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tabletoptrinketsbyjj · 4 years ago

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Trinkets, 37: Interesting baubles, semi magical objects and items touched by mystery.

A blue steel mask that resembles a face at rest, emotionless and cold to the touch when not worn.

A small silver orb with the word "McGuffin" acid etched into its surface. It is coveted by all who look upon it.

A jar filled with potpourri that smells like their childhood home to each person who smells it.

A charm made from small pieces of whale bone fastened together by metal and leather and etched with strange sigils. The object has been treated with mixtures of rare herbs and other substances and the entire bonecharm hums with power, creating a faint but distinctive ‘song’ that the spiritually perceptive can hear.

A small, polished, fossilized cross-section of wood. The interior cracks have filled with some opalescent material in shimmering blues and green. Knowledgeable PC's can identify the mineral as opalized wood.

A double recorder hewn from a strange, pale ivory not of this earth.

An iron pocket watch with the chain extruding from an eagle's mouth mounted into the top of the watch. The clasp at the end of the chain is a talon.

A small, handheld harp made from the wishbone of a celestial griffin. It was alchemically treated with elemental fire, laminated with entsap, and enameled with scenes from myth and legend. The instrument is translucent and slightly opalescent in coloration and strung with mithril wire.

A dozen glass roses are arranged in a lovely bouquet. A ribbon of purple silk around one of them has an ivory card attached. The words on the card say, “Glass thorns cut more deeply, my dear.”

A glass bauble with no visible means of opening it contains blue sand and white insects that resemble ants but have iridescent wings. When they fly, a pleasant and soothing song emanates from the bauble.

—Keep reading for 90 more trinkets.

—Note: The previous 10 items are repeated for easier rolling on a d100.

A blue steel mask that resembles a face at rest, emotionless and cold to the touch when not worn.

A small silver orb with the word "McGuffin" acid etched into its surface. It is coveted by all who look upon it.

A jar filled with potpourri that smells like their childhood home to each person who smells it.

A double recorder hewn from a strange, pale ivory not of this earth.

An iron pocket watch with the chain extruding from an eagle's mouth mounted into the top of the watch. The clasp at the end of the chain is a talon.

A dozen glass roses are arranged in a lovely bouquet. A ribbon of purple silk around one of them has an ivory card attached. The words on the card say, “Glass thorns cut more deeply, my dear.”

A white ceramic mug with an unknown substance or creature that has excess of writhing gray tendrils coming out of it.

A dartboard that has a picture of the local regent on it. The eyes currently have darts sticking out of them.

A dark, mahogany box roughly the size of a dozen coins. The box does not appear to have any obvious hinges or opening mechanisms. A perceptive PC will discover a tiny hidden latch that opens the box. Inside and laid together are a matching set of ten gold coins. Each coin is ornately crafted, but slight variations in the coins suggest that they may have been individually handmade.

A smoky black precious stone. When held up to the light you can see the back of a devil pressed against the gem, but no matter how you turn it, you can never see its face.

A small pouch with a moist eye within it. When you bring it into the light, you see the pupil quickly constrict. A PC well versed in religion can tell that this is the living eye of a dedicated follower of the god of orcs. The original owner can still see from this eye.

An ink dip pen made entirely of tiny bones, complete with matching ink pot.

A mummified baby wrapped in funerary wrappings with a solid silver and gold scarab on its neck on a very tight dried leather thong.

A basilisk egg, tightly bound within a leather pouch and swaddled in a bundle of furs.

A small sack filled with eight gears and springs of incremental sizes that appear to be of the same make or set.

A Gnome’s skull that possesses a distinct odour of wine and gnome blood, faint to a human, but strong to a race with keen noses, like elves or kobolds. Rough garnets the color of clotted blood have been pounded into the skull, along with nails of silver and gold. Around lower edges of the brain-case, the tails of giant weasels have been attached, giving the item a furry fringe. The jaw has been wired to the skull with silver wire and a wispy fringe of beard and mustache cling to the bits of dried skin around the skull’s mouth. Runes of foul power have been chiselled into the bone.

A small bag made of chainmail, tightly tied closed and locked. Found inside is a heart made of glass.

A grossly oversized fist-shaped gauntlet that is a fused amalgamation of plates, spurs, gears, and rivets. It smells of grease and machinery.

A child’s toy chariot with the face made from a stuffed growling dog.

An unsettling ceramic figurine of a whale with a mouth full of victims.

A pair of repulsive metal bells designed like bloated women eating fish.

A drum, set with stretched gargoyle hide and woven with choker sinews. It requires a strong arm to pound the instrument but the sound is unique, like a deep thumping of stone.

A black fan made of kobold skin with graphic images of kobold torment.

A worn-looking box of dark wood, fitted with simple hinges of brass, is roughly the size of a man’s head, and rattles when moved. The interior contains a collection of tiny humanoid bones. The underside of the lid bears writing that appears in the primary language of anyone reading it, and states that the most recent reader is attuned with the box. No further explanation is to be found within.

A masterwork steel lute with a triangular body and a headstock that resembles a carved demon’s skull.

A strand of ten flat black stones on a knotted leather thong, each carved with the “Yr” rune and roughly the size of a typical gold piece.

A gleaming crystal shard that shifts its coloration every few seconds, hurting the eyes of witnesses as it does so.

An eel-hide leather pouch filled with an unspeakably foul-tasting coarse salt.

A grey leather vest is made of the rough, tanned hide of a goblin shark.

Orb of forgetfulness. When touched the orb you will remember the last thing you tried to think about but forgot. You will however forget why you wanted to remember it.

A small silk pillow has split open here to reveal that it has been stuffed entirely with brilliant golden hair.

A handwritten note which reads, in part: “She keeps it in the vanity. Without it, there’s no proof.”

A porcelain mask resembles a skull with its mouth sowed shut.

A box made to resemble a heavily pregnant woman with fangs instead of teeth. Her copious belly contains a rather grotesque image of an infant with three heads, each with an open mouth like a key-hole.

A large hourglass labelled "The World Entire." There isn't much sand left in the top bulb.

A clay pipe with the name "Underhill" inscribed on the side.

A copy of Playdrake magazines. Its pages are filled with lewd images and salacious stories of draconic females. It is not suitable for minors.

A small wooden bowl engraved with the heads of a snarling lion, bear, a screaming eagle, and a fish's face.

A vial of scented oil that can be burned as incense of worn as a perfume. Everyone smells something different but, always something nostalgic and a bit sad.

A cube three inches across, made of thin glass of six different colors, one on each face. When it is placed on a side, the colors shift until they finally settle with one color on top (sometimes the same color that was placed, often a different one). There doesn't seem to be a pattern to which colour ends up where.

A leather vest with one hundred pockets, divided between the outside inside and a number of secret hidden ones. One of the pockets contains a four leaf clover.

A guitar that, regardless of what string is plucked, will always produce the same set of notes in the same order. Only the speed at which these notes are produced can be changed.

An iron orb that always rolls against gravity, but only while in contact with a solid surface. If not in contact with a solid surface, it has no unusual properties.

A gemstone that takes on the appearance of the birth stone of the last person to touch it.

A chess set that animates and attacks people who attempt to cheat at the game.

A vivid, deep purple crystal that appears to consist of a random assortment of thousands of tiny cubes bound together. Knowledgeable PC's can identify the mineral as fluorite.

A small hood for a trained falcon. Any bird wearing the hood does not need to eat or drink as long as the hood remains on.

A pair of small metal rods, each about five inches long and a half inch wide, with bulbs at one end. When held, the bulb transmutes into the proper utensil needed for the current meal.

A glass jar that automatically separates any liquid poured into it into multiple layers of individual substances, as though a centrifuge had been employed.

A braided lanyard bearing the words "BEST FRINEDS". When the wearer of this braided lanyard closes their eyes, they experience the sensations of having warm sun shining on their face and a gentle breeze tousling their hair. The scent of campfire smoke can be smelled, and the laughter of children can be heard.

A pen of exquisite craftsmanship with a body like smooth, polished marble and gold trimming. The pen has a small golden leaver where in the tip of the pen can be touched to the shadow of an individual's head and enough ink for a full sheet of paper is extracted.

A leather wallet stamped with the symbol of a mousetrap, containing a full set of certified identification papers denoting that the bearer is a member of the ratcatcher's guild. The section containing the member's physical description (Height, weight, sex, race, eye, skin and hair colour) is completely blank and could be filled in by anyone with half decent handwriting.

Mirror of Self-Interest: A small steel mirror that doesn't reflect anything but the face of the person holding it. However, this image of the person is perfect, devoid of any flaws or incongruities with the holder's appearance as though they were the most attractive person in the province. This image is also only visible to the bearer.

A black and purple scale of some enormous horror of the far realm.

A velvet coin purse containing half a dozen egg-sized polished stones in various natural hues.

A skull carved out of charcoal. When burned, the skull will turn into a pile of ash. Within an hour, the skull reforms into charcoal.

A thick caribou skin frontier jacket covered in mythological scenes.

A perfectly preserved human brain, encased in a large dome of clear glass.

Apple of Doubt: A fruit that looks like an apple, it tastes like an apple, it smells like an apple, for all intents and purposes it appears to be an apple, but you are certain it is not an apple.

A blood red mask made from carefully sculpted bone, shaped to look like the face of a grinning demon. The eyes of the mask are the only parts that are open, with the eyes of the bearer appearing bright crimson while looking through it.

A suncatcher in the shape of an evil deity literally catches the light of the sun, forming a hazy space of shadows around it.

A large, round-bottomed flask containing a faintly golden liquid which smells sweet, but overwhelmingly of alcohol.

A deck of cards carefully organized within a small box. The card faces are beautiful but contain a great deal of seemingly meaningless text beneath hand-painted pictures.

A set of windchimes that move though no wind is present. The mellow sounds of their chimes bring back memories that make you ache with anguish and despair.

A scroll that repeats these words endlessly; “Seek out the Gilded Glade and place me upon the pedestal.”

A large painting portraying the wonders of underwater life. The viewer see merfolk, sea elves, and all manner of aquatic creatures going about their lives. The edges of the driftwood frame around the canvas is dripping seawater.

A simple silver fork. Embossed into the handle are the letters “JA.” The tines of the eating implement give off a slight green glow. A crowded inscription on the back of the fork reads: “To King Ragnis, may venom never touch thine lips.”

A small envelope sealed with a wax sigil. If unsealed the letter inside reads: “Meet me at the Red Rose at 7 in the eve. Kill the bearer of this note.”

A tightly rolled cloth that unfurls into a solid black banner, with a faint, hard-to-look-at pattern shimmering in the weave.

A rough-hewn, rust-colored stone filled with half-buried flakes of dark blue crystals forming the semblance of a rose. Knowledgeable PC's can identify the mineral as azurite.

A statuette of a six armed man, holding shields in each hand. With a ring-loop for a head, which is looped onto a necklace.

A large obsidian sphere with jutting shapes carved in and sticking out. Each surface is intricately carved with a complex script composed of squares. It is wrapped several times and held inside a smooth pottery sphere.

A squat metal cylinder of brass that resembles a small compass. When opened, it reveals a dull blue gem.

Neverspill Mug: Any drink poured into this mug can never be spilled accidentally. Someone can be struck upside the head with it, without a single drop escaping.

Unending Chalk: A stick of chalk can be used to draw, but never gets shorter or breaks.

A rolled up canvas painting of a dreary field with dark uninviting woods beyond. The leaves of the trees in the background of the painting seem to sway and there appears to be something moving through the field.

A hilt of what once must have been a magnificent sword but the blade has been removed. When the hilt is picked up, the wielder feels the weight of a whole sword and when the hilt is whipped around, the wielder can hear a blade slicing through the air. But it is just a hilt...

An apple that is the most mouth-watering, beautiful apple you have ever seen...but when you approach within three feet of it you begin to see it rot and spoil right in front of your eyes and even touching it and smelling it confirms that it is indeed rotted. As you back away you see the apple's rot and decay reverse and it becomes the same beautiful apple you saw seconds earlier.

A set of sky blue robes made from a high quality cotton with the Order of Deacons symbol sewn into the chest.

A set of bagpipes made from a rich mahogany wood, artfully carved and well balanced.

A hooded lantern with an adjustable iris to control the light level. Its adamantine casing is covered in stars and concentric circles, as well as text no one seems able to read.

A set of robes primarily red in colour, with subtle green highlights, as well as silver thread embroidery and grey fur lining around the collar, hood and sleeves. Overall it seems to border a fine line between looks and utility, given that the sleeves feature each a strap allowing them to be rolled up and secured, and several leather belts attached to the inside of the robe fill in the role of pockets or holsters. Under direct sunlight, the robes have a very faint, barely noticeable iridescent sheen to them.

