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

Author: Space_Wolf
Title: A Hobbit in Ered Luin
Fandom: The Hobbit, LOTR
Characters: Thorin's Company, other dwarves, original characters.
Timeframe: A year or so before the events of The Hobbit
Summary: Two journals/diaries from the point of view of Hilda Greenhill, a Hobbit, (the original character) and Kili the Dwarf.
Notes: Written in response to the Dear Diary Challenge. The diaries are separate, but to make things simple, I am keeping them all in one thread and introducing the "author" at the start of each diary entry. This way, I don't need to maintain more than one thread and it will be easier for readers to keep track of it.

The "canon" in the story will be a mixture of Tolkien’s work, Peter Jackson's version of the Hobbit, and any other snippets I find relating to official game releases, etc. Any mistakes or misinterpretations of this material are my own (and most likely the result of sloppy researching....).

I don't have a title for this one yet and will edit it when I do. Suggestions are welcome.

Edit: This story now has more OCs than you can shake a stick at (which is about usual for me, even if they are mainly minor players in the story. To keep up, I'm going to have to do a list of characters for the sake of my own sanity, if nothing else. It is too easy to forget about characters when you are writing a long story and hopefully, this will keep them fresh (I need to do a list for the elves...the druid will not be listed - I have plans for her now which didn't occur to me when I started out writing this - you can blame the twitter rp for that. I am grateful to those people because they have given me a greater insight into the world of Tolkien than I ever would have done on my own, and I suppose this story is for them, especially those who do the Ainur characters, a certain little scribe whom we know is not as innocent as he appears to be, a certain #Majestic king, and the people who do Arwen and Elrond... Would it be a good thing if any of 'em came across this? They know I post on here. If they do, I don't want to know. Anyway, enough rambling...)

Dwarves:

Thorin Oakenshield - exiled King under the mountain
Fili - Thorin's oldest nephew
Kili - Thorin's youngest nephew
Dis - Thorin's sister, and mother of Fili and Kili
Oin - a cousin of Thorin and brother of Gloin
Gloin - Oin's brother
Gimli - Gloin's son
Balin - a cousin of Thorin
Dwalin - Balin's brother
Dori - a distant member of the line of Durin (the actual relationship is unclear, though)
Nori - Dori's brother
Ori - Dori's youngest brother
Bombur - - one of Thorin's companions,
Bifur - Bombur's brother
Bofur - cousin of Bombur and Bofur
Gloa - Gloin's wife
Skafid - mother of Dori, Nori and Ori
Vif - Dwalin's wife (OC)
Bild - Frerin's fiance (OC)
Lyngheid - Dwalin's oldest daughter (OC) (Warrior)
Lofnheid - Dwalin's second oldest daughter (OC) (Ori's friend)

Mentioned but doesn't make an appearance in the story:

Thror - Thorn's grandfather
Thrain - Thorin's father
Frerin - Thorin's brother
Vili - Dis' husband and father of Fili and Kili

Please note: some of the dwarves may look like they are original characters, but aren't. This is because they were never named in Tolkien's work, but must have existed. I have given them names because I can't keep referring to them as Kili's father, Gloin's wife, etc. This is my interpretation and other fan writers may differ (and most likely will!). Other characters, like Vif, Bild, Lofnheid and Lyngheid are my own inventions. Names of the dwarves have been taken from various poems in the Poetic Edda (which is where Tolkien got his dwarf names from originally). I am assuming that they are female names and it did take some picking out, but I am not an expert in Old Norse and there may be mistakes! It was fun doing it, though. Some names in the Poetic Edda for dwarves were unclear on wether they were male or not and I suppose this is where Tolkien got the notion that dwarf women are often mistaken for dwarf men! Vif and Gloa are names which don't appear specifically in the Eddas for dwarves, but do seem to fit quite nicely. Vif means wife and and Gloa is a feminised version of Gloin and seemed to fit.

In Norse Mythology, it is stated that Dwalin is the father of many of the minor Norns, and this is where the inspiration came from.

