Chapter XXI: Journey through Mirkwood

Darkness. Silence. Forbiddance. These were the words that haunted Sophie's mind as the company followed the endless road leading through the forest of Mirkwood. The ghostly looking trees with their twisted branches stood so closely together that no daylight could penetrate past the canopy. They could barely make out the trail in front of them and the likelihood of getting lost in this wretched place unnerved Sophie just as much as it did the other members. It had been hours (although Sophie had lost track of the time long ago) since the company had felt the warmth of the sunlight on their skins. Sophie found it strange how she could hear no other sounds of life other than the company members' footsteps as they trudged on wearily, nor could she feel any breeze blowing despite them being in a forest.

The unnaturalness of the environment made Sophie want to scream and escape, but the young witch gritted her teeth together and continued walking with her arms stretched out in front of her, for the pitch blackness made it impossible for her to see past more than a few feet. Even a small light cast from her wand would have made all the difference in the world, but the company could not risk it in fear that the light would attract unwanted creatures towards them.

The only aspect of the situation that gave Sophie remote comfort was the rough texture of Thorin's hand which her own hand was enclosed in. The dwarf king had refused to let go of her hand since entering Mirkwood, and Sophie was glad for it - it was reassuring to know that Thorin was beside her, even though the young witch could see nothing. At other times, Sophie would have been embarrassed at the boldness of Thorin's actions in front of his men. But since they were in Mirkwood and it felt as though the darkness had swallowed them whole, those sorts of formalities did not seem to matter as much anymore. In fact, it was so dark that nobody would have even been able to see the two figures holding hands.

The nervous company members continued on their journey through Mirkwood, for what seemed like another couple of hours. Suddenly Bilbo stopped walking, his unexpected brake causing Bofur to walk straight into him.

"Oomph! Well, a word of warning would have been nice," Bofur exclaimed in slight annoyance, for his hat had toppled off his head due to the collision.

The interruption caused Sophie and the rest of the dwarves to stop walking and focus their attention onto Bilbo's small silhouette. Sophie could only make out the faint outline of the hobbit's curly-haired head which was tilted to one side, as if he was listening to something.

"Do you hear that?" Bilbo asked, and Sophie could not miss the excitement contained in the hobbit's voice.

The young witch strained her ears but like the other dwarves, she could hear nothing.

"What do you hear, Bilbo?" Thorin asked, clearly impressed at how keen Bilbo's ears were.

Hobbits truly were remarkable creatures, and they could surprise their friends and enemies at every turn. Bilbo paused briefly and listened again to be sure that he had not imagined the sound, before replying to Thorin's question with an air of certainty.

"Water flowing. I think there is a stream nearby."

Thorin felt relieved at Bilbo's answer. If there really was a stream close to them, it would provide a valuable landmark in helping the company get back on track. The dwarf King feared that they were now lost. Thorin curtly nodded at Bilbo (though the hobbit could not see his face in the darkness).

"Lead the way," he ordered.

The company followed Bilbo who now took lead. They walked like this for a few minutes. Every so often Bilbo would halt for a few seconds and listen before resuming his pace. Sophie was beginning to question whether there truly was a stream when she too could hear the unmistakable flowing sound of running water as they got closer. Eventually the company arrived at an open clearing where sure enough, a wide, winding stream stood before them.

"Thorin," Balin's urgent voice travelled into Thorin's ears. "This is no ordinary stream. This is the Enchanted stream, anybody whose flesh touches the water will fall into a deep and dreamless sleep."

All the company members turned their eyes anxiously towards their leader who seemed to be weighing out the risk. Thorin first eyed the depth of the stream, and then the road that they were all standing on. The trail which the company had been following had ended and Thorin was sure that it continued on the other side of the bank. They had no choice but to cross the stream.

"Then we must be careful not to fall in," he answered simply.

Although still afraid, none of the company members objected. Dwalin rummaged through the supplies pack and pulled out a long piece of rope which he tied around a tiny dagger that he had pulled out from his belt. He then threw the dagger skillfully towards a tree on the other side, where the blade caught itself neatly between two branches. Sophie was impressed that the dwarf warrior had managed to do all this without physically being able to see the exact location of the tree branch.

