Chapter 15: The Escape
The celebrations of the Starlight festival must be on their way of ending. They have little in the way of knowing the position of the sun, only that their meals are given at the same time each day. The jubilant atmosphere the company had managed to create through the night grew weary and now they lie in their cells, drowning in sorrows.
Gailien has seen them escape – going down the river in barrels but how they get to that point she has no idea. And Kili. The arrow in his leg. She must stop that somehow. The river rapids send a fling of fear through her, knowing that being caught in their waters is how her brother died but Gailien is a strong swimmer, only cumbered by her own mentality. That seems to be a common problem that she faces. Her own mind.
"I'll wager the sun is on the rise," Bofur muses solemnly. "Must be nearly dawn."
"We're ever goa reach the mountain, are we?" Ori moans. Gailien lies on her back, staring at the ceiling trying to make the time go faster by purely willing it to.
Bilbo Baggins, their burglar Hobbit with a habit of getting out of sticky situations, has been spending the last few days tracking the Dwarves down, then finding a way out. Now, with a plan in motion, he arrives at the cells with the ring neatly tucked into his pocket. "Not stuck in here you're not," he says, announcing his presence. He pulls the guards keys – which he stole while they sleep off the wine – from his coat.
"Bilbo!" Balin cries. Thorin pushes off the back of his cell wall, scrambling to the front as Bilbo stands outside his cell. He knew that Bilbo would come through, even though his hope started to dimmer. Gailien had assured him, when the Elves weren't present, that they would find a way out.
The Dwarves begin to cheer, and even Gailien is overcome with excitement but as the Dwarves' voices echo loudly, she scans the halls for any Elves. "Shh!" she hushes.
"There are guards nearby!" Bilbo adds in a hiss as he starts to unlock Thorin's cell, then moves onto Balin's. Gailien waits (not so patiently) for her own to be unlocked. Once it is, Gailien beams at the Hobbit.
"You are incredible Master Baggins," she announces. Bilbo gives her a sheepish smile before continuing on to the final few Dwarves below her. Gailien grins, patting Fili on the shoulder as he is released.
"I have something of yours," she says. Fili frowns for a moment but then expresses recognition as Gailien bends down into the side of her boots, pulling the dagger from it. "Don't lose it."
"You're amazing," he says, holding the blade close.
"I try," she quips.
The thirteen Dwarves and their companions are now huddled together in the middle of the prison area which presents them with their next problem. They will never escape by going out the front door but unless they wish to go further in, then up is their only option.
They all look quite the mess as well; spider webs still stuck in their hair, their outer layers stripped and circles under their eyes from the tire of not being able to do anything.
"What's that?" Kili questions.
"You first."
"Ori!"
They try to organise themselves, sticking to the rocks as though it will provide them with some cover. A few seconds of grace maybe. Bilbo though begins to lead them in another direction.
"Not that way," he hisses. "Down here, follow me!"
"Which way?" Bombur questions. Gailien flickers her eyes around, trying to determine what direction he is leading them to. She doesn't recall much about the layout of the kingdom besides the major chambers, but she trusts Bilbo, and apparently so do the other Dwarves.
They follow Bilbo down in a single file as he leads them even further deeper into Mirkwood's palace. There are no Elves on their path – likely still at the celebrations or sleeping them off. And it is early morn.
Soon their path comes to a slow stop as the Dwarves pile up on a short staircase.
"The cellars?" Gailien mutters, frowning as she looks around. This would be the last place she would have led them.
Kili seems to have the same idea. "I don't believe it, we're in the cellars!" he cries, shaking his fists.
Bofur walks forward, spinning around. "You're supposed to be leading us out not further in!"
"I know what I'm doing!" Bilbo exclaims (though still hushed). On one side of the cellars are the two Elves that should be on duty but they lie fast asleep with their heads on the table, surrounded by empty wine jars. "Okay, this way. This way." He waves his hands across, ushering the Dwarves into the other side of the cellars.
It is only then that Gailien finally puts all the pieces together. "Bilbo Baggins you are a genius," she hushes in an intone, squeezing his shoulder as she passes him. Lined up perfectly are a number of empty barrels. This is where they would release the barrels, sending them into the river below where they would flow out. All the way to Lake-town.
Bilbo thanks fate that at least one person trusts him as the Dwarves look around with narrowed eyes. "Everyone, climb into the barrels, quickly!" he instructs. Gailien stands next to Thorin on the short platform.
"Are you mad? They'll find us!" Dwalin protests.
Bilbo shakes his head, already feeling the stress for time weighing down on them. "No, no. they won't! I promise. Please, please, you must trust me!"
