[Novnarwen]

"We have to go after him! He would have done the same for us!"

Dwalin found himself waving desperately with his arms. As everyone turned their attention to Dwalin, the dwarf took his time and looked seriously at each and every of them. Many of them were bruised, and were covered in blood. Their faces were covered in dirt and sweat, and only the elf looked almost like normal. They were exhausted, and with their grimaces, Dwalin knew that they were thinking the same as him; Bali could be dead already, and what was the point in going after him then? It would suit them no good to burst into the Rhuian's new resort in the state they were in; they were tired and their backs were sore. After being in battles, such as this one, Dwalin reckoned they all needed a couple of days to fully recover. As the original leader of the quest though, he felt a certain responsibility, now that Bali was gone. He couldn't let his brother, and companion, to a certain death. Surely, if Bali wasn't dead already, he would certainly be soon; if none went after him. Even though the thoughts of Bali being dead made him utterly miserable, he couldn't stop trying to convince the others; that was his job.

"Bali is depending on us. Only we have the power to save his life. We can either go after him and find him.... Or we can turn our backs on him, pretend that he isn't gone, and leave him with these barbarians, which will certainly be his death." He coughed gently, as if he wasn't trying to get them all to feel bad about themselves for not taking a stand yet, but to realise the facts in this situation. He put up the grimmest face he could ever dream of, and continued to stare at them.

No one said anything. It was completely silent, only Nerin found himself stumbling and falling to the ground. He sighed as he rose to his feet again, red faced, and disgusted by the look of the dead Rhuian who had caused his fall.

As a couple of minutes passed, the dwarf couldn't take it anymore. The silence was unbearable, and it made him angry that no one had said anything yet. Didn’t they care? Didn't they care at all for Bali? What Dwalin came to realise annoyed him the most, was that after all Bali had done for them, they didn't seem a bit grateful for what he had done. Narrowing his eyes, uncertain about what to do, he made his move towards the tunnel door. "I will go! If that means I will have to go alone, I will." With a determined tone in his voice, he didn't offer the others another look before he paced sternly out of the opening. He could only hope that he would hear footsteps following him.