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“Stop! Please! I told you, I’m innocent!”
Nori cracked open an eye, frowning as his nap was disturbed. There was a bit of a commotion going on outside, and it was growing louder with each passing second.
“Seems like Dwalin managed to actually catch someone else, for a change.” He grumbled, propping himself up on his cot to watch as the large, fierce sheriff stomped in whilst dragging someone behind him. He raised an eyebrow at the man in question, for he was clearly a newcomer, and a small one to boot.
Dwalin paid no heed to the man’s pleas as he tossed him inside the only other vacant cell, locking the door with more force than was needed.
“You say you’re innocent,” He growled as he hung the ring of keys up which Nori openly stared at as the large man moved to his desk, throwing a holster into one of the drawers. “But you were the one caught red-handed.”
“It’s like I told you!” The man cried as he rushed to the bars and wrung his hands on them. “I found it next to some poor soul that got shot full of arrows!”
“We’ll believe it when we see it.” Dwalin said firmly as he adjusted his hat on his bald head. “Until then, Ori!”
Nori frowned as he saw his brother rush inside, flushed and looking rather eager. “Y-Yes, Mister Dwalin?”
“Sit tight here and keep an eye on these two.” The sheriff ordered. “Thorin’s rounding up a search party to see if this here newcomer is speaking tall tales or not.”
“Yes sir, Mister Dwalin, sir!” Ori chirped, standing tall as Dwalin stomped around him and back out the door. As soon as he was gone, the stranger let out a defeated sigh, resting his curly head on the bars as Ori seem to fidget in place.
“So, you ain’t here to bust your poor brother out of jail?” Nori chirped, causing Ori to sputter.
“No, I’m not!” He argued. “It’s not my fault you’ve got what Dori calls ‘sticky fingers’!”
“You wound me!” Nori cried, pretending to swoon, and even though Ori giggled, he merely moved to sit at the sheriff’s desk.
“What about me?” The stranger asked. “Is this really necessary?”
Ori seemed rather sympathetic towards him. “I’m afraid so, sir.”
“You see, stranger,” Nori cut in, laying back down on his cot. “The laws are different around these parts. Guilty until proven innocent and all that. It’s why I’m here.”
“You’re here because you stole Mister Oin’s tonics!” Ori argued.
“Sugar water!” Nori defended. “They were sugar water, and you know it!”
Ori let out a deep, tired sigh, and it seemed to signal the end of the conversation. Nori, who was bored with just sitting around and napping, decided to try and converse with his fellow jail mate.
“So, stranger,” He spoke, getting a tired eye glanced in his direction. “Who are you and what got you thrown in?”
The stranger sighed. “My name is Bilbo Baggins, and I came from the Shire.” He answered. “I was asked to come around here by an old friend, and I found something on the way… well, as you heard.”
“And…?”
Bilbo pursed his lips, knowing that clearly he wasn’t going to get away with not going into detail. “I had found a gem.” He explained. “A big one, and while I don’t put much value in such things, even I thought it was rather beautiful. It was enchanting, and it… it was if it actually glowed…”
Nori froze at his words, staring at the newcomer, the Bilbo Baggins, with wide eyes. “You found the Arkenstone!?”
Bilbo blinked. “I think so…” He mumbled. “That’s what they were calling it, too. Why? Is it really that important?”
Nori sputtered in disbelief. Bilbo really didn’t put any value on gems. Thankfully, Ori spoke up for him.
“It was the prized possession of the Mayor and his family. It’s considered to be the heart of the town. Of Erebor!” He explained. “But it had been lost for many a year… until you showed up with it, of course.”
“Ah-Oh…” Bilbo muttered. “I… Well, I can understand the commotion, then. But why arrest me for bringing it back?”
Ori shrugged. “We were never sure on who exactly took it in the first place.” He said, leaning back in the chair. “We suspected it to be the bandit, Smaug, since he had been stealing from us for ages, but we were never sure.”
“Was Smaug really tall?” Bilbo asked. “Pale skin, yellowish eyes, and red clothes to match his hair?”
“Yes, he is.” Nori answered, narrowing his eyes. “How do you know that?”
“That’s what the body looked like.” Bilbo answered quietly. “The one I found the Arkenstone next to.”
Nori cursed, rubbing his face. Smaug was always a terror in Erebor, and the parts that surrounded it. He was so greedy, so malicious, many thought that the bastard was immortal, and that he would never die, always riding along, killing and stealing to his heart’s content. If it really was Smaug that Bilbo found, it was a miracle.
His thoughts were cut short when there was a knock at the door.
“Sorry, no visito-Oh!” Ori muttered, taken aback, and Nori frowned when Kíli, one of Thorin’s nephews, strolled in. For all Nori knew, the young man was always wandering away from the town he was born and raised in, staying away for as long as his family would begrudgingly allow. It was a rare thing indeed to see him near the jail, let alone in Erebor, when the sun wasn’t dipping low into the horizon.
“Mister Kíli!” Ori stuttered as he scrambled to stand and take off his hat. “What brings you here?”
