Hobbit The Lonely Mountain

**(A/N: This chapter is still subject to editing.)**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gentle clink of metal disturbed the peaceful silence of the Shire as a hooded figure crept through the streets. Beneath the black cowl of her cloak she wore a black chiffon corset the covered her chest but stopped just below her ribs. A single silver shoulder guard was strapped to her left shoulder and a leather gauntlet to her wrist. She wore only a cloth kept up with leather straps below until her boots, which unsurprisingly, were also darker than the starless sky.Sweeping through the shadows, the hobbits who were out doing their night business eyed the figure curiously. A loud chortle broke through the night air to reveal two very drunk looking hobbit men opening the door of the Green Dragon inn. The figure stopped in front of the two and they looked up, a little perplexed to see one of the big folk in their part of Middle Earth. The figure's head stayed perfectly still, red lips parting and letting out a low hiss.

"Where is the house of Bilbo Baggins?" A female voice hissed as if her voice were a mere noise on the wind.

The two hobbit men blinked stupidly at her, words coming in an almost unintelligible block of noise.

"Hum... Uh... Th-that way. Up the hill." The one on the right slurred.

Before either hobbit could open their mouth to speak again, the figure had disappeared, taking off at a sprint up the hill the way he had pointed. Wisps of her ebony hair flicked across her face in an annoying fashion as she ran. A short way up the hill, out of the corner of her eye, a glint of blue caught her attention. Her old friend Gandalf had summoned her to the Shire – a place she would normally never step foot in for fear of injuring someone - with only the instruction that the door would be marked with a dwarven rune.

The glow she had spotted was set into a round green door and the 'fehu' rune shone a neon blue colour through the dark of the night. This was it. She unlatched the miniature gate and stepped up to the door. The deep sound of laughter could be heard from within as a burly looking dwarf with a shaggy beard and a bald head passed the a pale hand to the knocker, she banged it three times. Suddenly all noise stopped and she wondered what they would say when they saw her. Gandalf had promised her safety with the dwarves, although she saw little possibility of that.The soft pattering of bare feet shuffled behind the door and the heavy chunk of the door handle snapped her from her thoughts. The door opened to reveal a small hobbit. He had a curly mop of light brown hair and he wore a dressing gown of mottled patchwork.

"Bilbo Baggins?" Her smooth voice swept over the hobbit and he craned his neck to look up at her.

"Y-yes? Are you _another_ friend of Gandalf's?" The way he put stress on the word showed his contempt he held for all his unwanted guests that evening, for hobbits were peaceful creatures who liked to keep to themselves.

"Yes I am. I'm Inarah, at your service." She gave him a curt bow before he brows creased in impatience. "Where is Gandalf?"

The shocked Bilbo's mouth made an action similar to that of a goldfish, taking in the bow and quiver of arrows slung over her back, and the array of throwing knives strapped to her belt until a jolly voice broke the once again silent hobbit hole.

"Inarah, my dear! You decided to join us after all. I'm glad you've come" Gandalf strode over to her from the dining room and pulled her inside, wrapping her in a warm hug. She hugged him back, enjoying the feeling of her old friend's presence. She smiled into his shoulder.

"Who is this?" A gruff voice came from the open door. Both Inarah and Gandalf turned their heads towards the source and there on the front doorstep, stood Thorin of the line of Durin, son of Thrain, son of Thror. Inarah knew it was him, everyone in the east knew who he was. The legend was known throughout the eastern lands. How the dragon Smaug had laid waste to the city of Dale and driven the dwarves from their mountain; Erebor.

Thorin grunted when they were silent and pushed on.

"I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way... twice. I would not have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door."

Bilbo seemed much put out by this statement, and insisted that there was no such mark. I chuckled slightly when Gandalf confessed to putting the glowing rune there himself.

"Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf introduced Bilbo to the lead dwarf.

"So this is the hobbit. Tell me Mr Baggins, have you done much fighting?" Thorin held a mocking tone in his voice.

Bilbo had not used any weapon but conkers in his entire life as he soon told the company, who were now all standing in the hallway. She noticed a fair haired dwarf staring at her but turned away before she could see his expression.

"And I ask again, who are you?" He directed the question to Inarah, glaring at her intently.

"My name is Inarah. Gandalf asked me to come, though I am not sure why I am here." She replied bluntly, earning a few mutterings from the thirteen dwarves.

Then Thorin turned to Gandalf. "I told you to find us another good fighter. Not a she-elf." He referred to her as an elf? The only resemblance she shared with any elf at all was her pointed ears. Though she was quite beautiful and her hair fell straight down her shoulders, those were all common traits of human women as well. Though Gandalf had clearly not told him about her, for which she was grateful.

"I am no _elf_ Thorin Oakenshield." She spat back at him with the same venom.

"Then what are you? You have the ears of an elf." He took a menacing step forward, expecting her to back up. But she stood her ground, raising a full two heads taller than the ill-tempered dwarf.

