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They woke at first light to see the fox had returned and was feasting on the half eaten remains of Oryis’ kill. Oryis barely even noticed him when he picked up the carcass while Eria packed her things. She shouldered the leather bags and patted Oryis ‘neck. Today she would walk, the city wasn’t that far and her legs could use a bit of stretching of their own.

They were about three quarters of the way to the city when guards began to notice them or Eria at least. Oryis’ coat blended in with the environment easily and could not be seen from afar even with his immense size and giant teeth that were sunk into the flesh of the kill he carried with him. Eria stopped and looked to Oryis “stay here,” she said before noticing that the fox had trailed behind picking up pieces of the carcass that had fallen off. Oryis dropped the carcass in a thicket of long grass off the side of the road and began finishing the meal giving no acknowledgement to the canine that joined him. Eria stood and watched for a moment as the skittish fox relaxed around the tiger and began to enjoy the meal Oryis was willing to share. She chuckled to herself before heading off to the city.

As Eria neared two armoured guards that stood at the entrance looked her over for a moment whispering amongst each other before she came to a stop in front of them. “Who seeks to enter the great city Dale?” the younger of the two guards asked from his post.

“My name is Eria Speartooth and I have come to visit a friend.” Eria lied as she brushed her hair back behind her large dwarf ears. She watched the guard’s converse and looked to the door in the mountain. “Mind me asking, what is beyond those doors?” the guards looked at her surprised and confused.

“Why that’s Erebor. Have you not heard of it, the great dwarf city where Thror King under the Mountain sits?” the men seemed confounded as Eria shrugged and said that she was not from around here. “Can you believe it Tegan, a dwarf that doesn’t know of Erebor?”

“Aye, a beardless dwarf at that, you don’t see that every day and those feathers, I never have I seen such colourful things and in hair no less. But how can we be certain she is a dwarf, she’s too beautiful though she is small and her ears are quite large.” The elder guard named Tegan replied leaving Eria a little shocked yet flattered. “Are you a dwarf and if you’re not from Middle Earth, wherever have you come from?” Well that was a stupid question.

“Are you a man?” Eria shot back with a smirk as she folded her arms over her chest, Tegan gave her stern look. The younger guard beside him snickered and said something along the lines of ‘height’ and ‘attitude’. “I am a dwarf of the far south beyond the Arkine Desert.”

“The Arkine,” The younger man gasped. “I heard that place is treacherous and hotter than the forges of Erebor.” She watched the guards look at her in amazement. “Then again that merchant Halldor tells tales of the south and brings those unusual red fruits that my wife loves. What did he call them, pa-pum-poom?” Eria suggested ‘pomegranates’. “Yes those. You know of them?”

“Yes of course they are my father’s favorite fruit and Halldor is a good family friend of ours. I look forward to seeing him now that I know he travels here as well.” She replied with a smile that soon faded at the thought of her father. “Now will you please let me pass? I have important business to attend to with my friend.”
The men looked at her and nodded before stepping aside. “Have good day milady.” The young guard said as Tegan bid her goodbye. As she walked past them she heard a few comments fly between them that made her slightly flush.

As Eria entered the city of Dale; she became breathless, the beauty of the city was astonishing yet a little less than what she was use to. The buildings within Dale were amazing, yet slightly familiar; they reminded her of her mother’s clan’s city. Stone walls great for climbing and slanting roofs of clay shingles, some round and others the traditional design as common here as in the south. The ground was covered in pale cobblestone and trees and flowers grew in expertly place patches of dirt and surrounded by small stone walls, wooden benches were placed along the roads and walkways for people to sit and relax.

As Eria moved through town admiring the architecture the questions of northern dwarves were answered when she caught glimpses of them throughout the city. That’s also when she notice that some people had started to whisper and look in her direction. Most of them seem to be curious, but her eyes soon landed on a group of dwarf women looking at her. They whispered amongst themselves and their eyes wandered over her as if they were picking her apart. Eria raised an eyebrow before moving on but soon noticed the dwarf men watching her with smirks on their faces as they leaned to talk to others around them and nodding in her direction. Men, no matter what the race they were all the same.

