Chapter 10: Enchanted Waters
The company congregate around the edge of the river. There was once a bridge, but all that now remains is the foundations on either side. Even if Gailien could manage to jump the distance, there is no way the Dwarves would be able to manage.
"Doesn't look very enchanting to me," Bofur says offhandedly.
The River isn't particularly deep, in this area anyway, but it is no less dangerous.
"Can we wade through?" Balin asks. "It doesn't look too deep."
"No, Master Balin. It is shallow but it has not earnt the name 'Enchanted' from its beauty. Any who touch the water is put under a deep sleep and there is no way to know how long it will take for them to awaken."
Only two Elves that she has known have ever fallen in and they were asleep for over a week, but the effects could be vastly different on her, Bilbo, and the Dwarves. Would their Dwarfish nature help them or hinder them?
"We must find a way to cross," Thorin announces. "Is there another bridge?"
Gailien shakes her head, looking around. "Not unless you want to leave the path to try and find it." There is another one a few days south but there is more of a risk in leaving their path to find it then trying to find a way across.
"Here!"
Kili grasps one of the thick vines which entangles with many more. The vines extend over the river, meeting with ones extending from the opposite side. He begins to pull himself up to climb them but Gailien widens her eyes, jumping forward.
"No!" she cries. "Not first, Kili. I'm the lightest." She walks forward, swapping places with Kili who falters back to his uncle. "If I make it across, Bilbo will come next." Though she is slightly larger than Bilbo, her Elvish blood and still lithe build lighten her steps and she doesn't carry the heavy layers of clothing like the Dwarves. After Bilbo makes it, then they can start working on the rest of the Dwarves.
Though the site of water so close after her vision is sickening, there is no other choice. Be brave. Her long fingers wind around the thickest vine, the heavy eyes of the company watching her every move. At least she will not die if she falls, but it won't lessen the burden as they would be forced to carry her.
Both her feet leave the ground, her arms holding her weight as her feet try to balance. She pulls, testing the strength of the plant. It seems strong enough to hold her. Gailien takes her first step, sliding her hands along the vine with her body.
Then there is a small drop and she stretches her foot out to meet with the next vine. Her limbs begin to stretch, her back bending backwards but she is not yet in any danger of falling. There is, however, a slight danger from the fumes of the River which is now directly under her feet.
"Nice and steady," Thorin says in his typical smooth tone. Gailien nods, smiling over her left shoulder at their leader. Thorin stands forward in front of the company with squinted eyes. Her own return to the vine entanglement, finding her next foot and handhold.
It will require a small jump, or she could let her body lean forward and fall to it. Her eyes drift down to the water below. It looks like it hasn't moved in a century and small clouds of smoke arising. Shrivelling her nose, she tries to ignore the small dizziness it creates.
Deciding to jump, she pushes off, arms extending out to meet her goal. Her hands clutch tightly to the new vine but one of her feet overshoot and the back of her heel slips over the rounded side.
A short breath is snatched from Thorin as Gailien's feet are swept out from under her, but her grip on the branch above remains tight. Gailien hangs, holding her gasp as her elbows are pulled tight. Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she calms her heart and lets her feet find the vine once more. She has made it half-way.
The rest almost becomes easy and soon she finds herself on the bank of the river. She breathes out in relief. As long as the vines can hold them, they can make it across. "Bilbo! It should be safe for you to come," she calls. The vines didn't feel weak, only slightly bending under her weight. And if it can hold Bilbo, then they can test with Ori, then the brothers. If they start with the heaviest, it may be able to hold them, but they risk weakening the vines as they cross for the rest of the company.
Bilbo nods, walking forward and he grips the same vine that Gailien did. Slowly, he creeps forward and Gailien watches the vines under his weight, looking for any sign of them breaking.
"It seems fine," Bilbo announces and Gailien knows that it is more for his own sake than anything else. The vines swing slightly under his weight as they did hers. Then his grip slips, and he begins to fall forward but his legs wrap themselves around the vine. He hangs upside down, his head only inches above the water but he pulls himself back up without a drop of water reaching him.
