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Thorin strode over to Bard and looked up at the man. "You took our money. Where are the weapons?"

"Wait here." Bard said before leaving the room.

Bain left the room as well, having needed to talk to his father before he went back to his room once more. He wasn't sleeping, however, when several strange men were in his house and he had two little sisters. He was being paranoid, perhaps, but he didn't plan on going to sleep.

"Tomorrow begins the last days of autumn." Thorin, who sat with Balin, Fili, Kili, and Valadhiel, said.

"Durin's Day falls morn after next." Balin said. "We must reach the mountain before then."

"And if we do not?" Kili asked, furrowing his brow. "If we fail to find the hidden door before that time?"

"Then this quest has been for nothing." Fili answered.

"However, we didn't come here for nothing." Valadhiel said. "We will get in there one way or another."

"You forget; the front gate is sealed." Balin told her. "There is no other way in."

"How did Smaug get in?"

Thorin was about to answer the canine elf before Bard entered the room again. He, Balin, Kili, and Fili got to their feet, as did Valadhiel, when he set a bundle on the table and unbound the wrappings, revealing handmade weapons.

"What is that?" Thorin asked.

"Pike-hook." Bard replied. "Made from an old harpoon."

"And this?" Kili asked, picking up one of the other "weapons".

"A crowbill, we call it, fashioned from a smithy's hammer. It's heavy in hand, I grant, but in defense of your life, these will serve you better than none."

"We paid you for weapons." Gloin said, clenching his fist. "Iron-forged swords and axes!"

"It's a joke!" Bofur cried out, dropping his weapon back onto the table.

"I am really missing my weapons right now..." Valadhiel muttered. Never had she been without them, and now they lay in the Woodland Realm, doing them no good at all.

"At least you are a weapon." Dwalin pointed out snappily.

"You won't find better outside the city armory." Bard told them. "All iron-forged weapons are held there under lock and key."

Thorin looked at Dwalin and raised a brow, giving a small smile. Dwalin smirked and nodded in response.

"Thorin?" Balin asked, giving the two an uneasy look.

Bard looked up when Thorin's name was mentioned, looking as if he had heard the name before. He then looked at Valadhiel when she walked over and spoke.

"Thorin, don't..."

"Why not take what's been offered and go?" Balin asked. "I've made do with less; so have you. I say we leave now."

"You're not going anywhere." Bard told them.

"What did you say?" Dwalin spat.

"There's spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town. You must wait till nightfall."

Valadhiel had nodded her approval at what Bard said, then she blinked and looked at him like he was insane when he told them they had to wait until nightfall. She looked over at Thorin, who agreed that they would wait, then she shook her head and gave a small sigh. There would be no talking them out of this.

Since the children were in bed, the she-wolf shifted into her wingless elvish form. After shifting, she noticed Kili slide back onto the couch, a pained expression on his face. She furrowed her brow and walked over to him. "Kili, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Kili replied, smiling at her and nodding. "Just tired, is all."

Valadhiel gave Kili an unsure look. "Kili, you had better be telling the truth. The wound isn't acting up, is it?"

"It hurts a bit, but not much." Kili quickly replied, then he looked up when Fili took a seat next to him.

Valadhiel nodded slowly, then she sighed a little before she looked out of the window. It was beginning to darken. After it was dark and had been dark for awhile, Thorin and the others planned to go off in an attempt to steal some weapons. She furrowed her brow. It felt wrong to be doing such a thing. After all, stealing was stealing, even if it was for a just cause.

A couple of hours passed by. Valadhiel had dozed off and on during those couple of hours, again in wolf form, as she'd had nothing better to do. She wasn't feeling the most talkative, and she knew that the Company was confused and concerned about her for it. However, they didn't push her for any information, and she didn't give any.

Now, Valadhiel silently trotted alongside the dwarven king. "Thorin, are you sure this is such a good idea? Stealing weapons?"

"We need weapons if we are to slay a dragon." Thorin answered quietly.

"I am all you need to defeat a dragon, if you really think about it." The elven wolf pointed out, looking up at the dwarf with a worried expression.

"Vala, you don't know that for sure." Thorin replied. He paused and looked at her. "Even if you are strong enough, would you really be able to do it? You can't always be the hero, you know."

Valadhiel flattened one ear in a drooping sort of way, then she breathed out a sigh. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"I've made up my mind." Thorin told her before he began walking again, looking back at those who had come with him. "Either you can help us and stop trying to talk me out of this, or you can go back to Bard's house."

"Fine, I will come with you. I have to remain in this form, though, so the only thing I can do is let you know if someone is coming."

"A little help is better than none." Thorin said, stopping when he spotted the armory. He turned to his men. "As soon as we have the weapons, we make straight for the mountain. Go, go, go!"

The dwarf king pointed at Nori, who ran up a pyramid of dwarves and climbed into an open second story window. Bilbo did the same. Valadhiel sighed before she began pacing back and forth, checking each side of the building to make sure that no one was coming.

