An extra long chapter this time. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling mistakes, it was a lot to edit through. Sorry for what is about to happen. Please enjoy! *hides in the corner*
The darkness felt suffocating as it closed in around me. Even with the light coming from the glowing cavern, I could barely see my hands in front of my face. I wished I had an elven blade in that moment. I checked over myself in the dark, finding only cuts and scrapes and parts of my skin that would likely bruise. The bones had caught my fall, piled up amongst some large mushrooms. Upon my inspection I found my bag which was still strapped to my pack. I carefully slid it off and rummaged through it blindly, searching for my flint. When my hand finally closed over it, I breathed a sigh of relief.
I grabbed what felt like a leg bone from the pile and reached up under my shirt, tearing of my breast bindings and wrapping them around the bone. I packed up my stuff and shouldered my pack once more before trying once, twice, three times before I got a spark. It took careful tending, but finally the cloth caught fire. I knew that the blaze wouldn't last long so I used the time I had to inspect where I had fallen.
It was a small cavern, filled with bones of the dead. I hoped they were animals, but I had the feeling that I was wrong. Looking up, I saw only darkness above me. I felt the oppressiveness around me, and I began to lose hope. If I had fallen so far into the mountain, how would I get out? How would they find me? With the last remaining light, I spotted a crack in the rocks ahead. It seemed to go somewhere and while it would be a tight fit. I needed to at least try to find a way. The light of my makeshift torch petered out and darkness became my friend once more.
I blew out a shaky breath, feeling tears well up in my eyes. I was alone. I had no idea what had happened to the others. I could barely see and who knows what I would find ahead of me. I reached up, wiping away the fat tears rolling down my face, the palm of my hand stinging. I was ready to just sit down and cry, but then I felt something. It was like a voice, but muffled and weak sounding. I hadn't seen anyone else, but maybe they were ahead of me.
The voice sounded again, and I grew determined. If someone was hurt, they might be calling out for help. I shouldered my pack and made my way towards the crack in the rocks, stumbling as I tripped over a bone and crashing forward. I groaned as my hands scrapped against the rock as I reached out to catch myself, but I was glad to have found what I was looking for. I had to take off my pack as I positioned myself to sidle through the crack in the rocks. The problem was…my pack was too big to fit through. It was barely big enough for me. I didn't want to leave my pack behind, losing everything I had, but I might have to.
I took a step back, having to rethink things. Maybe I could get rid of nonessentials and make the pack size smaller. I pulled out my blanket and my bedroll first. Obviously, I needed them. I didn't need three sets of clothes though. I could make do with one change of clothes. I also could get rid of my second cloak which I was still wearing. I would only keep the one I made for when the days grew colder. I pinned both the oak brooch and the brooch that Lady Galadriel had given me to my cloak which I threw around my shoulders.
The one thing I would not part with was my courting gift for Dwalin. I decided that my herbal stores which Oin had helped me stock were too necessary in the even that moving forward I found someone who was hurt. That left my bed roll and my blanket. I had too chose one to give up. I chose the bedroll. While the ground would be even more uncomfortable to sleep on without it, the blanket was necessary. I grabbed my back, my quiver and my bow, keeping my axes strapped to my back in the leather straps Dwalin had given me and began to make my way through the rift in the rocks once more.
My cheek scraped against the rocks and I turned my head grimacing as I hit a snag, hearing and feeling my tunic ripping. I sucked in my gut and forced myself through the small space, managing it but only barely. I made it into another cavernous space, and I squinted into the utter darkness, this cavern not having the glow worms in it. I shouldered my pack and my weapons once more, pulling an axe free and holding it with both hands as I moved forward slowly, my foot out in front of me carefully sliding forward. I hoped that I wouldn't find a sudden drop.
"Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing around the space. "Hello!" I called more loudly, but I got no response. I stood in silence for a long moment before I heard the voice once more, calling me forward like a siren. "Is there someone down here?" I asked as I continued to cautiously step forward. I still received no response, but then my foot brushed against something hard. I reached forward with one hand and felt stone brush over my fingers.
To my right I heard the voice once more and I quickly turned my head in that direction. I decided to follow it, knowing that it might be one of the Company and if not, the direction might lead to a way out. Every time to voice called I stepped cautiously towards the sound. When my hand brushed against stone once more, I felt a weird sensation shoot through my arm and down into my gut. It was a niggling sensation behind my navel, a gut feeling and then, despite the darkness, I felt safe. It was like I knew where I was. I could feel the stone around me come to life, a living thing.
I remembered my father's words when I was younger then. I had been rather young, and he had been telling me about life in the mountain. I had asked him how our people could live in mountains. Weren't they dark and scary? He had told me that mountains were our homes because when Mahal, the Stone Father, had created his children, he had placed our ancestors beneath the mountains of Middle Earth to slumber until it was time for them to awake. This was the will of Eru, who had not wished for Mahal's children to awaken before his own. He told me how Mahal had granted us with the gift of Stone Sense. A feeling darrow got when they were in mountains. He explained it as a comforting sensation. Even in the darkest, deepest part of the mountain, darrow could use their Stone Sense to find their way back home.
Having never seen or been in a mountain before, I had never felt this Stone Sense, but maybe that was this new feeling. I felt as if I knew where I was going even though I was lost. I decided to follow it, feeling a tugging sensation near my navel, leading me forward now. I gently ran my hands along the stone, finding an open path in the rocks, a tunnel of sorts. I decided to follow it, trusting in myself and Mahal that I was under his protection. I used my other senses rather than my eyes. It felt like hours had passed while I was down there, but I knew that it hadn't been that long. Following the path, I hoped to find the others soon.
Third Person POV
The rest of the Company landed in a giant wooden cage as they fell out of the chute, everyone flailing about as they tried to get up, those who were flattened under Bombur groaning in pain.
"Look out!" Bofur shouted as he managed to lift his head, catching sight of the goblins who were storming towards them. The horde of goblins attacked them pulling them from the wooden cage one by one and viciously taking their weapons from them as they tried to fight back to no avail.
"Get away!" Ori shouted in terror as the goblins grabbed him and began pulling at his clothes.
"Get back!" Dwalin shouted as he punched several of the goblins, but more took their place and they viciously fought back against him.
"You'll pay for this!" Gloin vowed as they were pushed and pulled forwards. The horde of goblins was too much for them and without weapons they were defenseless.
Thorin's arms along with Dwalin's were being restrained by many goblins and Thorin shouldered them on either side, trying to throw them off him. Dwalin tried to fight his way backwards, trying desperately to find Adaira, but he had lost sight of her in the commotion. As the dwarves were led away kicking and yelling, Bilbo crouched out of sight, going unnoticed by the assailing throng of goblins who did not even spare him a glance. Nori looked over his shoulder and saw Bilbo, unable to do anything to help him, but he was thankful that one of them had gotten away. There was hope in that at least.
Bilbo crawled forward and hid behind some railings, watching as the goblins proceed through the tunnels ahead. Bats flew in the darkness and Bilbo looked around him, still shocked at what had just happened and got to his feet. He drew his sword, which was still glowing bright blue, and he slowly followed the goblins, knowing that he had to help his friends.
