Ch. 12: The Defiler

The dwarves all looked around in panic. Fili and Kili both looked behind themselves rather comically, as if one had given Bilbo a piggy-back without consent.

"He was with Dori last," pointed Bofur.

"Don't blame me!" cried the dwarf indignantly.

"Where did you last see him?" asked Gandalf urgently.

"I think he slipped away when they first cornered us," said Nori.

"So is he back in there, or is he somewhere in the mountains?" gasped Kylie. Bilbo was the key to… to everything! He just couldn't be lost.

Thorin shook his head. "He has been more trouble than use so far. He has thought of nothing but his comfy bed and armchair since he left home."

"If we have to go back into those abominable tunnels and search for him, then drat him I say!" added Dwalin harshly.

"I brought him, and I do not bring things that are of no use!" insisted Gandalf.

"If he's still in there, then we've got to try to find him," said Kylie quietly. She stood up slowly. "I'm going back." She was here to save her friends from the evil of the ring. That would not happen if the ringbearer never had the chance to find the ring.

Thorin grasped her arm. "The hobbit is long gone, I would not bother," he said angrily.

"No, no he isn't," said a small voice. Kylie turned around to see little Bilbo Baggins staring up at all of them.

"Bilbo!" she cried simultaneously with Thorin's nephews. Relief rushed through her. Surprisingly enough, it was not just for the sake of the ring. She realized that she had grown to appreciate the hobbit himself. She was glad he was safe for his own sake.

"Bless me Bilbo, I do not believe I have been happier to see anyone in my entire life!" exclaimed Gandalf.

"How did you get past the goblins?" asked Ori.

"What does it matter?" answered Gandalf quickly. "He's back!"

"It matters," insisted Thorin. "I want to know: why did you come back?"

Bilbo shifted. Kylie saw how uncomfortable he looked and so she stood by him for support. "I know you all doubt me, I do. And Thorin's right, I do miss my books and my armchair." Thorin looked slightly ashamed when Bilbo said this. So Bilbo had heard every word. "See that is my home. And that's why I came back: because you don't have one. But I'll help you get it back if I can."

Kylie looked around the dwarves. She knew that many of them thought the hobbit more of a pain than any use. But she knew they valued loyalty more than anything. So if any of them still thought the hobbit was a pain, at least he was a loyal one. And that meant he was worth keeping around.

Then the howls started.

"Out of the frying pan…" started Thorin.

"… And into the fire. Run. Run!"

At the wizard's words, the company broke into a sprint. Kylie was worn. They had run all the way through the Misty Mountains, and now they were expected to run even further. An evil little voice in her head suggested that she should stop and take her chances if it meant she could sit.

"Don't stop!" urged Balin.

Never mind.

"There's no place! We're cornered!" screamed Ori.

"The trees, the trees!" cried Gandalf.

Kylie was about to climb when she noticed how Bilbo was struggling to remove his sword from a warg's head.

"Bilbo!" she cried, rushing towards him. She took ahold of his sword and tried to pull it from the head. But it was lodged in tight.

"What is this thing's head made of?" the girl cried. "Bilbo, we need to tug together!" He grabbed the top of the hilt and Kylie grabbed the bottom. She grabbed the bottom, covering her hand with some mail and they pulled together. The sword came out, but her hand felt warm and sticky. Clearly she did not cover as much of her hand as she'd thought. But thanks to adrenaline, she barely felt it.

"Up in the trees!" cried somebody.

"Come on!" Kylie lifted Bilbo up to Dori's waiting arms. The she raced to the back tree with Gandalf and ascended faster than she'd ever climbed anything before.

"Come, stay up here," said the wizard.

She crawled as close as she could. "So what do we do now?"

He looked very solemn. "We pray that the wargs will simply stand guard."

"Simply?"

For a short time, the wargs did seem to be content to pace and watch. Then she heard evil laughter. The goblins had arrived.

"No," whispered Gandalf, staring at the wargs in horror.

Kylie looked too. At first she noticed nothing notable. But then she took a closer look. These weren't goblins. They were much larger, muscular, and uglier. These were orcs. They dismounted their wargs and drew their long, crooked swords. In the back, standing on an elevated rock, stood a white blob. It took her a minute to be able to make it out, but it was a white warg. It was at least twice as large as most of the others and… now Kylie was far away, but it looked like it had red eyes. On top was a large white orc. He was covered in scars and his right arm was missing. In its place was a spiked beam.

"That is Azog, the Defiler," explained Gandalf. "The Pale Orc, among the worst of his kind. He once swore to remove the line of Durin. He killed Thror, and I have reason to believe he is responsible for the death of Thrain. Are you familiar with either of those names?"

