,

"What was that?" Kili answers "Orcs." 'Orcs?" (Has he never heard of an Orc) I see that the shriek had also gained the attention of Thorin. Fili and Kili start teasing Bilbo about Orcs like they were monsters from a fairytale. "Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there."

I could see the look of disappointment on Thorin's face because of his nephews. "The lone lands are crawling with them. They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood." I give the boys my look of disappointment as they scared poor Bilbo to death.

But they just laughed at it as Orcs would ever be a laughing matter. Thorin then spoke sternly and he was sitting by the cliff edge "You think that's funny? You think a night raid by Orcs is a joke."

They both look ashamed of their actions "We didn't mean anything by it." Thorin replies "No you didn't. You know nothing of the world." Balin then looks toward Bilbo

"Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs. After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarven kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken over by legions of Orcs. They were led by the vilest of all their race...Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin."

"He began by beheading the King."

(No! I have already heard this but it still gets me every time) Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing. Taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him.

A young Dwarf prince...facing down the pale Orc. He stood alone against the terrible foe. His armor was rent...wielding nothing more than an oaken branch serving as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken.

Our forces railed...and drove the Orcs back. And our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast nor song that night for our dead were beyond the count of grief. And I thought to myself then... There is one who I could follow. There is one...I could call king. "

Bilbo then questions Balin "And the pale Orc? What happened to him?" Thorin answers "He slunk back into the same hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago."

I hear Raja growl and look the same way she's pointing. My heightened hearing caught the tail end of Gundabad Orcish. I can't translate it, but I can at least recognize it. Turning my attention to the group back around the fire I speak up

"I remember first hearing the story of the Dwarf who saved his people using only an oak branch. My Master told me a few days after it had happened." Balin looks over to me "But wasn't you a little young to hear that type of story." I chuckle "How old do you guys think I am, I wasn't a child then?"

The boys around me kinda just mumble trying to avoid the topic of my age. Except for Thorin, he laid back down on his sleeping roll. Though I think he was still listening.

"Well, I'll give one little hint, I am older than Gandalf." They start to laugh as they think I might be joking. But the serious look on my face proved them wrong. Balin started speaking again "How could that even be possible Lassie?" I notice even Thorin looks over in curiosity and I smile as I answer Balin.

"Well for one I am a half-elf as my mother was an elf, so that gives me the ability to live forever. Also, I was just born a long~~ time ago." Drawing out the long. The Dwarves just kinda laughed it off and we all went to our respective spots to sleep.

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