Suddenly, a goblin jumped out in front of him and rushed at him with his dagger. Bilbo had just enough time to raise his sword in defense and the clang of steel meeting steel echoed around the cavern. He managed to throw the goblin to the ground with one of his blows, but it quickly stood and flung itself back towards him. Bilbo barely managed to keep himself alive, trying to remember everything that Adaira had been showing him as she tried to train him.
The goblin almost knocked his sword from his hand, and he got his grip back on it, forced to one knee and the goblin leapt at him then and fell on top of the Hobbit, biting into his shoulder. Bilbo cried out in pain and staggered backwards. He lost his footing as he tried to throw the goblin off his back and he fell over the railings, letting out a shriek of terror as he and the goblin fell through the dark chasm below.
Meanwhile, the goblin horde pulled and pushed the dwarves through a vast network of tunnels and wooden bridges. Dwalin searched around frantically for a head of red hair, but he saw nothing. The last he had seen Adaira was when they were falling downwards. She had reached out for him, but they had been unable to reach one another and then she had fallen down a fork in the chute, falling quickly out of sight.
"Adaira!" Dwalin shouted and he received a clout from one of the goblins. He struggled to fight back against their grabbing hands, but he was scratched several times with a dagger, and he stopped fighting, knowing that he had to reserve his strength for when escape was possible.
In the cavern ahead, many torches lit of the cavern, wooden bridges criss crossing back and forth, forming maze like pathways as hundreds and thousands of goblins came out, roused by the activity.
"Where's Adaira?" Thorin called back from the front of the mass of goblins and the others began searching for her too.
"She's not here!" Fili shouted in worry and he was quickly silenced by the Goblins.
"Get off me!" Nori shouted at a grabby goblin and a horn rang out then. Bifur put his hands up over his ears at the loud noise which made his head ache as the sound of drums filled the cavern.
Ahead of the captured Company, a massive and grotesque looking Goblin was sitting on a throne, holding a mace made of bone which was topped with a skull. He was far larger than any other goblin, and he was incredibly ugly, with warts all over his swinging chin. He coughed up phlegm and spat it to the side, hitting a goblin in the face as the music started. The Goblin King smiled as he looked down at a smaller goblin who was standing beside the throne, ready to do his bidding.
"I feel a song coming on!" The Goblin King said merrily as several goblins threw themselves at his feet, the Goblin King smushing them down with his feet roughly as they piled on top on another to act as his footrest.
"Clap snap, the black crack, grip, grab, pinch, and nab, batter and beat," The Goblin King sang in his throaty voice, getting to his feet and crushing the goblins out of him as he stomped forward, the wood creaking under his feet as the Company was dragged in front of him. "Milk 'em, stammer and squeak!" The Goblin King continued to sing, losing his footing and beginning to fall backwards. The goblins who were just starting to rise from their crushed positions quickly braced themselves under the Goblin King's backside and pushed him forward back onto his feet so as not to be crushed under his falling ass.
"Pound pound," He said, stamping his mace on the wood before he looked up. "… far underground," He sang louder before turning about, goblins quickly moving from under foot. "Down, down, down in Goblin Town," He sang, still dancing and the goblins in the cavern repeated the verse, the sound deafening with how many goblins there were.
"With a swish and smack, and a whip and a crack, everybody talks when they're on our rack," The Goblin King sang, putting his mace behind his back and holding it with his arms, mimicking the rack he spoke up. "Pound pound," He continued, beating his mace on the ground once more. "… far underground. Down, down, down in Goblin Town," He sang, and the line was repeated once more by the other goblins.
"Hammer and torch, get out your knockers and gongs, you won't last long on the end of my prongs," The Goblin King sang, skewering a goblin near him with the tip of his mace and swinging it around and around before flinging the dead goblin off of it, the body going flying through the air. "Clish, clash, crush and smash, bang, break, shiver and shake," The Goblin King sang, the Company corralled together in front of him. "You can yell and yelp, but there aint no help!" The Goblin King sang to them with a sly smile on his face. "Pound pound, far underground, down, down, down in Goblin Town," The Goblin King finished his song, pirouetting around several times as the goblins in the cavern shrieked and yelled, the sound echoing loudly through the cavern. The Goblin King pumped his fist several times, pounding his mace on the ground once more before he stepped back up on the pile of goblins, crushing them once more as he sat back in his throne, the dwarves watching him with disgusted or worried faces.
"Catchy, isnt' it?" The Goblin King asked the Dwarves. "It's one of my own compositions," He added when no one said anything.
"That's not a song, it's an abomination!" Balin shouted back and he was rewarded with angry goblins pushing him slightly from behind.
"Abominations, mutations, deviations…that all you're gonna find down here" The Goblin King replied, and the goblins dumped the dwarves' weapons in front of the Goblin King's throne. "Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" The Goblin King demanded, leaning forward as he tried to look at them all, goblins having very poor eyesight.
"Dwarves, Your Malevolence," One of the goblins informed his king and this surprised the Goblin King.
"Dwarves?" He asked and the goblin who spoke up confirmed it.
"We found them on the front porch," The goblin told him, and the Goblin King waved his hand at his lackeys.
"Well, don't just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice!" The Goblin King ordered, and the goblins descended upon the Company once more, scratching at them and pulling at their clothes as they searched them. The goblins searched the Company thoroughly, throwing away whatever they found. Oin's hearing trumpet was ripped out of his hands and thrown on the floor where it was crushed underfoot. One of the goblins emptied out a large bag of Elvish cutlery and candlesticks and Nori tried to hide himself in the midst of the Company has his thievery was made known
"It is my belief, your great protuberance, that they are in league with Elves!" The lead goblin shouted to the Goblin King, handing out a golden candelabra. The Goblin King inspected it, turning it over in his hands.
"Made in Rivendell?" He read out as he looked at the bottom of the candelabra. "Bah – Second Age, couldn't give it away!" He exclaimed before he tossed it aside. Nori hid himself, a guilt expression on his face and Dori turned to look at his brother, disapproval written all over his face.
"Just a couple of keepsakes", Nori explained to him quickly as Dori fixed a stern stare on them Thorin closing his eyes for a moment and blowing out a long breath. While he tried, he couldn't even control all of his men.
"What are you doing in these parts" The Goblin King demanded of the Company and Thorin began to walk forward to speak for his men, but Oin put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back before stepping forward himself.
"Don't worry, lads – I'll handle this" Oin offered as he stood at the head of the Company.
"No tricks!" The Goblin King warned Oin. "I want the truth! Warts and all!" He ordered as he sat back down in his throne.
"You're going to have to speak up" Oin told the Goblin King. "Your boys have flattened my trumpet," Oin added as he held up his flattened trumpet which he had retrieved before it could be crushed any worse than it already was.
"I'll flatten more than your trumpet!" The Goblin King roared as he got off his throne once more and walked towards Oin.
"If it's more information you're wanting, I'm the one you should speak to!" Bofur said quickly as he jumped in front of Oin and the Goblin King paused, listening. Bofur paused for a short moment, trying to come up with something before he spoke. "We were on the road…well, it's not so much a road as a path…actually, it's not even that, come to think of it, it's more like a track," Bofur rambled on as the Goblin King began to lose his patients. "Anyway, the point is we were on this road, like a path, like a track, and then we weren't! Which is a problem, because we were supposed to be in Dunland last Tuesday," Bofur said as he looked back at the others who began to try to add additional information.
"Visiting distant relations!" Dori offered up and Bofur nodded quickly in agreement.