Dwarf Clans: (aside from the line of Durin)

Firebeards - Uri's folk - tool-makers
Broadbeams - Linnar's folk - crafters (toy-makers, and the like)
Ironfists - Sindri's folk - Shamans, seers, etc.
Stifbeards - Tulin's folk - tradesmen
Blacklocks - Var's folk - artists
Stonefoots - Vigdis' folk - stonemasons, builders, miners

Jarl Andarvi (leader of Uri's folk)
Jarl Bavor (leader of Linnar's folk)
Gythia Verdani (leader of Sindri's folk - female)
Jarl Alf (leader of Tulin's folk)
Jarl Finn (leader of Var's folk)
Jarl Frar (leader of Vigdis' folk)

Brud - Daughter of Jarl Andarvi
Svanni - Niece of Jarl Bavor
Arinnefia - Cousin of Jarl Alf
Flioth - Daughter of Jarl Finn
Femia - Daughter of Jarl Frar
Reginleif - traveling seer of Sindri's folk

Hobbits:

Most of these are original characters I created for the story.

Hilda Greenhill (my main co-protagonist and the "Hobbit in Ered Luin." The other main protagonist is Kili the dwarf.
Callum - Hilda's cousin, son of her mother's brother.
Deirdre - Callum's wife
Farnan - Hilda's uncle, her mother's brother, widower
Margarita Greenhill - Hilda's aunt,

Humans/Men

Ristil - Woman of the Mirkwood people. {Need to put in proper term here]
Hamund - Bree Watchmen, Captain of the Guard
Baldrick - Barkeep of the Cabbage in Ered Luin





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Hilda Greenhill's Diary, 1st entry.

10th Afteryule, 2940

The Dwarves' Yuletide celebration lasted for twelve days. These dwarves sure know how to party. I awoke in Thorin's mead hall to find that the dwarves were still slumbering in various places around the hall. The empty barrels and overturned tankards a testament to the revelry With a pounding in my head, I got up and ventured outside, my sheepdog Trotter on my heals. I really did need the fresh air. The cold mountain air did help to clear my head. The dwarf named Ori gave me this To explain what I am doing here, I will have to back track a few weeks, to when my tale begins.

The 7th of Foreyule 2939 will be a date that will haunt me until the end of my days.

The day started out like any other. My mother was busy in the kitchen preparing food for the workers, My father, my two brothers and myself. My father and eldest brother, Siegfried were going to fix the dry-stone wall that needed repairing. It was an important job, because the wall surrounded the sty which housed the farm's bad tempered old boar. In its current state, it did little to stop the old boar from getting in to the vegetable patch. My younger brother, Tristan had gone to see the draught horse we kept for heavy work around the farm.

I had gone out with our sheepdog, Trotter to check on the sheep out in the far field. With winter coming on, the weather had been getting worse of late, and my task was to bring them down to a field closer to the house which also had shed we could use to shelter them from the snows of winter. Looking back now, it is difficult to believe that a day which had started out so ordinary would turn out to be the day that the worst thing that could happen to a young hobbit lass occurred.

Even before I had made my way out of the herb garden by the back door, I was greeted with a blast of cold air which seemed to cut through the travelling cloak to my bones. Trotter turned to look at me like he didn't want go any further. This surprised me somewhat because he usually had much enthusiasm for hi s work. I was glad that I'd had the foresight to wrap up before coming out of the house.

Our farm lay in the foothills to the south of the Blue Mountains, and I could see the snow clouds from some distance away that would soon be upon the farm. The sky had that look it get when it Is laden with clouds heavy with snow, and I made up my mind that I wouldn't stay out longer than I needed to - herd the sheep down the hillside and into the field that we had marked out for them, ensure that there was adequate straw for bedding, fodder and water for them in the shed and go back to the house.

Of course, at that point, I had no knowledge that there were worse things out in the fields than a snow storm.

It took me about an hour to get to the far field. Our farm was big because we needed enough land that could support our sheep herd, the five pigs and the small herd of ten shaggy haired cattle that we kept. The cattle were already in the main barn, having been brought in by my brothers and Trotter the day before. The four sows we kept were in a fenced enclosure in the deciduous copse on the west side of the farm. We also had a fowl coop at the bottom of the herb garden - my mother usually looked after those.

Trotter bounded ahead of me, and the first indication that something was wrong was when he started pawing at a hump on the ground. When I got closer, I realised what it was. A sheep, with its guts ripped out. Wolves? Was my immediate thought. Not those marauding beasts that it are said to ally themselves with orcs, but ordinary wolves, those that are the wild kin to Trotter's kind. It would not have surprised me. The winter weather would have made them bold, lean and hungry. Stray dogs was my other thought.

As I passed the first dead sheep, I looked around, alert for more, and there were more humps on the ground. It appeared that the entire herd was down, either killed in the manner of the first sheep Trotter and I found, or collapsed from the stress of being chased. When I approached one that had collapsed, I could see that it was still alive, but it expired its last breath before my eyes.

