Hi there! Sorry I haven't updated in so long, I had finals for the past week, and I was scrambling to get stuff done and prepared for the tests. I hope I did okay, I really wanna get to my new classes the next semester. Anyway, I went and saw The Hobbit today! It was... beautiful! I was remembering the cartoon version of The Hobbit, but watching the movie, I see a lot of stuff was censored out of the kiddish cartoon movie (it did have a hint of violence in it, though). Yeah, so I'd like to thank CrackinAndProudOfIt (Crackers) for being my beta!
I hope you guys like this chapter! Enjoy!
I was still hungry.
I wasn't going to have to hunt down an animal, kill it, and roast it over a fire... was I? Good Lord, I couldn't imagine myself doing that, and besides, I couldn't even make a campfire! Those things took time, patience, and practice, all of which I didn't have.
But I was still hungry, and my head was beginning to feel a bit light.
The air was rather chilly from the early morning fog, making everything somewhat damp. Although I was cold I marched onto the road and resumed my travel, hoping for chance that there was a town to be found somewhere ahead.
I began to think of what I would do if I reached the town. I smiled as I imagined myself loading plate after fancy buffet plate with mouth-watering food. Simply gorging until I was all nice and plump. I stopped and looked down at my thin waist and scrunched my face.
Alright, maybe I should refrain from that happening... I thought with some humor and continued on.
After I'd eaten to ease the pain of a hollow stomach, I would no doubt call the police or one of my family members to pick me up from... well, wherever I was. When all would be over and done with, and I was in the safety of my own house, I planned to find the one responsible for my predicament and give them a good slug in the face and kick below the belt for this ill jest!
Yes. My eyes narrowed and my blood boiled at mere thoughts of the faceless joker. I will have my vengeance.
As the next hour passed, the fog began to lessen, allowing my skin to be bathed in the warmth of the sun. I let out a long sigh of relief and looked off to the side of the path—
"Water!" I cried out in sudden joy. A small creek a little way off from the road flowed.
I jogged over and plunged my hands into the water. It was icy cold, but I didn't care. I was so thirsty that it wouldn't have bothered me of this were a storm drain; I just needed a drink! As I sipped the cool water, my dry tongue and throat began to feel at ease. I drank and drank and drank and drank, until I could take no more.
I sat back and watched the creek flow, letting my stomach ease up a bit before moving along down the road. I just wished I had a canteen with me; that would make things really easy for me, since I would be able to carry the water with me and ration how much I would drink until I found people that could help me.
Suddenly an ugly feeling reared up within me, and my eyes widened in surprise.
I'd been holding it off for a while, but I knew it would be no good if I continued to do so. I'd probably die from infection if I contained it any longer.
With some grudging reluctance, I strode over to some tall grass where I could easily hide from any peeping eyes. I may have been wanting to find people, but I would never let them find me like this. Without a word, I pulled my pants down and squatted to do my business...
I washed my hands as best I could before heading off once again on the road, now even more desperate to find civilization. I felt embarrassed and disgusted that I had to do that!
I marched down the road with great speed, determined to find people before the end of the day. The next thing came to mind when I found a town, I would take a nice bath! And I would never again doubt the luxury of having toilet paper!
I walked again at a normal rate, no longer so overwhelmingly embarrassed and disgusted. I was hungry and weary, but there was nothing I could do about either save keep forging ahead.
After a while I started to notice that the trees, which had before been spread out far and wide, began to close in and grow in number. The road became the only thing the trees couldn't be on. Fallen leaves littered the ground;I looked left from right to see through the thick of the trees, but it was no use.
An ill feeling grew within me as I walked on the forest road.
My stomach did somersaults, my intestines tightened, and my heart slowly began to thump faster and faster.
What was happening? I couldn't explain why, but something felt foul in the air. I wanted nothing more than to turn back and run the other way where the air wasn't so constricting. Just as I was about to do so—
I screamed out loud from the crushing weight of something falling on top of me. I face-planted on the ground, and the sudden impact nearly knocked all the air out of my lungs, but I thankfully fought the urge to black out. I groaned and lifted my head, but froze when I felt something squirming on top of me.