The Dwarves start mumbling amongst each other. Gailien grasps Thorin arm, forcing him to look at her. She nods then lets go of his arm, jumping down onto the lower level and starts climbing into one of the barrels as the others watch on in disbelief.
"Do as he says!" Thorin commands.
The Dwarves follow their leader's command and they begin lifting each other into the barrels. Kili and Fili move into the ones on her left and she uses her hands to give Ori a push into the one above her. Thorin is the last to get in, checking that everybody else is in before climbing in the last barrel. Bilbo stands in front of them, counting over as well.
Bofur pokes his head out. "What do we do now?"
The rest of the Dwarves stick their heads out, watching as Bilbo marches over to the large lever sticking out of the floor. "I suggest you prepare to get wet," Gailien says, already anticipating the drop. Her fingers clench around the outside of the barrel. Bilbo gives her a pointed gesture of agreement.
Bilbo pulls the lever and under the weight of the barrels and Dwarves, the floorboards beneath them begin to tip. Gailien presses her elbows against the side, watching as the world starts to turn in front of her. The Dwarves cry out as the barrels begin flying through the air and they begin to land in the water.
Gailien's barrel hits the river, soaking her in water but the barrel stays afloat and the right way up. Around her, the rest of the company are falling in or starting to float away. She looks back up the floorboards. "Bilbo!"
"We will wait for our burglar!" Thorin commands. Gailien and Dwalin float behind Thorin through a thin passage. The two reach out, grasping the rocky sides and Thorin grasps their barrels, effectively creating a blockade for the rest of the Dwarves that become dammed against them. The murky water's current pushes against the barrels but as soon as they can move, it will be in their favour.
The sound of their heavy breathes fill the chasm ad Gailien's ears he the slight thuds of feet on the planks above them.
"Where is he?" Bofur exclaims. "Where is Bilbo?"
"He's coming," Gailien assures. "I can hear him still up there." She eyes Thorin's fingers which are curled around her barrel's edge. She holds the instinct that surges through her to go out and reach them, lace them with her own. Her own fingers merely a few inches away, also clinging tightly to the barrel. But those are selfish thoughts and are useless wastes of energy when the lives of the company are presently at very high risk.
Then the planks begin to tip again, and their Hobbit stumbles out backwards. His arms flail about and his feet leave the ground, but he doesn't spend long in the air. He crashes into the river, Nori already waiting for him.
"Well done, Mast Baggins," Thorin says, grinning. Bilbo lifts a hand, mumbling something incoherent as he clings to the outer edge of Nori's barrel. "Go, come on, let's go!"
Gailien and Dwalin let go of the stony sides and they let the current sway against them, drifting down the course with the water. Her arms extend over the sides, the cool water covering her forearms as she uses her hands as a makeshift paddle.
They flow down the stream, bumping into each other, narrowly missing their hands being caught. The water begins to roughen, jostling Gailien and the rest about and her feet have to be held wide, so she does not fall down.
"Hold on!"
In front of them is a small waterfall and there is no other choice but to let themselves fall down its path. Thorin is the first to tip over, followed by Nori and poor Bilbo who is still clinging to the outside of it. Gailien follows shortly after, trying to hold herself in the middle so she does not tip over.
She screams as her barrel tips over the edge, the water covering her before she even hits the river below. Water clogs every orifice and she quickly shuts her mouth, realising her mistake. Her knees buckle as the barrel suddenly stops falling, her back pressing against the edge. It almost seems like she is going to tip over, but the barrels keep upright with a surprising amount of balance.
There is no part of her that remains dry, including her throat. She coughs up the water, her eyes wide open so she can see as much as possible through the white field. Her barrel continues with the current, away from the river but the rough water doesn't stop.
Her barrel collides with Nori's, thankfully not squishing Bilbo. There are rapids in the water, sending them all which direction. "Bilbo!" Gailien leans over the edge of her barrel, reaching down to Bilbo to try and pull him into her own. Bilbo reaches out, his fingertips brushing with hers when another force collides with her. Fortunately, Thorin's barrel came from her side and not her behind as she would have surely been thrown over if it were. Her barrel is forced away from Nori's, leaving Bilbo to go back to clinging to it.
An Elvish horn is blown, easily heard by all ears. Gailien's eyes widen even more as she spins around to face the direction they are floating. The bridge up ahead that they will have the flow through has Elven guards standing at attention, and now on of those men have heard the order. The Elf runs towards the lever, pulling it back and her stomach sinks as the metal grated gates below the bridge shut just before they reach them.
"No!" Thorin cries, grasping the gate as his barrel is the first to collide with it. Gailien's collides next to him and she screams a string of Elvish curses at both the Elves and fate.