Thorin began to cross first by clasping both his arms and legs around the rope which was the only thing that was keeping his body above the water. When he had gotten safely across, the dwarf King walked over to the dagger and secured it even more tightly before signaling his men to follow by tugging on the rope twice. One by one, the company members began to carefully cross the Enchanted stream. When it came to Sophie's turn, the young witch gingerly pulled on the rope before lifting her body above the ground. Sophie was glad her body was quite light - it wasn't nearly as difficult for to hang onto the rope as it was for the other dwarves. It was too dark for Sophie to determine how far she had left to go, so the young witch just shut her eyes tight and concentrated on moving forward. It seemed like a long time before Sophie finally felt Thorin's familiar hands support her hips - she had reached the other side. Thorin helped Sophie climb down and before she could walk off, he gently pulled the young witch into a hug. Sophie could feel the blood rush up to her face as her body pressed against the dwarf King's broad chest, and for once she was thankful for the darkness concealing her face.

The other company members crossed the stream safely until there was only Bombur left on the other side waiting for his turn. Everyone held their breaths as they watched the largest dwarf lift his entire body up onto the relatively thin rope. With upmost caution he began crawling across. Although the rope vibrated vigorously under the pressure of Bombur's weight, it appeared to be holding on well. He is going to make it, Sophie thought to herself as she cheered on her friend to keep moving. Bombur was about halfway across the stream when suddenly with absolutely no warning, the rope gave away with a loud snap. Thorin quickly ran and grabbed the rope but it was too late - Bombur had fallen into the bewitched water.

"Brother, no! Hang in there!" Bofur yelled as he tried to jump in to save the sinking dwarf.

Fili grabbed the despairing dwarf and pulled him back roughly.

"Don't be foolish! We can't have you fall in too!" He yelled, his charisma showing through.

It was much too dark to spot Bombur amidst the black water. Sophie searched the surroundings desperately for anything that could be used to fish the ginger-haired dwarf out. It was then that she remembered that Bombur had been wearing his backpack which was full of the company's food supplies, and an idea hit her.

The young witch pulled her wand out and gathered all her focus into the spell, "Accio, backpack!"

At first nothing happened. Then all of a sudden, there was a loud gurgling sound as the white fabric of Bombur's bag shot out of the water, bringing up the unconscious dwarf with it. Bombur lay on the edge of the bank unmoving, as the rest of the company members raced towards him.

"Is he dead?" Bofur asked fearfully when he saw his brother's motionless body.

Oin placed his finger just below Bombur's nose and shook his head.

"He's breathing fine, just sleeping," he reassured Bofur.

At that moment, Bombur led out a deafening snore, making everyone around him jump in surprise. Suddenly the company members found the funny side of the situation and began laughing amongst each other as the sleeping dwarf let out another loud snore.

"Well, now what do we do? Do we carry big Bombur all the way through this dark forest?" Kili asked, wiping a tear from his eye.

Despite the laughter, there was an element of truth in the dwarf prince's words. There was nobody who was strong enough to carry Bombur for more than five minutes - it seemed as though the company had their ankles held firmly into the ground. As long as Bombur continued to sleep, they could not move any further. Thorin sighed in despair, for he had hoped to continue moving so that they could exit Mirkwood as soon as possible. A soft hand gently touched Thorin's shoulder and the dwarf King turned to see Sophie looking at him.

"Perhaps I can help?" She suggested shyly.

The young witch pointed her wand at Bombur and chanted, "Locomotor Bombur!"

Bombur's sleeping body floated up into the air, as though the dwarf weighed nothing. From afar he could have been mistaken for a large balloon. Sophie gently guided Bombur across the air and gave Thorin a nod. The dwarf King returned the gesture and soon the company was moving forward again. The quest was definitely proving to be a challenge for everyone. As they got closer to Erebor, the stakes were so much higher.