Hey everyone, I'm really nervous about this one. It's a long one and it was difficult to write. Trying my hand at some thrill and suspense. Hopefully the portrayal is vivid enough to give you guys a wild ride. If you have time, let me know how the pacing is. This chapter is very experimental as I've never written anything like it.
That being said, please enjoy this emotional dive into Eryns demons while she tries to survive Goblin town.

Cheers! -B

Chapter 10 - Flesh and Blood.

Thorin's eyes grew with understanding of Eryn's abrupt actions. Her eyes were wide and her hands trembled, she reached quickly for her hooded jacket, pulling it on and grabbed the dagger Dwalin had given her. She then tucked the dagger in its leather sheath under her shirt, fastening it to her bra in the middle, it was a risky move but that was the best she could think of at that moment. She would have other problems if the Goblins checked there.

The floor creaked and unseen wood beneath them groaned, there was a soft hissing noise as the sand around them fell through cracks in the floor.

"Wake up!" Thorin yelled, rising to his feet.

The rest of the party clamored and gasped at the sudden startling cries of their leader. The creaking grew louder and then, the floor was gone entirely. It unhinged like a door, and they all fell.

Eryn screamed at the initial fall, her stomach in her throat and the wind knocked out of her when she collided with the stone beneath them. She was just thankful she didn't hit her head. She bumped and slid, trying her best to protect her head as she tumbled down the long stone tunnel. She collided with something hard and she realized that they were all bumping into each other like soft pinballs; everyone screamed and cursed as they fell.

They were deposited in a cage a few feet below the opening of the channel. Eryn had the misfortune of landing earlier in the pile up and was being crushed beneath many heavy dwarves. She groaned and coughed, the discomfort grew when she realized that she was sandwiched on top of Thorin, laying across his stomach. She apologized profusely, but she wasn't the object of his distress, because not moments after they landed a stampede of shrieking, vile goblins came pouring towards them. He quickly grabbed the hood of her still wet jacket and pulled it over her head. "Don't let them know!" He hissed and nodded before dragging her up by the arm.

The company shouted and fought as they were pulled apart. Eryn screamed as an onslaught of goblins came charging towards her, they jumped, bit and clawed at her person, she flailed and kicked, trying to make any connection with her attackers. Thorin did what he could to pull them off of her, but he had his own assailants to deal with. Fili and Kili yelled for her, and she tried to find them throughout the chaos, but when she did find them, they were too far ahead. She saw that Dwalin had made some work of the goblins, but they were too many in number and still pulled him forward in a sour march down the dimly lit cave.

The dwarves yelled, cursed and shoved as they tried to gain some upper hand over their captors. Many of them looked for her, simply to know where she was, and she was thankful for that.

The smell was moist and putrid. Their skin was greasy and stale, and Eryn tried her best not to throw up. Her skin would crawl when one of them touched her. The terror she felt was greater than before, she would take on another Stone Giant any day than smell these creatures one second longer.

She was an unknown addition to this equation, just like when they were on the Stone Giant, this story was made for 14, not 15. She hoped that no additional trouble would come from this.

The goblins led them through winding paths and over rickety bridges, as they wound through the cave. Eryn noticed that the chaotic design of the goblin city was more than haphazardly put together, it was a sight to behold. The bridges were narrow, and their structural integrity wasn't promising either. Eryn feared getting shoved too hard, in her already unsteady state, she could easily fall.

As they approached the center of the room, Eryn saw a large platform in the center, and an amphitheater of platforms surrounded it on all sides of the cave wall. Goblins cheered, danced and shrieked as their group was drug to the center.

There was a clambering of symbols and horns, it sounded almost like music. Eryn looked around as the crowd grew more restless and was even more perplexed when the noises around her started to form into an organized melody.

When they rounded the final turn towards the center platform, Eryn's face turned to disgust at the vile creature sitting upon a throne before them. He was ginormous, with large bulging eyes, tumors and boils over his filthy, odious skin. Bits of hair sprouted from warts and his scalp, with a crown of bones crammed onto his head. The worst part was its goiter-stricken neck fat that hung low, like his belly.

He rose when they approached and much to everyone's surprise, began to sing. Eryn, however, was not surprised. In fact, she hated to admit it, but this was one of her favorite songs; the rhymes were quite witty. Though the song was ruined now that she was present for its performance.

The song was longer than Eryn remembered, and she noticed she wasn't the only one impressed by it, Bofur nodded his head and pursed his lips in surprise as the performance the Goblin king gave them. When he finished with his vibrato and decrepit twirl, everyone ducked away from his staff that grazed over the crowd. Everyone stood quietly as he climbed back atop his throne, crushing many smaller goblins along the way.

