Trudging through the mud in the cold, we finally came across the elusive cave opening. Upon entering, my nose twitched in disgust at the awful stench coming from within. It was truly stomach-turning.
"Oh, what's that stench?!" Bofur groaned as he held his hand over his nose.
I laughed, "That would be the stench of Troll, Master dwarf."
"It's a troll hoard. Be careful what you touch." Gandalf warned.
As we travelled deeper inside the cave, many of the dwarves coughed with smell, I however quickly adapted and pushed on. Rounding a slight bend, the dwarfs' jaws all but hit-the-floor at the vast amount of gold coins and artifacts that was scattered upon the floor below our feet, and the rocks that surrounded us.
"Seems a shame just to leave it lying around. Anyone could take it." His face was full of mischief as some of the others looked at each other, knowing what the other was thinking.
"Agreed." Gloin nodded, "Nori, get a shovel!"
I smiled and shook my head as I watched them begin to dig a hole in the ground to fill with coins and trinkets. Their sudden change from gloomy to happy made me inside.
I walked over to Thorin and Gandalf as they looked over some weapons that they had come across.
"These swords were not made by any troll." He passed the sword in his hands to Gandalf who inspected them closer.
"Nor were they made by any smith among men." He spoke as he took a closer look. "These were forged in Gondolin, by the High Elves, of the first age. You could not wish for a finer blade."
He handed the sword back to Thorin who accepted gracefully and placed it by his side. "Let's get out of this foul place." He called back to his kin, "Come one, let's go. Bofur, Gloin, Nori." The finished up covering their loot with dirt before gathering their weapons and headed out from the cave.
As we walked out of the cave, a glint of light caught my eye from under some fallen rocks. I made my was over to inspect it and was pleasantly surprised at what I had found. Moving some rocks, I lifted up an Elf-made dagger and looked over it carefully.
Running my fingertips over the cool metal blade, I smiled, "Beautiful." I whispered under my breath. I placed it back into its sleeve and made my way over to Bilbo at the opening.
"Master Baggins!" I called his name.
He turned around, "Hm?"
"Here." I smiled as I offered him the blade. "I think it should fit you well."
He looked over the blade, "I can't take this."
"The blade is Elvish, which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby."
"If its Elvish… then you should keep it." He tried to hand me the blade back, but I refused and pushed it back towards his body.
"No, I want you to have it. Please." I smiled as he gripped the weapon tighter, almost accepting the gift.
"I have… I have never used a sword in my life." He confessed.
"And I hope you never have to." Gandalf approached, "But if you do, remember this: true courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one."
"Gandalf!" I called out and he turned to look at me, "Something's coming." I alerted him.
"Stay together! Hurry, now! Arm yourselves!" he yelled to the company.
I took aim from behind upon a rock for batter sight. The trees and bushes shook with great force, snapping and bending against their will before the figure emerged on rabbit drawn sleigh. I lowered my bow ever so slightly, not that I knew there was no great threat coming from within.
"Thieves! Fire! Murder!"
"Radagast." He all but sighed, "It's Radagast the Brown!" Gandalf confirmed and lowered his sword. "What on earth are you doing here?" he asked the wizard upon approaching.
The panicked and out of breath wizard left his sleigh, "I was looking for you, Gandalf. Something's wrong. Something's terribly wrong."
"Yes?" he asked, waiting for the answer.
"Just give me a minute. Um…Oh! I had a thought and now I've lost it. It was…it was right there, on the tip of my tongue!" he paused briefly and opened his mouth, a stick-like insect sat on top of his tongue. "Oh! It's not a thought at all! It's a silly old… stick insect."
He stuck his tongue out and Gandalf retrieved the insect and handed it to Radagast.
"The greenwood is sick, Gandalf. Darkness has fallen over it, nothing grows anymore. At least nothing good. The air is foul with decay, but worse are the webs."
Gandalf frowned, "Webs? What do you mean?"
"Spiders, Gandalf. Giant ones. Some kind of spawn of Ungoliant, or I'm not a wizard. I followed their trail. They came from Dol Guldur."
His words sent shivers up my spine. I had heard of the tails, some true and some fabricated, but I believed the ones told to me by my kin… and they weren't good.
"Dol Guldur? But the old fortress is abandoned." Gandalf sighed, almost in disbelief.
"No, Gandalf. It's not."
As Radagast began to tell Gandalf a story of his travel to Dol Guldur, noises from the distance caught my attention. I listened in, drowning out the voices from the wizards below.
A loud howl rung in my ears, but I wasn't the only one to her it pass through the trees.
"Was that a wolf? Are there…are there wolves out there?" Bilbo asked shaken.
I equipped my bow, "No, master Baggins. That was not a wolf!"
Just as I tugged on the sting of my bow, a large Warg appeared from behind, growling and bearing its razor like teeth. Another jumped over the adjacent rock and attacked the dwarves from below. I released an arrow, piercing one of the Warg's between the back of its skull. The other was swiftly killed by Thorin and Kili on the ground.
I jumped down from the rock and approached the group; all were a little shaken from the sudden attack. Thorin quickly bowed his head in my direction and I took it as a form of thanks, so I returned the gesture promptly.
"Warg scouts! Which means an Orc pack is not far behind!" he informed the group.
Bilbo looked around at each and every one of us, lost and unprepared for what may come.
"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" I turned to face Gandalf as he yelled at Thorin, demanding answers.
"No one." He firmly replied.
"Who did you tell?!" he pushed once more.
"No one, I swear! What in Durin's name is going on?"
"We are being hunted!" I implied as I retrieved another arrow from the quiver on my back. "We must leave, now!"
"We can't! We have no ponies. They bolted." Ori called out.
"I'll draw them off." Radagast said as he climbed back on to his sleigh.
