#brawnsdwarf

[quiterespectablyyours]

This time around, I was able to fully participate in the Dwarven feast-days, which was very exciting for me. Fear of the pox did temper some of the celebrations, but I’m glad to say we were able to celebrate the spirit of the feasts even if some of the physical events could not be held.

This past Iklaladranamrâg, I gave my family an array of desert plants wrapped in moss balls, since I know not all of them have as green a thumb as I do. My husband gave everyone jars of honey and candles made from beeswax. He also gave me a bottle of the mead that he, Dwalin, and Nori have been tinkering with all year, evidently trying to make it at least as good and strong as Beorn’s. I’m glad to say it is.

The first time I did Khebabnurtamrâg, back in SR 1344, I knitted my husband a jumper in Durin blue and silver. It took a long time to make because I have been fattening him up in the Shire, but I was quite pleased with the results. He no longer has the body of an exiled warrior-king, which is wonderful because he is also much more comfortable to lie on now.

This past Khebabnurtamrâg, I started my own miniature tree. It is an oak, of course. Currently it is little more than sprigs and twigs, and it will take years to grow into anything resembling a tree, but I can’t wait to see if its acorns will be regular-sized.

[quiterespectablyyours]

I suppose I would be remiss in failing to inform you all of who our long-expected guests are. Dwalin, Nori, Fíli, and Kíli are all here now, bowing and scraping over the entryway and falling over themselves to help me with the finishing touches for lunch. I have shown them to their rooms and they have marvelled at how different things look since they were last here. I could have sworn Thorin once sent a raven to Erebor with the news that Bag End had nearly lost all of its furnishings in an auction on the day of my return, but I suppose all of the hubhub over rebuilding and restoring the Lonely Mountain had distracted everyone from news of missing spoons and dressers.

[quiterespectablyyours]

We have reached Brandy Hall! My cousin Prim greeted us when we got to the gate, but then Dwalin and Nori abruptly insisted that they’d rather accompany the Blue Mountain Dwarves to Erebor instead, as perhaps them meeting my family might not be the best idea at the moment. One Dwarf, insisted Nori, was quite enough.

Thorin and I waved them off before we met with Primula and her latest suitor, and then the rest of the family came barreling out to meet us. I had to introduce Thorin to them, though I wasn’t quite sure what to call him in relation to me, so I said he was travelling with me, and was a friend. Which isn’t far from the truth.

[quiterespectablyyours]

We are on the road to Brandy Hall. As per Nori and Dwalin’s request I will be spending the travelling time there regaling them with stories about my Brandybuck relations.

[quiterespectablyyours]

Over supper, Dwalin and Nori told me about their misadventures, and I told them about how dull it had been to travel home without the Company around me. Nori laughed and asked me if I had actually truly missed everyone. I told him that if he insisted on pestering me about it, I would not miss him at all whenever he leaves.

I then asked if the three of them were going to escort Dwarves from the Blue Mountains to Erebor. Dwalin and Nori said that they were considering it, but Thorin had left Erebor solely to be with me. I must admit I was a bit speechless after that.

[quiterespectablyyours]

I met someone I did not expect to be on the road, and certainly not in this part of Middle-earth.

Thorin was accompanied by Dwalin and Nori, both of whom looked extremely exhausted. They said they’d been on the road about a month or two, at rather punishing paces in order to catch up with me. We decided to check into rooms at the inn before discussing the wherefores of this sudden reunion, so now I am about to go to supper with them. Everything feels so strangely familiar, in a way. I am not sure what to think of it.

[quiterespectablyyours]

Heptin, though he has spent most of his days by my side, was not here today. I asked after him, and was informed that he was offering information to Nori and Dwalin about the poisoning, in preparation for the trial.

I find that I miss his company now that its absence has become profoundly noticeable.

[quiterespectablyyours]

My daily routine has been truncated because of the ongoing investigation, as any balms and creams that I wish to use have to be thoroughly examined and approved by Nori and Dwalin before I can even think of touching them. My assistants therefore mostly assist with combing out my hair, though Heptin is still the one who helps with my braids. It is good to see that he has not allowed my recent illness to affect his treatment of me, as many others in the Mountain seem to act as if I am a ghost or a glass doll about to break any moment.