Autor Tópico: [Fanfic 4, cap. 26] Loyalty, Honor etc - White Collar Work  (Lida 6417 vezes)

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Offline Luinwen

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[Fanfic 4, cap. 26] Loyalty, Honor etc - White Collar Work
« em: Novembro 22, 2013, 07:03:12 am »
Next day Ellen managed to rearrange some places in the boats, and Thorin didn’t even disagree, as he was in no mood to row beside Bard again. So, Bard and Lily changed places with Kíli and Ellen and boats one and three changed positions as Bard should be in the front one to guide them through the streams. Thorin didn’t become aware of his mistake until they were fairly away from the margin and Ellen took out some paper sheets and a pencil she borrowed from Ori.
“Gentledwarves, I wish you are comfortable at your seats and that we all have a nice morning. Our goal at this meeting is to check what information we have that may help us to accomplish our target, and to consider alternatives. Any doubts?”
Thorin eyed her angry, the black cloud above his head beaming out lightnings, Kíli holding his chuckles less his uncle’s anger would turn to him too.
“What do you think you’re doing? Who asked you to at all?”
“I’m doing my job, sir, out of professional duty, as I swore to put me and my knowledge at your service, and out of sense of self preservation. I’m not going into a dragon’s lair without a plan, nor leading my nieces there with no clue of what may happen; even if I swore to follow thee into the underworld if it has to be, it is not my desire to visit the Waiting Halls in Valinor right now, so, if all doubts are made clear, let us plan.”
The king was spluttering now, rowing faster as to burn his anger out.
“Who do you think you are to command a plan to be formulated?”
The elf lowered her voice and uplifted her eyebrows.
“I am the only one with a mastering degree in strategics within an one world range. This is more than even your most experienced adviser can say, isn’t it so, Little Brother?” She turned to Balin, who smiled proudly back, and to whom Thorin turned his attention with a betrayed look.
“You know, laddie, that me and Dwalin have spent many an hour in this journey talking to our Little Sister here about warfare, and I can’t quite remember someone that I could reckon as having so a deep knowledge not only of war history but also the strategies behind them.” Thorin snorted and Kíli pulled hard to keep his pace in the rowing. “Why don’t you give her a chance to show what she is able to? It would do no harm.”
“I don’t believe her otherworldly knowledge will work in Middle-Earth, moreover against a dragon. She cannot claim any experience against real dragons.”
Ellen remembered a bloody Human Resources Director she had at a former employ and thought Thorin’s statement was not completely true, but let it be. It was Kíli who gave the final excuse to make Thorin reason.
“Uncle, remember Ellen had no experience against real warriors when she beat Dwalin...”
Thorin swallowed hard his pride, paddling the row a little slower, much to Kíli’s relief.
“I warn you that no word of what has been said here until now has to be spread amongst the others.” The three of them agreed, eager for what words would come next. “Even a bad plan is better than no plan at all, I deem. What information do you need to do your work, elf?”

