Dragon Changer (a Hobbit fanfic)

Trolls and Ponies

The next day brought a heavy downpour. All the dwarves grumbled as their ponies trotted through the rain. Most of them had added extra layers to keep the rain out. I, however, had done the opposite and taken off my jacket to appreciate the nice almost summer rainfall. I thought it was quite refreshing but apparently the dwarves disagreed.

"Here, Mr.Gandalf?" Dori called out after three consecutive hours of rain. "Can't you do something about this deluge?"

Gandalf called back, "it is raining, Master Dwarf and it will continue to rain until the rain is done." I nodded along to this, looking out at the trees we were passing. They were probably enjoying this rain much more than the dwarves. "If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another Wizard."

I snorted. Gandalf was the only Wizard who would help on this quest. Radagast was too busy protecting his forest, Saruman believes everyone is beneath him and that he helps enough by keeping evil at bay and no one has heard word of the two Blues for years.

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked.

"What?" Gandalf responded, not understanding Bilbo's question.

"Other Wizards?"

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards," he paused. "Do you know, I've quite forgotten their names." I snorted again.

"And who is the fifth?" Bilbo enquired.

"Well, that would be Radagast, the Brown." Gandalf said.

Going out on a limb, Bilbo asked another question. "Is he a great Wizard? Or is he more like you?" This time, I grinned.

After recovering from the sting of that insult, Gandalf answered. "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." Which is why we get along perfectly, I thought. I had met Radagast before and he seemed more intrigued then scared to meet a Dragon Changer, which was not the reaction I was expecting when I had stumbled across the Wizard on one of my large woodland hikes. He had been the only person I had seen in 50 years, for Gandalf's visits, though much enjoyed, are few and far between. Since that day, Radagast and I had met several times more, though I'm still the one who has to come to him.

"He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East." He continued. "And a good thing too. For always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

"It's a bit of a tiring and thankless job, but a necessary one." I said.

Bilbo turned to me. "Is that what you do too Violet?"

I smiled at him. "Among other things, yes. I watch over some of the more Northern forests. Difficult terrain, since most of them are on mountains. And far less people then in the Shire. But the animals make good enough company for me."

We continued trotting for several more hours, until the sun had long since started to inch towards the Western edge. The rain had since stopped and the grumpy dwarves were eager to eat and sleep. So when we came across an abandoned farmers cottage, Thorin gladly declared that we would be stopping.

"Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." Thorin orders. "Oin, Gloin. Get a fire going." Nodding, the dwarves dismounted their ponies and did as commanded. Gandalf got off his horse too and investigated the charred ruins of the cottage.