Author's Note - Had to deal with a few typos along the way! Let me know if I've missed anything, as I've been hastily working on Chapter 4, which will most likely come up tomorrow. Hope you guys like it!
"…The chances the changes,
Are all
Yours
to
Make…"
Chapter 3 – The Exit
The three hobbits ran for their lives as the horrendous creature Gollum chased after them, maniacally. Hobbits, unlike the slightly larger and steadfast dwarves, don't have an incredible amount of stamina about them, and aren't as fast as elves or men, but they make up for these deficiencies in heart and agility, and that's is exactly how the three hobbits didn't get torn apart by Gollum. Bilbo was still curious about the two hobbits that materialized into the cave, Frodo and Samwise.
"So… you two are up in Bywater, eh?" Bilbo asked, while they ran. Frodo and Samwise decided to play along for the moment.
"Sure are," answered Samwise, "Born and raised across from Old Maggot's farm, the both of us." Suddenly, Frodo knew what to do about the creature chasing them, but it would be risky.
"Sam, Bilbo… watch my back," Frodo said, as he immediately fell behind and drew his sword.
"Mr. Frodo! What are ya doin'?!" Sam exclaimed.
"He's clearly lost his bloody mind!" Bilbo added, as Frodo knocked Gollum on the head with the hilt of his sword. The creature passed out, and would be so for a short while.
"That should clear the problem up," said Frodo, while the two other hobbits stared him down in both shock and anger.
"Note to self," Bilbo said, thinking out loud, "Never go to Bywater again… wait a moment… that sword – it looks exactly like mine! What are you two up to, then? You've never actually told me why you're here, and I'm getting quite annoyed by your procrastination on giving such a simple answer!"
"Look, Bilbo, we'd love to give you a lengthy soliloquy on what exactly is happening here, but remember, we're in a damp cave at the bottom of the longest mountain chain east of Bree, and in a tunnel that's swarming with orcs, goblins, and… well, the like, and we haven't the vaguest idea as to how to get out of this mess. I'd love it if we could find an escape route avoiding any goblin patrol before dark, so if anyone has any bright ideas, it would please me to hear them," Frodo implied, angrily. Sam was intrigued by Frodo's comment, as he barely ever went off on a mad tangent.
"I… second the motion," added Samwise, "And I'd personally enjoy getting as far away as possible from that… thing, before it goes bonkers again and makes a bloody mess o' things," motioning over to the unconscious Gollum.
"Fair enough," Bilbo responded. He couldn't disagree with either of the two comments. The three hobbits journeyed through the dark caverns, and from time to time witnessed a few orc patrols coming through the myriad of passages, but they were able to sneak by the guards with little worry, for hobbits can most definitely be 'stealthy' creatures. Soon enough, the trio came to a large wooden door. They knew that the creaking sound once in the process of opening the door would surely catch the attention of the nearby guards, but at this point, they could care less, just as long as they could reach the outdoors and escape the dreadful dungeon. They would be able to find a well-suited hiding spot from the patrolling guards once they were outside.
"So, how should we come about this?" Frodo asked, hoping to find a little wisdom from the other two hobbits.
"I say we open and make a run for it," Bilbo answered.
"What if the door won't open, or it's too heavy?" Sam asked, not knowing the circumstances the exit would lead to.
"We'll just have to deal with it then, hmm?" Bilbo whispered. He had a debated look about him, as if trying to concern himself with telling the others about the Ring he had found earlier. "I can't let them know, or else that might take it," he thought, "It's too dangerous not to… and even if they do try to, I'll just slip it on and leave 'em…"
"Bilbo? What's wrong?" Frodo said with concern. He was thinking the exact same thing, save for leaving Sam, of course.
"Err… nothing, I… let's just open this blasted door!" Bilbo said. He immediately grabbed onto the handle and opened the large door, but only enough to barely let the hobbits through, and only one at a time, for the door made such a loud cracking noise once it made friction with the floor that it nearly echoed for half a minute. Then, the three hobbits heard the voices of what sounded like orcs coming to figure out the sound.
"Morgoth's arse! What the 'ell was that? Náshlak, Bolgúg! Get over here you bastards, someone's opened the bloody door!" a large, booming voice shouted.
"Get out you two, I'll be behind you!" Bilbo said, not needing to whisper anymore. Sam and Frodo quickly went through, which was an exit to the exterior of the mountain, with a woodland area nearby. Bilbo grabbed the door handle once more, hoping to move it at least a little ways before trying to fit through, but it wouldn't budge, so he now tried to squeeze through the door, but he was caught by the buttons on his coat. 'Round the corner came two smaller orcs with archer weaponry and armor about them, and one Uruk, which are the largest and most deadly orcs in Middle-Earth. The Uruk was called Olgrád, and he wielded a large and menacing mace made of ebony.
