Story [The Hobbit, LOTR]: A Hobbit in Ered Luin Dear Diary 2014

I am glad everyone is enjoying this. I've had a fun time writing it and as I have quite a bit of the story written now, I'll probably be updating it more often.
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Kili's Journal (Translated from Dwarven Runes)

Continued from last entry….

I was very late getting up the next morning, so late in fact, that Fili had already dealt with the needs of the ponies and Hilda's horse by the time I entered the common room. Fili and Nori were sat at the same table from the night before. Hilda was nowhere to be seen. A glance out of the window was all I needed to know that were weren't going anywhere today. Both Fili and Nori looked like they had finished eating breakfast, a cold, lumpy porridge along with a mug of some foul tasting tea which the innkeeper's wife brought over when she saw me. I thought from the night before that the food in this place couldn't get any worse, but apparently, I was wrong.

I was just about to start when Nori asked me a question. "Late neet, last neet, was it?"

"Ah saw thee sneaking into the lassie's room last neet," Nori replied.

Fili looked at me gone out, so I thought I'd better explain.

"Nothing happened. We just played a few games of Hnefetafl," I replied.

"Sure tha did," Nori said.

"That's all we did," I said.

Nori laughed. "Ah'll believe thee, but the rest o' Ered Luin wouldn't."

Unfortunately, the innkeeper's wife over heard Nori's comments and she wasn't very happy about funny goings on under her roof. I guess it was pay back from catching him the day before. I was glad, for once, that Uncle Thorin wasn't around.

Later that day, Hilda and I went out to the stables. She wanted to see Crowberry, (I had learnt that was the name of the horse) and I needed to check on the ponies.

"I feel that I must apologise," I said as we were walking over to the stables. Trotter was running around in front of us, trying to catch the snowflakes that were falling.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Hilda said.

At least that meant that the old snap dragon (the innkeeper's wife) hadn't spoken to Hilda about last night.

"Nori saw me when I went into your room last night and couldn't keep his big gob shut about," I explained. "So I must apologise for bringing your virtue into question."

"But we really didn't do anything," she said.

"I know, but it just doesn't look like that," I said.

"We'd best not linger out here, then," Hilda said.

"Agreed," I replied.

"But it is Nori whose got the wrong idea," Hilda said.

"He's just having me on. It's payback for making him give back that money he tried to steal."

When we got to the stables, Hilda's horse whinnied at her. Trotter followed us in and laid down in the straw, looking like he belonged there. Hilda insisted on seeing to the ponies and I watched her.

"They appear to like you," I said.

"What are their names?" she asked.

"Mine is called Bungo and Fili's is called Rowan," I replied.

She went over to the strange horse which flattened its ears back and kicked at the door to its stall. Hilda backed away.

"He's not friendly," she observed.

"Let's finish up here and get back inside the inn," I said. I didn't like the way the horse was behaving and thought that the quicker we finished up the sooner the horse would be left in peace.

 

Nori is a piece of work Like the names for the horses

 

Well, he had to get his own back and it should teach Kili not to sneak into the rooms of ladies at night....

http://dwarrowscholar.mymiddleearth.com/

I came across this website which has some information on the dwarf language and wondered if anyone on here had the downloads, or if the info can be found elsewhere on the net. I don't like having to make accounts for downloading stuff (I have developed a terrible memory for remembering passwords because I have too many internet accounts) and I have a netbook, not a standard PC, which means my screen is quite small. (It's useful because means it takes up less space in the flat I live in, but useless when viewing documents sometimes.) I don't know what's wrong with people just using html files for displaying information - it's much easier to work with.

 

Hilda Greenhill's Diary

Continued from last entry…

The snowstorm lasted two days from the evening we arrived at the inn. During that time, I got to know Kili and Fili better. They told me that they were the nephews of a dwarven king who had lost his kingdom to a dragon during the time of their great grandfather and were building a new home in the Blue Mountains. I knew about the dwarven settlement in the mountains, as my parents had sometimes traded produce with them, but I had known nothing of the history behind the settlement. I came to realise that I had something in common with these dwarves - both of us had lost our home, and it would take a long time to reclaim it. We spent the days during the storm in the common room, sometimes going out to the stables to check on the animals. Trotter spent much of his time asleep in front of the fire, accept of course, when I went anywhere and he would be close on my heels. I did wonder how much he understood, if he knew the rest of my family was gone.

