[Novnarwen]

"Not terribly exciting but I hope its a start to our friendship".

Dwalin was quite satisfied about the official 'foundation' of his friendship with Nerin. A truly wonderful feeling arose inside of him and made his cheek turn reddish. His delight was only interrupted by the movements from the corner in the room, of where Hænir and Bali sat. They were talking louder than before, and Dwalin could hear some of the words, such as:"leaving" and "tunnels". This didn't at all sound great, as Dwalin had expected to stay here a bit longer. In fact, Dwalin didn't mind staying here much longer. Surely, the Rhuians wouldn't come back when they had been so roughly defeated, and just that would make this place the safest place the dwarves possibly could be. He frowned, standing up as Bali had raised from his seat.

He excused himself, as Nerin looked questioningly at him, and went over to Bali's side. With a serious look, he goggled at Hænir, and the two brothers were left alone.

"Are we leaving?" Dwalin asked stiffly. There was a low "yes", before Dwalin turned, leaving to pack the few belongings he had.

**

Bali had told the rest of the company that they would be going through the tunnels. Dwalin hoped that it wouldn't be too dark in there, but the sound of tunnels made him, nevertheless, want to stay here in the room. Even some of his companions looked rather nervous. But they would eventually have to leave anyway, so why not now through the tunnels? With a sigh, he walked hurriedly towards the exit, which was nothing but a big hole in the stone wall. Muttering to himself about how everything could go so terribly wrong, he ignored the fact that he was scared to leave a place he thought so safe.

There was nothing really special about these tunnels. It was dark, but he hadn't expected it to be otherwise. The company found themselves surrounded by stone walls, bending into every direction possible. The sound of their steps echoed and made Dwalin feel most uncomfortable. What if someone heard them? he thought, looking suspiciously around. But he couldn't see more than about five paces away. He realised that he was only being paranoid, like always. It was ridiculous, really, but he couldn't help it.

"Do you think these tunnels end somewhere?" Dwalin suddenly burst out to no one in particular. Bali hushed at him, but smiled. Dwalin hoped this meant that there was an end.

Even though he settled with this thought, he couldn't help thinking of if the tunnels didn't lead to an end, (if that was possible). What would happen then? They were already short on provision, both food and water. He pictured himself leaning his back to the grey stone wall, cold as ice. He saw himself, eyes red with horror, mouth dry and his face thin and pale. Yes, if they didn't find a way out, they would starve! Dwalin gave a huge gasp, which made the rest of the company either turn towards him, or run up to his side. "Something wrong?" they asked eyes all over him. Dwalin excused himself and showed them off, telling them he was just yawning. "I'm tired," he said moaning.