I struggled to get up, but it wasn't much use, and I peeked over my shoulder to find... a hairy foot.
For a moment I was about to open my mouth and throw up. The foot removed itself, and I could see that past said big, hairy foot was a surprised fellow with curly dark hair and surprised bright blue eyes. He opened his mouth and spoke.
Spoke in a language I couldn't understand.
"What...?" I look at him in utter confusion. "I'm sorry, do you speak English?"
Now I was the one getting the funny look.
With the help of another fellow, this with curly auburn hair and a rather round stomach, he quickly climbed off of me. The plump one and the bright-eyed man began to help two other companions off of me before they came to my aid and helped me up.
They were... tiny.
When I used to look at a small person, they were either a couple of inches shorter than me or had been diagnosed with dwarfism. These individuals looked neither of the two. They were more like miniature-sized men with ugly-looking big, hairy feet. And they dressed oddly, too.
"Uh, thank you," I said slowly as the four gazed up at me, the round fellow seeming to regard me with some suspicion.
One of them, a small, light-haired tiny man spoke so quickly that it was even harder to understand his words.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak your language. Are you on your way to the Renaissance Fair?"
They just stared blankly at me. I let out a sigh and look back down at the road, feeling stupid and awkward. My stomach then decided then to grumble loudly, and I blushed when two of them snickered at me, proceeding to cough loudly in hopes of distracting them from the sound.
And then the nicest thing happened. One of them offered me a carrot. It was broken, and it was a bit filthy from dirt, and it was a bit larger than what I usually saw in carrots, but it was food! I gave them a quick, appreciative smile and took the orange vegetable. I munched it down to the core in no time and watched as the four men gathered belongings that had scattered when they tumbled off the small cliff above where we now stood. I wondered if maybe I should head in that direction...
Ugly, foul, disgusting, cruel, inhumane, sick, twisted—
I blinked and hugged myself, that unwelcome feeling returning tenfold, like a giant wave had just slammed into me. I don't know why I just thought of that. It really came out of nowhere, but the words felt right as my heart plummeted into cold fear.
I looked down the road and saw the leaves ruffle from a cold burst of wind; the feeling only worsened. Oh God, what was that? I wanted to leave right now, I wanted to get out of these woods and go home. I wanted to...
I wanted to disappear!
A tug on my flannel sweater broke me out of my little panic attack as my body was tugged backward towards the side of the road. I saw the dark-haired tiny man pulling me along, speaking to me in that foreign language and forcing me to duck with him under a large burrow hidden in the tree roots. The three others were fooling around with a sack full of who-knows-what, but they soon joined the dark-haired man and me beneath the tree. We sat there until a sound reached all our keen ears.
Hoofs.
Were this a situation entirely different, I might have come out and greeted the visitor with hopes of finally ending this long journey. But that wave of distraught misery overcame me and made me sit under the roots with dread, praying that I would not be found out. In his position beside the round man, the dark-haired one looked to be thinking the same as he began to pale.
The three others, seeming to have begun to realize our dire situation, silenced themselves—no more playing with the sack. I nearly jumped out of my skin when something crashed to the ground above us.
Footsteps.
My heart was racing again. I never believed I had been this scared until now. I was shaking and trembling in fear, and I just wanted it all to stop.
I nearly forgot to breathe when I saw metal fingers grab onto the tree roots, black cloth hanging from the arms they belonged to. The unsettling feeling grew and I was just moments away from jumping out.
The person in black... he... he was sniffing. Like a dog hot on an animal's trail. Like a dog hunting for something that was on the run. I reached out and clutched something, that something beginning to squeeze back with fervor. It was the light-haired one's hand; he looked as frightened as myself.
I looked down and found the sack lying unceremoniously at the feet of the tiny men. Without warning, I grabbed it, flinging the sack up and out of the hollow. I nearly gasped in shock when the person screeched and flung himself in turn in the direction the sack had flown. I soon found myself being dragged out of the burrow by small hands. Once on the road again, the little men and I simply ran, away, away from the danger dressed in black.
No one stopped, no one even dared to look back; we all just ran and ran like the devil was on our trail.
Perhaps he was.
