Chapter 16: Rivers to Barges
Another splash of water threatens her grip of Dwalin's barrel as they fall down another short waterfall. The Orcs are right on their tails. Legolas and Tauriel only manage to hold off so many as the Dwarves are faced with the rest. Though they do not dare and enter the harshly currented river, those armed with a bow do everything they can to try and kill them.
Arrows begin to thud into the sides of the barrels and Gailien barely has a spare moment to watch out for them as she is continuously dunked into the water. Her eyes sting from the constant water pushing against them, her legs floating freely underneath her at the mercy of the current.
Thorin slashes the metal weapon as an Orc attempts to jump onto this barrel. Somehow, Dwalin and Gailien's barrel does not become the victim of the Orc's poor shots. Another Orc tries to jump down onto Balin as the river narrows but Thorin throws his weapon, both killing the Orc and trapping him to a fallen branch. The Orc's weapon drops into Thorin's hands who proceeds to toss it back to Dwalin, then Nori, then Fili who swings it at the feet of another Orc.
The continue with the strong current, falling down a few more short drops. One Orc leaps onto their barrel, on the opposite side to Gailien and she is thrusted around with the new weight which tilts the barrel, her legs even coming out of the water. Dwalin – the only of the two with the ability to do anything – gives the creature a good whack and it falls off with an animalistic cry, its battle-axe left with Dwalin as a reward.
A line of Orcs stands on a fallen tree branch that spans the width of the narrow river. Thorin reaches up, slashing his weapon against the middle of the branch, weakening but not cutting it. Dwalin and Gailien pass through next and Dwalin swings at it with his newly acquired axe and it falls under his efforts, sending the Orcs scrambling into the water.
Dwalin calls out to Bombur, throwing the Dwarf his axe as more Orcs try to land on their barrels. With the axe embedded, Bombur manages to pike himself over a log and back onto solid ground, smashing into another band of Orcs as he does so. Dwalin and Gailien pass Bilbo who clings to a tipped barrel for dear life.
Bombur manages to acquire two weapons, his hands poking through the broken sides of his barrel and fights off a small army of Orcs before jumping into another unoccupied barrel. Legolas, who Gailien hadn't even realised had come out this far suddenly appears, his feet planting on Dwalin and another Dwarf's head. He balances on them, shooting in every direction at their common foe.
He does things in his typical Elvish style, balancing, leaping from the ground and sliding down on an Orc before using the Dwarves as stepping-stones to reach the other side. Gailien watches as he fights with one Orc, another sneaking up behind him. Her mouth opens to scream a warning but Thorin flings his weapon, killing the hidden enemy. She reminds herself to thank him later.
With one last small waterfall, the Orcs seem to have disappeared but soon enough, Gailien's eyes can see them on the banks, still chasing after them. The rapids continue for a while, and they let the current take them but soon it calms down until the surface is flat, only disturbed by them. Gailien kicks as Dwalin uses his hands as a paddle to keep them moving.
"You still alive lass?" Dwalin asks. As an answer, Gailien glares up at him, spitting out the water that has accumulated in her mouth.
"Anything behind us?" Thorin questions.
"Not that I can see," Balin answers. Not trusting his aging sight, Gailien looks around for herself but there is also nothing she can see.
"I think we've outrun the Orcs," Bofur announces, nearly tipping his barrel over.
"Not for long, we've lost the current," Thorin counters.
"We almost half-drowned!" Dwalin growls.
"Make for the shore!" Thorin orders. "Come on, let's go." Wanting nothing more than to get out of the water, Gailien happily complies, pushing her weight against the barrel, her legs out behind her as she kicks her and the Dwarf to the rocky shore nearby. Some of them struggle as they are pulled down by the smaller current.
She nearly cries in relief as her feet meet the solid ground and she all but drags herself out of the water, not even finding the energy to help the others. Bending over her knees, she hacks up the rest of the water trapped in her lungs before standing back up. Kili sits (falls) down on his knees, clutching his leg.
Gailien clambers over to him as he holds a rag to it, scrunching his face in pain. Gailien places a hand on his shoulder, the other lightly pulling at the fabric of his pants to see the wound. Feeling her hand, Kili opens his eyes to find both Gailien and Bofur watching him with concern. He drops his face. "I'm fine, it's nothing."
"I am so sorry Kili," she whispers. "I didn't want this to happen."
Kili shrugs his shoulders like it was nothing. "I'm tough," he counters, holding a brave face. Fili joins Gailien's side, taking the cloth from his brother. Kili's words don't make her feel any better – worse even - but she gives him a smile.
"I know you are."
"On your feet," Thorin commands.
"Kili's wounded," Fili says. "His leg needs binding."
"There's an Orc pack at our tail. We keep moving."
"To where?" Balin questions.
"To the mountain," Bilbo says. "We're so close."
Fili begins tying a rag around Kili's leg and though she knows he doesn't want any sort of comfort – because that would prove he needs it – Gailien stands behind his shoulder, gently rubbing it. She knows that Thorin is just worried about being caught against the Orcs now that they are weapon-less, but it will hinder them even more to have a member that might bleed out half-way to Lake-town.
"A lake lies between us and the mountain, we have no way to cross it," Balin argues.
"So, we go around," Bilbo suggests.