"Some inbreds on my mother's side," Bofur added before the Goblin King cut them off.
"Shut up!" The Goblin King roared at them and Bofur grimaced slightly, smiling awkwardly up at the Goblin King before looking down. "Well then, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker!" The Goblin King ordered before he turned back to the Company. "Start with the youngest," He ordered, pointing at Ori who stared in alarm. As the goblins started to grab him, Thorin stepped forward, through the throng.
"Wait," Thorin shouted and the goblins stopped as they stared at him, the Goblin King looking surprised as he stepped forward.
"Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror; King under the Mountain," The Goblin King said before mockingly bowing to him in an exaggerated manner. "Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you nobody, really," The Goblin King said and Thorin stared at him in increasing ire. "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc astride a White Warg," The Goblin King told Thorin and Thorin looked yp at him in surprise and disbelief.
"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago," Thorin told The Goblin King in a low voice.
"So, you think his defiling days are done, do you?" The Goblin King asked him, leaning in before he laughed and then turned to a tiny goblin sitting in a basket and holding a slate. "Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have found his prize," The Goblin King ordered and the tiny goblin wrote down the message on his slate; cackling as he did so before he pulled a lever, causing his basket to start sliding down a system of ropes and pulleys into the darkness.
Adaira's POV
I was beginning to think that I was lost and that following this feeling was stupid, but then the winding tunnels which I was following led out into a large cavern. This cavern felt different to me somehow. I walked forward, exploring before I knocked into something with my hip. I reached out and felt around and found a smooth stone slab in front of me, slightly taller than my hip. My fingers trailed over geometric carvings and I frowned deeply. The patterns felt more like dwarven make than anything else. I explored the cavern walls and ran into a torch in a sconce. I fumbled around in my pocket and brought out my flint, carefully lighting it before holding it up.
My mouth fell open in shock as I took in the cavern in its entirety. There were torches all along the walls and a carved stone table in the center of the cavern. I went about the room lighting the torches and saw in the light that the entire cavern was of dwarvish design. I noticed several of the designs, but one caught my eye. Carved into the stone wall was the symbol of Durin the Deathless, my family's ancestor. An anvil with two crossed hammers, a crown above them with seven stars which represented the seven fathers of the khazad.
I reached up and touched my family bead which had the same symbol before I turned to the stone table. Carved into the surface were old Khuzdul runes. It was almost a dead language now, khuzdul having changed from what it now was, but I recognized a good many of the runes or words.
"The world was young, the mountains green, no stain yet on the moon was seen, no words were laid on stream or stone, when Durin woke and walked alone," I translated haltingly as I read the first two lines of runes. "Durin…," I said before I frowned as I tried to remember my father's words.
My father had taught me that the khazad were not counted among the Children of Ilúvatar, as Mahal had made us in secret. Mahal had created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, from whom all other Dwarves were descended. deep beneath an unknown mountain somewhere in Middle-earth. Mahal however didn't have the power himself to grant independent life to his creations and this we were bound to his will. Then Ilúvatar, having discovered what Mahal had done, came and reprimanded Mahal, who confessed to Ilúvatar that he desired to create more living things.
In repentance for what he had done however, he had lifted his hammer to destroy his creations, us. As the blow was about to land, the dwarves he had created cowered and begged for mercy. Ilúvatar took pity upon the dwarves and granted them true life and included them in His plan for Arda. Ilúvatar, however didn't wish for the Dwarves to wake on Arda before his own creations, the Elves, whom he intended to be first-born.
So, Ilúvatar bade Mahal to lay the Dwarves deep in sleep and Mahal laid the dwarves down deep beneath the mountains where they were to awake after the Awakening of the Elves. Durin had been the only one of the Stone Fathers to not have another half made for him by Mahal. Thus, Durin searched the world until he found his One, just as we searched for our Ones. If the legends were true, Durin had been placed in slumber under Mount Gundabad in the Misty Mountains.
The walls were studded by many gemstones and veins of ore, ore that looked like silver mithril. I walked over to one bright blue sapphire and ran my hand over it, not daring to try and pluck it from the walls. These were meant to be seen, not stolen. I felt that much.
"He named the nameless hills and dells, he drank from yet untasted wells," I sang, my voice echoing about the large room as I inspected every aspect of the cavern, the next lines to the song which had started with the inscription on the stone carved table. "He stooped and looked in Mirrormere, and saw a crown of stars appear," I continued and then something caught my eye, a glowing on the walls. As I walked closer, silver lit runes appeared on the wall. "As gems upon a silver thread, above the shadows of his head," I sang, frowing as I traced the runes. Why hadn't I seen them before?
"The world is grey, the mountains old, the forge's fire is ashen-cold, no harp is wrung, no hammer falls, the darkness dwells in Durin's Halls," I finished as an image appeared above the runes that had appeared. My mouth fell open in shock and I looked down to the oak brooch on my cloak. I slid it off and held it up and there was no doubt at all that the two images were exact. The runes were written in modern khuzdul rather than the ancient form which surprised me.
"The Lady of the Mountain, The Queen of Carven Stone, The Savior of Durin, shall come into her own," I read aloud from the inscription beneath the image of the oak tree. "And the Mountain will sing in gladness, at it's Daughter's return, it's Halls shall echo from withing, a defining noise of Broken Curses," I continued to read, some words capitalized on the inscription as if emphasizing the words. "Find the Glowing Stone, Hidden deep within, all that glitters is not Gold, nor Gifts of Named Kings," I read and the inscription began to fade on the wall. "A Sacrifice must be made, Heed these Words well, for more than Dragon's slumber under its Spell," I hurriedly finished reading before the inscription disappeared once more.
I took out a spare bit of parchment that was buried deep in my pack and wrote the inscription down on it with a piece of charcoal. I folded it up and hoped to show it to Thorin and Balin later. Perhaps they knew of what this was talking about. The fact that the Oak tree from the brooch I had found was above the inscription, it felt as if I was meant to find this, but why?
"More than Durin was meant to find these halls," A familiar voice said from behind me and I turned around to find Mahal sitting on the stone table in the middle of the vaulted room.
"Father," I said in surprise and Mahal smiled at me warmly before patting the spot beside him. I sat down next to him and he looked about the room.
"I chose this spot for Durin as I knew you would find it one day," Mahal informed me as he looked back at me. "You've come further than you have thought. Above us, your kin are safe. Even now, the wizard makes his way to them. Ahead you will find your path. What happens next will not be easy. Even I cannot stop what will happen. You must be brave daughter," Mahal told me before he picked up one of my hands in his own. "You are stronger than you think and braver than you believe. You are not alone," He told me, squeezing my hand.
"What is going to happen?" I asked Mahal with a worried look.
"That I cannot tell you. Be ready for anything," Mahal warned me, and he bumped his forehead to mine, and I looked away from him for just a second and when I looked back, he was gone.
I stared ahead of myself for several long secrets and then I stood, ready to find my way out of this place. I grabbed a torch from the wall, and I found another path out of Durin's chamber. I followed that sensation, letting it lead me, ready to find my way out of this place and rejoin the others. I would be ready for what lay ahead. I gripped my axe more firmly, ready for the first sign of danger.
