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'Thinking'
"Normal"
"Elvish"
"Black speech"
"Khuzdul"
"Verrian"
Chapter 21
"That is one of the ugliest creatures I have ever seen," Malik commented causing Malakai to giggle. The goblins threw all the gathered weapons in front of their king, as he stood up.
"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" the big goblin spoke.
"Dwarves, Your Malevolence," a small goblin answered.
"Dwarves?"
"We found them on the front porch."
"Well, don't just stand there. Search them. Every crack. Every crevice." The goblins begin their search, in a rough way. One of them took Oin's horn and crushed it. They continued to search until their king spoke again.
"What are you doing in these parts? Speak!" the Goblin King asked, but they all stayed silent. "Very well. If they will not talk, we'll make them squawk. Bring up the mangler. Bring up the bonebreaker. Start with the youngest."
"Wait!" Thorin steps forward.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is. Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror. King under the mountain," the King bowed mockingly. "Oh, but I'm forgetting. You don't have a mountain. And you're not a king, which makes you nobody, really. Just a little dwarf, with no home, no honour. I wonder how you must have spent the years, after your treasure was taken. As a freelancer? As a beggar? You probably cry in a corner, every night, because you have nothing."
Thorin's anger was slowly beginning to boil. That's when someone else stepped next to him. And it was the last person he expected.
"That is not true," Malakai speaks out. "He may not have a mountain, and that he may not be king, but he is not a nobody and he's not alone. I hate dwarves," the dwarves grumble and Malik could only smile. "but the dwarves in this company are the most honourable members of their kin I have ever met." She locks eyes with Thorin before turning to the Goblin king. "He has a name. He is Thorin Oakenshield, who will reclaim his mountain and his the crown!"
This seemed to cheer the dwarves up as they shook themselves free of the clutches of their captors. The Goblin king, however, seemed less interested in her speech but rather in her.
"Show me your face," he ordered her but she quickly looked down at the floor.
Thorin looked at her. Was she hiding something? A goblin to her right grabbed her chin and pulled it up for the King to see. This put Thorin and Malik on edge. The Goblin king leaned down to her, his face too close for her comfort. His breath smelled of death and rotting flesh and she wrinkled her nose with disgust. Thorin was also straining himself to take the chance and cut that goblin's head off, but he didn't want to risk anyone in the company to get hurt. It pained him to see her being treated like that.
"I know those markings on your face." Malakai had a bad feeling about what was about to happen.
"You are of the verdari and judging by the blood red colour of your markings, you must be of the Chieftain bloodline." He grinned, showing his yellow teeth. "What is the princess of the verdari doing with a pack of dwarves?"
"A princess?" this echoed through the dwarves like a wildfire. Even Thorin was perplexed by what he was hearing. Malakai was a princess? So she wasn't just a woman of the wilds, but a royal one?
"I didn't think a goblin would know something like that about my kin," Malakai smirked.
"Oh of course. I can still remember when Maukai, king of the verdari, slaughtered half of my kin in just one night," the smile disappeared from his face. "That was your father, wasn't it?"
"You're a princess? Your father is a king?" Kili asked.
"We don't have a king, but my father leads the verdari. My brothers and I are to lead our people when he dies. You may call me a princess, but know that I do not see myself as one."
"And a prince too," the goblin king spotted Malik. "Two royal Verdari, and Thorin Oakenshield. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak. An old enemy of yours. A pale orc, astride a white warg."
Malakai started. That horrible orc was still alive?
"Azog the Defiler was destroyed," Thorin told him. "He was slain in battle long ago."
"So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" the Goblin King chuckled and turned to a smaller goblin. "Send word to the pale orc. Tell him I have found his prize, along with his precious little pet."
The little goblin wrote everything down and slid down a rope, giggling to itself.
"The prince shall stay with me." The Goblin king reached out and lifted Malakai up to his face. "To bad he wants you. I could have had a lot of fun with you, but your brother will have to suffice."
"Let me go!" she struggled.
"Unhand her, right now!" Thorin shouted at the large Goblin, anger boiling inside of him. The king only grinned at him. He tightened his grip, a tear escaping her eyes because of the pain.
"Put me down!" Malakai growled. She managed to maneuver her hands between her and pushed them aside, falling to the ground.
That's when one of the goblin's unsheathed Thorin's sword, screaming when it saw the blade. When the Goblin King saw the sword he jumped back, afraid and trembling.
"I know that sword! It is the Goblin Cleaver! The Biter! The blade that sliced 1000 necks!"
The goblins started to whip the company, attacking them from all sides. Even Malik had trouble getting up, his eyes glowing gold with anger.
"Slash them! Beat them! Kill them!" the Goblin King ordered.
The company was beaten from all sides. Thorin laid him on his back, his limbs spread and one sharp knife against his throat.
"Kill them all! Cut off his head!"
Malik managed to free one of his arms and threw a knife, slitting the knife-wielding goblin's throat. Thorin gazed over to the verdari, who just glared at the dwarf. Malakai sighed with relief when suddenly, a white light appeared in the large cave. It blasted wood and goblins through the air. Everything fell quiet when Gandalf stepped forward, gazing at the company.
"Take up arms," he told the dwarves. "Fight. Fight!"
One by one, the dwarves threw the goblins away, Gandalf slashing a few. This made the Goblin King tremble even more.
