Someone isn't happy

[swaggerelf]

So, you have decided to conjure me once more into your headspace now that you've renewed your interest in Thorin's quest for his homeland? Am I to join the useless parade of hobbits, dwarfs, and elves that have popped up of late? I think not. Leave me be, I have more important matters at hand. And parties to plan. Leave the questing to my son or better yet, to the dwarfs. I care not.

Comments

[fuckelves]

...YOU.

[Is there a word that sums up Thorin's rage better than that? I think not.]

'More important matters'? Such as drinking yourself into a stupor or abandoning some other hapless civilization that requires aid? Both seem very Elf-ish activities...

[swaggerelf]

Drinking oneself into a stupor seems more of a dwarf-like activity.

[Royal elves such as Thranduil do not get drunk. They sip wine and get tipsy while listening to refined music played on a harp, you foolish hairy dwarf]

Are we bringing up the past? Really, Thorin, you're what my scribe would call a 'broken record'. We both know why I turned away. Smaug would have decimated most, if not all of my warriors and archers.

[He had to take into account the safety of his own people. Not that he ever felt the need to explain such matters to a dwarf]

[fuckelves]

The piss-poor wine your kind drinks would not be fit to polish our boots, let alone consume...

[He pauses...because he's so damn close to losing his temper completely.]

You would not fight the Dragon. Fine. But you could have at least helped more of us escape! Buy us some time, perhaps, to get away!

[swaggerelf]

And I suppose that horrid brew your kind consumes would be considered better?

[Thranduil, on the other hand, was completely calm and serene. As always. As expected of a Sindarin elf such as himself. He took pride in being able to compose himself at all times]

The risk outweighed the gain by far. The alliance between your grandfather and myself was broken at the time, if you recall.

[Perhaps Thror shouldn't have been so hasty and greedy with his gold and precious jewels. A scorned elven king is nothing to be trifled with

[fuckelves]

A thousand times so! The ale we brew is an art handed down through the generations!!

[The pure rage shows on Thorin's face. His blue eyes seem alight with flames of anger.]

Don't you dare speak of my grandfather!! As if an Elf knows a damn thing about loyalty!! The alliance was broken, but not by Thror's hand!!

[He refuses to accept otherwise. Besides, why should a Dwarf share his wealth with an Elf who did not aid in the excavation?]

[swaggerelf]

[The only reaction to Thorin's brewing rage was a slight arch of just one elven brow. Perhaps the slight upward turn of his lips would be missed]

The alliance was broken precisely by your grandfather's hand. I was kind enough to warn him about his hoarding habits, but he did not heed my word and look where it got him.

[Did Thranduil believe the desolation of Smaug might have been averted if Thror had allowed the elves to depart with a share of his gold? Yes. Dwarfs suffer from a flaw of greed, especially Thorin's lineage. Elves were no better, except their flaw happened to be vanity and pride]

I should hope you will not suffer the same fate. Tell me, is this quest for your birthright as king under the mountain or have you already felt that bone deep ache for that mountain of gold your grandfather hoarded?

[fuckelves]

Do not pretend that your warnings were anything other than your own greed. You coveted our gold as many others did, yet you hid this desire under a politician's mask. My grandfather saw right through you - You had no right to our treasure!

[There is a long pause...Thorin does not deny that Thror's greed was indeed a sickness. The old man had indeed grown to love gold too much for his own good. But he would not stand by and let an Elf tell him of his grandfather's shortcomings.]

I seek to reclaim Erebor for my people who were wronged. They have been forced to live a life of poverty and servitude in the Blue Mountains because their home was stolen from them. I would see my nephews return to Erebor and witness its glory and the glory of their blessed lineage! I am King Under the Mountain, it is my duty to bring my kingdom and my people back to their rightful place!!

[swaggerelf]

Steady your temper and take caution your words don't do you harm. Remember, you will still need my aid.

