Meddling
with Middle-Earth
Chapter
One
Kili awoke
from a restless sleep to find his leg no longer felt as if lightning was
running through it. He lifted himself up
on his elbows and looked around to find himself still in Bard’s home. Catching Fili’s eye he smiled wanly. “How long was I out? I had the strangest dream that Tauriel had
come to save me and I said foolish things to her after she healed me.”
Fili tucked
his hands into his armpits and ambled over to where his brother lay on Bard’s
table. “Well the thing is…Tauriel did
come. She came with Legolas and stayed
to heal you after Bofur found the herbs she needed. And you may very well have said the foolish
things you think you said to her. So if
I were you I’d think of some very nice way to say thank you as she saved your
life, little brother. Tauriel was there
when one of the orcs said the arrow that hit you was poisoned. You would not have survived without her skill
in healing.” Fili gave Kili a grave look
as the younger dwarf wore a look of horrified dismay. “What did you say to her that was so very
foolish?”
Kili
swallowed and replied, “I did not think it could have been her because we left
the elves so far way from here. So I
spoke to the girl I thought was standing by my side and spoke of Tauriel as I
imagined her, walking in starlight. I
asked if she thought Tauriel could have ever loved me, and probably offended
her mightily with those words.” How in Durin’s name am I supposed to face
her again? We talked of starlight and
the Fire Moon before, but elves and dwarves have been enemies for years. And I go and run my fool mouth off to her in
my delirium. This cannot bode well.
Fili shot a
grim smile toward his younger brother before saying “I don’t think your words
are heavy on her mind right now. Tauriel
fears the dragon is on its way here and the fool townspeople have locked Bard
away. She’s gone with Oin, Bofur, and
Bard’s children to do what she can to free him as he has the last black arrow
that might pierce the beast before Smaug ruins the town. Can you walk?”
Kili slowly
raised himself into a sitting position and looked around the home of Bard. “I think I might be able to. What happened here?” He gingerly got off the table and Fili put an
arm around him to help him to the door.
“Those orcs
from the river came after us looking for Thorin. When they saw he wasn’t with us they took off
after him. It seems in giving in to the
gold sickness our uncle may have helped to save you. Legolas and Tauriel came to put an end to the
orcs, and once Bard is free I’m sure she’ll be off after Legolas. Last we saw of him he was going after the orc
pack by himself. But before they left to
go after Thorin the orcs wrecked Bard’s house, so if we all manage to survive
what’s coming, we’ll be needing to help him fix it.”
~~~*~~~
Bofur stood
by the cell Bard was locked in and looked on while Tauriel spoke to the Master
and other members of Lake Town regarding her suspicions of Smaug being on his way to them. He took in her grace and composure even while
one of her fists clenched in frustration.
It appeared that her elven heritage had little impact on these men of
Lake Town and they intended to leave Bard in the cage he currently occupied.
“Did you
manage to stash that other black arrow before they nabbed you?” Bofur asked Bard with a sympathetic
smile. Bard was in a highly anxious
state knowing the deadly force of Smaug from his grandfather’s account of the attack
on Dale. He spared a glance for the
dwarf before replying “My son hid it after we split. Why don’t the two of you go and retrieve it
and hopefully by the time you’ve got it I’ll be out of this mess and we can
prepare Lake Town for the dragon.”
“Not a bad
plan. I’ll find your lad and we’ll
secure the arrow where the Master can’t reach it. How long do you think we have?”
Bard shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know. They should already be preparing. If Tauriel can’t get them to release me, you must ask her to get as many as she can to begin watering everything in Lake Town down. If it’s already soaked it won’t burn. Every barrel and container without holes needs to be filled to fight off the fire the dragon will bring.”
Bard shook his head in frustration. “I don’t know. They should already be preparing. If Tauriel can’t get them to release me, you must ask her to get as many as she can to begin watering everything in Lake Town down. If it’s already soaked it won’t burn. Every barrel and container without holes needs to be filled to fight off the fire the dragon will bring.”
Bofur gave a
slight bow in Bard’s direction before approaching Tauriel and the men of Lake
Town gathered around her. She turned her
head toward him and he gestured for a moment.
Looking toward the Master, Tauriel murmured for a moment alone then
walked over to Bofur. “Yes, master
dwarf?”
