A/N: There's a bit of Khuzdul and a lot of Black Speech in this chapter, translations can be found in the note at the bottom :)
Chapter 12
The howls of the wargs chased them down the mountainside, running until Brie thought her lungs would burst, but finally they could run no more. The slope ended abruptly in a tree covered cliff and there was nowhere else to run.
Something impossibly large flew over Brie's head and she ducked. A warg hit the ground before her and slid to a stop, snarling and snapping its huge jaws. Brie didn't have time to blink, much less reach for an arrow or fumble for Fili's knives. It was too close, getting closer, and she tripped and fell back as it rushed her...
And then Bilbo was there, between them, and the warg yelped, fell to the ground, and was still. The hilt of Bilbo's little sword protruded out from between its dead eyes. Bilbo had just killed a warg. Bilbo, who had never so much as swatted a spider in his life! For a moment, all the hobbit twins could do was stare.
"Into the trees!" Gandalf shouted, "All of you!"
The wizard's voice got Brie to her feet, lending her weight to help Bilbo pull his sword from the dead warg's skull. It made a nasty, wet, sucking sound as it finally came free, and then Brie was shoving her brother forward blindly toward the tall pines.
"Briallen!"
She looked up and grabbed Nori's outstretched hand, swinging and scrambling into the branches.
"Bilbo?!" she gasped.
"Got him!" Bofur called, and Brie let herself sag against the tree trunk.
Then the wargs were upon them, snarling and throwing themselves against the trees, nearly tossing Brie from her perch. Dwalin caught her and pulled her back, tucking her under his arm as the tree rocked and swayed beneath them.
It stopped just as suddenly as it had begun though, growls and snarls still hanging low in the air, but the wargs were looking back now, looking up…
A pale orc... astride a white warg...
Brie felt her stomach drop. Dwalin's arm around her tightened.
"Mahal amtúk má..."
The pale orc, the one called Azog, moved languidly, his skin gleaming in the light of the pale moon. When he finally spoke, it was in a dark language, guttural and rough, that made Brie's skin crawl. She pressed closer to Dwalin, who seemed to understand a little of what was said because he was growling, a low rumble that Brie felt more than heard in his chest.
Then the orc straightened and shouted, something sharp and pointed, and the wargs threw themselves into the trees with a ferocious abandon, clawing and scrambling up the trunks, trying to find purchase in the branches. One of the beasts leaped up and snapped just below Brie's foot. She screamed and clung to Dwalin.
"Up, lass!" he shouted, pushing her into the branches above and swinging up behind her just as the warg sank his teeth into the branch that had held them. It cracked and the warg tumbled to the ground with a yelp.
But that did not deter the others, clawing and snapping, rocking the tree with such force that it started to tilt.
"Brie!"
She heard Bilbo scream her name, but she was focused now, alert, and she could feel the ice of the river starting to stiffen her nerves and cool her fear, the snarls of the wargs meshing with the memory of wolf growls.
"What do we do?" she shouted over the noise.
"We'll have to jump!" Nori answered, pointing at the nearest tree, where Bofur and Bilbo clung desperately.
It didn't look to be in much better shape than theirs was, honestly, but Brie figured they had little choice. She bent into a crouch, one hand gripping the tree branch, the other held flat on the trunk for balance. She took a deep breath and she could smell river water...
"Jump!" Nori shouted.
Brie jumped, wrapping her arms wildly around a branch near her brother, who hauled her to her feet, his eyes wide.
"Are you alright?" he asked
Brie didn't have time to answer. The tree beneath them creaked and groaned under the additional weight and then it too began to tilt dangerously. Brie grabbed her brother's arm and scanned the area, finding the next tree (which only looked marginally more stable) and preparing to make a second leap.
"Get ready!" she said.
"Ready for what?" Bilbo asked, his voice trembling.
The trees crashed together, and Brie and Bilbo were thrown into the branches, Brie managing to pull herself up and dragging Bilbo with her. She saw Nori being hauled up by Dori, and Bofur was dangling in one of the higher branches but he seemed alright. Dwalin clung to a branch close beside her, his legs swinging as he tried to heave himself higher. Brie reached out, not sure how much help she could be, but...