Bilbo's POV
When Bilbo regained consciousness, he found himself in a dark cavern, lying behind a clump of mushrooms. He could see the goblin who had attacked him lying nearby, nearly dead by the looks of him. Ahead, Bilbo saw a strange figure stepping out of the gloom, approaching the goblin. It was a horribly grotesque looking creature. It looked nothing at all like the goblins and Bilbo was filled with an intense fear as it came closer.
"Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Gollum. Gollum," The creature said, coughing out the word "Gollum."
Bilbo was thankful to be hidden behind the mushrooms and he watched as this Gollum creature circled around the goblin. The creature then began to pull the goblin away by its feet. The goblin woke up then and it began flailing around, trying to fight off the creature. In a fit of rage, the Gollum creature grabbed a nearby rock, and it pounded the goblin on the head with it, knocking it unconscious again. Bilbo watched in horror at the sight and a golden ring fell out of the Gollum creature's loincloth and it fell to the floor. Gollum resumed pulling the unconscious goblin away, deeper into the darkness.
"Nasty goblinses. Better than old bones, Precious; better than nothing," Bilbo heard the Gollum creature saying to himself as Bilbo, emerged from his hiding spot and retrieved his sword.
"Hello?" Bilbo heard someone call out then, the voice rather muffled and Bilbo looked around, not seeing anyone else. "Hello! Is there anyone down here?" The voice said again, and Bilbo could hear it a bit more clearly. It sounded like a woman speaking.
"Yes, hello? I hear you," Bilbo said, keeping his voice down in case the creature came back. He waited for a long moment, but he didn't hear the voice again, so he began to follow after the Gollum creature.
By the light of his sword, he saw something glowing on the ground. He bent down and picked up the golden rind, examining it. Hearing Gollum singing in the distance, Bilbo put the ring into his pocket and followed the sound of Gollum's voice, hoping to find a way out of the mess he was now in.
"Too many boneses, Precious! Nothing of flesh!" The Gollum creature said in a different voice before the voice changed once more to the first. "Shut up! Get its skin off. Start with its head," It ordered himself as Bilbo crept closer. "The cold hard lands, they bites our hands, they gnaws our feeeeet. The rocks and stones, they're like old bones, all bare of meeeeaaat. Cold as death, they have no breath, it's good to eaaatttt!" The Gollum creature sang as Bilbo rounded the corner and saw Gollum silhouetted on top of a rock in the middle of a small lake.
The creature was singing as he beat the goblin's body and he smashed it in the head with a rock once more. Seeing the glow of Bilbo's sword, Gollum looked up. Bilbo quickly hid behind a rock, realizing that his sword was still glowing brightly, giving away where he was to this strange creature The sword's light started to flicker then before it completely died out, signifying that the goblin was finally dead. Bilbo peeked his head around the rock and he was shocked to see that Gollum was no longer there in the middle of the small lake. Gollum stealthily paddled through the lake in his little boat, using his hands as paddles. Bilbo slowly looked up and when he did, he found Gollum on the rock above him; Gollum jumped down in front of a terrified Bilbo then.
"Bless us and splash us, Precious! That's a meaty mouthful," Gollum proclaimed as he approached Bilbo who was breathing heavily, still crouched down. Bilbo hastily placed the point of his sword on Gollum's throat then. "Aaahh. Gollum. Gollum. Ack" The creature coughed before it retreated in fear.
"Back. Stay back. I'm warning you, don't come any closer," Bilbo warned the creature as he got to his feet and inched towards it with his sword pointed at it, forcing the Gollum creature to press itself against the rocks before it crawled away.
"It's got an elfish blade, but it's not an Elfs. Not an Elfs, no. What is it, Precious? What is it?" The creature spoken to itself before it expressed the last question towards Bilbo.
"My name is…," Bilbo said, lowering his sword a little as his arms grew tired before hastily raising it once more. "…Bilbo Baggins. I have lost the dwarves and I have lost the wizard, and I don't know where I am; and I don't want to know, if only can get away," Bilbo told it, trying to act sure of himself while really, he was terrified of the creature. He kept his stance wide, his sword pointed at the creature, in case it tried to attack him.
"Bagginses? What is a Bagginses, Precious?" The creature asked himself before staring at Bilbo.
"I'm a Hobbit from the Shire," Bilbo told the creature, hoping perhaps that it may know a way out of these caves since it was apparent it lived in them.
"Oh! We like Goblinses, batses, and fishes, but we hasn't tried Hobbitses before," The creature spoke to itself before it began to advance on Bilbo once more. "Is it soft? Is it juicy?" The creature asked itself as Bilbo held out his sword in front of him and wildly waved it about.
"Now, now, K keep your distance! I'll use this if I have to!" Bilbo said, stuttering slightly in fear and Gollum snarled at Bilbo, causing Bilbo to step back.
"What's he got in his handses?" The creature asked, looking at the sword, which he did not like.
"A sword, a blade which came out of Gondolin!" Bilbo told the creature more confidently as he continued to point his blade at the creature. "I don't want any trouble, do you understand? Just show me the way to get out of here, and I'll be on my way," Bilbo told the creature firmly and the creature ducked behind a short rock, using it for cover.
"Why, is it lost?" The creature asked Bilbo as it stared at him from over the rock.
"Yes, yes, and I want to get unlost as soon as possible," Bilbo told the Gollum creature and upon hearing this, Gollum answered in a different voice than before;
"Ooh! We knows! We knows safe paths for Hobbitses. Safe paths in the dark!" The creature announced, pointing in an opposite direction from where Bilbo had come and then it spoke it a different voice almost acting like another person entirely. "Shut up," Gollum said, looking to the side and Bilbo frowned in confusion.
"I didn't say anything," Bilbo told the creature, confused and the creature looked up at him angrily from behind the rock.
"Wasn't talking to you," The creature told him angrily and then Bilbo heard the creature talking in a low voice as it hid behind the rock. "But yes, we was, Precious, we was."
"Look, uh, I don't know what your game is, but I ," Bilbo began to say before the creature popped up from behind the rock once more.
"Games?!" The creature asked him excitedly. "We love games, doesn't we, Precious? Does it like games? Does it? Does it? Does it like to play?" The creature asked him quickly, laughing throatily after that.
"Maybe," Bilbo told the creature both confused and wary. The creature held up its hand then and began reciting a riddle.
"What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees. Up, up, up it goes, and yet, never grows," The creature posed to him and Bilbo hardly needed to think about it. Games of riddles were popular back in the Shire and Bilbo was one of the best at this game.
"...The mountain," Bilbo answered, sure of himself and the creature begian laughing uproariously.
"Yess, yess, oh, let's have another one, eh? Yes, come on, do it again, do it—do it again. Ask us," The creature told him excitedly before changing entirely and seeming to grow angry. "No! No more riddles. Finish him off. Finish him now," The creature said to himself as he crawled off the rock before turning back towards Bilbo. "Gollum! Gollum!" The creature coughed before dashing towards Bilbo once more, snarling at him. Bilbo held out his hand to stop him and began speaking quickly.
"No! No, no, no. I wa—I want to play. I do. I want to play. I can see you are very good at this," Bilbo said, trying to play this mad game. "S—so why don't we have a game of riddles?" Bilbo asked as he crouched down until he was at eye level with the creature. "Yes, just, just you and me," Bilbo added as he gestured between the two of them and the creature scuttled forward, close to Bilbo, whispering excitedly.
"Yes! Yes, just, just—just us," Gollum whispered to Bilbo, looking around as if he was hiding from someone.
