Story [The Hobbit, LOTR]: A Slingshot for a Scribe, 2015 Dear Diary Challenge Updated 15th Jan

15th Wedmath, 2911

The day I turned forty and entered dwarvern puberty, I asked my mother to tell me how she had met my father and what she knew about him. He has always been a mystery to me. All I know is that he is absent from my life and as a result, I know nothing at all about him.

It was on that day when I missed his absence most of all. Who was he? Why wasn't he here? I could see that the questions I asked upset mother, but I needed to know the answers to them, and I had many. I had asked her before of course, but she always brushed the questions aside because they were painful for her to answer. Was he even alive? That I do not know.

Of course, the tale she told me went beyond her own personal history and involved many people that I didn’t expect to be a part of the tale, but that’s how stories go, isn’t it?

I suppose I should write a little something about myself before I get started on that. I am Ori, the youngest of three brothers. Dori is the eldest and looks after me almost as much as mother does. Nori is the one in the middle. He is always getting himself into trouble with the law and brings shame on us all. He and Dori never see eye to eye, but that is a tale for another time, I think, but I will say this. He was absent that day as well, for he had once again got himself into trouble and Mr Dwalin was out hunting for him. Dwalin always scares me because he always looks like he's about to punch someone and whenever he visits us when a petty crime has occurred, Dori is bombarded with dozens of awkward questions. Amad has long since ceased to answer them because they stress her so.

Our mother is called Skafid. She’s not the best of mothers, or so that is what a lot of people will say. That will become clear as you read my journal.

One day, I hope to become King Thorin’s royal scribe, like Balin is now, but because of my family background, most people laugh at me when I tell them that. They say it will never happen because of Nori and because of my mother, but Balin is kind enough to let me read books in the library. The King’s nephews and young Gimli can usually be found in there, much to their reluctance, because they are being taught what is needed to run a kingdom. They would much rather be out in the training yard getting lessons from Mr Dwalin instead. I don’t know why they don’t like their lessons in the library. I would give anything in Middle-earth to learn what they are being taught. Much of the time I feel invisible and only Balin really encourages me with my interests. It is surprising that Balin does this because he is Mr Dwalin's brother, and Mr Dwalin glares at me every time he sees me in the library.

Of the King's nephews, Kili is my friend. He has more free time to mess around than Fili does. Not everyone likes Kili's choice of playmate of course, but there aren't any other boys that he can play with, other than his brother and Gimli, of course. Dwarven children are rare. Earlier in the day, we sneaked some honey cakes from the kitchens and ate them in the stable outside the cottage Kili lives in with his mother, brother and uncle. Kili told me that I should make some wishes because it is my birthday, but I should keep them secret, or they wouldn't come true. I just think he was trying to cheer me up because the day hadn't been a nice one.

This is what I wished for:

That Adad would come home.
That Nori would come home and stop getting into trouble.
And finally, Balin would accept me as an apprentice.

Dori gave me this journal for my birthday to write and draw in. I don't know how he managed to scrape together the money for it because we are always broke, but he must have found a way. Amad gave me a knitted jumper, the wool of which makes me itch all the time, but that doesn't bother me because she made it. She is always knitting something: scarves, gloves, blankets, jumpers...

I really missed Nori that day. He should have been with us, but I wasn't angry with him, just sad that he was there.

I asked the question when we were alone in the living room of our cottage, coals burning in the fire, me sat on the cold bare floor and Amad's lap full of her knitting - a jumper she was making for Dori. She sighed and looked at me with a sad expression, but she decided that it was time that I knew the truth and began to tell me the tale.

I decided to write down the story what my mother told me. Perhaps if I do a good job of it, and show it to Balin, he will allow me to be his apprentice. One can hope, I suppose.

This is what she told me. I hope that I can do the tale the justice that it deserves.

 

Cool premise for a diary and great start here. A chronicler of events and a friend of Kili's and the rest to boot.

 

I was going to work on this today, but I've lost the notebook which I had some notes in. It's annoying because I need them for twitter as well. Arrrggggh. Hopefully, I'll find it later in the week.