Kili's company I liked especially, as he tried to take my mind off losing my family. We spent the time waiting for the snow storm to pass playing games of Hnefetafl, which would have been great if it had not reminded me of the times my brothers and I spent playing it on similar days. I would have enjoyed Kili's company a lot more if the grief of losing them had not been so raw and regretted not meeting him in happier times. However, we were careful not to repeat the events of the other night and the innkeeper's wife seemed to be watching the both of us like a hawk.

In contrast, Fili was a lot more serious and I think his thoughts were preoccupied with his Uncle Thorin, and the other dwarves who were with him. I learnt that they had left them behind in the storm to hunt the orcs that had murdered my family and raided the farm. No one turned up at the inn, dwarf or otherwise, and I think that the lack of news was worrying him. If Thorin is dead, either at the hands of the orcs or a casualty of the storm, that would make Fili the king of his people. The burden weighs heavily on him and I don't know what is worse, knowing that your family is gone, or waiting on the possibility that one of them is dead.

I do not know what to make of Nori. He is the kind of person that is alright to talk to and sometimes even makes me laugh with what he comes out with. Fili told me to be cautious of him.

I would like to go back to the farm to see if there is anything that I could salvage, but I doubted that it would be restorable and Fili told me that all of the animals on the farm were dead or stolen by the orcs. I only had Trotter and Crowberry left from my previous life.

I was coming out of my room on to the landing when Kili reached the top of the stairs. "It looks like the storm has passed. Do you think that you are well enough to travel today?" he asked. "Fili is anxious to get back to our mother."

"How long do you think the journey will take?" I asked.

"It took us five days to get to your farm, but as we were hunting orcs, we didn't take the direct route. It should take us a couple of days."

I patted Trotter's head. I still felt rough, but I was wanting to get away from the eagle-eyed innkeeper's wife as I felt that she was always watching me. "I'm up to it," I said.

"I'll let Fili know," Kili said, turning to head back down the stairs.

"Kili, I'm sure your uncle is fine."

"I hope so."

When I was ready, I found that Fili was settling up with the innkeeper, paying what we owed, getting the weapons back and paying for some supplies for the road.

"Where's Nori?" Fili asked Kili as he shouldered the bag the innkeeper had put our supplies in.

"He's getting the ponies ready," Kili replied.

"Good," Fili said. "Did you ask him to?"

"He volunteered."

We went outside to find that Nori was with the ponies at the trail which served as a road through the mountains. I think Fili was expecting not to find him there because he seemed a bit surprised.

"Rate then, let's get going," Nori said when we had reached him.

We took it in turns to ride and I must say that it was hard going with the deep snow. It came up to just below my knees and was deeper in other places. On the other hand, the Blue Mountains had a rare beauty about it - it didn't matter what the weather was like, it could be raining, snowing, misty or a sunny day, every type of weather enhanced the mountain range's beauty in its own way.

When we made our first stop to take a break, Fili was going through Rowan's saddle bags. "Nori, what's all this stuff?" he asked, pulling out a block of cheese, a loaf of bread and a small bag of potatoes.

Kili looked inside Bungo's saddle bags and found a couple of bottles of mead in one and a bag of gold in the other. "We should take this stuff back," Kili said.

"No. I'll send someone with payment down when the snow has cleared up. We've lingered out here too long already," Fili said. "But that doesn't mean you're getting away with this, Nori. You'll do some work in the mines to pay off your debt."

In the end, it took us about three days instead of two to get to Thorin's Gate. The snow had slowed us down considerably. There was a small village outside the mine, complete with a few cottages, a mead hall, a stable complex for the ponies and all the other amenities that a small settlement needed. It was only a tempory settlement as the dwarves would move into the mines to make their homes there once it had been established. The mine was not ready for habitation as yet so the majority of the dwarves lived outside of it. There was an inn which Nori headed off to almost as soon as they had arrived. We had dismounted from the ponies when we entered the village.

"Let him go, Kili. We can always send Dori to look for him if they are back," Fili said.

"Do you think we should try home, or the mead hall first?" Kili asked.

"Home," Fili replied. "Besides, we need to drop the animals off anyway."

Home turned out to be one of the larger cottages in the area which had a forge attached, a stable and a paddock for the ponies. As we drew closer, we saw that there was a stocky dwarf hammering away at a metal object on top of an anvil. The dwarf was wearing a rough spun skirt, and a tunic. In spite of the cold, she didn't need to wear the coat that was hung up on a peg some distance away from the furnace, as that was all the heat she needed. Her long dark brown hair was twisted into two plaits that helped to keep her hair out of the way while she worked.

