Hey guys! We're back with another chapter, and we're finally at the Hobbit storyline! Woo! I'm so glad to be at this point at last and just want to thank everyone who have stuck by me and have been so patient with me, I appreciate all of your support so much! Xx
Review responses;
Child of Dreams – Thorin will be here now! At last!
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Dragonett8 – Thank you, but, on of what authors?
Orcs and Dwarves
Spring has now become summer as I am on my way back to Rivendell after spending a few months with the Dunedain. It has been a relatively peaceful ride, no trouble at all, which isn't really unusual in these parts. But, what is unusual, are the lack of animals roaming around, there aren't even any birds flying in the sky, which has caused me to become extra cautious while riding back to the elven city.
As we are riding on, Vanya suddenly stops moving, her front left hoof stomping the ground as her head swivels around, ears perked up.
"What is it? What is wrong, girl?" I ask her in elvish.
That is when I hear it, a familiar howling which sends my blood to go cold. Gundabad Wargs. I shake my head to rid myself of those awful memories before tapping Vanya's side with my heel to get her moving, stopping her on a boulder so I can scout around.
In the distance, I can see a dozen or so orcs and wargs chasing after a group of people, one of which I recognise as Gandalf, not able to miss the grey pointy hat. I can see Gandalf leading the others towards the Hidden Passage which leads into Rivendell. They will never make it in time without help.
"Let's go give our friends a helping hand." I draw out my bow with my left hand, keeping a tight hold of the reins with my right. "Noro lim, Vanya, noro lim!"
Vanya sprints on, leaping off the boulder, riding hard and fast towards the group.
After killing one of the wargs and its rider, the company run through a grassy plain, the wargs beginning to surround them from all sides.
"There they are!" Gloin exclaims while pointing ahead, a few of the wargs standing on some boulders watching them.
"This way! Quickly!" Gandalf orders.
The group turns and runs a different way, but soon have to stop as the wargs are quickly surrounding them.
"There's more coming!" Kili shouts out in warning.
Thorin turns to his youngest nephew. "Kili! Shoot them!"
As he looks around for way out, Gandalf sees a large rock and runs towards it before disappearing.
"We're surrounded!" Fili exclaims, a hint of fear in his voice.
Kili begins shooting at the wargs and their riders, killing some off, but as he kills one, more seem to take it's place.
Kili looks around at the others as he knocks another arrow onto his bow. "Where is Gandalf?"
The others also look and around and see he has disappeared.
"He has abandoned us!" Dwalin spits in anger.
The dwarves gather close together near the rock Gandalf disappeared by. As one of the orcs, Yazneg, and his warg approches, Ori shoots a rock at the warg with his slingshot, which has no effect. Thorin pulls out his new elvish blade.
"Hold your ground!"
It's then they hear a different sound, the whinny of a horse, from behind them. Just as Thorin turns back, a black horse leaps over the high rock they have gathered around, charging towards the wargs. The orcs instantly freeze in surprise at this new person as they fire arrow upon arrow at the vile creatures, while the horse is still moving, the figure twisting their upper body in the saddle to aim.
As the rider, who is wearing a hood over their head and a mask on their face, turns their horse around and charges ahead, one of the wargs leaps up and crashes into the rider, sending them plummeting to the ground, the horse giving out a cry of surprise as it falls before jumping up and running to safety.
The rider quickly pulls out two long blades and quickly killing the warg before facing the orcs, crouching in a stance between the dwarves and them. The left leg bent at the knee while the right is straight out to the side, arms spread out with the blades pointing towards the enemy. This shocks Thorin, there has been one person he knows that has a stance like that. . .but it can't be. . .
"This way, you fools!" Gandalf voice suddenly rings out.
Looking back, they see Gandalf pop up from a crack in the rock. Thorin, having snapped out of his trance, runs and jumps onto a boulder just before the crack.
"Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!"
As the wargs approach, the dwarves and Bilbo slide into the large crack, sliding into a cave. Thorin kills a warg that gets too close. Kili shoots another orc as the rider fights close by him, protecting his nephew.
"Kili! Run!" Thorin calls out to his nephew.
He sees the rider pat Kili's shoulder and saying something to him before Kili, after some hesitation, turns and runs towards them. Fili drops through, his younger brother following and lastly Thorin slides down, after giving a final glance to the rider, worry and guilt filling him slightly as the wargs start to surround them.
Just as he reaches the bottom, a horn sounds from above and the sound of blades clashing ring, which lightens Thorin's heart slightly to know that the rider who helped them will be safe. He soon has to jump back as one of the orcs falls into the cave, rolling until it stops by their feet, an arrow sticking out of it. Thorin stoops down and pulls out the arrow to examine it, his relief soon dropping as he recognises the make.
"Elves." he seethes before tossing the arrow aside in disgust.
Gandalf and Thorin share a look before Dwalin's voice can be heard down the path.
"I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"
"Follow it, of course!" Bofur exclaims as he runs after him, the others following.
"I think that would be wise." Gandalf mutters, to which I hear.
The company begin following the path. It is quite narrow, and it is a crack between two tall cliffs. At times, the dwarves have difficulty going through, especially Bombur. The pathway eventually opens out into an open area; there is a valley below, and in that valley is a city which is surrounded by trees and waterfalls.
"The Valley of Imraldis. In the Common Tongue, it's known by another name."
"Rivendell." Bilbo utters.
"Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea."
Thorin stomps to the wizard, angry that he would bring the dwarves here. "This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy."
"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself."
"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us."
"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me."
As Gandalf begins leading the way down, Dwalin walks up to Thorin, he seems almost hesitant as he begins speaking.
"Thorin. . .that rider. . ."
Thorin nods, knowing Dwalin's talking about the stance. "I know. . .I saw. . .but it can't be."
Dwalin nods in agreement. "Whoever he is, he must have come into some contact with her before."
"She." The two dwarves look up to see Kili standing next to them, Fili right by his side.
"What?" Thorin asks.
"Whoever that person was, he is a she. I could only see her eyes, but when she told me to run, she had a woman's voice."
Thorin pauses for a moment, not daring to believe what he is thinking. "What colour were her eyes?"
"Blue. Blue like sapphire."
Thorin and Dwalin look at each other in disbelief. Thorin's hand subconsciously reaching up to his neck where Caladwen's necklace rests, the same one that belonged to her mother, the same one that Frerin gave to him on his death bed. . .after all these years. . .he has finally found her. . .
Well, there it is, after all these years, Thorin has finally seen Caladwen again, and this time, he is going to be determined to not let her go again! Wait until next time for Caladwen's reaction to Thorin! xxxx