“Bard has
asked that we begin to soak as much of the town as possible if the Master
refuses to let him out. His thinking is
that if it’s soaked it won’t burn in the dragon’s fire. He also directed me to search out his boy so
we might have our hands on the last black arrow when he does get out. Seems like a better plan to me than wasting
time talking to this lot,” he indicated the Master’s crowd with a nod of his
head.
Tauriel
inclined her head at his words and sent a small smile in his direction. “It is indeed a better plan. These men are fools. If you can find the son I will begin to
saturate the town with as much help as I can find.” The two parted ways with Tauriel heading back
towards Bard’s home to gather the remaining dwarves and Bard’s daughters. Her hope was the daughters might rally enough
townspeople to their aid to make a small dent in the drenching Bard advised.
~~~*~~~
Oin and
Bard’s daughters intercepted Fili and Kili as the pair walked to the Master’s
house. A small conference was held and
the lot of them headed to the Master’s.
Before long they came upon Tauriel and Bofur who were looking for them
to pass on Bard’s advice on how to deal with the dragon. Kili was walking without help by this time
and angled himself a bit behind his brother so as to attract less notice. The perceptive elf noticed his slight
movement and enquired as to how his leg was.
“It is much
better now that the poison is gone,” Kili stated after taking a startled
breath. “I owe you a great deal for
saving my life,” he began, but was cut off by Tauriel’s wry smile. “If we live through the dragon’s retaliation
you and I can talk of any debt between us.
For now we must ready all we can or my saving you will have been for
nothing. Are you able to run yet, Kili?”
An answering
negative shake of his head was enough and Bofur asked the daughters if they
knew of where their brother might be so they could fetch the black arrow for
Bard. They gave the best of his hiding
places to the dwarf, and off Bofur went to find Baird and the last hope to slay
the dragon. After another brief
discussion Oin, Fili, and the girls began running from home to home asking the
Lake Town people to help prepare for the dragon’s onslaught. “I will join you in a few moments,” Tauriel
called after them. She looked at Kili
with some speculation before murmuring, “you may come with me, if you
like. There is one other thing I can do
that may help these people more than banging on doors.”
She turned
and headed toward part of Lake Town that was less occupied by the
townspeople. Kili was able to stay a few
paces behind her as she shortened her stride to accommodate his injury. She stopped at a point where there was little
around but the lake itself and knelt down on the dock. Holding a hand out to Kili to keep him from
getting too near, she looked down into the water and began speaking in the
Elvish tongue. While Kili stayed out of
the arms length she requested, he was curious enough to want to see what was
happening. Edging silently closer to the
edge he saw a ripple in the water near Tauriel.
As he stared in that direction Kili thought he saw a face in the water
for a few moments, gazing up at Tauriel while she spoke. His eyes widened and he must have made some
noise because those watery eyes glanced over at him before again focusing on
Tauriel. After another few moments the
face seemed to vanish and Tauriel took in a deep breath.
“I have
spoken to the Water elementals that live in the lake. They have a vested interest in keeping this
lake wholesome and the filth of a dragon’s destruction would be harmful to
them. They will help in their own way,
but they will do little to defend the lives of the people who live here. Thank you for not crowding me. The Water folk are shy and would not have
come if you had been too close.”
Kili gazed
back at the water where nothing was stirring.
“I thought I saw a face when you were speaking. I’ve never seen anything like that
before. Are there spirits like this
everywhere, or is it just being near you that brings them?”
Tauriel
gracefully rose from her sitting position and began walking back toward the
populated areas of Lake Town. “The
elementals are everywhere, but dwarves cannot usually see or hear them. It may well be that you have a closer
connection to the land and water than the other dwarves, Kili. That the elemental did not leave as soon as
it sensed you is very unusual. But I am
learning that you are not like other dwarves I have met. You notice much more than just gold and
jewels where most of your kind does not.
It has been…interesting to meet you,” she continued after a slight
pause. “You have shown me that I may
judge your kind too harshly, and that is an unexpected welcome.”
Kili thought
about her words as they continued to walk as quickly as his leg would
allow. “Before we ran into your guard in
Mirkwood I had never met an elf. The
stories I had been told painted all of you as enemies of my people and nothing
else. I love my family and my people,
but the longer I am on this quest, the more I wonder how much of what we have
been told is true.”