"Watch out!"
Where most of the company are piled up, an Elvish body falls down into the water, an arrow sticking out of their back. Then there is a deep growl that can only belong to one creature. "Orcs," she spits, sharing a blazing glare with Thorin. Above them is the sound of blades being unsheathed, match with the sound of them meeting flesh an armour.
Through the grate she can see them running out of the forest in high number, bodies of both Orc and Elf falling dead into the river. "Get over the bridge!" Thorin cries. One Orc falls into the river but lands on Fili's barrel. Fili, already grasping his dagger, pierces the Orc's neck who promptly falls backwards into the water.
More start to find the company and the Dwarves begin defending themselves with bare hands. Her visions replay in her mind and she realises what is about to happen. "No! Kili, don't!" Kili briefly glances at her but ignores her pleas, returning his sights onto the lever. Gailien cries out in frustration. Using her hands, she props herself up, letting her body fall over the edge of the barrel and she submerges herself into the river.
Holding her chin high, Gailien kicks her legs with as much power as she can exert, her hands pushing the barrels out of the way to make a path. Kili is already leaving his own, about the climb up onto the bridge. "Kili!" Her cry is as futile as trying to push away the heavy barrels. Taking a deep breath, Gailien dives into the water, squinting to see through the murky substance. The cries of those above water are muffled, but there is no less chaos as she tries to swim underneath the barrels. Bodies fall into the water and an arrow narrowly misses her head.
Finally, on the other side, she kicks to the surface. Her head whips around, trying to orientate herself. Kili is on the bridge, fighting off an orc. Gailien pushes herself to the edge, pulling herself out of the water with a speed she didn't know she was capable of. An Orc strides towards her, but with no weapon to defend herself with, she kicks out, using the wall of the bridge as leverage, sending it to the Dwarves below who are already collecting weapons from the fallen bodies.
Kili marches towards the lever and out of the corner of her eye, she can see Bolg pulling an arrow in his bow. Gailien launches herself forward. Her hands connecting with his shoulders and with the force of body throws both herself and the young Dwarf to the ground. The arrow whizzes past them, the back of her wet blouse feeling the wind of its shaft, but it collides with the stone behind them. Kili's chest is planted in the ground but his head is turned, looking over his shoulder at Gailien who is already staring at him. She did it.
Kili's eyes shift out to Bolg who is already loading another arrow. The young Dwarf bends his elbows, pushing himself off the ground at an angle that forces Gailien to roll onto her side and their places are swapped.
Although he is expecting it, the pain in his leg is incomprehensible. Gailien watches as the Dwarf's face slowly morphs in pain and his hand reach down to his lower calf. A dark arrow sticking out of it. No.
"No, no, no."
She stopped it. But she hasn't stopped anything. Kili's teeth are clenched as he rolls onto his side next to Gailien. "Kili!" His brother. Bolg, once again prepares another arrow, taking his sweet time to aim at the woman who is caught in the shock of events.
An orc climbs over the bridge but before it can reach them, it is shot down by an arrow. Tauriel emerges, her bow in hand. Gailien breaks from her frozen mind, standing back up over the young Dwarf, her hands empty but ready to defend. More Orcs come but Tauriel is already digging their graves.
The gate. Gailien's defensive stance drops as the lever becomes the focus in her mind. In three quick long strides, her hands clasp around the long wooden shaft and pulls down on it. The gate grinds underneath her, opening up for the Dwarves and the first barrels begin to flow through.
Kili grunts in pain behind her, still lying on the stony ground. Taking the arrow out will cause it to bleed more but it is not feasible to travel the distance they are with an arrow out of his leg. Rushing back over to him, she places one hand on his chest, the other wrapping around the base of the arrow.
"Goheno nin," she mutters, pressing down on his chest as the other hand pulls sharply at the arrow. Kili cries out, his fingers clenching around her wrist. Tossing the arrow away, she drags him back to the edge of the bridge where a few of the Dwarves are still waiting.
Fili calls out for his brother again and braving the pain, Kili leaps over the edge, landing in his empty barrel. Another sharp cry leaves his throat as his leg impacts the ground. Gailien jumps over too, her feet locked together as she falls through the air, landing back in the water as her own barrel is long gone. She kicks back to the surface, clinging to the side of Dwalin's barrel.
She avoids looking at Kili's pained face knowing that is her fault that he is feeling that. "Hold on lass," Dwalin growls loudly as the rest of the company begin flowing down the rest of the river. And hold on Gailien does.
Thank you once again for the amazing reviews! I love seeing the same people coming back as the story unfolds. And to any new people - I would love to hear your voice as well!