I searched, because I wanted to make sure that there were no survivors. If there were, my father would have wanted me bring them back to the farm, but it was hopeless. They had been left out too long. I searched until the cold had penetrated my flesh so deeply that I could no longer feel it, and my hands and feet were numb beyond feeling.

There were none alive that I could see, and even if there had been, I doubted that it would be alive for long. The herd was gone. I called to Trotter and started to walk back down the hill. With a whine and his tail tucked between his legs, looking every bit as miserable and cold as I felt, he followed.

It was at that point that the snow began to fall.

 

Ooh, great start. Hilda started her day thinking all was normal only to find I look forward to more.

 

I really like this! Things don't sound too good for Hilda--hopefully things will turn around soon.

I can't wait to read more!

 

What an interesting proposition! In a few strokes, your Hilda has caught my attention, and I'll be watching out for more.

Lauré

 

Thank you everyone for reading. It is much appreciated.

I just have a few questions about Middle-earth (mainly because all I've ever read is the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - I did try to read the Silmarillion once, but couldn't really get into it because it seemed to be a lot of stories which had notes and ideas started for them, but the actual stories in their finished form were never completed. (It is something I find frustrating about reading Tolkien.) I did get the Children of Hurin when it was published as a separate book and I found it read like an outline for a story and not a complete story in itself.) I have looked at the appendixes at the end of Lord of the Rings and found that the family tree for the dwarves is incomplete. I was considering buying the People's of Middle-earth because it does have some family trees in it and I was wondering if there is more information about the dwarves in it. This is important because I can't keep referring to dwarves which exist but are unnamed with descriptions like Gloin's wife, etc. If not, I shall have to come up with something.

 

I have ordered a copy of The People's of Middle-earth, so I'll have a look when it arrives. (There is supposed to be something about the Dwarven afterlife in there, and that may be useful for the story). I have come up with some ideas and will explain where they came from when I get to that point in the story. I've also come up with a title for the story now so it shouldn't be untitled anymore.
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Kili's Journal, Translated from Dwarven Runes

Entry 1


I am writing this as the effects of the Yule celebration are wearing off. Ori decided that he would give me a journal as a Yule gift. I would have preferred something more practical but Balin and my mother advised me that if I am to be of help to Fili when he inherits the city from Uncle Thorin that I must learn to keep good records. I thought that was Ori's job? I am no scribe! Still, I suppose this journal is not as bad as the gifts that Ori's mother gave to all the dwarves of Uncle Thorin's inner circle. She gave everyone a knitted scarf. The colour of mine, blue, is not too bad, but the ones she gave to some of the other dwarves are hideous.

We had an extra guest, this year, a Hobbit woman we had rescued some weeks before. At the beginning of the month which hobbits call Foreyule, we had received reports of an orc pack that was causing trouble in the area, so Uncle Thorin organised a group of us to investigate. The group consisted of Uncle Thorin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili and myself. Mother was not pleased about Fili and I accompanying the group, but the other dwarves who could have gone had business elsewhere and were late coming home. Uncle Thorin said that Fili and I needed to gain some experience dealing with orcs and overruled Mother's objections to us going. Gimli had been keen to go, but his mother refused him permission to go. Balin stayed behind to deal with the business that Uncle Thorin had broken off to deal with the orcs.

We had been tracking the orc pack for five days when we came upon the hobbit farm that they had raided. The farm was known to the dwarves, as we had traded with them in the past, so it was with great sadness and anger to discover what had happened. We found the bodies of two of the hobbits, both men, one middle aged, the other young, by a dry-stone wall with a dead pig nearby. They had attempted to defend themselves, but failed. How can you hope to fight off orcs and wargs with nothing but a walling hammer, a crowbar and a spade to fight them off with? Still, I have to admire their bravery.

We found another hobbit man, around the same age as the young hobbit lying near a burnt out stable. The horse must have bolted, for we found no sign of a dead horse and there were hoof prints leading away from the stable.

By the farmhouse, a structure built in the traditional hobbit style with round doors and windows, but was not built into the hillside, we found the body of a middle aged hobbit woman.

"We're too late," Uncle Thorin said, his voice heavy with regret.

"They had a wee lassie with them," said Bofur.

"Spread out and look. She could live still," said Uncle Thorin.

Fili and I found the horse in the field near the patch of woodland. We were reluctant to go among the trees, especially as we had no idea if the orc pack was still in the area. I had my bow ready, just in case. Fili was able to coax the horse into moving. The horse was skittish and difficult to handle, but calmed down somewhat when we brought it to where we had left the ponies.

