[Imladris]

“Well this is a fine, sizzling frying pan we’re in,” Flori snapped. “I may not have actually been here when you and Ori and the others were in Mirkwood, but Ori told me plenty about it and it’s not good! Balin, we could die out here!”

Balin brushed the comment aside and retorted, “Nonsense. The chances of dying are not great…at least I’d imagine they’re not. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Mali to compute the odds for you. And while you’re at it, why don’t you call a meeting.”

Flori, bursting with unprintable comments, swung on his heal and made his way to the dwarves who were clustered together in nervous groups. Balin counted them, and noticed that Lîn was missing. With a frown that broke his forehead into gnarled creases, he went some ways away from the general assembly of dwarves and called, “Lîn! Lîs!”

There was a snapping of twigs and she appeared, dead leaves clinging to her false beard. He stared at her for a moment: her eyes flicked from his own to the ground and back again as she edged away from him. Balin stroked his beard. What is the matter with her? It’s as if she’s avoiding me. A sudden grin flashed on his face and he said, “Lînsie! Are you still worried about that punch?”

“I didn’t mean to hit you,” she said, “I would never purposely show you disrespect!”

“I know, Lînsie,” he said, as they walked back to the camp together. They walked in silence for a few moments before he said, “You do know we’re lost, don’t you? But a few expert calculations from the expertise of Mali should hopefully set us straight again.:

Lînsie nodded, but her lips buttoned into a thin line. Balin sighed. “Yes, I know you probably think we shouldn’t have gone through Mirkwood, but it had to be done.”

Her cocked an eyebrow at that and said, “It’s bad business quarrelling with prospective employers.”

“The elves know we have the best jewel setters and cutters this side of the mountain,” Balin retorted. “If they wish to loose quality because of a quarrel caused over a stupid formality, it’s not our fault.”

“It’s still bad business,” she protested.

By this time they had reached the other dwarves and Balin cried, “As you all probably know by now, we’re lost, but we may be able to find our way through. However, I’d like to hear your opinion about how to go about doing that before I make any drastic decisions.”