The tree shuddered and the dwarf slipped.
"Dwalin!" she shrieked.
"Gotcha!"
Nori had Dwalin by the hand and pulled him up into the branches, narrowly missing the snapping jaws of the wargs below.
"Suppose this makes us even, guardsman," Nori said.
"I wasn't keepin' score, thief," Dwalin muttered.
One by one the trees continued to fall, moving the dwarves and hobbits closer and closer to the cliff's edge. Finally, only one tree remained and the wargs scrabbled and pushed on the trunk below their dangling feet, pulling up roots and making the stout pine shudder ominously. The pale orc laughed, a dark and dangerous sound that set Brie's teeth on edge. She gripped the trunk of the tree with one hand and held on to her brother with the other and for once the name of the Green Mother came to her mind in the least blasphemous way possible.
Yavanna, please... Please let us live... Save us...
As if in answer, fire fell from the sky and bounced off the back of a warg, sending him yelping and howling away in pain. The other wargs dropped to all fours and growled uncertainly.
"Fili!" Gandalf shouted.
Brie looked up. The wizard had two pine cones set aflame and he let one drop into the hands of the elder prince. Bilbo scrambled across and snatched another pine cone from a nearby branch, pressing it to the one Fili was trying not to let burn his fingers to a crisp. Brie threw herself higher into the branches, gathering pine cones into her arms as she climbed, until she reached the source of the flame.
"Gandalf!" she gasped.
The wizard took one of her stock and set it alight. Brie looked down.
"Ori!" she cried and dropped the flaming missile into the young dwarf's outstretched fingers. She'd seen his skill with a slingshot, she did not think her faith would be too far misplaced.
She was right. Nori's younger brother soon had a stock of flaming pine cones and was lobbing the missiles into the warg pack with uncanny accuracy. Gandalf lit another of her pine cones and the rest Brie lit herself, letting her mind return to winter as she took aim at the snarling beasts below. Even as her fingers blistered, she found she did not mind the heat. The river ice was in her veins.
The cliff below had been set alight and the wargs howled and pulled back, snarling uselessly at the fire that singed their fur. Even the white warg was wary of the flame and his rider snarled and roared his frustration. The dwarves cheered as the wargs retreated, and Brie allowed a pleased smile to touch her lips as the name of a dwarf she had not even known slipped across her mind.
For Frerin...
There was a shuddering lurch and Brie almost lost her balance. And that was when she realized the tree was leaning.
No... she thought, Not now, please, not now...
The fall was slow and arduous, the tree's roots plucking themselves from the ground one by one, faster and faster, but Brie still had time to think, to imagine them falling, as they had fallen so many times in the goblin caves. Only this time there would be nothing to stop them, no convenient narrow spot to slow their decent, only the black night air and the hard, cold ground at the bottom. So many times she had thought they wouldn't survive, with the trolls, on the plains, in the mountains, but that knowledge did not lessen the grim realization that this was it. They were going to die.
The tree hit the edge of the cliff with a jolt that knocked Brie off of her branch and left her clinging to the trunk, her feet swinging in open air for a moment before she found purchase in another branch and hauled herself up again.
There was a scream and Brie turned toward it. Ori was dangling from Dori's leg.
"Mister Gandalf!" Dori pleaded.
Dori... Ori... Nori's brothers...
Oh Green Mother have mercy, not like this... not to Nori...
Dori cried out and slipped, but Gandalf's staff shot out quick as lightning and Dori caught it. He couldn't hold on for long, but maybe long enough that they would all fall together and Nori wouldn't have to watch his brothers die before him. Green Mother, at least grant him that...
"Brie!"
Bilbo...
He was clinging to a branch just on the other side of her and he looked alright, though his eyes were round and frightened. Oh... Oh how she wanted him to live, to go back to the Shire, to his books, and armchair, and the garden. If she could just reach him and pull him up maybe he could run, maybe the wargs would not trouble with one little hobbit when there were thirteen dwarves, a wizard, and a hobbit-lass just waiting at the bottom of the hill. Bilbo could live.