A long and pale wand engraved with several horizontal slits,

A bleached white jawbone once belonging to a dwarf. It shouts insults in dwarven whenever it is touched by an elf.

A pair of golden earrings, with sapphires set in the center. The sapphires always appear to be as if they are catching light, no matter the light condition, giving them a false, glowing appearance.

A marble statuette of a scowling woman with octopus tentacles for arms emerging from dark ocean waves.

A well-made holy symbol of the minor God of Random Domain that when carried or worn by a bearer who is not a devout follower of that God, fills its owner with a sense of dread

A pair of war drum clubs whose handles are made of a dark brown wood with human skulls bound with leather strips on the ends.

A heavy iron mask, intricately carved patterns and runes.

A white porcelain mask, smooth and beautiful, except for the tears of blood coming from the eye sockets.

A small, palm-sized mass of interlocking carvings. The carvings on closer examination resemble five interlocking crescents. The icon is fashioned from what looks to be ancient bone and knowledgeable PC's can determine that the object was fashioned from the knuckles of five different dragons.

Coin of Indecision: A gold coin with the word "YES" on one side and the word "NO" on the other. If it is flipped while asking a question, the coin always lands on edge.

A thin chisel wrought in the shape of a stylized finger, with a perpetually flaking lacquer of dark green.

A leather wallet acid etched with the symbol of an alembic, containing a full set of certified identification papers denoting that the bearer is a member of the alchemists and apothecaries guild. The section containing the member's physical description (Height, weight, sex, race, eye, skin and hair colour) is completely blank and could be filled in by anyone with half decent handwriting.

Wand of False Life: An elm wand that if set down on a solid surface, will sprout tiny legs and arms, and move around like a living thing, spontaneously wandering around in a small area and sometimes dancing, particularly if there is music being played. It isn't actually alive and will not move more than three feet from where it was placed. The arms and legs will fold away if the wand is picked up, but it always seems to have an elongated face as part of the grain of the wood at one end.

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cervum-studio · 4 years ago

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KHAZAD-DUM DWARVES

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PART 5

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DWARF WARRIORS

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How about a little post-Night Shift post to start your day (and end mine)?

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It seemed only fitting for the last post to be the code warriors of the army and the backbone of any force. Much like the Khazad Guard these sculpts are a brilliant representation of dwarves in my opinion and still hold up so well despite them being years old.

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Uninteresting story for you: The whole impetus for this army came from @indishobbies hobby giving me a bunch of his old metal dwarves in an effort to persuade me to start Battle Companies. I'm not sure exactly how he managed to repose some of these, but it does add a degree of variety to them. It escalated quickly. I actually owe a massive amount of thanks to him and @doesabearpaintinthewoods for helping me get this together.

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A derail that is probably missed on the pictures is that, along with alternating the black/white dominance is that the quartering on the shield similarly alternates. I did the same thing on the Vault Warden Teams. It isn't much but is something, and probably one of my favourite things about this scheme!

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Expect a little bit of a respite whilst I wait for the ballistae to show. Hopefully as I only have five models to do I can get them finished over the next month ready to head back to Rivendell...

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#lordoftherings #lotr #silmarillion not #thehobbit #tolkien #middleearth #dwarves #dwarf #khazad-dum #moria #mistymountains #gimli #mithril #dangerousovershortdistances #gbhl #middleearthstrategybattlegame #mesbg #lotrsbg #warhammer #paintingwarhammer #painting #hobby

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beautifultypewriter · 5 years ago

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Soon ~ Fili ~ Part Two

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2,758

Pairing: Fili x fem!oc

Summary: A Thumbelina AU. Áine is much smaller than the rest of her family and hopes that one day she’ll meet someone her own size. Her hopes are answered when she meets the Dwarven Prince, Fili.

Part One

A/N: The next part! I love this series, just in case anyone was wondering. This story is based on the 1994 animated film Thumbelina. I’m going to be using some parts of the songs and I claim no ownership over them or any of the original story points or similar dialogue.

Áine spun one last time as her song came to an end. She hugged herself tightly as she stared at the picture of the happy couple. With a sigh and downcast eyes, she turned away from the book, her gaze moving over the window and landing on her clamshell bed. Her shoulders tensed as she turned back to the window. She could have sworn she saw… Áine gasped as she saw the figure again. Stumbling back, she turned her body towards Kili, keeping her eyes on the stranger in the window opening. Whatever it was, it moved forward quickly, stepping into the candlelight, its arms held out in front of its body and its eyes wide, “Please, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Áine halted herself, her mouth closing as she caught sight of the wings on the stranger’s back. Her eyes roved over the dragonfly shaped wings. They were a deep, rich purple color and the edges glimmered with a thin line of gold. Áine toyed with the ends of her hair as she stared at the wings, her eyes moving quickly to her book and back again. The stranger stepped forward again, “Are you alright?”

Áine let her eyes move over the rest of the stranger, he wasn’t much taller than her, with broad shoulders and strong arms. She took note of his long blonde hair, adorned with several braids, and his half smile. Then her eyes met his and there was a rush of air around her. She felt like she was floating amongst the stars with only him to hold onto and she felt a warmth blooming in her chest. The stranger felt it too and he moved towards her again, his lips parting slightly as that same warmth flooded his own chest. This time Áine didn’t step back, but she moved forward as well, wanting to be closer to him. Neither of them knew what to do once they were stood directly in front of each other, still unable to fall from the reverie they had found themselves in. The stranger smiled as he reached out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. Áine shivered when his fingertips grazed her cheek, leaving a tingling sensation in their wake.

She was able to pull her eyes away at that moment and she glanced at the book again. The wings on the prince in the picture were the same shape as those of the man in front of her and both figment and reality had braids in their hair. She smiled at the stranger, her eyes widening, “You’re a dwarf.” She sighed as his fingers grazed her skin again before he pulled away from her, taking a step back.

He nodded, “Fili,” he bowed at the waist, “at your service.” As he stood straight again, he gently grabbed her hand a placed a kiss on her knuckles.

She blushed, “I’m Áine.” With her free hand, she grabbed the skirt of her nightdress and bowed her head as she gave a small curtsey.

Fili chuckled, “Áine.”

She nodded, her smile widening, “Fili.” He nodded back, still holding her hand in his. She smiled up at him, moving closer again. He leaned down, his senses flooding with her. He watched her eyes slip closed and he smiled.

Then a loud snorting sound broke the moment and caused the two to jump apart. Áine’s hand slipped from Fili’s grip as she spun around to face the side of the room where Kili’s bed was. Fili drew his sword with one hand as he threw the other around the young woman’s waist. He pulled her close, holding his sword out, ready for whatever attacker had made that horrible sound. Áine placed her hand on Fili’s shoulder, “It’s alright. It’s just my brother.” She pointed to the bed where Kili was sprawled out and snoring, “His snoring sounds quite terrible, but he’s harmless.” She smiled up at Fili as he nodded and put his sword back in its sheath. He looked to the place where she pointed and saw what appeared to be a large lump laying in a human sized bed. The lump moved as it let out another loud sound. Áine started giggling and Fili turned to her quickly, a smile spreading over his lips as the sound reached his ears. He much preferred her sweet laugh to anything else.

Fili nodded over at the lump, “Your brother, huh?” Áine nodded. Fili glanced between the two of them, “He’s not like you though.” It wasn’t a question, but still Áine nodded.

She took a few steps away from Fili, walking towards that clothbound book that was still propped up on the table, the picture somehow paling in comparison to the dwarf in her room. She turned back to Fili, “Neither is my mother.” She looked down at her bare feet, rocking slightly, “I’m not like anyone else it seems,” she looked up at his beautiful purple wings, “not even like you.” Her sadness flooded his veins and he jumped up, his wings moving quickly to carry him over to her. As he landed, he took her in his arms, wanting her to go back to laughing and to dancing. She looked up at him, a sad smile on her face, “Is it wonderful having wings?”

Fili breathed out a laugh as he nodded, “I won’t lie to you, it’s quite nice.” Áine nodded as she turned her head away from him. They may have been the same size, but she still was quite different from Fili. She was still the only person in the world who was just like her. Áine sighed, “I wish I knew what it was like.”

Fili’s fingertips grazed her jaw, moving to rest on her chin. He turned her head, so that she was looking in his eyes again, “You never know, maybe one day you will.” He said it with so much assurance that she couldn’t help but believe that he knew something she didn’t. Áine pulled away from Fili when she heard a buzzing sound come from outside.

She looked back at him, “Do you hear that?”

Fili sighed as he closed his eyes, “Yeah, that’s just my bumble,” he nodded to the window, “Mithril, he uh, I guess he’s done resting.” Shaking his head, Fili chuckled, “He likes to make it known when he’s ready to move on.”

Áine’s eyes lit up as she moved forward a step, “A bumble?” Turning back, she grabbed Fili’s hand and pulled him over to the window opening, “Come on.” She giggled as she squeezed out onto the windowsill, stopping when she saw a large bumblebee stepping in circles. The bumble stopped and jumped back when it noticed her standing there. Áine drew in a long breath, “He’s beautiful.” Fili stared at her, his eyes softening as hers lit up in wonder. Her jaw was dropped open as she watched Mithril move about.

Fili stepped up next to her, “Want to go for a ride?” He nodded to Mithril, watching Áine carefully for her reaction. Her jaw dropped further as her head whipped over to him. She glanced back through the window, searching her bedroom briefly before she turned back to Fili.

With a nod, she smiled, “Yes.” Fili grinned as he grabbed her hands and led her over to Mithril. The bumble moved back a few steps before he moved forward again. Fili patted his head before slowly helping Áine onto his back. Once she was situated, he climbed up in front of her, taking hold of Mithril’s antennae. He turned his head, “You may want to hold on.” Áine didn’t say anything as her arms encircled his waist, her hands clasping together and resting on his stomach. Fili placed one of his hands on her clasped ones before he gently kicked Mithril into motion. The bumble took off easily, soaring higher in the air as Áine’s grip on Fili tightened and her laughter rang in his ears.

The wind blew through Áine’s hair as she held tightly to the dwarf in front of her. She had never felt so free as she did in that moment, and she wondered if Fili felt like this all the time. Mithril flew them over the low wall that stood between her home and the river, following the water downstream for a bit before Fili guided him over to the right. Áine gasped as they flew over a vast field of wildflowers. She could see every color flower imaginable in the light of the moon. They were low enough that she could reach over and brush her hands along the petals, so she did, laughing quietly at the softness of the flowers. Fili pulled Mithril to a stop before he quickly climbed down, his own wings fluttering to keep him hovering just above the flowers. He turned to Áine, holding his hands out to her. She stared at him, her smile dropping and her eyes widening.

He chuckled, “Come on.” He beckoned her towards him, but she stayed where she was, glancing down to the ground, noting that it was a pretty far way to fall. Fili moved forward, taking one of her hands in his own, “I’ll be your wings.” Áine stared into his eyes and he nodded, “I’ll never let you fall.” Taking a deep breath, Áine pinched her eyes shut and grabbed Fili’s other hand, slipping from Mithril’s back. Fili’s arm went to her waist and held her tightly to his chest. Áine opened her eyes as she felt her body floating in one spot instead of falling and she looked down to see that the flower petals were brushing her feet. She looked up at Fili to see him grinning down at her. He held her easily, one arm around her waist and the other holding her hand out to the side. His wings fluttered, moving them in slow circles around the field. Áine laughed as the flowers brushed over her bare feet, Fili’s smile widening as she did so.

They danced through the flowers, Fili holding her up as she hummed quietly in his ear. Fili sighed contentedly, nuzzling into Áine’s neck. She pulled away from him slightly, “Fili?” He hummed and she continued, “Are Ones real?”

He pulled his head back completely, looking down into her nervous eyes, “Where’d you hear about Ones?”

She blushed, “In a storybook.” Fili chuckled and she felt her blush spread down her neck. She looked down.

He pressed his forehead against hers, trying to catch her eye, “They are.”

She looked into his eyes again, “How do you know when you’ve found them?”

Fili shook his head, “I’m not entirely sure myself. I’ve heard so many different descriptions of what it feels like. I’m starting to think it’s different for everyone.” He pressed a bit harder with his forehead, “It probably feels warm and it probably happens all at once when you see them.” He pulled her closer to his body, leaning down to whisper in her ear, “Áine, will you sing for me?” Fili leaned his head on her shoulder.

She nodded, humming a quiet melody before starting her song, “You will be my wings. You will lift me high above.” Fili sighed as he continued to move them through the field, dancing through the air with her under the moonlight. Áine smiled, “Everything we’re dreaming of will soon be ours.” She ran her free hand through Fili’s hair, pulling away from him slightly. He put both of his hands on her waist and lifted her up, smiling as he spun her in circles.

