Chapter 23: Rickety Bridges
Bilbo missing is either a terribly horrid thing or a blessing in disguise. It means that Gailien cannot keep an eye on him and it is a constant distraction. But it also means that somehow, he has escaped. It is up to him now whether he can escape this Goblin hole on his own. And whether they can as well. At this point, she doesn't know if she is more worried for the Dwarves and herself or Bilbo.
And not to mention now a new terror grinds her teeth and bones. Azog, the pale orc which brought so much terror to the ones who know his name. The Goblins, however, cheer in the name of the Defiler as their leader leads them in a song that rattles her eardrums.
"Bones will be shattered,
necks will be wrung,
and you'll be beaten and battered,
from racks you'll be hung.
You will die down here and never be found,
down in the deep of Goblin town."
The Goblins keep pushing them around for their own entertainment. Gailien knows she cannot fight them, but it doesn't stop her from pulling from their hands, sending sharp-tongued insults at them. One pulls at Kili's jacket, earning a growl from the young Dwarf. With only her feet free, Gailien pulls up her right heel, slamming it down on the Goblin pulling at Kili. It wails, releasing the jacket and pulls its foot into its hands. In return, a Goblin that has seen, tugs on her arm harshly, the joint at her shoulder burning along with her left forearm.
Their song's chorus begins again, and a large, deadly looking contraption is being wheeled towards it. The bone breaker. Though Thorin had prevented her from being picked out among them before, there is no doubt in her mind that she will be the first to experience what it can do. A female being accompanied by thirteen males – it would be stupid not to use her first. Sure, some would probably not protest her death but there is no doubt that she has some friends in the company.
As the Goblins rifle through their things, one picks out Thorin's sword from the pile. It unsheathes it partially, but as soon as the blade is visible, it throws it in terror. The singing stops, filling the air with the metallic clang of the sword on wood and then by the cries of nearby Goblins. The leader cowers back to his thrown, pointing down at it with a shaky finger.
"I know that sword!" he cries. "It is the Goblin-clever!" The Goblins cower and screech in fear, but their terror doesn't last long. They become ferocious, standing back as they whip out the chains stored across their bodies, lashing at them. Gailien yelps in pain as one slashes at the back of her neck. The Dwarves are defenceless against them. "The Biter! The Blade that sliced a thousand necks!"
Four or five Goblins surround Thorin. He throws one away, but it is only replaced by another.
"Thorin!"
For a moment, Thorin looks away from the Goblins surrounding him, finding the dark-haired woman reaching out for him – whether in fear for her own life or his own is unknown. Three Goblins pull at her, forcing her to kneel on the ground. Her shoulders are thrown about, trying to dislodge their iron grips. Thorin punches the Goblin near his face and tries to march forward to knock the Goblins off the girl but another three pull at him, forcing him to the ground.
"Slash them, beat them, peel them, kill them all!" Gailien watches as Thorin is forced onto his back. "Cut off his head!" She tears from their grip as a goblin holds a large bone dagger over the Dwarf king. Her feet make it two steps, a determined growl grumbling through her throat. She has just earnt his trust – the one thing she desires from him (admittedly, anyway) and she will not let him die with the hands of a Goblin.
But at the end of those two steps, something happens. Gailien isn't quite sure what it is, only that there is a white flash of light and a pulsating energy burns through the room. She falls to her knees as the Goblins are forced away, off of her, Thorin, and the rest of the company. Then as quickly as it came, the light ends and the dust floats in the air.
Gailien squints, her heart pumping painfully as her head raises to meet the source of their saving. Slowly, Goblins and Dwarves rise in the same uncertainty but Gailien's eyes widen as the form of the Grey Wizard emerges.
"Take up arms! Fight...Fight!"
With a new furnace of burning determination, the Dwarves (and Gailien) let out warrior's cries. Gandalf wields his sword and staff, slashing at two Goblins as they Dwarves run to their pile of lost weapons.
"He wields the Foe-hammer, the beater, bright as daylight!" the Goblin leader cries, still cowering against his throne. Kili bends down, picking up to recognisable blades.
"Gailien!" With her attention, he throws them in the air to her awaiting hands and with a trained eye and instinct, she turns them in her fingers, shoving them behind her at an approaching Goblin. Now with her weapons, her confidence regrows but she holds herself from feeling arrogant as her enemies are easily slain by her blade. The Goblin-cleaver still lies on the floor.
As Dwarves throw weapons over the heads, slashing enemies left, right, and centre, Gailien glides across the floor. "Thorin!" Still weapon-less, Thorin turns at his name, kicking away an oncoming Goblin. Gailien tucks her booted foot under the handle and hilt of Orcrist, tossing it through the air and into his hands. Without wasting a second, Thorin slices the neck of another, giving her a subtle nod.
Behind him, the Goblin leader finally stops cowering, lunging forward and another warning plays on her tongue but it is not needed as Thorin matches his strike, sending him tumbling off the wooden platform.
