Reuploading this chapter after a rewrite because the previous one just didn't fit with the rest of the story. I hope this one is less disappointing.
Alright, chapter fifteen take two, here we go.
By the time Rin set foot on the rock, the fire had turned into a column of blue smoke and was rising to the ceiling. It curled there for a second, then dissolved into thousands of white-hot sparks that rained upon the goblins, driving them into complete and utter chaos. However, either because of luck or because of the way Gandalf's spell was weaved, no fire touched anyone of the Company.
The same couldn't be said about the shrieking goblins around them. Even if the fire had slowed them down, it hadn't done much about their bloodthirstiness, or their wish to rip the dwarves apart. Rin grabbed Alagos and spun around, slicing the head of the nearest goblin coming at her off. Two more took its place.
The Valar had a real sense of humor, didn't they?
The Company wasn't falling very far behind in the fight either. They had managed to get most of their weapons back, and goblin soldiers were falling down left and right. Between the hits she managed to land with Alagos and dodging the blows directed at her, Rin caught a glimpse of Thorin, who was fighting with one of the rusty axes the goblins used. Then where was Orcrist?
Rin got her answer the moment she almost tripped on the ancient sword that was now glowing bright blue. Maybe she would have noticed it sooner if she hadn't been too busy trying not to get decapitated. She ducked to get away from a knife thrown at her and grabbed Orcrist in her free hand at the same moment Thorin's axe got snapped in two.
He was too far away for Rin to hand him the sword, and the goblins kept coming, as if crawling out of every crack and crevice that this damned, forgotten by the Valar place had. Rin took another step backwards and found herself in front of the Great Goblin's throne, towering above everything else.
Above everything else. Higher ground was an advantage. Rin grabbed the edge of the throne and pulled herself up, somehow managing to do so without dropping one of the swords in the mass off snarling teeth and limbs swinging weapons. The moment she managed to stand straight on the throne, Rin threw the arm she was holding Orcrist in backwards and shouted at the top of her lungs, praying to the Valar that Thorin would hear her over the ruckus:
"Thorin! Catch!" Then she threw the sword, hoping that she hadn't miscalculated the distance. It soared in a long arc of shining blue above the fighting dwarves and goblins, and in those few seconds time seemed to slow down. Thorin turned as the blade flew towards him.
He caught it. Rin let out a sight of relief. A very short lived one, cut off, together with her air supply, by the clasp of her cloak digging into her neck as a giant hand grabbed her hood from behind.
Rin swung Alagos backwards more on instinct than with the intention to cause serious damage, barely missing her ear, but the sword struck flesh. Rin tumbled on the ground as the Great Goblin let out a roar and stumbled backwards, holding his hand, now with a few missing fingers. He had the bad luck of getting into the range of Gandalf's sword, and his head soon shared the fate of his fingers.
They somehow managed to get to one of the bridges leading off the rock and towards the entrance of another tunnel. Rin hoped that was the exit they needed, or at least a way that would lead them away from this burning hole of misery.
Rin stepped on the bridge last. She was faster and lighter than the dwarves were, and knew that if the raggedy construction started to give in under all the weight currently on it, she had the best chance of getting to the other end before it broke apart. And the best chance of surviving if she fell together with it.
If they managed to just get to the other end and cut off the ropes that held the bridge, it would win them time. If they just…
Rin felt something grabbing her ankle and a pair of sharp jaws sinking into her right foot, causing her to trip and almost fall face first onto the bridge. She managed to grab the rope holding the bridge and stab the goblin until it unhinged its jaws, scrambling back up to her feet. She had fallen too far behind.
Rin wasn't sure if she had ever ran faster than now, with a bleeding foot and goblins chasing behind her, the end of the bridge too far away. The goblins would have stepped on the other side a moment after she did.
So she came up with the most terrifying, gut-wrenching plan in the history of plans.
"Cut the ropes!" Rin shouted at the Company before somebody could decide to get back on the bridge to help her.
"Are you crazy!?" Kili shouted back, holding at the end of the bridge. Just a few meters now.
"Trust me!" Rin didn't even trust herself now. But they didn't need to know that.
She met Thorin's gaze for a second.
Then he raised Orcrist and cut through the ropes.
Time seemed to slow again. The goblins, the shouts, the dwarves, everything felt muted and blurry. There was only that last part of the bridge before her, one last step, and one desperate jump. The ground beneath her feet disappeared.
Her knees buckled from the impact as Rin landed on the rock, barely half a step from where it ended. She sucked in a breath as a few hands helped her up.
"Next time I say a cave doesn't feel right-Rin said as she turned back to the goblins shrieking at the other side of the abyss-can we just agree and move on?"
"You can count on it."-Fili answered. They entered the tunnel, seeming way too dark after the blazing lights in the cave-"I think I owe you an apology."
Rin sighed.
"Keep it until we see daylight again."
