Hello! I am back!

I am sorry I've taken so long to get this up. That's what happens when you're in college. So much of your time gets taken up by school.

Let's get to it.


Chapter 8- Orc Chase

Outside the forest, the Orc pack pursuing the Company of Thorin Oakenshield are waiting. Atop his Warg, their leader, Yazneg, orders several of his Wargs to head into the trees to scout for them, since there has been no sign of the first scouts.

But, as the Wargs enters the trees, the snapping of branches can be heard. Then, all of a sudden, Radagast bursts out of the treeline on his sleigh, the rabbits towing running at full speed. The Orc pack immediately takes off after wizard, the Wargs howling loud enough to be heard from a few miles away.

Radagast laughs as he looks back and calls out, "Come and get me!" Yazneg roars at his followers to pursue the wizard.

Radagast's rabbits hold up to his expectations. The 12 rabbits are easily able to stay ahead of the Wargs. As Radagast continues to lead them away, Gandalf leans out from behind a boulder to make sure the coast is clear. Upon seeing that it is relatively clear, he says loudly, "Come on!" He then hurries off in his planned path, the Company following him, with the three Avengers bringing up the rear.

The Company hurries among the rocks that dot the landscape. As they pass one pile of rocks, THorin suddenly stops, right before Radagast goes riding pass several hundred yards away, with the pack in hot pursuit.

"Stay together!" Gandalf says urgently before Thorin orders the Company to turn around. The Company hurries around several more clumps of rocks and boulders before the pack is spotted again, and Thorin has to quickly pull Ori back behind the boulders.

"Hurry!" Gandalf urges them to continue on after a moment. The Company races out of their cover. Thorin, however, is growing a little uncertain.

"Where are you leading us?" he demands of Gandalf. Gandalf just looks at him for a moment before walking past him to follow the Company. Thorin grudgingly follows him, rolling his eyes, not happy about Gandalf trying to keep his destination secret.

The Company continues running across the plain, dodging among the rock piles. However, they soon come within sight of the pack again, and duck behind a pile of boulders.

The Company presses themselves tight against the boulders, waiting for the pack to pass. Suddenly, they can hear sounds close by. The sounds grow closer, until it sounds like a growling wolf right over their heads. A sound like a sword being drawn confirms it. The Company realizes one of the wargs and its rider has caught onto their scent.

Steve, Bucky, and T'Challa keep as quiet as possible, not wanting to draw the attention of the warg or orc. But, Thorin has other plans. Turning his head slowly towards Kili, he nods once. Knowing what his uncle wants, Kili slowly reaches back and draws an arrow before fitting it to his bow. Taking a moment to take a deep breath, Kili readies himself, then takes several quick steps forward and whips around. The warg and orc notice him, but not before Kili looses an arrow into the warg. The warg howls, and the orc atop it tries to draw his horn. Kili quickly shoots him too, and the pair tumble off the boulder to the ground beside the Company. Unfortunately, they're not dead, and still making some very loud noise.

Not wanting to draw attention from the pack, Steve and Bucky leap into action. Bucky draws his new sword and with a single stroke, beheads the orc. Steve extends his shields and with a powerful downward blow, breaks the warg's neck.

The two stand over the bodies of their victims, praying they escaped notice. That hope is quickly dashed as they hear the howling of the rest of the pack growing louder, and closer.

A chill runs down everyone's spine. Then, Gandalf shouts, "Move! Run!"

The Company starts running as fast as they can, following Gandalf's directions. T'Challa stays near the front of the Company with Gandalf, while Steve and Bucky bring up the rear.

The Company races across the landscape, trying to find an escape route. But the Orc pack is closing in rapidly from several directions. It's not long before the Company starts to realize how much trouble they're in as Fili announces, "We're surrounded."

Steve looks around, trying to determine the exact locations of their pursuers. Sure enough, the Orcs and Wargs have completely surrounded the Company, and are slowly tightening their circle.

"Where's Gandalf?" Nori asks loudly. Steve looks around sharply. Gandalf is nowhere to be seen.

"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin declares angrily. Steve wants to chew Dwalin out, but knows he doesn't have the time for it.

Thorin is just as aware as Steve about how bad the situation is. But, he is determined to fight to the end. "Hold your ground!" he orders loudly as he draws his new sword and settles into a fighting stance. The rest of the Company ready their weapons, Steve extends his shields, Bucky draws his sword, and T'Challa extends his claws as his mask reforms around his head.

Suddenly, from behind them, the Company hears, "This way, you fools!" Everyone turns to see Gandalf standing up from a hidden passage underground between two boulders.

