We Leave the Path

"So... did you see anything?" they asked excitedly. We shook our heads gloomily and the dwarves groaned. They didn't care a single bit about the butterflies and the view when we described them. They grumbled and were more angry when Bilbo told them about the peaceful breeze since they were too heavy to climb and feel it for themselves. That night, we ate our last scraps of food. And in the morning, we woke up very hungry and very thirsty. That day it was raining and all throughout the day we were even more thirsty than before. The only comfort we got came from Bombur and it came quite suddenly. He woke up, scratched his head, and asked where we were and why we were here. It took a lot of convincing to make him believe all the adventures we had had. He was also very very hungry. When we told him there was no food, he sat down and wept.

"Why did I ever wake up? My dream was so beautiful! I dreamt I was walking through a forest like this one, only it was full of light and there was a great feast. There was a woodland king and he wore a crown of leaves and ivy. And I can't count or describe all the delicious things I was eating," he sighed with great sadness.

"You don't have to, Bombur. Actually, if you can't find anything else to talk about it would be best to not talk at all. You have bothered us for long enough as it is. Maybe we should have left you to your filthy dreams; it was not a joke when we had to carry you all this way." said Thorin angrily. We could do nothing with our circumstances except moving forward and that is precisely what we did. Bombur complained most of the time saying that his legs were wobbly and that he couldn't walk another step until he had eaten something. Of course, there was nothing to eat so the dwarves told him that they would not carry him one single step. In the middle of a march, he dropped to the floor and sat up against a tree.

"Continue if you must. But I will stay here and try to find my dream again. And I wish that I will never wake up again," Bombur complained. The other dwarves started to argue with him while Balin was a little way ahead of us. 

Suddenly he called out,

"Did you see that? I thought I saw a twinkle of light over there!" We all stared into the forest. In the distance, I thought I saw a little red light in the darkness. 

"Hey, I think I see it too!" I added. Soon, the dwarves followed it, not caring who was there. It was to the left of the path and we discovered that it was off the path.

Bombur gasped,

"Maybe it wasn't a dream!" He wanted to run and get to the light immediately, but Thorin stopped him. We all (except Bombur) remembered the warnings Beorn and Gandalf had given us.

"A feast would not be good at all if we never got back from it," Thorin said seriously.

"Yes, but without a feast we will most likely die anyway... but of hunger," Bombur added and Bilbo agreed with him. They argued back and forth for a while but eventually Thorin gave in.

"Maybe a couple of us could spy on them then come back. It would be better than all of us going if something did happen," I suggested. They liked the idea but didn't agree on who to send.

"Why don't you go, Fawn?" Fili teased.

"Hey, that's right! It was your idea," Kili added.

"Oh, stop it," I replied, "I know I'm good at sneaking up on things but I have a better idea. Maybe the three of us could go. Then I'll follow you two to watch you get kidnapped. Then I'll run back, tell them what happened, and we'll just abandon the idea." They frowned and walked away... that should teach them. In the end, they decided for all of us to go. We all crawled on our knees and peered around tree trunks to see what was going on.