Soon Eria came to the center of the city where a large stone gazebo with golden bugle horns reaching toward the sky stood. More dwarves gathered here, some conversing amongst themselves and man, others selling jewelry, trinkets, and relics, even clothing and food. Merchants set up shop along the outer walls of the city center, one such shop in particular caught her eye. As Eria advanced on the rickety shop she saw various amounts of fruits native to her homeland such as pomegranates, bananas, guava and mangos and so on. Eria picked up a lemon and looked at it curiously; how Halldor got these here without having them rot she did not know.

“My, my, my, if it isn’t Eria daughter of Kane, I have not seen you since my last visit to Trojanheim two years ago.” A bald man with green eyes, a sharp jaw and a crooked nose greeted her. “When I had overheard a dwarf trekked up from the south when I passed through Meldaria, I not once assumed it to be you, my dear. Your father must be concerned.”

“Oh Halldor, my father seemed to be more engrossed in his gold and jewels then I when I left. I highly doubt he would even notice.” She said hotly as she looked at the fruit in her hand. “And I greatly doubt my stepmother has said anything, she’s probably happy I am gone.”

“Don’t say that, my dear. Your father must notice you were gone, the kingdom would be at a loss without you and I have no reservation your uncle may have said something or other to him about your disappearance.” Halldor assured her as he filled a basket with fruit and vegetables. He looked up at her through aged eyes and smiled, Eria smiled back sadly. “Now I know someone who has been dying to see you. Bring this basket to the Spotted Cat Inn and I will see you for dinner.” Eria quirked an eyebrow before he shooed her off after giving her directions.

Eria followed Halldor’s directions to the inn when another dwarf stepped out in front of her resulting in them crashing to the ground and some of the fruit flying out of the basket. Eria looked up at the other dwarf to find it to be a woman. She had long brunette hair that was braided down her back to keep it out of her face and a short dark beard, her face was a bit more feminine then the dwarves she seen earlier and her eyes were a beautiful grey. She wore a sky blue dress with golden lining and jewels adorned her wrists and hung from gold chains around her neck.

“Sorry about that, I ought to watch where I am going.” Eria apologised as she helped the other dwarf woman up before picking up the straying fruit.

“It’s alright; it happens I am rather clumsy myself.” She replied as she helped Eria gather the fruit and only when they had returned them to the basket did she introduce herself. “I am Dis,” She gave a slight curtsy “Daughter of Thrain, son of Thror King under the Mountain.” A princess, Eria thought to herself.

“And I am Eria Speartooth, daughter of Kane King of Trojanheim, the Dwarf Kingdom of the Far South.” she curtsied deeply. “It is an honour to meet the princess of the king that rules these lands.”

“Land, more like just the mountain. You said you were a dwarf of the south,” Dis said taking in Eria’s appearance with curiosity “I have only heard such things in tales and stories of old; I thought them to be myths, legends.” Dis looked at her closely, “you have no beard and you are beautiful unlike most dwarf women.”

“I thought the same for northern dwarves and now here I am speaking to one. As for my lack of beard it is a common trait in southern dwarf women I assure you, even in the south women have beards and look like men all except for their bodies but even you are very lovely from the other dwarves I have seen.” She explained as Dis blushed before looking around to see her directions being carried away by the wind. “Say I would love to talk more but it seemed to have lost my directions to the wind.”

“Oh yes I would love to hear more about dwarves in the south as I bet you would of the north. Where bouts are you head.” Dis asked curiously as she dusted off her dress.

“To the Spotted Cat Inn, apparently there is someone who wishes to see me.” She replied as Dis began to walk in a different direction then she was before, Eria walked in step with her as they headed down the street at a leisurely pace “but as I was saying before, dwarves of the south are a bit different than the north what I have seen so far. Well the women are.” Dis looked at her curiously and nodded for her to continue.