 

Not the entry I had planned, but it will have to do...Until I find my notes, I'll have to do the prompts, etc....
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26th Wedmath, 2911

I’ve not had a lot of time to write recently, much to my regret. I was interrupted with my last entry because we had a visit from Mr Dwalin. My birthday was kind of ruined! Mother has been ill with worry over Nori. Mr Dwalin is still after him for some misdemeanor or something and Dori is out looking for him and has been gone for days. I have been busy helping her around the house and I’ve not even had time to play with Kili or visit the library so I can talk to Mr Balin. Amad wishes that he take up some honest work, like mining or tool making in the forges, but he never sticks to it. Even when a foreman is kind enough to give him a job on their team of miners, he always manages to mess it up somehow, either by stealing from one of the other workers, trying to sell mining tools used by the team, or getting into a fight with someone. When he’s not working or trying to avoid Mr Dwalin, he’s in the Cabbage gambling. He once gambled away all the money Dori had earned in one week, so Amad had to beg and borrow from other dwarrowdams to put enough food on the table that week. There is the mead hall where we can eat, but we don’t like going there because of Amad’s past and Nori’s stealing. I would really like to know what happened to make people dislike us, other than Nori’s thievery of course. Something must have happened a long time ago and Amad has yet to tell me everything and it is a difficult task getting her to talk about. I hope to get time to write in my journal soon.

 

Nori is incorrigible! Hope you find your notes.

 

I would like to know what made him start on the path he did, so that will be a fun part of the story, and poor Dori having to deal with it. No wonder why his hair's grey in the films.

 

A very interesting start! I'm very curious and excited to learn more about this dwarf I've overlooked before. I like your choice of character!

 

1st, Halimath 2911

Nori is still absent, and Mr Dwalin has given up trying to track him down, for now, which is a relief. Dori has returned, unable to find a trace of him. I know that Nori is troublesome, but I don't want anything to happen to him. He is my brother, after all. I've not had chance to write in my diary properly as yet because I've been helping Amad with things. She's still very worried about Nori. I was passing the training grounds where on this particular day Mr Dwalin was putting Fili and Kili through their paces, practicing with an axe. He was currently training Fili, while Kili watched. Curiosity over came me and went to sit beside Kili on the boulder he was sat on. Kili grinned at me.

"Hello Ori," he said.

"What's happening?" I asked, hoping that Mr Dwalin wouldn't notice me sat there, at least for a while.

"Uncle decided that Fili and I need to learn how to use an axe and asked Dwalin to teach us. It's better than the lessons with Balin, anyway…more interesting for a start. You should learn."

I nod, a bit eager for it. Perhaps I should have asked Amad first? She might not want me to learn, but I didn't want to go to ask her in case she said no. She can be a bit over protective of me at times. Is that because I am the youngest, or because she doesn't want me going the same path as Nori? I don't know, so I waited until Mr Dwalin and Fili took a break, before approaching Mr Dwalin to ask.

I was nervous, of course, because of the dealings he had with Nori, and it took a lot of courage as I stood there before him, asking rather awkwardly if he could teach me sword play. He just laughed, "Now, is this a joke, lad?"

Kili, of course, tried to persuade him to let me join them, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Frustrated, he said that he didn't want to learn how to use an axe if I couldn't learn the same. Mr Dwalin then called an end to the lesson and marched Kili off to see his Uncle. I hoped I'd not got Kili in trouble. The whole scenario seemed unfair to me, but I can only assume that it is Nori which is the problem, as always.

 

Poor Ori! It's definitely unfair for him to be judged by his brother's actions. Good on Kili for sticking up for him!

 

The good news is that I've found my green note book and should be able to get into this properly now. The last couple of entries were kind of improvised just to keep it updated, and I'll have to do that with the next entry too, which I don't like doing as I prefer to do a first draft before I type things up and then look at them to improve them, but having said that, the improvised style'll probably fit a diary more than a usual story because it's not as perfect (and given that Ori is quite young in this, it probably suits him...).