[Of course he had wanted a better share of the gold, but Thror's prices grew too outrageous as his greed downward spiraled into gold fever. Trying to explain this to a pissed off dwarf would be like trying to educate a troll in the basics of hygiene at this point]

Your quest seems so very noble, and yet I still have my doubts. Perhaps you can break away from the sickness that plagues your lineage. You show far more promise and character then your father and grandfather. But then, they never had to face the same odds you have.

[fuckelves]

[Thorin remains silent, trying to find an insult among those words. Yes, he actually analyzes every single word said by every single Elf who speaks to him, convinced that he's being insulted each time one opens their mouth.]

[But he comes up empty this time.]

I do not need your help. You did not give it before, why should you give it now?

[swaggerelf]

[For the most part, Thranduil quietly despised dwarfs as much as Thorin openly despised the elves. The difference being that the crafty old king was much better at hiding his prejudice. Still, for all the shortcomings of his people, he supposed Thorin wasn't so terrible. For a dwarf.]

Because you are desperately in need of it. Safe passage through Mirkwood further into the east can only be granted only by my grace and the arrows of my archers. I suppose I could spare Legolas for awhile, at least until you've reached the boarder of my land. From there, your problems are your own.

[fuckelves]

I have my own allies, Elf. I do not require any aid of yours to pass through the forest...

Even one so dark as Mirkwood...

[Not that Thorin's going to openly name Gandalf, lest the Elvenking seek to recruit the Wizard to his own ends.]

[swaggerelf]

It was not always so dark and fraught with danger.

[For a moment, a bare moment, Thranduil seemed distant. Recalling a better time for his people. Even a splendid specimen of a king such as himself had problems to deal with in these troubling times. His own son sensed darker forces were at work]

Are you so eager for your quest to end? The spiders will have you and your company. Your own heirs won't live out the first night without my people's protection. Be careful of your pride, Thorin.

[fuckelves]

Do not speak of my grandfather, my father, or Fili and Kili. It will take far more than spiders to stop our quest. Whatever hardship, my Company, and my kin, can overcome it.

[...Thorin these spiders are the size of a baby dragon...]

...we went without your help before. We will do so again.

[swaggerelf]

You'll be trapped in their webs and your innards will be sucked dry. That is the fate that awaits you and your people.

[Thranduil wasn't going to insist upon Thorin's safety. He honestly didn't care one way or another]

So be it.

[fuckelves]

So you say. But you know nothing of the skills we Dwarves have developed in our exile from Erebor. We are made of sterner stuff than that.

I will not allow my Company to fall prey to such atrocities!!

[swaggerelf]

You are a fool, Thorin.

[And incredibly stubborn. Thranduil had to resist an urge to roll his eyes at the dwarf]

Legolas is my best archer and the mightiest of our warriors. He is highly trained in the dangers that lurk in our forests. You would do well to accept my aid. I do not send my own son lightly.

[fuckelves]

What makes you think that identifying him as your offspring will make me any more prone to taking him on as an ally??

[If anything, one should expect the precise opposite!]

[swaggerelf]

I don't have to justify my reasoning to you, Thorin Oakenshield. You forget you're not the only king in this room.

[He would not lower himself to explain such things to a dwarf]

Either leave with Legolas or continue to your own demise. I care not.

[fuckelves]

I need no Elf to show me through the forest. I have the words of my adviser, and that is good enough for me.

[He refuses to admit that he'd feel safer with an Elf with them. That Fili and Kili would be safer...]

[Still, he will not accept help from an Elf. His pride will not allow it.]

[swaggerelf]

[Thranduil truly didn't care what happened to Thorin and his company. He had other matters to attend to, after all. If Thorin thought the old elf harbored even the tiniest fraction of guilt over abandoning him and his kin all those years ago, he was sorely and gravely mistaken.

Perhaps only the wizard could talk sense into the dwarf king]

As I said, I don't care either way which fate befalls you and your kin.