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Thin-Gloomy was on a better mood than he had been on in ages. The journey to Rhűn had done wonders to him. He was much more fit than before the journey, his normally pale skin had got some colour and though he was still thin, he was not as sickly skinny as he had been. And though he was gloomy like always, the idea of a great treasure awaiting him gave him new strength, mentally as well as physically...
North, north, I wander north, Thin-Gloomy hummed an old dwarvish tune with his own words, There will be a great golden hoard, and I will be the last man there. River will drown me, wood will cheat me, knight will beat me, beast will bite me...
Thin-Gloomy's song stopped suddenly. Beast will bite me indeed, he thought. He had arrived to a river's fork and saw a huge bear fishing there. It was so concentrated in its food that it didn't notice the dwarf. Thin-Gloomy backed slowly and silently. He did not wish the bear to hear him.
Had I noticed it earlier, I could have driven it way by simply making so much noise that it'd have run away. Now it's too late and there's only one of me and I'm too small to scare it away, he thought, remembering the beorning Barlath who had told him that bears were actually timid creatures and feared humans. And best not to make it angry, by making noise or shooting it, Thin-Gloomy decided, it might have cubs around hidden somewhere and then I'll certainly die.
I guess I'll only wait then. It can't fish all the day, Thin-Gloomy decided.
Hours proved him wrong. The bear seemed to be a clumsy and a stubborn one. It caught only one fish, but didn't give up. If it continues that way, it'll be night before I can continue my journey. I must do something...
Thin-Gloomy walked back to the woods he had come from. He didn't go very far, though. He collected some dry wood and lit a big fire edged with fist-sized stones. He hoped the stones would prevent the fire from spreading further and setting the whole wood in fire.
The trees blocked all major winds, but the air was still moving. And it was moving towards the river fork. Thin-Gloomy climbed to a tree and spied the bear. It had started to grow restless. It had certainly smelled the smoke. Thin-Gloomy climbed down and add more wood to the fire and threw fresh leaves into it. Like the dwarf had expected, there was even more smoke from the fire. He coughed; it was difficult to breath this close to the fire. He climbed to the tree again. The bear was gone.
Now there's only the future forest fire to be put out, he thought. The river fork was too far away for him to carry enough water to extinguish the fire, so he had to wait it to die away by itself. Even though he watched that it didn't spread and threw the water in his waterskin to the middle of the fire, he had to wait for more than an hour before he could continue his journey.
He crossed the river fork from the shallowest spot and refilld his waterskin. He hoped the still slightly smouldering remains of the stone-edged fire wouldn't be able to spread to a forest fire.
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