Lionheart (The Hobbit Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 3: It Just Had To Be Trolls

"Mr. Gandalf, Reyna, can't you do something about this deluge?" Dori asked. It was pouring rain and the whole company was thoroughly drenched and miserable. They were riding through the countryside in silence. Reyna's hood was doing little to keep her dry and her black hair was plastered to her face from the rain. She shifted uncomfortably in her saddle at the dwarf's question. She wished she could do something, but not even Benders had much effect on the weather.

"It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. Reyna would be dead before it did any good. And I think we need our Bender for things like saving your sorry hide. If you wish to change the weather of the world, I suggest you find another wizard."

"Are there any?" Bilbo asked curiously. The little hobbit was soaking wet, as he had no cowle. Gandalf furrowed his bushy grey eyebrows at the hobbit, confused.

"What?"

"Other wizards?" Bilbo said, his brown eyes on Gandalf.

"There are five of us. The greatest of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue Wizards..... You know, I've quite forgotten their names." Gandalf replied. Bilbo did the math quickly in his head.

"And who is the fifth?" the little fellow asked. Reyna, as she had the previous day, brought up the rear with Fili and Kili. She listened quietly to Bilbo and Gandalf's conversation.

"Well, that would be Radagast, the Brown." Gandalf said, looking back towards the road.

"Is he a great wizard? Or is he.... more like you?" Bilbo asked. Behind him, Reyna, Fili and Kili snickered at the hobbit's question. Gandalf was offended, but brushed the comment off, realizing that Bilbo meant no harm.

"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." Gandalf said darkly. Behind the two, Reyna wrung her hands nervously. She knew full well of the evil Gandalf spoke of. And it terrified her that there was a chance that it could return. If it did, not even the Benders could protect Middle Earth. Reyna was snatched from her dark thoughts when Bilbo spoke up.

"How did you meet Thorin?" he asked. It was a question that he had thought about quite a few times so far on the journey. How could Reyna have met the dwarves, when she was defending Middle Earth? Again, Reyna had the full attention of the rest of the company. She sighed and smiled. The Bender resigned herself to the fact that it was now Story Time again. A few of the dwarves knew the tale, as they had been there that day.

"When I was 16, I was cleared to go off on my own, to protect Middle Earth wherever I was needed. I was officially a Bender. I happened to be in the Blue Mountains, when I came across a legion of orcs attacking a small band of dwarven warriors. So naturally, I joined the fray." Reyna told them.

"What happened?" Bilbo asked, his brown eyes wide in wonder. Reyna smiled and everyone that had been present remembered that day.

*******flashback**********

Reyna had been tracking the band of orcs for three weeks. What they were doing in the Blue Mountains, she had no idea. She had kept her distance, careful that they didn't spot her. Reyna was now walking through the forest, following the fresh trail. Her eyebrows knit when she saw the footprints left in the mud by the beasts. There were a lot of them; more than there had been the previous day. She found a split in the trail, where two sets of prints merged together. The orcs were planning something. Something big.

"Oh no..." she muttered and picked up her pace. Wherever the group was heading, she was sure that people would be in danger. She had no backup, no other Benders were there to help her. If it came down to fighting off the group of orcs, she was on her own. She heard the telltale clang of metal on metal, a sign that a fight had broken out. While most would run away from the sound, Reyna ran towards it.