 

2nd Halimath 2911

This isn't fair. Kili's not allowed to come out because of what he did yesterday and is being forced to have extra lessons writing lessons with Mr Balin. That wouldn't be so bad, accept I'm not allowed to go in there today. I decided to take a walk…Perhaps I'll meet some other dwarflings to play with but I've not met any. There's only me, Fili, Kili and Gimli, but Gimli is even younger than I am and I hardly get to see him. Fili is not allowed to play because he has lessons himself.

I decide to take a walk in the woods. There are ripe blackberries growing on the brambles and I figure that Amad would like it if I brought some home so that she can make a pie. I begin to fill my hat with them. It is only when I was halfway through that I realise some of the juice from them has stained my hat purple. Amad isn't going to like that, because she'll have to wash it now. But perhaps if I continue to pick a lot of the berries so that she can make several pies, she'll be more forgiving of me. It is when my hat is almost full that I hear a rustling in the bushes behind me. I freeze, wondering if it is one of the wild boar that Dori is always warning me about. He doesn't like it when I come out here alone. Or maybe it's a wolf come to eat me!

I shouldn't have worried though, when I hear a "Psst," coming from the bushes and then my name. "Ori!"

I turn around and almost drop the hat when I see Nori. I grin broadly when I see him. My brother…

"Are you coming home, Nori?"

Nori shakes his head. "Ah can't, lad. Dwalin's still after mi. Ah'm sorry ah missed yer birthday."

I put the hat down on a rock nearby and hug my brother. I have missed him and I was on the verge of tears when he said that he wasn't coming home. Why not? He should be home. It's where he belongs. Nori returns the hug. "Don't cry, lad. If ah went 'ome, Dwalin would arrest me an' put me in jail. At least ought 'ere, ah ken help mam an' Dori look after thee."

He hands me a sack and I look inside. I find food, quite a lot of it. Cheese, ham, bread, a fowl, a bag of flour, nuts, apples and a jar of honey. "Oh, ah've got summat fo' thee, as well…" he pulled a slingshot from his pocket and gave it to me, beaming. "Ah know it's late, but…'appy birthday, Ori."

I take it from him quite happily and that's when we hear shouting. "Ah've gotta go, Ori." He pats me on the shoulder and before I could open my mouth to be him to stay, he was gone, disappearing into the woods. I was still looking at the slingshot when a pair of hunting hounds ran up to me and started sniffing around my feet. A few moments later, Mr Dwalin and Gloin appeared, each carrying a deer on his shoulders. It was clear that they had been hunting. Mr Dwalin laughed when he saw my hat full of blackberries. I didn't see what was so funny about. They didn't like the idea of me wandering the woods alone and made me go back home with them.

Amad was angry when we got home. She thought I'd got into trouble being brought home by Mr Dwalin. I suspect I would have been, if he knew I'd been speaking to Nori only moments before they arrived. When she learnt that I wasn't in trouble, she soon forgot her anger and when they were gone, she cheered up even more when I gave her the sack of food. She would be able to feed us all properly this evening, though she wasn't entirely happy about the state of my hat.

 

Yum, blackberries for pie!!! The foodstuffs are welcome I'm sure. Glad to see Nori is looking out for his family although a scamp in other ways.

 

I loved the meeting with Mori! What a good big brother, trying to provide for his family and protect his brother.

 

Yep, Nori's sneaking around all the time. I don't consider him a "bad" character, just one who's allowed himself to get misguided. I quite like writing this, I just wish I had the time to go into it better, and I'm not even making first drafts of this and reviewing it before I post, like I usually do.
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3rd Halimath, 2911

Amad was delighted with the food that I bought, but was suspicious of how I had got it. She thought that I had stolen it. One of her greatest fears is that I will become like Nori, a thief and an outcast. When I was sure that Dwalin and Gloin had gone, I told her about seeing Nori and, although she was angry that he had not come home, she was relieved that he was alright. She cooked the fowl and peeled some vegetables to go with it. I don't like green food, never had and I watched the boiling carrots with disdain.