“Most dwarf women in the south do not grow beard and the ones that do keep them shorter. It is said that long ago one of my mother’s ancestors was from a completely different race of dwarf that grew little hair. They called them the Valkier or the Siren Clan for not only did they lack hair they also were said to be quite exotic looking and could sing so beautifully and drew in so many as if spellbound by their voice.”

“Wow that is remarkable, so why do women not grow beards in south than here in the north.” Dis asked as they stopped in front of a beautifully decorated building with a sign that read ‘Spotted Cat’ not only in the common tongue but in Khuzdul as well. “Here we are. Tell me, Eria how long do you plan on residing in Dale.”

“Whoa, one question at a time; firstly, the Valkier blood runs strong in most dwarves in Far South and it’s quite hot in the south, far hotter than here, we wear much less clothing then I’ve had to here, heck I can sleep nude with the windows open at night and the breeze blowing in and still be sweating buckets; not that I would of course.” Eria laughed as they entered the inn. “As for my stay, I will be here until I must leave, which will not be for a while, so you can ask me anything and I will answer.”

Eria looked around the lobby. The dark wooden walls were covered with colourful tapestries; one such tapestry depicted a jaguar hunting a four point buck, a lioness skin rug adorned the middle of the dark wood floor. A small potted lemon tree was by a crackling fire within a simple stone fireplace on the left wall, in front of it sat two chairs and a small table. The front desk stretched half way across the room near the back. A stairway led up to a second floor and a hallway opened up beside it showing two rows of doors, lanterns decorated the walls and the air smelt spicy and fruity all at once.
Dis looked at the tapestry of the jaguar. “I have never been in here before.” She said in wonder as her eyes moved from one scene to the next.

“It reminds me of home.” Eria said as she walked up beside Dis. Dis looked at her questionably. “The smell reminds me of home and this tapestry is from my homeland.” Dis asked why it was here. “It was given to a friend; he had once seen a jaguar hunt a buck during his stay and wished to show his wife what he had seen when he visited us, so we made this for him to give to her. I never thought I’d see it again.”

“It’s beautiful.” Dis stared in awe at the as she looked at the gold and black thread that made up the jaguar as it went from slinking through long colourful grass to crouching to leaping and finally landing on the copper threaded buck to bringing it down to the colourful ground as even more colourful birds left the green trees and lastly the jaguar dragging its prey up into a tree.

“Some people who come in ask if the dwarves of Erebor created such a masterpiece.” Said a voice said behind them. They both turned to see an elderly lady with grey hair and ice blue eyes wearing a yellow skirt and a green tunic. Eria recognised her immediately as Astrid the wife of the merchant Halldor. “And I tell them that it comes from a place beyond your wildest dreams.” She smiled at Dis then turned to Eria. “Then again in my wildest dreams you are still a child.”

“Astrid.” Eria’s smile spread from ear to ear as she walked up to her and pulled the elderly women into a warm embrace. “I remember when you would come down to Trojanheim with Halldor; you use to tell me stories of your ventures every night before bed. It’s wonderful to see you again, it’s been so long.” When they pulled away Astrid bowed to both of them and after taking the basket asked if they wished for some tea or ale. They both chose tea.

“Now Dis I warn you, this tea is from the south so it’s very sweet, something Eria is used to.” Astrid said as her let the dwarves take their cups. Eria add a touch of cream before sipping at golden tea. The sweet, smooth, hot taste of honey and lemons of the green tea touched her tongue and she melted into her seat as she smiled at Astrid. They both heard Dis gasp and looked over to her, Dis’ hand was over her mouth and she stared at the cup.

“I have never tasted anything so sweet in my life.” Eria smiled at Astrid as Dis took another eager sip of her tea.

“I think we got her hooked.” Aria said as she winked at Astrid whose shoulders shook with silent laughter.

It was late afternoon when their tea was finished and Dis had asked her questions of Trojanheim that they moved back into the lobby where Dis went back to admiring the tapestry. Astrid and Eria talked about vacant rooms. “Eria, do you still have that sabre-tooth tiger of yours that Halldor keeps chatting about?” This caught Dis’ attention and Eria off guard.

