Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

We were all already on the road and many of the dwarves were complaining about how going to the Shire for Bilbo was a waste of time. Others were saying how they were surprised he decided not to come. I had already made a substantial bet that Bilbo would come and was hoping that my entrance into the story didn't change that. I already gave my share to the other dwarves.

My thoughts didnt last as I heard what I was hoping for.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! I signed it." Bilbo said as he shouted before walking to Balin and handing him the contract

The group seemed to perk up at that and Balin welcomed Bilbo to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. We put Bilbo on a pony and he saw a bunch of dwarves tossing bags of money back and forth.

"What's that about?" Bilbo asked.

"They made wagers on whether or not you'd turn up, most of them bet that you wouldn't." Gandalf answered.

"What did you think?" Bilbo asked only to then see a bag of coins be tossed to Gandalf.

"Oh my dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second." Gandalf said laughingly.

Bilbo then heard some grumbling and then the sound of a big bag of coins land in someone's hand. He looked over at who it was and saw me counting the coins, he looked over at me questioningly.

"I bet them quite a large sum of money when i spoke to them last night that while you wouldn't immediately join us, you'd come and find us by the next day. The greed of dwarves can sometimes help one turn a profit" I explained and teased near the end.

"You had that much faith in me?" Bilbo asked.

"Yes. While you may not have realized it yourself, I saw something in your eyes last night and it was not the eyes of someone who wanted to live the quiet life forever. I was sure you'd want to have at least one story to tell." I explained.

Bilbo nodded with a smile and we continued our journey only to make camp overlooking a forest for the night. I was pretty sure we would eventually be seen by the orcs but I'm not even worried about Azog, so why should I care about a bunch of meaningless extras. I'll take care of them when we head to the Hidden Valley.

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While we were camped Balin started to tell the story of how Thorin got the name Oakenshield and how he faced off against Azog The Defiler. I came over after the story and heard Bilbo ask a question.

"And the Pale Orc, what happened to him?"

"He slunk back into the hole from whence he came, the filth died of his wounds long ago" Thorin answered.

Gandalf, Balin, and I shared a look and I shook my head very slowly as if to say. 'No he is not dead, he is very much alive'

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We were now on horseback traveling and Dori started to complain about the rain and asked Gandalf if he could do something about it.

"It is raining Master Dwarf and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you want to change the weather of the world, you will have to find yourself another wizard." Gandalf said.

I rode up next to Dori and cast a spell while explaining.

'Pluviam Praesidium'

After the spell a transparent dome appeared over my and the nearest dwarves heads and we were protected from the rain.

"Even i can not really change the weather. This is the best I am able to do and unfortunately I cannot make the dome much bigger, at least not while we are moving." I explained not forgetting to explain about the dome's size to the rest before they asked.

"Why didn't you do this before?!?" Dori asked agrieved.

"Because you never asked. I am not a mind reader Master Dwarf, nor is this able to cover everyone at the same time so I could only wait until asked." I said somewhat annoyed.

'Damn dwarves. It's not like I have an unlimited amount of magic to use. All spells take magic to cast even something like the spell I am using now takes magic over time.' I grumbled in my head.

Bilbo ignored our conversation and rode next to Gandalf and asked about the wizards.

"There are 6 of us, the greatest of our order is said to be Saruman The White although many argue that Rozahr The Silver is the greater of the two. Then there are the two blue wizards, you know I've quite forgotten their names." Gandalf explained.

Bilbo was shocked to hear that the friend of Gandalf that is traveling with them might be the greatest wizard of the 6, but decided to ignore it in lieu of wanting to know more.

"Their names are Morinehtar and Rómestámo. And i would definitely be one that argues that I am the better of Saruman and I." I said, joking near the end as I came up next to Bilbo and Gandalf

"Ah yes, that was their names. It stands to reason that you would remember them as you had went and helped them to fight some years ago." Gandalf commented and thought back to the war in the Far East.

"And what about the sixth?" Bilbo asked.

