AN:There's really no suitable excuse for how long it's been. I have had school, and traveling, and standardized tests, and holidays, but for the most part, it's really been a lack of motivation and writer's block. :/ But I have planned out through chapter 30, which should help me focus on writing it bit by bit. I'm not going to promise regular updates because I clearly can't keep them, but I will work on my stories when I can and I hope you all still enjoy them along the way.I'm really sorry for those who have been waiting anxiously, but thank you for your support. :)

This chapter is to help move the plot along a bit, so it's a little shorter than most chapters will be.

Disclaimer: I do not claim any of the characters or places, nor do I make any profit from writing this. All rights go to JRR Tolkien or the Tolkien Estates. I'm simply writing this to improve my skill and out of love for the characters.

Chapter 10

"—is sick, Gandalf! I can smell it in the air, feel it in the soil. Taste it in the quickly spoiling fruits of the trees. A darkness is falling over the Greenwood, such as I have not seen for a long time!"

On his way to breakfast that morning, Bilbo's heart gave a relieved and happy lurch at Radagast's voice in the dining hall. He nearly threw himself around the corner to embrace his mentor, but the fear and worry in the other's voice caused the hobbit to pause. Radagast had been quite anxious about the state of the Greenwood for some time, but…what did he mean by 'darkness'?

"The appearance of an orc pack so far south has only made me more determined that…something is happening in the forest, something we cannot ignore anymore. After I shook the dogs off my trail, I headed for the Old Fortress."

"How did you pass through the Misty Mountains so quickly?" Gandalf interrupted.

"I took the old miners tunnel that was created quite a while ago by dwarves. It's just wide enough for my rabbits and sleigh to pass through at nearly top speed. The ceiling's beginning to give way, though. Got a nasty knock on the head for my troubles." The wizard huffed, and in his mind's eye Bilbo could see him rubbing a bump under his hat and looking very dissatisfied.

"You were saying?" Gandalf prompted, sounding slightly amused.

"Oh, right! Well, I reached Dol Guldur a couple wicks before sundown, and…even though the sun was still out, the place felt dark and cold…frightening. I could sense a heaviness in the air, a malice upon the wind. When I entered the old courtyard, there were dead vines wrapped around the crumbling stone and the statues seemed a breath away from just falling apart. I heard a sound behind me and turned around in time to fend off the attack." Radagast paused. "It was a wraith, Gandalf. And it was carrying this."

There was a sound like a clump of cloth hitting against the table, with a slight metal ring. There was silence in the room, before Gandalf gave a shaky gasp.

"This is…."

Bilbo waited impatiently to hear Gandalf continue, but whatever the object was, the wizard could not yet bring himself to speak its name. The hobbit felt a chill descend from his spine. He wanted to burst in there and fuss at the brown wizard for his foolish actions, but he found himself frozen in his spot. What intelligent being feels 'darkness' and 'malice' so heavily around a place and then proceeds to enter it! Attacked by a wraith too! Bilbo felt ill.

"Good mornin' to you there, Master Baggins!" A boisterous voice sounded from down the hall.

Curse you, Bofur.

Bilbo debated retreating down the hall a bit but knew that the wizards would see through that. Instead he simply turned to meet the dwarf striding down the hall with a bounce in his step, as if he hadn't been eavesdropping on the wizards a moment before.

"Morning, Master Bofur. Up early, I see."

"Gotta keep with the pace of the journey," Bofur replied, straightening his hat and grinning at the hobbit. "Wouldn't do to get used to lying in. It'll be a nasty shock for a few of the others to have to get up at sunrise in a couple days."

"Right," Bilbo agreed with a small smirk. He could imagine Kíli and Fíli, sleepy and bleary-eyed, stumbling around in the early morning hastily trying to pack up their things while Thorin barked orders at the lot of them. "Shall we head in?"