His movements got wider, and their dance picked up the pace a bit as he smiled at her, “Anything that you desire. Anything at all.” He pulled her close again as he flew upwards, away from the flowers, “Every day I’ll take you higher and I’ll never let you fall.”

The pair floated gently back to the flowers, both oblivious to the dangers lurking in the darkness, instead completely wrapped up in the other. Fili was grinning and Áine was blushing as she sang quietly to him. Just below their feet, hidden among the stems and grass was a group of four goblins. All were enchanted by the young woman’s song, but one in particular was far gone. Without needing to say anything, the group decided that she was the missing piece to their musical collection. As the dwarven prince flew off with her, they watched his path, following quickly on foot.

It took no time at all for Mithril to land on Áine’s windowsill once again. The young woman giggled as Fili helped her to her feet, twirling in his arms as his wings fluttered. He smiled down at her, “Áine, something’s happened tonight. I… I don’t know that I’ve ever felt this before.” He leaned closer to her, “There’s something about you, something special.” Áine looked down, but Fili was quick to lift her chin again, “Can I see you again?”

She nodded, “Of course.” Fili opened his mouth, ready to say something else, but he was cut off by a far-off shout of his name. Áine looked in the direction of the shout, her eyebrows knitting together, “What’s going on? Who is that?” Fili groaned as he pulled her towards the window opening, successfully hiding her within the shadows.

He ran a hand over his face, “That’s the king of the dwarves.” He waved a dismissive hand, “He’s my uncle.”

Áine stared at him, “Your uncle?”

Fili nodded, looking out into the night, “Yes, my uncle.” He turned back to Áine, rushing his words, knowing that he needed to get back to his uncle before he found him, “Can I see you tomorrow?”

Áine’s head was spinning. She was sure that some of it had to do with Fili pulling her into a hiding place so quickly, but most of it had to do with the new information being presented to her. If Fili’s uncle was the king of the dwarves then he must be some sort of… Áine gasped, “But then you’re… tomorrow?”

Fili chuckled quietly, “Yes, I’m a prince and yes, tomorrow.” He took her face in his hands, his thumbs rubbing over her cheekbones, “Will you welcome me tomorrow?” He searched her eyes for her answer, and he found it when they softened.

She nodded, “Of course I will.” Fili breathed a sigh of relief, pressing his forehead to hers quickly before pulling back and sliding his fingers through her hair. With nimble fingers, he created a small plait behind her ear. Áine watched as he reached for one of his own braids, pulling the carved bead from the end of it. With a smile, he fastened the bead to her own hair, kissing her forehead as she stared up at him. Taking the end of the braid into her hands, she turned the bead over, smiling at the beautiful detail put into it. Fili watched her, wishing he could stay there with her forever. Áine looked up at him again and without a word, she pulled a pin from her own hair and tucked it into his. He glanced at the pin, seeing it decorated with glass forget-me-not flowers.

Fili cupped her cheek, “I could never forget you.” Áine blushed as he kissed her forehead one more time. Then he stood from his crouched position and made his way back to the windowsill, rushing to Mithril, hopping onto the bumble’s back easily, and turned back and smiled at her, “Tomorrow.” She nodded as he took off into the night.

She rushed from her place in the window opening and waved after him, “Tomorrow.” Smiling to herself, Áine squeezed back through the window opening and climbed back into bed. She sighed as she snuggled into her blankets, the only thoughts running through her head as she fell to sleep were of Fili.

As both siblings slept, their bedroom window was pushed further open, a snarling goblin easing itself into the room. Glowing eyes moved around the room before they landed on the sleeping girl in the clamshell box turned into a bed. Rubbing his hands together, the goblin moved forward, circling the bed, and coming to a stop at the back of it. With a quiet chuckle, he snapped the lid of the box shut, reaching over to slide the latch into place. Then he heaved the box into his arms and moved to make his way back to the window.

#fili x oc #fili imagine #fili fanfiction #the hobbit fanfiction #the hobbit au

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mithrilwren · 5 years ago

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Get to know me! I was tagged by @somanyjacks-writes -- thank you!!

Name: r̵̛̮̂̋̏e̸̝͑ḑ̵͎̗̒̾͝a̵̙̔̊͋̌ć̴̢̭͙͙̐͌̚t̷̡̮̣͎͘͝e̸̢̫͐͝d̵̳̰̪̄̇̊͠ͅ

Gender/Pronouns: she/her (though I’m perfectly fine with ‘they’ as well)

Star sign: Gemini. This means exactly nothing to me lmao

Height: 5′8″! Which I didn’t realize was pretty tall until I moved out of my hometown, where everyone is tall, and all my female friends were suddenly 5′3″.

Sexuality: Gay????

Hogwarts House: I wanted to be Slytherin for oh, so long, but I feel like I must finally accept defeat and state truthfully: Ravenclaw.

Favourite Animal: Birbs! Birbs of all varieties!

Average hours of sleep: After finally, FINALLY kicking the insomnia that’s been plaguing me for the last year, usually about 8?

Current time: 11:36 a.m.

Dogs or Cats: Cats! But honestly, I’m not much of a pet person myself, I’m happiest visiting other peoples’.

Blankets I sleep with: Usually 5-ish thin blankets layered on top of each other, so I can add and remove as needed.

Dream job: Ideally, something that gives me plenty of time to write, while also letting me meet new people occasionally.

When I made my blog: 2011, so almost a decade... wow! It’s been through a lot of changes in those 9 years lol.

Followers: That’s my secret to keep ;)

Reasons for my url: Wren’s been my online alias for a long time, and I just like the word mithril - shiny, and unbreakable. I like to picture a little bird insignia made of mithril when I think of it.

Tagging: @the-littlest-goblin, @drinkingdeadpeopletea, @soullistrations, @izabellwit, and @flammablehat! (Only if you want to, of course!)

#personal

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thewarriorandtheking · 5 years ago

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Another Hard Parting

When I read the first Prompt for the Tale Teller’s 52 Week Writing Challenge, this scene immediately popped into my head. For the Challenge I decided to do something different but I almost like this one better...

“The story was written in her eyes”

MasterList

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As Thorin Oakenshield carefully packed his bag it occurred to him this was the first time he was leaving Kaylea. In all the time they had known each other, it had always been Kaylea Wolf riding away, leaving Thorin behind in Erebor. This time he was the one leaving her on Dorsai, to begin his training with her soldiers. His training would take a few years, since so much of it was new to him, but once he was finished they would split their time between Dorsai and Erebor. The life together that they had talked about for so long was finally about to become a reality. He closed his bag, taking a moment to consider if there was anything else he should bring. He felt Kaylea come up behind him, she put her arms around him, kissing his neck.

“All packed?” She rested her chin on his shoulder, holding him tight.

“Mmmm…just thinking this is the first time I am leaving you behind,” Thorin replied, putting his hands over hers. He leaned back against her, looking over his shoulder. “Are you going to miss me?”

“I always do,” Kaylea said softly. Thorin heard something in her voice, a kind of hesitation and turned to face her.

“What is it, my love?”

Kaylea did not answer right away, she looked down at his hands on hers, shaking her head. Thorin studied her closely, fixing her in his mind’s eye as he always did when they were about to part. Her golden hair, her flawless skin, her eyes blue like the sky on a winter day. Parting with her had always been hard, the years had not made it any easier. He wondered what was troubling her.

Just four weeks ago they had been married again, this time with her family in attendance. After their two ceremonies held in Erebor, the private wedding and Kaylea’s coronation, this time Thorin was the one who had to learn the customs. On Dorsai couples spoke their own vows, he had found it surprisingly moving. As they swore their love for each other before her family he had found himself nearly overcome with emotion, even after nearly a hundred years their devotion had only continued to grow stronger. Kaylea had surprised him by wearing the same dress he had ordered to be made for her coronation, the gold threads sparkling, the gems in her jewelry flashing in the sun as Lord Blackwolf escorted her to the sacred hall among the trees where the ceremony was held. He could tell by the shocked looks that this was a side of herself she rarely showed her family, who had no doubt expected her to show up in her dress uniform. Thorin had been irritated that Blackwolf had insisted on attending, but since he was her father in a way, the Elven lord did have a right to be there.

“What is wrong?” Thorin asked again, tilting her chin up. Looking at her face he could see the answer was written in her eyes. “You think I will not return to you.”

Kaylea nodded. “I never worried about you on Middle Earth, but out here there are so many things that can kill you.” She shook her head, squeezing his hands, wishing with all her heart that she could stay at his side. “I have told you that many die trying to complete the Sardaukar training, I do not know if you appreciate how difficult this is going to be.”

Thorin smiled at her. “So you have told me, many times. And I tell you again that I will graduate at the head of my class.” He slid his arms around her, pulling her against him. “You need to stop doubting me. You will be close to keep an eye on me, after all.”

“You are right, of course. You have overcome every challenge you have ever faced and I’m sure you will be fine. But I am still going to worry about you. I wish you did not have to do this.” Kaylea could make sure Thorin had experienced squad members, and could check on him from afar, but she knew the soldiers of her elite strike force had to accept him as one of their own, and for that to happen he needed to complete his training without her direct assistance. Her brothers had welcomed Thorin into their family, but even they needed to know his capabilities as a warrior before they would completely trust him. Such was the reality of marrying a member of the Dorsai.

Thorin fingered the mithril bead at the end of her braid. “While it always pains me to be parted from you, my love, I must admit I am looking forward to learning your fighting techniques. Maybe I will finally be able to keep up.”

Now Kaylea smiled. “That has never been a problem.” She ran her hands down his arms. “Promise me you will take care of yourself, my king. Do not take any unnecessary chances.”

“I will come back to you, wife. I swear it.” Thorin kissed her, relishing the taste of her mouth, the feeling of having her in his arms. He pulled back, resting his forehead on hers. “After all these years, after all we have been through, when I am finally so close to never having you leave my side, do you really think there is anything that could keep me from returning to you?”

Kaylea did not answer, just let herself feel his body against her, the sensation of their foreheads pressed together, the smell of the oils in his hair, all the things she wanted to remember about this moment so she could go back to it in her mind while he was gone.

After a long moment Kaylea took a deep breath. “We need to get moving or you will miss your transport.”

Thorin grabbed his bag and they headed down the stairs, Donal Graham was waiting in the circular entry hall of the Tor. “You are going to have to learn to pack faster than that if you are going to make in in the Sardaukar,” he said wryly, holding the door open for them.

Kaylea was looking at Thorin in surprise. “You don’t want me to drive you?”

Thorin paused at the top of the steps. “Would that not be prolonging the inevitable?” It was what Kaylea had always told him when she was getting ready to leave Middle Earth and he had asked to accompany her to her ship. He hated to see her leave and had wanted to spend every minute he could with her. Kaylea had maintained it was better to make a clean break, so they said their goodbyes at the gates of Erebor and it had been Thorin watching her ride away, this time she would be watching him.

Kaylea nodded, appreciating the reference. “Yes, I suppose it would be. Take care, husband. I will see you in six months.”

Thorin could not resist taking her in his arms one more time, one last goodbye kiss, though this time they would be apart for much less than the years Kaylea had spent between visits to Erebor. Time always seemed to stand still when they were in each other’s arms, this time was no different, each wanting to stretch the moment out forever.

“Erebor, we need to bounce!” Donal called from the idling rig at the foot of the stairs. In the time-honored tradition of soldiers, most of the Grahams had taken to calling him where he was from, since his name was simply too long.

Kaylea reluctantly stepped back, Thorin flashed her a quick smile and shouldered his bag.

“Come back with your shield, my king,” Kaylea told him, the traditional farewell of old Dorsai.

“Yes, my queen. I will bring you the heads of my enemies on it,” Thorin replied, as men going off to war had answered their Dorsai wives for generations, He turned and made his way down the stairs and into the waiting ATV without another backward glance. Kaylea watched the vehicle cross the courtyard and disappear through the gatehouse, she hurried to the bridge across the moat where she could watch it disappear down the road to the spaceport. Now she fully understood how hard it had been for Thorin all those years. Every time she had left Erebor it had grown harder, but her mind had also been occupied with her mission, where she had to go next, the dangers that were before her. She had been able to partly put her sadness at their parting aside, but not today. She felt such a deep emptiness, watching Thorin drive away. Today she had nowhere else to be, her mind full of worry for her husband and her heart heavy. Thorin had taken a large part of her with him, and she would not be whole until she was with him again. She stood looking at the place where the road disappeared into the trees below the Tor, a low mist was drifting in from the fjord, weaving between the trees. She wanted to call a vehicle and go after her husband, to keep him by her side, but she knew she could not.