“A saber-tooth tiger, what in Durin’s name is that?” she inquired. Eria looked in between the dwarf and human and sighed.

“Aye, I do and I’d have to show you,” She said “For I fear that you would not accept the truth even if I told it to you.” Just then they heard warg bellows from outside. “But it seems like the entire city is going to see him faster than I intended.” The dwarf and human looked at her curiously.

Horns bellowed and guards ran past them to the south of the city when they left the inn. “Come on!” Eria said and grabbed Dis’ hand and ran after them. Dis didn’t realise what was happening until she found herself at the edge of the city and began to protest and say they should go into the mountain. “You may go but I’m staying and fighting.”
“Fighting, why would you ever want to fight?” Dis shouted as she looked between Erebor and the large pack of wargs and orcs standing on the opposing hill and began to tug at Eria’s arm.

Eria smirked, oh how different their cultures were. “Dis, in the south if a woman can’t fight with our men on the battlefield then we’ll fight behind enemy lines. Half the women in the south are trained assassins. My mother’s clan in particular were trained to be masters of the art and I have followed in her footsteps and even won a bet with my father to let me fight on the battlefront and I’m not about to give up my culture just because you kingdom doesn’t let women fight.”

Now Dis looked at her in utter shock, speechless; well almost. Dis raised her chin and glared at Eria. “Well I’m heading into Erebor to stay safe with the other dwarf women of the north, and I hope you survive because those are Gundabag wargs, they will tear you apart.” She snapped spun on her heels ran through the city. The insult in her voice made Eria feel guilty that she had just upset the princess of Erebor; this was not good, she was hoping to make a friend and now it could be over. She watched as Dis raced toward the mountain.

Eria sighed and looked toward where she had left Oryis to see him standing on the road watching the unsuspecting wargs. It made her smirk at the thought of the wargs getting a gruesome surprise. “And that’s a saber-tooth tiger, every orcs and wargs worst nightmare.” She whispered to herself smirking before noting something moving in the corner of her eye. She looked to see what it was only to see small figure running through the grass towards Dale, a child.

Oh no.

Description
They woke at first light to see the fox had returned and was feasting on the half eaten remains of Oryis’ kill. Oryis barely even noticed him when he picked up the carcass while Eria packed her things. She shouldered the leather bags and patted Oryis ‘neck. Today she would walk, the city wasn’t that far and her legs could use a bit of stretching of their own.

They were about three quarters of the way to the city when guards began to notice them or Eria at least. Oryis’ coat blended in with the environment easily and could not be seen from afar even with his immense size and giant teeth that were sunk into the flesh of the kill he carried with him. Eria stopped and looked to Oryis “stay here,” she said before noticing that the fox had trailed behind picking up pieces of the carcass that had fallen off. Oryis dropped the carcass in a thicket of long grass off the side of the road and began finishing the meal giving no acknowledgement to the canine that joined him. Eria stood and watched for a moment as the skittish fox relaxed around the tiger and began to enjoy the meal Oryis was willing to share. She chuckled to herself before heading off to the city.

As Eria neared two armoured guards that stood at the entrance looked her over for a moment whispering amongst each other before she came to a stop in front of them. “Who seeks to enter the great city Dale?” the younger of the two guards asked from his post.

“My name is Eria Speartooth and I have come to visit a friend.” Eria lied as she brushed her hair back behind her large dwarf ears. She watched the guard’s converse and looked to the door in the mountain. “Mind me asking, what is beyond those doors?” the guards looked at her surprised and confused.

“Why that’s Erebor. Have you not heard of it, the great dwarf city where Thror King under the Mountain sits?” the men seemed confounded as Eria shrugged and said that she was not from around here. “Can you believe it Tegan, a dwarf that doesn’t know of Erebor?”

“Aye, a beardless dwarf at that, you don’t see that every day and those feathers, I never have I seen such colourful things and in hair no less. But how can we be certain she is a dwarf, she’s too beautiful though she is small and her ears are quite large.” The elder guard named Tegan replied leaving Eria a little shocked yet flattered. “Are you a dwarf and if you’re not from Middle Earth, wherever have you come from?” Well that was a stupid question.