But no matter how hard they fight the Goblins still outnumber them and any that they kill are replaced by two more. A large Goblin runs at her. She braces her stance, readying her blades but before it is within her range, it grunts in pain, falling to the floor. Behind it is Fili, giving her a quick mirthful smirk before moving on.
Noting their outnumbered situation, Gandalf quickly assesses an escape route. "Follow me. Quick! Run!" The last of their belongings are tossed through the air to their rightful owners and Gailien can't help but wonder if they had found all of Fili's knives. She's seen some creative hiding places that she wouldn't dare reach for. The company follows Gandalf down a wooden road.
Through all the chaos, Bilbo has fallen to the back of Gailien's mind but as they run it trickles back into the centre of her mind. What has become of him? Surely if Gandalf is here, then he can help search once they have reached their own safety.
The network of rickety wooden paths doesn't end as they follow Gandalf and Gailien is praying that her luck stays with her in the fact that she has not yet tripped over. Dwalin at the lead of their run, slicing down a few Goblins on the way. He yells something incomprehensible to her ears and using his battle-axe, cuts free a long wooden pike. The Dwarves in front of her grasp it and she watches in slight amazement as they use it to knock away a small horde that runs towards them, sending them tumbling over the side. They drop it back on the ground.
A Goblin swings down from above, earning her blade ramming through his head as she sprints. It falls the ground behind her, accompanied by the grunt of a Dwarf. " 'Eh, watch it!" they yell to her.
"Sorry," she calls back over her shoulder, slicing another – though this time she is sure to send it over the edge.
The paths around them verge away as they start running along a long wooden bridge. The fear begins to rise in her again as many of its planks are either rotten or missing. It is only then that she realises the company has split in half. Challenging her own fears, she breaks her gaze away from the path to around her, looking for the other members. But it isn't needed as they are already catching up with them on the other side of the bridge. Their paths converge as she leaps down from the end of the wooden road down onto theirs, landing in the middle, her legs already running before they hit the floor.
They run into a dead-end, but Thorin cuts the rope holding the swinging bridge in place and they soar through the air. Gailien balances herself, struggling to find the balance in her legs. "Jump!" A few Dwarves jump off the other side before the swing back the other way. More Goblins jump onto the platform, but they keep them at bay as they swing to the other side once more. Now prepared, the rest run to the edge, leaping back onto solid ground as Fili slices the rope, sending the platform and remain Goblins into the abyss.
There are just as many Goblins waiting for them on the other side. Gailien finds herself struggling to stay with the company as she is forced to fight numerous Goblins on the path. For a moment she believes she has lost them but a rough hand pulls at her jacket, tugging her along the path as Thorin forces her to reunite with the rest.
Gandalf brings down a large stone from one of the over hangings, which then proceeds to tumble down their new stone path. They run behind it as the large form squashes any Goblin in its path. More and more Goblins until they seem to find a path that has none in front of them.
For a second of bliss, Gailien begins smiling at the thought of nearing the end of Goblin town but it is rudely destroyed by the Goblin leader bursting through the wooden floor. Gailien shrinks into the company as Goblins surround them on either side. Her blades are high and ready for an attack, her back against Kili's.
"You thought you could escape me?" the leader growls arrogantly. He slams his skull-topped staff into the ground in front of Gandalf, then through the air, forcing the wizard and the company back. "What are you going to do now wizard?"
Gandalf steps forward, and using his staff, stabs the Goblin in the eye. It groans, grasping at its face but Gandalf gives it no mercy before slicing it stomach clean open. It cries out, falling to its knees. It nods slightly in thought. "That'll do it," it answers shrewdly. And as it that isn't enough, Gandalf then slices its throat. Falling forward, the weight of the great sized Goblin lands on the bridge which rumbles and groans.
Then the supports break and they fall through the air. Gailien screams to whatever gods are out there, falling to her stomach, her fingers gripping the edge of a plank as they soar through Goblin town, knocking into other roads and rocks, passing onlooking Goblins. As they knock into a wall, the momentum sends her body in the air, her legs landing on poor Kili's stomach. She would apologise if she could, but the cavern walls narrow and their small section of the platform, which has miraculously stayed upright, slow down their fall until they hit the ground with only a little force. Broken planks lie on them and Gailien's legs are trapped on top of Kili as wood weighs them down and her face is next to Dwalin's.
They all groan in pain as Gandalf emerges from the pile. "Sorry, dilthen er," she says to Kili. Kili gives her a pained smile, patting her side. They are on the bottom level, a few Dwarves above them on the second row of planks.
"Well, that could have been worse," Bofur muses in mirth. Gailien begins to swear at those cursed words when she is cut off as the Goblin leader falls through the cavern, landing on top of the platform. Under its weight, the top half collapses, and a collective groan sounds.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin growls. Gailien coughs at the weight in her chest but fortunately, Dwalin is larger than her in width and her body only received a hit of the force but is not trapped under its weight. Kili pushes the wood off them both and her legs slide free but as he looks up, his face drops.