She felt something touch her hand and let her fingers travel through his thick fur as Ajax moved alongside her. He was following her gaze down the road, wondering at her sadness. He looked at her with concerned eyes, sending a picture of Thorin to her mind. It made her smile, Ajax saw her husband so differently than she did, and some of it always came through in his telepathy. The dire wolf had grown up on Dorsai and had never understood her connection to Thorin, he saw him as a grumpy little man who was always telling him to get off the furniture. He wasn’t really sad to see Thorin go, since it meant he would now have Kaylea all to himself.

“I am not going to be good company today,” she told him. “That man is a huge part of me and now he is gone into unknown dangers for many months, you are going to have to let me be depressed.” The look Ajax gave her was so skeptical she just had to laugh. Like he always did, the wolf had found a way to make her feel better. “Alright, I will let you cheer me up, just a little.” Together they turned and went back into the keep.

*************************************

Read the whole story of these two on AO3 and FanFiction, links are on my homepage

@fizzyxcustard @soradragon @sdavid09

#thorin oakenshield #thorin #thorin oakenshield x oc #true love #fanfic #writing #writers on tumblr #Tale Teller's 52 Week Writing Challenge

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satoshi-mochida · 6 years ago

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J-Novel Club announced on Sunday that it has licensed Shoji Gatoh's Full Metal Panic! light novel series. While Tokyopop previously published four volumes of the novels (pictured right), J-Novel Club stated that its release will be a "complete retranslation." J-Novel Club added it has licensed all 12 volumes of the main novel series, and stated that the release will hopefully be "successful enough to support the sequel AND spinoff series."

The novel series centers on Kaname Chidori, a girl who enjoys fame and notoriety in her high school for her striking personality. She is unaware that numerous groups are targeting her due to her being suspected as one of the "Whispered," a group of people with special abilities. The counter-terrorist unit Mithril sends elite soldier Sousuke Sagara as her bodyguard, posing as a high school student the entire time.

The original Full Metal Panic! light novel series debuted in 1998, and Fujimi Shobo published the series' 12th and final novel in the main series in 2010. The novels have more than 11 million copies in print.

The franchise inspired the 24-episode Full Metal Panic! TV anime series in 2002, the 12-episode Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu TV anime in 2003, and the 13-episode Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid TV anime series in 2005. Additionally, the light novels inspired the Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid video anime episode in 2006. Gonzo animated the 2002 anime series, and Kyoto Animation animated the two sequel series and the video anime. A new television anime titled Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory premiered last May. Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired in Japan, and Funimation streamed an English dub.

Funimation has released the first three TV anime series and the video anime on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, and ADV Films released the first two anime series on DVD before Funimation relicensed the series. Kadokawa released the first three television series and the video anime on Blu-ray Disc in Japan with an English dub in 2013 to celebrate the franchise's 15th anniversary.

The original novel series has also inspired several manga spinoff series, as well as several light novel spinoffs (including Another) and short story collections. Naoto Ōkuro published the Full Metal Panic! Another spinoff novel series from August 2011 to February 2015. Shikidouji illustrated both the original Full Metal Panic! series and Full Metal Panic! Another.

#Full Metal Panic!#Full Metal Panic #J Novel Club #light novel #Anime News Network

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dndeed · 6 years ago

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Critical Role Miniature Rollout: C2E63

With Andrew Harshman

An archive and review of the miniatures used on Critical Role.

The best laid plans of goblins and Sam. This party can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to heists, hijinks, and other forms of planned tomfoolery. I am totally on board with this paragons of Xhorhas plot development, I sincerely hope they can salvage this mission!

Do your best David Hayter impersonation and put on your finest sneaking bandanna, it’s time for Critical Role Miniature Rollout Campaign 2 Episode 63!

The Party

Folks, we got a new Fjord mini! This marks the first adventuring party miniature lineup change in over six months! Episode 39 was the last time any of the core party member minis were replaced. The Fjord figure we see this episode (pictured on the left) is the same style as the finalized Mighty Nein Steamforged figures. The new one looks sharp and the paint is more dynamic. I'm very pleased with every aspect of this model update, say for the grass and rock flocking effect on the base.

I am a staunch anti-flocker. It is my opinion that the fine appearance of sand, moss, grass, etc. clashes with the appearance of painted plastic. They are so fundamentally different. The stark contrast between plastic and other material is very off putting to me. Now I’m fully aware that many, many people like flocked bases. I’ll admit that this is a pretty subjective aesthetic topic. However, I would argue that at the very least Fjord’s base does not match with the other bases of the Mighty Nein members and in that respect is an unfitting choice. Not to mention Fjord is a nautical themed character, but here he is with this deserty, dry sorta base decoration. On the upside, unlike the old base, this one actually fits on a 1 inch grid.

The List

Campaign Coins DEVEN RUE COMPASS ROSE

Mats by Mars: Swamplands

Dungeon Lair Pots and Urns

Dungeon Lair Small Treasure Chest

Dwarven Forge City Builder

Dwarven Forge Tavern Accessories Add-On Pack

Dwarven Forge Wicked City Smuggler’s Wagon

Dwarven Forge Wicked City Water Barrel

Dwarven Forge Stone Rubble

Dwarven Forge Castle Stairs Pack

Mantic Games Terrain Crate Dungeon Debris Barrels

Mantic Games Terrain Crate Dungeon Debris Crates

Hirst Arts Stone Arch Wall Mold #88

Legendary Realms Wooden Large Open Crate

Legendary Realms Wooden Chest

D&D Icons of the Realms Miniatures: Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage - Halaster's Lab Premium Set

Hirst Arts Stone Arch Wall Mold #88

Hirst Arts Dish Mold #59

D&D Icons of the Realms Adventurer’s Camp Case Incentive

Axe N Shield Single Flyer Risers - Clear Mithril

4Ground Sleevigal Fort

4Ground Jwar Isle Dwelling

4Ground Valian's Stables

Steamforged Games Critical Role Miniatures

Master Steamforged Games Critical Role Miniatures

Steamforged Games Frumpkin and Cat Claws

Rage of Demons #051 Human Wizard (Invisible)

Monster Menagerie #024 Illydia Maethellyn (Invisible)

Monster Menagerie 3 #006 Goblin

Rage of Demons #013 Drow Scout

Rusty Dragon Inn #025 Riding Horse

Dragoneye #28 Baaz Draconian

Savage Encounters #21 Hobgoblin Hand of Bane

Unknown Debris

The Terrain

A pretty stellar set this game session. The buildings are Dwarven Forge Dwarvenite plastic and 4Ground laser cut wood. 4Ground brand buildings made their CR debut several episodes ago in the giant fight at the steelworks. It’s good to see them back. Located on the right side of the Overcrow entrance, the Hirst Arts Legendary Realms Wooden Chest keeps showing up (going all the way back to the start of the campaign). And yet no one ever tries to loot them! Surely there are great riches to be had in these derelict alleyway treasure chests, get with it Mighty Nein!

The Monsters

Hobgoblin Bodyguard Savage Encounters #21 Hobgoblin Hand of Bane

Just a single new miniature here, but it’s a goodin’. Killer kinetic posing, metal metal whip whipping action, and a hardy armor paint job. The one knock against this miniature is the face. It’s quite simple. All the better for decapitation and taking on the road I suppose.

Closing Remarks

Please let the Dwarven Forge Battle Cam be a permanent feature. It is such an improvement. The sheer number of compositions is grand and the fidelity of the zoomed shots is unlike anything we’ve seen to this point. Thanks Dwarven Forge!

#criticalroleminiaturerollout

#criticalroleminiaturerollout #criticalrole #cr #crspoilers #critical role

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rallis-fatalis · 6 years ago

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A Soul’s Bane (And Boon)

Long before Rallis was any kind of proper adventurer, she was getting wrapped up in all kinds of messes equally as convoluted. Learning human language and history with her bookworm of a ward was only so exciting, it was inevitable the dragon would eventually run off and stick her nose in far more complicated matters. To be fair, investigating the sudden disappearance of multiple dig site students was definitely more interesting than another history lesson in an old boring book. It was time for a field trip! And hey, a little hands on learning never hurt anyone, right?

If there was one thing Rallis loved more than anything in all of Varrock, it was the museum and its dig site. Learning how to read and write with her 'ward' Reldo was hard and boring, but going on field trips with Reldo was the best thing ever! He knew SO MUCH and could explain anything to her. Every time he took her to the museum or on a field trip to the outskirts of town for some hands-on learning was the best thing ever! And she would argue she learned more too, if only so she could have an excuse to go back out again with him sooner. With her fascination of the museum and the dig site and with his coaxing and careful use of words, Rallis was able to get 'lie-sensed' (why telling the truth when digging up old junk was so important she didn't know) and approved to help out at the dig site and be privy to any cool news. She helped with digs every day she could after that, digging up old bones, artifacts, and even underground caverns with shrines and ritual grounds from an age long past. It was great, though Reldo would argue the amount of dirt was not worth the trouble. Reading history was much more preferable to washing it out of your clothing and hair all night.

One day on their usual outdoor excursions, Rallis and Reldo came across a cluster of grumbling worried individuals by the dig site gate closest to town. It was a group of dig site workers and museum staff, all panicked and at a loss for what to do. The two listened to the group's woes to learn a group of students from the dig site had gone missing and search parties had been making no progress with finding them. With her desire to help out and explore, it was no surprise that when they explained the situation, Rallis immediately volunteered to help investigate.

"Do you know when or about where the students went missing?" Reldo asked the workmen who had brought the case forward to the staff.

One sadly shook his head. "When, a few days ago now," the other said. "Where though, no one is exactly sure. This elderly woman hanging around the museum shared something interesting, though. Apparently her son disappeared too and he was playing a bit northwest of the border of the dig site, near the forest before the limestone mines. We've looked around but can't find anything."

"Maybe you just need better eyes!" Rallis proclaimed. "I can go look!"

"What she means to say is a fresh look over couldn't hurt!" Reldo corrected before the men could grow angry at the snarky comment. "We can investigate as well. If an outside source happened to also bring forth a similar set of information, it certainly merits further investigation."

The two men nodded. "Alright, we'll leave it to you. Please let us know if you find anything."

Later that day, Rallis was sprinting along to the spot in question in search of adventure while Reldo trailed after her, completely out of breath and tired. "There's no... reason... to run!" he panted. "The clues... aren't going anywhere!"

Rallis threw the gate open that separated the dig site from the main road. "Adventure though, bookman! People are missing and we gotta find them! Ooo maybe they're in another hidden underground god circle like the one I found!"

"A shrine?" he tried.

Rallis snapped her fingers. "Yes, that! A 'shrine.' They could have found one and got stuck! We almost did when I dug that Zaros one up."

They found themselves in a more forested area of the site where no digs were going on. It was too close to the road and deemed void of finds to warrant clearing the trees and setting up shop. It was around here that seemed to be the most probable spot to find clues about the missing students according to the reports. Rallis gave the air a sniff. "Well, it smells like humans if that helps. Humans and dirt. It's small though. Not big like the actual dig."

"Its 'faint,'" Reldo corrected. "They did say the students have been gone for a few days now. That could be why it's not strong." The two poked around more hoping to find anything, maybe footprints or a valuable or something that would show people were here recently. But there was nothing. He was about to suggest checking elsewhere when Rallis piped up about something. He ran over to find her getting excited about dirt.

He sighed. "That's dirt, Rallis. We are in a dig site. There's always dirt."

She shook her head. "No, look!" she snapped while tracing the dirt. "It's in a line. Like when you fix clothing. You know, the line?"

Reldo bent down to get a closer look. "Like a seam," he mumbled as he parted the grass to investigate farther. Rallis was right. It was an unnatural formation to be sure. The dirt folded over itself like a long sewn scar, hidden in the grass. It was really quite hard to see. He was impressed she found it.

Rallis started to dig at it. "Underground god circle, I'm telling you!" She made quick work of ripping away the grass and digging away at the dirt below.

"Well if it is another shrine, digging it open like this might not be the best idea!" Reldo warned. Rallis ignored him and continued until she hit something hard, recoiling with an 'Ow!' as she shook out her hand. The ground rumbled in response, growled even, and in the blink of an eye, the entire length of the dirt seam opened up and swallowed her whole, cutting off a startled yelp as it sealed itself back up as if she were never even there. The scenery went back to its quiet normal self, there was simply one less person in the picture.

"Rallis...?"

She was gone. Vanished. Like she had never been there. Disbelief was gone, panic set in. "Rallis?!" Reldo scraped at the dirt frantically, trying his best to replicate whatever she had done. The dirt wasn't soft and malleable anymore, however. Reldo hissed as he found himself scraping against rock, fingers coming away gritty and bloody. "What just...? How...? Rallis... Where did you go?!"

