"This is not the end of this, you hear me!" Dwalin shouts angrily as he is thrown roughly into a dungeon cell.
The rest of the Dwarves meet the same fate, and are each shoved into cramped and cold cells
"Aren't you going to search me?" Kili not-so-innocently asks the red haired Elf, Tauriel. "I could have anything down my trousers."
"Or nothing," Tauriel retorts. Misty and Kristie suppress a laugh.
"Why does the dwarf stare at you, Tauriel?" the blonde Elf, Legolas, asks Tauriel.
"Who can say," she replies nonchalantly. "He's quite tall for a Dwarf." Kristie notices the she-Elf looking longingly in the distance, before catching herself and saying, "Do you not think?"
"Taller than some – but no less ugly." At this Kristie and Misty break out into laughter, catching the attention of some of the Dwarves.
"What did he say?" Kili asks. When he only gets more laughter as a response, he groans, "What is it?" Eventually Fili joins in on the laughter, a nice reprise to the dark and dank dungeon.
The company had been sitting in the cells for approximately way too long, and everyone is starting to get a little restless. Misty and Kristie themselves have run out of every mindless game they used to play when they were bored.
"The stone in your hand. What is it?" Their thoughts are interrupted by a certain red haired Elf a few cells down.
"It is a talisman," Kili replies to his captor. "A powerful spell lies upon it. If any but a Dwarf reads the runes on this stone, they will be forever cursed." Misty has to stop herself from laughing at what she imagines the Elf's reaction to be.
"Or not," Kili says. "Depending on whether you believe in that kind of thing. It's just a token. A runestone. My mother gave it to me so I'd remember my promise."
"What promise?"
"That I would come back to her. She worries. She thinks I'm reckless."
"Are you?"
"Nah." At that moment Kil drops the stone, and the clattering echoes through the vast caves.
"Sounds like quite a party they're having up there," Kili remarks.
"It is Mereth e-ngilith. The Feast of Starlight. All light is sacred to the Eldar, but Wood Elves love best the light of the stars."
"I always thought it is a cold light. Remote and far away."
"It is memory. Precious and pure. Like your promise." Tauriel carefully gives back the runestone to Kili. "I have walked there sometimes. Beyond the forest and up into the night. I have seen the world fall away, and the white light forever fill the air."
"I saw a fire moon once. It rose over the pass near Dunland. Huge. Red and gold it was, it filled the sky. We were an escort for some merchants in Ered Luin. They were trading in silver work for furs. We took the Greenway South, keeping the mountain to our left. And then it appeared. This huge fire moon lighting our path. I wish I could show you the caverns . . ."
"Ooh, I smell romance in the air," Misty says in a teasing tone.
"Yeah, a Dwarf and an Elf," Kristie says. "I'm sure Thorin would be pleased to hear about that. Although," she adds as an afterthought. "She isn't that bad looking for an Elf."
Misty smiles mischievously and nudges her sister, "Does someone have a little crush?"
"Maybe," Kristie says sheepishly while looking at her feet, a faint blush finding its way onto her cheeks.
"I'll wager the sun is on the rise. Must be nearly dawn," Bofur says longingly.
"We're never gonna reach the mountain, are we?" Ori says, disappointment in his tone. Misty can hear Fili groan dejectedly from the cell next to her.
"Not stuck in here, you're not." Bilbo appears suddenly and shakes a ring full of keys.
All the Dwarves bolt up from where they're sitting and look to see if their burglar is really there. "Bilbo!" Balin says, surprised and relieved.
Other shouts start to join in, before the Hobbit says, "Shh. There are guards nearby."
Thorin looks gratefully to the Hobbit before looking around to make sure the company is all accounted for. Bilbo runs from cell to cell, unlocking every Dwarf that he sees.
Kristie and Misty are among the first to be released. They both look around to see who is near them. Misty, so intent on her surroundings, jumps a little when she feels a hand on her shoulders.
"You okay?" Fili asks her.
Misty nods, and Fili smiles and rushes away to find his brother.
Once everyone is out of their cells, they head up toward the entrance.
"Not that way. Follow me, down here." The Dwarves share a confused look before following the Hobbit.
Finally, they make it down to what looks like a wine cellar. At first, it looks as if there are guards waiting for them; however, upon closer look it's apparent that they're asleep. Misty looks at Bilbo, making sure this is where they're supposed to go, and he replies, "This way."
"I don't believe it," Kili says, disappointed. "We're in the cellars."
"You're supposed to be leading us out, not further in," Bofur accuses.
"I know what I'm doing," Bilbo reassures him.
"Shh," Bofur says to the Hobbit.
"This way. Everyone climb into the barrels, quickly."
"Are you mad? They'll find us," Dwalin says.
