Warning for a good amount of gore/blood in this chapter. Things get cut in half, it's not a fun time. Enjoy! Chapter 25: Game Over
"Hey!" Quinn shouted, causing the troll to turn around.
It was bigger than the first one she had encountered, and was carrying a morning star that was longer than she was tall. One good hit from that thing, and she would be finished.
She took a limping step to the side as the troll growled and began advancing on her. If her encounter with the last one was any evidence, her laser beams wouldn't do any damage, meaning she'd have to get up close and use her sword like an actual sword.
That was all the strategizing she was able to do before she was forced to jump out of the way as the morning star slammed down on the ground, sending chips of stone flying from the impact. She landed on her injured leg and staggered, wincing as pain shot up her thigh.
"Dammit." She put her weight on her good leg and circled the troll, scanning its body for weak points. The highest she could reach with her sword was probably nipple-level (or thereabouts since the troll didn't have any), and the whole of its body was covered in tough, leathery skin.
With a growl, the troll jerked its weapon out of the ground and swung it in a wide, horizontal arc. Quinn leapt back, but the tip of one of the spikes scraped against her breastplate with enough force to throw her to the side. She pushed herself back up with a wince.
"Gotta get behind that thing." That was the only way she could start attacking without worrying about getting flattened.
Quinn dodged another downward strike and ran towards the nearest leg. She slashed as hard as she could across the calf, then spun away to survey the damage. Her sword has left a deep cut, but not a single drop of blood came from the wound. The troll grunted, but seemed more angry than in pain.
"Holy shit, what does it take for you to die?" Quinn took several steps back to regroup as the troll attacked again.
Its skin wasn't impenetrable, which was good news. She could keep attacking, and try to wear the troll down, but she wasn't certain she had the energy for that. Bard had proved the eyes were a weak point, but she had no idea how to reach them. The troll hadn't tried to charge at her yet, so she couldn't trick it into running into a wall.
There was only one thing left to try.
She ran forward, dodging another hit and positioning herself right in front of the troll. "Hey!" she shouted, her heartbeat thundering in her ears. "Come on! Show me what you got!"
The troll snarled and lifted its morning star for a downward swing. Quinn raised her sword to the light, then swung a beam towards the handle of the weapon. The metal cracked upon impact, leaving a scorched mark a few inches wide.
Pleaseworkpleaseworkpleasework—
Quinn tensed up as the troll moved to complete the strike. At the apex of its swing, the handle snapped in half, the bulk of the weapon falling onto the troll's head as the other half continued downwards. She took several steps back to avoid the strike, and winced at the squelching noise of a few of the spikes entering its flesh.
With a low groan, the troll fell forward and lay still.
"Did that do it?" She inched forward, watching for any movement from the monster, then stuck her sword in its eye just to be safe.
The clatter of hooves made her look up, and a second later, Tauriel and Legolas came riding into the courtyard.
"Hey, you guys just missed it, I killed a—"
"Where is Mithrandir?" Legolas asked, pulling the horse to a stop.
"Who?"
"The gray wizard, where is he?"
"Oh, you mean Gandalf?" Quinn shook her head. "Haven't seen him. Been too busy, uh, killing the trolls." She looked pointedly at the giant corpse lying next to her.
Legolas had stopped listening halfway through. He dismounted and turned to Tauriel. "I must report to my father. Find the wizard and tell him what we found." With that, he turned and sprinted off down one of the streets.
Quinn pulled her sword out of the troll's eye socket, figuring no one was going to comment on it, and looked up at Tauriel. "What's going on?"
"There is a second army approaching from the north. We need to warn our allies." She extended a hand. "Come help me find the wizard."
She shook her head and pointed to the doors of the Great Hall. "There's civilians in there. I gotta make sure they're safe."
Tauriel glanced at her leg. "You can't do it alone, not with your injury. We'll find a group to help guard it—most of the fighting is in the south of the city now."
Quinn took a deep breath. The rhythm of battle was in her veins now, totally unlike the destabilizing nausea she'd felt at first. It was probably better that she go and kill more orcs rather than sit around waiting for some to come to her. She took Tauriel's hand and mounted behind her.