"Ori, you can't eat chips all the time. It's not healthy for you," she said, when she saw the look on my face.

We didn't have any potatoes, which is what I preferred. Sometimes all we had to eat was cabbage and sprouts, mainly because they were over looked by the other dwarves and they were all my mother can afford. Dwarves aren't fond of green food in general, but I despised it more than most, because it was a reminder that Adad wasn't here, and because our family had it harder than a lot of the others. Of course, everyone found life in Ered Luin difficult, even the king and his family. Food of any kind was always scarce, but for Amad, Dori, Nori and I it was harder because Adad wasn't here and because people had a tendency to treat our family with suspicion because of Nori's actions.

The fowl was ready by the time that Dori came home from the mines. Grey hair was already appearing in some places, and I suspected that it was due to the worry that Nori's stealing caused. He was happy with the fowl, but not so when he knew where it had came from, because he was sure that Nori had stolen it. I don't think I really cared to be honest. I was just hungry. It was the first proper meal we'd had in days. Until then it had just been scraps of bread with fat from cooking spread between them, and I must admit that was something I hated worse than the cabbage and sprouts….

Of course, all of that was yesterday. Dori has gone off to work again, and Amad made him some ham and cheese sandwiches.

"Today," she said, "I'm going to make a pie with those blackberries you picked yesterday, and you can help me."

I nodded. It was raining heavily today and I don't think she would have allowed me to go out. I wondered about Kili, what he was doing this day. Probably miserable at home, I expect….

While she worked on the pastry, with rain pattering on the leaded window pane of the kitchen, she told me about the day the dragon came to the Mountain.

"You asked me, on your birthday, what had happened regarding your father and I did promise that I would tell you what happened. It will take some time for me to tell it."

The story she told me went beyond our own history and involved many people that I didn't expect to be a part of the tale, but that is how stories go, isn't it?

It began, as tales involving our people always seem to do, with the loss of Erebor and this is the first part of the tale which she told me.

"In the market place, a young dark haired boy, roughly of nine years old, was playing Hnefetafl with his sister, who was of a similar age. His name was Hreidmar." I interrupted her at that point, asking if the lad she was talking about was my father.

"Dear Mahal, no, he's not your father, but he was a good friend of his," she looked at me, sadly. "But I have not heard anything of him for a long time, or his wife, but that is a tale for another time, young one."

She continued the story from where she left off, describing his sister. "Her name was Bild," and she smiled fondly at this.

"Bild?" I asked. "Lady Dis' friend?"

Amad nodded, and told me to stop asking questions or she would never get to the part involving Smaug…. I apologised. I do have a curious nature, which is probably a good thing for a would be scribe to have, but I can get carried away with it sometimes.

"Now…where was I? Oh yes…Bild. She had long, unruly red hair, which no matter how much her mother tried to untangle it, it always seemed determined to remain untidy. Her face was painted in the manner of the Murkhinh, or Shield Ladies of Erebor, of which her mother Veig was one. You see, Ori, in those days, it wasn't just our men who were warriors, there were many amongst our women too, who were extremely skilled at what they did. But as you know, our women are few in number and one of the reasons for this is that many of the Murkhinh died fighting Smaug so that the children and Royal line could escape, but enough of that….

"She carried a wooden sword, crafted by her father, Nidi, just like her dark haired brother. The only feminine look she allowed herself was a string of multi-coloured glass, wooden and bone beads that hung around her neck. Her family were not high born and as such she wasn't adorned with the gems and precious metals of our lords and ladies, but she had a bearing, even at that young age, of one destined for greatness amongst our people."

I nod, for the lady in question had almost become our queen. The king loves the lady, but she chose his brother instead, but before they could wed, he went to the Halls of Mahal and I understood now why Amad had opened up her tale of history with talk of Bild and her brother, Hreidmar.

"Nidi and Veig were on duty at the time, as they were both soldiers in the guard, Veig attached to the Murkhinh and Nidi guarding the walls. They were in the care of their aunt, I believe, who was attending her stall when the call of "DRAGON!" was sounded.

