Chapter IX: The Chase to Rivendell


Sophie felt her chest was going to burst any second. If it wasn't for Thorin pulling her along, Sophie was sure that she would have fallen behind or been caught by one of the orcs. The company ran with Gandalf in the lead, hiding behind large boulders whenever the hunting party was a little too close to them.

In the distance, Sophie could hear Radagast pulling his sleigh and she feared for his safety just as much as their own. The orcs seemed to have sensed that something was wrong and had slowed down their chase on Radagast, making it more difficult for the company to remain undiscovered.

"Ori, NO!" Thorin yelled as the youngest dwarf ran ahead into full view.

Thorin let go of Sophie's hand in order to pull Ori back to safety. The company was hiding behind a large boulder and Sophie could hear a dangerous snarl right above her head. An orc was standing on the boulder and his warg was going to sniff them out in any minute. Kili quickly turned around and shot the orc dead with his arrow before he could alert his fellow hunting pack. But it was too late - the orcs had seen them and were now riding on their ferocious wargs towards the company.

"Run!" Yelled Gandalf urgently and Sophie sprinted as fast as she could with the rest of the company members.

But the wargs were much too fast and soon the company was surrounded by the evil monsters. The orcs leered at their vulnerability. Ori bravely shot his slingshot at an advancing warg but the orc merely laughed at his feeble attack.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin ordered and he pulled out his own sword which he had retrieved from the trolls' cave.

Sophie subconsciously edged closer to Ori who was now petrified. The young witch also felt like she was going to pass out in fear but when she looked around she could see Bilbo not very far away. He also looked terrified but he was still holding his ground with his sword out, and for some reason that gave her courage. They were not going to go down with a fight. Sophie pulled out her own sword and she tried to remember the moves Dwalin had taught her earlier in the morning, but her fear made her forget all her steps.

Desperately, Sophie scanned the area for Gandalf. It was only then that she realized the Grey Wizard had disappeared.

"Where is Gandalf?" Sophie asked in a panicked voice.

"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin answered as he slayed a warg near him.

No! Sophie thought. They needed Gandalf - he was the only one who knew the way to safety. But Sophie didn't have time to wonder where the old wizard was, for an orc's black arrow flew towards her and Ori.

Sophie's reflexes took over and without thinking, she pulled her wand out from her cloak and yelled, "Protego!"

A translucent shield formed around her and the youngest dwarf, and the arrow bounced off much to the orcs' surprise. Sophie knew that this shield charm was only temporary though and that it would not be strong enough to hold off all the orcs' attacks.

Already more orcs were advancing towards them, their wargs snarling angrily. Sophie could feel her bravery leaving her again and she felt Ori shake in fear next to her. She had to hold her ground for the sake of her dwarf friend. Just then, the familiar grey cloaked figure appeared from behind a large boulder. Sophie had never been more relieved to see Gandalf.

"In here, you fools!" The Grey Wizard yelled at the scattered company members before disappearing behind the large rocks again.

Without further delay, Sophie grabbed Ori's trembling hand and ran as fast as her legs could carry her towards the enormous boulder. This time, it was Sophie pulling Ori along with her - she was the protector. When they got closer Sophie could see a deep, dark hole where Gandalf had slid into. Thorin was standing at the entrance, making sure the rest of the company was safe. The dwarf King looked relieved when he saw Sophie and he swiftly killed another warg with his blade before signaling for her to slide down.

Sophie and Ori both slid into the hole together, and they were greeted on the other side by their fellow company members. Before Sophie had time to adjust her eyes to the darkness she felt a hand pull her up from the ground - it was Nori. He gave her a slight nod of gratitude, probably for looking after his brother.

Once Thorin had joined them, the company continued walking through the tunnel until they reached an open clearing. The view that greeted them made Sophie speechless - it was absolutely beautiful. It was the most exquisite city with a waterfall and large trees surrounding the area. Sophie swiveled her eyes towards Bilbo and the younger dwarves who also stared at the elven city in awe. Kili in particular seemed extremely impressed as he stood and drank in the view with his eyes.

"...it's Rivendell..." Bilbo's voice trailed off and he looked as though he had a spell cast on him.

Sophie realized that the older dwarves such as Dwalin and Balin, and the company leader especially did not appear as impressed nor delighted that they had escaped from the orc pack in one piece and alive. In fact, Thorin's face seemed to tell Sophie that this was the last place on Middle Earth he wanted to be. Sophie remembered hearing a story about the rift between the dwarves and the elves from a local baker whom she used to visit often before joining the quest. He had told her that when the great dragon had taken over Erebor, Thorin had called to the elves for help but he had received no aid. The dwarves' city may have stood a chance if the elves had given the dwarves their help. Sophie couldn't blame Thorin for acting so mistrustful and reluctant to step into Rivendell. But they all needed protection, food, and other necessities, so avoiding the elves altogether would have been a foolish decision to make.

The bridge leading the company into Rivendell was built high above the river flowing below them. Although the bridge was wide it had no safety rails and Sophie tried hard not to think too much about the possibility of falling off.

"I guess the elves didn't think about the safety of their visitors a great deal when they built this city - exactly how are you supposed to cross this half-built bridge without having a panic attack or something?" Sophie couldn't help muttering, and she saw a small smile form on Thorin's otherwise dark expression.

Seeing him smile (even if it was more of a smirk) lifted Sophie's spirits. She was glad she could help Thorin, even if it was in the smallest way. He was her friend and that was what friends did for each other. Sophie hoped that was a good enough explanation for the pleasure she had just felt when she had seen the dwarf King smile. The young witch was also genuinely glad when Thorin wordlessly walked beside her so that his presence helped to steady her shaky legs. She ignored Fili's light teasing about being scared of walking over a bridge and focused on not looking down.

A tall and wise looking elf rode in on his horse towards the company members. Sophie couldn't help admiring the gracefulness of his movements as he jumped off his horse to greet Gandalf.

"My Lord Elrond," Gandalf greeted the elf as he stepped forwards.

Lord Elrond embraced Gandalf and the two people shared a conversation of which Sophie could not understand, as it was spoken in elfish. When they had finished exchanging words with each other, Elrond looked over towards the company and Sophie felt Thorin tense beside her. However, Sophie only felt comfort and kindness radiating out of the elf lord and she gave Elrond a polite smile without hesitation.

Lord Elrond began to smile back at Sophie, but stopped and his eyes suddenly grew wide with surprise. He slowly lifted his hand and pointed at the small phial around the young witch's neck. Everyone else except Gandalf stared at Sophie and then at Elrond in turn with confusion. Sophie herself was quite confused and surprised at the elf lord's reaction. The Grey Wizard seemed quite amused at the entire situation and he nodded at Elrond's questioning face.

"Yes, I knew Sophie was in possession of this," Gandalf said calmly, and after a few moments Elrond nodded and regained his earlier grace.

"We will discuss further matters of the arrival of your company, Thorin Oakenshield," he said, staring at Sophie a moment longer than everyone else.

"But first, make yourselves more comfortable. You will be given rooms to rest and wash while your food is prepared."

The dwarves seemed quite content at the thought of real food being served, and they all followed the elves without question. Sophie was also exhausted and the prospect of a nice hot bath made her excited. She still had many questions to ask Elrond about the phial she was wearing though. Sophie fingered the object, remembering the night a few weeks ago when the old woman had gifted it to her. She had told Sophie to use it well. Sophie still had not figured out the value of this phial but she knew that she would find out soon enough.