At some point, Tauriel had come to check on everyone. Halien was asleep against Thorin's shoulder and the others were sitting in a corner, waiting for freedom. As she slept, Tauriel spoke with Kili. He told her of the promise he had made to his mother, Dis, and then mentioned the loud noises coming from above. Tauriel said it was Mereth e-nGilith, the Feast of Starlight. She then told him about the stars and they talked about their different views and experiences with watching the stars. Above them, Legolas watched as they enjoyed the conversation, a scowl upon his face.

Later on, when Tauriel and Legolas disappeared, Bofur mentioned that it should be close to sunrise.

"We're never going to reach the mountain, are we?" Ori asked.

"Not stuck in here you won't," Bilbo said, suddenly appearing, the keys to their cells in hand.

Thorin woke Halien up as Bilbo unlocked their cell door.

"Bilbo!" Halien exclaimed in a hushed tone when she saw him smile. "Well done, my friend."

Bilbo quickly unlocked each of the cells and the company silently slipped out of them and followed Bilbo and Halien. Bilbo told her of the empty barrels he had found while trying to find a way out for them and she nodded.

"Aye, when the wine is emptied from the barrels, they are sent down to the river that flows to Laketown. The Bargeman of Laketown comes now and then to collect them and bring them back to the town. They are refilled, then transported back to the gates. The door to release the barrels would be an unexpected and excellent way to escape." She explained. "Well done, Bilbo."

Bilbo smiled and they wandered through the halls, avoiding the guards. They made their way through to the room where Merith and Gilian were passed out drunk at the table. Bilbo directed them to get into the barrels. Once everyone was inside of one, Bilbo pulled the lever and the door opened, letting the barrels roll down into the river below. The company waited for Bilbo to join them and then they pushed their way out of the cavern and further down the river.

Halien heard Legolas call for them to shut the gate and the horn blew. Everyone looked ahead of them and watched as the gate slammed shut, trapping them. Then, out of nowhere, the elven guards were attacked by Orcs. Halien looked and saw dozens of Orcs, then she called out when Kili jumped out of his barrel and ran to where the lever was. He fought his way to the lever and tried to pull it, but he was shot with an arrow. Just when Thorin realized that Kili was going to be killed, Tauriel came to their rescue once more.

"Kili!" Halien cried as he pulled the lever and the barrels flowed downstream again.

Fili called to his brother and Kili jumped into his barrel, the shaft of the arrow in his leg snapping. The barrels ran down the river as fast as the current would take them. Halien did not have her bow and arrows with her, nor did she have Fenumë Dagnir- which sadden her deeply- so she was left with her magik. Halien summoned the water magik and struck at the Orcs.

As they made their way down the river, the other elves and Legolas attacked the Orcs and the dwarves grabbed any of the weapons they could to fend off the Orcs. Legolas and Tauriel ran along the river banks, on either side of the company. The river's current pulled them along faster than Halien though. A couple of Orcs managed to hoist Bombur up and out of the water, but he broke the spear and rolled along the bank, crushing the Orcs in his path. When he finally landed, he kicked out the bottom of the barrel and used the club and ax he had in his hands, and killed several of the Orcs by spinning around. He threw the weapons to Dwalin and Nori, then jumped into an empty barrel.

Legolas began jumping on the dwarves' heads, back and forth to cross the river. He shot his arrows at the Orcs and Halien saw that one was sneaking up behind him. Thorin had seen this, too, and threw the sword he had at the moment at the Orc, killing it before it could get to her brother. Halien thanked him silently and watched as her brother's face fell as they went around the bend and out of the Woodland Realm's borders.

The danger was nearly behind them, and they quickly lost the Orcs that were trailing them. When the current slowed, they made their way to the shore. Everyone got out of their barrels and Halien rushed to Kili.

"Kili, you should have been more careful!" she said. Fili came to her side.

"Get up. We have to keep moving!" Thorin said, looking around.

"Kili's injured. His leg needs binding!" Fili said.

Thorin looked to Halien as the others pointed out that the Orc pack was still behind them and that a vast lake still separated them from the Lonely Mountain.

'Can you heal him? Even quickly before the Orcs get closer?'

Halien shook her head. "I am afraid I cannot, not until we find shelter. I do not recognize this type of arrow. The shaft broke, so there is no real way to tell for sure. He needs to be treated for it immediately."

Thorin nodded. "Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes."

While Fili tended to his brother's light leg, Halien went to the bank and see if any weapons could have washed up onto the shore, anything they could take with them if they could procure nothing in Laketown.

Beside her, Ori was emptying his boots into the river and Halien's ears perked up at the faint sound of strange footsteps behind them. She turned to see a Man aiming a bow at them.

Immediately, Halien summoned fire in her hands as Dwalin grabbed a large branch and stood in front of Ori. Before he could advance on the stranger, the bowman shot an arrow through the branch, then shot the stone that Kili had just grabbed.