"Let's head north. The last time I saw Gandalf was out on the field."
They galloped through the streets, taking out a few straggler orcs along the way. A few blocks away from the gate, Quinn spotted a group of men and motioned for Tauriel to slow down.
"Hey, you guys need something to do?" she called. "Go defend the Great Hall. Don't leave until someone relieves you." They nodded and began moving in that direction. She turned back to Tauriel. "You have any idea how we're going to find Gandalf? He's not exactly—"
A few blocks away, a bright flash of light appeared, reflecting off the pale stone of the city wall.
"Let's start there," Tauriel said, then spurred the horse into motion once more.
Sure enough, the found Gandalf fighting with his staff in one hand and his sword in the other. Quinn would have liked to watch the wizard actually fight, but he'd already finished off the group of orcs by the time they reached him.
"Gandalf!" Tauriel called, making him turn. "There is a second army on the move. Bolg leads a force of Gundabad orcs towards Ravenhill."
"Ravenhill?" a new voice sounded from behind them.
Quinn turned, and her face split into a grin. "Bilbo, you're okay!"
He was spattered with orc blood but seemed unharmed as he walked closer to the three of them. "You said there's another army headed for Ravenhill?"
Tauriel nodded. "We barely managed to pull ahead of them to send warning. They're almost upon us."
Bilbo's face went pale. "I-I saw a group of dwarves riding up there earlier."
Quinn straightened. "Anyone we know?"
"It was Thorin, no doubt, leading his best warriors to take the fight to Azog," Gandalf said.
I guess he had a change of heart. She wondered who the other three "best warriors" would be, then decided it didn't matter. "Well, someone's gotta give them a heads up."
She started to dismount, but Tauriel put a hand on her leg. "We're both going. It'll be faster on horseback."
"You rock." Quinn resettled in the saddle and turned to Bilbo, who looked like he wanted to protest. "We'll bring them back, okay? See you soon."
With that, Tauriel turned the horse and soon they were flying out the gate, down the road and towards the narrow stair that led to the fortress. As they left the city, Quinn got her first real good look at the battlefield. It was dotted with bodies and broken war machines silhouetted by small fires. The main fighting force had moved closer to the mountain, but she couldn't tell who was winning.
It was chilling, to see how such a broad swath of land had been scorched by death and flames.
Quinn tightened her grip on Tauriel's waist as the horse reached a gallop. The road to Ravenhill was taking them up the west flank of the ridge, past a set of steep cliffs and then around to the fortress itself.
With the freezing wind whistling in her ears and the hot pulse of blood in the wound on her thigh, Quinn was struck by the sudden feeling that going to Ravenhill was bigger than a simple extraction mission. She glanced up. The sun was high in the sky by now, but she couldn't help but feel like she was approaching the end of something.
They had nearly reached the fortress when Tauriel gasped, reached back, and shoved Quinn off the horse. She caught a glimpse of the elf leaping off the horse as well before she hit the ground and rolled to a stop several feet later. Their horse shrieked, but the noise was cut off by a terrible slicing sound.
With a groan, Quinn pushed her protesting body up from the ground and looked at Tauriel, who was climbing to her feet as well. "What the hell?"
Then she caught sight of the giant metal spear sticking out of the road, surrounded by a growing pool of blood and the torn remains of the horse.
One hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, god." That did it. She was about to be sick.
Tauriel hurried over and grabbed her arm, pulling her over to the cliff wall. "They have a ballista on the wall. I can try and take it out, but I need you to cover me."
Quinn took several deep breaths, trying to avert her eyes from the red splotch on the road. "Okay. Okay, okay, okay."
She gripped both of her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "We need to press on. Your dwarves need us, all right? They need you, Quinn Troll-Slayer."
A shaky half-laugh escaped her lips. Tauriel was right—this wasn't about her. They had to warn her friends. "Okay. L-Lead the way. I'll cover you."
