Kapitel 74: Chapter 74: Heading to Esgaroth

[General POV]

"Silver coins?" Thorin muttered with a disgusted expression, not in the mood. He was about to complain that it was foolish to ask him for money just to take them, but Balin noticed his intention. Being the calmest dwarf at the moment, he stepped forward.

"Oh, how many coins will it be?" What Thorin was about to say got stuck in his throat. Internally, he thanked Balin for the interruption, knowing that it wasn't the right time to complain. However, his mood was not ideal, something he would have to correct once he interacted more with others as the King of the Dwarves of Durin.

"Ten silver coins," Bard said while loading the last barrel of fish. Since his back was turned, he didn't see the grimace on all the dwarves' faces. It was an exorbitant sum for merely taking them to Esgaroth.

"That's too much," Dwalin growled quietly, his fists clenched. Like the others, his mood was fluctuating. After all, it hadn't been long since Bombur had died, and hearing that this man was trying to swindle them was almost enough to make him explode.

Fortunately, Balin was there to calm the situation. With a smile, he approached Bard. "Could you lower the price a bit? As you can see, we don't have much with us." And it was true; everything else was stored in Aldril's storage ring, who was somewhat distracted by the situation.

Aldril was lost in his thoughts. He had much to consider. The moment of life or death was approaching, and he had saved up points that would help him increase his stats. It was time to carefully decide what to level up.

"Ten silver coins. I won't lower the price," Bard insisted as Aldril remained distracted, while the dwarves grumbled in frustration. Seeing Bard's refusal, Balin sighed in resignation, turned to the dwarves, and said, "You heard him. Hand over all the coins you have."

"Agh! I only have one copper coin," Nori said, emptying his pocket and handing the coin to Balin.

"I've got nothing. I dropped them when the goblins were chasing us," Glóin said with a shrug. He had coins stashed away but didn't want to hand them over. He was notoriously stingy.

"I have three silver coins," Dwalin grumbled, reluctantly handing the coins to Balin. He might not have been in the best of moods, but seeing the others contribute, he decided to join in.

As the dwarves rummaged through their pockets, Bilbo approached the distracted Aldril, gently tapping his foot to get his attention. "Hey, Aldril, do you have any silver coins?"

Aldril snapped out of his distraction at Bilbo's interruption, raising an eyebrow in confusion. He hadn't been paying attention to Bard's demand for money. Tauriel, standing by his side, seeing that Aldril didn't understand, explained, "The human is asking for ten silver coins to take us to Esgaroth."

Upon hearing Tauriel's explanation, Aldril nodded, now understanding the situation. He looked down at his dear hobbit friend and replied, "Yes, I have money. Just wait until the dwarves empty their pockets."

"But why wait?" Bilbo asked. He may have changed in some aspects, but he still maintained his innocence in certain situations, like this one, where Aldril could easily pay those silver coins but didn't want the dwarves to take advantage of him.

Aldril's response to Bilbo was simply a smile, leaving the poor hobbit with even more questions. But knowing that Aldril's smile often meant a scam or a bet, Bilbo said no more.

Seeing that the only dwarf who hadn't contributed was Glóin, Aldril approached him and gave him a light kick to the rear, causing Glóin to fall. As a result, his coins spilled from his pockets.

The rest of the dwarves looked at Glóin with disgust. The filthy rascal had claimed he didn't have money, but there on the ground were five silver coins and four copper ones, which Bofur quickly snatched and passed to Balin, who shook his head in exasperation.

"You idiot! What are you doing?!" Glóin, unaware that his coins had fallen from his pockets, hadn't thought they would all spill out after such a simple fall, as they hadn't fallen out during all the pursuits they had faced. With a shout, he stood up and glared angrily at Aldril.

However, Aldril just gave him a mocking smile and gestured for him to look behind him. Glóin, still scowling with anger, turned around, only to see all the dwarves staring at him with bored expressions.

The pressure he felt under all the stares was suffocating, especially Thorin's, who looked at him with his stoic face, clearly showing that he was angry with him. He had made them lose time. Yes, Thorin wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. It was the elven kingdom, and he didn't feel at ease here, especially since one of his men had died.

Shrinking under the stares, Glóin forgot his anger toward Aldril. Now he was only glancing at Thorin while murmuring "I'm sorry" repeatedly, like a child who had just been scolded.

Shaking his head, Balin counted all the money and looked at Bard. "We only have 8 silver coins and 7 bronze coins." He hoped this amount would satisfy the man, as they were out of money.

"Hmmm," Bard brought his hand to his chin, thinking about whether he should accept the offer. However, at that moment, Aldril approached him, took a gold coin from his storage ring, and handed it to Bard, who quickly took it.