Feeling eyes on her, she risks her gaze drifting from Bilbo back to the company. She scans over their faces until her eyes meet Thorin's. As soon as they meet though, Thorin's eye snaps back to Bilbo. She swallows, her own darting around for a moment before she focuses back on the Hobbit.
Bilbo reaches the middle where the largest gap lies. Instead of jumping as she had chosen, Bilbo leans forward, his arms extended, and they latch onto the vine where her own feet slipped. His face is pointed down to the water underneath and for a few seconds, he makes no move to pull himself up.
"Bilbo?" she calls. The Hobbit shakes his head, looking up.
"I'm fine!" He manages to bring his legs over, clutching the vine and like her, finds the second half much easier than the first and leaps off, joining Gailien on the riverbank. "Something isn't right," he squeaks to her. "Something isn't right at all."
"It's the river, Bilbo," she explains. "As long as they don't touch the water, they'll be fine." As they both look up to the company to pass on instructions, her face drops as the entirety of the thirteen are already climbing over the vines. Bilbo begins slapping his face as Gailien walks as close to the edge as the dares.
Her stomach drops each time a Dwarf jumps, bumping into others, the vines swinging about wildly. Bombur begins to yawn, and Gailien begins to pray that his large size will mean the river will take longer to affect him but against her wishes, he seems to be the most.
Thorin is the first one to reach the other side and Gailien can't help but hold her hand out as he makes it to the last vine. She expects him not to take it, since there is little need for her help but Thorin slides his hand into hers. He jumps down next to the pair.
Her ears twitch, hearing the sound of a twig breaking under an animal's foot. The three look out into the forest. A beautiful white stag, which seems too ethereal to be in such a morbid place insouciantly munches on the grass. Thorin's hand leaves hers as he pulls an arrow from the quiver he recently acquired, nocking it in.
Gailien's mind quickly recalls the comment he made not long ago, about how his eyes are not what they used to be a hundred years ago. Her hand quickly lays over his, silently holding him from pulling the bow up. Thorin turns his head to her but she watches the stag with a hunter's eye. Her fingers drift over his until they reach the wood of his bow and tugs it from his grip.
Gailien has never been a true archer, but her eyesight is likely the best of the company's. Not to even mention that she was trained by one of the best archers on Middle Earth. Thorin lets her pull his weapon away and Gailien draws the arrow back, ignoring the sound of the Dwarves clambering over the river. It is a short bow, and unlike the longbows, she is used to, and it doesn't draw all the way to her cheekbone but aiming is still the same.
The stag doesn't expect a thing. Her focus narrows on the tip of the arrow point and its target. She takes a long draw of breath, breathing slowly through her mouth and before she takes another one, her fingers let the arrow fly.
There is a short twang as the arrow leaves the bow, piercing through the air and the sound ends as the arrow finds its mark in the shoulder of the deer. The animal doesn't fall to the ground immediately but there is no chance that it will last long. It tries to prance away, stumbling under its wounded shoulder.
It moves away from them, out of sight and behind trees but it is not a waste of an arrow. They just need to be able to find it and retrieve it. But that will require somebody leaving the path. She lets her chest fall – they have food. Gailien breaks her stare away from the forest, handing the bow back to Thorin.
"Good shot," he says. "But how are we going to get it?"
"We'll worry about that in a moment." Her attention returns to the river, some Dwarves already jumping down onto the riverbank but to her dismay, there is the loud splash unmistakably as water. "I'm honestly not even surprised," she growls to Thorin as Bombur lays in the shallow of the river, fast asleep. Thorin grumbles, displeased that they will now have to not only waste time making a makeshift cot, but their pace will slow.
The Dwarves manage to pull Bombur out without getting themselves wet, thanks to Gailien's idea of breaking some of the vines. She leant down from the vines over the river, hooking them around his feet before tying them off and the Dwarves pulled him in.
