Gandalf smiled wryly and shook his head at the girl as she disappeared into the bustling camp outside.

"Shall I go inform the men of our decision?" asked Bard.

"Yes, that would be most appreciated," said Thranduil, stoking his chin as he watched the Wizard. "Legolas, tell the archers to belay my last order. We wouldn't want an incident to occur before our negotiations tomorrow. There is something I wish to discuss with you, Mithrandir," the Elvenking told the Wizard as Bard and Legolas took their leave to carry out the tasks he had set for them.

"Oh?" said Gandalf, turning to face the king. Did this mean he had finally decided to listen to him about the Orcs?

"Tell me, wherever did you find such a curious creature? Your mysterious young apprentice says the most peculiar things sometimes. Ancestors from a large desert; she cannot be speaking of the Harad, can she?" asked Thranduil grimly, wondering if he had cause to be concerned that she may come from a line that had been corrupted by Sauron.

"Oh, no!" said the wizard with a frown, guessing where the Elvenking's thoughts were headed. "Believe you me, Hannah and her ancestors could not be further removed from the Enemy's influence. If you must know, two years ago, I had the good fortune to happen upon her while she was alone in the wild between the southern edge of Mirkwood and the Gap of Rohan. Since then, she has been under the care of Lord Elrond in Rivendell, and (as I'm sure he himself would only be too glad to do) I can vouch that young Hannah has proven herself to be a girl of impeccable character."

"Lord Elrond, you say? I see..." Thranduil mused. The two elven-rulers had never met directly, but they knew of each other through reputation and legend. It would seem Hannah had managed to find herself a pair of rather formidable guardians. "She never mentioned this." He wondered why she had not said so at once, the moment she was caught.

"No, I don't imagine she would have. Hannah is an independent girl with an odd sense of manners. She tries to avoid drawing others into her problems whenever possible. I suppose she was concerned it might create 'unnecessary trouble' for Lord Elrond if her connection to him became known while she was being held as someone else's captive."

"Ridiculous. It is a guardian's responsibility to come to the aid of their ward," said Thranduil with a slight frown.

"Indeed," Gandalf agreed. "But as I said before, Hannah can be frustratingly independent at times. She is not too proud to ask for and accept help when she needs it, but as of yet she has never let either of us take complete responsibility for her, and I don't think she ever will; since she is so set on returning home some day." The wizard mumbled the last part, but the Elvenking still heard him.

"And where exactly is this home of hers?" Thranduil asked pointedly. Her mother might be gone, but surely her father and the grandfathers she spoke so fondly of would have been against allowing such a young girl to participate in such a perilous journey as this one had turned out to be. Who in their right mind would willingly send their own child to face a Dragon with a pack of Dwarves?

"Ah. Now, that," said Gandalf, lifting the tent flap, "I am quite sure you would not believe, even if I told you," the wizard finished as he ducked out of the tent, leaving the Elvenking to ponder his cryptic words alone.

Hannah did not return until very late; and when she did, she staggered straight to bed and dropped like a log.

"I wonder what she has been up to all this time?" Legolas said, regarding his young friend with curiosity. He had assumed she would be catching up with her little hobbit friend, but when he stopped to check on his way back, she wasn't there.

"What indeed..." said Thranduil as he stood over her cot, staring down at the sleeping girl with cool eyes. The large enigma looked so small and innocent while curled up in those blankets.

Next day the trumpets rang early in the camp. Soon a whole host of Elves and Men was gathered before the Gate of Erebor. Wondering, the Dwarves saw that among them were both Bard and the Elvenking. Legolas was there, accompanying his father. At a distance a messenger stood and hailed the Dwarves, asking whether Thorin would now listen to another embassy, since new tidings had come to hand, and matters were changed.

"That will be Dain!" said Thorin when he heard. "They will have got wind of his coming. I thought that would alter their mood! Bid them come few in number and weaponless, and I will hear," he called to the messenger. Then Thranduil and Bard laid aside their swords, passing them to trusted allies for safekeeping, and came on towards the Gate.

"Hail Thorin!" said Bard as they approached the Dwarves. "Are you still of the same mind?" The two leaders were somewhat startled when Thorin grabbed a bow and fired an arrow at the ground before the hooves of Thranduil's great elk, forcing the Elvenking to stop short.