What the bloody fuck was happening?! We raced through the thicket of bushes and further through misty woods, far and far away from the terrifying being dressed in black. Why was I afraid? It could have just been some bugger playing black knight; however my heart said otherwise. Great fear and danger reeked from the hooded rider.
And the way it... it sounded. It was like it wasn't even human at all. Just a shadow of what it once was...
We came to an abrupt stop; everyone was panting and out of breath, their hearts excited from the scare and their faces pale, sinking down on the ground to sit. I realized I was still clutching the smallest one's hand and released him, but he didn't seem too bothered by it or else didn't even notice. We were all in worlds of our own.
The round one huddled close to the dark-haired fellow, speaking quickly and quietly in his own language, secretly, I noticed, from the two others. Whatever it was they were hissing to each other about, it was something serious. I looked away and back to where we had run from, my heart still stricken with fear. The fog we had passed through was coming our direction, and a scary thought crossed my mind.
That fog was not natural. It had malicious intentions written all over it, and I had no doubt the black rider was somewhere inside of it.
"Gentlemen," I roused them and began to back away from the fog. "We should leave. Right now."
They didn't understand my words, but they recognized the alarm in my tone. Getting back on their feet, I helped them along and we set off once more, silent and swift. I had no idea why I was involving myself with... whatever was happening; all I knew was that I didn't have the heart in me to leave these defenseless poor sods to that big, black, hideous rider that hunted them with intentions clearly foul.
~x0x~
Nightfall came, and we were still on the run. As the hours had passed, I came to learn each one of their names; Razanur, the youngest of the four, Kalimac (or Kali, as the others call him), the other mischievous one, Banazîr (but mostly known as Ban), the round one, and lastly Trânbrî, the bright-eyed fellow.
I raised a brow at the names but said nothing. I would have gladly introduced myself, but the situation was dire, and there was no time to exchange pleasantries. So every now and then the word "Anon" would be thrown my way by Trânbrî.
Ha! The little bugger just gave me a name!
The darker it grew, the more dangerous our travel became. At every turn and slope, there was a black rider. They grew in number, spread out and always sniffing the air for our scent like the black dogs who hunted for souls of the condemned. What was it that they wanted from these four tiny people?
"Get down!" I hissed and pulled Razanur and Trânbrî down with me, the two others doing the same when they caught sight of a rider coming over a hill.
It stopped very briefly before turning in another direction and trotting off on its black steed. I let out a sigh of relief and released the two I had dragged down.
Kali strode over to Trânbrî and made some remark, his voice grave and questioning. Trânbrî said nothing for a long time before he faced Kali with a grim look and softly answered him. There was a standstill until Kali nodded and decided to lead the way.
Razanur tugged me along, trying to put on a brave face but staying close to my side. I gave him a reassuring squeeze on his tiny shoulder and offered a small smile. Some courage returned to him, and he followed after his three companions, leaving me at the rear. I kept my eyes and ears open for anything...
And hurried hooves came our way!
I let out a shriek, not meaning to, but I couldn't control myself. "Run! Run away!"
But it was too late. A black rider sprung from the shadows of the forest, cutting us off from wherever we needed to go. Everyone panicked, screaming mostly Trânbrî as he tried to go around, but his attempt proved futile when the rider would not let him pass. The others shouted as they ran toward what looked like a river ahead.
Not really planning and at full blown blood panic, I grabbed a nearby stick and threw it straight toward the legs of one of the horses. The poor beast shot up on its hind legs and the rider clutched the reigns in surprise. I grabbed Trânbrî, and we made a mad dash past the distracted rider and ran for the river. I let out a cry of relief when there was small ferry boat waiting for us, but I screamed when I looked back to see the rider gaining on us from behind.
With a burst of speed, I dragged the poor stumbling Trânbrî, his feet almost leaving the ground from my pulling. We ran down the docks and I jumped, hauling Trânbrî with me; we both fell in a heap over Ban and Razanur from the bad landing. I whipped my head around and watched in awe as the rider pulled his reigns and halted the horse from going after us any further.
I didn't bother listening to what the four others were talking about, too anxiously fixated on the black rider as I watched it pull back its steed to head elsewhere. I saw from behind that the other riders were heading in a different direction.