"Find anything?" Uncle Thorin asked.

"Only the horse," Fili replied.

Bofur joined us and said, "It looks like the orcs either killed or took all the animals. I found no sign of the hobbit lass."

Bifur and Bombur had not had any luck either.

"We must press on if we hope to rescue her," Uncle Thorin said.

It didn't look like anything was alive on the farm until we heard the barking of a dog. It came running up to us. I still had my bow ready and almost shot it on instinct but Fili managed to stop me. The dog led us to the hobbit lass we had been searching for. I was the first to arrive and knelt down in the snow beside her. I removed my glove and brushed the long red hair from her face. The dog immediately curled itself around her. To begin with, I thought she was dead, but I left her breath on my hand.

"Is she alive?" my uncle asked.

"She lives," I said. I did not appear that she had suffered any injury and I guessed that she had lost consciousness due to the freezing weather.

"Fili, Kili, you take her back to your mother," Uncle Thorin said. "The rest of us will deal with the orcs."

"And take the 'osse with thee," said Bofur.

With Fili's help, we lifted her on to my pony and pulled myself up behind her. She was deathly cold and I am sure that had it not been for the dog and our timely arrival that the hobbit lass would soon have died. I wrapped my coat around her as best I could and waited for Fili to finish tethering the horse to his pony, the hobbit's dog at my side.

 

Interesting continuation. The plot thickens!

Lauré

 

Oh, cool tie-together between the two concurrent journals I am glad Hilda was rescued. The Dwarven bunch sound like they'll be loads of fun and ready for just about any adventure.

 

I love Kili!

I'm really enjoying the mixed perspectives of the intertwining diaries. Very much looking forward to this!

 

They'll be plenty of fun and adventure.

Ditto...

I am glad that you are all enjoying it. In some ways, it has been easy for me to write (at least in terms of coming up with ideas) but in other ways it has been more difficult, partly because I have not written fan fic since before I went to uni (Darth Real Life getting in the way) and because I'm much more used to writing stories based purely around original characters.I may even revise this one at some point if I have the time to do so since there are parts which I am not happy with, or which I think could be done better.

I shall be starting a biology course soon (it will be lasting for the next couple of months) and I will be saving a lot of the updates to be posted after it has finished so that I don't miss the update schedule if I have problems finding time to write.

 

Hilda Greenhill's Diary, 1st entry.

Continued from the last entry….

The first thing I became aware of was the motion of being on a horse, a strong arm around me and a warmth at my back. I struggled to open my eyes and it was several minuites before I was able to finally open them, as my body had little energy and wanted to pull me back into sleep. At first, I thought that my father or one of my brothers had become concerned about me because of the weather but as I became more aware of my surroundings, I realised that it wasn't.

I was on the back of an unfamiliar pony and I saw a horse being led by a pony with a male rider in front of us. An unfamilar voice spoke up from behind.

"Fili, stop. I think she's coming round."

Fili turned to look over his shoulder and I saw that I was in the company of at least one dwarf. Fili reigned his pony in and dismounted. By this time, I was alert enough to realise whom the horse belonged to, but felt too weak at that moment to do anything. The dwarf holding on to me waited until Fili had come up along side us before dismounting. I wanted to shout at them, runaway, sure that these dwarves were stealing me away from my home and family but the weakness I felt prevented me and the presense of the horse didn't make any sense if that was the case.

"I'll help you down," said the dwarf who had been riding behind me. Very carefully and very slowly because I still felt extremely groggy, I got down from the pony. I then noticed that Trotter was there and relaxed a little. Trotter would not be happy in the company of strangers if they meant me harm. Both of the dwarves were young looking and had stubble instead of full beards, as if the beards were just beginning to grow. The one named Fili had long blonde hair and the unnamed dwarf had long dark brown hair which was almost black.

"What am I doing here?" I asked. "This isn't my farm." We had, in fact, entered the mountains, but were in one of the many wooded valleys between the peaks.

"Your farm was raided by orcs," said Fili.

"The sheep," I said. "I thought they'd been attacked by dogs or wolves."

"That'd be the wargs," said the dark haired dwarf. "I'm Kili and this is my brother, Fili." He indicated the other dwarf.

I was almost to afraid to ask about what had happened to my family, but not knowing was just as bad. "My family?" I asked. Suddenly my legs felt too weak to support me and it had nothing to do with the cold.

"I'm sorry - we didn't get to your farm quick enough. By the time we got there, it was too late," Kili said.