ooo000ooo

Like the day before, they didn’t land the boats until short before nightfall, with barely time enough to gather wood and set camp for the night. It would be their last hot meal while in the wild, as next night they would already be in the area known as The Desolation of Smaug, a large patch around the Lonely Mountain where once were verdant forests, green pastures and abundant crops.  While the dwarves were busy mining and making astoundingly fine workmanship in smiths, jewelry, armory, and all kind of high quality artifacts, the men of Dale busied themselves not only in fabric, clothes, household and toys making, but also in supplying  Erebor with food of all kinds. Vineyards grew the finest beverages, Esgaroth produced the most savory salmon and trout, and the pork fed with the remainder of their cheese making resulted in the most famous ham from all north realms.
Then Smaug came and burnt it all.
When Bombur declared soup was ready, Ellen still took a while to finish her calculations and notes on which she was working all day long since Thorin and Balin gave her the most accurate possible data about dragon biology and magic-craft (as if this science was ever defined) in general and of Smaug in particular, Erebor’s many floorplans and their current known or guessed state, a formal list of the Company’s members skills and abilities, and miscellaneous items probably to be found in the battleground, along with the likelihood of them to be found in useful state. Thorin kept close by and made Kíli and Balin to keep there too, so to grant his request that nothing should be told to anyone else before he ordered it to. The other members of the Mischievous Company, as the women plus Fíli, Kíli and Bilbo defined themselves since the horseleech incident, were kept at bay, biting their nails in curiosity. Ellen handled the papers to Thorin, with an inquisitive but serious look.
“Am I allowed to dine before our meeting, sir?”
He looked down at the papers only to find out they were written in a kind of runes that weren’t either Anghertas nor Tengwar, being the later what he expected from an elf. Having them in his hands made him sure there would be none who would read them, even if the only ones that could read it besides Ellen herself were her nieces. He folded the papers and stowed them in a pocket of his cloak.
“So will us all. Let’s wait for darker hours for darker affairs.”
Kíli lent a hand to Ellen to help her to get up, just out of care, and the other to Balin, out of deference, while a troubled Thorin walked closer to the fire and to Lily, who looked longingly at him. The tired dwarf managed a smile, and kissed her brow before taking the soup bowl she handled him.
“It was a long day. Have some rest.”
He shook his head. “Not yet.” Thorin walked somewhat out of the light circle of the camp fire, holding her hand in his, feeling the tension of the day wear out just from being at her side.  “How are people faring?”
At first the dwarf-lass thought it a strange question, but then it was clear; while Thorin was on his kingship duties, it was expected that she would care for his people, or at least to pay attention to them so she could report and help him in what he had to do. To be the companion of a king was not a decorative placing. While he ate, she reported to him the best she could, not having planned to do so beforehand.
“Bard fears we will stir the dragon and that he cannot do anything to save his people in Lake-Town before the beast comes; me and Iris are learning Iglishmêk with Bifur, I hope you don’t mind; Dwalin scares Ori and Nori and then him plus Óin and  Dori laugh at the younglings, but I must say Ori is making impressive drawings of the Lonely Mountain as we approach it; then Glóin and Bombur scare Bilbo and Bofur tries to make amends.”
“And Fíli?”
Lily noticed that Thorin counted every member of his Company, and wondered how would it be if it was a mighty army with hundreds or even thousands of dwarves. But she guessed.
“Fíli is translating Bifur’s lessons to me and Iris.”
She would not mention that he was also jealous of being out of the former conversation of what he was sure was Erebor back-taking planning.
“Are you and your sister skilled in warfare?”
“What?” Lily’s head had been wandering.
“Warfare. Organizing troops and supplies, strategics, tactics...”
“Not really.” She lowered her head a bit. “We can fight, as you know, though; you can count on us for anything, ever.”
Thorin caressed her neck, bringing her closer to him.
“I am sure, my wild flower. I just wanted to know if I would have you in a meeting I’ll have tonight, or if you go to sleep as the others.”
“I’d like to be with you in the meeting!”
“Not this time. Everyone is eager to know our next steps, but there are decisions that have to be made by the ones who are in charge, and who have had training or experience in the matter.”
“I haven’t been with you all day long...”
The young dwarf-lass complained; he kissed her ear and nuzzled her neck, making her giggle with his itchy beard on her skin.
“I will be beside you all night long, I promise; as soon as this meeting ends.” He stood up, elongating his weary arms for some relief. “Now go to your sister, and please call Bilbo; I must talk to him.”
When Lily was getting close to the fire she witnessed something that her sister would understand only much time later. While making Thorin’s dinner bowl, she thought that Iris and Bilbo were exaggerating a bit they affection demonstrations, albeit she understood only too well how it felt to be all day long apart from the one she loved; they were leaning on a tree trunk almost at the border of the firelight, very silent but for some hushed giggles, and her new dwarvish conservative mind thought it wasn’t quite appropriate for her sister to behave that way and thought to talk to her later.
Now, when she was going to call the burglar, she saw Ellen, who had just finished her own soup, to glance belligerently at Bilbo, weighing up a spoon in her hand. His eyes grew wide and he instantly sat upright, letting Iris drop from his hands and embracing his knees instead.
“Hi, Bilbo! Thorin wants to talk to you, there will be a meeting, I deem.”
He stood up gingerly, thanked her and mumbled something to Iris that made her giggle again before he went to were Thorin was, already surrounded by the Fundinul brothers.
“Having a little fun, sister?”
Lily asked Iris to begin the conversation. The hobbit-lass giggled.
“Oh, my, just a little fun, sister, no harm done to anyone at all!”
Iris stood up and they two came closer to the fire, where they sat together for a while, enjoying each other’s company in silence; Lily thought better about scolding Iris, as they were going so close to the dragon that the odds were that they would not have any time to enjoy the company of anyone for a long time. Iris asked.
“Who will we pester tonight?”
“It must be Óin and Glóin’s turn, I’ll call Bofur and Nori to help us.”
“Dealt!”

