"What happened here?" I asked as I surveyed the floor.

"I fear our company may have fallen into a goblin trap." we looked at each other before he continued, "We must go after them."

"But how?" I asked as I motioned to the floor, "I do not see how we can get through."

"Well," he began to poke the ground with his staff, "With luck, there may be a hidden catch. If I can locate it, I may just be able..."

He didn't finish as at that moment the floor opened up and we began to fall.

Down a chute, we went until we landed on a hard rocky surface. I was a dazed a moment but once I regained my senses I quickly looked around. We were at the edge of a ledge and not a single goblin was in sight, but a great commotion could be heard in the near distance. I stood and rubbed my sore bottom. "Could have warned me."

"Consider yourself warned." he said as he picked up his staff and then unsheathed his sword, "We should hurry."

I pulled my bow off my back and nodded.

We ran along a path until we were in sight of a large gathering of goblins. We were not noticed as they were too engrossed with terrorizing our company near the throne of their king. He seemed to be in a rage about something as he cowered on his throne. "Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!"

My eyes widened as I saw that he motioned for Thorin's head to be cut off. As Gandalf crept closer, I watched as some Goblins held Thorin down, and one of them pulled out his knife and prepared to behead him. I couldn't wait on Gandalf any longer and the others were busy fighting for their own lives. Pulling an arrow out from my quiver I quickly notched it and took aim. In no time at all, my arrow was flying straight through the head of the knife-wielding goblin. Just then, there was a massive explosion of bright light, flinging goblins in the air and destroying some machines that didn't look too pleasant. I along with everyone else was knocked down as we shielded our eyes from the brightness.

When the force of the explosion has passed with most of the lights in the area have been snuffed out, I looked up to see Gandalf walking towards the group holding his staff and his sword, Glamdring. After a time some light slowly returned to the area as the goblins and the company slowly looked up, recovering from the shock. I quickly got up to join them. "Take up arms." Gandalf commanded the group, "Fight. Fight!"

Our company immediately went into action and began fighting the goblins. I jumped onto a large rock to begin shooting down as many goblins as I was able. "He wields the Foe-Hammer, the Beater, bright as daylight!" Evidently, the Goblin King knew of Gandalf's sword. I threw this note to the back of my mind as I was running low on arrows and the goblins came too close for comfort. Quickly throwing my bow on my back I pulled out my sword and dagger to continue fighting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the goblin king falling into the abyss. "Follow me. Quick! Run!"

Gandalf didn't have to tell us twice as we moved after him, slicing goblins as we went.

We ran down many passageways, fighting the whole way through, but I could not see an exit anywhere. The dwarves fought in their own unique styles such as using a guardrail post as a spear to clear the way. While this worked for most of the goblins we had the problem of others swinging down on ropes. If only I had more arrows! "Cut the ropes!" Thorin shouted.

I watched as the ropes of a raised platform were cut which then fell forward, causing the goblins to become entangled. I smiled but the victory didn't last long. Goblins began shooting arrows at some of the company. Luckily they didn't hit anyone and we were able to continue on our way.

Kili and the few others dwarves were pushing a ladder against a wave of goblins when I noticed something in the path. "There's a gap!"

The ones pushing the ladder hesitated long enough to look around the goblins they pushed before continuing full speed ahead. Without breaking stride, they pushed off the remaining goblins and created a bridge with the ladder. With calculated steps, we raced across the ladder back to the stone path. "Quickly!" Gandalf's shouted.

We continued what found like miles inside a giant stone maze filled with all sorts of surprises. We had to swing like a pendulum on a part of the path that was suspended by ropes which we then cut. Using a boulder Gandalf separated from the wall, we ran down a newly cleared path. This actually made it easier to deal with those behind us and those along the walls. We continued running until we made it to a bridge strung across a large cavern. We began to cross it only to be stopped by the Goblin King breaking through the planks. In an instant, we were surrounded once again by the goblins. "You thought you could escape me?" He bellowed before swinging his weapon towards Gandalf. The wizard stumbled back and had to be caught by several dwarves that were closer than I. "What are you going to do now, wizard?"