Gandalf grunted, "Those are Gundabad wargs. They will outrun you!"
Radagast smirked, "These are Rhosgobel rabbits." He looked down at his furry creatures before looking back to Gandalf, "I'd like to see them try."
As we ran through what was left of the cover of the trees, we stopped on the edge. There was no more cover beyond. An open field and scattered rocks, embedded into the ground was all that we had between us and the Orcs. There was no other choice but to run and pray for the best outcome.
Radagast drew a large pack away from us, cutting off the trail as we bolted from the treeline into the emerald grass.
"Come on!" Gandalf hailed us to follow as we ran off in a different direction to the Orcs and Wargs.
"Over there!" I called to Gandalf as I seen another group riding in our direction from the east.
"Stay together!" He shouted to us.
"Move!" Thorin commanded his pack
As we pushed forward, a few ran past us up ahead.
"Ori, no! Come back!" Thorin yelled to his kin as he ran in the direction of the Orcs.
"All of you, come on, come on! Quick!" Gandalf yelled to us.
Thorin, skeptical yelled back over the howling, "Where are you leading us?"
I watched on from behind as Gandalf looked at the dwarf but said nothing. As it was not the time for a debate, we pushed on and followed the tall wizard.
Hearing loud steps from over the cliff, I called to the others in a hushed tone. "Get down!"
All obliged and took cover from under the overhang. My senses were correct as just above us was a Warg and its rider, scoping out the empty field below. I turned to Thorin and gestured my finger upwards, as a sign that I could only hear one from above.
He nodded and turned to Kili whilst looking at his bow. Kili acknowledged what he was silently asking of him, and stepped out from under the cliff. Drawing his bow back before releasing an arrow into the air, piercing the Warg in the chest as the Orc fell from its back and on to the ground before being slain by the other Dwarves.
I looked over the cliff as other Wargs were now howling and charging straight for us. "They're coming!" I yelled.
"Move! Run!" Gandalf shrieked.
Just like before, we all made a break for it across the field at speed. As I was quicker than most, I took my time to scout ahead in the open field only stopping and turning around then I heard Gloin yell.
"There they are!"
"This way! Quickly!" Gandalf instructed.
"There's more coming!" Kili shouted and stopped running
"Kili! Shoot them!" Their king instructed.
"We're surrounded!" Fili informed.
An arrow dispatched from Kili's bow and pierced one of the many orcs in the chest, knocking it to the ground, just like he had done before.
"Where's Gandalf?" Fili yelled into the open.
"He's abandoned us!" Dwalin yelled in betrayal.
"He would not abandon you!" I yelled back. Taking aim and firing an arrow which struck an orc in the head. I knew Gandalf, probably before most of these dwarves were born. I knew he would not abandon us.
As the orcs closed in Thorin called to the others, "Hold your ground!"
And that's what they done as they all took a stance, with their weapons in their hands, ready for a fight. Like a true warrior in battle.
Kili and I released an arrow simultaneously in the same direction. Mine hit the Warg in the neck and his pierced the head of the Orc on its back. He looked at me and smiled proudly as more descended upon the field howling.
"This way, you fools!" I turned to see Gandalf peering out from behind a rock.
"Come on, move! Quickly! All of you!" Thorin commanded. All of them made their way to where Gandalf stood with his staff in hand behind the rock, ushering them to run towards him. I looked back as I saw that one-by-one; the dwarves were jumping over the rock and disappearing.
I looked over to Kili who was the only one left standing in the field, shooting arrows into the pack.
"Kili! Go!" I yelled to him from a few feet away. He lowered his bow and faced me briefly before nodding and running in the direction of his kin. I took aim at another orc that was quickly approaching me head on. Releasing my fingers from the string, I released an arrow. As the arrow flew at speed through the air, it reached its destined position and sliced across the Warg's neck, causing it's front legs to collapse from beneath it and the Orc to roll to the ground a mere few feet in front of me.
I took the opportunity to run over to it and pierce the back of its skull with my blade, killing it immediately on the ground. I looked up as more and more Orcs were running across the field. I stood to my feet, my chest heaving heavily as I took the air into my lungs. A traveling voice brought me back from behind.
"Gaylia! Run!" I snapped my head in his direction, immediately running towards him. His hand reached out and I placed mine in his as he closed his calloused fingers around my palm and aided me over the rock and into the pit below.
I slid down the dirt mound on the side and landed at the bottom before he came sliding straight down after me. His chest banging off my back as we collided at the bottom. I took a sharp inhale as the loud ringing of a hunting horn echoed from above us, causing everyone to fall silent.
Seconds later, an orc body came rolling down the dirt and landed before us. I moved to the side as it landed beside me. I looked across to Thorin who was still sitting inches from me on the ground. It was he who took my hand and pulled me over the wall. It was also he who used my name, and I wondered if he even realized he had done so.
"Elves." He said as he got to his feet and pulled the bow from its back.
Neither one of us broke the eye contact as he now stood above me, the arrow held tightly in his hand.
"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or not?" Dwalin called back to us.
"We follow it, of course!" Bofur was quick to reply and make his way down the narrow corridor.
"I think that would be wise." Gandalf sighed and made his way behind the others.
All that was left behind was Thorin and I. I still kneeled in the dirt from whence I fell, looking over the Orc body in front of me as he spoke catching me off guard.
"Come." He said firmly and held his hand out once more.
I looked over it hesitantly for a few seconds before placing mine in his once again. He pulled me from the ground with ease and I stood in front of him before releasing his hand which fell to his side.
"Thank you." I spoke softly.
He dipped his head and then walked off in front of me, almost refusing to acknowledge what had happened. I collected my bow from the ground and followed on behind. My heart beating a little faster.