------------------------------

It was hot. Really, really hot. Rallis wobbled up and brushed the dirt off her clothes. Her skirt earned a new hole but other than that, she was fine. She looked around her new setting. There was no more open sky, nor trees or grass or humans that smelled like old books. Instead, there was a cave, a hot sweltering cave illuminated by fire that blazed in every corner and along every wall. The walls and floor were a dark red, an angry color. Rallis walked around, trying to find a way out.

"Reldo? Are you here?" No response. Hissing whispered in her ears, like that of many serpents talking at once. It sounded like words but there were so many talking it just gave her a headache. She shook her head. "You're not Reldo! I'm looking for my friend, not you!"

Another voice spoke in her ears now. Well, more shouted really, a man's voice but he was whining like a child. "Why am I to be trapped in such a wretched place?! It's not fair! It's! Not! FAIR!" The fiery cavern started to shake and crack, flames spurting out of the walls and ground. "Feel my anger!" One last monstrous shake threw Rallis to the ground. She yelped as she quickly stood back up, dancing from foot to foot as she tried not to step on the floor. It was blazing hot! Sure she had been used to rock heated by lava back home, but this was a whole new kind of heat, an abnormal kind.

From the jets of fire in the walls and ground, forms started to take shape. Out of the inferno, beasts stepped forward. Unicorns, bears, rats, and goblins made of living fire, furious and ready to kill anything that dared move. One of the beasts, a bear, noticed Rallis and sped forward to attack. She easily slid out of the way and raked her claws across its furry side and came away screaming. She huddled in on herself as she fell to the ground and gripped her shirt, her hands stinging like she'd stuck them in a hornet nest. She pulled them away to take a look and found them scorched, blistered, and bloody. The bear turned around to strike again and Rallis booked it. She was not getting burned again!

She sped around a rocky corner and found an alcove hidden away from the fire and beasts and sat down. She hissed as she looked at her scorched hands and gave them a lick. The pain stung so badly, worse than when she'd dunked her foot in lava back home in Taverley and couldn't walk for over a week. She ripped most of her shirt off and wrapped it around her hands, tying the torn pieces into makeshift bandages. She whined as she poked her head around the corner to find the angry fire beasts roaming around. "What is this?" she cried. "What am I supposed to even do? Why am I here? I don't want to be here. I was just looking for some kids!"

Something hissed in her ear, making her turn around to the wall. "Weapons?" Sure enough, hanging on a rack on the wall were four different weapons. A sword, a spear, a mace, and an axe. They were like nothing she had ever seen before, spiked and angry looking. She picked up the sword and carefully set back out to the monsters. They noticed her immediately and came charging, this time a unicorn striking first. Rallis waited for it to get closer, and closer, and there! She slid underneath it and ran her sword across its stomach as it ran. The horse screeched before erupting in a burst of flame. Next one of the giant rats came at her. Rallis stabbed down at it with her sword but nothing happened. The blow bounced off like she had tried to stab a bar of mithril with a stick.

"What?!"

She leapt back before it could give her a nasty bite and kicked it away, foot singeing in the process. She hissed and growled at the monsters, more spawning from the flames. She went after a bear but yielded the same result, as did attacking the goblin. She stared them down and roared a horrifying roar. "I'm thrown down into this pit of fire with no warning, burn my hands and feet, have creepy people talking in my head, and now I can't even kill what's trying to kill me? I DON'T THINK SO!" She threw the sword down and ran back to grab the remaining three weapons. She held the spear in one hand and axe in the other, sword and mace on the ground. With a battle cry, she ran at the beasts and cut them down one by one in a mad frenzy. When one weapon didn't work, she dropped it for another, striking out at everything in the room with whatever she had in hand. The infernal beasts were starting to run in fear from this crazed monster, cowering in a corner. One of the bears was too slow in running, Rallis launching the spear into its back and reveling in its combustion. She turned her attention to the cowering flaming beasts, hissing in her ears egging her on. With a monstrous shriek, she cut them down with a single blow and grinned as she watched the fires dim and disappear.

With the monsters gone, the room cooled. The floor didn't burn and the walls weren't ablaze. The weapons in her hands disappeared into smoke as well, and at once exhaustion hit her. Rallis gasped as she fell to her hands and knees, dizzy and sick and boiling hot despite the now cool room. "Why... how... did I do that?"

The hissing and the voice from earlier echoed throughout the room.

"Feel my rage, for what they did!"

Her head continued spinning, things moving at a nauseating pace, and everything was so hot and burning and horrible. Her head hit the floor as she collapsed on the spot.

---------------------------- There was a dream about someone. A boy running off from his parents to go explore the dig site. He wanted to join as an archaeologist but his parents said no. They were poor. It cost money to join as a member of the museum and dig site. You had to go to school and take tests and all these things that cost money they didn't have. So he ran off to do it all himself. And he disappeared. That was 25 years ago...

Hissing. There was more hissing. It was quieter this time, and not as angry as before. Rallis hissed back, a 'shut up' in Wyvernic, and surprisingly the voices listened. Rallis groaned as she opened her eyes, her head still aching from the frenzy earlier and whatever bits of dream flashed through her head. She blinked the grogginess away and took in her new surroundings. It was really dark wherever she was. She couldn't tell if the place was lit or if it was her ability to see in the dark that was helping her make shapes out. Either way, the lighting was a bit disorienting. She crawled up from the floor and timidly looked around. There were large square shapes, pillars almost, around this circular room. Outside of that, there were no other features that were easily distinguishable. Rallis investigated one of the square pillars up close. They seemed to be hollow, and as she ran her hand across its surface, she felt gaps. 'It feels like bars,' she thought. 'Kinda like... oh! Oh! That thing in Varrock where they throw tomatoes at people, the rude place! What was that called? Jail?'

A slam against the bars startled her out of her thinking. Rallis yelped and jumped back against the wall, or what she thought was a wall but was really a hole in the wall. She tumbled in, banging her head as she fell, and watched in horror as a long thin pale arm reached through the bars of the pillar. More followed suit, and more, and more, until hundreds of ghostly limbs grabbed at the cage and shook. Rallis crept further back into the hole in fear. "What are you?" she whispered mostly to herself. At once, the hands stopped grabbing and shaking the cage and in unison pointed to her, or rather behind her. Her blood ran cold. She slowly turned around and what greeted her was not the shadowy depths of the hole in the wall. No, it was something unnameable, something that made every fiber of her being shout 'RUN.' It was a pale white face floating in the darkness, skin grotesquely stretched over an oval shape. The mouth was stretched open in a permanent scream, the blank eyes wide open in fear. The pale face lifted open like a mouth unhinged, and underneath where a chin and neck might be was an endless gaping maw full of row after row after row of needle sharp blood stained teeth. It screeched like a banshee, Rallis flinching and covering her ears as she sprinted out of the hole and to the opposite end of the room as fast as she could. She clawed at the cage walls and screamed.

"SOMEONE PLEASE GET ME OUT OF HERE!" She tried climbing the walls to get out, but that simply enraged whatever was caged inside. A pale hand reached out of the shadowy depths of the cage and grabbed her by the leg. Then another grabbed her by the arm, and another by the tail and another and another and another until she was pinned against the bars unable to move an inch. She wriggled and writhed and tried her best to break free but to no avail.

"Let go of meaugh-!!"

A hand closed around her throat, ceasing her shouting in a strangled gurgle. The arms held her against the wall as the monster crept closer. 'Let me go! Please, let me go! Let me-!'

The monstrosity was right in front of her now, its shadowy body floating off the ground and fading into the darkness of the background. An arm appeared from its cloaked figure and brought a long clawed finger to her face, nicking her cheek as it dragged its finger down. Suddenly, it grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground, pale captors letting go. The lack of air and sheer terror of it all made her feel so heavy and useless, completely unable to move. The monster's face lifted open once more to reveal the endless pit of teeth and brought her face closer. Through the fog and fear, one thought managed to pierce through and set every nerve on overdrive.

'Move or die!'

Like a spark of lightning, Rallis jolted into action, kicking at the creature and sending it flying. She was surprised it had any solid form at all, honestly. The thing looked like a ghost with a mask. It screamed from where it had fallen and darted forward once more, nearly sending Rallis into that same frozen panic. She shuddered and shook her head. 'No, don't freak out! Don't be scared! If you can hit it, you can kill it!'

The monster slashed at her with its claws but missed spectacularly. Rallis snuck up behind it and jumped onto its back, chomping at what she assumed was its neck. The creature yelled as it rammed its back against the wall, knocking her loose. The thing picked her up and slammed her against the ground once, twice, thrice. If her head didn't hurt before, it certainly hurt now. Dazed and stunned, Rallis laid on the ground and glared at the snarling visage staring her down. She had one shot left before she was either dead or passed out then dead. The beast brought its mouth closer and closer, ready to rip her face clean off, and in a last ditch attempt, Rallis jumped from the ground and nabbed the thing's neck in her jaws. Its cries ended with a crunch as she bit down, its dead body fading into the shadows of the room.

The room seemed to brighten a bit with the beast gone. It was less dark, less unknown. The cages were empty, the shadow beast was gone, it was just an empty room as if everything was a terrifying illusion. Rallis slumped down to the floor, leaning against the wall. Her head felt like it was going to split open it hurt so much. The hissing and the voices were muttering something, surprised, but she couldn't really tell what. "You don't gotta be scared," she slurred, trying to make sense of all the voices. "Look, see?" She motioned to the now empty cages and lack of monsters. "You turn on the lights and it's all gone." Her eyes started to close. "All... gone..."

--------------------------------

There was another dream. That boy was back. He was all alone in a dark pit, sobbing and wailing, wanting his parents. Something slithered around him, something that was one but many. It hissed as it encircled him, smiling as it watched the boy scream and flail as he tried to get away. Countless glowing eyes glared at the terrified child and the creature smiled. "Feel my anger, feel my pain! Feel this death your kind gave me!" The boy screamed himself hoarse as the beast strangled him and turned him into a monster.

Rallis jumped up with a start. Between the angry fire beasts, the horrifying masked monster, and the weird nightmare snippets, she was more than a bit on edge. She hardly had a moment to think about the boy and the monster in her dream as the new scenery all but assaulted her senses. It looked like a rainbow puked all over the room, pale pinks, blues, yellows, and purples decorating the floor and walls in haphazard splotches. Green and orange bands twined with blue and yellow ones to create some startlingly unsafe hazards akin to tree roots. Other than the bright and sickening color scheme, the room smelled weird too, like acid and... sugar? In the distance, there were five lumpy shapes rolling around the floor and five warped doors with nothing holding them up, both just as brightly colored and patchy as the room.

"This just gets weirder and weirder!" Rallis said, watching the shapes roll around and ignoring the doors. One seemed to notice her and rolled over. Wary from the last two encounters, Rallis readied for a fight. But the odd looking creature simply rolled up to her and stared. "Whoa you look weird!" It was like someone took a human doll and switched the arms and legs around and stitched them on backwards. They stood on all fours instead of two and cartwheeled and rolled around instead of walking. Their joints moved in every direction, and its head seemed to slowly rotate in a complete circle as time passed. The thing didn't attack, just stared up at her and drooled and moaned. Rallis got on all fours as well, just like the beast. It moaned and rolled away to rejoin the others. "Wait!" she called after it and began to roll over. She giggled as she rolled like a dog in the dirt over to the beasts and flopped beside them. They all looked down at her, confused.

"Hello!" she laughed up at them.

At once, they all spoke in a cacophonous uproar. Rallis bolted up and covered her ears. "Whoa whoa whoa!" she shouted. "One at a time!" She shushed them all, covering their mouths until they stopped talking. "Phew, much better. One at a time, okay?" She pointed to the first of five. "What's wrong?"

"Who am I?" it cried as its head turned on its axis.

Rallis blinked. "Uhhhh... Iunno?" She shrugged. "We'll come back to that." She pointed to the second one. "What about you?"

It slowly looked around as if it had never seen this place before. "Where am I?"

"Hmm, okay, good question. Let's hear them all first."

She called on them all like a patient teacher hearing her students' questions. Who am I? Where am I? Where's mom and dad? How long have I been here? Am I still who I once was?

She thought for a moment. These were some tricky questions. And it seemed she couldn't get any more information as they only seemed to speak in these questions. She didn't have any clues either. How tricky. "Hmm... roll with me, funny friends!" She rolled across the floor and the five confusedly followed suit. They rolled around the unstable crooked doors, Rallis contemplating the matter as she raced her weird new friends. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. "When I don't get something, I usually go with it until I get it. You don't know who you are or where you are so don't worry about it! You know what you can do right now? You can roll!" She laughed as she continued on, faster this time, rolling across the weird patchy floor that smelled like poisoned sugar and trying not to get snagged on the weird rainbow roots. She rolled up against a wall with a huff and splayed on the floor with a giggle. The five surrounded her and watched her antics.