But he wouldn't. Just as he hadn't run out of the mountains when he'd had the chance, just as he hadn't stayed in Rivendell when she knew the elves would have gladly kept him. He hadn't run then, and he wouldn't run now. Because he knew that she would not run. She would not leave Nori, and Dwalin, and Thorin, and all the rest to die, not while she still had strength left.
Together... or not at all.
Movement caught Brie's eye and she turned to watch as one of the dwarves rose to his feet.
"Thorin..." she whispered.
But he couldn't hear her. His feet were planted firmly on the tree trunk and the hot air swirled around him, but he wasn't with them any more. He had gone somewhere else, somewhere far away, and now Brie finally understood what he'd meant when he'd asked her where she'd gone on the plains before Rivendell. Because Thorin was gone now and she knew that no amount of shouting or pleading would bring him back.
Slowly, the dwarf king started to walk down the trunk... toward the wargs...
Toward Azog.
The pale orc crouched over the back of his warg, snarling. And then they were running, roaring, charging. Azog leapt from the rock and Thorin raised his sword...
The warg's front paw struck the dwarf full in the chest and knocked Thorin to the ground. Brie's blood turned to ice. The dwarf king got up, but he was too slow. Azog swung his mace and it smashed into Thorin's face. He fell back and did not rise this time.
The warg got his jaws around the dwarf king and that was when Brie realized she was on her feet. She could hear Nori calling to his brothers, "Hold on, just hold on!" She heard Dwalin shouting, screaming Thorin's name as a branch snapped and he swung out into open air, barely clinging to the tree and still scrambling to reach his cousin... his friend. She heard Ori whimpering. She heard Balin crying. They were going to die. They were all going to die, but Thorin deserved better, better than a white warg's dinner, better than death by the same orc that had killed his grandfather and his father and his brother.
Bilbo was standing beside her, his sword glowing brilliant blue in his hand. Brie looked at her own hands and realized that she could not remember having nocked an arrow to her bow string, but she had.
Thorin cried out as he was flung from the warg's jaws and lay still upon the rocks. The pale orc growled to another of his number, and the other orc dismounted, approaching Thorin with black blade raised while the pale orc looked on.
No.
Thorin was a king.
He deserved better.
The silver arrow was flying before she even realized she'd drawn, and it glittered in the fire as it flew through the night and buried itself in the orc's shoulder. The creature screamed, and then Bilbo was on it, launching himself through the air and tackling the orc to the ground. Brie thought she faintly heard her name, Nori's voice calling, Briallen, no, please! but she was already running, her steps steady and sure as she raced down the trunk of the tree, reaching for another arrow, setting it to the string. Her feet touched earth, she pulled back and released, the arrow flying straight and true, burying itself in the neck of the great white warg. The creature gave a strangled howl and reared back, throwing its pale rider to the ground. The white warg rolled to its side, writhing and clawing at its throat, and then finally went still.
Brie had reached Thorin. Bilbo was already there, his sword blazing like blue fire in the night as he swung it wildly in front of him. Brie knelt at the king's side.
Don't let him be dead, please, please, don't let him be dead...
The dwarf groaned softly and that was confirmation enough for Brie. She swept to her feet, reaching for another arrow... but her hand came back empty. There were no more silver arrows. A string of curses flooded her thoughts as she swung her now useless bow across her back. She still had Fili's knives in her belt and she brought them out, clutching them in shaking hands. The pale orc had risen. He was grinning at them, a horrible toothy snarl.
"Azubulûk," he growled.
The wargs began to close in. Brie pressed her shoulder to her brother's, taking comfort in his presence even if she knew he was just as scared as she. If they were to die tonight, she was glad that at least she was with him. That made everything not quite so bad.
"Together..." she whispered.
"...or not at all," Bilbo answered.
The river ice ran in Brie's veins. She tensed.