In reply, Gandalf leaped forward and struck the goblin king in the eye with his staff. I couldn't help but smirk at the method of attack. At least it caused the goblin king to drop his weapon as he clutched his face in pain. Like a child, he cried. "Ow, ow, ow!"

Taking advantage, we watched as Gandalf stepped forward and sliced the goblin king in the stomach. Clutching said stomach, the goblin king fell to his knees. His final words? "That'll do it."

Gandalf again swung his sword and sliced the goblin king's neck, causing him to fall down dead.

The goblins around became shocked with disbelief just as another problem arises. The weight of the goblin's corpse caused the bridge to start shaking. Before we knew it, the section of the bridge on which we stood broke away from the rest of the bridge and started sliding down the side of the cavern. We slid at a terrifying speed down the cavern wall, demolishing everything in our way. We held on as best we could, screaming the whole way in terror. If we weren't in a dangerous situation I might have laughed at the sight of the dwarves actually screaming. The bridge slowed down and we landed at the base of the cavern. The wooden structure broke apart and burying the lot of us in the timber and wood. Gandalf and I were the first to get up from the pile of wreckage and we turned to watch the rest of the company, who are still stuck in the wreckage.

"Well, that could have been worse." Bofur remarked.

Out of nowhere, the heavy corpse of the goblin king landed on the wreckage, squishing the dwarves further as they cried out in pain. I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin exclaimed.

I smirked as I watched them dig themselves out. Suddenly, Kili called Gandalf's name. We all looked up to hundreds of goblins swarming down on us. My eyes widened at the sight.

"There's too many!" Dwalin stated, "We can't fight them."

"Then we must run." I said looking to Gandalf anxiously.

He nodded in agreement. "Only one thing will save us: daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet!"

We help the few remaining get out of the wreckage before booking it. This time, we ran down a series of dark tunnels with only the sound of our feet moving and the goblins behind us. I felt like I was using the very last remains of my energy to get out alive, and it wasn't in vain. Before long daylight could be seen and the sound of goblins silenced. We came out of the mountains to find ourselves in the woods near the Misty Mountains. We continued at least a few yards from the tunnel entrance before daring to stop for a breath. I collapsed on the grass, panting heavily as I tried to get air into my strained lungs. I was just starting to feel some relief when I heard Gandalf's ask, "Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit? Where is our hobbit?!"

I lifted my head and quickly surveyed the area. How could I have not noticed his absence? I mentally kicked myself for my stupidity. Several of the dwarves began talking at once.

"Curse the halfling! Now he's lost?!"

"I thought he was with Dori!"

"Don't blame me!"

"Well, where did you last see him?" Gandalf asked the group.

"I think I saw him slip away when they first collared us." Nori replied.

"What happened exactly?" I asked anxiously.

Thorin stepped forward to reply. "I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone."

I stared at him in disbelief. I understood what his problem was with me, but what did Bilbo do to him? I was just about to give him a piece of my mind when a new voice spoke up. "No, he isn't."

We all turned around to see Bilbo step out from behind a tree. i sighed in relief to see my small friend safe. Gandalf laughed as he spoke. "Bilbo Baggins! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!"

"Nor I for that matter." I said with a large grin plastered to my face. Bilbo came closer as once again several dwarves spoke.

"Bilbo, we'd given you up!"

"How on earth did you get past the Goblins?!"

"How, indeed." Thorin said with a tone of suspicion.

An awkward silence settled over our group whereas all Bilbo could do was let out a nervous chuckle. Another moment of silence continued before Gandalf's decided to break it. "Well, what does it matter? He's back!"

"It matters! " Thorin snapped before taking a step towards Bilbo, "I want to know: why did you come back?"

Bilbo sighed but looked Thorin straight in the eyes. "Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back, cause you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can."

After Bilbo speaks, there is silence as the dwarves think about what he just said. I stepped up to Bilbo and put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad to have you with us."