Queen Under The Mountain

The Bargman.

   The current slowed down as we left the borders of Mirkwood, soon it seemed that there was no current at all, so we began paddling our way down the stream. Poor Dwalin was held down by me so the best I could do was slowly kick.

  "Anything behind us?" Thorin asked.
"Not that I can see." Balin replied.

  Bofur stuck his head out from his barrel and spit out water. "I think we've outrun the orcs!"
  "Not for long." Thorin said. "We've lost the current. Make for the shore."
  We made our way to a rocky shore and clumsily walked out of the barrels. I pulled my hair back and squeezed out the water as best I could.

  My attention was turned to Kili who winced as he took a step and dropped to the ground holding his leg. He pressed a bit of cloth to a wound and winced even more.
  "I'll be fine, it's nothing." He said when Bofur looked at him with a worried face.
  "No, Kili, it's not fine. Let me see." I sat down next to him.

  "On your feet." Thorin walked by.
"Kili's wounded, Thorin." I said.
  "His leg needs binding." Fili added.
"There's an orc pack on our trail. We keep moving." Thorin looked down the river.

  "To where?" Balin asked.
"To the mountain, we're so close." Bilbo said.
  "A lake lies between us and that mountain." Balin said. "We have no way to cross it."
  "So then we go around." Said Bilbo.
"The orcs will run us down." I said. "We have no weapons to defend ourselves." I looked at Thorin and nodded at Kili.

  "Bind his leg, quickly." He said. "We have two minutes."

  A dark figure appeared in the corner of my eye, I looked up to see a man with a bow and arrow pointed at Ori.
  "Look out!" I shouted and Dwalin stood in front of Ori with a branch in hand. The man shot it and pointed another arrow towards us, Kili lifted a rock, but the man shot it out of his hand.

  "Do that again, and you're dead." The man said.
  "Excuse me, but you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken." Balin began. The man aimed at him and Balin raised his hands. "That barge over there," Balin nodded towards a boat by the shore. "It wouldn't be available for hire by any chance."

  "What makes you think I will help you?" The bargeman asked, loading barrels onto his boat.
  "Those boots have seen better days. As has that boat." Balin said. "No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed, how many bearings?"
  "A boy and two girls." The man replied.
  "And your wife," Balin looked at me, searching for ideas to get a conversation. "I imagine she's a beauty."
  The man paused while loading a barrel and looked off. "Oh dear." I mumbled.
 
  "Aye, she was." The man replied.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Balin began.

  "Oh come on, come on, enough of the niceties." Dwalin grumbled.
  "What's your hurry?" The bargeman asked him.
"What's it to you?" Dwalin replied.
  "I would like to know who you are." He said. "And what you are doing in these lands."
    "We are simple merchants from the blue mountains." Balin said. The bargeman looked at all of us. "Journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills."
 
  "Simple merchants you say?" The man said.
  "We need food, supplies, weapons." Thorin said that last word and I stepped on his foot. "C-can you help us?"
  The bargeman looked at the arrow marks on the barrels. "I know where these barrel's came from."
  "What of it?" Thorin asked.
"I don't know what business you had with the elves, but I don't think it ended well." The bargemen said, Thorin clenched his jaw. "No one enters Laketown but by the leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from the trade of the Woodland Realm, he would see you in iron bars before risking the wrath of king Thranduil."

  Balin looked to me and Thorin.
"Talk to him more." Thorin whispered.

  "I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen." I blurted out.
  The bargeman paused before answering. "Aye. But for that you would need a smuggler."
  "For which we will pay." Balin said. "Double." I added.

  Thorin looked at me.
"Do you want to get to the mountain or not?" I whispered.

  -----

Further onto the lake it became foggy and cold, I looked over the boat to see fragments of ice burgs. Being in the cold water and then sitting in the cold air didn't help us wanting to get dry.
  I stepped closer to Thorin hoping he'd get the message, in return he wrapped his arms around my waist holding me close and I held his arms, looking ahead of the boat.

  A large dark shadow appeared and Bofur shouted. "Look out!"
  The bargeman steered the boat away from the rocky ruins that stuck out from the water.
  "What are you trying to do, drown us?" Thorin looked at the bargeman.
  "I was born and bred on these waters, Master Dwarf." The man replied. "If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here."

  "I've had enough of this loopy lake man." Dwalin said. "Let's just throw him overboard and be done here."
  "No, Bard, his name's Bard." Said Bilbo.
  "How do you know?" Bofur asked.
"Uh... I asked him." Bilbo replied.
  "I don't care what he calls himself, I don't like him." Dwalin said.
 
   "We don't have to like him, we simply have to pay him." Balin said, counting up his money. "Come on now, turn out your pockets."

  "How do we know he won't betray us?" Dwalin asked Thorin.
  "We don't." Thorin let go of me and walked over to Balin. I reached into my pocket and set two coins onto the table in front of him.

  "There's a wee problem." Said Balin. "We're ten coins short."
  Thorin folded his arms. "Gloin." He looked at the Dwarf sitting in the corner. "Come on, give us what you have."
  "Well don't look to me." Gloin said. "I have been bled dry by this venture."

  Thorin's attention was turned ahead of the boat, the rest of the company stood and look in the same direction. I turned and looked to see the clouds move away revealing our destination.
  "Take it, take it all." Gloin handed Balin his bag of money.

  Bilbo cleared his throat and nodded towards Bard, who walked up to us.
  "The money, quick, give it to me."
"We will pay you when we get off of the boat." Thorin said.
  "If you favor your freedom you will do as I say." Bard said. "There are guards ahead."

___

  Once again we climbed into the cramped barrels and laid low as Bard stepped off the boat to speak to someone.
  "What's he doing?" I heard Balin ask.
"He's talking to someone." Bilbo said. "He's... Pointing right at us. Now they're shaking hands."
  "He's what?" I heard Thorin.
"He's selling us out." Dwalin said.

  There was the sound of footsteps and chains, then before I knew it, cold stinking fish were being poured over us. I held my breath and closed my eyes, and the sounds of voices went away.
  There were sounds of the company complaining and Bard kicked my barrel. "Quiet!"
  "That wasn't me!" I shouted.
"We're approaching the toll gate." Bard said.