"Well, what have we here?" The goblin king mused and the goblins that escorted their party began throwing all confiscated weapons at the feet of the Goblin King. "Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" He growled. "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" his voice growing in pitch as he named off each offense.

"Dwarves, your malevolence." A goblin replied.

"Dwarves?" He squealed.

"We found them on the front porch." The goblin answered.

"Well, don't just stand there! Search them!" The goblin king demanded.

The Goblins responded in kind, gripping, pulling and rifling through their pockets. Eryn was very thankful that she had the foresight to hide her dagger in her bra. She was also thankful that she didn't get searched there for many reasons. She kept her mouth clamped shut as their disgusting hands roamed about her pockets, fearful that they would remove her hood as well.

The loss was minimal, thankfully they didn't find Thorin's key, but they did smash Oins ear trumpet and found Nori's stolen Elvish cutlery and silver.

"It is my belief, your great protuberance, that they are in league with elves!" The goblin grunt shouted, holding up a fine silver candlestick to his king.

The goblin king examined the piece of silverware and hissed.

Everyone looked pointedly at Nori, "Just a couple of keepsakes." Nori defended and Thorin sighed in return.

"Now, what are you doing in these parts?" The goblin king demanded.

Thorin began to step forward to answer, but Oin placed a firm hand on his shoulder, stepping in front of Thorin. Eryn also instinctively grabbed his arm, trying to keep him from speaking. He shot her a sideward glance and nodded.

"Ah, don't worry lads. I'll handle this." Oin said, stepping to the front of the party.

"No tricks! I want the truth." The goblin king commanded, slamming his staff into the deck once again.

"You're going to have to speak up. Your boys flattened my trumpet." Oin informed, enraging the Goblin king.

He lunged forward, slapping many of his own goblins in a fit of rage, successfully throwing them off of the deck.

"Excuse me, if you want a better explanation, perhaps I could be of service," Bofur jumped in to offer a new solution. The Goblin king halted "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." he pursed his lips. "Anyway, the point is, we were on this road, like a path, like a track and then we weren't." He shrugged. "Which is a problem. Because we were supposed to be in Dunland last Tuesday."

"Visiting distant relations-" Dori injected. But the goblin king had heard quite enough of that.

Shut up!" He yelled. Bofur opened his mouth as if to say something further but thought better of it and closed it. Eryn sighed, thankful.

"Now, which one of you wants to tell me the truth?" He seethed. "You!" he said, and it took Eryn a moment before she realized that the goblin king was pointing his horrendous finger at her. Many of the dwarves closed in around her, trying to keep her from sight, but it was too late. The blood drained from her face and she gulped, clutching to Thorin's arm. He tried to hold her there, but the multitude of goblins clawed the dwarves apart and shoved her forward.

One of the foul goblins pulled her hood down and the goblin king made the most disgusting guttural noise Eryn had ever heard.

"Well, well, well." He purred. "Come forward, my lady." he outstretched his staff and hooked one of the horns adorning his staff around her back, pulling her forward. Eryn had no choice but to comply, if she didn't the hook would cut into her further.

He climbed down from his throne again and knelt to examine her, the smell was repulsive. Eryn turned her and vomited onto the deck. Coughing and spitting up what was left of her stomach contents.

"You flatter me, my dear." The goblin king smiled sourly. "So, who do you belong to?" He raised a swollen finger and lifted her chin. Many of the Dwarves cursed and lunged forward, causing a wide grin to broaden across his face. "Well, well, it seems they all lay claim to you." He snickered. "Grem, take the woman away." He waved his hand away. "She will suffice as payment for your release from my kingdom." The uproar of goblins was deafening, and Eryn stood there in shock.

The roar of dwarves was louder than ever as they began to push and shove to get control over the situation once again. One of the goblins took out its blade and pointed it directly towards Eryn's throat.

"Now, now," the goblin king sang, "Either she dies here, or she dies later. Either way, won't be leaving with her," He cackled and rose once more to sit on his throne. "Though I do have other plans for her." And he gave a wicked smile. The smaller goblin began herding her out of the crowd.

Eryn tried her best to put on a brave face, she couldn't control the situation, but she could control how she responded, and she didn't want to give the Goblin king the satisfaction of seeing her afraid. For the most part she carried herself well, but her body shook with terror and her skin went cold. She locked eyes with a few of the dwarves and there was fire in every one of them. Fili reached out to grab her hand as she passed, but he was quickly shoved away by another goblin. She nodded trying to give them some sense of confidence that she was alright with this outcome, even though she wasn't. She thought earlier that she did not want to die falling off a mountain, and she got her wish at least. She would probably be tortured by goblins instead. Great.

