"I'm hungry," I stated mindlessly.
"Me too," Bilbo agreed, rubbing his stomach. "It should be late morning so it's more or less breakfast time. Although I don't think the front door is a safe place to eat. Let's find a nice place to eat."
"Right! I have a perfect place in mind. We should make for the old look-out post," Balin suggested.
"And how far is that exactly?" I asked.
"Hmm. It's in the South-West corner of the Mountain. A five hours march, more or less. The going will not be easy. The road that goes along the left side of the stream seems all broken up. The river runs in front of Dale where there once was a bridge. That bridge led to steep stairs that ended at a road towards Ravenhill. There is (or used to be) a path that left the road and climbed up to the post. A hard climb that is, even if the old stairs are still there," Balin explained.
"Well, it looks like more climbing and walking without breakfast! I wonder how many meals we missed in that nasty, timeless hole?" Bilbo said miserably.
"Come now, Mister Baggins! Don't call my palace a nasty hole! It'll look very nice once it has been cleaned thoroughly and redecorated," Thorin said joyfully. His spirits were lifted as he rattled the jewels in his pockets.
"But that won't be until Smaug is dead. Where is he anyway? I would give a good breakfast to know," Bilbo grumbled.
"I wouldn't give up breakfast for anything," I admitted. Bilbo and the dwarves laughed.
"Well, the sooner we start, the sooner we can eat," Fili mentioned.
"Then can we please start walking?" I asked desperately.
"Patience, Miss Baggins! We will get there soon enough. Lead the way, Balin!" Thorin declared. We followed the stream to Dale and took the beaten road. It was difficult, just as Balin predicted. It was hard to keep going on such low energy. Balin led us to the post and we finally sat down to eat. I ate slowly to make sure I didn't choke on the dry cram.
"Here is where the guards used to watch over the city. There were several places like this around the Mountain. It was rather comfortable to stay in and there was small need to watch over the prosperous city of old. The guards were overly comfortable here. Perhaps if they weren't, we might have gotten an earlier warning about the dragon. Things might have been different. Well, we can't change the past. For now, we can see much without being seen," Balin said.
"What use would that be if we have already been seen coming here?" asked Dori, who had a constant eye on the Mountain. He probably expected to see Smaug perching on the Mountain, like a bird waiting for his prey.
"I suppose we must take our chances with that, Dori. We cannot go any further today," Thorin replied.
"Thank goodness," I sighed. I laid down on the floor and covered myself with my blanket. Night came and I fell asleep.
"Right! I have a perfect place in mind. We should make for the old look-out post," Balin suggested.
"And how far is that exactly?" I asked.
"Hmm. It's in the South-West corner of the Mountain. A five hours march, more or less. The going will not be easy. The road that goes along the left side of the stream seems all broken up. The river runs in front of Dale where there once was a bridge. That bridge led to steep stairs that ended at a road towards Ravenhill. There is (or used to be) a path that left the road and climbed up to the post. A hard climb that is, even if the old stairs are still there," Balin explained.
"Well, it looks like more climbing and walking without breakfast! I wonder how many meals we missed in that nasty, timeless hole?" Bilbo said miserably.
"Come now, Mister Baggins! Don't call my palace a nasty hole! It'll look very nice once it has been cleaned thoroughly and redecorated," Thorin said joyfully. His spirits were lifted as he rattled the jewels in his pockets.
"But that won't be until Smaug is dead. Where is he anyway? I would give a good breakfast to know," Bilbo grumbled.
"I wouldn't give up breakfast for anything," I admitted. Bilbo and the dwarves laughed.
"Well, the sooner we start, the sooner we can eat," Fili mentioned.
"Then can we please start walking?" I asked desperately.
"Patience, Miss Baggins! We will get there soon enough. Lead the way, Balin!" Thorin declared. We followed the stream to Dale and took the beaten road. It was difficult, just as Balin predicted. It was hard to keep going on such low energy. Balin led us to the post and we finally sat down to eat. I ate slowly to make sure I didn't choke on the dry cram.
"Here is where the guards used to watch over the city. There were several places like this around the Mountain. It was rather comfortable to stay in and there was small need to watch over the prosperous city of old. The guards were overly comfortable here. Perhaps if they weren't, we might have gotten an earlier warning about the dragon. Things might have been different. Well, we can't change the past. For now, we can see much without being seen," Balin said.
"What use would that be if we have already been seen coming here?" asked Dori, who had a constant eye on the Mountain. He probably expected to see Smaug perching on the Mountain, like a bird waiting for his prey.
"I suppose we must take our chances with that, Dori. We cannot go any further today," Thorin replied.
"Thank goodness," I sighed. I laid down on the floor and covered myself with my blanket. Night came and I fell asleep.
"Come now, Mister Baggins! Don't call my palace a nasty hole! It'll look very nice once it has been cleaned thoroughly and redecorated," That's a great line! Keep up the great work :)
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