When in doubt, jump in head first

20. Leaving Laketown for the Lonely Mountain

"Goodbye," Laelynn called, waving at the people of Laketown from her place on the boat. After swinging by the Market, she'd stopped by Bard's house to say goodbye to him and his children. She had gotten to chatting with Sigrid, though, and had to sprint through the town to catch the boat when Bard had reminded her of the time. She'd only just made it, taking a running leap for the boat as it pulled slowly from the dock.

Once she was on their boat picked up the pace as it pulled out of Laketown. Laelynn was skittish as they made steady progress across the calm surface of the Long Lake, her fingers beating a tattoo on the side of the boat. At one point in the day Óin had made Dwalin pull her down from where she had climbed the mast and was perched precariously at the top, as Bilbo was having conniptions. She'd defended her actions as cheerful whimsy, keeping her unease to herself, but in respect to Bilbo kept her feet planted firmly on the deck for the rest of the day.

The sun had only just began to set when they reached the mouth of the River Running, coming down from the mountain. They set up camp at the lake's edge, Glóin stoking the fire in well enough that it flared up at once, and the chill of the evening was chased away.

They continued this way for a week, until the bargemen the Master of Laketown had insisted they take to 'guide' them refused to go any further.

"Can we at least take the boat?" Laelynn asked.

The eldest of the three bargemen sighed, before glaring at the Lonely Mountain. The sun threw the steel-grey rock into sharp relief, the harsh edges casting deep shadows onto the mountainside. From their position on the river, they had been able to catch glimpses of the dark and yawning entrance, like a gaping mouth at the foot of the mountain. Now it was hidden by the raised slopes of the riverbank, and it was almost worse than when she could see it. At least then, she knew the dragon hadn't slunk out of the entrance to devour them where they stood

"Even if you didn't mind leaving us for whatever's waiting on the banks," the bargeman began, "From this point the river becomes too narrow to sail up in a craft this size."

Laelynn winced before nodding, and as the dwarves started to pull the supplies from the boat, she and Bilbo took inventory. Clearing the boats only took a few minutes, and once the barge men were sailing back down the river Thorin turned to Laelynn.

"I would like to speak in private with you," he told her, before walking away from the others. Laelynn shared a confused look with Bilbo, before leaving him to help with the supplies and running after Thorin.

"Is there a reason for this, or..." Laelynn trailed off, once they were a fair distance from the others. Thorin wasn't looking at her, but instead the mountain.

"Yes," he said, still looking at the mountain. "I have wondered since I first heard your words how you will use the Arkenstone to go to your home."

Laelynn started. She did need the Arkenstone, didn't she? "I honestly have no clue how it works," she told Thorin. "Gandalf just said I could use it to travel to my world." Speaking of... "Didn't Gandalf say we shouldn't enter the Mountain without him, anyway?"

Thorin finally turned to her, his eyes harsh and unforgiving. "That stone represents my right to rule," he said lowly, "If your passage home poses a threat to that stone, I am bound to stop you from doing anything to it." Laelynn felt her mouth drop open.

"So a pretty rock is more important than getting a lost soul home," she said furiously, her voice as low as Thorin's. "Boo-fucking-hoo. I'm going ho– back to my world, and no dwarf will stop me."

Thorin's eyes burned with anger, but he seemed to deliberately be keeping it in check. "But why don't you stay here?" he asked, and there was genuine curiosity in his voice. "Why do you pretend to want to go back to your world? You've often said how unappreciated you are there, and just now you kept yourself from referring to it as your home."