|
Hænir turned to Dwalin and gestured back to the other Dwarves with a nod of his head. “They’re a quiet lot, aren’t they?”
Dwalin looked back in surprise and then turned to Hænir once more. “I suppose they are thinking about the journey ahead,” he ventured.
“Or perhaps their families behind,” Hænir replied. Dwalin shrugged and turned his attention back to the road before them. Hænir had marched out along this same road many times with his King and the King’s Companions, and always their journeys had passed quickly to the sound of singing beaten out with the rhythmic stamping of iron shod feet. This silent, almost brooding trek promised to be the longest he had known. Hænir had no family, and all the kin he knew were the Companions, now swiftly receding into the distance with the profile of the Lonely Mountain. His mind turned to the dangers that lay ahead of them. What kind of a Company will we be if we reach Rhûn like this? he thought to himself. If we can think of naught to say one another beneath the sun of our first day, then what shall we say to one another if things should turn dark? He had fought too many battles not to know the importance of friendship and trust in those who fought beside you.
Hænir had never been a leader and did not desire to start now, but he began to fear that if he did not try to meld the group into a true Company then nobody would. He turned to the Dwarf following just behind him and Dwalin. He was as shy lad, and Hænir had to search his memory for a moment before he could recall his name. “Nerin!” he said, as robustly as he could. “Why are you so quiet there? We are Dwarves, marching out to danger and treasure. We should be singing and talking merrily, not plodding along like Men set to work in the fields. Come, tell me, tell us all, what do you wish to do with your share of the treasure?” He raised his voice so that all could hear. “Come, all of you – what desires of your heart have driven you to this venture? Gold glitters and gems shine, but not for their beauty alone do we crave them. What are the things you wish to achieve with this bounty?” Hænir smiled to himself, thinking Treasure and dreams of wealth: if that doesn’t give them something to talk about, I don’t know Dwarves.
|