“We can speak
more on this should we all survive the dragon,” Tauriel replied with a taut
smile. After this exchange the two began
to bang on the doors nearest to them.
Most of the townspeople by this time knew of Smaug’s imminent arrival and
were doing all they could to prepare for the fire drake. Boats were being readied for women and
children to cast off in, men were gathering what weapons they had, and
everything that could hold water was now holding it. The only thing left to do was await the
arrival of Smaug.
Chapter
Two
In the midst
of all the preparations for the dragon’s appearance no one really noticed how
much time had passed. Someone did notice
the bright flash of fire at the bottom of the Lonely Mountain and ran screaming
about it through LakeTown. This only
galvanized most of the townspeople to work faster with the one exception of the
Master. He, who had been leisurely
drinking from a large goblet, slowly set that goblet down and began to raise
himself out of the chair he’d been lounging in.
The townsman
who had been running and screaming about the dragon fire was brought to him by
some guards. Unfortunately for the
Master the man who was standing before him was not the normal sort of drunkard
to make a fuss. This was a respected
tradesman and as such would not be screaming about dragons without having seen
something distressing. After another
moment of hearing the normally respectable man screeching about how the town
was going to burn, the Master began walking toward Bard’s cell. He grabbed the key from the guard who had
been taunting the bowman and began to unlock the gate himself
“I never
would have believed you about the dragon if you had been the only one to
mention it you trouble creating cretin,” the Master snarled to Bard. “But the fellow in there screaming his fool
head off has never caused a moment of trouble for me in Lake Town. You go with those dwarves and that she-elf
and you deal with that beast. I’m going
to be getting into my own boat and getting as far away as I can before it gets
here. Do what you can with the rest of
the town so there’s something left for me to tax when I get back.” And with that Bard was free to track down
Bofur, Baird, and the last remaining black arrow.
~~~*~~~
The full moon
was a glowing beacon for the dragon’s arrival over Lake Town. All who had weapons were standing with them
at the ready, but most were only hopeful they might survive the attack. Only Bard’s family, Tauriel, and the dwarves
had really thought about the work the townspeople would have to do after the
dragon was vanquished. They had gathered
in the best area for the archers’ arrows to make a dent in Smaug’s armor and waited
for the chance to hit the beast. Of the
three Tauriel had by far the best eyesight and she saw Smaug before Bard and
Kili did.
“There,” she
murmured as she pointed into the night sky.
Soon after the rest of their party beheld the red fury hurtling toward
them. Shrieks began to be heard as the
townspeople saw Smaug as well, but Bard and his companions were as calm as they
could be considering their circumstances.
They had devised a plan of sorts where Bard, Tauriel, and Kili would be
firing as many well placed arrows as possible into any vulnerable area on the
dragon while the others would be standing at the ready with containers of water
to squelch the fires.
“How will we
know if your water friends will be helping us?” Kili asked Tauriel
quietly. He turned slightly to see her
reply and was startled to see a slight smile grace her face.
“Very much
like that,” she nodded her head to the outskirts of the town where what looked
like nets of glistening water had just sprung out of the lake to cover the
closest buildings. “The elementals have
learned to fashion water into new shapes as they observed the fishing community
here in Lake Town. We might get to see
the dragon show some surprise over what they’re now capable of.”
The buildings
shook as Smaug let out a bellow when several of what looked like spears made
out of water suddenly flew out of the water and came close to hitting his
face. Normally water thrown on a fire
drake would do little damage, but this was water woven into shape by
elementals, and so it was solid when it hit the dragon. One spear nearly flew into Smaug’s eye before
he flew higher over the lake. It would
be harder for the elementals to hit the dragon now that he knew the spears
could hurt him.
The
companions watched as Smaug changed his flight from gliding over the lake to
flying much higher above the town. “I
think that’s the only surprise we’re going to get out of him,” Bard observed
dryly. “Those water nets may yet be a
help, but most of this fight will have to come from us. Tauriel, call out if you see anything on that
hide of his that our arrows might penetrate.
Kili and I will do the same if we see anything.” Raising his voice slightly Bard called to the
other members of his small group. “Good
luck to the lot of you and may we have good hunting tonight!”