"Thorin's father?"

"And grandfather. Unless we can receive some form of help we are all in grave danger. Especially Thorin."

Kylie nodded. She tried to think of anything that she could do. She felt so useless….

Suddenly she heard creaking and cracking and cries. The wargs were jumping up the trees! The wargs were attacking! The trees were beginning to break! She reached back for her bow, but that nearly sent her tumbling to the wargs below. She held onto the tree tightly and tried just to breathe.

The first tree snapped and fell on top of another. Then another collapsed. Then a third. Dwarves were flying onto their tree like squirrels. Kylie had to scramble closer to the top just to avoid being hit by her friends. Then fire erupted below. The wizard was throwing little balls of fire to the forest below.

Pinecones?

"Fili!" called Gandalf. A flaming pinecone fell through the trees into the young dwarf's outstretched hand. Fili lit another for Bilbo and both hit their targets. Kylie really wanted to throw a pinecone, but she just could not let go of the tree.

Not that it mattered anyway. Soon the entire forest was ablaze. Kylie laughed in relief as the wargs slowly backed away. They were out of immediate danger. Was the fire close? Yes. Would it provide a problem in the near future? Sure. But they no longer had wargs jumping up their trees, and that was cause to celebrate. And they did! They cheered. Azog's forces could not get closer. They would survive the night!

Then screams. Kylie could feel the vibrations in her fingers as the tree finally cracked. She held on for dear life as the tree fell over the edge of the cliff. Just then it stopped. She inhaled roughly. She was alive! More than that, she was on top of the tree. But some were not so lucky.

"Mister Gandalf!" cried Dori. Gandalf barely lowered his staff in time or Dori to catch it. Dori and Ori were saved, but Gandalf would be completely unable to do anything else.

Kylie inched along the tree. They had to get off, and they had to do it soon! She never paid much attention in physics (she didn't even like physics), but she knew there was too much weight on the tree. It couldn't support them all, and it would fall. It didn't take a physicist to figure that out. She stopped to help Fili regain some footing so he could leave too when they both heard screaming around them.

"Thorin!"

"No!"

Then a horrible pain-filled scream filled the air.

Kylie turned toward the scream. Thorin had gone out to fight Azog, but it had gone horrendously wrong. When she looked over, the white warg had him in its mouth and was shaking him mercilessly. The dwarf was crying in a way that no dwarf should cry. She watched in horror as the warg tossed him aside. Shock set in and her muscles refused to move.

But not everybody had frozen. Bilbo had gotten off the tree and was scrambling in the dwarf king's direction.

"Help me!" yelled Fili urgently. His voice brought Kylie back to reality. She reached towards him and he climbed up her and raced off the tree. Kili had also found a foothold and ran to catch up with his brother. And Dwalin had managed to get to the edge, but at least he dragged Kylie off the tree first. It took her a moment to recover, but she stood up and reached for her bow.

She aimed at the first thing she saw. The first thing that entered her line of sight was the pale orc. Her eyes went wide. He was bearing down on Bilbo! The poor hobbit lay hopelessly on the ground, staring at what he knew would likely be his death. Not if Kylie Turney could help it. She pulled back and fired.

But she didn't take close enough aim. Instead of hitting the orc, she hit the warg. The arrow landed right above his front leg, but it was not a lethal hit. The warg cried out and the orc turned. He saw the arrow, and then he saw the archer. He growled and turned to attack. She tried to grab another arrow, but it slipped through her hands. The warg leapt. It overshot, but the creature's paw struck her head. Kylie was already trying to duck so the blow itself wasn't bad, but the momentum threw her directly under the warg. Its hind legs landed on her as it skipped to regain its balance. Kylie cried out in pain. It felt like her side was on fire. But she couldn't stop. Hesitation meant death; she knew that much. Slowly, Kylie rolled onto her stomach and tried to find Azog. The orc was glaring at her, brandishing a sword. Kylie reached for her bow only to find that it was smashed.

Then the unexpected happened. A giant shape flew over, throwing Azog off his warg. The warg itself snapped, jumping at the shape, but it was thrown against a tree.

Then Kylie screamed. Not because of anything Azog or his warg did, or even because of her new injury. One second she was lying flat on the ground. The next she was ascending hundreds of feet in the air. She struggled and cried.

"If you don't stop that, I may drop you," said a regal voice. Kylie looked up. She was being carried by a giant eagle.

A/N: Well I managed to get another off before vacation. Yay! See all of you soon, and good luck on any of your story endeavors!