The armed goblin led her back over the bridge and down some stairs. As she was being led away, she heard the booming voice of the Goblin king addressing Thorin. They had gone far enough that it was hard to make out his words over the sound of the rioting goblin crowd.

She immediately began planning her means of escape. Looking around she noticed that all the attention was drawn to the dwarves and the Goblin king, if Eryn was able to sneak away, she could possibly escape. She wracked her brain trying to remember how Bilbo escaped, she didn't recall seeing him in the presence of the Goblin King. If the story was progressing as it should, he should be neck deep in a game of wits with Gollum. If she recalled correctly, there was a back door, and it was at the very bottom of the cave. Eryn was thankful that she wasn't a part of that bit of the story, but this was far more challenging. Her story wasn't written, and she was on her own.

She was led deeper and deeper into the caves and she searched around frantically for anything that looked like a way down. After a while she noticed that there were far less goblins the further, they went, Eryn assumed they were all too interested in the commotion to bother hanging around. As they approached a large room, Eryn saw a small stone channel that seemed to snake downward, she hoped it would lead somewhere further down and not into a lavatory or pot of boiling oil; she wasn't exactly sure how goblins did things around here.

She only had one goblin to deal with now. She could do this. All she had to do was distract him or get away somehow, make her way down that slide, maybe some ladders she saw further down and with a little bit of luck, she'd be on her way.

The goblin approached a large door made of a haphazardly put together wood. It was splintered and hardly a door really. The goblin grabbed it and lifted it out of the way, ushering her in. The smell that wafted out of the room made Eryn want to vomit again. The smell reminded Eryn of melena, it was sour and foul. In the room was another throne but this one was cushioned, various knickknacks were thrown about the room, possibly things confiscated from other unfortunate victims.

"Wait here," the goblin ordered, "his Ostentatiousness will be with you shortly." he turned and left, placing the piece of wood over the hole in the wall.

Eryn immediately went to work assessing her situation. The room was big enough to possibly have a back door, she would start there. There's no way the Goblin King would hold himself up without a means of quick escape. No king would.

After a few minutes of frantic searching, Eryn found nothing. She moved tables, chairs, and anything else she could move. The only thing she couldn't move were the shelves and throne, along with large piles of trash and various other items. Her only way out was going to be through the door she came in from and the chances of her being unguarded was unlikely. She approached the door quietly, trying not to make any unnecessary sound. Eryn peaked out of a gap in the wood, searching for any signs of movement. She saw nothing, it couldn't be this easy, could it?

Eryn looked around for an additional weapon and found a long dagger and she fastened it to her waist. It was an inch or two longer than the one she had stashed away; she wanted to save that one for an absolute emergency.

She double checked through the slit in the door, saw nothing still, so she decided to make a bit of noise. "Hey!" She shouted, "Let me out of here!" She pounded on the door for extra emphasis. Nothing. No shushing, no shuffle of feat. Maybe this would be easier than she thought. Even with that boost of confidence, her stomach was tight, and she began to perspire.

Slowly, Eryn grabbed hold of the door and lifted it. It was heavier than it looked and she groaned louder than she had wanted, she had forgotten that her shoulder was sore. She moved it only a foot, just wide enough for her to slip between, and placed the door back in its place.

Crouching low, she ran to the first tunnel she remembered. She poked her head around the corner, the fire from the torches shone at the other end of the tunnel, giving her some idea if anyone was coming, but she couldn't see throughout the length of the tunnel itself. It was pitch black.

Eryn took a deep breath and walked gingerly through the stone hall. Her back was tense, not being able to see was chilling and she didn't want anything to jump out at her. She focused on the sounds, and sights. The silhouette that could appear if anyone or anything moved, gave her some reassurance.

Once she made it through the first tunnel, she stopped just at the end to survey the next room, this was the room with the channel leading hopefully far enough downward. There was nothing in sight here either. She couldn't believe her dumb luck.

Eryn left the shelter of the dark tunnel and began her approach on the channel before her.

Then there was a soft tap.

Click.

Tap, tap, tap.

Eryn heard the ominous clatter of pebbles and froze.

She looked behind her but saw nothing, her head swiveled, and her surroundings yielded no foe. Until she looked up. There crawling towards her from above the tunnel she had just abandoned, was a goblin.