ooo000ooo

Kíli was rubbing Ellen’s back, trying to ease the tension he saw in her troubled look and in the stance of her body, while they waited for everybody to be there; Dwalin was providing a second fire, so they would have light and privacy from the other members of the Company and the human who would guide tem up river the next day; Thorin came closer and spoke quietly, so only them both could hear. The long talk for making the plan spreadsheet all over the day made him see some other things, also.
“It is really impossible to preview what will happen when we reach Erebor, but I deem it appropriate to thank you for your efforts, lady Ellen; after all, it was your wits that made possible for us to be armed with our weapons of choice and it was your hand in our escape from the elven dungeons.”
The young dwarf looked up at his uncle, surprised to see his him thanking someone, most of all an elf; thinking that those weeks in dungeon changed him more than he deemed possible; but Ellen trembled and weaved her head, like if she got a little dizzy for a moment, then lifted a hand, blinking her eyes.
“I thank you for your acknowledgment, sir, but it is undue. It is truth that I managed to get our arms, but you would have any weapon you wanted from the people of Lake-Town, and the escaping was not my hand, it is not me who you should thank. It was Bilbo’s doing.”
“You’ve done it together, you both should be thanked.”
“My king, you’re not understanding.” He looked straight to her, a little unsettled for having the elf addressing him formally. “I remember now, how things should have been, if me and my nieces were not here, how the story was meant to be. Bilbo would have found the trap-doors and have the idea of using the barrels, he would manage to take the keys from Tauriel and free the whole Company. You would get everything you needed from Lake-Town, even weapons. Our coming made not such a difference in all this.”
Now Thorin and Kíli were both alarmed.
“What more do you remember?”
“Is the mind blockage broken?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t think so; I just remember about what already happened, I still cannot see what was meant for the future.” She closed her eyes, holding her head in her hands. “Your shield.”
“What?”
“Your oakenshield, it would have been lost; Lily took it for you, else it would have been lost when the eagles saved us; Gandalf would have given the final blow into the goblin king, instead of Iris; I cannot remember more meaningful differences, though they may be there.”
The two dwarves exchanged glances; Thorin spoke quietly.
“Don’t mention these possible past memories to the others, it can make them nervous, and probably would do no good at all. We may talk about it later.” The elf nodded, agreeing. “But I will thank Bilbo properly, don’t worry.”