They continued along the path, hugging the cliffside. Up ahead, the road met the top of the cliff and made a hairpin turn. That was where they'd be most exposed, and need to take out the ballista.
When they'd almost reached that point, Tauriel nocked an arrow in her bow and turned to Quinn. "Ready?"
"Mom's spaghetti," she said, then nodded as an actual answer.
They ran the rest of the way to the bend in the road, then turned in unison to face the ballista. The orc manning it had already reloaded and turned to face them. Tauriel took several steps to the side, trying to get a good shot on the orc. Quinn drew her sword and held it up to the light.
All the warning she got was a metallic twang before the ballista fired straight at her. The crescendo of rushing air seemed to tighten every nerve in her body, and Quinn swung at the projectile with all her strength. The two collided at an angle, sending the spear spiraling out of the way and over the side of the cliff. A second later, Tauriel's arrow found its mark in the side of the orc's skull.
Shaking slightly, Quinn went to catch up to her as the elf continued into the fortress. "Hey, we make a pretty good team."
Tauriel gave her a slight smile. "Let's head for one of the higher towers, see if we can spot anything from there."
As they walked through the fortress, Quinn couldn't help but notice how quiet the place was. At the beginning of the battle, the orcs had set up their command center here, with their war horns and their big flags, but now she couldn't hear or see anything out of the ordinary.
They reached the high tower where the signals were, but the area was vacant. While Tauriel stood at the edge and looked around, Quinn walked over and slashed a beam of light towards the flags. She kicked the broken pieces of wood off the edge of the tower.
When Tauriel sent her a questioning glance, she shrugged. "Figured we might do some sabotage while we're up here."
She turned back to the rest of the fortress, which was a mix of towers, courtyards, and bridges. "I don't see anyone. Are you certain the dwarves are still here?"
Quinn frowned, moving to stand next to her. Maybe Thorin had already killed Azog and left. She turned back to the flags. But if that was the case, wouldn't he have done something to let the orcs know that their leader had been killed?
"Maybe we should split up. We'll be able to cover more ground that way."
Tauriel frowned. "You expect me to leave you alone and injured with an orc army on the way?"
She looked down at her leg. Blood had already soaked through the cloth she'd tied around it. "Look, we'll just make this quick as possible. If I need help," she gestured to her sword, "I'll signal back to you. This place isn't that big. It'll take fifteen minutes, tops."
"Ten minutes," Tauriel said. "Then we return to Dale, with or without the dwarves."
Quinn nodded. "Fine." She took the stairs down towards the southern end of the fortress, shaking her head as she went, while Tauriel headed in the opposite direction. Like I'd actually leave without my friends.
She moved as quickly as she could through the towers, ignoring the tiny voice in the back of her head that was telling her to slow down, to prolong the time she had left before…whatever was supposed to happen at the end of this.
As she was crossing one of the bridges, a dark shape darted overhead, and her head snapped up.
"What the hell was that?"
Just as she was about to dismiss it as a trick of the light, a few more passed overhead. They were moving too fast to get a detailed look, but Quinn had seen enough Batman cartoons to recognize the general shape.
Soon, more bats filled the sky, swarming about overhead and darkening the fortress in a haze of moving shadows.
Feeling more than a little creeped out, Quinn continued on, hoping none of the bats would swoop down and get tangled in her hair. This was probably the beginning of the second army. She needed to find the dwarves quickly, and get out before—
Swift as lightning, a figure jumped out, its sword swinging towards her face.
"Woah!" Quinn froze, leaning back as the blade stopped inches from her throat. She looked to its owner and her eyes widened. "Kíli?"
He lowered his sword, chest heaving. "Quinn. I-I almost—what are you doing here?"
"Looking for you, I guess. Me and Tauriel heard Thorin was up here with some others, and we came to warn you. There's an army coming from the north, and we need to get out before they get here."
Kíli looked around, as though the elf was hiding around a corner. "Tauriel? Where is she?"
"We split up to cover more ground. Where's the rest of your group?" Quinn glanced up at the bats and frowned.
