Hey so I figured I'd get this chapter up since I feel really shitty and just had the worst Monday ever since a guy who I thought was my friend told the guy I liked that I like him. Ugh. Drama. Hate it.

That's why I love writing sites like this so much. Less drama, less pressure. Absolutely wonderful.

Go check out EasternWolf23! She's got an awesome Hobbit fanfic in progress!

Rated-T

Warnings

Abuse/torture

Some OOC-ness maybe

I might not get all of their talking entirely accurate so please bear with me

Things you need to know

"Lydia/other Ereborians speaking in Khuzdul"

Disclaimer-I don't own the Hobbit or How To Train Your Dragon.

Here We Stand United

Chapter 14

The sky was dark over the mountain range, angry storm heads swirling about the peaks of the Misty Mountains. Thorin was right; they could not fly over, or through, that. The dragons would be tossed about like ragdolls if they made an attempt to fly through that storm. "The weather's getting worse, 'Adad!" Lydia shouted as the winds kicked up, throwing their hair into their faces. Most Ereborians could still see because their braids remained firmly clasped by their bronze, decorative hair clips, but the Viking teens were pretty much blind at this point, especially Ruff and Tuff because they had such long hair.

"We must find shelter or we'll be blown straight off the side of the mountain!" Balin called over the roaring winds. Thorin might have replied, but if he did no one could hear it, as the mountain they were walking on suddenly gave a low groan, and then with a rumble, large boulders came tumbling down towards them.

Hiccup jolted as a massive hand clamped onto his shoulder and tugged him back against the wall of the mountain. His feet almost shot out from under him, but Dwalin had a firm grasp on his shoulder and was keeping him steady. As he regained his footing, he risked a glance around the massive Ereborian warrior and saw Ori being steadied in much the same way. Other Ereborians were pressing the rest of the Vikings back away from the edge as well. Then, of course things just had to get worse, because the heavens finally opened up and it started to rain.

It pelted against their skin like pinpricks of cold fire, and as they trudged onward, the slopes of the mountain became slicker and slicker. The only being even relative happy with the rain was Lydia's Scauldron. For Hiccup, it became very difficuly to keep his balance, especially with his prosthetic. He was a little worried he'd fall off the cliff and no one would be able to get to him in time. It turned out, he wasn't the only one who was finding walking difficult. A shout rang out and Hiccup could only watch in horror as Ruffnut's feet shot out from under her and she almost took a tumble over the edge of the mountain, hand grabbing onto a rock at the last moment. Even a second later and she would have missed completely and become nothing more than a splotch at the base of the mountain.

"Ruff!" Snotlout shouted, and he lunged for her at the same time as Tuff. Those two would have fallen from the edge of the cliff as well, if not for their dragons. Hookfang snapped up Snotlout in an instant, and Belch's head snaked around to grab Tuff by the hair while Barf's head followed Ruff over the side and snagged her at the collar, lifting her from where she was dangling off the cliff side.

"No worries. I'm good," Ruff announced as Barf set her down, keeping a hold of her until she was steady. Belch had done the same for Tuff, but Hookfang seemed to have decided to carry Snotlout as the Monstrous Nightmare made no move to put his rider down. Snotlout seemed to have a problem with this as he was protesting the treatment rather loudly.

"'Adad, I think I see a cave over there. We can take shelter until the storm lets up," Frodo advised, pointing ahead to where they could just make out a dark patch in the mountainside. Thorin nodded and encouraged the group to move onward. They did as Thorin instructed and pressed on until they reached the dark area that turned out to indeed be a cave. However, as the Vikings made a move to enter, Thorin outstretched an arm to stop them.

"Dwalin, search the whole space before we enter. Caves in the mountain are rarely unoccupied," Thorin instructed. Dwalin gave a swift nod and then disappeared into the cave. They waited for what felt like an eternity, but was really only about seven minutes until Dwalin returned.

"The cave is empty. It will provide plenty of shelter for all of us, including the dragons," Dwalin reported, and it was with great sighs of relief that they all filed into the dimly lit cave. Gloin and Oin flung down supplies that they'd kept secure and dry in their packs.

