บท 72: Chapter 72: Prelude.

[General POV]

A heavy silence fell over the group as they witnessed Bombur's final breath. None of them had imagined that, so close to their goal, one of their own would fall. Sobs began to echo, contrasting with the gentle sound of the river's current.

The wind had ceased to blow, and the Elven reinforcements remained silent. Though they might dislike the Dwarves, they had the decency to keep quiet at moments like this.

"Sniff."

The sobbing continued for several minutes. The only ones who maintained their composure were Thorin, Balin, and Aldril. Thorin, as the leader of the expedition, had to stay calm despite the pain and guide his grieving men.

Balin, the oldest and wisest of the Dwarves, had fought in countless battles and lost numerous friends on the battlefield. Yet, he could never get used to the feeling of losing a comrade. Only his long years of life kept him stable.

As for Aldril, he was the strongest of the group. He had to remain steady, focused solely on how he would kill Smaug. There would be time to mourn the dead once he had fulfilled his promise.

However, it didn't stop them from feeling the pain of seeing the others weeping for the loss of a great friend, especially Bofur, who was crying out and sobbing as he held Bombur's body in his arms.

Finally, Thorin, knowing he couldn't leave Bombur's body in this place, turned his gaze to Tauriel. She was the only Elf in their group and had a good relationship with Aldril, so he doubted she would refuse his request.

"Is there any way to leave the body here? We'll retrieve it once we reach Erebor and rid it of that cursed beast," he spoke with as much politeness as possible. He hated asking for this favor, but they couldn't carry Bombur's body at the moment.

Before Tauriel could respond, a delicate and intoxicating voice rang out. "There is, but we have already helped you enough, Thorin son of Thráin." The group turned their attention to the speaker.

A majestic Elf walked toward them. Each step she took seemed to be welcomed by nature itself, a sight that even surprised Aldril. Thalwen was no longer presenting herself as the loving Elf he had known but as the queen she was. Her graceful movements, full of grandeur, were directed toward Thorin.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her beloved adopted daughter standing next to Tindómiel's son. She wanted to give them the brightest smile, but she had to behave as the queen she was. She knew the kingdom was not in good shape; they lacked minerals for its expansion and maintenance.

She seized this moment to seek benefits. Her husband might not have asked for much out of pride and caution, but she was bold and determined. For the good of her people, she had to secure something valuable.

She would have to take advantage of this Dwarf king's emotional vulnerability. Her actions might be despicable in the eyes of the Dwarves, but she didn't care what they thought of her. Everything was for the good of her people.

"What do you ask?" Thorin immediately understood that he would have to offer something in exchange for Bombur's body to remain in the Elven kingdom. He might hate the Elves, but to give Bombur a proper funeral in the future, he would endure it.

"A portion of Erebor's gold," Thalwen got straight to the point. Out of respect for Aldril and his mother, they hadn't asked for anything in return for sheltering them for a day. But now, the situation had changed.

Thorin's face tightened in frustration, but there wasn't much he could do. Besides, the chambers were filled with gold, so giving up a little in exchange for the preservation of Bombur's body wasn't such a bad deal.

"Very well. However, I expect his body to be in optimal condition when we return for him," he said.

Thalwen nodded gracefully, overjoyed. She had managed to strike a good deal thanks to her timely appearance. With a gentle wave of her hand, vines began to wrap around Bombur's body. The Dwarves, not understanding what was happening, started to panic.

"NO! NO!"

"Where are they taking Bombur's body!?"

Various frightened shouts echoed. After all, they hadn't heard Thorin's conversation and were caught off guard when the vines appeared and enveloped Bombur.

"Calm down," were the words that silenced the Dwarves. They quickly looked to Thorin for an explanation, but like the rest, he was bewildered, never having seen such an ability before.

When they turned their gaze to where Thorin was looking, their eyes widened in surprise. There stood an extraordinarily beautiful Elf, her blonde hair illuminated by the rays of the sun, shining like the purest gold. She was a beauty, a work of art. They might despise Elves, but this one possessed a beauty that transcended all levels.

They had heard tales of an Elf, a witch in the woods of Lothlórien, who bewitched anyone who dared to look at her. To them, this was nonsense, yet Thalwen's beauty made them realize that those rumors weren't far from the truth.