"Mam's home," Fili said to his brother. He turned to me. "Would you mind holding these for us while we go and speak to her?"

I did not like the idea of holding on to two ponies, plus Crowberry, but they seemed relaxed enough. Their mother broke off what she was doing when Kili called out to her. Unusually for a dwarf, she had no beard and I learnt later that widowed dwarves often shaved their beard as a mark of their grief at losing their husbands, and as I was to learn later, their mother had suffered more than enough losses to grieve for. They both hugged their mother in greeting and after exchanging a few words, moved forward to greet me.

"Kili here tells me that you are looking for a place to stay. There is more than enough room for you and you are welcome," she said. "I am Dis. Lads, see to these animals. Come, lass, and we'll get you settled."

I handed the ponies and Crowberry over to them and followed Dis as she led me towards the cottage. She stopped after a few paces.

"Oh, and boys, get off with thee to the mead hall after tha's done. Balin'll be needing to see the both of you," she said to her sons.

"Will do, mam," Fili said.

I followed Dis through the front door into the cottage, which opened out on to a sitting room which consisted of several chairs arranged around a fireplace. A writing desk and a floor to ceiling bookcase by the window. The walls were made of oak wood, with geometric shapes carved into them similar to the pillars on either side of the entrance to the mead hall. There were several framed pictures of dwarves, both male and female, though the males out numbered the females considerably, on the walls in the sitting room. The newest of which I could see were of Kili and Fili. Dis saw me looking at them.

"That one," she said, pointing to a picture of the oldest dwarf man. "is my grandfather, King Thror, my grandmother." She didn't tell me her name.

"My father, Thrain," she said, indicating another picture. "And my mother."

Again, Dis did not reveal the name of her mother. "My brother Thorin, the current king," she continued. "My brother Frerin, my husband, Vili. They are all gone now, apart from Thorin."

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"My grandfather and brother were killed by orcs when we attempted to take back the lost mines of Moria after the dragon drove us out of Erebor. My father, his fate is unknown. After the war with the orcs, my father attempted to take back Erebor, but was lost in Mirkwood. Vili, he was lost in a mining accident," Dis related to me the fate of her kin. "As for my mother and grandmother, they died in the wilds after we were driven out of Erebor. My grandmother was not in the best of health due to old age and sickened and died shortly after. My mother died protecting me from a lynx, until Thorin and Frerin arrived to kill it. I was only a child at the time."

We went through into a hallway and I was surprised to discover that there was no kitchen. Dis explained to me that most of the dwarves ate together at the mead hall.

"My father, Thorin, Frerin and Vili built this house after we came up here from Dunland. It was meant to house all of us, including my grandfather, until we had mined halls fit enough to live in," Dis said, as we passed three rooms to climb the stairs to the first floor. "Or until my brothers had found themselves a wife and they built a room for each of us, including an extra one for my children after Vili and I married. Since it is only myself, Thorin and the boys that live here now there are too many empty rooms in this house."

She led me into one of the rooms. "This was Frerin's room. Mine is the one next to it. The boys are in the two rooms opposite. I thought that Thorin would prefer some peace and had the boys' up here."

Dis found me some clothes to change into and then left me so to allow me to settle in. I went over to the leaded window and looked out to a good view of the mountain side and the mead hall. My stomach rumbled and I decided that I would go up to the mead hall when I changed to get something to eat. There were two sets of clothes, a long green dress and a travelling/work outfit. I decided that has I was going to be seen by lots of people, that the dress would be more appropriate to wear.

There had still been no word of Thorin or the dwarves that had set out with him.

 

Excellent details of the settlement and enjoyed learning of Dis's history Wow, still no news of the hunting party? LOL ... No wonder Nori wanted to see to the ponies. He was stashing loot

 

You can't trust Nori for a second...The next few posts might be delayed a bit because in my haste to get parts of it written down and typed up, I managed to mangle the names of some of the OCs around and need to fix them. (I didn't realise I'd done it until I was looking back over what I'd written.)

I am looking for an inexpensive copy of this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lord-Rings-...3516558&sr=1-1&keywords=lord+of+the+rings+rpg

as I thought it might be useful as source material. But not at the price they are asking, though. £39.99 is about as much as I would spend on a biology textbook.

 

It is usual to find something like that in a second-hand bookshop. A lot of the ones I visit tend to be full of romantic fiction, YA books, Classics that literature students have got rid of at the end of term and out-dated business and computing textbooks. People tend to keep hold of books like that, or sell them on ebay and after some bad experiences with buying things on ebay, I'm not going to bother looking for it there.