“Are you a man?” Eria shot back with a smirk as she folded her arms over her chest, Tegan gave her stern look. The younger guard beside him snickered and said something along the lines of ‘height’ and ‘attitude’. “I am a dwarf of the far south beyond the Arkine Desert.”

“The Arkine,” The younger man gasped. “I heard that place is treacherous and hotter than the forges of Erebor.” She watched the guards look at her in amazement. “Then again that merchant Halldor tells tales of the south and brings those unusual red fruits that my wife loves. What did he call them, pa-pum-poom?” Eria suggested ‘pomegranates’. “Yes those. You know of them?”

“Yes of course they are my father’s favorite fruit and Halldor is a good family friend of ours. I look forward to seeing him now that I know he travels here as well.” She replied with a smile that soon faded at the thought of her father. “Now will you please let me pass? I have important business to attend to with my friend.”
The men looked at her and nodded before stepping aside. “Have good day milady.” The young guard said as Tegan bid her goodbye. As she walked past them she heard a few comments fly between them that made her slightly flush.

As Eria entered the city of Dale; she became breathless, the beauty of the city was astonishing yet a little less than what she was use to. The buildings within Dale were amazing, yet slightly familiar; they reminded her of her mother’s clan’s city. Stone walls great for climbing and slanting roofs of clay shingles, some round and others the traditional design as common here as in the south. The ground was covered in pale cobblestone and trees and flowers grew in expertly place patches of dirt and surrounded by small stone walls, wooden benches were placed along the roads and walkways for people to sit and relax.

As Eria moved through town admiring the architecture the questions of northern dwarves were answered when she caught glimpses of them throughout the city. That’s also when she notice that some people had started to whisper and look in her direction. Most of them seem to be curious, but her eyes soon landed on a group of dwarf women looking at her. They whispered amongst themselves and their eyes wandered over her as if they were picking her apart. Eria raised an eyebrow before moving on but soon noticed the dwarf men watching her with smirks on their faces as they leaned to talk to others around them and nodding in her direction. Men, no matter what the race they were all the same.

Soon Eria came to the center of the city where a large stone gazebo with golden bugle horns reaching toward the sky stood. More dwarves gathered here, some conversing amongst themselves and man, others selling jewelry, trinkets, and relics, even clothing and food. Merchants set up shop along the outer walls of the city center, one such shop in particular caught her eye. As Eria advanced on the rickety shop she saw various amounts of fruits native to her homeland such as pomegranates, bananas, guava and mangos and so on. Eria picked up a lemon and looked at it curiously; how Halldor got these here without having them rot she did not know.

“My, my, my, if it isn’t Eria daughter of Kane, I have not seen you since my last visit to Trojanheim two years ago.” A bald man with green eyes, a sharp jaw and a crooked nose greeted her. “When I had overheard a dwarf trekked up from the south when I passed through Meldaria, I not once assumed it to be you, my dear. Your father must be concerned.”

“Oh Halldor, my father seemed to be more engrossed in his gold and jewels then I when I left. I highly doubt he would even notice.” She said hotly as she looked at the fruit in her hand. “And I greatly doubt my stepmother has said anything, she’s probably happy I am gone.”

“Don’t say that, my dear. Your father must notice you were gone, the kingdom would be at a loss without you and I have no reservation your uncle may have said something or other to him about your disappearance.” Halldor assured her as he filled a basket with fruit and vegetables. He looked up at her through aged eyes and smiled, Eria smiled back sadly. “Now I know someone who has been dying to see you. Bring this basket to the Spotted Cat Inn and I will see you for dinner.” Eria quirked an eyebrow before he shooed her off after giving her directions.

Eria followed Halldor’s directions to the inn when another dwarf stepped out in front of her resulting in them crashing to the ground and some of the fruit flying out of the basket. Eria looked up at the other dwarf to find it to be a woman. She had long brunette hair that was braided down her back to keep it out of her face and a short dark beard, her face was a bit more feminine then the dwarves she seen earlier and her eyes were a beautiful grey. She wore a sky blue dress with golden lining and jewels adorned her wrists and hung from gold chains around her neck.