"Lord Fundin and his wife, along with young Balin, were in the market place as well and saw the two children as they played. Their aunt was killed by falling masonry when Smaug used his tail to bring down a wall. It was Lord Fundin who's quick actions saved Bild and her brother.

"Survivors of the attack gathered together outside the mountain to regroup and all the dwarflings, common and highborn alike were gathered together in one place. That was where I first met Bild and her brother. As you know, you are distant kin to our king, and, you, Nori and I are descendants of King Oin. Dori is a descendant of both King Oin and King Nain I because his father was a descendant of King Nain I. I will tell you about him at another time, but none of us have a chance of sitting on the throne, so although the blood of a king runs in our veins, we may as well be commoners."

"That doesn't bother me, Amad," I said, as I shrugged.

"Well, it took a while for all the survivors to regroup. The king, his family and heirs were safe, but I could not find my parents. Veig and Nidi had died fighting the dragon, as had a lot of other folk. Bild and Hreidmar were luckier than I, for Fundin found a relative of theirs, an uncle, called Hanar, who agreed to care for them. Fundin's wife felt sorry for me and persuaded her husband to take me in and I stayed with them, as did Bild and her brother until their uncle was found."

She stopped then, contemplating I think, on the loss of her parents, by grandparents…. This explained some things, why Balin liked me visiting the library, but I was still puzzled about why Dwalin seemed to dislike me so much. Was it me, or was it just Nori? Amad still hadn't told me anything about my father, which I was disappointed about. When would she do it?

She finished preparing the blackberry pie and put it into the oven to cook. The thought of eating that pie later did sort of push away some of the disappointment I felt at not having got around to talk of my father. I hoped that she would tell me soon.

 

Enjoyed the reminiscence, as much as Ori got. And yum, blackberry pie! It's a shame their family has to suffer for Nori's "indiscretions."

 

I'm enjoying Amad's story so far! And, like Ori, I'm anxious to hear more!

 

I shall have to make a quick entry for this later in the week. I've got a cold, so I probably won't make it, or it won't be as good.

 

10th Halimath, 2911

The seasons are changing. Leaves are turning from green to reds, oranges, yellows and browns. There is a chill in the air during the day and frosts lie on the ground at night and in the early mornings now. Summer is over. Dori is laid up at home with a fever, which is another sign of the changing seasons. He hasn't been able to work all week. As a consequence, we have no money to buy food, because no work means no pay. To make things worse, if you can consider it to be worse…I'm not sure in that regard… Nori, well, the problem there is that he has been caught finally by Mr Dwalin, and is now in jail for whatever it was he did. I can't remember. He will be released, but he will have to wait until spring for that. He will not be with us for Durin's Day, or Yule…

It's raining heavily today and I go out to the market place to see what I can - er borrow? If Nori can do it, then so can I.

Once I get there, I walk around to see which stalls should be my target. There is a book stall, selling volumes that are filled with information and stories, as well as blank journals and inks and pens. I spend a lot of time pouring over that, but I'm here for food and that's that… The prices are way out of our range, even if Dori had been well and we had money. This journal was the result of Dori saving up over many months…

The other stall which grabbed my attention was one selling musical instruments. Dori and Nori are flutists and I looked on at the flutes that the peddler had for sale. I bet that Nori could have pilfered one of them and no one would have noticed. It was so tempting, but I decided that it was too risky. Something like that would be too easily and too quickly missed, and I would get caught or have to bring my - er - borrowing spree to an early end and I would go home with nothing.

After some wandering around the stalls, I take some cheese and eggs off the cheese seller's stall when the proprietor wasn't looking. I freeze for a moment, wondering if anyone saw me take them, but with the rain, everyone walks with their head bowed down to keep the raindrops from getting into their eyes unless they are talking to one of the stall keepers. No one saw. There was no cry of thief! This boosted my confidence a little bit. My mind turned back to the book stall and the flutes, but I still thought going after something like that was too risky…and if I got caught stealing food, I think people are more inclined to be sympathetic, given that everyone must have been hungry enough to want to steal food at some point.

