The long Road (2)

It was honestly a terrible day for Bilbo Baggins. First, he was half dragged to a dangerous adventure then he had heard some very concerning tales about, containing orcs and dragons. And now, he was starring at three Trolls, creatures that were only legends in the Shire, cooking a bunch of dwarfs for a meal.

He wanted nothing more than to go back to his little house and enjoy a cup of tea, and yet he felt responsible as it seemed to be half his fault that the dwarfs were captured. But not all hope was lost to the Hobbit, 'Arthas and Gandalf will save us!' thought the hobbit with hope.

He trusted the old wizard, there was no reason to doubt him, he was a wizard for Eru's sake! As for the young Ranger, he thought highly of him. He certainly had the body of a warrior and a good heart, the Hobbit had concluded. However, he couldn't just put his hope on them and do nothing.

'I must stall for time.' thought Bilbo as he struck a conversation about cooking dwarfs, a most strange topic, with trolls. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry as this was beyond his wildest dreams.

'I guess it is reasonable for things to happen once in a while in an adventure...' The hobbit reasoned as he tried his best to stall for time.

On the other side, Arthas looked on, Frostmourne in hand. Seeing the Trolls focusing their attention on Bilbo, he smiled and carefully walked to the nearest Dwarf.

The oldest amongst the dwarfs, Balin, watched Bilbo with exasperation as the hobbit tried his best to fool the Trolls. He couldn't help but think, 'Wasn't there a better topic?!'. It was obvious that he felt uncomfortable with the topic of the conversation being the seasoning for cooking Dwarfs. If his hands were free, he might have facepalmed.

Balin noticed very small movement of the bushes nearby, he narrowed his eyes and saw the young Ranger. 'hmm, Arthas they called him!' The ranger was hiding very well in the darkness, his cloak provided him great stealth. 'He is holding the sword in a way that it won't reflect the light of the fire, smart!'

The Ranger extended the sword and very carefully cut Gloin's restraint. Balin was surprised, 'That sword must be very sharp, it cut through with barely any effort on his part!'.

He then saw the Ranger go back behind the tree and lost sight of him. Gloin noticed this however, he didn't move. 'The Ranger must have whispered his plan to him.' Balin realized.

Gloin shook himself a bit and approached Thorin then he whispered something to the Dwarf's ear. Thorin nodded solemnly and with a look conveyed his message to the old dwarf. Barin nodded briefly.

The dwarfs pretended to be tied up still as they cut open each other restraints stealthily, the Trolls were distracted by Bilbo thankfully.

Suddenly a loud howling was heard from the direction opposite of the dwarfs. In that single moment that the Trolls turned around, Thorin and the company stood up and picked up the weapons that Arthas had put near them silently.

The Trolls turned around but they were one step too late as Thorin and his comrades swarmed one of the Trolls. The other two were momentarily stunned and as they came to their sense, going to butcher the dwarfs this time. A battle cry was heard!

The smarter Troll with a blind eye was the source of the sound. Below him, Arthas had stabbed Frsotmourne deeply in his ankle. The Troll stared at him with a fury that promised a painful ending but Arthas wasn't fazed at all.

He swiped the sword with a battle cry and jumped back. Filthy Troll blood splashed on the ground. He immediately dashed towards the other Legg and jumped. In the Air, he wiped Frostmourne and claimed the tendons of the Trolls other leg. The one-eyed troll fell on his knees and howled in pain.

Arthas would not miss such an opportunity, he directly stabbed his sword in the creatures back and kicked with all his might. The troll fell, Arthas rand towards the Troll's head to deal the finishing blow.

Unfortunately, he was a step too late. The Dumb troll had finally acted, It tried to push away Arthas with its ugly hand. However, Arthas's body moved on its own. He ducked and dodged the attack and without conscious thought swiped his sword upwards and circled around himself.

The Dumb one screamed as his hand fell onto the ground, a river of its blood staining the land. Arthas used this opportunity to jump on the half-blind one. The troll was using his hand to slowly get up and he couldn't let it succeed.

Without any shred of hesitation, he thrust Froustmourne deep into the creature's skull. His eyes firm and without fear. His legs on the back of the creature. His attention, however, on the screaming one behind him.