"With what supplies?" Gailien speaks up. "With an Orc pack on our tail, we don't even have time to make a camp, let alone find food and weapons."
"Bind his leg, quickly," Thorin orders. "You have two minutes."
Her boots squeak under each step she takes towards Thorin. His eyes are trained on the water until he notices her presence. Gailien stands beside him, crossing her arms against the cooler air of the late autumn. "Do you have a plan?" she asks. Thorin breathes heavily through his nose.
"Have you seen anything that might be useful?" he asks in the place of an answer. Gailien shakes her head, slightly ashamed.
"No, I only saw us escaping. I never saw anything beyond us reaching the bridge." Both of them stand there, Bilbo also by their sides, soaked through to their bones. Gailien snorts as she looks to Thorin's hair.
"What?"
"At least the cobwebs are out of your hair," she snorts tiredly. "I thought Radagast was making an impression on you." Thorin huffs, also crossing his arms. It is entirely possible that Gailien is using humour to forget what happened to Kili, but she relents to admit it. "Pity, it was beginning to become quite a look on you."
"At least you don't look like you've been rolling around in dirt anymore," Thorin counters. "I think this is the first time I've seen your actual skin in weeks." Of course, teasing should be at the back of his mind at this moment, but he just can't help matching her comments. Gailien rubs her cheek.
"It was one crazy bath." They both stare at each other for a moment, both looking over the features of the other that they pointed out. Even though all this chaos, Thorin's braids have stayed put, barely messed up. Gailien has indeed been washed of all the grime that has been building up since Beorn's and she is sure that she probably smells at least semi-decent now. Bilbo stands on the side, his eyebrows raised as he glances between the two.
If Gailien wasn't so caught up in staring at the Dwarf, she probably would have noticed the human man sneaking up on them, his arrow pointed right at Ori who is pouring the water out of his boots.
But Dwalin notices in her place, catching the attention of the rest of the company. He holds up a thick stick across his chest, standing in front of the off-guard Ori. The man releases his arrow and it pierces the middle of the stick. The company begin to take defensive. Kili raises back to his feet, pulling up a stone but quicker than they can register, the rock is knocked from the young Dwarf's hand by another arrow.
Gailien's eyes widen, her hands clenching around air where they should be a weapon. The man loads another bow, slower, now a threat as he points it at the company. Gailien stumbles back a little as the arrow drifts over her and Thorin's arm drifts out in front of her, guiding her back even further.
"Do it again, and you're dead," the man warns.
Balin leans to the side, looking past the new person. "Excuse me, but you're from Lake-town if I'm not mistaken?" he assumes, slowly walking forward. Bard holds his bow higher, pointing it at the white-haired Dwarf as the rest watch on. "That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire by any chance?"
Bard lowers his bow, sheathing the dark arrow. No longer seeing the company as a threat, he begins to walk back over to his barge, the company trailing after. "What makes you think I would help you?" the man questions, beginning to set the boat up for his return.
"Those boots have seen better days, as has that coat," Balin insinuates. The man begins rolling the barrels that the Dwarves arrived in, onto the boat. "No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed? How main bairns?"
"A boy and two girls," the man answers.
"And your wife, I imagine she's a beauty?"
Even to a blind man, the pain in his expression is clear. "Aye, she was."
Gailien winces, not even being able to imagine the death of what is supposed to be a lifelong partner. "I'm sorry," Balin gapes. "I didn't mean to…"
"Oh, come on, come on," Dwalin growls. "Enough with the niceties."
"Dwalin," Gailien chides but her words are ignored.
"What's your hurry?" The bargeman wonders.
"What's it to you?" Dwalin counters.
"I would like to know who you are, and what you were doing in these lands."
"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains, journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills."
Bard scrutinises the group once more. The most are Dwarves, but there are two in the company that do not belong to that race. "Your kin, you say? Then why do two non-Dwarves travel with you? Surely you do not need protection?" He taunts the last few words, looking both Bilbo and Gailien over.
Balin widens his eyes, faking the pleasantry of the man's keen eye. "Ah, that would be our lovely Gailien and her brother Bilbo. They are our…"
"Betrothed," Thorin answers. It will be the easiest reason to explain both of their presences. "Gailien is betrothed and her brother has asked to accompany her in our travels." Gailien keeps the heat from rising to her cheeks, planting a small smile instead for the strange man.
Bard isn't quite sure if he believes any part of their story, but even so, she does stand noticeably close to the Dwarf who answered. "Simple merchants, you say?" he falls back to.
"We need food, supplies, weapons," Thorin states. "Can you help us?"
"I know where these barrels come from."
"What of it?"
"I don't know what business you had with the Elves, but I don't think it ended well." He fingers one of the barrels where there is an indent from an arrow. "No one enters Lake-town but by lead of the master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland realm. He would see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil."
He throws a thick rope at Balin who barely catches it. The white-haired Dwarf looks to Thorin who gestures to keep talking. Bard picks up his bow and arrows as Balin keeps trying. "I'll wager that there are ways to enter that town unseen."
"Aye," the bargeman says, almost entertained at their efforts. "But for that, you'll need a smuggler."
"For which we would pay double," Balin says, laying down their offer. This offer of money catches the attention of the bargeman. He looks back over the Dwarves and their two other companions.
"How much?"