Eryn took off running, closing the distance quickly between her and the channel. She heard a deafening shriek and then there was pain. She screamed from the fire that she felt in her left shoulder, clawed hands gripped around her neck and arm. Eryn flailed and tried to grab her assailant but couldn't get a hold of anything. Her fingers slipped from the grimy skin of her attacker. She tried to focus. What was around her? What could she do? Her mind screamed at her.

Finally, she grabbed ahold of something, Eryn pulled with all her might and bent forward, allowing gravity to give her a hand. The creature fell forward but was on its feet again in no time. It brandished a weapon and Eryn's eyes went wide. She hadn't been this scared since- she stopped herself. She would not allow her mind to wound her here. Her mind began to flood with new fear, a fear of self-preservation. Fight or flight. She didn't know if she had an option.

Pulling the dagger at her waist, Eryn stood her ground. Maybe, if the creature thought she would fight it, she could dodge around it. It was worth a shot.

As if the goblin heard her inner monologue it lunged for her, dagger raised. Eryn shuffled her feet, barely dodging away from her attacker. With one strong swipe, she swung her dagger in the goblin's direction, successfully contacting the back of its head. She didn't stick around to find out how well it worked, because her feet began moving before her mind could keep up.

Down the channel she went. She slid and tumbled downward, coming to an abrupt stop in another corridor. She looked both ways, trying to decide where she wanted to go. An unlit tunnel or a lit tunnel. The decision was made quickly as she heard the fumbling of something following her down the stone shoot.

Eryn stumbled to her feet and took off running in the direction of light, she didn't know if this was a good idea or not, but the last thing she wanted was to be trapped in the dark.

This, thankfully, yielded her with two options, another corridor or a ladder. Eryn chose the ladder. She tumbled over the top of the ladder, slipping on a few steps on her way down, her heart pounded, and her hands hurt.

As she ran, she heard a loud noise coming from deeper in the cave, the shrieks of goblins and loud booms echoed off the stone. She decided to run away from that noise and turned to move down another extension bridge that hovered over a large gap in the cave floor.

She moved quickly, watching her footing so to not trip on a loose rope or nail. The bridge shook and she turned to look over her shoulder to find her assailant was still coming after her. She groaned and pushed harder to run as fast as her legs could take her. She was growing tired though and adrenaline could only take her so far.

The goblin was gaining on her and she pushed even more, but it wasn't enough.

She ducked just in time for the goblin to go sailing over her head and onto the bridge in front of her.

She stood stationary for a moment, waiting to see what the creature would do. There was nowhere to run except backwards, and she didn't want to do that.

The goblin lunged again, this time Eryn parried with her dagger, astonishing herself. She pushed back on the goblin and it shrieked in her face, causing her to flinch just for a moment; that moment was all it needed. The monster hit Eryn on the side of her head with the hilt of its dagger. Eryn swayed and almost tumbled backwards but caught herself on the ropes.

Her mind assaulted her again with thoughts and associated memories, the kind that made her want to give up. But Eryn stood her ground, she pushed back against the goblin with her dagger, throwing it off balance causing it to tumble to the ground. Eryn jumped over the creature and sprinted down the bridge to another ladder. Which led to another and another. She continued her descent until she physically couldn't run anymore. Her injured shoulder began to throb, and her head swam.

She gripped her shoulder, fumbling down the last ladder, shaking and sweating. The tunnel was livelier now and the sound of footsteps and goblins grew louder as Eryn shuffled to the nearest shelter.

She hid behind a large bolder and clamped her eyes shut, her knees tucked in close to her chest. The pounding of the wooden bridge above her caused her core and shoulders to tighten, her knees shook.

"Come out Eryn." Her mind volunteered a familiar voice to call and she shot her head up, startled and afraid. Her breathing was labored as she waited for her enemy to pass; both in her mind and in this very present moment.

Eryn wanted there for what felt like an eternity, the shouts and cries of commotion were growing louder and louder. She had to decide how she wanted to proceed. The truth was, Eryn was exhausted, and she took inventory of her current status. Her sides ached, her legs felt like jelly, her shoulder was bleeding upon inspection, and she had a massive headache.

Eryn sighed, leaning her head backwards, she wanted to be done. Curling up here and sleeping was all she could think about. Her mind volunteered memories of laying under Vermont trees in fall, before her grandfather got sick and she moved back to Michigan. She missed the trees, and the crisp air. She would escape there when things got out of hand. She would pull out her phone and call the only person she could count on.

"What's wrong Fey-Fey?" A soothing voice called to her from over the phone.

"Papa." Eryns voice broke. "I can't do it."

"You can do anything, honey." He said, worry thick in his voice. "Don't you forget. You have every right to be happy and safe."