"Let's get a fire going, aye?" Gloin offered with a smirk. Oin puzzled over what his brother had said as he didn't have his trumpet out, and then nodded in agreement when it registered what he'd heard. Then the two brothers set about setting the wood in an area where the fire wouldn't catch on their packs and grabbing their flint rocks. However, Thorin quickly put a stop to that.

"No, no fire. That could alert someone to our presence. We definitely don't want the residents of Goblin Town raining down on our heads," Thorin snapped. Gloin grumbled but put everything back in his pack while everyone else settled in, talking quietly amongst themselves and huddled together for warmth.

"Ori, let's take a look at that map," Balin suggested, and Ori stood from his spot next to his brothers and scurried over to sit by Thorin and Balin. The King, the Scribe, and the Advisor spoke in hushed tones together while the Vikings inched closer to where Bofur and Lydia sat, serious looks on their faces as they huddled over a different map and spoke of its contents in low tones.

"Lydia…what did Thorin mean by Goblin Town?" Hiccup tentatively asked after Bofur had noticed them and packed the map away. Lydia stared at them for a moment, drawing a fur coat from her pack and pulling it close around her shoulders.

"Ah, it is a horrid string of tales among our people. Mahal's children have certain things that are expected of them, and to break these expectations is to be punished harshly…or it was, several years ago. Today if you break expectations there is no punishment. However, there are still laws. Fallen Ereborians who broke the expectations of the last age, or murderers and molesters of this age, were banished from the mountain. Should they ever return to Erebor, they would be killed. It was a punishment worse than death," Lydia explained as the Vikings huddled close, eyes wide and alert as they concentrated on the story to avoid falling asleep.

"They were exiled into the Misty Mountains, doomed to wander alone forever until they perished. That wasn't what happened, though. They retreated into the caves left behind by the Skin-Changers and built their own society. They built rickety structures underground and stayed in their new little home, never venturing into the sunlight, and they feasted upon the flesh of innocent passers-by who fell into their clutches!" Nori shouted as he leapt from the shadows, grabbing at Bofur's shoulders and causing her to let out a shriek. When she realized who it was, a scowl quickly overtook her countenance.

"Nori of Ri that was NOT funny!" Bofur shouted, arms crossed over her chest as she gave Nori a fierce glare before turning away from him. Nori just laughed as he plopped down next to the other Ereborian, Lydia rolling her eyes at the thief's antics.

"Ah, come on Bo. You know it was funny," Nori teased, poking Bofur in the ribs and smirking viciously. He'd meant no harm, only trying to spook the Vikings. Bofur was just collateral damage in his quest to terrorize the younglings. Bofur didn't reply, simply scowled off into the distance and Nori sighed, dropping an arm around Bofur's shoulder and giving her a hug.

Bofur was still angry with him, though, and removed herself from his embrace, even if it had been admittedly warmer having his arm curled around her shoulders. Nori slumped in defeat and slunk away like a kicked puppy. Ori frowned worriedly as he took notice from the across the cave, but didn't move. He'd talk to Miss Bofur later on Nori's behalf. He knew perfectly well that the thief was smitten with the toymaker, and the small scribe encouraged it as discreetly as he could. Nori didn't like emotions and had tried so hard to deny any attraction to the older woman ever since he'd met her.

"Wow that was kind of harsh, Bofur. You've never snubbed Nori like that, especially not for something so...unimportant," Lydia remarked. She had one eyebrow raised in bewilderment as she wrung her hair out over her shoulder, shivering as the cold rain water ran down her tunic. Bofur slumped over and gave a sigh, rubbing a hand across her face.

"I'm just…confused. Dwalin admitted he would like to court me a few days ago, and I think Nori might as well. I don't know what I feel for Dwalin, and I've never thought of Nori as more than a friend. I'm afraid they're both going to make me choose and I need time before I even think about accepting any courtship," Bofur admitted, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, still shivering slightly. Her many layers were soaked, and while they kept her warm normally, having so many layers drenched and heavy with rainwater were like asking for hypothermia.

Bofur jumped as suddenly a relatively dry and warm coat was draped over her shoulders. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see Dwalin walking over to Thorin. She winced. "Did he hear everything I said?" Bofur asked tentatively. Lydia shook her head.