They entered dining hall, Bilbo's eyes immediately finding his dearest friend. He marched up to Radagast, his relief at the wizard's return warring with his frustration. Radagast beamed at him, the curious nose of a hedgehog peeping from the rim of his tatty tunic.

"Bilbo! I was so glad to hear you'd all made it without much trouble! How have you liked—"

"That's not going to work, and you know it," Bilbo stymied him quickly, wagging his finger sternly at the other. "Do you have any idea how worried I've been? You go gallivanting off with a pack of wargs on your tail and then not show up for a day? What was I supposed to think?"

"Well," the wizard hedged sheepishly, "I had to make another stop before I could return. I never meant to worry you, my lad."

Bilbo huffed in agitation but upon noticing that both Bofur and Gandalf were watching bemusedly from the table, he grabbed Radagast's arm and tugged him outside into the corridor. It had not escaped his notice that whatever the wizard had shown to Gandalf was nowhere in sight.

"Tell me what happened," Bilbo demanded, giving his friend a no-nonsense look.

"You mean you weren't listening in from the doorway?" The wizard asked him, with amused expectation. A blush tried to creep up the hobbit's neck; they would have had no idea he'd even been there if not for Bofur's ill-timed greeting, but there was nothing for it. He should have been paying better attention to his surroundings, at any rate.

"All right, you caught me. What is this darkness you spoke of? What's happening in Dol Guldur?"

Radagast hesitated for a moment. "I cannot say for sure. Something evil is creeping into the forest, poisoning the plants and terrifying the animals. There are spiders, ugly black monstrosities, making webs and nesting in the trees. The elves in the Greenwood do not seem to be doing anything about them, but I…I cannot ignore it, as the elf king seems to wish to."

First the trolls, and now giant spiders? What is going on? "So what should we do?" Bilbo questioned.

Rather than answer immediately, Radagast moved a bit further down the hall to lean against a railing. The areas around the dining hall had open balconies and windows, showing the stunning view of the valley in which the elf safe haven was ensconced and letting in the morning light. Bilbo followed him quietly, wondering at the other's sudden silence.

"We will not be doing much of anything, at least not yet," Radagast replied grimly. "The White Council will be called to examine the situation. Some evidence has cropped up that even that stodgy old Saruman cannot discount. They will decide what needs to be done. Gandalf will be taking care of that, I assure you."

"Oh…" Bilbo murmured, his brow creasing. He looked at Radagast from the corner of his eye before venturing, curiously, "and what was that object you showed Gandalf? The evidence?"

The wizard shuddered violently, his rosy face paling under his customary layer of dirt. "That was…let's not talk about it for now. Until it has all been confirmed."

In any other situation, Bilbo probably would have continued to press him for a bit more information, but he let it go this time. He stepped closer to his friend, leaning his shoulder to brush against the other's, and nodded silently. He'd never seen his friend quite so pale or shaken. Whatever that object was, it must mean something very bad indeed.

"Do you like them? These dwarves?"

"What?" Bilbo looked confusedly at the wizard's sudden question.

"Well, they're not a bad bunch, yes? I mean, they're a bit disagreeable and grumpy, and that one with the pine-cone shaped hair—sticking up this way and that—he's got some sticky fingers. I don't know about that one with the axe lodged in his head either, poor fellow. And then there's that one with the tattoos all over him—"

"Radagast," Bilbo interrupted with a fond laugh.

The wizard gave him a warm smile, the fear of the previous conversation all but gone. "All that aside, the dwarves seem to have their hearts in the right place, if not their heads or hands. You could do a lot worse for traveling companions, and they could certainly use you, as they seem to be in quite a bind." Radagast paused, looked hesitantly at the hobbit.

"You think I should go with them," Bilbo spoke quietly.

The other gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "You were never meant to stay there, wiling away your good days in our little cabin. You've been an immensely helpful protector over the forest and the road…and we will all miss you very dearly, but I think your path lies ahead, with these dwarves, out there in the world."

