When Thorin awakened in the world of the living (if indeed it was the world of the living; for surely it seemed that the life in Valinor would be more vibrant), the first thing he did was see to the welfare of the members of his Company. Balin and Dwalin, and Bofur, and Ori and Dori, and Glóin—and Kíli, in whose arms Thorin had waked—were all present upon Thorin's return, so Thorin's first order of business was to inquire after the well-being of the others: Nori, Óin, Bombur, Bifur, and of course, Bilbo Baggins; for though he had been there at the time of Thorin's death, Thorin wanted to be sure that he was still all right. He did not know how much time had passed since his death, but he knew it must be more than just a few minutes, or even a few hours. It had been days—or perhaps weeks; Thorin could not tell.
"All the members of your Company have made it through all right," Glóin said, leaning on his axe. "For the most part, anyway. As for your little nephew Fíli, we haven't been able to find him yet. We're fearing the worst, I'm afraid."
"Oh, but the best is possible, too," Bofur broke in with a wide grin, unable to believe any such grim tidings in the wake of Thorin's miraculous healing. "He might be all right."
"If I know Fíli, it should take more than a little Orc-blade prick to kill him," Kíli put in.
Thorin was silent; he had seen Fíli wounded, and to him the wound had appeared a mortal one. Certainly it was more than a little prick; and besides, he had also been thrown down from a great height by rough hands. It would be difficult for one already wounded to survive such treatment, even if his wounds were not deadly to begin with. Upon meeting Dwalin's gaze, and seeing that it was grim, Thorin's heart sank further, and he knew in his mind that Fíli was dead. Yet in his heart there was peace, and he knew not whence it came; but he remembered the white shores of Valinor and knew that Fíli was not dead after all, only it might be that he had passed beyond the limits of this world. But whether in this life or that one, Thorin knew that his nephew was still alive.
"I will go to Ravenhill, where he fell, and search for him," Thorin said. He paused, remembering that on the day of the battle he had asked his fighting-men only to follow him One last time, and that he had admitted he did not deserve their devotion. Perhaps he had no right to ask of them any help now, but it was for Fíli's sake and not his own, and there was not a Dwarf in Thorin's company that did not love the big-hearted young prince. So he turned to those of his Company that stood near and asked, "Will any go with me? Am I yet your king?"
Balin was the first to stir, and he threw himself into the arms of Thorin saying, "You are more than that! You are as a brother to us, and to me you are like a son! We will follow you to whatever end, my lad—even to death!"
"That has already happened," Thorin said, crushing Balin against him in a hearty embrace.
"Then we will follow you beyond death!" said Kíli, eyes aflame.
"You'll always be our king, Thorin," grunted Glóin. He shifted his weight and sank to one knee, bowing deeply; then he rose to pound Thorin on the back. "There's no changing it, laddie. Even when you go insane and start acting like a spoiled, petty little half-wit."
"Your loyalty is touching—as is your honesty," Thorin said, feigning annoyance but unable to suppress a sheepish smile.
"I'll wager you just can't get out of it!" said Bofur, laughing. He clapped his hands together, spread his arms wide, and proclaimed, "Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under the Mountain, you shall be stuck with us forever!"
"We like you," Ori said. "We wouldn't want to follow anyone else."
"That's right. You've made a few blunders, but not more than I or anyone else would have made in your place. Anyway, I'm sure it won't happen again," Dori said, with an uncharacteristic burst of optimism (under the present circumstances, it was difficult to look on the bad side of things, even for the most devout of pessimists).
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The Sons of Durin
قصص الهواة"And so here follows the true account of the events which took place after the reclaiming of Erebor, after the death of Smaug the Golden and after the Battle of the Five Armies. They are events that have long been distorted and obscured through the...