"Yes. Yes. And—and if I win, you show me the way out," Bilbo whispered back to the creature, deciding that is best bet was to try and convince this other side of the creature who seemed to want to help him.
"Yes. Yes " Gollim agreed before the creature turned away from Bilbo, snarling. "And if it loses? What then?" The more volatile aspect of the creature asked itself as Bilbo looked around, worried. "Well, if it loses, Precious, we will eats it!" The better have answered himself and Bilbo's eyes widened before Gollum laughed to himself before turning back to Bilbo. "If Baggins loses, we eats it whole," The creature told him and Bilbo paused for several long seconds as he digested this new information.
"Fair enough," Bilbo finally decided, knowing that at some point he made need to fight the creature, but for now, he could try to trick it and play this game of riddles to convince it to show him the way out. After all, how would he find it himself? Bilbo stood up and put his sword away as Gollum looked on interestedly by this fact.
"Well, Baggins first," The creature told him and as Bilbo thought of a riddle, Gollum rested his hands and chin on the edge of a rock.
"Thirty white horses on a red hill. First, they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still," Bilbo finally recited and as Gollum thought of an answer, he kept opening his eyes and mouth as if he knew the answer before he changed his mind. This went on for several seconds, until he finally replied questioningly.
"Teeth?" Gollum finally said and Bilbo frowned, unhappy by his answer as it was correct. Gollum became ecstatic then and laughed throatily. "Teeth! Yes, my Precious. But we—we—we only have nine," Gollum told him before he displayed his mouth, showing that he really did only have nine teeth as he snarled slightly. Bilbo looked at him in disgust at that.
"Our turn," Gollum told him in a low and dangerous voice. "Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters," Gollum recited, getting closer and closer to Bilbo who kept a large rock between the two of them.
"Just a minute," Bilbo told the creature and as Bilbo walked off thinking, Gollum's evil face turned into his other persona's excited face.
"Oh, oh! We knows. We knows!" The creature said excitedly before it looked to the side, growing angry. "Shut up," Gollum told his other self and as Bilbo observed the water, he noticed tiny waves forming as a breeze ruffled the surface of the water.
"Wind. It's wind! Of course, it is," Bilbo finally answered, and Gollum snarled in frustration and began slinking around, approaching Bilbo.
"Very clever, Hobbitses, very clever," Gollum snarled in a low voice and as he got too close for comfort, Bilbo pulled out his sword and pointed it at Gollum once more.
"Ah, ah, ah, ah. A—a box without hinges, key, o—or, or lid; yet golden treasure inside is hid," Bilbo stammered out his riddle, trying to kept the creature occupied and Gollum thought hard about the riddle, talking to himself and making many hand motions.
"A box...and a lid...and then a key...," Gollum spoke to himself and Bilbo, hoping that he was stumped pressed him.
"Well?" Bilbo asked the creature, hoping that this was the end of this game.
"It's nasty. Uh, box, uh...," Gollum said as he crawled away, turning his back on Bilbo.
"Do you give up?" Bilbo asked him, pressing him for an answer.
"Give us a chance, Precious, give us a chance!" The creature told him and in frustration, the creature began pounding the floor and snarling. He puckered his face up deeply, then suddenly opened his eyes wide as he got the answer.
"Eggses! Eggses!" The creature answered excitedly as he laughed. "What crunchy little eggses, yes. Grandmother taught us to suck them, yes," The creature told him and as the creature laughed, a bat made a noise in the darkness. Bilbo turned to look for the source of the noise and as he turned back around, he realized that Gollum was gone. Gollum's voice suddenly started sounding like an echo from different parts of the cave as he spoke his riddle from some unknown spot.
"Ahh. We have one for you: All things it devours, birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel, grinds hard stones to meal. Answer us," Gollumn demanded, Bilbo turning this way and that with his sword out, searching for the creature and Bilbo tried to buy more time for himself to think of the answer.
"Give me a moment, please, I gave you a good long while," Bilbo reminded the creature and Bilbo tried to think while at the same time he walked around with his sword drawn, looking for Gollum.
"Trees…. Flowers….I don't know this one," Bilbo finally admitted to himself and the creature.
"Is it tasty? Is it scrumptious?" The creature asked in a singsong voice which echoed about the cave. "Is it crunchable?" He asked and as the creature said 'crunchable,' he appeared behind Bilbo and tried to grab him by the throat, but Bilbo jumped away quickly and pointed his sword at Gollum.
"Let me think. Let me think," Bilbo ordered, pointing his sword at the creature and holding up one hand to try and stop him.
"It's stuck. Bagginses is stuck," Gollum gloated as Bilbo paced back and forth next to the water, thinking. Gollum smiled eerily and put up his hands in a shrug. "Time's up," Gollum told him, shifting and preparing to leap on Bilbo who suddenly got the answer to the riddle at his words.
"Time. Time," Bilbo aid to himself before turning back to the creature. "Ti—the answer is time," Bilbo said more firmly, and the creature snarled in frustration. "Actually, it wasn't that hard," Bilbo boasted getting a bit surely of himself.
"Last question. Last chance," Gollum informed him and Bilbo searched about for a riddle to ask, not knowing that Gollum had picked up a rather large rock that he was hiding.
"Ah, uh...," Bilbo stammered, feeling pressured.
"Ask us," Gollum told the hobbit sweetly. ASK US!" Gollum roared at Bilbo and although he was smiling sweetly now, he had his rock clutched behind his back.
"Yes, yes, alright," Bilbo told the creature placatingly and Bilbo strolled to the edge of the lake to think. He absentmindedly rubbed his pocket and felt the ring inside which he had forgotten. "What have I got in my pocket?" Bilbo asked himself, but Gollum looked disgusted and angry as he overheard his words.
"That's not fair. It's not fair! It's against the rules!" Gollum told Bilbo angrily and in frustration, he threw down the rock he'd been clutching. Bilbo made a startled noise as the rock skittered past his feet. "Ask us another one," Gollum said as he wrapped his arms about himself.
"No, no, no, no. You said, 'Ask me a question.'" Bilbo told him, deciding that it was brilliant. It was something that could never be guessed. "Well, that is my question. What have I got in my pocket?" Bilbo said once more as he pointed his sword at Gollum, speaking firmly. Gollum jumped off his rock and approached Bilbo who moved to keep a rock between him and Gollum.
"Three guesses, Precious. It must give us three," Gollum demanded, and he held up two fingers to quantify three.
"Three guesses. Very well, guess away," Bilbo agreed, and the creature looked excited.
"Handses!" Gollum said and Bilbo pulled his hand out of his pocket just in time.
"Wrong, guess again," Bilbo told the creature and Gollum crouched on the floor, trying to think of the answer. He muttered potential answers to himself and slapped the floor in increasing anger and ferocity as he failed to come up with the right answer.
"Fish bones, goblins' teeth, wet shells, bat's wings ... Knife!," The creature guees before turning to the side and snarling in anger, "Oh, shut up."
"Wrong again. Last guess," Bilbo told him, holding the hilt of his sword with two hands now.
"String!" Gollum told him before turning completely around the other way and looking at him again. "Or nothing," The creature snarled as it pointed at him.
"Two guesses at once; wrong both times," Bilbo told him and upon hearing this, Gollum fell to the floor, sobbing. "So, come then, I won the game, you promised to show me the way out," Bilbo told the creature who groaned on the floor of the cave.