"My mind does not change with the rising and setting of a few suns," answered Thorin. "Did you come to ask me idle questions? Still the elf-host has not departed as I bade! Till then you come in vain to bargain with me. I will put the next one between your eyes," he threatened the Elvenking. Thranduil's eyes hardened, and Legolas's hand twitched with the urge to reach for his bow as the other Dwarves let out a rude cheer in support of their king's actions. With a slight incline of his head, too subtle for most human eyes to perceive, the Elvenking signaled for Legolas and the rest of the Elves behind him to draw their bows and take aim at the foolish Dwarves in one fluid motion, moving as if they were one. Greeted with such an intimidating sight, all of the Dwarves, save Thorin, quickly ducked for cover with a cry of alarm. Bard glanced at the Elvenking beside him. He certainly knew how to intimidate. Seeing the look on Thorin's face as his men cowered, Thranduil then raised his hand and gave the signal to stand down. Legolas and the rest of the Elves promptly lowered their bows and returned their drawn arrows to their quivers. That should serve as a decent reminder for the Dwarves not to get too ahead of themselves.

Back in the camp, Hannah let out a sigh as she paced the tent nervously. She had been left behind in the city with the reserves (supposedly for her own safety). Feeling anxious and in need of some company, she decided to check on Bilbo and see if he had yet to awake, only to find the hobbit missing from his bed. The uncanny feeling in the pit of Hannah's stomach began to deepen, and she quickly checked any and all places where she might expect to find him with no results.

"He didn't—Gandalf! Mr. Gandalf!" she cried, immediately dashing off through the Gates of Dale to find her mentor before it was too late.

"We have come to tell you payment of your debt has been offered, and accepted," Thranduil informed Thorin.

"What payment?" asked Thorin. "I gave you nothing. You have nothing." He did not like the superior expression on the Elvenking's face as he glanced at Bard.

"We have this," said Bard, reaching into his coat. "The Arkenstone of Thráin," said he, holding the jewel aloft. The light leapt from his hand, bright and white in the morning.

Then Thorin was stricken dumb with amazement and confusion. No one spoke for a long while.

Thorin at length broke the silence, and his voice was thick with wrath. "That stone is my father's, and mine," he said. "That stone belongs to the king!" But wonder overcame him and he added: "But how came you by the heirloom of my house—if there is need to ask such a question of thieves?"

"We are not thieves," Bard answered. "Your own we will give back in return for our own."

"How came you by it?" shouted Thorin in gathering rage.

"I gave it them!" squeaked Bilbo, who was peeping over the wall, by now, in a dreadful fright.

"You! You!" cried Thorin, turning upon him and grasping him in both hands. "You miserable hobbit! You undersized—burglar!" he shouted at a loss for words, and he shook poor Bilbo like a rabbit.

"By the beard of Durin! I wish I had Gandalf here! Curse him for his choice of you! May his beard wither! As for you I will throw you to the rocks!" he cried and lifted Bilbo in his arms. The other Dwarves cried out in fear for the hobbit.

"Stay! Your wish is granted!" said a voice. They looked down and saw Gandalf throwing aside his hood and cloak, hurrying to the Gate with Hannah, who had managed to locate him amongst the members of the host without a minute to spare when Bilbo revealed himself. "Here is Gandalf! And none too soon it seems. If you don't like my Burglar, please don't damage him. Put him down, and listen to what he has to say!"

"You all seem in league!" said Thorin dropping Bilbo on top of the wall. Hannah bit her lip nervously as she watched. "Never again will I have dealings with any wizard or his friends. What have you to say, you descendant of rats?"

"Dear me! Dear me!" said Bilbo. "I am sure this is all very uncomfortable. You may remember saying that I might choose my own fourteenth share? Perhaps I took it too literally—I have been told that Dwarves are sometimes politer in word than in deed. The time was, all the same, when you seemed to think that I had been of some service. Descendant of rats, indeed! Is this all the service of you and your family that I was promised, Thorin? Take it that I have disposed of my share as I wished, and let it go at that!"

"I will," said Thorin grimly. "And I will let you go at that—and may we never meet again!" Then he turned and spoke over the wall. "I am betrayed!" he said. "Take this traitor, if you wish him to live; and no friendship of mine goes with him.

