Disclaimer: I do not own the Hobbit.
Chapter 18 up finally. Hands up whose pumped after seeing the new Hobbit trailer, I admit I had a little fanspasm seeing Legolas and Thranduil.
Anyway, please review thanks :)
Marie skidded to a halt, her large feet kicking up rocks. She had hit yet another dead end and the creature was getting closer. She had managed to out run him for a time, but each twist and turn took more precious time as she looked for the way out.
Her fist squeezed tighter, the gold ring still within.
'Why the bloody hell do I still have this thing?' She looked hastily at her fist. This ring was what he wanted, so she should just give it back. Yet she couldn't.
'He is going to kill you either way.'
She automatically turned to go back but froze when she saw the gangly creature rush pass the path she had taken.
She was trapped.
That had to be a way out. She looked closer at the walls surrounding her and found a slim crack. She could see another path on the other side.
She slid herself through but got herself stuck mid way. The screaming was coming closer and Marie's heartbeat sped up once more. She turned her head and saw the creature back tracking until his glowing eyes spotted her.
With one last push she was though, but not any safer. She stumbled a little and the ring fell out of her hand onto a small patch of black dirt. Marie scrambled to retrieve it.
"It's ours. It's ... OURS!" The creature's shadow could be seen through the crack.
Marie finally pulled her sword out to defend herself, and unknowingly slipped the gold band around her middle finger.
A heaviness fell over her body, like a wet blanket.
The world turned into a blur of dull greys and wispy illusions. Each noise was painfully long and echoed in her ears, and since when was the wind so loud?
Despite how lethargic her physical being was, her mind felt as light as mist.
In those first few seconds of surrealism, Marie had forgotten about her pursuer who came flying through the crack. Marie felt the breath before the scream building in her chest, but stopped it when the creature passed her completely and looked around wildly her.
He could not see her at all, yet she was in front of him.
Marie look at her hand, the gold band glowed brighter than a flame. Was it magic that coursed through her, weighing her to the earth?
"Thief! Baggins!" He screamed and continued down the path.
Marie followed quietly, watching the lingering figures the creature left behind.
xxxxx
"Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung.
You'll be beated and battered, from racks you'll be hung.
You will lie down here and never be found.
Down in the deep of Goblin town."
The ten foot king 'danced' about the platform and sang in a shrilly voice you would not expect from such a grotesque monster. The goblins that circled the company pushed and prodded them to move along with the horrendous noise, as they had been forced to do the last four times the Goblin king had sung that verse. They could not do much with all their weapons piled up just out of reach, only grit their jaws and listening to the beat of an unseen drum.
The sound filled Goblin town from the lowest cave to the highest peak. It spurred the goblins to stamp their feet and strike chains across the walls to add volume and power to the noise while those who carted the heavy torture devices pulled harder up the rickety path to the Goblin King's throne.
The dwarves could either wait to be tortured for amusement or somehow fight their way out.
Thorin preferred the latter, but his axe and sword were currently being handled by two goblins with crusted backs.
"Well Mighty Thorin? Are you pleased with the entrainment thus far?" As the Goblin King cocked his head, his double chin jiggled. Thorin made his disgust all too clear to see. "The main event is yet to begin. I do wish that my little hole builder was still with us. Her headless corpse would have danced the night away for you."
The thought of the goblins performing such ignominy with Marie's corpse made Thorin's anger coil like a slimy eel in his gut.
"Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung.
You'll be beated and battered, from racks you'll be hung."
The Goblin King started the song again and Thorin wanted to rip out his throat to make it stop. The only reason he did was due to the goblin holding Orcrist unleashing an ear piercing screech that catch everything and everyone's attention. The goblin had unsheathed the blade barely an inch when it tossed it to the floor as if it was diseased. The sight of the sliver metal sent all the goblins into a frenzy as they moved away, their king clawing at the back of his rotting throne as he stumbled back into it.
"I know that sword! It is the Goblin Cleaver! The Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks! Slash them!"
The goblins hissed and began beating the dwarves with clubs and chains as the king commanded. Thorin finally snapped and threw one goblin up over his head and into another. But five smaller goblins quickly latched onto him, pulling him onto his back.
"Kill them! Kill them all!"
Two of the goblins held Thorin by his arms, two at his legs and the remaining one pulled out a long jagged knife. Thorin watched the tip poised above his head.
"Cut off his head!"
The Goblin King's command was drowned out by an explosion of light, accompanied by an air blast that toppled the dwarves, the goblins and their king like books. The force was so great that some goblins were lifted off their feet and set face first into the torture equipment.