The butcher's stall catches my eye next. Wouldn't it be great to take home one of those hams? Or a beef joint? But that is too greedy, I tell myself. Instead, I turn my attention to another, more modest prize. The butcher's stall has some nice sausages and bacon, so in they go into my bag while the stall keeper is distracted talking to a dwarrowdam with a crying baby who was buying a ham from him. I considered taking a fowl, but I thought a missing bird would be noticed too quickly, like the flutes and the books and I decided not to.

I wander around, stopping at a stall which sells fancy scarves and shawls. I wondered if Amad would like them, but I decide not to risk it. Food first… But her birthday is coming up…. Perhaps another day when it's not so important that I get food.

My eyes light up when I see a stall of vegetables, because they had potatoes! This would take some time and, under the cover of rain, I go around the back of the stall and sneak under the hide which the grocer has erected as a wind break. I find myself next to a sack of potatoes and I kneel down, hoping not to be noticed. Every so often, I sneak a potato in my bag and planned on doing so until it was full. What I hadn't counted on was my boots being visible outside the protection of the hide, and a sharp eyed passerby spotted them peeking out.

"Hey, Ba, what do you make of that?" I head a deep voice say. Of course, I had no idea that the speaker meant my boots….

A moment later, the hide was being lifted and a pair of heavy hands held me by the shoulders as I was sneaking a potato into my bag. I crane my neck and glance upwards to find that I was face to face with the stern face of the king. Everything happened so quickly that I didn't even have time to put up any resistance as he gently but firmly pulls me to my feet and walks me around to face the grocer in disgrace. Balin, who was with the king, looks at me with disappointment written on his face when he joins us.

"Now, what were you doing, lad?" the king asks.

I look at the king, then at the grocer. I open my mouth to speak, but I'm so nervous that no words are forthcoming. I study my wrists instead.

The king.

Of all the people to catch me, I get caught stealing potatoes by the king. I tremble, wondering what he will do to me.

"Let's see the bag, boy," the grocer holds out his hands for it.

I am too bewildered to do anything and, sighing with disappointment, Balin takes my bag from me and hands it to the grocer. The grocer takes the bag from him, thanking him with a nod, and begins to empty it, first of the potatoes, and then the sausages, bacon, cheese and eggs, which are cracked, their contents making the bottom of my bag sticky.

"Is all this stuff stolen, boy?"

Still unable to speak, I nod my head.

"Thorin, what is going on here?"

A turn around to see a very regal looking lady approaching us, with Fili and Kili in tow. I feel even more ashamed now that my friend knows what I have done. Will he ever want to talk to me? Now that regal looking lady was the mother of Fili and Kili and the sister of the king, though she carried herself more like a queen than a princess.

"Is that Skafid's boy?" she looks down on me.

"Balin and I caught him, stealing potatoes and it appears that he's been taking food from other stalls too."

"That child's a menace, just like his brother," the grocer says, glaring down at me.

"I’m sure there is a good reason for it," Dis said. "Thorin, in times past, it would have been us doing what this boy has done, when we were forced from our home, and if circumstances had been different, it could so easily have been one of my sons doing this deed."

She gets me to admit the troubles at home and Kili hugs me. I must admit that I am happy to see my friend, even if the events leading up to it weren't so…joyful. Dis convinces her brother to let her deal with the situation and she offers to pay for the potatoes herself. I still don't get any sympathy from the grocer, but business is business and he allows her to pay.

"I will take the boy home, Thorin. We need to speak to his mother, and to stop him from walking the same path as Nori."

The king silently nods his agreement.

She then makes me go around to the other stalls that I have stolen food from, admit what I had done and apologise. She pays them too. When we were on our way from the market place, I asked her why she had done that for me. And she told me that she couldn't, in good conscience, allow me to go hungry.

 

Dis is compassionate and insightful. Ori does not want to go down the same road as his brother, but he probably feels he has no choice.

 

That made me tear up a bit! What a wonderful woman Dis is to make sure a boy doesn't go hungry.