"I see," I said and couldn't say anymore. Just like that, my entire world was in ruins. Trotter came up to me and lent on me as I sat on the ground. I buried my hand in his fur. I don't know how long I sat there, but it seemed like an eternity. I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Kili standing over me.

"We can't stay here. You're ill and the snow is falling again," he said.

I nodded and let him help me to my feet.

 

Poor girl, going through all of that! I'm glad the brothers got to her, but her heart must be breaking.

 

Very hard news for Hilda, for certain. I think Fili and Kili will be good friends for her.

 

Who wouldn't like to have Fili and Kili cheer one up after a heartbreaking day? They are surely a balm for the soul, those two...

Lauré

 

Those orcs will get what's coming to them (eventually...)

_________________

Kili's Journal, Translated from Dwarven Runes


Continued from the last entry

It was dusk by the time we arrived at the sole traveler's inn on the road to Thorin's Gate.

On the way, I had learnt that the hobbit's name was Hilda Greenhill. It was unusual to find hobbits this far from the shire. I suspect that there is an interesting story there but I will wait until it looks like she is up to it before asking. She was quiet much for much of the time, only talking if I or Fili asked her a direct question.

The weather had worsened all day and as it was unlikely that we would have made it home for some time, Fili and I decided that a stay at the inn would be a good idea until there was an improvement in the weather, Uncle Thorin catches up with us, Hilda feels up to traveling (if we had stayed out on the road, I am sure that the weather would have finished what it had started), or we ran out of money - which ever happens first.

I saw to the ponies and Hilda's horse while Fili and Hilda went inside to get warmed up, order food and ale and to get rooms for us. Hilda's dog was also allowed into the inn as long as he didn't cause trouble, and kept to the "dog-shelf."

On reaching the stables, I found that there was only one other animal there, a magnificent horse that looked like it had the blood of the herds of Rohan running through its veins. I removed their tack and ensured that they had enough fodder and water to last the night. They were too damp to brush down - the mud and filth would come off more easily once it had dried. I finished up in the stable and went outside. I was just about to go in search of respite from the cold, when I heard a commotion up ahead. A dwarf was fleeing towards the stables with a man on his heels. I recognised the dwarf.

"Nori."

He almost ran straight into me. I drew my sword. The man was irate and shouted a string of obscenities which are unrepeatable here.

"Back off," I said.

"That thieving scrounger stole my gold," said the man.

I gave Nori a dark glare. I knew better than to ask Nori if it was true. "Give it back to him, Nori," I said.

Nori was about to protest. "'Av I 'eck as -"

"Give it back!"

"Oh, al'rate," Nori said, producing a bulging bag of gold and giving it to me. I passed it to the man. He still looked like he wanted to spit Nori on a stick.

"I am Kili, nephew of King Thorin Oakenshield of Thorin's Gate," I said to the man. "This dwarf is one of my people and under my protection." I think the man got the point and I sheaved my sword.

With great reluctance, Nori accompanied me to the inn.

"Tha ain't gonna dob me in ta Dori, ah tha?" Nori asked,

"You're lucky I don't cut your fingers off myself, you tea-leafing git," I growled.

When we entered, the innkeeper insisted on us handing over our weapons so that they could be locked away until it was time for our departure. I didn't like it and I doubted Fili liked it either, but the innkeeper said it was either that, or go back out into the winter weather. I just hoped that the orcs didn't decide to come this way as we'd be ill prepared to face them.

The inn was almost deserted. Aside from Fili, Hilda, Nori and myself, there was only one other traveler there - a man who had the look of a ranger about him. As it wasn't the man who had been chasing Nori, I decided to take no notice of him and walked over to the table Fili had chosen near the fireplace.

"Look who I met outside," I said to Fili.

"Hello Nori," said Fili.

"We may be in for some trouble," I told Fili and hastily explained to him what had happened outside. We both warned Nori not to do anything which could lead to trouble while we were at the inn. Mainly because we didn't know how long the snow storm was going to last and how long our stay would have to be.

I took my coat off and hung it up with Fili's and Hilda's to dry. Nori just sat down in a spare chair at the table. Hilda's dog lay snoozing under the table, his head on his paws. I sat down next to Hilda, making sure that the entrance door was in sight. Fili had ordered me a pint of mead while I had been seeing to the animals and dealing with Nori's little problem. I decided that I really needed that drink after all of the day's events and downed it in one.