"He wields the Foehammer! The Beater! Bright as daylight!" he cried.
Bombur threw the dwarves their weapons. The Goblin King, angry at the successful resistance of the dwarves, swung his staff at Thorin.
"Thorin!" Kili tried to warn his uncle. Before Thorin could react, Malakai smashed her sword against the staff, causing the Goblin king to tumble backwards, lose his balance, falling from the platform. The two briefly locked eyes. The company ran through suspended passageways with thousands of goblins pursuing them.
"Quickly!" Gandalf shouted. They see goblins running towards them from the front. Dwalin and several of the other dwarves cut down a guardrail and use it as a large spear.
"Charge!" He and the other dwarves charge at the on-coming goblins and sweep them away with the long rail. Dropping the rail, Dwalin pulls out his axes and begins knocking aside goblins. The rest of the company do the same. Gloin hits one goblin who falls and lands on another suspended path, breaking the path and dropping all the goblins on it into the darkness below. The rest of the Company also fight the goblins around them with their various weapons and fighting styles. Several goblins snarl as they swing on ropes toward the dwarves.
"Cut the ropes!" Thorin commanded. He and some other dwarves began to cut the ropes that helped raise the platform, which causes it to fall outward, entangling the goblins swinging on ropes towards them. Kili deflects the arrows that fly towards them and grabs a ladder and proceeds to drop it on the goblins. The company quickly runs across it, pushing it down on the creatures along the way. As soon as they had crossed it, Dwalin slams his axe down on it, breaking it to prevent the goblins behind them from following.
"Quickly!" As they continue running, they came upon a gap.
"Jump!" Thorin exclaimed. Goblins were closing in on each side and suddenly there was a loud thud and a figure stood in-front of them.
"You thought you could escape me?" the Goblin King mocked. The King swings his club at Gandalf, causing him to stumble backwards, almost falling off the path.
"What are you going to do now, wizard?" Gandalf steps forward and stabs him in the eye, causing him to drop his club and howl in pain. Gandalf then sliced his belly open with the Biter. The Goblin King fell to his knees and looked at them.
"That'll do it," he said before Gandalf sliced his neck. The Great Goblin fell forward dead. His weight caused the bridge that the company were standing on to break off from the rest of the construction. It started to slide down the cavern at a terrifying speed. The company cling on, screaming in terror as the platform destroyed anything and everything in it's path. As it finally slowed down, it landed at the bottom of the cavern, trapping some of the dwarves under it. Before it had landed, Thorin had grabbed onto Malakai and shielded her from the debris. Gandalf got up while the others tried and squirmed their way out from under it.
"Well, that could have been worse," Bofur stated. 'Oh no. Don't say that.' Malakai thought. Not long after that, the corpse of the Great Goblin fell on the remaining dwarves that were still stuck under it. Luckily for Malakai, Malik and Thorin, they had managed to escape the same fate.
"You've got to be joking," Dwalin growled. While the rest of the dwarves wriggled free, Kili turned around and looked up, only to see thousands of goblins making their way towards them.
"Gandalf!" he yelled at the wizard nervously.
"There are too many! We can't fight them," Dwalin said to the others.
"Only one thing will save us; daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet!" The company quickly scrambled to their feet and ran towards the exit. Thorin placed a hand on Malakai's arm. She turned and looked him in the eyes.
"Are you alright?" he mumbled. She just nodded and gave him a small smile. Meanwhile, Gandalf counted all of the dwarves to make sure everybody was safe.
"Five, six, seven, eight...Bifur, Bofur...that's ten...Fili, Kili...that's twelve...and Bombur, Malakai, Malik - that makes fifteen. Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit? WHERE IS OUR HOBBIT?" Gandalf ended up shouting. Weird. Malakai swore that she could smell him.
"Curse the halfling! Now he's lost?" Dwalin cursed.
"I thought he was with Dori!" Gloin accused.
"Don't blame me!" Dori snapped back. The twins glanced at each other and shook their heads. And suddenly they tensed. Something foul was in the air, and it was very familiar.
"But where did you last see him?" Gandalf asked urgently.
"I think I saw him slip away, when they first collard us," Nori said.
"What happened exactly?" Thorin stepped up, scowling. He didn't look pleased.
"I'll tell you what happened...Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He 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."
'That was slightly harsh. Although Bilbo was about to leave us to go back to Rivendell so I can't blame him. He's in for a surprise when the hobbit shows up.' Malakai thought, smiling.
"No, he isn't," a small voice spoke. Everybody turned towards the hobbit.
"Bilbo Baggins! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" Gandalf sighed in relief. Bilbo walks up to the company. Kili grins at the small hobbit.
"Bilbo...we'd given you up!" he exclaimed.
"How on earth did you get past the goblins?" Fili asked him.
"How, indeed," Dwalin grumbled, glaring at Bilbo.
"Well, what does it matter? He's back." Gandalf smiled.
"It matters. I want to know. Why did you come back?" Thorin asked.
"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. Because…" he paused and looked around the group, seeing Malakai smile at him. "...you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can," he smiled.
'Well said, Master Baggins.' Malakai smiled as silence fell.
"Run them down! Tear them to pieces!" a dark deep voice shouted in the distance. Malakai shuddered and Malik pulled out his swords.
"Orcs!" Malik growled.
"Out of the frying pan," Thorin mumbled.
"And into the fire," Gandalf ended the saying. "Run. Run!"