"But what about our cottage? If you're right that something bad is about to happen, then you will have to get involved, to help Gandalf and the others. Who will protect our home? Marseille, Sebastian, the rabbits? The quilts, and the kitchen, the garden, and the table…. " He trailed off, his hands grasping the rail tightly.

"I won't be away for very long, but I'll be sure to put a little mixture of mine onto the outside of the house, to deter any unwelcome visitors," Radagast assured him.

Bilbo grimaced, knowing exactly the 'mixture' in question, which produced an odor so foul he made the wizard keep it in a completely different section of the forest.

"As for Sebastian and Marseille, I think I'm going to leave them with an old friend. He's quite the animal lover and will take good care of them. I dare say they'll be spoiled rotten by the time they come back."

"…I'm not sure I'm ready, Radagast," Bilbo replied, turning his head away from the wizard.

It had been a long time since the hobbit had ever felt truly afraid of something. In the days after Radagast had first found him, he had been distrustful of everything, fearful that any movement would end in pain or abandonment. As he grew more comfortable in their cozy life at the cottage, he had also begun to feel an increasing interest in the outside world, a growing need to step outside the cottage door and the forest that had protected him for years, to see what lied on the path ahead. But a large part of him could not bear to let go of his treasures, his new family and the home they'd all made together. What if he were to come back one day to find it all gone? Destroyed, missing? Dead?

A warm hand pressed against his cheek and pulled his face gently around. Radagast watched him with eyes so warm and confident and hopeful that Bilbo's own watered, and he brushed a hand under them quickly.

"You are not the same hobbit that I found near death so many years ago," the wizard said in gentle, hushed voice. "You've grown into an incredibly brave and compassionate hobbit, if a bit mischievous and bossy upon occasion. I couldn't have asked for a better friend and companion these past few years, truly. You've suffered a great deal so early in your life, but…you've come out stronger for it. You are ready for this, Bilbo. And I think they need you as much as you need them."

"Thank you, Radagast," Bilbo replied, his voice so quiet, it was nearly a whisper. "I…I'll think about it."

"I think you'd better decide pretty soon," Radagast hinted. "Their time here is quickly growing to an end." He patted Bilbo on the shoulder affectionately before smiling. "Now, why don't we grab a spot of breakfast? I feel like I haven't eaten in days! It's quite taxing to travel so far so quickly, you know."

The hobbit snorted. "How did you manage to get back so fast? The rabbits must have been exhausted."

"Well, I had to ask a few of my rabbit friends over there to lend me a hand. It was pretty short notice, though, so we had to make a deal of sorts. Belvedere's going to have me collecting his acorns for ages…and I might have promised him some of your carrots every now and then."

"I'm not even gone for two days before you start giving away my carrots! Honestly, can't trust you with anything, can I?" Bilbo sighed, half amused, half exasperated. "As long as you didn't give away my tomatoes, I suppose that's fine."

"Actually…."

"Radagast!"

The rest of the day was spent wondering around Rivendell, visiting the Healing Halls and the library, Bilbo alone with his thoughts. The dwarves had mostly contented themselves with lazing around their rooms, sharpening weapons and occasionally raiding the kitchens for snacks. Fíli and Kíli delighted in telling and re-telling the archery match the day before, each version growing more elaborate and silly. Bilbo was fairly positive that Elrohir had not wiped away a tear of admiration when Kíli shot the victory arrows nor had Elladan snapped a bow in half with furious shame, but the hobbit figured he'd let the boys have their fun.

Radagast, Gandalf, and Elrond had retreated into the elf lord's study for a serious discussion, which had Thorin chafing in suspicion and simmering anger. He was likely more indignant that he had not warranted an invitation to this secret meeting rather than actually concerned with what they were discussing (or so Bilbo thought). The dwarf prince had wondered broodingly between his company's rooms and the balcony outside, his face a grim mask of determination and impatience.