Bilbo looked on with his jaws open, The young man looked heroic. The way he held the sword as if he had delivered the finishing blow to a great monster, not that trolls weren't great monsters, but something in his posture showed that his body had slain bigger and more terrifying monsters, and the look on his face with no fear as his golden hair adorned his face making him appear as a knight of justice caused the Hobbit to feel his blood boil. He wanted to also be able to do that! He couldn't believe that he was seeing a man kill trolls.

The dumb one tried to punch him and to Bilbo's surprise, who was watching the battle with wide eyes, he let go of Frostmourne and jumped away. The fist of the creature hit Frostmourne causing it to go even deeper into the skull of his troll friend. The injured troll fell onto the ground and died.

Frost mourne shined a sinister blue color for but a moment and it suddenly flew away and magically returned to Arthas's hand. The moment the sword touched his hand, Arthas felt something unfamiliar. However, he didn't have the time to space out. As he took a stance to kill the other troll, this time his eyes filled with confidence and not doubt in his ability.

"The Dawn will take you ALL!!", shouted Gandalf and split apart the boulder to the side. The Dumb Troll and his companion who was injured by the Dwarfs screamed as they turned to stone. Even the dead body of the half-blind one and the cut off hand were petrified into stone form by the Orange and golden light of the dawning sun.

The Dwarfs were stunned for a moment but they soon cheered as they began helping their comrades to get down from atop the fire. Thorin approached Gandalf and they began talking but no one noticed the odd behavior of Arthas but Bilbo.

Bilbo had seen the combat between the man and the trolls and he was shocked. He never thought that the seemingly young man in Ranger's clothing had such combat prowess. The way he had efficiently slain enemies bigger and stronger than himself was an exciting thing to see. Bilbo even had the crazy thought of asking the man to teach him a few moves! If he could fight like that even as a Hobbit he would be a force to be reckoned with. However, Bilbo couldn't help but frown as he looked at Arthas.

Arthas's heart was beating like mad. His whole body felt hot and his breathing was rapid and deep. His body's hair stood on end, ready to tell him of danger. He had been so focused on the battle that his body had taken over. He had moved without thought, his instincts leading him in the battle.

He tightly grasped Frostmourne in his hand, a cold feeling was transferred through his sword to his hand and to his body. Causing the warmness that was the result of his blood pumping madly in the battle to vanish and his heart to calm down. A smile was on his face. He felt good, he had the kind of feeling one has when he emerges victorious after a fight for the first time. It is indescribable unless one has felt it.

He looked on as the eyes of the skull on Frostmourne shined with an icy blue hue. The runes flashed with the same color for a brief moment. He felt his body, mind and some other mysterious things within him grow stronger. He knew instinctively that Frostmourne had consumed the soul of the troll, turning it into magical energy to empower him. He felt the increase in his power was big and permanent.

The feeling was addicting, to say the least. He was broken out of his state by Bilbo shaking him. "Hey, Arthas, Are you well?!"

He looked at the Hobbit with a smile, "Yes! Everything is fine; By the way, you did a good job there Mr. Baggins. If not for your brave actions to stall the trolls, I wouldn't have made it in time.".

Bilbo smiled, "Thank you, Although I have to admit, I almost had a heart attack!". Arthas patted the Hobbit on the back with laughter, "It is natural; Relax, you did great!".

Thorin and Gandalf approached with smiles on their faces, however, it appeared more like smirks and grins. "Hah, Young Arthas; I never thought you would slay a troll on your own! It seems I might have underestimated you." Gandalf was feeling very happy, 'At least there is some good news. I hadn't misjudged him. However, the fact that trolls are here is worrying...' thought Gandalf solemnly.

Thorin nodded, "Indeed, I had underestimated you, Ranger; I wish to thank you for the rescue. If you had come later, I wouldn't want to think of the consequences!".

Arthas smiled politely and shook his head, "You flatter me, It is my duty to protect you on this journey; I am sure you would have protected me if I was in trouble.". Thorin nodded with a small smile.

Gandalf was lost in thought as he nodded at Arthas and dragged Thorin off to discuss something with him.

What they didn't notice was the cold sweat on Arthas's back. 'The butterfly is at work, the timeline is changing; The sun is higher than it was used to be which means Gandalf was late by a few dozen minutes! If I had not attacked... Some of the Dwarfs would have been eaten. This means I can't rely too much on my knowledge of the future. Everything is real, I must be careful if I want to survive!'