"Did we say so, Precious? Did we say so?" Gollum asked himself as he stopped crying and slowly turned around and glared hatefully at Bilbo. "What has it got in its pocketses?" Gollum asked the hobbit who pointed his sword at Gollum.
"That's no concern of yours. You lost," Bilbo told the creature and his words put a strange look on Gollum's face.
"Lost?" Gollum asked, grinning as he slowly approached Bilbo, planning on killing him. "Lost?" He asked as he came closer. "Lost?" He asked a third time as he reached for something hidden at his side. Realizing that the item was not there, his face registered his shock and he began groping all over himself trying to find it. "Where is it? Where is it? No! Ahh! Where is it? No! No! My birthday-present! Curse it! How did we lose it, Precious? Yes, that's it. When we came this way last, when we twisted that nasty young squeaker. That's it. Curse it! It slipped from us, after all these ages and ages! It's gone, gollum gollum, " Gollum cried as he scuttled around the cave, scattering bones and rocks as he searched in vain for what he had lost. He even splashed through the shallows of the lake and his voice broke as he cried. "Lost! Curses and splashes, my precious is lost!" Gollum cried and while the creature's back was to him, Bilbo, realizing what it was that Gollum lost, quickly took the ring from his pocket and held it in his hand behind his back.
"What have you lost?" Bilbo asked the creature curiously, stalling for time as he looked about for a way out.
"Mustn't ask us! Not its business! No! Gollum, Gollum," The creature said pitifully and as it leaned over the edge of the lake it sobbed quietly, the sound whistling and gurgling in his throat and horrible to listen to. As Gollum stared into the water, his sobs ceased, and his face became contorted in anger. "What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?" Gollum asked in a low and dangerous voice and in fear, Bilbo clutched the ring behind him more tightly and pointed his sword at Gollum. Gollum slowly looked up in shock and anger as he came to the realization that Bilbo had the ring.
"He stole it. He stole it! Ahh! HE STOLE IT!" Gollum said, first in a whisper before getting louder and louder until he was roaring. Snarling, Gollum threw a stone at Bilbo who deflected it with his sword before he ran blindly search for a way out, Gollum chasing him.
"It's no good going back there to search, no. We doesn't remember all the places we've visited. And it's no use. The Baggins has got it in its pocketses; the nasty noser has found it, we says," Gollum said in one voice before switching to another, Bilbo listening to the argument which was coming from behind him and he halted and flattened himself against the tunnel wall.
"We gusses, precious, only gusses. We can't know till we find the nasty creature and squeezes it. But it doesn't know what the present can do, does it? It'll just keep it in it's pocketses. It doesn't know, and it can't go far. It's lost itself, the nasty nosy thing. It doesn't know the way out, it said so," Gollum argued back in another voice.
"It said so yes; but it's tricksy. It doesn't say what it means. It won't say what it's got in its pocketses. It knows. It knows a way in, it must know a way out, yes. It's off to the back-door. To the back-door, that's it!" Gollum said and Bilbo scanned his eyes around looking for this backdoor that the creature spoke of. "The goblinses will catch it then. It can't get out that way precious," The creature said, changing voices once more.
"Ssss, sss, gollum! Goblinses! Yes, but if it's got the present, our precious present, then goblinses will get it, gollum! They'll find it, they'll find what it does. We shan't ever be safe again, never gollum! One of the goblinses will put it on, and then no one will see him. He'll be there but not seen. Not even our clever eyeses will notice him; and he'll come creepst and tricksy and catch us, gollum, gollum!" The creature said to himself as Bilbo frowned, thinking of the ring in his pocket. Could such a thing be true?
"Then let's stop talking, precious, and make haste. If the Baggins has gone that way, we must go quick and see. Go! Not far now, not far. Make haste!" The creature said, his voice closer now and Bilbo threw himself forward looking for the back door.
Third Person POV
Back in the throne room of the Goblin King, dozens of goblins carried in massive instruments of torture on their shoulders, bringing them to the Goblin King as ordered as the Company looked on with mixed expressions of trepidation or fear which they tried to hide. Meanwhile, the Goblin King was dancing and singing lustily once more.
"Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung! You'll be beaten and battered, from racks you'll be hung. You will lie down here and never be found, down in the deep of Goblin town!" The Goblin King sang and one of the goblins, who was examining the weapons the dwarves brought with them picked up Thorin's sword, Orcrist, and slid it a few inches out of its sheath.
Recognizing the sword, he gasped in horror and threw down the sword. It landed in view of all the goblins and recognizing it as well the goblins howled in fear and rage as they retreated from it. Thee Goblin King ran rapidly to his throne, trampling many goblins on his way. He spoke then in a loud voice, pointing at the sword.
"I know that sword! It is the Goblin Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks," The Goblin King said in fear and as he spoke the goblin who had discovered the sword and the rest of the goblins begin whipping the dwarves with ropes and leaping upon them, biting and slashing. "Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all!" The Goblin King ordered as several goblins pulled Thorin down, jumping on top of him and holding him down as he fought against their vicious attacks. It was then that he was glad that Adaira was not here, but only then. "Cut off his head!" The Goblin King ordered and Thorin fought all the more fiercely as one of the goblins pulled out his knife and prepared to behead him.
Suddenly, there was a massive explosion of bright light and a shockwave ripped through the area, everything falling quiet. The shock wave flung the goblins in the air and destroyed their torturing machines. Everyone was knocked down, including the Goblin King. When the force of the explosion had passed, most of the lights in the area had been snuffed out. In the background, a shadow with a tall pointy hat walked up to them. It was Gandalf, holding his staff and his sword, Glamdring. The goblins and the dwarves slowly looked up, recovering from the shock and they all stared at Gandalf.
"Take up arms. Fight. Fight!" Gandalf shouted to the dwarves who were still a bit shocked by what had just happened and Thorin quickly punched the goblins who held hip down while they were still surprised. The other dwarves quickly got to their feet and begin fighting the goblins with renewed hope and anger. As the goblin ran at Gandalf, he killed them with his sword and staff in a deadly dance. The Great Goblin, still lying on the ground, saw Gandalf's sword and pointed at it, crying aloud to his goblins.
"He wields the Foe Hammer, the Beater, bright as daylight!" The Goblin King shouted as Bofur and Nori reached the pile of their weapons and the two along with Bombur began tossing the weapons to each other.
They used whatever they caught to defeat the goblins around them. Oin managed to reclaim his hearing trumpet, although it has been quite flattened. Kili hacked and slashed at the goblins around him with a sword while Dwalin, now in possession of an axe began plowing into the goblins around him in a berserker rage. Nori, whilst fighting, landed on the floor and the Great Goblin ran at him and swung his mace and Dori shouted out in fear for his brother.
Thorin jumped forward and deflected the Goblin King's blow with a sword, causing the Goblin King to stumble backward and fall off the edge of his platform, falling to the depths below. The rest of the dwarves and Gandalf continued to fight, but there were still too many goblins, quickly replacing those they cut down.
"Follow me. Quick! Run!" Gandalf ordered the fighting Company and cutting down the goblins around them, the dwarves and Gandalf began running along a pathway leading away from the throne room.