ooo000ooo

The meeting went well over two or three hours long, as Ellen explained all alternatives with a meaningful possibility of happening, and the different approaches they could use in each situation. Some sounded absurd at first, and would have been discarded weren’t they in a desperate situation. At least, this report on the scenarios had the gift of opening their minds to face reality, after months of just acting out of unreasonable hope, on behalf of prophecies. Thorin pointed out one of the possible solutions to fend the problem of the dragon’s sense of smell on the place he now knew it was written on the paper sheet, as Fíli scribbled some runes on it while she was talking, and shook his head, emphatic.
“This, no. No way. It would be ignominious!”
“Less ignominious than to be munched by a dragon, I deem.”
“There must be other way to grant our stealth!”
“I’m waiting for suggestions, my lord.”
He shook his head and snorted.
“Let’s see the next topic.”
Ellen read it down quickly and Fíli ‘runed’ it for the others to be able to re-read it if and when they wanted. It was Balin who brought the answer, though his brother and Thorin probably knew of it too.
“Yes, there are saltpeter and brimstone veins in Erebor mines, we used to mine it for different uses, and charcoal is easy to get – you will see, Sister, when we get closer to the Lonely Mountain, what I mean.”
Dwalin was suspicious.
“Isn’t that black magic? Should we deal with it?”
“It is pure science, Brother.” Ellen sighed. “Gandalf uses it to produce his fireworks, be at ease.”
“But he is a wizard, and we are not. And you are not talking about fireworks at all.”
From what he learnt about Ellen’s world ‘science’, he feared it almost as much as the magic of Middle-Earth, but of course he would not give in. Thorin intervened.
“Metal kegs can be found easily in Erebor, so, this one is feasible. We can discuss the apropriatedness of it later.”
So they went on item per item, stopping here, going on smoothly there. All Ellen wished by then was a good mug of coffee, but it was an impossible dream, for all she knew.
“Anyway, we must manage to get Smaug out of Erebor for us to enter, get the things we need and prepare the surprise party’ for when he comes back.”
“When we open the Back Door and get in, I can get down to the treasure chamber and entice him.” Offered Bilbo. “ He won’t see me, of course, and I’ll arouse him to get out of the Mountain. Just don’t know how to keep him outside.”
“We can catch him by his stomach, I fancy.” Fíli suggested. “Not that it is very fair, but we can use the ponies as bait.”
“What a pity having useful animals to stuff a dragon.”
The blond dwarf got startled by Bilbo’s complain. “Hey, that is a good idea!”
“Since when is stuffing a dragon with ponies is a good idea?”
“Since we can stuff the ponies with other things before they stuff the dragon!”
He explained his idea, the others gave suggestions, and so this was added to the sheet.
“Óin and Lily can help us with this, in the morning.” Thorin said, pacing while speaking, to shake the weariness away. “We will expose our plans to the Company only after we depart from the Lake-Town man, I don’t want him to think he can interfere, it is not his business, anyway.”
Balin tried to lead Thorin to address Lake-Town issue, as they helped them and would be their neighbors if everything ended as they expected.
“Yes, but we should warn him to have Lake-Town prepared for the worst, so they can escape if something goes wrong.”
The hobbit worried about those people, too.
“And if they don’t believe him?”
Thorin just shook his head.
“It cannot be helped.”
“Maybe not, but we can grant him resources to persuade as many as he may, or at least to grant provisions at a safe place.” Offered Ellen.
“We don’t have resources, all we had was taken by the Mirkwood elves.” Dwalin was righteously angry.
“I believe this can be mended...” The elf took out her waist wallet with what gold was left after all her purchasing of miscellany things and fruits in Lake-Town; she bought whatever she wanted but there was still a lot. “Here. It may be enough for Bard to convince a lot of people.”
Kíli was startled by her offering.
“Ellen, are you giving all your gold away?”
She nodded.
“Yes. When we retake Erebor, you will have your share of the treasure and this little money will make no difference at all. If things go wrong, well, I believe I’ll have no need of money in the place I’ll go to, if you take my meaning.”
“Ellen, I thank you for your offer. It may make amends to those people even before any trouble arises.” Thorin shook his head. “It is hard for a dwarf to understand someone who cares so little for money, though.”
The elf smiled, taking Kíli’s hand in hers.
“There’s a song in the place I came from, that explains it quite simply; Iris can sing it better, but in short it says ‘I don’t care too much for money; money can’t buy me love’.”
"I´m shieldmaiden, and my hand is ungentle."