 

Loving this! Fili is so sweet to play games with Hilda to distract her. And even though it was innocent, do I sense a hint of the possibility of something more?

Can't wait until she meets Thorin!

 

Kili's Journal

Continued from last entry

The mead hall was bustling with activity when we arrived. In one corner was Gloin's wife, Gloa, who was sat with two other dwarves - the oldest of which was Nori's mother, Skafid and Dwalin's wife, Vif. Skafid as usual, was engrossed in her knitting. Gloa was busy with the spinning wheel, turning the pile of wool at her feet into useful thread for Skafid to use in her knitting, and Vif was tending to her newest baby, sharing gossip with them whilst keeping an eye on her three year old son and five year old daughter, who were playing nearby. The hall seemed to have an unusual air of feminity about it, probably because most of the dwarven men were still elsewhere.

We saw Balin talking with Dori by the great chair which my uncle sat in when presiding over matters related to the running of the kingdom, or when attending the feast days held in the hall. It was empty, and it seemed that no one presumed that they could sit in it in his absence. It crossed my mind that Fili could soon be sitting in it if Uncle Thorin was indeed lost, as we feared.

Balin broke off his conversation with Dori when he saw us approach. "Hello lads. It's good to see that you are back," Balin said. "Is your uncle around?"

"Then he is not back yet," I said.

"I'm afraid not," Balin replied. "Why is he not with you?"

Fili explained what had happened to Hilda's farm.

"Terrible news, that. In fact, it is what I need to speak to your uncle about," Balin said. "The orcs are getting bolder, their attacks more frequent."

A look of concern passed across Fili's face. "You don't think Thorin's Gate could be at risk, do you?" Fili asked the question that had been preying on all of our minds for a while.

"It is unlikely," Balin said, glancing at Dwalin's young brood. "But we shouldn't rule it out. I will speak to Dwalin about reinforcing the defenses, just in case."

"The late supply caravan was found?" Fili asked. That had been the business which the other dwarves had been on when we had gone out searching for the orc party that had been reported.

"They turned up yesterday." We had been starting to think that the caravan had been a victim of the orc pack, and I was surprised that they had managed to get through.

"It's a miracle then, that the orcs didn't come across them," Fili said.

"Aye, that it is," Balin said. "The men will be staying until we know for sure that the orcs have been dealt with."

"A wise precaution," Fili remarked.

"Here, lads," Dori said, handing Fili and myself a goblet each which he had just filled from the barrel. "You look like you could both do with a drink. I was just showing Balin what we've brewed for the coming festivities. It's the latest batch of ale for Yule."

I tried mine, and almost gagged. "It's got a great kick to it."

Fili drank his. "This should go down well," he remarked.

"Thought it would," Dori said. "Of course, we've also got a good selection of wine, ciders, lagers and meads."

"Nori's in town. We met him on the road," Fili said.

"Is he? I don't know if this will please or upset mother," Dori said. "Not up to his old tricks, is he?"

"Sadly, yes," I said.

"He's down at the inn," Fili said.

"I'd best be going, then," Dori said, heading over to speak to Ori who was sat with Gloin, going over the accounts to decide what the caravan men were owed.

"We'll talk, later Balin. I need to discuss a problem we encountered on the road with Gloin," Fili said.

"That's alright, laddie. Now, Kili, you look like you should get sommat down thee."

I didn't need telling twice because I was starving. While I was making my way to the table, I saw Hilda and went over to her, with the ever present Trotter at her heels. Trotter wagged his tail at me as I approached.

"You settling in alright?" I asked.

"Yes. Your mother was very helpful. She said that I could get something to eat here, and that she will be coming over shortly."

"I am glad," I said as we walked over to the table. There were no other dwarves sat at the table, as dwarf women were still bringing platters of food to it. We sat down at the top end on the bench and I became a bit self conscious as a middle age dwarf woman looked at me, and then at Hilda and then at me again with disapproval. It was starting to get a bit tiresome that everywhere we went, people assumed that we were up to something unseemly. I did think about saying that we should kiss so that they actually had something to complain about, but I thought better of it. Instead, I poured us both a mug of mead each.

"Well, will tha look at that!" said one of the dwarf women, her hand on her hips glaring at us. "Young 'uns, nowadays have no sense of discretion."

"No respect all," said another of the dwarf women. "A beardless woman and the king's youngest nephew."

