Their rest is not easy, not that Nori expected it to be, everyone is on edge after the attack on Briar. Still, they have a hot meal in their bellies, a fire to keep warm beside and the comfort of knowing that one or other of the dwarves are on watch as well as waking Briar periodically to check on her head. As long as they are under the ground it will be difficult to assess if the bash to her skull has done more than give her a large egg just in her hairline, but even the dark sight of the dwarves can only do so much.
Breakfast consists of yet more fish, along with some more wrapped in cloth to take with them for a meal later in the day. Their dried meat and cram will keep. The fish will not. As far as Nori can tell, both of the other passages leading from this expansive cavern will take them out of the cave system. One seems to lead in a more northerly direction while the other simply strikes east. They decide to take the second as it is wider than the first. This is not to say that it will not become impassable later, but for the moment it seems like their best bet.
Nori worries for a while, the path dips further down and they spend a few hours carefully picking their way over loose stones and down a couple of short drops. Eventually, however, after a period of rest in the widest part of the tunnel that they can find, they start to climb again. It is a narrow passage, narrowing down a few times to the extent that they have to slip packs off and hold them to one side so that they can squeeze through. Briar fairs better in those parts, being smaller than the dwarves, but she cannot lead due to her lack of dark sight. It is a tense trip and more than once they come to a point where Nori begins to worry that they may not make it through this tunnel and will have to turn back. Which will be an even bigger problem, some parts of the passage were narrow enough that Nori suspects they were only passable in one direction anyway.
For the dwarves at least.
The upwards incline of the passage is not as steep as Nori had thought it would be, certainly not enough to have them emerge as far up as they did in her previous life, and there is no goblin sign around them either. It is both reassuring and concerning. Reassuring that they will not run into any goblins on the way out. Concerning because without running into goblins Nori will not have a legitimate reason to be concerned about an army approaching Erebor. It is a problem for later, she decides, stooping as the roof of the tunnel lowers, although that is probably more to do with the fact that the path is rising again.
The path continues to rise, although the roof does not go up at the same pace, and soon enough they are all but crawling upwards, their packs tied to a length of rope and dragged behind them as they go. It is unpleasant, dwarf boots are made of thick leather and steel to protect their feet from the hard stone which makes up their homes. Their knees, however, are as delicate and unprotected as Briar's or those of any other race. The crawl up the passage is difficult, the stones digging and cutting into their knees as they drag themselves up. Finally, Nori comes across signs that the tunnel has been used as a den for a variety of animals over the course of the years. Most of the evidence is long since abandoned, washed down by winter floods. Some has been lodged in the stone for decades, the rest is newer and it fills Nori with hope that they will reach the surface and with luck be able to get through the opening. They have long passed the point of no return if they cannot and death by dehydration and starvation will be a miserable way to go after everything that she has gone through over the last fourteen years.
Eventually, the tunnel begins to lighten, a pinprick of light glimmering tantalisingly ahead of them even as the exhaustion that comes from hours of dragging themselves through this tunnel tugs at them.
"Should we stop for the night?" Nori asks Dwalin, turning as best she can in the narrow space to look at him.
"Keep going," he says. "If we find a wide point we can stop there and rest. Doubt we'll get much in the way of sleep if we collapse here, tempting as that is."
It will not do Briar any good either. It is cold down here, even Nori is feeling the chill from having so much of her body pressed tightly to the stone for so long, and Briar will suffer for it all the more if she cannot curl up with others for the sake of warmth. Nori presses on, dragging herself through and relieved to find that the tunnel is slowly becoming wider and taller again rather than narrowing any further. The level of light increases, until the small spot that is obviously the exit becomes a jagged opening that makes Nori think of a mouth. A slightly unfortunate comparison given that the last mouth of that size she saw was that of a dragon.
