The Waterdancer

Chapter 21

We'd been flowing down the river for miles now. We've lost the current, and I commanded everyone to make for the shore. When I managed to crawl out of the barrel, I took Nemirien out and gathered her into my arms. She still hadn't awoken.

"What do we do now?" Bofur asked.

"We keep moving." I said. The least we could do was find some kind of shelter.

"To where?" Balin asked.

"To the mountain, we're so close." Master Baggins said.

"A lake lies between us and that mountain, we have no way to cross it." Balin countered.

The Hobbit came over and sat down next to me, staring at Nemirien. "Will she be alright?" he asked. I looked at Master Baggins to see worry written all over his face.

"I think so. She's lost a lot of strength, and she just needs a chance to regain it." I told him. Master Baggins breathed out a sigh of relief, and I gave a small smile. But then I heard the drawing of a bowstring.

I looked over to see that a Man had an arrow aimed straight for Ori. Dwalin stood in front of him, only to have the Man shoot an arrow through the stick that he was holding. Kili stood up to throw a rock at him, only to have it knocked out of his hand by another arrow.

"Do it again, and you're dead." the Man warned. I was about ready to shout at the Man. I didn't have time for this. Not only did Nemirien need a long rest, but Durin's Day was approaching. Before I could do anything, however, Balin spoke up.

"Excuse me, but, uh, you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken? That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?" The Man lowered his bow, and walked back to his barge.

He was loading the empty barrels into the barge when he finally spoke. "What makes you think I would help you?" he asked.

"Those boots have seen better days. As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?" Balin asked.

"A boy and two girls." the Man answered.

"And your wife, I imagine, she's a beauty." Balin added.

The Man looked at my old friend. "Aye. She was." he said.

Balin frowned at this statement. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, come on, come on, enough with the niceties." Dwalin interrupted.

"What's your hurry?" the Man asked.

"What's it to you?" Dwalin retorted.

The Man smirked. "I'd like to know who you are, and what you're doing in these lands."

"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains, journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills." Balin told him.

"Simple merchants, you say?" Bard asked, obviously suspicious. I took a step forward.

"We need food, supplies, weapons. Can you help us?" I asked.

The Man looked at me, then to Nemirien, and then back to me. "I know where these barrels came from." he said.

I cocked an eyebrow. "What of it?" I asked.

The Man eyed Nemirien once more. "I don't know what business you had with the Elves, but I don't think it ended well. No one enters Laketown but by leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He will see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil." the Man elaborated.

I looked to Balin. "Offer him more." I mouthed.

"I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen."

"Aye. But for that, you will need a smuggler." the Man said.

"For which we will pay double." Balin said. The Man looked at Balin suspiciously.

"Please." I said, causing him to look to me. I looked at Nemirien before meeting his eyes. "She has no strength. You have children. What would you do if it were one of yours?" The Man blinked, obviously caught off guard. He paused before finally nodding, and we all walked aboard the barge.

We entered a fog shortly after we set off on the lake. I sat down with Nemirien still secure in my hold. She finally began to open her eyes. The little Elf still looked absolutely exhausted. I told her to lie still, and I explained to her how we escaped. She seemed to relax a little after that. However, Nemirien refused to close her eyes again. She wanted to know where we were going.

"Oh, I've had enough with this lippy lakeman." Dwalin commented.

"Oh, Bard, his name's Bard." Master Baggins said.

"How do you know?" Bofur asked.

"Um, I asked him." the Hobbit sarcastically told him, causing Nemirien to smile a little.

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

"We do not have to like him. We simply have to pay him. Come on now, lads, turn out your pockets." Balin said. We all took out whatever gold and valuables we had left and placed them in front of Balin.

"How do we know he won't betray us?" Dwalin asked me.

"We don't." I gravely told him.

"There's just a wee problem, we're about ten coins short." Balin mentioned. I looked over to Gloin, who had his arms crossed.

"Gloin. Come on. Give us what you have."

Gloin scoffed. "Don't look to me. I have been bled dry by this venture! And what have I seen for my investment? Naught but misery and grief and-" I didn't hear the rest of what Gloin was saying because I saw it in the distance. Erebor. My home. It has been so long since I've been this close to it.

"Bless my beard. Take it. Take all of it!" he exclaimed, taking a sack of money out of his pocket. Master Baggins cleared his throat, and I looked to see Bard approaching us.

"The money, quick, give it to me." he demanded.

"We will pay you when we get our provisions, but not before." I gruffly told him. "If you value your freedom, you'll do as I say. There are guards ahead." Bard warned.

We all got back into the barrels, when Bard stopped at a dock. "What's he doing?" Dwalin asked.

"He's talking to someone." whispered Master Baggins, who was spying on the Man through a hole in his barrel. "And he's...pointing right at us." he said. I furrowed my eyebrows at that. What was he planning? "Now they're shaking hands!" Master Baggins whisper-yelled.

"What?" I hissed.

"That villain! He's selling us out!" Dwalin whisper-yelled.

I heard footsteps approaching us. I held Nemirien tight, she still didn't even have the strength to hold on to me. I looked up, only to be met with buckets and buckets of fish. I held my breath as they rained down on us. When it was finally over, I could barely breathe. The smell was absolutely pungent. I could hear someone groaning about it, but he ended up being silenced by Bard, who said that we were approaching the toll gate.

Bard began conversing with some Man at the gate, declaring nothing. I could overhear some slimy-sounding Man stopping him, asking about the barrels. I held my breath. Was this the end? Were we about to be discovered? I could hear the splashing of fish being emptied over the side when suddenly the Men stopped. I then felt the barge continuing to flow down the water. "The Master has his eye on you! You'll do well to remember! We know where you live!" the slimy man sneered.

"It's a small town, Alfrid. Everyone knows where everyone lives." Bard retorted.

We continued down the lake for a couple of meters before Bard knocked over the barrels. I climbed out of my own before pulling out Nemirien. Though she asked me to stand her up, she was still too weak to support herself. I had my arm around her and her hand in mine, supporting the majority of her weight with it. I saw Bard handing a coin over to a hungry Man before we continued to walk through the town.

"Da! Our house, it's being watched." a boy warned. Bard looked back at us, and told us that he had a plan. We managed to move to the back of Bard's house unseen. What we had to do next...I suppose I'd been through worse. We were going up through the Man's plumbing system.