Hmm... Well, if there's going to be adventure on both sides, I think I'll stay. Always safer to be with Gandalf, anyway...

It seems that almost everyone is going... if you don't mind, could you go too? It might simplify things, but if you want to stay it's fine with me :)

I shall go!

Btw, your writing style is amazing. Whenever people ask me what I consider to be good writing, I shall immediately direct them to this thread :)

Sorry, I got a bit behind on reading this thread! But since everyone else is going, I'll go too. Nothing more awkward than small-talk alone with a wizard. (No offense, Gandalf.) By the way, your writing is amazing! I would totally read a novel in this style.

I'd like to stay, but if you rather I go, then I shall go. Either way!

@Poinsettia and Lupine, aw, thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thanks to everyone else who replied too, and I present to you the Next Part.

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Part 9.

Oh, well, quests are enjoyable, Gandalf thought amiably as he waved off the CBers and Legolas. And maybe now I'll get some peace for a change.

With the CBers went the Fire, Ocean and Earth Jewels. "And it's a good thing that goblins aren't always very clever," Gandalf had said, "or they would have taken those three themselves--they're the more powerful ones, because of the things they control." They planned to go straight on to the Misty Mountains, cross them, and go by the most direct route available to the Edge of the Wild. As she looked around, Hex smiled. They were still united. They were still doing all they could to save Middle-Earth. Surely, surely, they would succeed!

But where were the goblins and the other three Jewels? Surely heading towards the Edge of the Wild themselves. And there was still all this eternal ice. That would hold them, but perhaps not the goblins, back somewhat. What would the Misty Mountains be like when they were cased in ice as well as steep and rocky? Hex sighed. The end of their quest wasn't near yet, just a golden thing far ahead that beckoned them on. But surely they would succeed - after all this, how could they fail? And who ever had failed in any quest in Middle-Earth?

Gandalf had given them a map with their route marked on it, and when they paused to rest and eat at midday, Hex unrolled it. "Wha - " she exclaimed. The map was gone, and instead there were a few words that she read at a glance: Dwarf coming after you. Friendly, ofc. Not going to join your party, though. Gandalf.

"What's the matter?" Jay asked, coming over.

"Look," Hex said, thrusting the paper at him. "It is - it was - the map Gandalf gave us."

Jay glanced at it himself. "Very handy, being a wizard," he remarked. "Wonder if he's going to make this a habit?"

"Probably not, knowing Gandalf," Hex said dryly. "But it would be more to the point to show it to the others."

"What the - " Darkvine exclaimed when she saw it. "Who knew he could do that! But which dwarf is this?"

"One of the ones from LOTR, or from The Hobbit, or from - which other books are there?" said Poinsettia. "Well, there's The Silmarillion, of course, but - "

As it happened, it wasn't long before they found out. They were just ready to set off again when a dwarf came riding up on a little pony. He was short and stout, of course, as all dwarves are, with yellow hair and a blue cloak.

"Thorin Oakenshield?" Darkvine exclaimed. "But you're supposed to be d - oh, never mind." She had been about to say that if this was after Bilbo's adventure (which Bilbo himself had said it was) Thorin ought by rights to be dead. But it would never have done to say so; and besides, time was acting so strangely here that she supposed it was possible.

"That's me, I suppose," Thorin said, dismounting and coming over to them. "And if you were about to say that I'm supposed to be dead," he added crossly, divining Darkvine's thoughts, "it's uncommon rude of you."

"Who says I was?" retorted Darkvine. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here would probably be nearer the mark," Thorin said. "Gandalf - of course - just said vaguely that you were 'humans'. And he didn't explain what this ice is doing here either. I'm going in quite a different direction, as a matter of fact; visiting friends and relations, and all that; but Gandalf sent me after you."

"Why did he?" WildSong asked, puzzled. "He said you weren't going to join us."

"No more I am," Thorin returned. "But he told me to tell you two things (said he forgot to himself): that goblins can't travel fast on ice and that dragons can be defeated without being killed, and don't like the number thirteen."

The CBers and Legolas exchanged startled looks. It was the first time in a while that they had thought seriously of dragons.

"Was that all?" Lupine asked after a brief pause.

"Well," Thorin admitted, "it was also so that you could tell any possibly unfriendly dwarves you met that I was friendly with you."

"Thank you," Darkvine said. "We'd better be moving on now."

Of course, she thought as they thanked Thorin and rode on again, it might have been merely a word of advice.

Or it might not have been.

Thanks, all of you :) And yesss foreshadowing... and ah, there are twelve CBers, but what about Legolas?

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Part 10.

Well, so there had been no point in worrying about dragons after all, Scuttles thought, throwing himself down on the rippling, short grass covering a steep slope. Here they were in the Misty Mountains, and they hadn't so much as come across a goblin for crying out loud. And the Misty Mountains themselves had apparently not been affected by the ice, because the rock was still just rock, and the occasional grassy slopes were still soft and green under the arc of dazzling light blue sky.