Bilbo's POV
"Give it to us!" Gollum roared in the distance as Bilbo hurried through a cave, fleeing from Gollum. Bilbo looked around, not knowing which path to choose but he knew he had to make a decision quickly as Gollum yelled in the distance behind him, getting closer and closer.
As Bilbo turned back around, he saw Gollum just behind him and he hurriedly dashed into a crevice in the rock, straining and gasping as he was too big to fit through it, getting stuck partway through. He pushed and he fought his way, inhaling deeply as Gollum backtracked, having heard him, Bilbo locking eyes with the creature. Gollum snared and roared as he hurried to where Bilbo was still straining against the rocks.
"It's ours. It's ours!" Gollum roared as he snarled and advanced on the hobbit who had no way to go but through the crack in the rock. Bilbo exhaled and pushed as hard as he could, managing to slip through the crack, but his waistcoat buttons inlaid with acorns were ripped off in the process.
They hit Gollum in the face before tinkling as they fell to the ground and Gollum snarled, On the other side of the crack, Bilbo fell onto his back from his exertions. As he hit the ground, the ring, which was in his hand, flew into the air. As it descend towards him, Bilbo reached up to grab it, but instead of landing in his hand, the ring slid onto his middle finger.
Gollum jumped into the area where Bilbo was, growling and he looked around for hobbit. All the colors seemed to have taken on a muted tone and the edges of everything were blurred and wavy. Bilbo felt a coldness seep into him, so cold that he felt he could never get warm again and the happiness drained from him, leaving him empty and emotionless. He was shocked when the creature somehow didn't see him and continued down the cave.
"Thief! Baggins!" Gollum shouted, sounding further away now and seeing Gollum run away from him, Bilbo slowly stood up in shock.
Adaira's POV
I heard a noise up ahead which sounded like footsteps, only the footsteps of hundreds of people, echoing all around me, I broke out of a stone bath way and found myself on a ledge overlook a massive cavern filled with light and wooden bridges. The light of the glowing torches illuminated what looked like ugly deformed creatures with warts. Goblins, the word came to mind and before I could process any more, the sound of steel clashing against steel reached my ears. I scanned the pathways and below me, I found what I was looking for. Gandalf and the Company were running through the suspended passageways of the Goblin town below, hundreds of goblins running after them.
"Quickly!" I heard Gaandalf shout and I looked around frantically for a way down. There was no path, but ahead of me was a pully system made of ropes. It looked hastily made and I trusted nothing when it came to Goblin make, but it was the only way down that I could find.
"Faster!" Someone shouted and as I looked down once more, I spotted Dwalin amongst the others. Several goblins were running at the Company from in front and I held my breath for a long moment in fear for my One.
"Post!" Dwalin shouted and he, Thorin, and some of the dwarves cut a guardrail post from the side of the path and they held it out in front of them like a massive spear. "Charge!" Dwalin ordered and he and other dwarves charged at the oncoming goblins and swept them away with the long rail which they moved side to side.
Dropping the rail, Dwalin pulled out his axes and he begand knocking aside goblins as if they were nothing. I nodded in determination before I threw my axe over the rope, crossed myself with one, hand and then held on as I flung myself forward into midair. The steel of my axe handle easily slid down the rope and I screamed as I shot down the rope quickly, heading down past the dwarves and Gandalf.
Dwalin's POV
Dwalin was slamming his axe into any goblin in front of him when he heard a distinctive scream coming from somewhere close to him. He searched around frantically and saw her then, her axe wrapped around a rope as she slid down quickly, so close and yet so far as she sailed past them.
"Was that Adaira?" Kili asked over the battle, a surprised and mirthful look on his face.
"Aye," Dwalin answered him before knocking a goblin away from him which was trying to creep up behind him. "Pay attention," Dwalin snarled before jumping back into the fray, the Company around him smashing goblins out of their way.
Gloin hit one goblin who fell and landed on another suspended path, breaking the path and dropping all the goblins on it into the darkness below. The rest of the Company fought the goblins, their different fighting styles blending seamlessly together as they fought as one. Several goblins snarled as they swung on ropes toward the dwarves.
"Cut the ropes!" Thorin shouted and he and some of the dwarves cut the ropes holding a raised platform in place.
The platform fell outward, entangling the goblins swinging on the ropes. As Kili fought, several goblins started shooting arrows at him. He deflected some arrows with his sword and then, he grabbed a nearby ladder and droped it on the oncoming goblins. Kili and some of the other dwarves ran forward, pushing the ladder, goblins trapped in front of it. As they approached a missing area of the path, the goblins fell down into the darkness; the ladder acting as a bridge for the dwarves to cross to the rest of the path. As soon as they crossed it, Dwalin broke the ladder, preventing the goblins chasing them from crossing it.
"Quickly!" Gandalf shouted again and the dwarves and Gandalf continued running through the maze like paths, coming to a section of the path suspended by ropes from above. They sliced some ropes, and the pathway swung away from the rest of the path, approaching a different path.
"Jump!" Thorin shouted and several of the dwarves managed to jump to the other path; however, before the rest could also jump, the suspended path swung back like a pendulum to where it started, and several goblins leapt onto it.
Adaira's POV
Looking ahead as the wind whistled past me, I saw that the end of the rope was right next to another sort of ledge. I gritted my teeth, no longer screaming by this point and at the last minute, I dropped one hand from my axe and pulled it free, tumbling onto the rock ledge and rolling several feet as I came to an abrupt stop. I heard the sound of goblins behind me and with a short huff of air, I pulled my knees up and got them under me, getting myself to my feet.
The first goblin came at me with a short dagger in hand and I pulled my second axe free, brandishing it. It seemed unafraid of this and rushed at me so I swung my axe in a quick arch, crushing it into the goblin's shoulder and nearly cleaving it off. I braced my boot against the goblin and pulled my axe free before crouching down for balance and looking at the other goblins. I roared at them and some of them cowered away before I ran forward, swinging my axes like they were bats as I crossed over the wooden pathway in front of me.
The pathways were like a maze and I quickly crossed them, swinging my axes at any goblin I met, thankful that the majority were after they Company. I ran in the direction of the sound of their battle, hoping to cross paths with them.
As the path swings back again, the rest of the dwarves and Gandalf manage to jump to the new path as well; they cut the ropes, causing the swinging path and the goblins on it to fall. The dwarves and Gandalf continue running through the tunnels, killing all the goblins in their way. Gandalf strikes a rock above them with his staff, causing the rock to fall down and begin rolling in front of them. I was thankful to have found my way thus far and all I could do was trust that I would catch up with them.
The Company squashed all the goblins in their way and as they approached a bridge between two walls of the cavern. As they tried to cross it, the Goblin King suddenly broke through from underneath the bridge and pulled himself up onto the bridge, in front of them. The dwarves came to an abrupt stop as hundreds of goblins approached them from all sides.
"You thought you could escape me?" The Goblin King demanded of them and he swing his mace twice at Gandalf who stumbled and almost fell. "What are you going to do now, wizard?" The Goblin King demanded and at that moment they all heard a whistle before a thunk as an arrow sailed through the air, sinking itself deeply in the Goblin King's hanging gullet. The Company looked back and high up above them, Adaira stood, bow in hand, looking down at them, her bow clutched tightly in her hands. Kili whooped in joy and Dwalin breathed a sigh in relief before Adaira disappeared from sight.