"No, no, they won't. I promise you," Bilbo reassures the large Dwarf. Turning to the rest of the company, he says, "Please, please, you must trust me."
Bilbo turns to Thorin in frustration. After a moment of hesitation, Thorin says, "Do as he says."
The company make their way into the barrels. Once Kristie gets inside of hers, she realizes, "Oh, I get it. But wait, Bilbo. How are you getting out?"
"Uh, I-I'll think of something," the Hobbit says halfheartedly.
"Everyone's in," Dori says.
"What do we do now?" Bofur peaks his head out, followed by the rest of the company.
"Hold your breath," Bilbo says cryptically.
"Hold my breath? What do ya mean?"
Before Bofur can get an answer, the floor beneath them starts to tilt. Soon, all the barrels are rolling downward and crashing into a body of water below.
Once all the company resurfaces, they wait anxiously for their burglar to make his way down as well.
"He should be here by now," Kristie says.
Just as she says it, the company watches Bilbo fall into the water. Nori grabs onto him from his barrel, and Thorin says, "Well done, Master Baggins. Go! Come on, let's go."
Slowly, the company floats down the cavern river. As the first rays of sunlight can be seen, Thorin shouts from up ahead, "Hold on!"
Confused, Misty tries to see what's wrong, when she notices a drop off at the exit. Bracing herself, she holds her breath as the barrel drops off the cliff. The company tries to stay afloat in the rapid waters, their barrels continuously hitting against the rocky sides.
"Hold on!" Bofur shouts, grabbing Bilbo just before he would have smashed against a rock.
In the distance, a horn is blown.
The gate ahead of them, their one chance of escaping is now being closed off.
"No!" Thorin shouts as he hits the bars, pulling against them in hope of breaking them open.
The Elves on top of the bridge draw their swords and prepare to recapture the company.
However, the Elves wouldn't have a chance to capture the Dwarves, because just then, an arrow is fired at the Elven guard.
Appearing behind the fallen Elf, a disgusting looking Orc growls at the now trapped company.
"Watch out! There's Orcs!" Bofur yells as the body of an Elf falls into the water.
Suddenly, hundreds of Orcs appear from all around, taking out the Elven guard with ease and aiming their attacks on the helpless company.
"Get under the bridge!" Thorin yells as the enemy closes in. Soon the Orcs start blatantly attacking the company by jumpring onto the barrels. Thankfully, Bilbo still has his sword and is able to take out a few of the orcs.
Kristie, fighting off an Orc of her own, notices that Kili looks off into the distance. Curious as to what caught his attention, she turns around and sees the lever that opens the gate.
Looking back at Kili, she sees him gather his courage an leap out of his barrel, balancing on the edge of other barrels and making his way toward the shore.
He lands on the pathway and is instantly met with an Orc aiming for his head. Kili ducks out of the way and tries his best to fight the creature.
Noticing that Kili has no weapons, Dwain yells, "Kili!" and throws a sword to him
Kili manages to take out two Orcs, and would have been killed by a third if it isn't for Fili's throwing knife. Kili turns to see who killed the beast, and when he realizes it's Fili, he gives a brief look of gratitude to his brother.
However, the relief is short lived. As Kili heads toward the lever, Misty hears the unmistakable sound of an arrow being drawn. Whipping her head to the source, she sees an Orc aiming an arrow at the young Dwarf.
"Kili, look out—!"
But her cry is too late.
Kili pauses in shock and pain, and groans in discomfort as he struggles to stay upright.
"Kili!" Fili calls out in distress.
Kili tries to pull down the lever, but the pain is too much, and he collapses on the ground with a groan.
Thorin hears Fili's shout for his brother, and is suddenly filled with fear. "Kili."
When all hope seems lost, suddenly it reappears. Kristie sees an arrow fly and hit one of the Orcs attacking her. Looking to its source, she sees Tauriel and Legolas appear from behind the bushes. Showing a smile of relief, Kristie turns her attention to the injured Dwarf.
It seems as if Kili sees the Elf as well, because he suddenly has a burst of motivation and slowly pulls himself up toward the lever. Using his dead weight to his advantage, he pulls down on the lever as he falls back onto the rock.
The gate suddenly opens, and the Dwarves start cascading down the short waterfall just outside the gate.
Seeing that their prey is getting away, the leader of the Orcs shouts something in Orkish, and they begin to follow the company downstream.
Fili looks up to his brother, concern blatant on his face, and calls to him when his own barrel starts moving. "Kili!"
Kili manages to slide himself off the ledge and into one of the few empty barrels.
As he falls into the barrel, the arrow shaft breaks off, eliciting a moan from the injured Dwarf. Soon enough, the company tumbles down a short waterfall and begins their journey toward safety.