"No. He only heard about half," Ruff supplied helpfully, and Bofur stared at her in horror. She had momentarily forgotten the Vikings were sitting by them and she had just confessed a very personal thing to a bunch of strangers. Also, there was the fact the Dwalin probably wouldn't ever want to speak to her again. That was upsetting. Bofur scrubbed at her face to keep the tears at bay.

"Eh, don't worry about it Bofur. He looked like he understood your reasoning," Lydia added, trying to cheer her up. Bofur was normally a happy person, and there always seemed to be something wrong with the world on the rare occasion Bofur would become melancholy. Bofur smiled weakly to make Lydia feel better.

Suddenly, the ground rumbled, and there was the sound of metal against metal. Then where they were sitting lurched to the side, like someone had just tried to push the whole mountain. "What was that?" Fishlegs cried out. Cries of alarm rang through the caves as people sprang to their feet and rushed around. Dwalin lurched to Bofur's side and helped her upright, keeping a hold of her shoulders to steady her.

Thorin glanced around rapidly as the whole cave trembled, and then he seized Ori's map. He studied the territories quickly, and then his eyes fell with horror over the area they estimated they were near. If they were in fact where Ori said they were, and if the territories had expanded in the Misty Mountains…

"Goblins! Out of the cave, out!" Thorin roared, and they all scrambled towards the entrance, the dragons crying out and twisting about in confusion.

"Barf, Belch, it's okay, come on, look at me. We have to get out of here, let's go," Ruff cried, trying and failing to gently coax her Hideous Zippleback out of the cave while Tuff screamed and made a break for the exit. However, no one, Ereborian, Viking, or dragon, made it out of that cave, because the ground opened up underneath them and they fell down, down, down, into Goblin Town.

Bofur cried out as she landed on the stone ground, and then all the breath was knocked from her lungs as the Princess landed on top of her, and then Gloin on top of Lydia. Gloin immediately leapt to his feet, apologizing to Bofur and Lydia both as he helped them up. A screeching filled the caves, bouncing around and off the walls, and thundering footsteps raced towards them

Bofur barely had time to think before someone tugged on her arm, yanking her into a small alcove, and then Lydia was shoved in next to her. Bofur turned as best as she could with a snarl, but blinked in surprise when she realized it was Nori who had grabbed her and Lydia. The thief pressed a finger to his lips to indicate silence, and Bofur and Lydia nodded.

The three Ereborians watched as swarms of Goblins yanked at the Company and the Vikings, and poked and prodded at the dragons, but ultimately left the dragons alone, except for the Viking's dragons. The dragons the Ereborians had been riding were only tolerating them, and didn't seem to care too much that their riders were being dragged away. However, the dragons the Vikings rode were loyal to their riders, and were hissing and spitting at the Goblins. When Snotlout's dragon puffed up and lit its whole body on fire, Thorin shouted for Snotlout to get the Nightmare under control unless he wanted them all to go up in flames.

Hookfang finally settled and then the Goblins yanked everyone away from them. As the Goblins disappeared around the corner, Nori held Bofur and Lydia back for a few minutes before they finally crept out of their little alcove. "How are we going to free everyone? There are who knows how many Goblins living down here! And it would be terribly stupid to use fire-breathing dragons! The infrastructure is shitty at best, made of rickety old wooden boards, and we'd all go up in flames within minutes!" Bofur exclaimed in frustration, not even bothering to keep her voice down.

"Hush!" Nori hissed, clapping a hand over the toymaker's mouth as his hazel eyes darted about. They held still for a moment, listening for more Goblins. When they heard nothing, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Frerin, come!" Lydia called in Khuzdul, and moments later her Scauldron slithered into view. He'd fallen a few feet away and had stayed still as the others were taken away. He hadn't seen his rider captive, and so he was content to sit and wait for her to call. Now he seemed quite happy to see her, practically purring as he coiled his neck around his rider.

Nori grinned, all teeth and harsh edges. He was a schemer all the way, and the Scauldron was definitely going to give them an edge. "That gives me an idea. Listen close like: here's the plan..."