It felt everyone's eyes were on me and I wished that the ground would open up and swallow me. Fortunately at that moment, my mother arrived took them aside to explain the situation. Also, at that moment, there was a thunderous shout from Dori - Fili must have told him about Nori's pilfering, which also drew attention from us.

"Look's like Fili has told Dori about Nori," I said.

Fili and Ori joined us. "That was brilliant," said Ori, in reference to the dwarf womens' reaction to me pouring Hilda a drink.

"It looks like you're making quite a reputation for yourself, brother," Fili said as he sat down on the opposite side of the table from us.

"Scandalous," Ori said.

"I don't get it," said Hilda.

"You tell her Fili," I said.

Fili explained to Hilda about dwarf women only shaving their beards if they had been widowed.

"But I'm a hobbit," Hilda said.

"They just like pulling Kili's leg," Ori said. "They make a sport of it."

"I'm glad someone finds amusement at my expense," I said.

"And mine," Hilda added.

"I take it what you had to see Gloin and Dori about went down well?" I asked.

"As well as could be expected," Fili replied.

I watched Dori and Gloin walk over to Ori's mother. After listening to what Dori had to say, she put aside her knitting and stood up. As the trio were heading towards the door, Dwalin entered the hall and Dori gestured for him to join them.

"That doesn't look good, does it?" Ori commented.

"Do you think Nori's been telling people down at the -" Fili began to ask.

"People shouldn't take much stock in the tales of thieves," I said, forgetting for a moment who I was talking to. Ori looked at me darkly.

"Are you calling my brother a thief?"

Fili tried to diffuse the situation. "I know he's your brother, Ori, but Nori caused us quite a lot of trouble on the road."

"Trouble we could have done without," I added.

We ate in silence for several minutes. After the meager offerings at the inn, I was glad of something good.

Ori cracked open the book he had brought to the table with him and said to Hilda "Do you mind if I draw your portrait?"

"Maybe later, Ori. Give her time to settle in," I said.

"You can have it when I am done," Ori said.

"I don't mind, but maybe some other time. I really don't feel my best at the moment," Hilda said.

Ori proceeded to make sketches regardless, in between swallowing and shoveling food into his mouth, managing somehow not to get food all over the sketches he was working on. When he finished, he pushed it across the table.

Hilda smiled, one of the few ones I had seen on her face since meeting her. "I like it. Thank you." He had also drawn a sketch of me next to her, and Hilda's dog in one of the corners.

 

Loved the back-home feel. The catching up and the teasing both.

 

I don't normally do this many updates in a short period of time, but the next entry is pretty short, so I don't think it's too much. I also sorted out that little problem I had with the character switch/name spelling. It wasn't as bad as I thought and only affected one entry. It's not too bad, though because it gave me a new name for a female dwarf by accident which I'll probably use.

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Hilda Greenhill's Diary


I find nights are the worst. During the day, at least, there are moments when I almost forget what has happened, like when Ori drew the picture of Kili and I. I have company around me and many of the dwarves have been kind, but I still feel alone, even when there are lots of people around me. My dreams are full of nightmarish images of orcs tearing through the farm, killing as they go. But as monstrous as those dreams are, the worst I get are those dreams when I dream of my family alive. These dreams begin happy and I enjoy them at first. Here, at least, they are with me. But they are insidious. They deceive me into thinking that my family are alive. At some point in them I realise they are gone, and harsh reality comes crashing in on me. I lose them all over again.

The darkness is oppressive.

 

Wow! I can just imagine how heartbreaking that is!!!!! Time will alleviate this but it will be grueling until then.

 

Shorter updates are probably better for conveying that. They have more impact that way, but they shouldn't be so short that they are meaningless. I don't want to upset Twilight fans, but I made the mistake of reading the books after watching the first film (can see why women, espeaically teenagers can be drawn into them and I think that is the only good thing about them) and in the second book there's a lot of pages in it which just have the names of the months in it and it doesn't actually deal with Bella's loss when Edward goes away. There still needs to be something there to explain the loss that the character is feeling, but it shouldn't be too long that it just becomes whiny.

Hilda's also writing it sometime afterwards, though and I don't think she remembers everything. I've found when bad things happen, they'll go through your head loads of times while it's happening, or shortly after, but if you try to think back on it, you can't remember a lot of the details. If you have the time to write when something bad is happening, though, I bet there'll be a lot more and it will be rambling.