"That would be Radaghast, Radaghast The Brown." He said.

"And is he a great wizard, or is he more like you?" Bilbo asked and I don't think he even realized he insulted Gandalf.

"I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He is a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East. A good thing to for evil always tries to gain a foothold in this world." Gandalf explained.

We had finally found a spot to stop and myself and Gandalf saw a destroyed house. We both got off our horses and walked over. We both could sense some reminants of lives lived by a farmer and his family

Gandalf and I both knew that they were most likely killed by something dark.

"I think it'd be wiser to move on. We can make for the hidden valley." Gandalf said as he walked out of the destroyed house to talk with Thorin.

I walked out as well but stayed in another area as I let them talk. All of the sudden Gandalf stormed off angrily and Bilbo looked surprised he was leaving.

"Gandalf where are you going?" Bilbo asked

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense!" He said.

"And who's that?" Bilbo asked.

"Myself. Mr. Baggins!!" He shouted back as he was getting farther away.

"Well that was rude, I've got loads of sense." I joked even though I knew he needed some space so he didn't mean anything by it.

Bilbo was scared that Gandalf was gone as what helped him to make his decision was that Gandalf and I would be there to protect him. Now one of his protectors had left. I saw him looking to me more as I was like his last piece of hope. He walked up to me and began to try and get to know me.

"So i hope you won't find me insensitive, but why do you look so much younger than Gandalf? He treats you as an old friend it's as if you are as old as he is." Bilbo questioned.

"Getting right to it huh? Very well. I can not say much about my past, all I can say is that my particular magic as you have seen is quite different from Gandalf's, has a sort of rejuvenating effect on its user so while I retain a majority of my youthful looks, I am still ageing, just as a slower rate, much like that of the elves." I explained.

Bilbo was hanging on my every word and was actually very interested in my magic and how I aged slower.

"And how exactly does that work, Your ageing and magic?" He asked.

"Well as you can see there is already some silver in my hair and beard, which is the color my hair will eventually turn as I age. As for how long that may take, I have no idea. My magic is called 'Dragon Magic' it is named this for the runes that you've seen me draw are the Draconic language." I said all this and showed him the silver streaks in my hair for him to look at and continued my explanation.

'Ligatus Ignis'

I drew the rune for a Sun Magic spell and pointed at my staff. The top of the staff "caught" fire and started to act like a torch

"That rune I used channels the magic of the Sun and allows me to essentially control fire, at least to an extent. The spell I just cast, made my staff into a torch. My magic actually can be used without my staff, but the staff can make the spells stronger." I said finishing my explanation as the fire on my staff went out.

"That's amazing it seems less esoteric than the magic of other wizards. Is it possible to teach someone to use your magic?" Bilbo asked.

"I....Don't know. No one has every asked me that so I have never tried." I said.

'That is actually interesting. In The Dragon Prince show, humans were the only beings that couldn't use primal magic. Unless they understood the Arcanum for the magic, they had to be born connected to one of the primal sources, like any of the non-human creatures in the show such as elves. I was given access to all these magics and I suppose I actually understand the Arcanums of each of the magics I have access to. I have no idea if someone could use this magic or be taught it since the Primal sources are real in this world but unknown to all but me and inaccessible to those who wouldn't know what they are.' I had a long thought to myself about the possibility as Bilbo would have to gain knowledge about the Arcanum unless he is already connected to the Earth Arcanum being that he literally lives inside the Earth and is not human so he should have some form of magic even though Hobbits aren't shown to have it in the normal LOTR universe.

"Could you teach me?" Bilbo asked.

"I honestly don't know if you'd be able to learn magic. There is a nearly infinitesimal chance that you could learn Earth Magic, but this all requires testing." I said to him.

Bilbo nodded and walked off to get some stew that Bombur made as I sat in thought and then wrote down a bunch of Earth Magic runes and their incantation to see if I could have Bilbo practice them.

'This could actually be interesting' I thought to myself.