"You know!" she started. "I don't know much, but I'll take what I got. You!" she exclaimed and pointed to one of the beasts. "You wanted to know who you are? I think you're a little kid! A little boy who ran away from his parents because he was mad. Why else would I have dreams about someone I never met? Am I right?"

A moment of clarity flashed across the creature's face. It sat down and stared blankly at the wall before muttering something. "Tolna. I'm Tolna." And with that, it vanished in a puff of rainbow smoke, and one of the crooked doors with it.

"Oh, that's your name?" she said to the other four. "Nice to meet you! I'm Rallis." She pointed to the next one. "If you're really that boy from the dreams, you fell down a hole near the dig site when you ran away. That's where you are right now. You're in the hole." It mumbled 'yes' before vanishing as well. She pointed to another. "I don't know about your dad, but your mom is at the museum and she's been asking about and looking for you. She's just a short walk away! It sounded like she was really worried."

The beast started to tear up. "Mom?" And it vanished too.

Two beasts and doors were left. She pointed to one of them. "25 years! You've been here 25 years!" It vanished with an 'Oh.' Now it was just the existential one left. "You tell me. Are you what you used to be?" It could only spin its head in a circle but it seemed to nod no. "Well I think you are! You're a boy named Tolna who fell down a hole by the dig site 25 years ago and has parents who have been searching ever since. That's still you. The rest of you seemed to think so anyway! You just look a little different right now." It seemed unsure. Rallis put a hand on what she assumed was its shoulder. "Hey. Despite everything, it's still you." That answer seemed to make it happy as it disappeared as well. Only Rallis was left now, her and one now unlocked door, not five. "Guess we can go."

The door was small and crooked, fit for more of a child really. She opened it and despite it standing in the the middle of the room, what she saw through it was not the other side of the room, but rather an unending darkness. She shuddered, remembering the masked monster and the dark room from before. 'Nope! That's done! Move on! Don't worry!' She cautiously stepped through, door shutting behind her and leaving her in pitch black.

She walked for awhile in the dark nothingness, keeping a hopeful eye out for anything of interest. Something caught her attention after walking, but it wasn't a sight, it was a sound, hissing from all around her. It tried whispering something in her ear and she whirled around to face whatever it was, but only found the young blond boy from the flashes of dreams she had in this place. She was about to say hello when he spoke. "What's making me feel so bad?" he asked. "The hissing monster? What is it?"

He looked like he was going to start crying. The poor kid was obviously scared. Rallis didn't know how to answer. "I'm sorry," she started. "But I don't know."

The boy sighed and looked away. "No one does. It's so frustrating! It's so confusing!" The boy grabbed his head with a cry as something coiled around him and pulled him into the shadows.

Rallis reached out to help, but the floor vanished from under her. "WHA-?!" She screamed as she fell further into the darkness and away from the boy.

"Stop screaming. There's no escape. It's hopeless."

----------------------------

For 25 years the lost child warped in the shadowy pit in both body and mind, a force beyond his control turning him into a monster. He grew angry at the flashes of life he could see of the world above. There were all these people doing what he wanted to do, but here he was rotting in a hole. No one cared he was gone, no one was looking for him, and it made him furious. He lured people into his abysmal dark cell with hints at a treasure that didn't exist, hoping to pique their curiosity, and one by one people went missing, left to rot in this inescapable hell with him. Everyone would suffer with him, everyone! And the many voices in his head assured him he was doing the right thing.

Rallis flew up from the floor with a start, the feeling of falling startling her awake. She woke to another weird room, this time grey and drab and boring. There were some rock formations jutting out of the ground in various spots around the room and in the center was a massive hole, like a slice that cut it in half. On the other side was something that looked very much like an exit. "If all I have to do is jump across, I'm doing it! I'm getting tired of this!"

She walked closer and her ears drooped more with each step she took. The ravine wasn't as small as she thought. It looked to be 20 feet across, maybe more. That wasn't something she could jump. 'Maybe if I get a running start?' she thought. She glanced back at the other end of the room and realized that wasn't likely. There wasn't much room to run. It was as if the room shrank from her feelings of doubt.

"What's the point?" a voice wailed, snapping Rallis out of her thoughts. "There's no way across. No one will help you."

Rallis looked around and found a young girl slumped up against the wall, sadly staring at the pit. She ran over to take a look and found two others, two boys around the same age. One was on the ground, face planted in the floor, and the other was on his side, like someone threw him and he hadn't bothered to move. "Are you okay?" Rallis asked worriedly as she looked them over. The girl had a satchel with the end of a rope and a cleaning brush poking out, while the two boys had rockpicks strung to their belts. 'That's museum gear!'

"'Okay,'" the girl moaned. "Is anyone really?"

"Ooo Reldo had a word for that! What was it? Angsty?" Rallis laughed as she tried to mimic his voice. "Stop being so angsty, we have work to do!" She tried to pull the girl up but she wouldn't budge. Rallis frowned. "You're from the museum, right? Students of the dig site?"

She looked at the dragon with mild surprise. "Yeah... how'd you know?"

She pointed to the satchel. "Dirt tools! We've been looking for you, you know. People that have gone missing. We found you though so now we can get you all home!"

"And how do you expect we do that?" the girl moaned. "Look." She motioned to the exit. "There's a ditch in the way and no way across. We're going to be stuck here forever."

Rallis dismissed the thought. "Oh that's silly. No ones gonna be stuck here forever. We just gotta get to the other side!" The girl didn't seem convinced. "C'mon! Get up, let's go!" Rallis pulled on the girl's arm until she finally budged, begrudgingly staggering forward. "What have you tried so far?" Rallis asked.

The girl shrugged. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Rallis all but growled. "You been here all this time and you've done nothing?"

"Well look!" the girl cried. "There's nothing here and there's no way across. Maybe we should just roll into the pit and end it all. There's no point in anything anyway." It was like with every negative comment the girl grew more hopeless and grey.

"No no no no no! No one is jumping into the death hole! Jeez you need some sunlight." Rallis pointed to the pack. "Anything in there that's useful?"

The girl lazily opened the bag and pulled out a brush, some rope, and a doll. "Not really," she said. "Nothing that could get us across."

Rallis took the coil of rope from her. "Well I wouldn't be so sure about that. What about your friends?" The girl shrugged. Rallis rolled her eyes and bent down to wake them up. "Hellooooooo!" she shouted at the boy with his face in the dirt as she shook him. "Time to get up!" She flipped him over and slapped his face.

"Ow..." the boy mumbled, groggily opening his eyes. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm sleeping?"

"Sleep later, work now," Rallis commanded. "We need your help. What have you got on you?"

He closed his eyes again. "What have I got? I've got the pain of the world, the shame of living a lie, the knowledge of misery."

Rallis sighed. "Y'all need help. We really gotta get you outta here." She noticed the rock pick on his belt and took it. "Got anything else like this?"

The boy sighed and nodded as he pulled more rope from the back of his belt and handed it over. "Thank you!" she chirped. "Now I really need you to get up, okay?" He groaned but complied, slowly dragging himself into a sitting position. She moved on to the second boy and pulled him upright. "You too. Time to get moving. What have you got?"

He undid a second rock pick from his belt. "Just this," he muttered. "Nothing useful."

Rallis took it and looked it over. "Oh I think it is. Come on you three, time to go." As the three shuffled over to the ravine's edge, Rallis took the rope pieces and tied them together, making one long continuous piece. Next she tied both ends to the rock picks, tying a firm knot through the hole in their handles. With a tug test she determined it to be as sturdy as she could make it. 'Hopefully that'll do.' The rope seemed to sparkle with her hint of optimism.

There were some dull stalagmites on both sides of the ravine. With the rope and picks, Rallis had a plan. Aiming for one of the rocks on the other side, she twirled the rope in the air, rock pick swinging dangerously close over the students' heads, and launched it toward the rock. The pick hit its mark, wrapping around the rock a bit before snagging. Rallis gave it a hard yank but it did not budge. She grinned and tied the other end to a similar rock nearby. There was now a makeshift tightrope swaying precariously over the bottomless pit.

She held her hands out to her feat as if she were presenting a masterpiece of art. "There we go! Easy!" The students were not impressed, drab stares looking at the pit in front of them.

"We'll never get across," one of the boys said.

"It's too dangerous," the other agreed.

"We'll just fall," the girl chimed in.

Rallis groaned. "No you won't! It'll be fine! Here, watch! I'll even go across first and show you how it's done. I can hold the rope down too once I get across if it'll make you feel better."

The three watched intently as Rallis got on her hands and knees and grabbed the rope firmly. She then slipped into the ravine, nothing but her grip on the rope keeping her from falling. Like a monkey, she swung across, grabbing the rope as she sped along. "I like doing it like this instead of walking," she called back to them as she continued. "That way I don't have to worry about losing my balance and falling!" The three were impressed, watching her every movement. Once Rallis reached the end, she hooked her claws into the rock and kicked off, easily hopping the ledge. She immediately tied the rope and pick down more securely. It had started to come undone from her swinging but she was not about to tell them that.

"There, see?" she called back. "Easy! One of you come on too!"

They watched the slightly swaying rope, hesitant. "C'mon you can do it!" she called to them. "Trust yourself!" The girl stepped forward, slipping down and grabbing the rope like Rallis did. It was hard, but she began to swing across. Rallis held the rope down as she went, and the girl soon reached the edge. Rallis lent a helping hand and pulled her up. The girl was smiling, showing an actual emotion.

"You can do it, guys!" she shouted. "It's not that bad! Hurry up and let's get out of here!"

"Yeah, that's right!" Rallis cheered with her. "You can do it!"

The rope almost seemed to shimmer with light as they encouraged the others on. One of the boys followed their example and monkeyed across, grinning wide as he was pulled onto the other side. It really was easy! He called back to their friend. "Let's go, man! We're finally getting out of here!"

The last student laughed and readied to swing across. He began his trek across, the rope bouncing every which way as he sped over. The movement was too much, however, and once he neared the other side, the unattended rock pick came loose. It fell into the pit, taking the rope and boy with it. Without thinking, Rallis lunged and grabbed the boy by the arm before he could fall to his doom. She was gripping the dangling rope with her foot as the other two students had hold of her tail. The boy she had ahold of was terrified, staring wide eyed at the pit below.

"Don't look down!" Rallis snapped. "Look up here. Everything's fine."

The two students up above were slipping, edging closer to falling in themselves. "They can't pull us up," the boy whined. "This wasn't going to work from the start. You should just let me go."

Rallis growled as she hefted him closer. "I. Think. Not! Don't give up so easily! You just gotta believe!" Without warning, she threw the boy up with all her strength. The other two let go of her tail, letting her fall to grab hold of their friend. Rallis fell all but a few feet before managing to grab the rope, gripping it for dear life as she started to have a small breakdown over what she just did. She was too scared to move, the fear of that feeling of falling taking over. Luckily she didn't have to. With the strength of three people versus one weight, the three pulled their saviour to safety. Rallis flopped onto the ground, hugging the stalagmite the rope was tied to.

"A-are you all okay?" she asked shakily.

They all nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you," the girl said.

"That's good," she replied. "You should probably get out then. The exit is right there and you've got people looking for you. Go home."

They nodded in excitement. "Yeah! Thank you again for all the help." And they vanished, happily sprinting through the exit.

Rallis sighed as she lay on the floor, gripping the rock and trying to calm down from the near death fall. It was so quiet now that she was alone, so empty. That was until a voice spoke in her ear.

"You were faced with an insurmountable obstacle and yet you sought to face it," the voice said. "Why? How could you continue when no one else would help you? What made you think you could get out of the situation?"

"I don't know what in-sir-mount-whatever means," she told the voice. "But I know that you can fix every problem if you just try and never give up. Sometimes all you need to build a bridge is a little rope and hope." She smiled as she sat up and showed off the now glowing rope. The voice disappeared with a thoughtful hum, and with that Rallis walked through the exit, ready to bring an end to this adventure.

---------------------------- The students had been found and rescued and Rallis thought maybe everything was done and dealt with now, so she was rather surprised to find another room through the exit and not the forest and dig site up above. The floor wasn't burning hot and red or a shadowy void of black or a variety of pastels or grey and drab. It was just normal dirt, maybe a bit of clay mixed in too, and it was cracked and filled with holes, like cheese after a rat had gotten to it. Some of the holes were huge too, ones you could easily trip and fall in. Other than that, nothing else was there. Feeling gutsy, Rallis called out.

