Chapter 21:
The Company ran until they reached a pine-encircled cliff. With nowhere else to go, they quickly climbed the trees to escape the Wargs and Orcs chasing them. Kili grabbed Mara from Thorin and boosted up her up into a tree. The wargs began pushing the shallow-rooted pines over, causing the dwarves to have to leap to the tree that were still standing. Finally they all had to jump into one last pine, the largest one. Kili jumped over and motioned for Mara to make the jump to him. As the tree crashed down she leaped with all her might, unsure if she would make it to Kili. She barely did; Fili and Kili each managed to grab one of her outstretched hands.
"Mara!" Thorin cried, having to watch from lower branches. The Durin brothers pulled her up and both engulfed Mara in fierce hugs of relief.
"I'm okay, Adad!" she called back. Thorin breathed a sigh of relief. Kili and Fili help up into higher branches, as far from the wargs and orcs as possible.
Gandalf began lighting off pine cones and give them to the Company to toss down on the wargs. It seemed to work for a while, but then they ran out of pine cones and the grass at the base of the tree caught fire. Then, the wargs returned, pushing on the tree.
Suddenly, over the crest of the hill, a huge white warg prowled, ridden by a tall, pale orc. Thorin froze.
"Impossible!"
"Who is he, Adad?" Mara called down.
Thorin did not answer because just then the tree fell over so that it was hanging off the edge of the cliff. Thorin jumped off and strode out to meet his old enemy, Orcrist drawn. However, Dori and Ori fell off and had to grab the end of Gandalf's staff to keep from fall into the ravine below. Mara slipped as the tree slammed into the ground, losing her footing. She too dangled over the precipice, hanging onto her branch by her arms.
Kili and Fili were fighting orcs and could not help her. In fact, the entire Company was either fighting off orcs and wargs, or clinging to various parts of the tree for dear life.
Mara's arms burned with exertion. She knew she would not be able to hold on much longer. With great effort, she swung her legs up, trying to wrap them around the branch she hung from. It was too much. The branch began to break and Mara was barely able to swing to another branch before the one she held on to snapped off.
"Mara, lass!" Bofur, who was closest, tried to reach her, but he was too far.
"I suppose this is a really bad time to mention my fear of heights?" she called back. Suddenly, Dori and Ori fell, but was caught on the back an enormous eagle. Gandalf jump off the tree onto another eagle's back. The change in weight distribution made the tree jar Mara around, causing her to start losing her grip on the tree.
"Kili!"
He whirled around at her cry. His heart jumped into his throat as she dangled dangerously over the edge. He could tell that she was losing her hold on the branch she hung from.
"I'm coming, Mara!" He dashed back to her, but just as he reached her, her hold failed and she drop into the dark ravine below her, her piercing scream rending the night air.
"MARA!" Kili's world stopped. Overwhelming grief and emptiness engulfed him as a he fell to his knees on the bole of the tree. He barely noticed it when, seconds later, an eagle picked him up and carried him off with the other dwarves. All he could see were Mara's terrified blue eyes and all he could hear was her screaming his name. He watched numbly as he was set down and his uncle was revived by Gandalf. He turned his back to stare silently back the way the eagles had brought them when his uncle reconciled himself to Bilbo. Suddenly, Thorin's voice broke through Kili numbness.
"Where is Mara?"
"She fell."