It is nightfall when they finally emerge from the tunnel, steps slow and careful to avoid tumbling down the side of a mountain when they are not certain how high up they are. There is a ledge in front of the cave that is large enough for them all to huddle together and rather than risk trying to push forward into the night while exhausted the five decide that it would be best to rest where they are. At least if it starts to rain they can all huddle back inside the tunnel, although they know from their climb that water will run down it rather than out. Fortunately it is a clear night and they sit close to one another as they eat the scraps of leftover fish, a piece of cram, and drink a small amount of water. There is no sign of a stream nearby, so nowhere to refill their waterskins. While they eat, they plan. Nori is certain that they are on the east side of the Misty Mountains, although they will have to wait until sunrise to confirm it so she already suspects that going back is off the cards. Traversing the tunnel from the large cavern probably took them the better part of two days, dwarves are fairly good at keeping track of time in the darkness under stone, and so it is altogether possible that they are near to the eastern edge of the range and not far from the grasslands at the foot of them. With luck they should be able to strike out in that direction and, provided they go in a relatively straight line, find the river Anduin which they can then follow south to the meeting point with Thorin and the rest.
Better than wandering near the base of goblin infested mountains anyway and the hunting should be better. They will need to hunt if they are to survive, whether they meet up with Thorin or not, which makes the river a better bet than the lowlands or mountainside. No one argues and Dwalin takes the first watch while the rest of them fall into an exhausted sleep.
The night passes uneventfully, although Nori is on edge, and they wake to find that they could have passed the night more comfortably had they risked moving a little further from the cave mouth. This brings a few rueful chuckles but none of them really minds the discomfort in the face of necessary caution. They would rather make it to their destination in one piece than take risks. They have come too close to death too many times over the last few days. The rising sun confirms that they are on the east side of the mountains and though Nori mourns the fact that they do not have a ready excuse to turn back to Ered Luin, she knows that it is for the best that they rejoin the Company and head for Erebor.
"The White Wizard seemed unhappy when he left, Adar," Elladan comments as he joins his father in the courtyard to watch the departure of Saruman.
It has been several days since Mithrandir departed to catch up with the dwarves, but Saruman's displeasure still lingers in the valley. The White Wizard has only lingered this long because he has been deep in discussion about something else with their father. Neither of the twins has really been interested enough in discovering what that might be. Unlike Mithrandir, Saruman does not have much in the way of a sense of humour.
"We would like to point out that we had nothing to do with it," Elrohir adds, coming to stand on Elrond's other side.
Their father sighs.
"As ever, Mithrandir's stubborn refusal to listen to the advice of others who might be in a position to know better than him has ruffled feathers," Elrond says diplomatically.
Elladan laughs.
"Mithrandir must have his reasons for tramping around with a bunch of dwarves and a hobbit," he chuckles. "He's contrary but never without reason."
"His reason would appear to be Erebor."
Elrohir's stomach drops.
"He means to send them after the dragon?" He exclaims. "They would need an army to have even half a chance!"
"Even with an army they wouldn't have a chance," Elladan mumbles darkly.
"They have Mithrandir, they have one with them who is twice born," their father says. "They may yet succeed."
"Twice born? Nori?" Elrohir shakes his head. "Twice born she may be, but I don't think she has the slightest idea of it, or what she is meant to do with it if she does."
"She knows," Elrond gestures and they begin walking back into the main house. "She refuses to discuss what reason the Valar had for returning her at this time, but she is touched and well aware that this is her second life. If there is any aid that we might be able to give her, she has neither requested it nor given any indication that it might be necessary or welcome." He gives the twins a searching look. "I was not aware that she had mentioned it to either of you."
"Why wouldn't she?" Elladan smirks. "She likes us." Their father arches an eyebrow, not believing him for a moment. "I mean, we aren't completely blind, Adar. We know what to look for. Just because we like to play games doesn't mean we don't see what goes on around us."
The fact that they would both be dead if they did not know how to read the little signs of things going on around them goes unsaid. There is no need to say it, the three of them know well enough that the twins are far more observant than they would have people believe. Their pranks are evidence enough of it if others cared to look deeply enough.
"You know, Muindor nin," Elrohir mutters when their father has moved ahead of them, "I think it might be time for us to take a trip over the mountains again. Legolas must be turning into a proper stick in the mud trapped in that dingy little forest of his."
Elladan grins at his brother.
"I think you might be right," he says. "Besides, it cannot hurt to check on goblin numbers as we cross over. They've been on the rise in recent years."
"Father will see through it in a moment," the other points out.
"He always does," comes the agreement, "but I suspect that he will not object on this occasion. Especially if we check up on the goblins on the way through."
A.N: I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with the flow of this chapter, but at the same time I like the way it feels, and it's adding another thread to the tapestry of things changed for Nori. And those changes are really spiralling.