Despite Bilbo's misgivings, he'd ultimately decided that he did indeed want to join the dwarves on their hare-brained quest to take a treasure back from a dragon, but the hobbit had yet to approach their grumpy leader about it. For one, he'd been a bit of an unpleasant bastard that day, even to his company. And for the other, well…talking to Thorin about joining felt final. In a way that had Bilbo's heart running like a Rhosgobel rabbit.

At the moment, Thorin was staring out onto the night-fallen valley with a mulish expression, his large hands gripping tightly to the rail lining the balcony. The flickering light of the lamps hanging along the walkway cast shadows along the hard planes of the dwarf's face, similar to the way he had looked sitting before the fire in his and Radagast's cottage. He was wearing his full traveling cloak and armor underneath, as if ready to leap into battle at a moment's notice.

Bilbo wondered if they were really that suspicious of the elves that the dwarves felt the need to arm themselves constantly. It seemed a bit ridiculous to the hobbit. They were living in an elven stronghold, eating elven food and drinking elven wine; if the elves had really meant to harm them, they'd had quite possibly every opportunity to do so.

"Master Baggins?" Thorin called lowly, without turning to look at him. "Come forward, if you have something to say."

"Right," Bilbo answered sheepishly, stepping out of the shadows in the doorway to their rooms. He'd not meant to linger there, but a spot of nerves had hit him. "Well…."

"Yes?"

Bilbo moved to lean against the railing a few feet away from Thorin, looking up at the moon shining luminous silver light upon the valley. "I've thought a bit more about your offer, actually."

"Indeed," the dwarf inquired, finally turning to look at him. The lines of worry around his mouth and forehead smoothed out a little, and he looked interested at least.

"Yes, I—I mean, if you are still in need of a burglar—mind you, I've never stolen from a dragon before, just men and—well—I suppose I could lend my expertise for a few months or so." Bilbo wanted to curse his timidity. He'd had the stomach to chide this dwarf a good one not two days ago, but now he stutters like a nervous fauntling? It must've been his talk with Radagast; the emotional talk with the affectionate wizard must have turned his spine into pudding.

Thorin looked rather surprised before his expression became shuttered and grim. "You should know that I cannot guarantee your safety, Master Baggins. Nor can I promise that you will be able to return to your cottage in the forest. I can offer you a fair share in the treasure if we succeed…but our victory is uncertain."

"Well, I think you know I don't care much for gold or silver," the hobbit replied ruefully.

Thorin grunted wryly and watched the hobbit with speculation. "What do you hope to gain by joining this quest, if I may ask?"

Bilbo hesitated before deciding to give a truthful answer, if not a complete one. "I'd like to see more of the world, I suppose. And you lot look like you could use the help," he added with a smirk, enjoying the flash of annoyance in the dwarf's dark blue eyes.

Thorin sighed but gave the hobbit a small smile. "Then welcome to my company, Master Baggins. Balin should have all the necessary forms for you to sign, so you should speak with him soon. Tonight, actually. I expect our leave from this place will be very quick." He gave the beautiful valley a contemptuous look."

"Alright then," Bilbo turned to do just that before the dwarf called his name again quietly.

"You realize that I will be your leader, once you sign the contract and join the company," he said, his voice a low, rough command. "You will have to follow my orders, whether you agree or not."

"I think you will find, Master Oakenshield, that 'follow' can be a very subjective word," Bilbo replied slyly, before entering the company's rooms and closing the door quietly behind him, following the sound of raucous laughter with another smirk on his face.

When the company was roused just before the break of dawn and hastily made their way through the darkened corridors to the entrance of Rivendell, Bilbo stood at the beginning of the pathway, bright-eyed and grinning eagerly. Thorin grimaced the entire way up the rocky path and onto the open plains, wondering if he'd only invited more trouble along with them.

AN: Your comments are always encouraging and appreciated. Hope you liked this chapter!