I suppose we can forget about dragons now, he thought, his gaze idly following an eagle high above, dark and clear-cut against the expanse of sky.

He was wrong, of course. Suppositons usually are.

They had stopped for the morning. A few days before, they had paid another swift call on the Eagles, and these kind birds had informed them that the goblins were still far behind them. Since then they hadn't hurried quite so much; besides, there seemed every reason to linger in these mountains, as Gandalf had sent them on a route that was slightly shorter, slightly safer, and much more pleasant, passing through more of the grassy slopes and less of the rocky crags. They had only passed the other way before because it had lain more directly in their route.

WildSong sat down too, dreamily aware of the horses moving and grazing below them, her eyes drifting from one snowy cloud to another. There were a few clouds, low down and near the horizon. But only the white, puffy ones that meant no rain... WildSong looked upwards, into the clear blue sky.

Next instant she was on her feet. She never knew quite how she got there - she could never recall those moments very clearly at all, afterwards - but she knew that she had cried, "What's that?"

Scuttles sat up, his attention jerking back to the hawk (since that's what everybody seemed to be looking at). He felt a chill of fear. It wasn't a hawk at all.

It was a dragon.

The horses in the lower meadow were whinnying and stamping. The CBers and Legolas looked at each other - they were all standing now, ready to do whatever it was that could be done. Poinsettia's thoughts flew back to the message Thorin had given them. What had it been? Dragons can be defeated without being killed, and don't like the number thirteen... Thirteen! Thirteen what? Flowers? Clouds? She discarded these thoughts. And as for the other part of the message - she felt it was as much as could be hoped for them to defeat this dragon, without any question of actually killing it at all.

Thirteen! "We're thirteen," she realized, and found that she had spoken aloud. She glanced at the others. "Thirteen people," she added. "Us twelve CBers, and you, Legolas. You know - what Gandalf said about dragons."

"How does that help?" Artemis asked, urgency in her tone.

"It must help somehow," Legolas pointed out. "The dragon might think we're unlucky and not want to attack us, perhaps. But we can't trust to that; we might try hiding - no, it's seen us."

The dragon was circling lazily above them, nearer now. They could see its strong wings, spread to enable it to glide on some current of air above where the Chatterboxers stood. It seemed to be muttering to itself.

"Tiresome," they heard it say. "Most tiresome. One, two, three, four - if they could stop moving about it might help - five, six, seven, eight, nine - that's certain - ten - yes - eleven, twelve - or was that six, the one in the green? no, I'm right. If they could stop moving around - where was I? Yes. Twelve. And thirteen. No getting around it. Thirteen. Most tiresome."

It landed on the ground a little way away from them and looked at them (the ponies had long since run away). Its eyes were shrewd and had expressions that no one could quite read (and that none of them wanted to). It shook its head. "Unlucky. Thirteen. And all humans... it's one thing for all them to say a thing, and quite another for me to do it."

The CBers didn't know what to make of its mutterings and were fascinated by them, though most of them had drawn their swords and those that hadn't (namely Artemis, Lupine and Legolas) had strung their bows. Now WildSong stepped forward and spoke. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.

"And they even talk," sighed the dragon. "Ah well, needs must."

"You'll find it impossible to eat us, if that's what you're thinking of doing," Peregrine warned, her eyes a flashing light blue.

"What do you mean?" the dragon asked, actually looking a little startled.

"Why do you even want to eat us? I'm sure there's far better game in these mountains," Hex said logically.

"Is there?" The dragon looked confused and walked backwards a little, treading on its own tail. Amethyst noted that it appeared to be young - and, of course, it had been apparent for some time now that it was unintelligent. "Well. Perhaps. But the goblins said that I should find, and get rid of, you."

"Why didn't you eat the goblins?" Artemis asked, out of sheer curiousity.

"Oh, no," the dragon replied promptly. "I've tried it before, and they taste much too oily."

"You were going to eat us just because some goblins told you to?" Amethyst asked incredulously, moving impetuously forward. "But you shouldn't at all. If the goblins told you to, we tell you not to. We have more power than you do anyway - more magic; but we might consider being your friends."

"Oh," said the dragon, shifting uncomfortably.

"Leave us and go northeast, and I'm sure you'll find good game," added Legolas, following up their advantage. "Oh, and tell your friends - dragon friends - to steer clear of us."

The dragon said nothing, but it cast several dubious glances at them and finally flapped into the air and flew away, already starting to mutter to itself again. As it grew smaller, the wind blew back to them the last words they were ever to hear from it - "I never did like the number thirteen, anyway."

"Thank heavens," exclaimed Flamarestii, and added, "But - Amethyst - should you really have told him that we had magic? I mean, it was a lie..."

Amethyst smiled suddenly. "But we do," she said. "The jewels. Come on, let's find the horses and get out of here."