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Kili's Journal (Translated from dwarven runes)


(Continued from the last entry)

Two weeks had passed since the orcs attacked Hilda's farm and Uncle Thorin had still not returned. The year turns ever closer to Yuletide and the winter solstice was only a week away. Preparations for the festival had begun by that time, but until Uncle Thorin's return, I could not bring myself to look forward to it. In the meantime, Fili has taken Uncle Thorin's seat in the mead hall. He did the best he could, but lack of experience at governing meant that he needed the sage advice of Balin and our mother. The fact that he has yet to take part in a real battle meant that there was some objections to him taking the seat. Some dwarves wanted Dwalin to act as steward in my uncle's absence, others wanted Balin. Dwalin refused the role, saying that he was a solider, not a ruler and Balin did not want division among our people, especially with the threat of the orcs looming over us and put his support behind Fili.

It is understandable that some objected - Uncle Thorin was only taken seriously as a leader of our people after the battle at Moria where he earned his name of Oakenshield, at least, that is what my mother tells me. Balin's reasoning behind supporting Fili was that Uncle Thorin would want Fili to take over from him if anything were to happen to him.

Hilda has recovered physically from her ordeal, but recovering from the loss of her family will take longer. I just wish that there was something I could do to help her. I know that there are times when she has trouble sleeping and she has told me about the dreams she has. I long to see her smile again, but I fear that it will be a long time in coming.

 

I agree. Also, I have to applaud the smooth way you are handling a combined journal. The tones for each side don't confuse the reader but blend very well to give a fuller picture.

 

This has gotten quite dark! I feel for poor Hilda And Fili and Kili must be terribly worried about their uncle.

I do like the teasing about Kili and Hilda

 

Thanks for reading. A family problem has come up so I probably won't be around for a few days.

 

Hilda Greenhill's Diary

Continued from last entry

With Yuletide almost upon us, Kili went out with a group of other dwarves into the woods in the valley below the settlement. Their goal, to see if they could catch a wild boar for the Yule feast. Dwalin, Gloin, Nori (forgiven somewhat for his actions at the inn), Oin and Gimli went with him. Ori had wanted to go, but his mother wouldn't let him, saying that it was too dangerous.

Despite the fact that the dwarves were gearing up for a celebration, there seemed to be an air of gloom about the settlement and I didn't think it had anything to do with the dark short days and the long dreary nights. I put it down to the absence of Thorin and the absence of the dwarves who set out with him.

Fili did not go on the wild boar hunting expedition because of his duties in the mead hall. For myself, my own cloud of gloom was obvious. This would be the first Yule without the rest of my family and it wasn't something that I thought could ever happen. Of course, I am not naïve enough to believe that my family would have stayed intact forever, but I thought that there would have at least been some of my family around me, my brothers, perhaps, my husband and my own children when the time came, but to be completely alone without anyone, that is something I never anticipated.

I was not aware that the other races of Middle-earth celebrated Yuletide like we hobbits do, but it makes sense when I think about it. It is a way of being in tune with the cycles of the seasons, awareness of the passage of time and the renewal of life and it is a connection that all the people's of Middle-earth and the creatures that live in it must feel. It is something that gets us through the dark times in our lives, that hope that life will endure and continue, but it is also something that is so easily forgotten when dark times are upon us.

From what I have seen so far, dwarven Yuletide celebrations are somewhat different to hobbit Yule celebrations, but there are also some things which remain the same. First, the similarities - the abundance of good food and drink, and lots of music, these are the same. The differences lie in the way decorations. There are no evergreen decorations such as holly, ivy and the only reference to trees used in the celebrations is that of a large Yule log which will be burnt throughout the longest night. I have come to the conclusion that dwarves are not fond of green, growing things.

A group of the dwarf women, Dis, Gloa, Skafid, Vif, Bild, (the dwarf woman who had been due to marry Frerin before the battle that claimed his life) Lyngheid and Lofnheid (Dwalin's eldest daughters) and Dwalin's children had gathered to see the hunters off. Dwalin was busy saying his farewell to his family, Ori was still trying to convince Skafid to let him go on the hunt and Gloin and Gimli were saying their good byes to Gloa.

"Promise me you won't do anything daft," Dis said to her son.

"Mam, you worry about me too much," Kili said.

"That's because half the time you lack common sense," Dis replied. "I would feel better about if your uncle was here."

Dwalin over heard the exchange. "Don't worry, Dis. We won't let anything happen to the lad," he said.