"There he is! Shoot the Halfling!" the Uruk captain exclaimed. The two lower ranking officers began to fire their bows at Bilbo as he applied the Ring to his finger and tugged himself towards the exit, effectively escaping, but losing a few buttons in the process. Bilbo escaped into the woodlands, still invisible.
"Where'd he go? Oh you boys are in for it now! Can't even shoot a fucking hobbit," cursed Olgrád, who began to brawl with the other two orcs, disregarding Bilbo. The Uruk overpowered the other two very easily, and then looked over at the door and picked up three buttons that fell onto the floor. The large orc carried the other two off to be punished, and along the way back to the former Goblin king's hall, he picked up a dagger that appeared to have fallen out of someone's pocket, and then carried on.
Further along in the woods, Frodo and Sam were debating on whether or not Bilbo would return. They knew they had gotten themselves into quite a predicament, "You realize now, Mr. Frodo, that there are two Rings now, yes?" questioned Samwise.
Frodo was fearing more and more of this circumstance, "Yes," he replied, "That's been on my mind a lot since we've been with Bilbo, and I feel that, if he returns to us, we will have to inform him at some-"
"-Point," Bilbo interrupted, as he took the Ring off, with the tip of his sword placed against the back of Frodo's neck, "That's what it'll take to spill your guts. Sword point, that is. I'm not a burglar, I'm not a thief, I'm not even an adventurer. I'm just one of the simple folk from Hobbiton, and I've never killed a soul, but I've had quite enough of your stubbornness, the both of you! You both have quite the explanation to muster up, or else I might see into myself a change of character!"
"Mr. Frodo!" Sam cried, as he drew his burrow-sword.
"No, Sam," Frodo replied, "Put it away, there's no need. Bilbo, where we came here from, we… you wouldn't believe us if we told you."
"At this point, I could hardly care less about what is reasonable," Bilbo said. Sam put away his small blade.
"We… we're here to help. We're from the years… yet to come," said Bilbo, reluctantly, "Fifty years from now, as a matter of fact."
"Pull the other one," Bilbo said with disregard.
"It's true," Samwise added, "We were sent here because of what you've got in your pocket, there."
Bilbo slowly lowered his sword. He was now in confusion like no other, "Wh… What? But how do you-"
"-Know about the Ring?" Frodo interrupted. He gave Samwise a quick nod, and Sam returned the action, "We know… because you told us."
"I did nothing of the sort! Why would I tell you?" Bilbo asked. Both Sam and Frodo knew thatit wasn't just Bilbo that informed him of the Ring, for only Gandalf the Gray revealed to him the horrors behind the mysterious gold ring that had been lying on Bilbo's mantelpiece for so many years. The two hobbits had to improvise.
"Well, yes, you very well did, sir," responded Sam, "You and Gandalf the Gray. You gave us specific instructions to come back to your time and…"
"… fix some things," Frodo added. He now realized that if they took the Rings to Mordor fifty years early, the troubles that faced their time would never happen.
"Well, I'm guessing that explains the sword, now, doesn't it?" Bilbo asked.
"Right. We know about the Company of Dwarves, and we know about Smaug, and we're willing to help you as much as possible with that task, just as long as you help us in return, but not necessarily in advance. Now we have to move quickly. Those dwarves probably think you're dead. We'll explain to you everything about the Ring along the way. Any questions? Comments? Concerns?" Frodo explained.
"No… I suppose that I don't have much of a choice," assumed Bilbo. Sam and Frodo both nodded to him in consideration as the three went off further down the path, hoping to catch up with the Company of Dwarves.
Meanwhile, back in Gollum's cave, the creature awoke in a stupor. He looked around, hoping that the 'precious' would be back in his possession, but to no avail.
"Filthy hobbitses! They stole it from us!" Gollum moaned.
"Sméagol is free! The precious weighs us down!" Sméagol replied, in a lighter tone.
"We wouldn't be here without it… Gollum! Gollum!"
"We'd be somewhere without your nagging, precious!"
"Shut up! We must find the hobbitses. Stinky little thieves! We hates them forever!" Gollum exclaimed, as he hopped off towards the exit, knowing quite well how to evade the guards of the orc and goblin legions on patrol through the dark corridors. He would eventually find an escape route, though it was not the same as the one that the hobbits had come across just a few hours earlier. Night had fallen when Gollum emerged from the mountain interior, the first time in five hundred years.