"Do it again, and you're dead." The bowman warned as he aimed the arrow towards Halien.

"Who are you?" Halien asked.

"I could ask the same of you." The bowman answered. "How is it that you hold fire in your hands?"

"This one of my many talents and skills. If you should like, I can show you more if you see fit to continue to aim an arrow at unarmed travelers."

"Your fire does not make you seem as though you are unarmed." The bowman pointed out.

"Just because I can use magik does not mean that it is a weapon. This fire is as much a part of me as that bow is to you. I see how you hold it: you have had years of experience in handling a bow and the way you hold it tells me it is your preferred weapon of choice." Halien said.

The bowman looked at her, curious how an elf of such grace could use such magik.

"I will extinguish my flame if you but lower your bow."

The bowman lowered it and watched as Halien released the magik that held the fire in her palms.

Balin walked over to the Man slowly. "Excuse me, but you're from Laketown if I'm not mistaken? That barge over there, it would be up for hire by any chance?"

The bowman looked at the company. He turned and walked away from them back to his barge and started loading the barrels on board. "What makes you think that I would help you?"

"Those boots have seen better days, as has that coat," Balin observed. "I assume that you have some hungry mouths to feed."

When he asked the bowman how many children he had, the Man answered, "A boy and two girls."

"And your wife, I imagine, is a beauty?" Balin continued, trying to build a good basis with the Man.

"Aye, she was." The Man replied.

Halien felt her heart sink when she heard the sadness in his voice. "I am truly sorry for your loss, sir. I do hope that she is at peace."

The bowman looked at her. "As do I."

Balin's smile fell as he realized what he said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Ugh, come on, come on, enough with the niceties," Dwalin said.

The bowman looked up at him and asked, "What's your hurry?"

"What's it to you?" Dwalin retorted.

"I would like to know who you are and what you are doing in these lands." The bowman said, looking from Dwalin to Balin.

"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains. We are going to see our kin in the Iron Hills." Balin said, which was partly true.

"Simple merchants, you say?" the Man replied.

Stepping forward, Thorin said, "We need food, supplies, weapons. Can you help us?"

The bowman turned to look at him. "I know where these barrels came from."

"What of it?" Thorin asked.

"I do not know what business you had with the elves, but I don't think that it ended well."

Halien felt faint and sat down on a nearby rock.

"Are you alright?" the Man said, coming over to her.

"I am fine. You needn't worry." Halien replied, her hand on her womb.

He looked her over, and when he looked at her, Halien nodded as she heard him silently asking her if he could touch her belly. Halien felt content, as she did when Thorin touched her belly, and safe, but she could sense Thorin's unease. "She needs to rest. Whatever happened between you and the elves has worn her out and that's not good for her or the baby." The bowman said, looking to the others. He stood and helped Halien up, ignoring Thorin's glare.

"How do you know she is with child?" Thorin asked.

"I have three children of my own. I can tell when a woman is with child, whether she is human or of Elf kind."

Halien struggled to stand, but when she did, she looked at the bowman. "I do not wish to earn you pity, but our energy is spent. We need to find shelter, food, and a safe place to rest and regain our strength. We have been through hell and high water just to get here and I am weary. I cannot keep on like this without harming my child. Our companion has been injured and there is nothing I can do to heal him until we find safety and shelter. Please, will you not help us?"

The bowman looked at her. She was beautiful, her hair- which glistened like starlight- slicked back from the water. Her simple silver headdress glinted in the light and her emerald green eyes held the key to her heart and mind as the Man saw her worry, her fear for her child, and her love for her friends, and he felt sympathetic. This elf maiden was regal in the way she stood and the bowman could see that she was strong and good-natured.

"No one enters Laketown without leave of the Master. His wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He would see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil." The bowman said.

The bowman threw some rope to Balin and turned to put his quiver and bow aside as Thorin tried to get Balin to convince the Man to let them aboard.

"Father would raze the lands before he let us get away," Halien said to herself, low enough to where the bowman almost didn't hear her.

'Did she say Father?' the bowman thought, trying to understand if she meant Thranduil. 'Could she really be his daughter? The one who was exiled so many years ago? No, she couldn't be… could she?' Choosing to ignore her comment, he turned back to his own business.

"I'll wager there are ways to enter Laketown, unseen?" Balin tried.

"Aye," the Man said. "But for that, you'd need a smuggler."

"For which we will pay double." Balin offered.

The bowman nodded after thinking a moment. "The hobbit and you dwarves will all fit into the barrels. I worry for the elf, though. She should not be hiding in a barrel whilst carrying a child."

Halien smiled at his concern. "I will be fine." She insisted. "I have a card up my sleeve that I can use to help get us in. There will be no trouble."

Thorin nodded and looked to the bowman. "Thank you."