"Hello? Anyone or anything here?"

The room suddenly felt very heavy, like the air was replaced with iron. Hissing echoed and bounced off the walls, deafeningly loud. The ground started to shake and crack, throwing Rallis off balance. She fell to the ground to see three snake-like and also almost human-like heads slither out of the ground, towering over her in anger. They snarled at her, fangs dripping with venom. Rallis scooted away, more than a little frightened at the beast in front of her. One of the heads slithered down and over to her, stopping mere inches from her face.

"Drak, kinsvet, dragon," it hissed in twelve voices at once, unable to decide how it wanted to speak. "Wah stah eehr, yho thehs et, why are you here?"

"I'm here to help," she replied. "You have someone who needs help, and I think you might need some too."

"Heeehel! Help!" it exclaimed before screeching. "You can't help it," it continued, this time in just one voice. "You can't help it or me."

Rallis stood up and pat it on the head. The beast did not appreciate the gesture. "I'll be the judge of that!" There was a strip of earth that sat neatly between all three of the angry slinking heads, and that's where Rallis plopped back down. The three slithered closer, curious about the person who had bested their dungeon and was still unafraid, even in the face of this new horrifying-looking beast. "Your name is Tolna, right?"

One of the heads said yes while the others said no.

"What's your other name then?" she asked.

One of the heads coiled back as if in pain from thinking about the question while the other two slumped down into their respective holes. "Loarnab," it finally hissed.

"Nice to meet you then, Loarnab," Rallis said with a smile. "Are you a snake beast? A haisarah? I don't think humans can hiss like that!"

"Haisarah... me... ohhct... K I L L E D!!!"

The three heads thrashed about, screaming and roaring and slamming against the walls, chipping into the rocks and sending more cracks in the walls of its prison. "Whoa, hey, calm down!" Rallis shouted at them. They showed no signs of stopping and they were starting to hurt themselves too. With a huff, Rallis jumped at one of the flailing monsters and grabbed tight, climbing up to its head and covering its eyes. It stopped moving so wildly, the other two slowing down in curiosity as well. "Just calm down, you two! There's no need for that! Talk it out instead!" She uncovered its eyes as it seemed to calm down, sinking back down closer to the floor. Rallis hopped back onto land. "Much better. You have some problems too, huh?" The monster seemed to nod. Rallis thought for a moment before snapping her fingers with a plan.

"How about this? I'll listen to both of you and help you both out. But Tolna first!" The heads hissed at her, though one smiled a bit at the end. "Sorry Loarnab, but your anger buddy has been away from his family long enough. He needs to go home. I'll stay with you instead!"

They hissed, unsure, but relented. Nothing had changed for the better down in this pit for a long time. Maybe this new visitor really would help. She listened to Tolna's story, other heads hissing with interjections here and there.

"Well I think there's nothing to be upset about!" Rallis proclaimed. "If you're mad your parents said no to you going to school, ask them why! Maybe you can find out why they said that. There's no need to be scared of new things, either. Everything is new once! Even exploring a hole you fell into and finding an angry haisarah." The heads laughed at that. "And there's no reason to be scared to ask why your parents said no. The worst they can do is just not answer, but I bet they will. New things might be confusing at first too, but that's okay! You just learn them! It might take a few tries but you gotta keep at it. Never give up hope. Things always work out, whether it's finding a way home after falling into a hole, finding a way to go to school, or any other problem that happens. It always works out and everything ends up fine."

The heads seemed happier, having someone to listen and talk to that wouldn't just fuel their rage. "You should go home, Tolna. People miss you."

The heads hissed and smiled and vanished, as did the rest of the room. Nothing was left. Just inky darkness and the sounds of hissing and slithering. "Did you let him go?" Rallis asked the shadows.

"Yesss..." twelve different voices said.

"Then it's your turn," she said. "You've got a lot going on, don't you? Dragging people down here and making them crazy."

Something stepped out of the nothingness. Something big. Its details were hard to make out in the dark, but Rallis could see a large scaly body with a long lashing tail and twelve hissing heads. The beast sat in front of her, waiting. Rallis got comfortable, leaning back on the ground she could feel but not see.

"So tell me, Loarnab the haisarah. What's got you so upset?"

-------------------------------

It was quiet, the only sound being the rustle of leaves in the breeze. The ground was comfy, the grass feeling extra soft and cozy. With the sun setting too, it was the perfect setting for a nice little nap...

"RALLIS?!"

Rallis lifted her head off the grass with a groan. Pieces of grass and small flowers were stuck to her face where she had drooled on the ground in her sleep. She looked up to see a familiar bespectacled face in the form of her mentor. "Hi Reldo," she yawned. He was shaking with, what was that? Anger? Shock? Relief? He pulled her off the ground and grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Where have you been?!" he shouted. "I have been looking for you all day and scared half to death! And now that I've found you you're asleep in the flowers?! Do you understand how worried I've been?!"

Rallis flinched and covered her ears. "Mmmmno more shouting," she groaned. "I just woke up. I had the craziest dream."

"Oh, not as crazy as what I just went through, I assure you! First you fall down a hole and vanish. Then I run off to get help and come back to the missing students asleep on the ground! So hooray, mystery solved I guess, but how? We take them back to Varrock and I come back and there's ANOTHER person on the ground! The missing person the woman hanging around the museum was talking about no less! He wouldn't stop spouting nonsense about some ancient city and a hydra god holding him captive the whole walk back to town. And now this third time, you're here. What, does this forest just spawn missing people all day?!"

Rallis turned away from the shrill shouting man and looked at the ground, as if she would find her answers there. "Rallis, are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah," she said with another yawn. "I've had an adventure too."

Now done with his rant, Reldo took a good look at her. There were holes in her skirt and bruises on her neck. Her shirt was nearly gone and ripped dirty cloth was tied around her hands, reddish stains marring the wrappings. There were small scrapes in a few places on her too. He took one of her hands and undid the dirty wrappings, revealing the bloody burns underneath. She hissed as the air made it hurt again. "What happened to you?" he asked, concerned.

Rallis took her hand away and pressed it against her skirt, covering it back up. Her groggy mind went back to the conversation she had with the hydra. The poor beast had grown into a monster over its death and neglect. What was once a magical creature like any other grew warped and evil as its home was taken from it before being slain and its body and soul used for horrible unspeakable things. Its restless spirit haunted the grounds it died upon, luring lost creatures in to become a part of it or slowly wither away in its solitude. The beast had grown into the personification of negativity and foulness, and it wasn't likely to get much better after ages of neglect, but Rallis tried her best anyway.

Rallis looked back down at the ground and sighed before starting off towards home. "Well if that was all real, this time I've got a story for you."

#osrs #runescape #my writes #oc tag

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nonasuch · 7 years ago

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dogfather update: the last presents

As always, everything dogfather-related is tagged with the dogfather and story updates are tagged with dogfather story post. If you get antsy waiting for the next update, check out my AO3 or the zines and comics on my Gumroad.

Coming back to Hogwarts is a relief and a worry, all at once. They have a few days before most of the students arrive, and Harry’s looking forward to a bit of quiet before, as Padfoot puts it, “all hell breaks loose.”

Even now, though, he and Ron have a challenge to face, in the form of Ron’s brothers in the Gryffindor common room.

“So you’re really Harry Potter?” says Fred, who is wearing George’s Christmas jumper. George is wearing Percy’s, and Percy is wearing his school robes and a frown. He’d met them at the castle doors, and escorted them up to Gryffindor tower. The handful of students they passed on the way all stared openly at Harry, and Harry thinks they would have asked the same question if Percy hadn’t glared them into silence.

“No,” says Harry. He’s going to have to get used to having this conversation, he knows. “I’m really Harry MacIntyre, and also I used to be called Harry Potter.”

“It’s not as complicated as all that,” says Ron.

“Hang on,” says George. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

“Er, well,” says Ron.

“It’s all right,” Harry tells him, and then, to George: “Yeah, he did. I asked him not to say anything.”

“And you weren’t even tempted?” says George. “Well done, you.”

“I never suspected a thing,” says Fred. “Lucky thing, too, I’d have been bursting to tell someone.”

“Nah,” says Ron, who has in fact been bursting to tell someone for weeks. He glows with pride a little at Fred and George’s approval, anyway. “Wouldn’t have dreamed of it.”

“All right, that’s enough,” says Percy. “It’s late enough already. Let them up to their dormitory, you two.”

But Percy does stop Ron on his way out, just to make sure that he hadn’t been feeding Whiskers anything too rich over the holidays.

Harry has never been more relieved to reach the top of his dormitory stairs. None of the other first-year boys are back yet, so Padfoot changes briefly into Sirius, has a stretch, and tells Harry he’s going to go talk to the Headmaster.

“The Ministry’s going to try to stick their nose in, I expect,” he says. “And I want to know who the Prophet’s source was.”

“All right,” says Harry. “I may be asleep, by the time you get back.”

Sirius ruffles his hair, changes back to Padfoot, and goes.

There are still a few surprises left, though. When Harry and Ron draw back the curtains on their beds, there’s a wrapped parcel at the foot of each.

Ron eyes his warily. It’s wrapped in old comic-book pages, and bears a card labeled TO RONNIEKINS in what is almost certainly Fred’s handwriting.

Ron sighs. “Bet you a Sickle that’s booby-trapped,” he says. “I’ll open it later. Or take the card off and give it to Percy. What’d you get?”

“Dunno,” says Harry. He picks it up and feels it: something very light, and very soft. When he unwraps it, something fluid and silvery gray goes slithering to the floor, where it lies in gleaming folds. Ron gasps.

"I've heard of those," he says in a hushed voice, and gives up on his attempt to nudge the present from Fred and George off his bed. "If that's what I think it is -- they're really rare, and really valuable."

"What is it?" When Harry picks it up, it feels like water woven into material. It’s shining, and metallic, and light as air, and makes him think of the mithril-coat in The Hobbit. He thinks, for a moment, of the kinds of magic he grew up with. Of the stories his parents told him, before he knew about the magic he’d been born with.

"It's an invisibility cloak," says Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is -- try it on."

Harry throws the cloak around his shoulders, and Ron shouts "It is! Look down!"

Sure enough, he’s vanished from the neck down. In the mirror, with the cloak pulled over his head, there’s no one visible but Ron. For a shivery instant, Harry thinks instead of how the Ring made Bilbo invisible.

"There's a note!" says Ron. "A note fell out of it!"

Harry pulls off the cloak, with some relief, and seizes the letter. Written in narrow, loopy, unfamiliar handwriting are the following words:

Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well. A Very Merry Christmas to you.

It isn’t signed, and stays that way no matter how long Harry stares at it.

"I'd give anything for one of these," Ron says, admiring the cloak "Anything. What's the matter?"

"I don’t know," says Harry. He feels very strange: unmoored, suddenly, and full of urgent questions. Who sent the cloak? Had it really once belonged to James Potter?

Harry has never had anything that belonged to his birth parents before. Not like this. He has pictures, and countless stories. Padfoot has a pocketwatch that James gave him, but when Padfoot tried to give it to him Harry refused. Moony, over the years, has hunted down all the Muggle albums he could remember Lily owning, though her own copies were destroyed with their house in Godric’s Hollow, along with most everything else. Whatever was left of James’ was lost when Sirius went to Azkaban. If his aunt kept anything of Lily’s, it was lost when she and his uncle died.

There are a scant handful of objects left in the world that his birth parents ever touched, and none of them are properly Harry’s in the way that this cloak, apparently, now is.

So Harry is in a strange, quiet mood as he changes into pyjamas and brushes his teeth. Ron notices it, and it’s enough to stop him singing the cloak’s praises and start darting little worried glances at Harry, right up until Harry pulls the curtains of his bed shut around him.

Harry sits awake for a little while, the dark cavern of his curtained bed lit by a Lumos, and studies his birth dad’s invisibility cloak. It doesn’t tell him anything more, and neither does the note. But when he finally gives up, and flops back against the pillow in exasperation, he realizes that he is lying on top of something oblong. It makes a rustling-paper noise when he moves.

Harry sits up.

He hadn’t noticed it before, because the envelope’s age-faded paper is a near match for the cream-colored pillowcase. But there is a fat squarish envelope, much creased, resting on his bed. It lies half under his pillow, as if someone had tossed it at the bed and not bothered to see where it landed. There’s nothing written on it. Nor, when Harry opens it, is anything written on the sheet of parchment folded carefully round the contents of the envelope.

The photos, though-- some of the photos have been written on.

They’re Muggle snapshots, unmoving, each a single instant preserved in golden light. Some were obviously taken by an old-fashioned Polaroid, like the one Harry’s dad keeps on a shelf in the study. A few are black-and-white. In most of them, the colors are warm-toned, yellowy greens and oranges, like the ones Harry’s seen from early in his parents’ marriage.