"Get down now to your friends!" he said to Bilbo. "Or I will throw you down." Bilbo hesitated, wanting to ask whether Thorin would at least agree to trade the Arkenstone for one fourteenth of the treasure hoard, but the rest of the company bid him to leave quickly before Thorin changed his mind. "Get down!"

"You are not making a very splendid figure as King under the Mountain. But things may change yet," said Gandalf, watching as Bilbo was swung down from the wall, and departed with nothing for his trouble, except the armor which Thorin had given him already. More than one of the Dwarves in their hearts felt shame and pity at his going. For his part, Bilbo still hoped they may yet meet again as friends.

"They may indeed," said Thorin. And already so strong was the bewilderment of the treasure upon him, he was pondering whether by the help of Dáin he might not recapture the Arkenstone without having to part with a single coin.

"Are we then resolved?" asked Bard. "The return of the Arkenstone for what was promised?" Thorin looked over the westward horizon. "Give us your answer," said Bard grimly. "Will you have peace, or war?" At that moment, one of the messengers sent by Roäc returned. The young raven landed beside Thorin with a squawk, and tilting its head, bid him look again. A great rumbling as the rolling of low thunder was heard as an army of Dwarves came marching over the crest of the great hill.

"I will have war," answered Thorin.

"Ironfoot," said Gandalf grimly, troubled by this turn of events. Dáin had come. He had hurried on through the night, and so had come upon them sooner than they had expected. Each one of his folk was clad in a hauberk of steel mail that hung to his knees, and his legs were covered with hose of a fine and flexible metal mesh, the secret of whose making was possessed by Dáin's people. The Dwarves were exceedingly strong for their height, but most of these were strong even for Dwarves. In battle they wielded heavy two-handed mattocks; but each of them also had a short broad sword at his side and a round shield slung at his back. Their beards were forked and plaited and thrust into their belts. Their caps were of iron and they were shod with iron, and their faces were grim.

Thorin's company let out a cheer at the sight the army from the Iron Hills, while Thranduil quickly rallied his troops, ordering them to turn and face this new threat. Legolas cast a concerned glance at Hannah, but she quickly flashed him a smile and mouthed 'not to worry' at him as he joined the ranks of his father's troops.

"Who is that?" she asked Gandalf, hurrying alongside the Wizard and Bilbo as the two sides marched over to meet each other. "He doesn't look very happy."

"It is Dáin, Lord of the Iron Hills. Thorin's cousin," he answered with a frown.

"Are they alike?" asked Bilbo.

"I have always found Thorin the more reasonable of the two," Gandalf replied without humor.

"Oh, dear..." said Hannah, exchanging a worried glance with the hobbit.

"Good morning! How are we all?" Dáin greeted the masses before him, riding out on his armored boar before the rest of his army. His tone was as light and pleasant as if they had simply encountered him during his morning stroll. "I have a wee proposition," said he, bringing his army to a halt; "if you wouldn't mind giving me a few moments of your time. Would you consider... just sodding off!?" he shouted suddenly at the end, causing the Laketown army to begin to pull back in fear. "All of you! Right now!"

Oh my, thought Hannah, blinking in surprise. She hadn't expected him to be so terribly Scottish. This was not the sort of enemy you wanted to have.

"Stand fast!" Bard ordered his men.

"Oh, come now, Lord Dáin," said Gandalf, stepping forward.

"Gandalf the Grey," said Dáin with furrowed brow, surprised to see him there. "Tell this rabble to leave, or I'll water the ground with their blood."

"There is no need for war between Dwarves, Men, and Elves," said the wizard firmly. "A legion of Orcs march on the Mountain. Stand your army down."

"I will not stand down before any Elf. Not least this faithless woodland sprite," answered Dáin pointing his crimson hammer at Thranduil. "He wishes nothing but ill upon my people. If he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'll split his pretty head open! See if he's still smirking then." The smug expression on the Elvenking's face was just daring him to try it.

"Dáin!" the Dwarves in Erebor cheered.

"He's clearly mad, like his cousin," said Thranduil in response. Hannah looked down and pinched the bridge of her nose. Now he'd done it.