I have no doubts that they are looking for another way to cross the river, I mentally said to myself and gulped in fear.
I fell back with a shaky sigh and closed my eyes, trying to sort out the crazy picture I'd stumbled upon. I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder and I opened my eyes to find Razanur crouching beside me and offering a smile and quick words of comfort in that endearingly chipper voice. Trânbrî joined him with a thankful smile of his own, and I could only laugh at them sheepishly in reply.
Once the tiny ferry carried us across, we hurried into the forest and became ever so watchful from then on, not wanting a repeat of the previous events. I could see weariness on their frantic faces, and I felt even worse for them. These poor fellows were on the run from who-knows-what, and they looked like they would drop dead on their feet.
We remained cautious. We didn't want to push our luck and get caught again because there would be no river to save us this time should the situation come to rise.
Razanur was quite a chatterbox. I couldn't understand the language, but it seemed he was talking about himself and his friends. There were moments when he had to be snapped into silence by the others;they would look back at me for a moment like they were expecting me to react. I didn't do anything but stare back at them with a blank look.
And we walked.
My legs were becoming used to this exercise. I didn't remember ever going on jogs or long walks, but I supposed that there was some good coming out of this. I was burning calories and gaining muscles from this exhilarating work out.
The journey continued to be tiresome for me. I was still sleepy from having stayed up all night but I knew it had been necessary, so I sucked in my bitching and followed them.
What's worse was that it began to drizzle clouds from the south grumbled by, the dark clouds giving promise that there would be heavy thunderstorms to come. The rain began to pick up, and I knew that through the downpour I could hear my teeth chattering.
Not only was I lost, confused, and on the run, I was now weary, soaked and cold.
I was probably going to get sick from this.
Happy thoughts, I told myself with a sarcastic smile. Think happy thoughts!
I feared that the riders would appear without our notice and we'd be in big trouble. Finally, after, what seemed forever in the long walk, we came down a steep hill; I almost cried out in joy to see lights ahead through the dark forest. Picking up my pace somewhat, I hurried the four along with me but halted when there was a giant gate blocking the way in to a sleepy-looking village.
"Oh, you have got to be joking!" I growled, kicking the gate in frustration. "Oy! Let us in!"
But I would not kick them again, for Ban and Kali pulled me back with some force, talking rapidly and doing a poor job at placating me. A small window in the gate opened, and I squinted my eyes to see an old hooded man looking at me with squinty eyes of his own. He was talking to me in that language again, and I only pointed down to tell him I'm not the only one. A second later, the window shut and the one below the first window opened, allowing him to see my four companions.
There was a brief exchange and I sighed in relief when the door opened and the old man stood aside with his bright lantern hanging over us. We entered without complaint as the old man chattered, and we found ourselves in an ancient village.
I'd seen villages, but I'd never seen any that were so... medieval-esque.
"What is wrong with this world...?" I muttered to myself and followed the others.
The streets were dark with few lanterns, people loitering about, some stumbling with drunken stupor; I had to be careful. I pulled Kali and Trânbrî to the side when a group of tall men broke through us, snapping some words at us before treading on. At long last, After several more minutes of walking, the four tiny men seemed to find what they'd been searching for; a bar.
Pah! Men... I rolled my eyes at them but followed them inside none the less.
We headed in and were immediately overwhelmed by warm, warm air. I let out a sigh of relief. The frost on my skin slipped away, and I relished the heat of the crowded pub. We came to a counter, and I hold back from laughing when Trânbrî barely reached the top of the counter, calling out quietly for someone. Not too long, an older, dirty-looking man, whom I presumed, was the barkeeper. He approached and took a quick scan over me and then the four little men at my side.
I ignored the talk between them and looked around, but almost winced when I saw more than a few men looking my direction with either curiosity or keen interest of the kind I didn't think I would like.
"Anon," Trânbrî's voice called me, and I returned my attention back to him.
We walked through the crowd and settled down at an empty, small-sized table. I sat neatly at the edge and began to scratch my nail against the wood, just to keep myself busy.
"Nob!" I heard the barkeeper shout somewhere in the throng of noise.