Soon, several dwarves were in the building and they began stealing the weapons. Thorin handed a weapon to Kili, who seemed to be struggling a little under the load he was carrying.

"You alright?" Thorin asked him, looking concerned. Kili had been acting off ever since that arrow wound.

"I can manage." Kili replied. "Let's just get out of here." He went to go down the stairs after speaking, but his leg gave out and he let out a cry of pain as he dropped the weapons, which made a loud clatter.

Valadhiel's eyes widened, especially when the watchman cried out an alarm. She turned and was about to hurry to the dwarves, though the watchmen were already making their way inside. She lowered her ears and decided to keep back. If they caught her then she wouldn't be able to do anything to help.

The she-wolf watched as the dwarves and Bilbo were led through the ton and to the Master's house. She quietly followed behind them, wondering if she should try to free them now or not. She decided to keep back and watch for now.

"What is the meaning of this?" The Master asked once he was standing before the watchmen and the Company.

"We caught 'em stealing weapons, sire." The lead watchman explained.

"Ah. Enemies of the state, then."

"This is a bunch of mercenaries if ever there was, sire." Alfrid said.

Valadhiel, who had been standing in the shadows, growled before walking out of the shadows. She was sick and tired of this Alfrid person. He was such a cowardly butt kisser.

"Well, if it isn't that stupid mongrel. I should have known Bard was involved."

"Watch your mouth!" Dwalin snapped at Alfrid.

Valadhiel rolled her eyes and began shifting. Soon, she stood in her wingless elf form, earning stares and exclamations such as, "What is that thing?", "That's no normal elf!", "Is it a demon?", or "It's a Skinchanger!".

"A demon traveling with a throng of thieves." Alfrid commented.

Valadhiel sighed and crossed her arms. "I assure you that I am no demon. I am a skinchanger, and you had best hold your tongue." She gestured to Thorin. "You know not to whom you speak. This is no common criminal; this is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror!"

Thorin stepped forward, causing others in the crowd to all murmur amongst themselves. They murmured almost as much as they had when they saw Valadhiel shift, if not more.

"We are the Dwarves of Erebor." Thorin said, loud enough for all to hear. "We have come to reclaim our homeland. I remember this town and great days of old. Fleets of boats lay ar harbor, filled with silks and fine gems. This was no forsaken town on a lake! This was the center of all trade in the North. I would see those days return. I would relight the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of Erebor!"

The crowd cheered and clapped loudly for the dwarven king and his company. However, soon after the cheering and clapping, another voice called out:

"Death! That is what you will bring upon us. Dragon-fire and ruin. If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all." Bard walked out of the crowd and stood before the dwarf.

"You can listen to this naysayer, but I promise you this. If we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain." Thorin said. "You will have enough gold to rebuild Esgaroth ten times over!"

The crowd shouted, cheered, and applauded excitedly, and the Master was now smiling. Valadhiel rolled her eyes a little before she looked at Thorin, then at Bard. That was something she had not thought of. If Smaug awoke, then he would no doubt come here. The people were not safe.

"All of you! Listen to me!" Bard shouted. "You must listen! Have you forgotten what happened to Dale? Have you forgotten those who died in the firestorm? And for what purpose? The blind ambition of a mountain-king so driven by greed, he could not see beyond his own desire!" He looked at Thorin angrily, who returned to angry glare.

The Master stepped forward after a moment. "Now, now, we must not, any of us, be too quick to lay blame." He said, then looked at Bard. "Let us not forget that it was Girion, Lord of Dale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the beast!"

As the Master and other people pointed and laughed at Bard mockingly, Valadhiel clenched her teeth and her fist before she spoke. "You mock him because of something his ancestor failed to do?" She asked, raising her voice to be heard. "He is who he is, not Girion himself."

Alfrid gave the elf a look before he looked at the Master. "It 's true, sire. Arrow after arrow he shot, each one missing the mark."

Valadhiel narrowed her eyes on the man and stepped forward. "And do you know just how difficult defeating a dragon is? No, you don't. None of you do. The lot of you are cowards who would tuck their tails between their legs and hide should they ever come face to face with a dragon."

"And how do you know what I would do, mongrel?" Alfrid spat.

"I have seen people like you for thousands upon thousands of years." Valadhiel replied, keeping her eyes narrowed on the man. "I know your kind."

The Master stepped forward, forcing the elf to step back. "Now, let's not be getting too argumentative."

Valadhiel looked at the Master and crossed her arms. "Leave Bard alone about the fault of his ancestor, accept the fact that he is not Girion himself, and perhaps I will consider it."

"Who do you think you are, ordering me around like that?" The Master asked with a frown.

"I believe I am an immortal who is trying to get blind fools to see reason." Valadhiel responded with a roll of her eyes. She looked over at Bard when he pointed at Thorin.

"You have no right, no right, to enter that mountain!"

Thorin, who was standing on a step to make himself appear taller, looked up at Bard. A cool breeze wafted by after a moment, blowing his hair in the wind some, and his eyes sparkled in the dim light of the evening. "I have the only right."

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