Hilda was looking better now that she was out of the cold, but she still looked quite ill and remained quiet for much of the time. I suppose she was still in shock over what had happened. Fili brought Nori up to speed on the orcs and Hilda's situation.

"And what about you, Nori? What business do you have in these parts?"

"Wit' Yule almost on us, Ah thought Ah'd pay mi mam, Dori and Ori a visit," Nori replied. "Naw that tha told me about the orcs, Ah'm thinking of goin' ta look for Thorin an' teach them orcs a lesson."

I caught on straight away what he was up to, and so did Fili. He might have set out to go to Thorin's Gate, but now after being caught doing something he didn't want his mother and older brother knowing about, he was looking for an excuse to stay away.

"You're not. You're coming back to Thorin's Gate with us," Fili said.

"Besides, those orcs are out there somewhere, and you wouldn't want to cross paths with them alone," I said.

"Tha's made thee point,” Nori conceded.

The door cracked open and the man Nori had tried to steal from entered. He looked over in our direction but didn't come over and went to the bar instead. I pointed him out to Fili. After getting his pint, he sat at a table as far from us as possible. I relaxed a little.

The meal arrived, some kind of beef stew and bread.

"Could you bring the same for our friend here, and a pint of mead?" Fili asked, of the innkeeper's wife, passing over some coin. I ordered another pint of mead for myself.

The stew wasn't much, not enough beef for my taste and it had far too many root vegetables, but the bread was fresh and it chased some of the chill from our bones. Normally, dwarven meals are lively affairs, but none of us felt much like celebrating. Hilda, I suppose, was still quite ill from exposure and the shock of losing her family and home.

Fili and myself couldn't stop thinking about Uncle Thorin and the other dwarves out hunting orcs on a dreadful night such as this.

Hilda's dog was given a bone to gnaw on provided by the innkeeper's wife when she arrived with Nori's meal and the mead.

The wind howled outside, driving snow and hail at the inn's leaded window panes.

 

Interesting developments & I really like how you capture/describe the scene. I feel like I'm right in that cozy inn.

 

I love Fili rescuing Nori! Even if Nori a little bit deserved it I hope they can all get some rest!

 

Nori can be a bit of a rogue, and has a tendency to make things complicated for the other dwarves. I don't think he really means to hurt anyone, though.

 

My heart goes out to Hilda... that meal must taste like ash in her mouth, poor thing.
And I wonder when Nori will ever learn that one must not steal...

Lauré

 

I don't think he will. Have you seen the extended edition of An Unexpected Journey yet? Let's just say that the elves at Rivendell are missing quite a lot of stuff thanks to Nori... What amazes me is how he manages to lug all the stuff around with him and none of the other dwarves notice.

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Hilda Greenhill's Diary

Continued from the last entry.

It had been impossible for me to get any sleep that night. Finding the dead sheep, imagined scenes of my parents' and brothers' bodies kept chasing themselves around in my head and gave me no peace at all. The thought of not seeing any of them again was like a knife wound to my chest. Of course, I had Trotter and I was glad that our horse, Crowberry had survived, but that would never compensate for the loss of my family. It would only be much later that the impact of the loss of the farm would come to me. For that night, I could only think about my parents, my brothers and the sheep (the sheep, I couldn't let go because of the sight of them dead). My grief was like a heavy weight on my chest. Kili must have heard my sobbing because he came into my room sometime in the night. He did not say anything as he sat beside me and put an arm around my shoulders.

When I stopped sobbing, which seemed like an age, he said very quietly "I know something which might take your mind of things for a while."

"All right," I said.

"I'll be back in a minute," he went out of the room. While he was gone, Trotter poked his head around the door and walked in. He lay down on the floor next to my bed. He shouldn't really be in there, but I didn't have the heart to shoo him out.

When Kili returned, he was carrying a lighted lamp, and a well-worn leather bag. He set the lamp down.

"Ever played Hnefetafl before?" he asked as he emptied the bag. Inside was a board made of wood with a thirteen by thirteen grid pattern and twenty four stones carved out of amethyst, twelve stones carved out of bleujenn and a king piece carved out of rock quartz.

"I know how to play," I said, trying to keep my voice level, but failing. "My brothers and I played it often."

"That's good," he said. "I don't need to explain the rules."

We played the game a few times, each of us taking on the role of attacker and defender at least once. I did enjoy the games, but that dreadful feeling of loss and dread did not leave me entirely. After the third game, we decided it was time to call it a night. I did sleep after he left, but not well.

 

Awwww. Sweet of Kili and nice distraction. She's really found a good friend.