Chapter 9: The Chase

The moment Radagast the Brown arrived at the Company's location, Gandalf had pulled him aside, away from the others. Thorin watched from a distance as the two conversed. On one hand, it may not have concerned their journey as if it had, he would have been included. On the other hand, he despised not knowing things; secrets in the dark, those kept by his own grandfather, had in part brought ruin to Erebor. Secrets amongst the Company will lead it to the same fate.

Thorin saw the Wizards exchanging an object concealed in linen, some sort of blade judging from the general shape. He leaned in closer, hoping for a better view.

A howl sounded from above.

"Was that a wolf?" Master Baggins's voice asked from behind. "Are there wolves around here?"

"Wolves?" came an answer from Bofur. "No, that is not a wolf."

A growl from above. Thorin turned in time to see a large canine charge down the hill. In the blink of an eye, he drew his new Elven blade and sliced the neck of the pouncing beast. One of Kili's arrows flew past his head and embedded itself in another beast, stunning it long enough for Dwalin to finish it off. With a hard tug, Thorin freed his blade from the corpse. "Warg Scouts! Which means an Orc Pack is not far behind."

"Orc Pack?!" the Hobbit squeaked.

The Wizards returned to the group; the moment he saw the dead Wargs, Gandalf turned to Thorin. "Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?"

"No one."

"Who did you tell?!"

"No one, I swear! What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You're being hunted!"

Thorin froze for a moment, then immediately became frustrated. They already had enough on their plate as it was, now this happens?!

"We have to get out of here!" Dwalin shouted.

"We can't!" Ori's voice answered. "We have no ponies! They bolted!"

Thorin cursed, echoing the sentiments of most of the Company.

"I'll draw them off." This came surprisingly from Radagast. All turned to him, even the concerned Gandalf.

"These are Gundabad Wargs," the Wizard told his companion. "They will outrun you!"

"These are Rhosgobel Rabbits! I'd like to see them try."

The next hour saw Thorin and his Company running around in circles on the plateau. While the plan that was made was the best they had, there were many drawbacks. For example, Radagast's movements were at random and sporadic. He'd often times lead the Orc Pack straight by the Company without ever realizing it. The Dwarf King couldn't count how many times they had to switch direction to avoid being spotted by the Pack. At one point he had to stop Celandine from running out into the open as they passed once again.

Another thing Thorin realized too late was that Gandalf seemed to know perfectly well where he was going. When asked where he was leading the Company, he flat out ignored the question.

Now the worst had happened. An Orc scout had split off from the pack and had found itself right above there current hiding spot, its monstrous steed growling. The Company held its breath. Thorin caught sight of Kili, who had drawn an arrow, ready to fire. He nodded to him, gave his nephew permission. Another breath and Kili lunged away from the stone, turned, and shot the beast right in the eye. The Warg tumbled down and soon had Dwalin's axe imbedded in its skull. The Orc scout scrambled out of the saddle and lunged for the Dwarf King. He was quickly dispatched as well. Unfortunately, the skirmish itself had made enough noise to alert the rest of the Pack. Even as Thorin dealt the final blow, he could hear the howls and barks of the Wargs approaching. No more hiding. It was time to run.

The Company managed to reach the tall grass south of the plateau before the Orcs began to flank them from all sides. There would be no choice but to make their stand. "Hold your ground!" Thorin drew his blade, now glowing a bright blue at the presence of Orcs, and took in the sight of their opponents; they weren't necessarily outnumbered, but the fact that the enemy had their own mounts put the Company at a disadvantage. "Kili! Shoot them!"

"Where's Gandalf?!"

A quick glance around told the Dwarf King that the Wizard was not there. The Orcs began to close in, forcing them closer to a large rock in the tall grass.

"This way, you fools!" Gandalf's voice cut through the air. Thorin immediately turned, just in time to see the Wizard in question duck down into the rock itself. He sprinted over to find the steep entrance to a tunnel.

"Come on, move!" Thorin called to the rest of the Company, gesturing to the cave. "Quickly, all of you!" One by one all the Dwarves sprinted over to the boulder and slid down into the cave mouth. Soon only himself and the Bagginses were the only ones remaining on the surface.

"Where's Ori?!" Someone shouted from the tunnel.

A lone Warg lunged at Master Baggins. Thorin was quick to stop it. Not a moment later, he spotted the missing Dwarf, injured in some unknown way and attempting to crawl from an approaching Orc rider. "Bagginses!" he shouted. "Get into the-!" Thorin felt some force push him over the entrance's edge. On the tumble downwards, he must have hit his head on something, because when he hit the ground, his vision was warped. Even after he stopped falling, he was tipped over onto his back by something under him. The entire time his head swam.

"Celandine!"