I had just come to another cliff when I heard the breaking of wood beneath me. I carefully looked over the edge and I saw a grotesque, ugly, wart covered, disgusting looking goblin that was way bigger than the rest. He had a double chin which waggled as he spoke, and I grimaced in disgust just looking at him.
"You thought you could escape me?" The nasty ass goblin asked, and I noticed a sort of crown on its head. It swung its mace twice at Gandalf who was standing between the goblin and the Company and Gandalf stumbled slightly. I threw down my axes at my feet, grabbed my blow and notched and arrow within the span of seconds. "What are you going to do now wizard?" The goblin mocked and I lined up my shot, aiming for its wobbly double chin. The air hit it's intended target and then the Company and the goblins all looked up at me.
Kili let out a whoop as I locked eyes with Dwalin and I breathed out a sigh of relief before shouldering my bow once more, grabbing up my axes and hurrying away before the goblins decided that I was a bigger threat than they were and decided to come after me instead.
Seeing an advantage in Adaira's distraction, Gandalf struck the Goblin King in the eye with his staff. The Goblin King dropped his mace and clutched his face in pain.
"Ow, ow, ow!" The Goblin King cried out and Gandalf stepped forward and sliced the Goblin King in the belly. The Goblin King fell to his knees, clutching at his belly to hold in his guts and he looked up at Gandalf. "That'll do it," The Goblin King told him, blood bubbling up and falling down his chin from the injury the arrow had made. Gandalf again swung his sword and this time he sliced the Goblin King's neck, causing him to fall down dead.
His weight caused the bridge to start shaking and suddenly, the section of the bridge on which the Company was standing broke away from the rest of the bridge and started sliding down the side of the cavern. The bridge slid at a terrific speed down the cavern's wall, demolishing everything in its way and the dwarves clung on to whatever they could, screaming in terror. The bridge slowed down and landed at the base of the cavern, breaking apart and burying the dwarves under the timber and wood. Gandalf got up easily from the pile of wreckage and inspected the rest of the dwarves, who were still stuck in the wreckage.
"Well, that could have been worse," Bofur said cheerfully and that was when the heavy corpse of the Goblin King landed on the wreckage, squishing the dwarves further, some crying out in pain.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin shouted before he struggled to pull himself free from the wreckage. As the dwarves extricated themselves from the rubble, Kili looked up and saw thousands of goblins running at them.
"Gandalf!" Kili shouted to the wizard who looked up, seeing what he had noticed.
"There's too many! We can't fight them," Dwalin shouted and Gandalf nodded in agreement.
"Only one thing will save us: daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet!" Gandalf shouted at them and Dwalin pulled Thorin to a halt.
"Adaira's still up there somewhere," Dwalin said and Thorin nodded grimly.
"We can only hope they will follow us instead of her. Come, we must give her time to find a way out," Thorin told Dwalin who took one more look up before swearing and helping to pull Bombur free before he and Thorin ran after Gandalf.
Bilbo's POV
Gollum jumped into a tunnel, a tunnel with an exit to the side of the mountain. Daylight was visible just ahead of him and Gollum stopped at seeing this, seemingly fearful of the daylight.
"Wait, my Precious! Wait! Gollum, Gollum," Gollum cried pitifully, think that Bilbo had already escaped from him.
Bilbo slowly approached Gollum still invisible with the ring on. He had his sword drawn and upon hearing a noise, Gollum quickly hid behind a rock. As Bilbo watched, Gandalf and the dwarves ran by, escaping through the exit. Bilbo became frantic at seeing them leave him behind and he watched as the dwarves and Gandalf ran down the side of the steep, tree covered mountain. Gollum again entered the tunnel, looking for Bilbo and the ring. Bilbo, still invisible, put his sword to Gollum's neck, then pulled back to swing the sword and cut off Gollum's head, the creature in his way of escape.
Before Bilbo could swing, however, Gollum turned around, looking down the passageway behind him. He could not see Bilbo, but Bilbo could see him. Again, Bilbo placed the tip of his sword at Gollum's throat, but he hesitated upon seeing the extreme sadness on the creature's face. For a second, Gollum looked almost human to Bilbo and Bilbo lowered his sword, pitying Gollum and remembering what Gandalf told him about swords and courage.
Bilbo then became determined and he took a deep breath, stepping back a few feet. Hearing Bilbo's feet, Gollum frowned and began to growl, but Bilbo had already started to run forward, and he leapt over Gollum, stepping on Gollum's head and knocking him over in the process. Still invisible, Bilbo ran out the exit, desperate to catch up with the others. Gollum jumped up and scrabbled around himself, trying to grab the invisible Bilbo, roaring all the while.
"Baggins! Thief! Curse it and crush it, we hates it forever!" Gollum shouted, Bilbo already too far away to hear.
Adaira's POV
I had watched the others crash down on the platform and I made my way downwards, knowing that there must be a way out down that way. The only problem was, there were thousands of goblins between me and the Company. They wouldn't be able to hold them off for long and as I watched Dwalin struggle to get out of the wreckage, I kept screaming in my mind for him to run. I was certain that I could find my way out, guided by Mahal, but if Dwalin and the others stayed behind for me, it would surely mean their deaths. I watched as Dwalin grabbed Thorin's arm, stopping him before he spoke quickly. H elisten to Thorin before looking up once more and I bade that he run once more in my mind before he turned and dashed off after the retreating Company.
I breathed a sigh of relief from behind the rocks I was hiding behind, taking a moment to catch my breath. These goblin tunnels had to lead somewhere. I nodded to myself before hoping out from behind the rocks and hurrying away. I continued to make my way down, hiding when I needed to, but thankfully the goblins were more preoccupied by the others. I ducked into a crack in the rocks as several goblins made their way towards me and I held my breath, fearing they would catch me.
I heard something shuffle behind me and I turned my head, peering into the darkness. I saw something there, something that was different from the goblins, a creature that could almost have been human once, large eyes and a hunched over figure, every vertebrate of the spine in plain view. It was muttering to itself viciously under its breath, berating itself as it beat itself wildly like it had gone mad. It seemed to hear something, and it looked my way then. It snarled as our eyes met and it leapt toward me and in fear, I slid away from it, unable to defend myself as I was unable to move. I stepped back out onto the rocky plat form and bumped into something.
I heard a shriek rise and when I turned back, I found myself in a throng of goblins. Upon seeing me they leapt upon me, biting and trashing me viciously. My axes were ripped from my hands and I was flogged several times with something, my back and front stinging in pain over the blows as my arms were held fast. I shrieked, trying to throw the goblins off but there were too many of them to fight off.
"What is it?" I heard a throaty voice ask, stepping forward and the goblins stopped their vicious attack still holding me firmly and I looked to see a goblin coming closer to us.
"One of the dwarves. Only this one didn't get away," One of the goblins snickered as I breathed heavily, my body covered in bruises and cuts and my hair in complete disarray. "I says we kill 'im," The nasty little goblin said before he spat on me. His spit hit me in the face, and I turned away from it in disgust.
"And I says we give 'im to the orc," The second goblin who had come forward to see what was happening said and I heard the goblins cackle gleefully. I swore under my breath as the goblins bound me tightly with ropes, before they pushed and pulled me away. I knew that whatever was about to happen was what Mahal had warned me about. One of the goblins took my father's dagger for himself, and I narrowed my eyes, determined to retrieve what was mine.
Khuzdul:
Khazad- Dwarves