"Quickly!" Thorin shouts. The whole company races towards the hole, sliding down into an underground chamber. Thorin, Kili, and the three Avengers wait above ground to cover the Company.

Finally, the rest of the Company is below ground. Thorin, who has been counting everyone to make sure nobody gets left behind, turns back and shouts, "Kili! Steve! Bucky! T'Challa! Come on!"

Kili and the three Avengers turn and race towards the secret passage, one by one leaping down the hole. Once they are all down, Thorin jumps down after them.

No sooner does Thorin reach the bottom than the Company suddenly hears the sound of war horns being blown. The sound of the horns is soon followed by what sounds like the thundering hoofsteps of horses, and the sounds of weapons finding their marks.

The Company can't see what's going on. All they can do is listen as a new battle is seemingly going on outside. All of a sudden, an Orc comes tumbling down into the passage.

The Company scatters out of its way, and Gandalf swings his staff down, ready to strike the Orc. But the Orc doesn't move, and it's clearly dead. The cause of death is evident by the arrow sticking out of its chest. Thorin reaches down an yanks the arrow out of its chest. He examines it for a moment before determining with disgust, "Elves!" He throws the arrow down in disgust.

The sounds of combat outside have died down, but to the Company, knowing there are Elves out there, that doesn't mean it's safe. Dwalin heads a short distance down the path to the first turn, and calls back to the Company, "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Should we follow it or no?"

"Follow it, of course," Bofur says as he hurries after Dwalin. The Company hurries after Bofur, with Thorin following a little reluctantly. Steve, Bucky, and T'Challa follow them.

Gandalf smiles a bit and whispers to himself, "I think that would be wise," before following the Company.

For several hours the Company follows the path, which Steve compares to a slot canyon, only just wide enough for him and his companions to get through. There's very little sound, so it's eerily quiet except for the sounds generated by the Company.

Suddenly, a strange feeling washes over Steve, and he stops. Bucky and T'Challa also stop, feeling the same thing. Bilbo follows their example, and asks in a low voice, "Do you feel that?"

Steve nods. "Yeah, I feel it Bilbo," he says.

Gandalf walks up to them as Bilbo remarks, "It feels like…like magic."

"That's exactly what it is," Gandalf says with a smile before adding, "A very powerful magic."

Steve glances at Bucky and T'Challa. After seeing Gandalf in action, and knowing Thor, he should know by now that magic is very real, but it still catches him off guard sometimes. And this magic generates a different feeling in him.

"I see a light ahead!" Dwalin calls out, and the Company speeds up a bit.

Steve follows the Company closely, a little eager to get out of the slot canyon. But when he reaches the end of the canyon, he stops short.

Coming out of the canyon, he's now on a ledge. And laid out before him is a large valley, with a vast complex of buildings resting alongside a river that runs through the valley. The pure beauty of this place stuns Steve. Never has he seen a place that looks so pristinely beautiful and peaceful.

Bucky and T'Challa come up behind Steve, and also stop short, taken by the beauty of the place. Gandalf comes up behind the Company and announces, "The Valley of Imladris. In the Common Tongue, it is known by another name."

"Rivendell," Bilbo finishes, a slight smile growing on his face.

Gandalf nods with a smile, and continues, "Here lies the Last Homely House East of the Sea."

Steve, Bucky, and T'Challa all just take in the sight of Rivendell, amazed with it, and feeling slightly eager to meet the it's inhabitants. The dwarves, on the other hand, are nowhere near as happy to be here. Thorin turns to Gandalf and states angrily, "This was your plan all along. To seek refuge with our enemy."

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will in this valley is that which you bring yourself," Gandalf chastises Thorin.

Thorin is unshaken. "You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us," he shoots back.

"Of course they will," Gandalf says as if it's an obvious point, before continuing, "But we have questions that need to be answered. And Lord Elrond is the one I need to speak to about getting Steve and his friends home."

Thorin looks away. He knows that Gandalf is right, but at the same time doesn't want to commit what he considers a betrayal of his father and grandfather by associating with Elves.

Gandalf looks at Thorin for a moment before he says, "If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect, and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me." He then motions to the Company and leads them down the path towards Rivendell.


And, I'll end there.

I hope you liked this chapter, and that it wasn't too rushed.

Next chapter, our three Avengers will finally meet Elves. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you knew, Elrond won't be able to get them home. But there will be a lot of things happening in Rivendell over the next chapter or two.

Alright. I'll end here. Again, please review and give me your feedback, and stay tuned for the next chapter.