The dwarves didn't see this, as Aldril's body blocked their view. Bard accepted the gold coin and the dwarves' money. It might not have been an honest action, but his situation wasn't the best, so he had to seize the opportunity.

This behavior amused Aldril. He didn't complain that Bard also took the dwarves' money. After all, he understood Bard's situation in Esgaroth , a poor descendant of the King of Dale.

Aldril couldn't imagine what he had gone through, so that gold coin was a gesture of goodwill. He didn't care about that coin since he had many more stored away and was thinking of stealing a bit of the gold from Erebor later. He doubted Thorin would notice.

As Bard placed the coins into a bag hanging from his hip, he looked at everyone and clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone get on board." With that said, he climbed onto his boat and opened the barrels that contained fish. "Come on, there are 14 dwarves, and I have 14 barrels — the perfect amount."

His words left the dwarves baffled, and they began to protest. "Hey, we gave you silver coins to take us by boat, not to throw us into barrels full of fish!" Bofur said, his face exasperated.

"I'm not getting into a damn barrel full of fish!" Dwalin retorted, stepping forward and confronting Bard, who merely raised an eyebrow at the provocation.

Seeing his men's displeasure, Thorin stepped ahead, placed a hand on Dwalin's shoulder, and made him step back, now facing Bard himself. "Can you explain why we have to travel in barrels?"

Bard lowered his gaze slightly to meet Thorin's eyes, shrugging. He didn't see anything wrong with telling them what had happened. "It's been a while since dwarves have been welcomed in Esgaroth," he explained.

Thorin's brow furrowed slightly. "Why?" His voice grew a bit deeper.

"The last dwarves tried to steal weapons from the armory, causing it to catch fire due to carelessness. You can imagine why they're not welcome anymore," Bard continued as he began to raise the anchor.

This left the dwarves in silence as they looked at each other. Thorin, however, stroked his chin. The mention of those dwarves reminded him of a group that had headed toward Erebor, hoping to find an entrance. Curiously, he kept asking, "What happened to them?"

Bard, who didn't mind telling the story, continued, "They were thrown out of Esgaroth. The governor banned any dwarf from entering. The last thing known about them is that after being expelled, they went to the Lonely Mountain." Nearly done lifting the anchor, Bard turned to the dwarves. "So, are you getting in or not?"

"Let's not do it, Thorin. We can find another way," Dwalin said, eyeing the nearby sea. However, Thorin shook his head.

"No, it would take too long, and we're running out of time. We have to get in the barrels," he replied. He might not like the idea, but he understood that the previous dwarves must have caused quite a stir. Additionally, as a last resort, if they were discovered, he would reveal his name and claim to be the King of Erebor, promising them some gold. Surely, the humans would take them in, but that was his last option.

"Fine," Dwalin, always the most loyal to Thorin's orders, reluctantly agreed to get into the barrel. "What are you waiting for? Bilbo, you go first."

"What? Me?" Bilbo pointed at himself, quickly shaking his head. "I'm a hobbit, not a dwarf. I'm sure they'll let me through," he said, immediately directing his gaze toward Aldril, hoping for his support.

"Yes, I'll vouch for Bilbo. You all get in," Aldril said, understanding the look in Bilbo's eyes, who nodded in gratitude.

"You know hobbits, don't you?" Aldril said, addressing Bard, who nodded.

"Yes, we know hobbits. It's very rare to come across one," Bard said, turning to look at Bilbo. "Sorry if I mistook you for a dwarf."

"It's fine, I'm used to it by now," Bilbo replied, waving his hand dismissively.

While they were having their brief chat, the dwarves had already begun climbing into the barrels. Seeing this, Aldril and Bard stopped talking and boarded the boat, followed by Tauriel and Bilbo.

When Bard noticed Tauriel, he turned to her and said, "It would be best if you cover yourself. We respect the elves, but there's always some fool who will try to take advantage." He explained this, having been mesmerized by Tauriel's beauty for a few seconds. If it had that effect on him, he couldn't imagine what others, with fewer scruples, might try to do.

"Hmm," Tauriel nodded in agreement. If possible, she didn't want much interaction with humans. Besides, the only person she wanted to reveal her beauty to was Aldril. Having this thought made Tauriel's heart race as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

However, Aldril was also looking at her. He gave her a warm smile before speaking. "I agree that your beauty shouldn't be seen by men; their weak hearts would fall at your feet. But don't worry, anyone who tries to cross the line," he paused, his eyes growing slightly serious.

"will have to deal with me."

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