A mighty roar filled the air, and Dwalin leapt out of the shadows and latched himself onto an orc, throwing it from the back of its warg. Fili and Kili shot like blurs after him, dwarven blades blazing in the firelight as they whirled through the wargs and orcs, slashing and stabbing. One warg and rider broke through the melee and launched itself at Brie and Bilbo, and Brie tensed for the impact, ready to shove her brother to safety.
A clang rang in Brie's ears as warg and orc were flung to the side by a huge mace and Nori leaped on the beast with a snarl, bringing the mace down on the head of the orc rider before he had time to draw his blade. Bilbo let out a cry and launched himself upon the warg itself, slashing blindly with his sword, but managing to find the creature's throat. Brie gripped her knives and stood ready, knowing that she was now the only thing standing between Thorin and...
There was a roar and Brie turned, but too slow. The metal claw of the pale orc caught her across the face and sent her sprawling in the dirt. She felt something warm trickle down her face and her head spun as she struggled onto her side.
"Globlob-gaz!" Azog snarled, crouched close to her, watching her with those nasty black eyes, "Khûrub-izg hûnlût-lab, thrang ghaashub u-ta hiisht!"
She didn't understand the words, but she didn't have to. She could see the gleam in those eyes, the same gleam that had lit them when he looked at Thorin.
Thorin...
Without meaning to, her eyes flicked to the dwarf king, lying still on the rocks not five feet from where Azog crouched. She might be able to reach him in time...
Azog followed her eyes. A feral grin spread across his face.
"Ahhhh..." he said, almost purring now, "Âshûrz... Honub-lat ta grish..."
And the pale orc lunged for the dwarf.
"No!" Brie screamed and launched herself at the orc, slashing out with Fili's knife.
She felt the blade find flesh. She dug in and then ripped down, putting all her weight behind it. Azog roared so loudly that Brie's ears rang with it and he lurched back, clutching at his face. Black blood welled between his fingers. Brie stumbled, barely keeping her feet. Her vision was starting to fade around the edges. If the pale orc came for her now, she wouldn't have the strength to stop him, but perhaps she could buy Thorin a little more time, time for someone else to take her place, to defend him, to keep him alive... Dwalin... or Fili...
A high keening screech pierced the air. Brie blinked.
Eagles. Giant eagles as big as horses descended from the night sky, outstretched talons tossing groups of orcs and wargs from the cliffs like rag dolls, huge wings beating at the raging flames, throwing up sparks and ash and smoke. Brie turned her face from the flying sparks, and saw one eagle gently pluck Thorin from the ground and, with a great flap of wings, carry him away into the night. His oaken shield clattered to the ground beside her.
No.
He needed his shield.
It was his name.
He'd earned it.
Without really thinking, Brie picked up the shield and clutched it to her chest. He would want it back, she knew it, somewhere in her mind, so clouded and blurry, she knew that Thorin would want it back.
Azog was roaring at the sky, toward the retreating eagles, and Brie could see figures on their backs now. Relief welled up in her chest. The dwarves. They had rescued the dwarves. Azog turned his glittering eyes back on her and she met them without fear. There was a long bloody gash down the right side of his face, from his temple all the way through his cheek. She could see his teeth through the ripped flesh as he snarled at her. She smirked.
"Azog the Defiler," she said, her voice hoarse from the smoke, "Marked by a hobbit."
The orc snarled and tensed to strike out at her. Brie didn't even flinch. She had known all along that she was going to die. At least she would die knowing the others were safe.
"Brie!"
Bilbo's frightened squeak made Brie jump and look up, past Azog. But before she could really register what she was seeing, she was swept off her feet and tossed off the cliff face. She could hear Bilbo scream beside her, but she couldn't seem to catch her breath. All she could do was close her eyes and cling to Thorin's shield. She landed quite sooner than she'd expected and in much softer circumstances. She opened her eyes. She was surrounded by golden feathers, ruffled by wind. Bilbo was beside her, clinging to the feathers as they flapped and rustled around them. She gripped the back of the eagle with a free hand and held on as they flew off into the night, Azog's deafening roars echoing behind them.