His train of thought broken by Bilbo's voice, "Say Arthas...". He turned towards the hobbit with a risen eyebrow. "Can you teach me how to fight? I have a small body compared to others and your style of combat with the trolls seemed one that would suit me; That is if it is no bother to you. God knows I need to learn to fight on this journey..."

The original bilbo would have never asked that however, the current bilbo was influenced a bit by Arthas after he saw his bloody battle with the trolls. His guts told him that the worst things would happen on this journey!

Arthas nodded while thinking with helplessness, 'I did it all by instinct; How could I teach you?!'. "Bilbo, I will spar with you till you can fight. that's the only way I know how to teach!"

'He is bound to learn if I fight him a couple of times right?!', Bilbo nodded gratefully.

Arthas noticed the Dwarfs moving somewhere so he dragged Bilbo and followed them. Soon they entered a Cave. His eyes widened in understanding. He took a handful of gold coins and filled his pouch then backed off. "It is not wise to carry too much gold.", he murmured.

"Indeed lad! How are you Faring?" Asked the old Dwarf named Balin. Arthas was surprised for only a moment, "I am well, thanks.". Balin nodded with a smile, "I see, That's good! I was curious about that sword of yours; Where was it made? Was it made by the Elves? It looks strange but is very sharp!".

Arthas realized, 'Right! Dwarfs are builders; He is curious.'. "It is a family heirloom passed from one generation to another... It's past has been lost so I don't know."

Balin nodded in understanding and patted him on the shoulder, "Good lad, It's a fine sword!; I am sure it will serve you well. Also, You have a good head on your body, I am afraid we would have been toast without your plan and help!". Arthas laughed, "You exaggerate, We won because all of us worked together!".

Balin seemed impressed, "Aye, you have honor and humility; you would have made a good Dwarf, A pity!". Arthas simply smiled and remained silent. Balin soon joined his fellow comrades...

Arthas walked towards the swords, as he tried to touch one he felt Frostmourne on his back turn cold. He sighed, 'What a stubborn sword, it won't let me carry other weapons?!'.

As he wanted to turn around and walk away, something caught his eye. 'That looks interesting!'

He crouched on the ground and picked up the item. It was a silver necklace with a red ruby attached to it. It looked beautiful and elegant. He didn't know why but his instincts told him to put it on. He followed them as they had never betrayed him.

Nothing happened! He frowned then shrugged his shoulders and walked away. His actions weren't noticed by anyone. He was the last one leaving the cave and he noticed that Gandalf had not found the sword in the show to give it to Bilbo. 'This can't do!' He searched around and found it.

Without further ado, he ignored the coldness of Frostmourne and picked it up. He cleaned it and offered it to Bilbo. The hobbit looked at him with surprise, "And this is...?".

He said seriously, "You want to learn to fight right?". The hobbit nodded but at the same time looked conflicted to take the sword, "I have never...". Arthas Interrupted him saying, "You can't train without a sword.".

He consented and took the blade, thanked him, and left following the others. Gandalf coughed and got Arthas's attention. Arthas smiled, "What?". Gandalf raised his eyebrows, "You want to train him? You realize that he asked you in a spur of a moment decision to train him. He probably doesn't want to fight or take lives...".

Arthas shook his head, "No one wants to take lives. Sometimes we are forced to do so; I remember a wise man once said: True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one. The decision lies with him.". Arthas thought, 'I wonder what his reaction will be, he was supposed to say that to Bilbo!'. Gandalf looked thoughtful, "A Very wise man indeed.". The image of an old Meme flashed in his mind, Obama giving himself a medal in a picture. He thought such a meme was the best description of Gandalf at the moment.

Their moment was interrupted by Thorin's shout, "Something's coming!!".

They prepared themselves to fight only for Radagast to show up. Arthas watched the happenings with slight disgust, "How can he be so in tune with insects? Animals, I understand but an insect in his mouth? Come on..." he said quietly.

Bilbo who was near him thought that Arthas was talking to him so he shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me!".

A while passed, Arthas suddenly heard something and his instincts told him of Danger. He stood up and brandished his sword. "Was that a wolf?! Are there Wolves out there?!", Bilbo's voice had slight panic in it.

Arthas heard a growl...

'Here we go again...'