"You hear that, lads? We're on!" Dáin shouted turning away to rally his troops. "Let's give these bastards a good hammering!" He began ordering his Dwarves to ready themselves for battle, when suddenly they heard a mighty noise from the depths of the earth, and the ground shook beneath their feet. Thranduil's eyes widened. It could not be!

"An earthquake? Now?" said Hannah, startled.

"No," said Gandalf gravely, looking as if he had seen a ghost. "Were-worms." The moment the words left his lips, a monstrously massive worm-like creature burst through one of the mountains with a shrill shriek, grinding the rock and stone effortlessly between its teeth. And it was soon joined by more.

"My God!" cried Hannah in fear and alarm. Of all the things she had seen throughout her life so far, this one scene struck her as the most shocking. Bilbo couldn't believe his eyes. The hobbits had a legend of the wild were-worms in the Last Desert, East of East; but to think that such creatures would appear here! They were even more enormous than Smaug had been!

Still more suddenly a darkness came on with dreadful swiftness. A black cloud hurried over the sky. Winter thunder on a wild wind rolled roaring up and rumbled in the Mountain, and lightning lit its peak. And beneath the thunder another blackness could be seen whirling forward; but it did not come with the wind, it came from the North, like a vast cloud of birds, so dense that no light could be seen between their wings.

"Dread has come upon you all!" Gandalf called to the Elves, Men, and Dwarves in a voice like thunder. "Alas! It has come more swiftly than I guessed. The Orcs are upon you! Azog of the North is coming. Behold! The bats are above his army like a sea of locusts. They ride upon wolves and Wargs are in their train!"

Amazement and confusion fell upon them all. Even as Gandalf had been speaking the darkness grew and from the vast holes carved into the mountain by the were-worms issued forth a dark legion of Orcs and Goblins. Their banners were countless, black and red, and they came like a tide in fury and disorder. To Hannah it seemed it was as if the Hordes of Hell were upon them.

"Come forth my armies!" Azog commanded his troops in their black speech.

"To battle!" Dáin ordered the Dwarves. "To battle, sons of Durin!" The Dwarves quickly regained their nerve and began marching out to meet Azog's forces.

"I'm going over the wall, who is coming with me?" asked Kili, eager to join their cousins.

"Aye! Yes!" answered the rest of the Dwarves in Thorin's company bravely.

"Come on, let's go," said Fili preparing to leave.

"Stand down," Thorin ordered turning his back on the battle below. The other Dwarves were startled.

"What? Are we to do nothing?" asked Fili.

"I said stand down!" Thorin barked sternly.

"The Elves, will they not fight?" asked Bilbo. The Orcs were about to attack, and still the Elf army did not move.

"They must!" Hannah cried anxiously. "Our numbers are too few, we must join forces, or we'll all perish!"

"Thranduil! This is madness!" shouted Gandalf.

"Father!" said Legolas urgently upon hearing their cries. Thranduil glanced between his son and his people and the immense legion of Orcs that the Dwarves were preparing to face on their own.

The Orcs charged towards the Dwarf army and suddenly found themselves facing Elvish steel as the first line of the Elf army leapt over the defensive wall that had been formed by the Dwarves and their shields to take the enemy by surprise and break up some of the force behind the charge. Seeing this, the Dwarves unlocked their shields and dissolved the wall of their own volition and led their own charge alongside the Elves.

"Charge, yes!" commanded Dáin galloping forth on his war-pig with hammer raised.

"Uh, Gandalf, is this a good place to stand?" Bilbo asked a bit nervously as the Elf army began marching around them.

"Perhaps you ought to put on your ring," Hannah suggested. A magic ring of that sort is not a complete protection in an orc charge, nor does it stop flying arrows and wild spears; but it does help in getting out of the way, and it prevents your head from being specially chosen for a sweeping stroke by an orc swordsman. Seeing the reason in this, Bilbo agreed and slipped on his ring, and vanished from sight, if not from all danger. He would stick by his friends as an invisible guardian.

"Send in the War Beasts!" Azog ordered once he had finished setting himself up on Ravenhill while his generals led the charge below. Gandalf and Hannah looked up as great orc-horn was blown and saw that a strange apparatus had been raised upon the hill. Thranduil issued more orders to his troops as they continued to fight the Orcs. Elf archers drew their bows and sent against the enemy a shower of arrows.