*THIS IS A PAGE BREAK*

"So, mighty Oakenshield, how does it feel to be a nobody, to be at the bottom of the chain, to be completely helpless before a king who holds your life in the very palm of his hand?" the Goblin King taunted as Thorin watched with pain in his eyes. His subjects, his people, his family, his friends, they were being tortured. He really shouldn't be so surprised: he'd exiled and banished some of these Goblins. These filthy creatures who weren't fit to be called human, they danced around, crazed grins on their grotesque features.

He wasn't too surprised the Goblins had machines that did the torturing for them. Most of the twisted men and women who had become Goblins were misunderstood, highly disturbed geniuses.

Dwalin, the bravest warrior this side of the Misty Mountains, had taken out twenty Goblins before they took him down, and they whipped mercilessly at his back, crying out in glee at the chunks of flesh they ripped from the warrior's scarred, tattooed back.

Dori, the strongest of them all, had been knocked clean out, and put on a wheel, arms and legs strapped to the four corners, and they spun that wheel, and spun, and spun, and spun, and the Goblins all took aim with blades, chucking them at Dori in hopes of hitting a vital area in this twisted game of theirs.

Ori, sweet, brave little Ori, naïve little Ori, his torture was not physical, but a mental kind of pain. It was even more distressing for the lad that he had to endure watching his eldest brother spun on a wheel and nearly hit with a knife who knew how many times over. Balin, Gloin, Oin, Bifur, Bombur the Vikings, his sister-sons, and his own precious lad, Frodo. It was unbearable for him to watch. He'd rather they torture him instead. Anything but what they were doing now! He didn't know what had become of Nori, Bofur, or his daughter, but he hoped they were alright. He hoped they were safe, because he could bear no more.

Especially not with the worst of it all. Bilba, his darling, wonderful wife...the Goblins found it amusing to try to pull her bones apart. Her cries of pain pained him more than anything else in all of Middle Earth and beyond.

He didn't know what happened, or how it happened. One moment they were being tortured, the next the Goblin King had been knocked from the platform and plummeted towards the bottom of the mountain. The other Goblins scattered, screeching as they were scalded by...hot water? "Lydia," Thorin breathed, embracing his daughter as she climbed off the back of her Scauldron and tackle-hugged him.

Nori and Bofur freed everyone, and Thorin gratefully gathered his family close, reassuring himself that they were all well, before he led his Company onward, the wild dragons coaxed to follow along by the Vikings. Lydia raced with her family through Goblin Town, even as they were assaulted on all sides by swarms of Goblins, screeching and carrying on as they scurried like rats around their shitty-made bridges and ladders.

At some point, they stared cutting ropes, and slowly but surely they were dropped closer and closer to flat ground. The tunnels seemed to go on forever, never ending, and the Goblins kept coming. Lydia cut them down as they came at her, spinning into her attacks majestically and gracefully in the typical Durin style. At last, the last rope was cut, and this was the one that sent them plunging to the bottom of the shaft.

"Move! Move!" Lydia shouted as everyone struggled to regain their footing, helping Bifur haul Bombur back to his feet as waves of Goblins scrambled after them. They all high-tailed it out of there, racing down the remaining, twisting paths. Finally, as they came to the exit, the Goblin's cries fell away, as their lives living eternally underground feasting only upon flesh has made them hate sunlight with a passion. Lydia brought up the rear as their pace slowly to a steady jog, and, just as she was about to follow Bombur out into the sunlight, something made her pause.

Tilting her head to the side curiously, she glanced around. Strange. She thought she'd heard something. Then, something glimmered at her from the ground, and she stooped to pick it up. It was a plain, golden band, a ring. She held it to the light, turning it this way and that. It didn't seem to be of particular value. But, despite the Ereborian training in her saying to leave the worthless thing behind, she pocketed it anyway and finally followed her family, climbing onto her Scauldron with Frodo as the others sailed towards the Carrock just ahead of them.

As the sun rose on the horizon, and they all looked up, many stopped atop the Carrock, hands lifted to shield their eyes from the light as they stared off into the distance. There, a large speck in the distance, rising tall and proud above the land, was the Lonely Mountain.

They were almost there; they would be there soon.

Oh geez. That was long. This was another of my "marker" chapters. And now, Lydia has the One Ring. Mwuahaha I am diabolical! ...And tired. Goodnight guys.

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