Dragon Slayer- A Hobbit Fanfiction

Chapter 4: The Trouble Begins

TA 2941
The West

The group awoke the next morning to a cloudy, grey sky. Nyx, who had not slept a wink last night, stood on the cliff, eyes scanning the path forward. Her cloak was again around her shoulders, dancing in the wind that rose up from the plains. As the others packed up, she lifted her gaze to the sky, the grey curtain barely being punctuated by shafts of light.

Hearing the preparations slow down, she turned back to the group and swung atop her horse, taking her place towards the back. The dwarf princes join her as does Bilbo, who is shivering without a cloak. Nyx passes him a spare one she brought. It is much too big for him but it'll keep him dry when the rain inevitably comes.

Little more than an hour into their journey, the rain comes, beginning as small drops into a torrent around the company. Nyx pulls her hood up, frowning as water sticks to her face when it can reach her. The wind had a tendency to blow droplets towards her, inevitably getting her wet despite the cloak. Next to her Bilbo bundles into the cloak she gave him, likely now appreciating how big it was on him.

     The forest is quiet if not for the rain pattering against the leaves, the animals having chosen to wait the storm out. She does not blame them. However, the fresh smell of rain as it strikes the earth below her fills her lungs, clearing her mind from the dark of night. The trees groan slightly in the wind, sending more droplets flying their way as they follow the path of the wizard.

"Hey Mr. Gandalf?" calls Dori from in front of her. "Can't you do something about this deluge?"

"It is raining master dwarf. And it will continue to rain until the rain is done!" Gandalf calls back, turning slightly to face Dori. "If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard."

     Bilbo shivers before asking, "Are there any? Other wizards?" Nearby Bofur tries one last time to light his pipe before eventually giving up.

     "There are five of us. The greatest of our Order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two blue wizards," he pauses evidently having forgotten their names.

     Nyx chipped in then, "Allatar and Pallando, they went east many years ago. Few from these lands have since seen them."

     "And the fifth?" asks Bilbo, turning his gaze back to the wizard.

     "That would be Radagast the Brown," Gandalf replied simply, adjusting one of the straps on the saddle.

     Bilbo, unable to stop his next words, blurts, "Is he a great wizard or is he... more like you?"

     Nyx has to stifle a laugh, a choking sound instead escaping her lips. The others chuckle as well while Gandalf just grumbles. "I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the east. And a good thing too, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

     The others fall quiet and she muses over Gandalf's final words. She knows the truth to them, having spent centuries seeking out evil and destroying it. It was not an easy path she chose but one she does not intend to back down from. For if not her, then who?

     Regardless, the day wears on and the sun soon slips down into the world, breaking through the grey chain of clouds. The light hits their faces, warming their backs and getting smiles out of all of them. They remove their hoods, trying to dry out while they can. Conversation begins again as now they no longer have to shout over the rain and wind, instead able to hold a regular conversation.