"I'll see you later, Hilda," Kili said to me and the hunters went off in high sprits. With all the noise they were making, I would have been surprised if they managed to catch anything. Ori tried to sneak off after them, but Skafid didn't miss a trick. All the dwarf women, apart from Dis and Bild, with the children and Ori in tow, headed back towards the mead hall.

Dis, Bild and I headed back towards the cottage. Bild was one of the dwarf women who had taken up the work of a metal smith and she had Dis had been friends for many years.

"Before the dragon drove us out of Erebor," Dis reminisced as we walked. "My mother forged priceless items of beauty. Crowns and jewels for the elves, golden broaches and chains for the ladies in the lands of Rohan and Gondor and the finest weapons made by any race other than that forged by the elves themselves. It was a good time for dwarves then."

"Oh aye, lass. My mother's specialty was mithril armour," Bild said.

"Now, though, we are reduced to producing crude tools of iron for farmers of the race of men we trade with," Dis said. "Essential, maybe, but the lack the artistry of the craft."

"What you'll find, Hilda," Bild said. "Is that the men make a lot out of the value of silver, gold, precious stones and mithril, but for us, it is the act of making them that we crave. The mountains of Ered Luin hold a lot of metal ore, but it is only common metals such as iron, and bronze."

"There is one mine though, that does hold something special. It holds deposits of quartz and bleujenn. We call it Morgoth's Hole, because of it's appearance and it has a bad reputation of accidents occurring there," Dis said. "Vili was killed in one of the cave ins there."

"Some of the men have a more vulgar name for it," Bild said. Bild told me the name but it is unrepeatable, so I will not record it here.

We parted company when we got to the cottage as I had promised Kili that I would see to the ponies while the dwarves were on the boar hunting expedition. I didn't mind it. I liked spending time with the animals and I needed to care for Crowberry anyway. Trotter lay down by the gate to the paddock after I had turned them out so that I could clean out the stables, make sure that they had clean water and enough hay. When I finished, I found a mug of mead and some bread and cheese waiting for me, which I was glad for.

The day which had started out clear, had turned to a dull grey and a cold drizzle had started to fall. The sun, what I could see of it, was well on its way towards its resting place in the west. Crowberry, Rowan and Bungo would be fine until dusk and I decided to go up to the mead hall to escape the drizzle.

As the afternoon turned to dusk, I decided to bring the animals in. Ori and Lofnheid (the second eldest of Dwarlin's daughters) accompanied me. Lofnheid had an interest in scribing and they were often seen in each other's company (much to his mother's consternation.) I had glanced at the contents of the book Ori wrote in and found a lot of sketches of Lofnheid, more than there were of other dwarves of Ered Luin.

Over the course of the afternoon, the drizzle had turned to a cold mist which thoroughly dampened our clothing and hair. After seeing to the animals, we decided to see if we could see the hunting party coming back home. We waited at the spot where we had seen them off from that morning and the visibility was extremely poor, due to the disappearing sun. The wait seemed like an age, and I was just about to suggest that we go to the mead hall, when we heard voices. We heard them before we finally saw them and even as they became visible, I could barely make them out.

Gimli was the first to emerge from the fog, panting heavily because he had been running. It was obvious that something was amiss.

"There's been an accident," he gasped. Lofnheid took off to the mead hall to fetch help.

"Who's been hurt?" Ori asked.

Before Gimli could reply, I could just about see a group of dwarves through the mist. As they got closer, I could see that they had been successful in the hunt, but they lacked the joviality could be expected from success. Two of the dwarves were carrying a third one between them, but I couldn't tell who it was they were carrying at that distance.

One of the dwarves shouted to Gimli, "Gimli, go get Dis. Tell her Kili's been injured."

My heart dropped like a stone at the mention of Kili's name.

 

Hi! Happy to have an update. A very thoughtful tone and poignant runs through Hilda's musings on Yule celebrations and missing her family. Enjoyed Dis's and Bild's discussion of gem-versus-weapon crafting. But I hate too that it's Kili that has been injured, and the continuing non-news (good or otherwise) about Thorin is indeed.

 

There will be some news about what has happened to Thorin. I've not forgot.(An update on what happened to Thorin is about 5 entries away. I can't really say more than that).

I think the next entry will put your mind at rest....

It may be sometime before I update this again because we've had some bad news this morning, but I thought it only fair to stop you worrying about what's happened to Kili by posting the next update.

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Kili's Journal

The first thing I asked when I woke, was "What happened?"

"You got gorged by a boar, laddie," Balin said.

