Dwalin stood, trembling, behind Bali. Preparing himself; firmly holding his axe, he waited for the door to crack open. From behind, he could hear the others breathe. Other than that, it was silent. He felt awkward, but didn’t know whether it was the feeling of being scared or the excitement which rose inside of him. His hands were wet and slippery and he felt insecure about the whole situation. The company had certainly managed to get themselves into trouble now. It was not very fortunate how it had all happened, so quickly, so unexpected.
What if this was the last thing he did? He looked seriously at the others. If it hadn't been for Kain's death, the loss of their food and the stupid door, they would never have been here! Angry by his own lack of judgment, he frowned. He should have known that something was wrong long before Kain's death. He had heard rumours of people lingering here, but he never really considered that the rumours were true. He reproached himself for not thinking through this enough. Going on this quest had been a huge mistake, and for this he blamed himself. Then suddenly, he remembered when Bali and Hænir had come out of the woods the night when Kain died. What had the two of them been talking about? Dwalin remembered clearly that they looked worried, but even so they hadn't said anything to the others of what they had been talking about. Why not? Why hadn’t they shared their thoughts if it was something that worried them? Surely, if their worries involved the quest, and therefore the group, they couldn’t keep this to themselves. And why did they have that conversation in the woods? Yes, for Dawlin believed they had talked in the woods. About what, he didn't know. Did his brother know anything he didn't?
Hearing the voices outside, speaking in a tongue Dwalin didn't recognise, he started to shiver. He knew that the door would break up any second now, and he might even die before he could give Bali and Hænir another thought. It frightened him, but he hid his fear.
* * * BOOM * * *
With a big “boom”, which made Dwalin's ears explode, the door was forced open. He was only able to get a quick glimpse of the attackers before Bali made at least one of them fall into shadow. Surprised by the battle's sudden start, Dwalin found himself hesitating about what to do. Looking as the others as they strode forwards to fight the attackers; Dwalin held his axe low and waited. Eyes filled with wonder, he came to Nerin's side who was eagerly trying to kill his opponent. The attacker's skill with weapons was outstanding. He carried a long sword and a knife. He made several attempts to thrust the deadly weapons into Nerin, but the Dwarf escaped by an inch every time. As Dwalin raised his axe, he was cut off by another man, who had appeared from what seemed like thin air. The confused dwarf had to turn around, leaving Nerin, and darted towards the grim-faced attacker.