“Sorry about that, I ought to watch where I am going.” Eria apologised as she helped the other dwarf woman up before picking up the straying fruit.

“It’s alright; it happens I am rather clumsy myself.” She replied as she helped Eria gather the fruit and only when they had returned them to the basket did she introduce herself. “I am Dis,” She gave a slight curtsy “Daughter of Thrain, son of Thror King under the Mountain.” A princess, Eria thought to herself.

“And I am Eria Speartooth, daughter of Kane King of Trojanheim, the Dwarf Kingdom of the Far South.” she curtsied deeply. “It is an honour to meet the princess of the king that rules these lands.”

“Land, more like just the mountain. You said you were a dwarf of the south,” Dis said taking in Eria’s appearance with curiosity “I have only heard such things in tales and stories of old; I thought them to be myths, legends.” Dis looked at her closely, “you have no beard and you are beautiful unlike most dwarf women.”

“I thought the same for northern dwarves and now here I am speaking to one. As for my lack of beard it is a common trait in southern dwarf women I assure you, even in the south women have beards and look like men all except for their bodies but even you are very lovely from the other dwarves I have seen.” She explained as Dis blushed before looking around to see her directions being carried away by the wind. “Say I would love to talk more but it seemed to have lost my directions to the wind.”

“Oh yes I would love to hear more about dwarves in the south as I bet you would of the north. Where bouts are you head.” Dis asked curiously as she dusted off her dress.

“To the Spotted Cat Inn, apparently there is someone who wishes to see me.” She replied as Dis began to walk in a different direction then she was before, Eria walked in step with her as they headed down the street at a leisurely pace “but as I was saying before, dwarves of the south are a bit different than the north what I have seen so far. Well the women are.” Dis looked at her curiously and nodded for her to continue.

“Most dwarf women in the south do not grow beard and the ones that do keep them shorter. It is said that long ago one of my mother’s ancestors was from a completely different race of dwarf that grew little hair. They called them the Valkier or the Siren Clan for not only did they lack hair they also were said to be quite exotic looking and could sing so beautifully and drew in so many as if spellbound by their voice.”

“Wow that is remarkable, so why do women not grow beards in south than here in the north.” Dis asked as they stopped in front of a beautifully decorated building with a sign that read ‘Spotted Cat’ not only in the common tongue but in Khuzdul as well. “Here we are. Tell me, Eria how long do you plan on residing in Dale.”

“Whoa, one question at a time; firstly, the Valkier blood runs strong in most dwarves in Far South and it’s quite hot in the south, far hotter than here, we wear much less clothing then I’ve had to here, heck I can sleep nude with the windows open at night and the breeze blowing in and still be sweating buckets; not that I would of course.” Eria laughed as they entered the inn. “As for my stay, I will be here until I must leave, which will not be for a while, so you can ask me anything and I will answer.”

Eria looked around the lobby. The dark wooden walls were covered with colourful tapestries; one such tapestry depicted a jaguar hunting a four point buck, a lioness skin rug adorned the middle of the dark wood floor. A small potted lemon tree was by a crackling fire within a simple stone fireplace on the left wall, in front of it sat two chairs and a small table. The front desk stretched half way across the room near the back. A stairway led up to a second floor and a hallway opened up beside it showing two rows of doors, lanterns decorated the walls and the air smelt spicy and fruity all at once.
Dis looked at the tapestry of the jaguar. “I have never been in here before.” She said in wonder as her eyes moved from one scene to the next.

“It reminds me of home.” Eria said as she walked up beside Dis. Dis looked at her questionably. “The smell reminds me of home and this tapestry is from my homeland.” Dis asked why it was here. “It was given to a friend; he had once seen a jaguar hunt a buck during his stay and wished to show his wife what he had seen when he visited us, so we made this for him to give to her. I never thought I’d see it again.”