Kíli smiled. “Easy, Ori. And it’s just Kíli.” He replied, quirking an eyebrow. “Or are you not talking of wedding bells with my uncle?”
Nori snorted as Ori’s face flushed, resting his eyes as he heard Kíli walk around the jail.
“Mister Boggins-?” Nori quirked an eyebrow at that, for that certainly was an interesting development.
“It’s Baggins, and I told you when we met to call me Bilbo.” Nori tried his best to look like he was sleeping, all the while watching as Kíli moved to stand in front of Bilbo’s jail cell.
“Bilbo,” Kíli affirmed, and Nori felt his eyebrows drift up, for it surely sounded like he was smiling. “Mister Dori and my mother asked me to bring you these. Said you had asked for some before my uncle demanded for your arrest.”
“Tea with honey? Oh, bless you and everyone else!” Bilbo sighed out. “Er… you don’t mind, do you?”
“I don’t.” Ori answered. “Dwalin might, though, so you best hurry.”
Nori cringed when he heard some shuffling and tinkling, the smell of steeped tea wafting into his nose. He hated the stuff, moreso when Dori had always insisted upon keeping it around instead of coffee.
“I’m really sorry about all this, Bilbo.” Kíli spoke, sounding very earnest. “If only I had insisted upon showing it to uncle myself, you wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“It’s not your fault, Kíli. We didn’t know that this would happen, and as soon as they see the body I was talking about, I’ll be out of here.” Bilbo replied, and Nori cringed when he heard him slurp at his tea. “Oh, that’s lovely!”
“What will you do afterwards?” Kíli asked. “Will you stay?”
“I don’t know. Probably not, though. Don’t think I’m very welcome in these parts.”
“Oh…”
Nori rolled over, then, fighting his sympathetic cringe at Kíli’s dejected tone. Clearly he bonded with Bilbo Baggins of the Shire before he was arrested. Kíli was only ever close to his brother, really. Especially after their father was gunned down by Smaug when he tried to stand up to the man. In fact, that was when his wonderlust kicked in, and when he started dashing off as soon as he was able, and only returning when he had to.
“Hey,” He heard Bilbo whisper, and Nori turned his head enough to see that Bilbo grabbed Kíli’s hands through the bars. “When all this blows over, how about you join me?”
“Really? You mean it?”
“Sure!” He affirmed. “I know you said you always wanted to go travelling, and it’s always better to go with a friend.”
“I… I mean, I have to talk to my brother, but…”
They were cut off, then, and Nori shot up from his spot, for there was gunfire in the distance.
“What’s going on!?” Ori asked, shooting up from his seat.
“I know those pistols…” Kíli spoke darkly as he stepped away. “That’s Azog’s band!”
Nori cursed while Bilbo fought against the bars.
“Ori, we have to go!” Kíli told Nori’s young brother. “We’re the only ones who can defend Erebor with the others gone! I bet they planned this, those bastards!”
“Wait!” Nori cried as Kíli bolted and Ori began equipping himself. “Let us out! Let us help!”
“No, Nori. You have to stay there!” Ori said. “And no offense, Mister Baggins, but I don’t think it’s wise.”
“None taken.”
“Ori, you listen to your brother!” Nori snarled, shaking the bars to emphasize his entrapment.
But Ori’s face was firm as he adjusted his hat. “I’m sorry, brother, but you’ll be safer in there.” He said. “I have to go!”
“Ori! Ori!” Nori called after his brother as he ran off, and he roared in frustration as he heard screams and more shots ring through the air. “Dammit! Dammit all! Why the hell did those bastards leave us like this!?”
Nori began pacing, trying to plan a way out, only to freeze when he heard a strange tinkling of metal. He turned just in time to see Bilbo jiggling with the lock on his cell and see his door swing open seconds later.
“What the…?” Nori breathed, approaching the bars as he saw Bilbo go to the desk and rifle around, clearly searching for his things. “How long have you been able to do that?”
“Long enough.” Bilbo answered shortly as he attached his holsters to his person and threw on his hat and coat. “Didn’t think that doing it with them around would better my reputation, though.”
Nori watched, a little flabbergasted, when Bilbo plucked the key ring off the wall and approached his cell.
“Did you really only commit some petty thievery?” He asked as he held up one key.
“I’m not going to kill you if you let me out,” Nori answered, stepping back. “If that’s what you’re wondering.”
Bilbo gave him a short nod, and Nori eased when he unlocked his cell door and pulled it open. “Did you have anything?”
“Yeah, it’s in here.” Nori said even as he began ransacking Dwalin’s desk for his pistols. “Do you shoot?”
Nori looked up and saw Bilbo ready his pistol, and what a pistol it was. It was small, and it looked like it was made with polished silver. The most peculiar thing about it, though, was that it seemed to glow with a slight blue hue.
“What do you think?”
“Point taken.” Nori replied as he readied his own gun, dull and plain-looking in comparison. “You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Bilbo replied before slipping through the door. “Come on!”
“It’s nigh impossible,” Nori groused as he moved to follow, shooting a bandit as it tried to attack him. “To take a nap in this town.”