The dwarves
in particular responded to this with gusto.
Fili looked over at Kili and grinned.
If nothing else the dwarves would go out fighting and they would be
happy with that as an end. Then the
dragon was overhead and chaos ensued.
~~~*~~~
Smaug made
several passes, breathing his fire over as much of the town as he could reach
before Tauriel was able to see the spot where a chunk of his natural armor was
missing. The water nets were repelling
most of the dragon fire from the buildings as they would hold their form and
release them as needed. Whenever the
dragon directed his fire toward a building water nets would be there first, and
they would catch the fire and then dissolve back into the lake, quenching the
flames as it went. Smaug was quickly
becoming agitated at the little amount of damage he was able to do close to the
water and began to fly in toward the center of Lake Town where the water was
less plentiful.
Because they
were situated on the outskirts of Lake Town where the tower containing the
black arrow launcher was, the archers were having a harder time getting close
to Smaug now that he had changed his strategy.
The townspeople in the middle of his rampage were doing their best to
douse his flames, but it looked as if that part of the town was doomed to
burn. Tauriel observed how the dragon
was flying about, still carefully trying to stay inland as much as possible,
but was not able to completely avoid the water.
“Bard, if the
beast were to fly directly over our tower could you hit him in his bare spot
with that black arrow?” she enquired with narrowed eyes as she watched Smaug
torment the town.
“Where is the
spot?” Bard wanted to know. “My eyes aren’t as keen as yours and we’ve
only got the one black arrow left. Tell
me exactly where it is and how big the area is and I’ll let you know if I can
hit it.”
“Under his
left wing where it joins with his body there is an area half a meter in
length. A chunk of his armor is missing
from it and if you hit him there it may very well be a killing shot. Do you think you can do it?” she asked
again. Tauriel knew that she could make
the shot herself, but she was unfamiliar with the mechanism for the black arrow
and knew that using it had great meaning for Bard. While Kili had been recovering from the
poisoning Bard’s daughters had told Tauriel about their great-grandfather
Girion and how he had tried to stop Smaug from destroying Dale. The last black arrow was Bard’s to shoot.
After
considering it, Bard nodded in assent.
“Yes I can hit it if the space is as big as you say. But how are we going to get the beast to fly
toward us? He’s avoiding the water as
much as possible now and we’re situated very close to it.”
Tauriel
smiled grimly before beginning to make her way down from the tower. “Leave that to me. I’ll get the fire drake to head your way,
bowman. Make sure you shoot well because
it will be the last shot this town has.”
Bard frowned
down at Kili who was watching Tauriel’s descent. “Do you have any idea what she might be up
to?” he asked with some exasperation.
“I have a
fairly good idea what she’s up to, and if that dragon figures it out he will
burn her alive.” Kili looked quickly up
at Bard before readying himself to go after Tauriel. “May Durin guide your arrow, Bard. And may he keep me from reaching Tauriel
before it is too late. If she is going
to the Water folk again and Smaug sees her alone she will not be able to defend
herself. I cannot let her do this alone,
not after she saved my life.” With that
he made his way down the tower as quickly as possible and followed Tauriel’s
path toward the water.
Chapter
Three
Kili was correct in his
assessment of what Tauriel had planned.
She was far enough ahead of him that he could see her quickly make her
way to a part of the walkways surrounded by a fair bit of water. He cast a quick glance upward to track the
dragon’s path before moving after Tauriel as quickly as he could. Surprisingly he found himself able to jog
quickly, although his leg was still not up to a full out run yet.
As he
approached Kili was able to make out several watery faces instead of just one
as last time. Tauriel was speaking quickly
in what he thought was the Elven tongue and to his astonishment he was able to
hear a whisper of language directed back at her. It was unlike anything he had ever heard and
definitely had a liquid sound, but was slippier than any Elvish he had heard
spoken. As he again scanned the skies
above to see Smaug take another turn toward more unprotected areas of Lake Town,
he saw a figure out of the corner of his eye.
Slowly he turned back toward the water and spied a slight figure
standing on top of the water it seemed.
As he gazed at it, the watery figure grinned at him and came closer to
where he was standing. The figure
pointed at Kili’s bow and arrow as if asking to see it.