"What in Durin's does that girl think she's doing?!"

"I think she's going to find Ori!"

"Celandine, come back!"

"Thorin, are you alright?" He suddenly recognized Balin's voice. His thoughts straightened out and he accepted the Elder Dwarf's hand that helped him back to his feet. He became aware of Master Baggins trying to climb the steep slope out of the tunnel, calling for his daughter the whole time.

"What happened?"

"We saw Celandine push you and Bilbo in, then she ran off. She may have gone back for Ori!"

A horn sounded in the air outside the tunnel. Master Baggins paused in his struggles. Outside, they all heard screaming, hoof beats, the clang of steel, the thunk of a loosed arrow, the pain howls of the Wargs. Then it was silent again. "Celandine? Ori?" Gandalf called, breaking the silence. Moments later, the persons in question slid down the cave's entrance. The Dwarf seethed in pain the moment he reached the bottom, grasping at his ankle.

"Ori!" Dori and Nori rushed forward to help their younger brother up. "Are you alright?! What happened?!"

"I tripped over something," Ori stated, out off breath. "Tweaked my ankle real good." He looked over to Celandine. "Thank you. If not for you, I'd probably be Warg food."

Celandine nodded, her way of saying you're welcome, but then was immediately pulled away by her father.

"Young lady, don't you EVER pull a stunt like that again! Do you know-?!"

The Elven girl interrupted him with a long stream of hand signs going too fast to interpret. She was suddenly excited about something. "You know I can't understand you when you go to fast!" Celandine ignored the comment and began pointing and tugging at her own ear. Thorin immediately knew what she meant.

"Elves."

The Dwarf King cast a glare at Gandalf. He knew something that the rest of the Company didn't before anything else could be said, Dwalin shouted from further inside the tunnel. "I can't see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?"

"Follow it, of course!" Bofur answered for the rest if the Dwarves.

"Yes," said Gandalf calmly. "I believe that would be wise."

The Company filed onward. Thorin dared one last look at Gandalf before following.

"You should've seen it!" Ori, as any good scribe would do, recounted his experience as the Company made their way through the narrow path. "We both fell over just before we got to the entrance. The pack was closing in. Suddenly, we hear the horns. At least a dozen Elves on horses come charging in from out of nowhere and obliterated the Pack. One of their bodies literally flew off its Warg and next to us! Within moments, ACTUAL MOMENTS, all the Orcs that weren't dead just bolted!"

Thorin listened to the story with a mild degree of interest. From his experience, this was very peculiar behavior for Elves, swooping in at random to save a couple of strangers out in the middle of nowhere. Then again, he was starting to question if this really was the middle of nowhere. "Then what happened?"

"Well, there was this particular Elf; I think he was their leader. After the dust had settled, he just sort of stared at us. Well, maybe it was more at Celandine than me. Anyway, that's when we came down."

"And this leader, what did he look like?"

"I-I couldn't really tell you, Thorin, he was too far away. I suppose he had dark hair, and he wasn't holding a banner like the rest of-."

"The path's starting to open up!" Dwalin called from up ahead. And he was correct; the trail began to widen and eventually give way to a small ledge. When Thorin turned the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks. Directly ahead was a beautiful structure at the base of the valley. The running waters and setting sun made this an even lovelier sight to behold. All Thorin felt from such a sight was contempt.

"Here lies the last Homely House East of the sea; The Valley of Imraldis," Gandalf spoke from behind the Dwarf King. "In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name."

"Rivendell," Master Baggins could be heard whispering. Of course he and his daughter would be thrilled by the prospect of visiting the Elves. If only they knew the risks of such a visit, especially with their ultimate purpose.

Thorin turned sharply to the Wizard, a growl rising in his throat. "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy."

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill will to be found in this Valley is that which you bring yourself."

"Do you honestly think the Elves will give out quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."

"Of course they will, but the truth of the matter is we have questions that need to be answered." Gandalf straightened. "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 and your companions will leave the talking to me."

All Thorin could do was huff. Of course Gandalf would seek the guidance of Elves, with or without his consent.

"C-Celandine, wait!" Master Baggins called out. The Dwarf King's frustration only grew. Of course the Elven girl would run off.

Sorry for the shorter than usual chapter, I couldn't make Thorin go any angstier at this point in the story

(Thorin Oakenshield can be heard growling in the break room next door)

Anyway, tiny announcement:

My persona schedule will become a bit tighter as time progresses, so as of today, once I post both this chapter and one for Umbra Corde, I will start to impose an update schedule (mostly for myself). Every week on Friday, I will post a maximum of two chapters, said chapters varying on what I have completed at the time. The schedule itself will come into complete effect as of next Sunday.

Now that that's out of the way, back to my crazy life! CT