Aldril watched silently from the side, something inside him stirred when he saw Thalwen use her ability. An involuntary thought crossed his mind, 'Does she also have a blessing from the Valar?'

Aldril's thought wasn't far from the truth. Thalwen had been blessed by Yavanna, the Vala and mother of the Ents. Her resonance with nature had caught Yavanna's eye, and over time, her actions earned her Yavanna's blessing, a blessing that allowed her to control parts of the nature around her, giving them more vitality and allowing the trees to grow even faster.

The act that led to her receiving the blessing was her care and concealment of the Ents from Morgoth. Morgoth had fervently sought to corrupt them for his dark purposes, but Thalwen, along with a group of Elves, managed to hide them with the help of Vala Yavanna and Vala Oromë.

Among those who assisted her was Beleg, who, with the blessing granted by Oromë, was able to hunt down the minions of the Dark Lord Morgoth. This blessing was inherited by his daughter Tauriel, evidenced by the fact that she, like Aldril, felt a sense of familiarity and inner agitation.

Thalwen was aware of this, so she simply gave a knowing smile, a smile that both Aldril and Tauriel understood. They looked at each other in confusion but asked no questions, knowing it wasn't the right moment.

Thalwen turned her attention to Thorin, noticing that the Dwarf king was watching her cautiously, with an unspoken demand that she didn't mind clarifying.

"The vines will preserve him with the same appearance; the passage of time won't affect him. You can be at ease," she explained with her warm voice, a voice that had enchanted several of the Dwarves who now gazed at her with admiration and appreciation.

Thorin, with a stoic expression, nodded. "Fine." Glancing at the other Dwarves, he frowned upon seeing them gawking at the Elf's beauty. He wouldn't deny that this Elf was different from the rest, but that didn't mean he'd fall under her spell.

Seeing the situation, Aldril clapped his hands loudly, snapping the team members out of their stupor. They quickly lowered their heads in embarrassment, and Thorin gave a nod of gratitude to Aldril.

"We'll have time to give Bombur a proper funeral later. For now, we need to fulfill our part." He said nothing more, turned, and resumed the path they had been taking before the Orc attack. A few seconds after he departed, the others followed.

Those still feeling down shook their heads to clear their minds. Bombur wouldn't have wanted them to be depressed over his death, so they took a deep breath. There would be time to mourn later; for now, they had to keep moving forward, for Thorin, for their people, and for their fallen comrade.

Aldril and Tauriel bowed to Thalwen, who waved goodbye to them before they quickly joined the group of Dwarves.

—Erebor—

Mountains of gold lay scattered across the vast chambers of the city. On one particular mound of gold, a helm with a dragon engraved in gold on its crest wobbled slightly, tumbling to the bottom of the mound, causing coins to cascade down, revealing a closed eye. Its scaly red skin was very noticeable, and one could see how the eye moved beneath the eyelid.

The creature was having a very strange dream. It could see itself lying down, bloodied, while a human figure approached with a sinisterly gleaming black sword.

The vision quickly changed, and now it found itself in a burning city. A human figure stood before it atop a... tower? It wasn't sure, but the figure held two swords in their hands. One it recognized, causing its pupils to tremble, the silver sword that woman wielded.

An unparalleled fury gripped it, yet it had no control over its body. Before it could see more, everything went dark, and a pair of bright honey-colored eyes stared at it from the darkness, a gaze filled with ecstasy.

He quickly opened his exposed eye, realizing that he was still asleep beneath his treasure. He didn't understand why he had such a dream, but in his arrogance, he dismissed it as unimportant. He closed his eye once more, intending to return to sleep, unaware that the dragon crest on the helm was softly glowing.

A descendant of Turin, a descendant of the House of Hador, was nearby.

****

here you have your chapter, feed yourselves well, I have seen that many of you have eaten each other, you disgust me!

Now out of the role of the orc general, let me tell you that the therapy is working, one single session helped me a lot.

Even in handling those readers who only know how to complain. "They complain and criticize you because they don't have enough courage to do what you do" and it's partly true, instead of criticizing they can create their own fic or novel, but no! they prefer to fuck with others.

As for my ex-fiancée, what can I say? I've gotten it off my chest for the most part, so your author is recovering, this time has inspired me to create my own novel, I hope that when I upload it, you will continue to give me your support.

Thank you my orc readers!

"Do it, with what you have, while you can and don't worry about the rest."

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