Glancing
first at Tauriel, who was still in deep discussion with the water folk, and
then back at the figure, Kili slowly took a step forward and held his weapons
out for inspection. The figure bent over
the bow and arrow and then extended its hands.
Before Kili’s eyes a watery arrow formed in those hands, and then the
arrow was extended to him. The water
elemental smiled and then pointed upward toward the sky where Smaug had just
begun to take notice of the water which was rapidly filling with other
elementals.
“Tauriel,”
Kili called softly. “I may have an idea
that could be helpful in getting the dragon where we need him. Can the elementals understand me at all, or
do you need to translate?”
Startled,
Tauriel turned to fully face the dwarf.
She glanced with surprise at the smiling elemental holding the water
arrow toward Kili and then looked upward as Smaug bellowed his anger at the
apparent meeting taking place.
“Whatever
idea you have must be told quickly, or it won’t matter what it was,” she
murmured softly. “I’ll translate as you
tell me, and we may yet have a chance.”
“The
elementals need to be touching water to hold the shape of their creations,
yes?” Kili spoke quickly and gestured
with his hands toward the elemental in front of him. “What if they made small ladders of water in
the areas where there is not a lot of water and drove the dragon in the
direction of the tower with bows and arrows made of water like this? They could stand on the ladders and keep the
shapes as long as need be, and then let them go like the nets if he got too
close. They’d be back in the water in
seconds that way.”
Keeping her
focus between Kili and the sky above, Tauriel relayed the conversation to the
water elementals. The elemental in front
of Kili smiled and nodded vigorously at the words she spoke. After a moment of hearing that strange watery
language again, the elementals vanished and began to flow toward the dragon. Some of them were directing water to the
worst fires while others began making the small ladders Kili had devised. Smaug screamed in anger and surprise when the
first barrage of water arrows hit him, and he began to turn in the direction of
the tower where he was being driven.
“Now we just
need to get him to fly high enough for Bard to hit him,” mused Kili. Standing beside him Tauriel nodded
thoughtfully. “I may just have an idea
to help that along,” she murmured. “But
we need to talk to the water folk again.
How did you get the young prince to communicate with you? The two of you seemed to find a way to speak
without speaking.”
Kili thought
about how he and the water elemental had understood each other. “I don’t really know. I could tell he was curious and I just wanted
to try and understand what they were like.
So when he wanted to see my weapons I showed him. And then I got the idea of the ladders. Whatever it is you’re thinking of we need to
do it quickly.”
~~~*~~~
Bard narrowed
his eyes at the sight before him. After
blinking a few times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, the bowman gasped
aloud and excitedly called to his comrades “Look! Look what they’ve done! We may well see the end of this day after
all!”
The sight the
met their dazzled gazes was unlike anything seen before or since in Middle
Earth. The great fire drake Smaug had
been driven over the city of Lake Town by water elementals which the
townspeople had not known even existed. Now
the dragon was again being driven, but no longer by the meddlesome arrows he
had been previously pelted with. The
water had risen up in the shape of a huge fishing net and the water folk held
the shape all through the town, no matter how fast Smaug flew. None had ever seen a dragon flee in fear
before this day, but none had ever seen the water rise up to fight a dragon,
either. Smaug was half out of his mind
in fear and anger or he would have noticed the tower as he flew madly toward
it.
Bard hefted
the black arrow and guided it into the firing mechanism. He knew there would only be one chance at
this and he wasted no time in sighting and taking the breaths he needed for
timing. As Smaug came screaming into his
line of sight, Bard let fly with the black arrow into the spot Tauriel had
described. The resulting shriek by the
mortally wounded Smaug would be spoken of for generations to come. As the fire drake quickly began to flail and
fall in the sky, that watery net he had been fleeing came under him and drug
him away from Lake Town.
Smaug was
laid to ground away from both the water and Lake Town itself. Once the water elementals felt the body was
far enough away to offer no risk to them, it was unceremoniously dropped. The thud could be felt far from Lake Town
itself and it stirred the wildlife into a frenzy. The birds flew to see what had happened and
from there reported their findings to any who would listen. There were a surprising number of people who
listened to birds that day. Beorn,
Legolas, Thranduill, Balin, and even Radagast who was the furthest away learned
of Smaug’s demise this way.