"Gandalf!" Gailien stands, pulling Kili up blindly as she peers to the cavern they fell from. Hundreds of Goblin are moving down the rocky walls towards them.
"There's too many, we can't fight them," Dwalin announces.
"Only one thing will save us. Daylight! Come on!" Gailien searches around for any struggling Dwarf, pulling Bofur from the rubble then Ori. "Here, on your feet." Gailien jumps up, grasping Fili's hands, using her weight to hall him from the top of the rubble. They land on the ground, hastily pushing off as they begin running through the rocky passages.
Gandalf stands to the side, ensuring that they are all following and Gailien's arm burns now. And so does her right leg. But she promised – promised that it would not slow her or the company down. But it is hard to ignore the searing flame in each step.
The end of the tunnel comes to light and for the first time in many hours, her eyes are blessed with sunshine. A slight cry of relief passes her lips as she runs onto the grass, but her mind keeps reeling, telling her that she has forgotten something.
They don't stop running, not even now that they are in broad daylight where the Goblins will not dare chase them. They follow the natural slope of the hill down into an open forest of trees through small hills which are littered from rocks. They bounce over and through them until the ground flattens out, well away from the mountainside.
Gailien breathes heavily, not recalling the last time her body has done so much fighting and running in a short time. Her fighting instincts have not faded but her fighting body has and she is forced to draw her right leg up slightly to give it some relief of the pain it is buried in.
Gandalf begins calling out their names as he sees them, and she barely hears her own. Her eyes clench shut, willing the flames in her bones to soothe. It is just inflammation of an old wound that never healed right, not anything new so there is no way to heal it besides rest.
"Are you hurt?"
Gailien peeks through her lashes, tilting her head up slightly. Thorin is bent forward slightly, looking at her neutrally, but there is a subtle hint of concern seeping through his voice. She shakes her head, opening her eyes fully and straightening her back. "I'm fine."
Thorin narrows his eyes at her, not believing her for a second but Gandalf cuts any accusations of lying off. "…And Bombur, that makes fourteen. Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit?" A panic strikes her chest again. "Where is our Hobbit?"
The company look around as though he is hiding amongst them but Gailien knows that has not been with them since the beginning of their capture. They did not lose him in the chase.
"Cure that Halfing! Now he's lost!" Gloin growls. "I thought he was with Dori!"
"Don't blame me!" Dori protests.
Gandalf stalks forward to the grey-haired Dwarf. "And where did you last see him?"
"I think I saw him slip away when they first collared us," Nori answers.
"What happened exactly? Tell me!" Gandalf demands.
"He's still in their Gandalf," she exclaims. Bilbo Baggins does not deserve to be deserted in that horror of a place. Even with the leader dead, the Goblins will run a frenzy. "We have to go back in there. I'm going in there! With or without your help!"
"You will not!" Thorin growls as he steps in front of her. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since he first stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing out Hobbit again, he is lone gone." Gailien's infuriation for him once again grows but she doesn't have the chance to argue as a familiar, kind voice rings out.
"No, he isn't."
Gailien's leg almost gives out underneath her as she sprints forward. "Bilbo!" She engulfs him in a tight embrace.
"Bilbo Baggins," Gandalf sings. "I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life." Gailien releases him, not yet sure if he is unscathed but as she looks him over, the only sign of damage his to his beloved red coat which has lost all of its buttons.
"Bilbo, we'd given you up!" Kili cheers.
"How on earth did you get past the Goblins?" Fili questions from beside in wonder. Gailien stands back, giving the Hobbit his space as she joins the brothers.
"How indeed," Dwalin muses perplexed. Bilbo laughs nervously, slipping his fingers into the small pockets of his red waistcoat. Gailien frowns at his apprehension.
"Oh, what does it matter?" Gandalf dismisses. "He's back."
"It matters," Thorin says, though without the viciousness it held before. "I want to know. Why did you come back?"
Bilbo sighs, looking around the company. "Look, I know you doubt me. I know…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, cause…you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you, but I will help you take it back if I can."
Gailien smiles proudly. It is a similar reason to her own for being here. She lost her home, forcible or not she was no longer welcome there and if she can help those who reclaim their own, those who deserve it, then by her life and death she will. While her faith in Bilbo may have waivered, she never stopped truly believing that he is a brave creature. To step so far out of comfort for strangers. All she can hope for now is that Thorin will offer him the same trust that he now does for her.
As they stand there in contemplation, howling echoes down the mountainside. Wargs. Her smile drops, toes digging into the ground in preparation.
"Out of the frying pan," Thorin grumbles.
"And into the fire. Run," Gandalf says simply before shouting. "Run!"