I was in my own bed and Balin and Fili were looking over me. Hilda's dog Trotter was laid on top of the woolen blanket at the bottom of the bed. Balin's answer helped me to recall some of what happened.

"Mam's livid," said Fili.

"Aye, she called thee a reckless fool," Balin said.

"You've been sleeping for two days. Mam and Hilda have been looking after you," Fili said, stroking Trotter's head. "This one has hardly left you alone."

To say I left terrible would have been an understatement. "Is Uncle Thorin back yet?"

"No, and there's been no news of your uncle, either I'm sorry to say," Balin said. "I have to go, laddie, but I'll let your mother or Hilda know you are awake."

Balin left. I was really hoping that it was Hilda and not my mother, who I saw first. I was unsure of why that was, and it was not because I knew that my mother would have some serious words to say to me when she did come up to see me, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Fili stayed with me until Hilda arrived. I could not help the grin that crossed my face when she entered, despite the pain I was in. Before leaving, Fili patted my shoulder.

"I'll see you later," he said and left.

Hilda helped me to sit up, which was quite painful and I felt nauseated for a good while after.

"How are you feeling?" Hilda asked.

"Like an oliphant has trampled me," I replied.

"You were lucky," Hilda said, sitting down in the chair beside my bed. "It looks a lot worse than it is."

I felt like swearing, but it was hardly Hilda's fault, and I really had no one but myself to blame for the condition I was in.

"Do you remember what happened?" Hilda asked, after a few minutes.

"I'm starting to remember some of it," I replied. "Could I have some water, please? My throat is really dry."

Hilda poured me a mug of water from the pitcher which was on the bedside table and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said. "The last thing I remember was a loud crashing in the bushes and the wild boar came rushing out. I was trying to reach for an arrow and to load my bow. Guess I wasn't fast enough and it is partly my fault. I should have had a boar spear."

"I need to check the wound, make sure that it is healing properly," Hilda said.

It was then that I realised that I was only wearing the bandage and trousers. It was one thing to have my mother or one of the men take a look, but Hilda? Hilda must have seen the look on my face.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Hilda said. "I did help your mother see to you when you was first brought back."

I think it was then I began to realise that I'd begun to fall for her and that the observations people had made, weren't that far off from the truth. But did Hilda feel the same way? And was it even appropriate? I don't ask that question because of her being a hobbit, (though some would say that was a valid reason not to proceed, especially those fur-faced old bats who complained in the mead hall the other night) but because she had recently lost her family and the timing wasn't right, so I didn't say a thing about it and tried to think of something else as she worked.

"It looks much better than it did and I don't see any signs that it is infected," Hilda said. She washed the wound and for once, I was glad that I was in pain, because it took my mind off the thing I didn't want to think about. After she finished washing and drying the wound, she put on a fresh bandage.

"Do you feel up to playing a game of Hnefetafl?" she asked when she'd finished.

I thought about it but decided I was in too much pain to concentrate on the game. "Not really, but please stay a while. I could do with the company," I answered. And so we talked.

"You play the fiddle?" Hilda said, pointing to the instrument laid on the desk.

"I do, but badly. Fili is a far better musician than me," I replied.

"I'd like to hear you play sometime," Hilda said.

"I shall probably be playing it at the Yule feast, if I feel up to it," I said.

Trotter stretched and rolled on to his back. "Fili mentioned that he has hardly left me alone since the accident."

"He fusses over people when they are ill," Hilda said. "He used to do it with the animals on the farm as well. I don't think he likes it when people are sick and it's his way of trying to help."

I thought back to the way he had shown us where Hilda was at the farm. "He saved your life, you know. He found us and led us straight to you. If it had not been for him, we would have missed you completely."

We talked for a while, until I mentioned that I began to feel hungry.

"I'm sorry. I should have thought to bring you something, but when Balin told me you had woken up, I was in such a hurry to get over here, that it didn't cross my mind. I shouldn't be too long."

Hilda went out of the room and I waited a few minutes until I was sure she was gone. I wanted to see if I could get out of bed and I knew that if someone was with me, they wouldn't let me try it. The pain excoriating but I was able to get up, even if I had to do so slowly. I walked over to the window that looked out over the paddock. It was snowing again and the animals were inside the stable. I watched the snow fall, thinking about Uncle Thorin. After a while, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and, thinking it was Hilda, I stayed where I was. It was only when the door opened that I realised it was mother, instead, and she was not pleased to find me out of bed.

 

What a reassuring and warm/sweet update. Squee over Kili's burgeoning feelings for Hilda. and for your yucky news.