[Orual]

"I can only suppose why Balin chose me to be here and head back to the Great Halls. But I still wonder if there will be true silver, and all the old glory waiting there for us..."

Óin grunted, looking back at the sky. "Balin has his reasons. He wouldn't have chosen you if he didn't think you ready." He turned to the younger dwarf. Maron seemed edgy, uneasy. Óin, for a moment, let his roughness slip, and clapped Maron on the shoulder. "Balin knows what he's talking about, lad. And he knows how to choose a company." He looked around. "This may seem an odd group, but sometimes it's the odd groups that make the best companies. And sometimes it's the oddest members who turn out to be the most valuable assets."

Maron looked pleased, and Óin coughed and turned away again. He looked towards the table laden with breakfast foods, and realized that his stomach was telling him that he had forgotten to eat before he left. The scent of sausages and biscuits and other foods were carried over to him by a breeze, and he watched as Loni helped himself generously. If he was to get something to eat, it would have to be fast. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to have at least one good meal before we start having to ration," Óin said to Maron as he went over to the table. "You can join me, if you'd like," he added.