As half of the company begin to make the cot, Gailien, Thorin, Balin, Bilbo and the brothers begin discussing the stag that now lies out there in the forest.
"We have to find a way to retrieve it, Thorin," Balin states. "We haven't any food and who knows when we'll next come across it."
"It is too far away from the path," Thorin argues. "I'm not sending anybody out there."
"I think it's a risk we need to take. I'm willing to go," Gailien says, folding her arms. Her chance to prove to herself that she is capable is awaiting her. To prove that she isn't a coward that clings to others for reassurance. Her chin is held high.
"No," Thorin growls. Gailien looks to the brother's for support but neither of them speaks, only shifting their gaze between the forest and the small group. Neither of them wants to go out there either, but they will not speak up to support Gailien leaving.
"I've been lost and found the path once before. I'm the safest choice," she presses.
Thorin holds his ground, stepping closer to her. "I cannot…will not send you out there."
"Well somebody is going to have to," Balin sighs. Gailien tries to rack her mind for another argument. The only thing keeping her from marching out there without permission is the fact that she doesn't want Thorin's anger pinned on her. But it might come to that soon.
She glances once more at the brothers, first at Kili then to Fili, dropping her gaze to his pack. His pack. "Fili," she gasps. Fili looks up at his name. "The rope, from the troll hoard – do you still have it?"
"I think so," he says, pulling his pack off his back. He opens it, digging through his things until he reaches the very bottom. Sure enough, the Elven rope is pulled out, still neatly tied around itself. He holds it out for Gailien to take.
"This is Elven rope, Thorin. It will not break by anything found in this forest. If we tie it around somebody's waist, the only thing that will undo it is their own will," Gailien says. Or another person, she adds to herself. "That way, even if they are not themselves, they can be pulled back."
"Then I will go," Thorin decides.
"You can't," Gailien protest. "You are the leader of this company, and by the off-chance something does happen then we can't risk losing you. I will go."
Thorin opens his mouth to argue more but Balin responds before he can. "She is right, Thorin."
Their leader sucks their teeth but turns his head away in resignation. Gailien nods to Balin in thanks. She begins to unwind the Elven rope, tying one end around her waist tightly. She hands the still looped end to Kili. "Once I find the deer, I'm going to have to tie the rope around it, I won't be able to pull it back myself. Remember, three sharp tugs means start pulling. I'll be holding onto the rope the entire time. If something seems wrong, tug twice and I'll respond with the same. If I don't then you need to pull me back."
Kili nods, tightening his grip on the rope. Her life is hanging in his fingers.
"If something happens, don't come after me," she adds.
Fili opens the inside of his jacket, pulling something out. "Here."
He holds out his favourite knife, Ardoth, in offering to her. Gailien frowns at the blade, not yet reaching for it. "Why?"
"A promise," he says. "To return it to me. To come back."
Gailien smiles softly, placing a hand on the Dwarf's cheek. "I don't need your knife to promise to return. You are all reason enough by yourselves." Fili's mouth tweaks in a smile but nevertheless, he opens her jacket, putting the knife in one of her smaller internal pockets. "I will," she says. Her hand drops and she turns back around to Thorin who has also turned back to face her.
Without speaking, Thorin steps close, his hands reaching out to her waist and his fingers trace along the rope until they find the knot. Her hands raise, thinking that he is going to untie her but Thorin's eyes never drift from her own as he pulls on the knot, tightening it as much as it will go. It pinches at her waist, but she doesn't speak out about it. She knows that this is his way of telling her to be safe.
"Estelio nin," she says through a warm smile. Thorin frowns at the Elvish.
"What does that mean?"
"It means 'trust me'," Kili answers for her, earning him a proud smile from the woman. Thorin swallows, nodding at both Gailien and his nephew.
"Be careful," Bilbo says.
"Always, Master Baggins."
Gailien squeezes Kili's shoulder as she walks past him, and the Dwarf slowly lets the rope unwind through his fingers. Gailien's feet leave the path.
I finished writing Part 2 last night so this was a little extra (another chapter in twelve hours as usual coming)