-General-
"And you look thinner!" retorted Glóin, his belly shaking like a sack of barley. "Are you living on nothing but greens like the goats?"
With an exaggerated gesture, he turned to his son.
"Just look at how my boy has wasted away!"
For a few seconds, Glóin got stuck, blinking as he stared at his son, who stared back at him. One could almost hear the son's silent thoughts asking who the man was talking to. Aldril's barely contained laughter snapped Glóin out of his trance, as if a candle had suddenly lit over his head.
"Ah, by the way, Aldril!" he exclaimed, giving his son a friendly shove to bring him closer. "This is my boy, Gimli."
Gimli's eyes lit up as if he had found a mountain of gold. He immediately recognized the name of the person standing before him, and how could he not?
The legend of the dragon-slayer who freed Erebor from its nightmare was the talk of all, especially thanks to the exaggerated tales of Kili and Fili. Although, those who had witnessed the battle swore there was no exaggeration at all.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Gimli. Your father spoke of you often," said Aldril, smiling warmly at the young dwarf.
If he remembered correctly, Glóin and Thorin had mentioned they hadn't brought Gimli on the expedition because he had been just a child of sixty-eight years. Aldril had even wondered at the time how old Kili and Fili had been to be allowed to join.
"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Aldril," Gimli replied with a rare cordiality. It wasn't common to see such politeness among dwarves, but perhaps Gimli was different from the rest.
Maybe that was why, in the future, Galadriel would gift him three of her hairs.
Raising an eyebrow, Aldril threw Glóin a mocking look.
"It seems your son has better manners than you."
"Stop talking nonsense!" exclaimed Glóin indignantly, walking alongside Aldril and giving him a slap on the back.
"Come, let's eat! We need to put some meat on that skinny body of yours."
Aldril offered no objection. He hadn't eaten, and a good piece of meat would do him no harm.
He missed the seasoning of the dwarves; while among the elves he could eat meat, it wasn't very common. Vegetables, fruits, and some fish usually dominated, though their meals were undoubtedly of the highest quality and packed with nutrients.
Thus, Aldril accompanied Glóin and Gimli toward the dwarves' residential area.
It was clean, free of debris; it seemed that, being so well hidden, Smaug had failed to destroy it.
Shortly after arriving, Glóin led him to his home, where a sturdy-looking dwarf woman awaited them. Unlike her husband, the dwarf woman had a long black beard, a trait Gimli had inherited from her.
Thanks to his enhanced senses, Aldril immediately recognized that the woman before him was not just any dwarf, but Gimli's mother and Glóin's wife.
Now he could confirm without a doubt that dwarf women could blend perfectly among the men of their race. No wonder people believed dwarves sprung from the earth rather than reproducing.
"Aldril, this is my beloved wife, Díslin," Glóin introduced proudly. "Dear, this is my good friend, adventure companion, and dragon-slayer, Aldril."
"A pleasure to meet you," said Aldril, stepping forward and greeting her cordially with a hand over his chest.
"The dragon-slayer!" exclaimed Díslin, ignoring Aldril's greeting in her exaggerated reaction.
With an incredulous look, she turned to her husband.
"I thought you were just bragging, pretending to be friends with the dragon-slayer!"
"I told you, woman!" Glóin exclaimed with pride.
Shaking his head in amusement, Aldril reaffirmed his friendship with Glóin. In fact, besides Bilbo, Glóin was the one he spoke with the most, especially because of the constant bets they used to make.
Once inside, Aldril was pleasantly surprised by the comforts of the dwarf home. Although not as luxurious as Bilbo's house, they certainly surpassed many human homes he had seen after being cast out of the village where he had grown up.
Of course, it was uncomfortable for him to have to stay hunched over all the time to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling of Glóin's house.
The food was soon ready, and a variety of exquisite meat dishes were gathered on the table.
Once everything was set, they began devouring the meat like starving hunters.
While they ate, Gimli asked about the battle against Smaug. Although Kili and Fili were enthusiastically telling the younger dwarves the story, Gimli suspected they were exaggerating the events.
It wasn't until Aldril recounted the fight in vivid detail, later confirmed by his father, that Gimli believed what had happened.
After a few hours, Aldril left Glóin's house, heading towards the forge. Following behind him was Gimli, who didn't want to miss the opportunity to see the dragon's skeleton with his own eyes and it would also help him find the way to the forges.
Throughout those months, his father had forbidden him from approaching the forge, arguing that it was important work and they could not accept any distractions.
(The truth was different: Glóin simply did not want to return. What if, upon entering, he was greeted with jokes from his fellow dwarves? He couldn't risk his son discovering that and ruining his image as a strict father.)
Halfway there, they encountered the pair of brothers, who were animatedly telling a couple of children a story: they described how a brown-bearded dwarf (clearly referring to Glóin, one of the few dwarves with that beard color) had stripped naked and danced for the smiths at the forge.
When they saw Aldril approaching, the brothers quickly dismissed the children.
Once they were by his side, they noticed Aldril was accompanied by young Gimli, whose eyes were shining with excitement as he gazed into the distance, where the firelight reflected the silhouettes of the working blacksmiths.
The brothers joined Aldril and walked with him toward the forge. Upon entering, Gimli froze, stunned between disbelief and fascination: many dwarves were forging weapons for the newly arrived dwarves, and there, in all its splendor, stood Smaug's skeleton. Some teeth and finger bones had already been collected, as the smiths needed dragon bone for daggers and armor.
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Filthy orcs!! Here is your bonus chapter
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