And, in fact, one of them has Lily and Tuney, August 1968 written on it in round, careful little-girl handwriting. In the picture, a girl with red hair has flung her arms around the neck of another girl, a few years older, who is laughing in protest.

Harry leafs through the pictures. There’s twenty or so of them. Most are of the same two girls, and the red-haired girl is in all of them. A few times, an older woman is visible in the background. In one, a man with a cheerful, laughing face holds up a speck of white with a string trailing from it; next to him, the red-haired girl beams at the camera, showing off the fresh gap in her teeth. Dad “helps” Lily with her loose tooth is written on the back.

A birthday party, a picnic, the two girls in party dresses looking pleased with themselves. In one, the red-haired girl is trying to tug someone in a tan jacket into the frame, without success. She’s nearly always smiling, and in close-ups, her green eyes are just the same as Harry’s.

A few of the photos look like they’ve been crumpled up, then carefully smoothed out again. One seems to have been torn in half and taped back together. Harry studies it closely. The red-haired girl-- Lily, Harry thinks, that’s Lily Evans, that’s my birth mum-- looks a little older, maybe even the same age as Harry. She looks annoyed about something. Next to her, the fair-haired older girl who must be Petunia Evans has her mouth pressed shut like she’s trying not to laugh.

Harry doesn’t really look like either of them, aside from Lily’s eyes. But he can see how Lily and Petunia have the same stubborn chins, the same long necks, how Petunia’s blue eyes are very much like Lily’s green.

There are only a couple of pictures in which Lily looks older than Harry. In one, she’s sitting on a window seat, reading, oblivious. Lily wears jeans and a loose peasant-y shirt, her hair in a messy braid. Harry squints down at the photo, trying to make out the cover of the book; he thinks it might be The Once and Future King.

On the back of the photo it says Home from Hogwarts, Christmas 1975-- but someone has scribbled out the word Hogwarts in heavy strokes of black pen.

Harry sits in the dark, with James’ cloak in his lap and Lily’s childhood in his hands. The dormitory is silent, but for Ron’s slightly wheezy breathing.

Harry flings himself out of bed. He wraps the cloak around himself, and clutches the photos to his chest, and goes looking for Padfoot.

#the dogfather #dogfather story post

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a-very-fond-farewell · 6 years ago

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Bagginshield North & South au 1/4

Ok folks, I thought about how to make a North & South au (based on the BBC miniseries, not the actual book) without looking at any fic on the matter, because I didn’t want to be influenced by their (certainly brilliant) adaptations. So bear with me for the time being.

This is just a list of things that I would like to see in a N&S!au fic... but I have no energy to write that myself.

ATTN!1: I have changed many things, and it came out pretty angsty, with lots of pining and secrets that must be kept at all costs.

ATTN!2: I would have loved to explore the trans!Bilbo trope (either transwoman!Bilbo or transman!Bilbo), but I feel like I’m not the right person to give this idea the justice it deserves. I’m sure someone else could feel empowered in exploring that particular trope on their own, so it would be better for me not to rob them of such an opportunity.

ATTN!3: I’m just a nonbinary bean with terrible grammar and a knack for angst, also English is not my first language. I WILL ADD TO THIS.

Enjoy!

First Part:

In the mining town of Erebor, up north where the weather is crisp and the fog is as blinding as ever, the main source of income comes from the mithril veins hidden deep into the Lonely Mountain. Still fairly unknown to the masses as a viable alternative to steel for industrial products, mithril is considered to be nothing but a lower metal of very little use a part from being modeled as framing works for jewelry coming from the west.

Bilbo Baggins has followed his parents in this particular corner of the world after certain indiscretions had spread in the southern town of Bag End. At his cousin Prim’s wedding in London the previous summer, in fact, Bilbo had found himself rejecting the unwanted advances of a certain gentleman right before being discovered by his mother as the two men were parting ways from a very heated discussion in a secluded room.

In order to not let others know about such circumstances, Belladonna had shared her intention with her sister Mirabella to uproot in the north, at least until the rumors had dissipated. Bungo, as loving and trusting as ever, had simply accepted her decision and disposed for them all to move to Erebor. In doing so, he had consequently left his position as a parish in Bag End, not wavering in his faith, but merely willing to give his family what they needed to be happy.

Bilbo himself is no longer a lad: close to reach his thirties, many have speculated around the truth about his sudden return to his father’s home leaving his studies at Oxford out of the blue. Up until now, Bungo had protected his son by simply stating to the citizens of Bag End how needed Bilbo was, and Belladonna had made sure no mouths could run and shame her son in the meantime. But those days are over now, and their new town might not be as easily outsmarted this time around.

Heavy with sorrow for making his family move, Bilbo has resigned to keeping his life on check from now on, willing to sacrifice his happiness in order to keep his parents safe and healthy. Not being able to walk without a cane after his last days at Oxford, Bilbo finds himself constantly torn between revealing what had happened there and run away from all those eyes watching his every move. Luckily, in Erebor no one expects much of him, and any possible question regarding his lack of employment while he could no more benefit from being the only son of a parish is met with a simple gesture towards his bad leg. People seem complacent enough to overlook his poor excuse of a lie as long as they can speculate over his father’s decision to move up north.

Filled with guilt at the inability to defend his father against the rumors, Bilbo is reassured over and over again by his mother that they had made the right decision. The price for her understanding, however, seems to be an even greater burden for Bilbo: never speak of his true nature ever again, not even to his parents. Not even to himself.

Gandalf Gray, an old friend of Bungo’s, close enough to the family to understand the implications of their sudden uprooting, has decided to take Bilbo under his wing and show him around while his father has a chance to meet the pupils Mr. Gray has gathered for him to talk to. Having traveled all other the world, Mr. Gray is not new to the hardships Bilbo has encountered and his honesty and desire to help comforts Bilbo while he navigates the wastelands of melancholy that moving so far away has ensued.

While visiting one of the many mines belonging to the Durinson household, Bilbo finds himself shocked at the sight of its master beating one of his miners out of the mountain in a fit of rage. Little does he know what perils hide into the tunnels eroding the Lonely Mountain one inch at a time, or what are the dangers that fire and gas can bring to those working in the dark, with only the aid of candles and caged birds to save them from death.

Still, Bilbo tries to reason with said master, not knowing Thorin to be their landlord and one of his father’s pupils on top of that. Only thanks to Mr. Gray Bilbo is spared from Thorin’s anger by introducing him as a dear friend of his, but this doesn’t protect Bilbo from receiving yet another shock as the man simply turns and strides away after the worker he had just beaten up.

Meeting the man in his own home later that very same week, Bilbo is confronted with the absolute necessity from his part to embody a perfect son and the perfect guest, no matter how much he despises sharing a room with their landlord. But given the circumstances, he tries not to think about him too much while Bungo teaches Thorin all about philosophy and literature: he listens to their lessons half expecting to be invited to share his thoughts on his father’s many interpretations of the ancient sources... but eventually feeling much more at ease staying quiet by his armchair while the other two talk.

Judging from Thorin’s curiosity and will to learn, Bilbo convinces himself to have misjudged the man based on what he had seen at the mines, and later on investigates the matter further with his father and with Mr. Gray over a cup of tea. Apparently, after the sudden death of both of his parents when he was just a child, Thorin, his brother Frerin and their older sister Dis had been entrusted to the care of their grandfather, Thror: a man driven mad by his lust for gold to the point he had closed the mines twenty years before just to barricade himself inside the mountain in search of a vein of gold that never existed. Thorin’s little brother Frerin, small enough to wiggle his way in between the wooden bars Thror had used to close the openings, had looked for his grandfather anywhere before the main tunnel had collapsed on both of them one cold night of December.

Horrified by such a discovery, Bilbo has already spent many a day trying to find the courage to apologize to Thorin by the time he meets Bain, Sigrid and Tilda. The boy and his younger sister approaches him one day at the park, reminiscing of the way he had confronted Thorin at the entrance of the mine, where Bain works as well, while their older sister seems a little wary of Bilbo and apologizes to him for disturbing him so suddenly. On the other hand, Bilbo is overjoyed to have been met with such enthusiasm after weeks of isolation from actual social interaction and offers the siblings to walk them home... just as their father Bard comes into the picture, assuring Bilbo his services are not needed.

Intrigued by that little family, Bilbo tries to know more about them by lurking around the wooden houses destined to the miners skirting the suburban area at the bottom of the mountain, determined to pay them a visit with a basket of food to thank the kids for their kindness to him. Here, Bilbo gets to know the families of many of the miners, all relatively close to each other be it for family ties or friendship alone, that -surprisingly enough- seem more than happy to teach him a thing or two on how to survive the likes of Erebor and its masters.

From them comes the realization of how exactly Thror had compromised the economy of the city when he had closed the mines twenty years before. Many of the workers had found themselves jobless that year and, after the main tunnel had been deemed too dangerous to cross, new masters had come to the city and made their way with new holes into the mountain with no regards for safety. So many holes, indeed, that some workers avoided entering the Lonely Mountain for fear it could fall onto itself at any moment.

In all this, Thorin had been only sixteen and had to provide for his family now that his only guardian had perished in the depths of the main tunnel along with his little brother. Dis had been twenty then, and married a man coming from one of the richest families in town, who had provided for her and for their two sons up until his death, fifteen years before. Thorin, who had been fired to leave his studies in order to gain back his family’s honor by working for other masters, at twenty-one had made enough of a name for himself to be able to care for his older sister and nephews once more, as the customs required.

Dis, on the other hand, after losing her parents, grandfather, brother and husband, had accepted to go back home to her younger brother feeling like a caged animal, but not ungrateful enough to disregard the importance of the mines that brought them stability and wealth. Thorin, on the other hand, getting sterner by the year and low in spirits because of his newfound role as the head of their household, had become extremely protective of his family... just as much as Dis herself, the both of them manifesting some of the traits their own grandfather had shown by the time his obsession had piqued.

Even Bard and his kids had been willing to share some information with him by the time Bilbo discovers exactly how far the Durinson’s had prevented the growth of the town by limiting the number of caves under their watch. Bard himself seems set on hating the siblings for life, convinced the mountain could offer work to everybody without restrictions if only the Durinson’s were to let more people inside. He insists that gold lies under that mountain and that not even the Durinson’s should claim that vein for themselves while other masters have promised a job for everyone in town were the Durinson household to perish.

Struck by all those new revelations, one day Bilbo finds himself too overwhelmed to properly welcome Dis Durinson and her sons inside their home while his mother gets dressed upstairs. The woman strikes an imposing figure, just like her brother, dressed in all black with sober, yet quite beautiful blue earrings bringing out the coldness of her light-blue eyes. The oldest of her sons, affectionately called Kili by her, is roughly eighteen or nineteen years old and seems agreeable enough, asking Bilbo what wonders he has seen in London and what the south has to offer: curiosity getting the best of him contrary to his mother’s best judgment. Fili, instead, looks more lost than anything, not young enough to depend on his mother approval, but still not quite old enough to rebel against her composure and regal attitude.

Then, just as his mother welcomes them in her house, Bilbo notices how Belladonna has lost weight and how skirmish she looks. Being so distracted himself by his quest for knowledge in regards of Erebor and its history, Bilbo has completely overlooked him mother’s conditions and guilt overcomes him once more. Knowing that people were still talking about them because of the insinuations about his father’s decision to leave the Church, Bilbo is faced with shame and anxiety just by thinking how hard it must be for his parents to endure all of that pressure from the telltale coming from the upper society in town.

As he looks at Thorin’s sister and her impenetrable mask, he wonders how she must have felt when she had been married off to a rich man in order to save the family from disgrace. Because that is what the Baggins’ and the Durinson’s have been foreclosed to address, even if I’m different ways: disgrace. Profound and nasty disgrace.

Bilbo finds himself jealous of their luck in regaining control over their fate by hard work alone, but doesn’t voice his feelings as the woman and her sons leave. Nor does he want to speak of the matter with Thorin... until he does, while listening to his and Bungo’s usual lesson one day: feeling left out of the conversation, fed up with the way his family walks on eggshells around him, and impossibly frustrated with himself for not being able to seize Thorin’s character in his head, Bilbo accuses the man of being too full of himself to even care about the struggling miners, ready to strike in order to be allowed to look for gold in the mountain.

Immediately regretting what he has just said, already missing the opportunity to listen to Thorin’s deep voice asking intelligent questions, knowing how the man has been desperate to educate himself now that he had the opportunity to do so...Bilbo can only watch as Thorin greets him coldly and leave their house. Possibly to never return.

#bagginshield #the hobbit #n&s!au

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