Not too long, another tiny man with big, hairy feet came to our table, bearing an armload of steaming plates. Slowly, he dropped one plate to each respective person until I got the last. I smiled at the others in appreciation.
"Cheers!" I said to them as I raised my cup.
During that time, Razanur, Kali, and myself engaged in an effort to get past the language barrier. What I learned in the past hour was something... I did not expect.
Hobbits, they called themselves, the small people. Judging from the appearance of Nob, I'd come to doubt that these four were just diagnosed with something genetic that made them unnaturally small. I deduced, in fact, they were actually just really tiny people with big feet.
The more they tried to talk, the more revelations came to me. Was it a big coincidence that I had awoken in the middle of nowhere in an unfamiliar land? Was it strange that I had not come across anything modern? The little Hobbits, the black riders, this whole town...
… What the hell was going on?
Kali returned with something in his drink that Razanur insisted that he himself wanted to try out, leaving me and the three others alone. I watched Razanur and furrowed my brow when I saw some crooked-looking folk invite him into their circle at the bar counter, acting friendly and kind to the oblivious hobbit.
Movement from the other side of the table made me look to see Trânbrî whispering and pointing at something at the far corner of the bar. I peeked over my shoulder and felt my blood go still.
A hooded man sat there, alone and undisturbed.
His shadowy face was obscured from the rest of the world but I knew he was watching us. I swallowed thickly at the thought. He lounged in the corner, calmly smoking a pipe, legs propped up on a tiny stool. The way he positioned himself made him look defenseless... but I could just tell he was dangerous.
Not the kind of obvious dangerous when you see a man in a ski mask about to rob a bank, more like a potential kind of dangerous. He could remain where he was, looking innocent and doing nothing, but at the last second, he could have a knife at your throat.
I swallowed nervously and looked away, not wanting to think anymore. With black riders chasing our trail, and possibly spies watching us, we really didn't need any more trouble.
"Baggins..."
I sat straight all of a sudden, looking left and right on hearing the sound of a cold voice. It sounded close to me, but the voice echoed.
"Baggins..."
Unkind, ill-intentioned, malicious, agonizing, fearsome, and pure evil. The sound gave me chills. I clutched the edge of the table, feeling the familiar cold I first felt from that black rider when he was searching for us beside of the road. But this was bigger, and much, much worse.
"Baggins...!"
I ducked my head and grasped my ears, wishing for this voice to stop and leave me alone! Enough! Enough of this cruelty already! I didn't want to hear anymore!
"Baggins!" Razanur's voice interrupted, and I looked up in his direction, surprised.
I pulled my hands away from the table and stared at them. What was that voice? What just happened?
Trânbrî shot to his feet, looking frantic and panicked. I stood up as well, worried that we may have been found out. But the dark-haired hobbit went straight to Razanur, for some reason clearly intent on shutting up his friend's chattering. There was a quick rumble, and Trânbrî was falling backwards, his hand in the air and reaching for something small and...
He disappeared.
Darkness whipped around me. I fell back on my stool and watched the world move around violently, like a great hurricane was passing through the bar, but the shadowy figures of men did not seem bothered by it. The noise was loud and howling, so vociferous that my hearing failed me.
"Isildur..." I heard something loud and powerful say from behind me. "Isildur...!"
I could not scream for I hadn't the heart to do so, too afraid to do anything but sit there.
A great eye surrounded in red flames drew closer to me, its size growing until it engulfed the entire room and stared down at me with an immense black slit of a pupil. I could neither move nor breathe, too afraid and too bewildered to do anything!
What is this?! Who... Who are you? I felt myself asking as my body screamed in helpless fright.
It was as if I was looking into Hellfire, where it seemed I would burn for all eternity until The End. Hellish flames were but a few feet away from scorching my body into ash; the giant eye of Satan looked down at my feeble soul. I cowered before him and whimpered at his presence. No mercy will I have from him.
"Isildur—"
The world was no longer on fire, and the bar was just hot, crowded, and merry.
I was clutching tightly onto a plate, the thing moments away breaking due to my harsh hold. I was still trembling, still too shocked to do or say anything.