Daughter Of Dragons: A Hobbit Fanfiction

The House Of Tom

Music above is titled Forest Of Forgetfulness and was, I believe, composed by Fantasy & World Music by the Fiechters.

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     Thorin walked alongside Gandalf, looking about warily. He had never been to the forest known as The Old Forest, especially since everyone else had seemed so spooked by it. They'd even called it haunted. Yet, he was being led through it by an elf and a wizard. He had to admit, however, that he would rather travel through this place than go through the Barrow-Downs.

     Valadhiel, who was in the lead, stopped and held a hand up to signal those behind her to stop. She glanced back at them, and once she'd seen that they stopped, she silently made her way forward, pulling her bow off of her back. She stared into the weeds as she pulled an arrow from her quiver, knocked it in, then held it up.

     Thorin furrowed his brow as he watched the elf, then he looked around. What dangerous creatures lived here? Wolves? Bears? He was sure it wasn't orcs, otherwise they'd have been mentioned by the people of Bree-Town.

     After a moment, a wolf leaped out of the bushes. As soon as it appeared, Valadhiel released the bowstring, shooting the foaming canine in the head. After it fell over, she walked forward, nudged it with her foot, then looked over at Gandalf and Thorin. "It's safe now."

     Gandalf walked forward, stopped next to Valadhiel, and looked at the canine. "It had gone mad." He commented aloud after noticing its mouth, then he cupped his hand around his staff, blew, then released a ball of fire onto the dead dog, which quickly consumed it. "Wouldn't want the disease to spread. The wolves around here are dangerous enough already."

     Valadhiel nodded, then she continued to walk. However, before she even made it three steps, she tripped over a tree root that had suddenly sprung out of the ground, and she gave a startled cry when it wrapped around her ankle and lifted her into the air.

     "What is happening?" Thorin asked after he, too, was grabbed by a root. He was still on the ground, though the root pinned his arms to his sides.

     "I was afraid this would happen." Gandalf commented, trying to wrestle his staff back from the tree, but to no avail. "We have made this particular tree angry."

     "Tree? Angry?" Thorin asked, looking at Gandalf as if he were crazy.

     Valadhiel clenched her teeth and kept trying to get free, but it only made the tree squeeze her even tighter. After a moment, she stopped struggling before she looked at Gandalf and Thorin. "All will be fine, just wait a moment."

     "How can you just say all will be fine when-" Thorin began, though cut himself off. "Is that singing?"

     "Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow;
     Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow." [1]

     Valadhiel smiled when she heard the masculine singing voice. "That is indeed singing, Master Dwarf." She replied, then she turned toward the sound and also began singing, though it seemed like a musical call of distress.

     "Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo!
     By water, wood and hill, by the reed and willow,
     By fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us!
     Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is near us!" [2]

     Thorin looked at the elf, then he gave a look that implied he thought she was absolutely crazy. Angry trees? Singing in the distance? Singing a distress call? What was this madness? He was beginning to think they were all mentally ill!