Where had that light come from?
While the goblins and dwarves struggled to pull themselves free from the mess, a tall silhouette emerged from behind the giant throne, a wooden staff in one hand and a long sword in the other. The figures' shoulders dropped as he let out a ragged breath he had been holding.
The light that had been sucked out of the cavern slowly returned and Thorin saw the face of one he did not expect to see.
"Gandalf." He murmured.
"Take up arms." The wizard said. "Fight. Fight!"
And so they did.
The dwarves shook off their captures, punching and head butting till they got to their feet. Dwalin swiped the goblin sitting on Thorin's chest, allowing him to toss the two holding his arms into the remaining two at his feet. Nori and Oin were closest to their weapons and started throwing them to their original owners, who put them to good use.
Goblins rushed at Gandalf once they had recovered but fell victim to the wizard. It was the first time the dwarves had seen him fight, and for one of his disposition he proved to be a dangerous opponent as he sliced and hacked his way to the dwarves.
"He wields the Foe Hammer!" The Goblin King squealed, "The Beater, bright as day!" The creature was helped by his attendants to his feet and he began stumbling towards Thorin, determined to have his head.
"Thorin!" Nori cried and held out Orcist.
Thorin grabbed the hilt and pulled hard. The sound of the blade scraping on the sheath created a beautiful sound that frightened off the smaller goblins. With the sword free, Thorin struck the Goblin King's oncoming staff. The force of it was so strong that the king tumbled backwards onto the weak edges of the platform. The wood cracked and the Goblin King's weight took him, his throne and ten more goblins down into the abyss.
"Follow me. Quickly!" Gandalf waved the company over with his staff and headed down a small path leading away from Goblin town. "Run!"
xxxxx
"Wait, precious, wait! Gollum ... Gollum!" The creature skidded out a tight path into another, then proceeded to jump in a circle.
It had been some time since Marie seemingly 'disappeared' and the creature was unknowingly showing her the way out by chasing a ghost. Marie kept a safe distance from the agitated being. He may not be able to see her, but he could at any given time smell her of hit her by accident. Her sword hung all but forgotten in her hand
But her luck seemed to be growing. The air in the tunnels smelt cleaner than before, and though the world was grey she could see light pecking around the corner up ahead.
He stopped his spinning and appeared to be staring at something to his left. Marie could not see for herself what had silenced him, but she hoped that it wasn't goblins.
She looked at her sword. It wasn't glowing.
The creature scampered back behind a rock as the muffled sounds of metal boots and weapons crashed together drew closer.
"Hurry now."
That was not a goblin's snarl, but the worried huff of a wizard. Marie felt the hope stir and the smile growing when the back of the Grey Wizard covered sight of the path. Thirteen small figures run passed, Marie could make out Fili's light hair, Bofur's ridiculous hat and Golin's twin axes.
They were alright.
She wanted to call out to them, but she remembered that she could not been seen and they must have thought she was dead.
She watched despondent as they continued on without her. Gandalf too disappeared down the path to freedom.
The creature, who had all but melded with the rock, finally moved from hiding and looked on at the wizard. His noisy breathing was slower now, calmer. Maybe this was the chance Marie needed to be free from him. But there was a slight problem.
The pathway was slim, and the creature stood in her way.
She wouldn't be able to get by without ... killing him.
The thought made her throat dry, and her palms sweaty. Her fingers turned her sword in her hand, it shouldn't be too hard.
'Just do what Fili does, aim for the neck. It will be over quickly.' She raised the blade to the back of the skinny neck, ignoring the slight tremble of the tip. Once she had her aim, she pulled back slightly to stab the flesh.
She took shallow breath to calm herself, 'One move Marie, just one and it will be over.'
But something happened that Marie would have never imagined.
The creature looked back down the tunnels, his wide eyes unknowingly meeting Maire's. She did not see anger or fear in those bright pools of blue, but she did see the tiny tear falling from the corner of his eye. It left a shimmering streak along his skin and was caught on his trembling lip.
Her sword was now only a hair's width from his neck, but what stayed her hand from slicing the skin was the pity.
Even though he wanted to kill her and feast on her limbs, she felt pity toward the creature. With a deep breath she sheathed her sword.
That was a mistake.
The creature's eyes became pinpoints and his nose flared like a rabid wolf. He knew she was there, and he would kill her instead.
Marie did the only logical and merciful thing to do.