When they landed, the morning sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon and Brie thought that she was going to be sick. Her head spun and all she wanted was to close her eyes and lay down on the cool stone of the outcropping. But she couldn't. Not now, while her heart was racing and her breath felt like it was stuck in her throat.
Thorin lay where the eagle had left him. He was still. Too still. Gandalf slid from an eagle's back and raced past the hobbits to the king's side, kneeling and whispering as the dwarves slowly gathered around them. But Brie held back, clutching Thorin's shield to her chest with a fierceness she hadn't realized she possessed.
"Don't you dare..." she whispered, watching Gandalf bend over the still form, "You simple-minded, stubborn, beautiful creature, don't you dare..."
There was a tense moment when it seemed like everyone held their breath. Brie's fingers tightened on the shield until they ached. And then a deep, resonate whisper floated back to them.
"The halflings?"
Brie sagged with relief, putting a hand on Bilbo's shoulder to keep upright. He was alive. He was alive.
"It's alright," Gandalf said soothingly, "They're both here. And quite safe."
Slowly, and with a lot of help from his nephews, Thorin got to his feet. His face was an emotionless mask, but Briallen didn't care. He was on his feet. He was on his feet and walking toward them and he was alive...
"What did you think you were doing? You nearly got yourselves killed!"
On any other day, at any other time, Brie's temper would have flared at the dwarf king's sharp tone. She would have glared and put her hands on her hips and shouted until they were both hoarse and blue in the face. But today... today, her head was spinning and she was tired, tired of being angry, tired of fighting, just... tired. So today, instead of standing strong, she flinched away from Thorin's angry words and just let them come.
"Did I not say that you would be a burden?" he growled, "That you would not survive in the wild? That you had no place amongst us?"
The dwarf stepped closer and for once Bilbo was the brave one, because he did not step away, but Brie was not that strong. She was too tired to stand beneath those angry eyes and so, while Thorin's gaze seemed fixed on Bilbo, she tried to shuffle out of sight. Maybe she could just lay down on the rock, just lay down and go to sleep and no one would notice...
"I have never been so wrong, in all my life."
Brie could only stare as Thorin Oakenshield reached out and embraced her brother. The other dwarves cheered and Brie felt tears prick her eyes, but she blinked and kept them at bay. She would not cry. She could do that at least, keep that little bit of her dignity intact. Thorin and Bilbo broke apart and Brie realized she was still staring. She took another shuffling step back, hoping to simply fade into the dwarven group of faces before she was noticed and...
Thorin patted Bilbo's arms, and his eyes fixed on her. She unintentionally flinched from his gaze, shrinking back and wondering if she could still get away, still fade back into the dwarves without a word. His eyes were not unkind, but she didn't want meaningless words, or platitudes. She would rather he didn't speak at all...
His brow furrowed and he stepped toward her, slowly, cautiously, as if he was afraid she would spook. Brie swallowed and stood her ground, but barely.
"What do you have there?" he asked, his voice a soft rumble.
She jumped and clutched the shield to her chest for a moment before she remembered what it was and why she had it in the first place. Slowly, she loosened her grip and held it out to him.
"I... thought you might want it back."
She saw his breath hitch when he recognized it and she swallowed nervously. Slowly, Thorin reached out and took the shield, allowing his fingers to brush the tips of her own as he slipped it out of her hand. He turned it over, examining it for a brief moment before he met her eyes again.
"Thank you," he murmured.
Maybe she was just exhausted, maybe she was just relieved, or maybe it was something in his voice, something she had never heard before any time he'd spoken to her, but for the first time, Brie relaxed in Thorin's presence. She gave him a small smile...
...and then the darkness closed in and she passed out on the rock.
Khuzdul Translations:
Mahal amtúk má- Mahal give us strength
Black Speech Translations:
Azubulûk- Kill them
Globlob-gaz!- Foolish little girl!
Khûrub-izg hûnlût-lab, thrang ghaashub u-ta hiisht!- I will rip your heart out and burn it to ash!
Âshûrz... Honub-lat ta grish...- First... You will watch him bleed...