"Come; come now you two, that is enough. Thorin you asked me to find the last two members of our company. Bilbo and Inarah are those two. And both of them have a great deal more to offer you than you know. Including themselves." Gandalf scolded Thorin, who reluctantly backed away, trudging into the dining room.

Inarah let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and pushed away the strands of hair that covered the left side of her face.Fili, the fair haired dwarf, watched her as she followed Gandalf into the dining room. But just as he was about to turn away he noticed something on Inarah's cheekbone, right below her eye. It looked like a tattoo, or a brand. He didn't, however, have time for a closer examination as she moved from his view, seemingly not to notice him analysing her.

The dwarves all took their seats, as did Gandalf, leaving Inarah and Bilbo standing behind the wizard. A bowl of stew was placed before Thorin, who quickly began to eat. It was clear he had not had a proper meal in quite some time.

The bald headed dwarf began to talk to Thorin about their quest when a soft voice made Inarah look down. Mr Baggins was looking up at her with his big brown eyes expectantly.

"I'm sorry what was that master Baggins?" She asked in a hushed voice so as not to disturb the dwarves.

"I said would you like anything to eat? I'm afraid the dwarves have eaten almost all of my food but there are still a few things lying around." He smiled warmly at her and she smiled back, her rosy lips forming a thin crescent shape.

"No thank you my dear Bilbo. I have recently had a meal." She patted his back. "Although I would be grateful of a place to rest, it has been a long road from the south."

"Oh of course, follow me!" Bilbo raised a pointed finger and hurried out of the room. He led Inarah to a small guest room with a neat little bed and a chest.

"Thank you Bilbo." He nodded and was just turning to leave when the tattoo on her face caught his attention.

"Um... Inarah? Um... what is that mark on your face?" He asked hesitantly, afraid he might offend her. But she simply smiled at him shaking her head at the memory. Whilst putting on the show of amusement, she was really fighting to keep the lump in her throat down. The day she had received this tattoo was a day she would never forget. The day she was banished and made an outcast.

"Oh this? This is merely a battle mark. My people wear them to instil fear in our enemies." She lied.

"Hmm. Very well. Rest well." He left, closing the door behind him and shuffling off back to the dwarves.

Though she was indeed tired, Inarah still wished to know what the dwarves were saying. She did not believe they would talk as openly with her there than if they thought she was on the other side of the burrow. Silently opening the door she crept into the hallway and to the kitchen where she stood behind a wall listening to everything that was being said.

The dwarves were planning on traveling back to Erebor and trying to reclaim their homeland. They spoke of a key and a door. It was a dwarf door, hidden except on the last day of autumn. Then Thorin turned to Gandalf and asked him: "Why is this _woman_ coming with us? Who is she and where is she from?" He demanded. Inarah could feel Gandalf getting uncomfortable and hoped beyond hope that he did not tell them what she was.

"Well..." Now everyone had their attention fixed on Gandalf, waiting for more information about the elusive Inarah.

"Well..." He repeated awkwardly. "She is from the south, and before you underestimate her based on gender, I have witnessed first-hand her fighting skills, with and without weapons. And I tell you now she could well be the fiercest fighter of her people!"

"I will be the judge of that. And what is she doing on this trip? Why not someone else more trustworthy?" Thorin scoffed.

Inarah decided it was time to come out of the shadows and stepped into the light.

"Yes Gandalf, what am I doing here?" Her hazel eyes turned yellow for a fleeting second before changing back to normal. She was unable to control this and hoped no one would notice.

"Master Bilbo here has no knowledge of fighting; you therefore make up that missing part. For what he loses in weaponry and combat, you make up for."

"So I am here as a guard?" She said in a low voice.

"Of sorts, you will be guarding the whole company." The dwarves laughed at this. How could one woman protect all thirteen dwarves better than they themselves?

"Gandalf I don't see how that works." A red haired dwarf said, glaring at Inarah. For some reason the comment annoyed Inarah intensely. If they knew she could smell a hear the beat of a butterfly's wing two hundred yard away, or smell the musk of a forest animal from a mile away they would not question her. But of course they didn't know that. And she hoped they never would.

Sensing the tension that was forming in the air Gandalf stood.

"We have a long day ahead of us, so Inarah; I suggest you get some sleep. That goes for the rest of you as well." He looked at each dwarf in turn before ushering Inarah to her room. When the door was closed and the sound of dwarves singing was clear enough Gandalf turned to Inarah.

"My dear, I know you do not wish to come on this journey, but these dwarves will need your skills, even if they don't know what they are. They will need your keen senses to sense approaching danger for I fear something deadly hunts Thorin. Azog the Defiler has survived his injuries of old and now seeks revenge on the line of Durin. You will need to help the company using all your skills." He spoke in an anxious voice. "They will need you before they reach the mountain, and after that as well. Good night." He nodded to her and left her sitting on the bed at a loss for words. However she would have to dwell on his words in the morning, for they did indeed have a long day ahead and she needed all the rest she could get.


End file.