She punched him in the nose. It wasn't pleasant at all, but it still moved the creature out of the way. He fell backwards onto the flat path and Marie leap over his writhing hands that retched aimless for her. She landed with the grace of drunk and bounced from wall to wall before regaining her balance. The light of the outside world beckoned her out of the darkness and away from the screaming creature.
"Baggins! Curse it and crush it, we hates it forever!"
xxxxx
The dwarves and Gandalf ran hard and fast down the side of the mountain, out of breath and worn ragged from their fight. Foe after foe did they slay but there was always another goblin lurking ahead. Their only saviour was the light of the sunset in the west behind the mountains. The goblins would not dare follow them until nightfall, so they ran far.
Only when there was a good mile between them and the cave's exit did Thorin and Gandalf slow the pace.
The wizard counted off the company, as was his new habit of late, while Thorin lent on his sword. His chest felt tight in the confines of his chainmail. Dwalin stopped by his side and patted his shoulder, "Ya alright there Thorin?" He asked, his voice husky from lack of air.
"Better."
Killing more than a handful of goblins made the king feel a little better, but not entirely.
"Fili, Kili twelve ... and Bomber. That makes thirteen."
The largest dwarf joined them at last after being left behind during the trek downhill, and the company was whole, save one.
It did not take long for Gandalf to notice his burglar's absence. "Where is Marie?"All the dwarves stopped gasping for air and froze. They were all thinking and dreading the same question. Who was going to tell Gandalf what happen? "Where is our hobbit?" Gandalf asked again. Fili and Kili looked to eachother, then to Balin who looked to Thorin.
Thorin held his tongue.
The tension was thickening.
"Where is she!?"
"She ..."
Everyone turned to the owner of the small voice, and poor Ori was at the centre of all the attention for once, "She was pulled over ... by a goblin." He croaked up.
"Pulled over ..." Gandalf repeated, "Speak Ori, how did this happen?"
But Ori lost his nerve and was pulled back in line by Dori. Balin took over explaining to spare him, "Miss Baggins was unfortunately attacked by the Goblin King. We tried to prevent such a fate but we ..." Balin shook his head, "We were unable to help her."
Gandalf's eyes were overflowing with disbelief and sadness, which he turned onto Thorin. The dwarf dared not look him in the eye.
"I left her in your care with the hope you would kept her safe, Thorin Oakensheild." Gandalf's voice grew load and thunderous. There was anger building up behind those words.
"I told you from the beginning, I would be responsible for Miss Baggins' fate." Thorin thundered back. "What happened was beyond my control, and do not think that we did not try to save her." He glared up at the wizard, trying to match his stare. "She should never have come, she never had any place amongst us to begin with. You dragged her into this quest knowing the dangers, you knew the risk."
"Thorin." Fili said, but was ignored by his uncle.
"Perhaps if you had let her be, she would not by lying at the bottom of the Misty Mountains dead."
"Oi! I'm not quite dead."
Thorin's mouth went dry and he was stunned into silence, something that rarely happened. The whole company turned shapely in the direction of the voice.
There, behind Balin stood Marie Baggins, hunched over as she tried to regain her breath.
"Marie Baggins. I have never been so happy to see anyone in all my life." Gandalf breathed, walked over the hobbit with a large smile. Balin let out a half sigh of relief and took Marie's hand. "You are welcomed sight indeed lass."
"Marie! You're alive." Kili and Fili rushed to her side, placing hands on her shoulders and back to see if she was indeed real. "How in Durin's name did you survive?" Fili asked. Marie shrugged, "I had an overdose of spontaneous luck." No one but Gandalf seemed to notice the she-hobbit discreetly pocketing something small, but he thought nothing of it, he was too happy. Marie was soon surrounded by the rest of the dwarves, who were all still in shock but still glad that she was in one piece.
Only Dwalin and Thorin remained apart.
"Fortune comes frequently to that one." Dwalin mutter.
"Aye." Was all Thorin could say.
Thorin took in her messy attire with a mixture of emotions. She was covered in white dust and stone flecks that stuck to her coat and her, half her face was painted with black blood while the other half was smudged with dirt and her own blood. Her tiny hands and hobbit feet were red raw and when her eyes met his, he saw they were bloodshot and sunken in to her head.
She had been to hell.
But she was back ... with them.
She could have escaped out back to the Hidden Valley like she had wanted to, but she came back to him ... to them.
A sudden weight was lifted from Thorin's heart and he felt he could breathe easy again, yet he cast his gaze down in a moment of private shame.
The reunion was cut short by the faint howling coming from the mountain.
It was a howl they had hoped not to hear again.
Wargs.