“It’s beautiful.” Dis stared in awe at the as she looked at the gold and black thread that made up the jaguar as it went from slinking through long colourful grass to crouching to leaping and finally landing on the copper threaded buck to bringing it down to the colourful ground as even more colourful birds left the green trees and lastly the jaguar dragging its prey up into a tree.

“Some people who come in ask if the dwarves of Erebor created such a masterpiece.” Said a voice said behind them. They both turned to see an elderly lady with grey hair and ice blue eyes wearing a yellow skirt and a green tunic. Eria recognised her immediately as Astrid the wife of the merchant Halldor. “And I tell them that it comes from a place beyond your wildest dreams.” She smiled at Dis then turned to Eria. “Then again in my wildest dreams you are still a child.”

“Astrid.” Eria’s smile spread from ear to ear as she walked up to her and pulled the elderly women into a warm embrace. “I remember when you would come down to Trojanheim with Halldor; you use to tell me stories of your ventures every night before bed. It’s wonderful to see you again, it’s been so long.” When they pulled away Astrid bowed to both of them and after taking the basket asked if they wished for some tea or ale. They both chose tea.

“Now Dis I warn you, this tea is from the south so it’s very sweet, something Eria is used to.” Astrid said as her let the dwarves take their cups. Eria add a touch of cream before sipping at golden tea. The sweet, smooth, hot taste of honey and lemons of the green tea touched her tongue and she melted into her seat as she smiled at Astrid. They both heard Dis gasp and looked over to her, Dis’ hand was over her mouth and she stared at the cup.

“I have never tasted anything so sweet in my life.” Eria smiled at Astrid as Dis took another eager sip of her tea.

“I think we got her hooked.” Aria said as she winked at Astrid whose shoulders shook with silent laughter.

It was late afternoon when their tea was finished and Dis had asked her questions of Trojanheim that they moved back into the lobby where Dis went back to admiring the tapestry. Astrid and Eria talked about vacant rooms. “Eria, do you still have that sabre-tooth tiger of yours that Halldor keeps chatting about?” This caught Dis’ attention and Eria off guard.

“A saber-tooth tiger, what in Durin’s name is that?” she inquired. Eria looked in between the dwarf and human and sighed.

“Aye, I do and I’d have to show you,” She said “For I fear that you would not accept the truth even if I told it to you.” Just then they heard warg bellows from outside. “But it seems like the entire city is going to see him faster than I intended.” The dwarf and human looked at her curiously.

Horns bellowed and guards ran past them to the south of the city when they left the inn. “Come on!” Eria said and grabbed Dis’ hand and ran after them. Dis didn’t realise what was happening until she found herself at the edge of the city and began to protest and say they should go into the mountain. “You may go but I’m staying and fighting.”
“Fighting, why would you ever want to fight?” Dis shouted as she looked between Erebor and the large pack of wargs and orcs standing on the opposing hill and began to tug at Eria’s arm.

Eria smirked, oh how different their cultures were. “Dis, in the south if a woman can’t fight with our men on the battlefield then we’ll fight behind enemy lines. Half the women in the south are trained assassins. My mother’s clan in particular were trained to be masters of the art and I have followed in her footsteps and even won a bet with my father to let me fight on the battlefront and I’m not about to give up my culture just because you kingdom doesn’t let women fight.”

Now Dis looked at her in utter shock, speechless; well almost. Dis raised her chin and glared at Eria. “Well I’m heading into Erebor to stay safe with the other dwarf women of the north, and I hope you survive because those are Gundabag wargs, they will tear you apart.” She snapped spun on her heels ran through the city. The insult in her voice made Eria feel guilty that she had just upset the princess of Erebor; this was not good, she was hoping to make a friend and now it could be over. She watched as Dis raced toward the mountain.

Eria sighed and looked toward where she had left Oryis to see him standing on the road watching the unsuspecting wargs. It made her smirk at the thought of the wargs getting a gruesome surprise. “And that’s a saber-tooth tiger, every orcs and wargs worst nightmare.” She whispered to herself smirking before noting something moving in the corner of her eye. She looked to see what it was only to see small figure running through the grass towards Dale, a child.

Oh no.