The next thing was to untie the sacks and let out the dwarves. They were nearly suffocated, and very annoyed: they had not at all enjoyed lying there listening to the trolls making plans for roasting them and squashing them and mincing them and especially turning them into jelly.

"And where did you go, if I may ask?" Thorin confronted Gandalf right out of the sack.

"To look ahead." Gandalf answered nonchalantly.

"What brought you back?" Thorn asked as he followed the wizard's sight.

"Looking behind." Thorin didn't need to be asked to read between the lines. "Nasty business. Still, they're all in one piece."

"No thanks to your burglar." Thorin glowered; even after he'd saved their skins, Thorin still hadn't warmed up to Bilbo.

"He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that."

"If you've never burgled before, I don't suppose trolls should've been your first target to go practicing pinching and pocket-picking," remarked Ellie as Bilbo explained how the whole ordeal began.

Great, MORE people, thought Thorin as he finally took a good look at the person who'd joined them. She was just about their height, if not slightly taller. But she had long black hair, and no pointy ears. Curious.

"Who did you say you were again, lassie?" Balin was the first to ask.

"I didn't yet. The name's Ella, at your service." The girl extended a hand to the old dwarf, but a young one grabbed it instead.

"Fili, at yours." Thorin's heir made quite the show to be a gentleman and swooped to kiss the back of her hand.

His little brother rolled his eyes while the others, save for the mature ones, made comments.

"Your name does not explain your purpose." Thorin subtly shoved Fili aside.

"I don't have one. Not that I know of yet, at least. I'm on a journey of discovery. If it's fine by you, I'd like to tag along. There's safety in numbers out here."

Thorin was in no interest to add to his headache. Each member of his company was his responsibility, especially his sister's sons. He didn't need to take on more, especially not a woman.

"I can fend for myself fine, if you're worried. And I'd be happy to lend a hand."

Gandalf had enough and tapped his staff to break the tension, gaining everyone's attention.

"You are wasting time now. Don't you realize that the trolls must have a cave or a hole dug somewhere near to hide from the sun in? We must look into it!" He lead the march on himself.

They searched about, and soon found the marks of trolls' stony boots going away through the trees. They followed the tracks up the hill, until hidden by bushes they came on a big opening leading down to a cave. Down the steps lead Thorin, followed one after one by the others. Fili offered Ellie assistance getting down, and behind her the brothers quarreled, Kili calling his brother out. Behind them, the wizard simply smirked at their antics.

Their feet crunched on bones and a nasty smell stabbed into their nostrils; but there was a good deal of food jumbled carelessly on shelves and on the ground, and pots full of gold coins standing in a corner.

"Oh lookie, clothes!" Chippered Ori as he took a shirt that had been hanging on the walls.

"Clothes in a troll cave?" Bilbo wondered. "What troll fit into that?"

"They appear to be too small for trolls; I am afraid they belonged to victims." Gandalf cleared.

Ori quickly threw away the cloth in his hands.

"Since when do Mountain Trolls venture this far south?" Thorin asked, perhaps to Gandalf, as he looked through the piles himself.

"Ooh. Not for an age. Not since a darker power ruled these lands. They could not have moved in daylight."

There were also among them several swords of various makes, shapes, and sizes. Two swords caught their eyes particularly, because of their beautiful scabbards and jeweled hilts. Thorin and Gandalf took one each.

"These look like good blades," said Thorin, half drawing his and looking at it curiously.

Behind him, Ellie watched the silver blade slide out of its sheath. It almost sung to her.

"These swords were not made by any Troll. Nor were they made by any smith among Men. These must've been forged by the High Elves of the First Age." Ellie was in a daze as the words escaped her mouth, only startled by Gandalf.

"You could not wish for a finer blade," the wizard agreed.

"Whence did the trolls get them, I wonder?" said Thorin looking at his sword with new interest.

"I could not say," said Gandalf, "but one may guess that these trolls had plundered other plunderers, or come on the remnants of old robberies in some hold in the mountains. I have heard that there are still forgotten treasures of old to be found in the deserted caverns of the mines of Moria, since the dwarf and goblin war."

Gandalf left them with a smile, looking about the plunder with interest. He came upon a dagger, a letter opener honestly; and he found it to be just the right size for their burglar.

"Ellie?"

Ellie looked to the direction her name had come from, and smirked to unsurprisingly find Fili addressing her.

"Here. This is for you." Without the worry of an ask, the dwarf prince leaned over and wrapped a warm cape around her shoulder, clasping the lock over her chest.

"What's this?" Ellie asked stupidly as she she drew a finger over its furred lining.

"A riding cape. Don't worry, I found it in a chest. It's clean."

"How thoughtful of you. Are you sure you wouldn't rather save it for your future bride?"

"I don't know who that might be, but this one cape is a complement to your sapphire eyes. It's only meant for you."

"Can we please get out of this horrible smell?!" Begged Kili, rudely interrupting their moment.

So they carried out the pots of coins, and such food as was untouched and looked fit to eat. By that time they felt like breakfast, and being very hungry, they did not turn their noses up at what they had got from the trolls' hoard. Their own provisions were running very thin, but now they had bread and cheese, and plenty of ale, and bacon to toast in the embers of the fire.

While Dwalin and Balin and Gloin's brothers started on the cooking, Fili, Kili, Nori, Bofur and Gloin set about digging holes and burying their loot.

"All right, come on. Quick. We're making a long-term deposit."

They stuffed up on breakfast and all decided that a quick nap would be the only thing better. So they put down their duffels and rested along tree barks or fallen logs or one dwarf against the other. Some slept, others whittled, while yet others made maps to their hidden treasures. X marked the spot.

"Bilbo?" Gandalf called as he walked over to where the burglar sat alone. "Here. This is about your size." He offered the wrapped blade to the shocked hobbit.

"I... I can't take this." Bilbo stuttered to refuse.

"The blade is of Elvish make." The wizard enforced, "Which means it will glow blue when Orcs or Goblins are nearby." Gandalf offered a very good reason to have an elvish sword handy.

"I have never used a sword in my life."

"And I hope you never have to. But if you do, remember this: True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."