"I can't. I'm not brave enough." Eryn cried.

"Yes you can." her Grandfather began, " are you scared?"

"Well, yeah," She admitted. "I'm very scared."

"That's the only time you can be brave. You can be brave. You can get up, brush yourself off, look what you're afraid of square in the face and tell it 'No. Not today.'"

She took a deep breath and was brought back to her immediate predicament. This wasn't Vermont in the fall. This was Middle Earth, and she was in a goblin cave no less.

She smiled wryly, she longed to be in Middle Earth before, but now she wasn't so sure. She knew this would be hard and this was only the first of many challenges that this quest would yield. But she didn't expect to be so under-prepared and unqualified. Tears pricked at her eyes.

She wouldn't cry. Eryn took another deep breath. Was she really going to give up so easily? This was bigger than her, this was bigger than her comforts, this was a chance to participate in something real. These people are real. Like Lord Elrond said, this may be a story to her, but they are flesh and blood, each experiencing some challenge of their own, just like her. Some of them wouldn't live to see the fruit of their labor. This was Eryn's one chance to finally do something more than just sit at home and daydream about doing something incredible. She could be a part of something incredible.

She wasn't a sad story and she wasn't going to let her fear dictate her. Her resolve grew and she climbed to her feet. "Not today." She muttered.

Steadying herself against the rock, she decided to continue running. She would run until she couldn't, and she would survive. Like she had done before.

So, she did. The ground slowly turned from stone to sand and she grew hopeful, the cavern slowly grew to light and hope grew in the pit of her stomach.

But like clockwork, her foe returned. Three steps forward, two steps back. The goblin rounded a corner just in front of Eryn and she cursed. "Do you ever quit?!" Eryn growled.

The goblin screeched and she brandished her dagger yet again. It lunged for her, swinging wildly. Eryn jumped backwards avoiding its advances, tripping over a rock. She fell, landing on the soft sand and the goblin jumped on top of her, dagger raised. As the blow fell Eryn reached up, grabbing its putrid arm, struggling to hold it as tightly as she could, stopping its descent. She clenched her own dagger and drove it into the goblins side, causing it to shriek. She yanked it out and drove it in once more, as hard as she could, this time closer to its chest. The creature cried and its strength failed it, giving Eryn the ability to push it off her. She left the dagger this time, rose to her feet and continued her escape.

Her mind swam and she thought that the light at the end of the tunnel was perhaps her mind playing tricks on her, but the breeze against her face told her otherwise. She had made it.

Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and the sun was blinding, even as it began to set behind the thin cluster of trees. She jumped and stumbled down the descent of the hill, her legs had just about given up.

Just as she broke through the densest part of the trees, she saw the most joyous sight she had seen in her life. Dwarves. But what made her rejoice even more was the presence of Gandalf the Grey.

They were gathered in a circle around Bilbo, when a cry escaped Eryn's lips. They all stopped and turned, expecting another onslaught of foes, but instead found a very disheveled Eryn. Their faces ranged from delight to tears of joy, others were fitted with rage at the state of her. "Eryn!" many of them exclaimed at once.

She ran straight to Gandalf and flung her arms around him, letting out a stifled sob. The look of concern was deeply set on his face.

"What happened my dear?" Gandalf said, pulling her away to examine her.

Eryn just stood there in stunned silence. She couldn't believe she'd made it. He looked her over and nodded for Oin, who came over immediately.

"We thought we'd lost you." Kili breathed.

"We thought you were gone for good dear." Balin said approaching her.

Eryn moved to hug him as well, much to his surprise, though he gratefully accepted.

One by one they approached her and offered her a hug, soon it just became one big group hug, with a few exceptions of course. Thorin, who did not participate in the group hug, approached her and placed a gentle hand on her uninjured shoulder. He nodded towards her and pressed his lips into a fine line, his eyes searching hers.

"I'm amazed you made it out. Perhaps you are more capable than I thought." He admitted. "This day is full of surprises." Eryn smiled weakly in return, placing her hand atop of his, giving it a light squeeze. If that was his way of paying her a compliment, she'd take it.

"Let me see ye now." Oin said, pulling the neckline of her shirt away from her shoulder to get a closer look. Thorin moved away now to give her some privacy.

As Eryn thought how thankful she was that this was over with and she could finally rest, they heard a dreaded howl. Eryn froze as did everyone else. Gandalf looked up, weary.

"Out of the frying pan…" Thorin muttered.

"And into the fire." Gandalf finished. "Run." He said turning on his heels, leading the group away from the approaching danger.

Eryn groaned, and once again began running for her life.