He followed her gaze and took a few steps forward. "We split up as well. If what you say is true, we—"
A sharp scream pierced the air, bouncing off the towers and chasms of the fortress. Quinn turned towards the sound, her heart leaping into her throat. "Dammit, I was supposed to be the one calling for help."
Kíli was already sprinting in that direction. She followed, hissing through her teeth as the pain in her leg flared up.
They found her in a courtyard not too far away. Tauriel was alive, thankfully, but one of her arms was hanging limply at her side, and a trickle of blood ran down her face. She was on one knee, gripping a long knife with her good hand and glaring at the looming figure of Bolg.
Without even breaking his stride, Kíli let out a fierce cry and ran straight into the orc, knocking him back a few steps. Quinn rushed over to Tauriel and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"
She nodded with a wince. "I-I'm fine."
Kíli cried out as Bolg lifted him by the front of his tunic and threw him against the wall. Tauriel let out a low growl and lunged forward, dodging his mace and slicing at his chest.
Quinn raised her sword, then frowned as the blade stayed dull. The giant bats were still circling overhead, blocking the sunlight from reaching the fortress. She slapped the blade, then held it up as if it would get a better signal. "Fuck, are you kidding me?"
"Quinn, get out of here!" Kíli pushed himself up and charged Bolg again, parrying his mace before it could hit Tauriel.
"No way. I have major beef with this guy. I'm not leaving until I take out at least one ball." She adjusted her grip on her sword. Time to do this the old fashioned way.
Bolg swung his mace towards Kíli, who leapt back to avoid the blow. Tauriel took advantage of the opening, stabbing upwards with her knife and driving it deep into Bolg's back. A spurt of black blood followed the blade as she pulled it out, but a second later the orc's elbow connected with her face and sent her sprawling.
Quinn realized she still hadn't moved, that she was standing frozen with her sword clenched in one hand. Bolg had turned his full attention to Kíli, and was pressing him with swift, punishing blows that were slowly forcing the dwarf towards the wall.
Now or never.
She charged.
"Quinn, no!"
But she'd already reached Bolg and thrust her sword into his thigh, prompting a pained grunt from the orc. She pulled her sword out, gearing up for another hit, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge as Bolg's mace slammed into her side.
The impact sent her flying across the courtyard. She hit the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop. For a moment, all she felt was shock and a slight ringing in her ears, though she was pretty sure her head hadn't been hit.
Get up. They're counting on you.
She braced a hand against the cold stone and tried to sit up. Before she could make it even a few inches off the ground, she took a breath and her side exploded in pain.
Quinn lay back down with a gasp, her ribs flaring as if they were on fire. Every breath made the pain worse, but she couldn't stop—she couldn't get air.
Her senses were working just fine, though. She could hear Kíli shouting, the clash of steel, and then the thud of a heavy body hitting the ground.
She grit her teeth against the pain and groaned, then tried and failed again to sit up. Something hot was building in her chest.
Tauriel limped over to kneel at her side and put a hand on her shoulder. "Quinn?"
She hissed through her teeth, trying to draw breath. "Kíli—" Was he okay?
The sharp noise of a sword hitting the ground rang through the courtyard. A moment later, Kíli was kneeling at her other side. "Quinn! Are you all right?"
She opened her mouth to tell him her chest hurt, but blood came out instead. She started to choke on it.
"Her ribs are broken," Tauriel said, her voice ragged. "One of them must have punctured her lung."
"You have to heal her," Kíli said. "Please."
Quinn glanced at Tauriel with rapidly blurring vision. Babe, if you get me out of this one, that'll be two for two.
Faintly, she registered Tauriel moving her knife along the injury and Kíli's tight grip on her hand. She squeezed back as a strange sense of security washed over her. As long as he was there, supporting her, she'd come through all right.
But she still couldn't breathe. There was blood all over her chin, and she didn't have the strength to wipe it off. She couldn't do anything but lie there and choke as the world around her began to fade.
I hate prophecies, Quinn thought, and died.
The end.
lmao no i'm kidding. we still got some loose ends to wrap up, so stay tuned for that! please don't hurt me...