"Did I mention that I'm not liking this forest?" Bilbo said after some hours walking,getting lost,resting,getting lost again and finally finding the path back.
Nobody responded him of course, they were busy trying to maintain the hope that all would soon be over.
Inside the forest they couldn't know if it was day or night,for it was so dark that they could barely see the path they should follow.
"Not one bit" added the hobbit.
As their eyes became used to the dimness they noticed the nasty cobwebs,that were black instead of white,and much longer,stretched from tree to tree;luckily there were no webs across the patch,but they surrounded the company of Thorin Oakenshield as if they were just flies.
A fear started to grow in Merwra as she noticed that even the dwarves,who were used to tunnelling, were starting to hate the absence of the sun and the everlasting darkness.
As the day was becoming night,the darkness of the forest became pitch-dark,they weren't able to see their own hands;they needed to rest,Gloín tried to assemble a fire,but failed,Thorin started to grumble and decided to start a fire himself, but that didn't work as well,they had to sleep huddled in the cold and darkness.
Kili noticed how Merwra was shaking,he thought that is was because of the cold,he laid next to Merwra, cuddling her;she stopped to shake immediately, but she wasn't cold,she was scared, for there were pairs of yellow and red eyes staring at her,disappearing and appearing in the dark.
Kili was the only one who could make her feel safe.
He feel asleep and started to snore,not like his uncle though,Merwra thought that is rather cute,and quickly fell asleep with a sweet smile in her face.
The days that followed became weeks,that seemed to have become ages, but the forest still seemed the same."Someone should climb a tree to try to have a look around..." Bilbo said pointing at a very tall oak.
They all stared at him. "Yes,you should!" Bofur said to hobbit. "He had to do that? Of course he had"the hobbit thought,he was the one who gave the idea now he needed to execute it, after all he was light ,so the branches should withstand his weight.
"Should" That was what worried Bilbo as the dwarves helped him to reach the lower branches of tree.
Merwra saw him disappearing between the twisted twigs and leaves."Bilbo,are you alright?" she shouted,but the hobbit didn't answer.
" Can you see the end of the forest?" This time Kili yelled,but Bilbo still didn't answer.
They were beginning to get worried,he was gone for some time now,and never answered despite their constant attempts to communicate.
Finally Merwra spotted him climbing down ,scratched and tired.
When he safely stepped in the ground,the news were not what they hoped. "This bloody forest goes on for ever in all possible directions!" he said worried "I saw lovely butterflies though,and a warm breeze..." That made the dwarves feel irritated,Bifur mumbled something in dwarvish that some of them repeated.
Merwra remembered that she still had some of the medicine Beorn had given to her.
"Give me your hand"she said to the hobbit,applying the paste in the scratches of his hands,moving then to his arms ,legs, neck and face."There you go,I discovered that it also keeps the mosquitos away" she explained,Bilbo answered with a kind smile.
"What happened to you?You look-Ouch!" Merwra elbowed Kili interrupting him as he saw the hobbit covered with the green paste.
'You look perfectly normal"she tried to comfort Bilbo,that was beginning to feel scared as he stared at his hands covered with the paste that made his skin look a bit greenish.
"Why does he look green? Kili whispered in Merwra's ears.
"It will pass as soon as the paste dries"she answered."I had to apply almost everything on him because of the amount of scratches"
"Let's go,we stayed here for too long" Thorin said staring at them seriously,but he couldn't contain a laugh when he saw Bilbo,that got even more confused.
"Does someone care to explain what is wrong with me?" he said irritated.
"Nothing,you have never looked better ,just that" Bofur said with a giggle.
"Merwra!" the hobbit protested "What is wrong with me? Is this thing that you putted in me ,isn't it?"
"Relax Bilbo,it will disappear in some minutes ,I promise." Merwra answered,what didn't quite made Bilbo feel better,but he decided that persisting would be useless.
The night fell again,they ate the last crumbs of food and drops of water that they still had.
Bilbo's scratches had completely disappeared, and he had an idea of what to do to thank Merwra for what she did: he decided to go pick some branches to try to light a fire.
When he had gathered a few branches he decided to go back to the improvised camp,but he didn't thought about the possibility of getting lost.
"You stupid fool!" he said to himself.
It was darker than the other night ,or so he thought,for he couldn't see his own feet."Thorin!" he screamed,but no one answered."Merwra!Kili!"
Silence.
