It took the Company much longer to reach their destination. The ponies, perhaps having caught the scent of the Sthrusa s or simply reacting to their riders' anxiety, refused to budge at times and ground their hooves obstinately into the ground. Bella, Nadi's pony, was so insistent in her ways that she bucked Nadi off of her back twice.
"Troublesome, obstinate, smelly beast," she growled and cursed. The pony twitched her tail, huffed, and trotted ahead, leaving Nadi to walk sullenly behind.
"Troublesome? Obstinate? Smelly? I've heard tell that that's what we Dwarves are called behind our backs," Fili said with a hint of mirth. Nadi shook her head.
"Couldn't imagine why," she grumbled.
They finally reached the base of the mountain, and though they realized that it was not as tall and foreboding as they had previously imagined, all were disappointed by the time that it had taken to get there. They rode on for a few more hours in the darkness until their path was completely blocked by the mountain itself. Water had to be rationed carefully, as their route had taken them away from their only source. Dinner that night was dry and unappealing.
While some Dwarves were assigned a watch time, the lucky few that had not been chosen were quick to fall into a deep slumber. By some embarrassing fortune, Thorin did not see Bilbo as fit to watch over the Dwarves during the night so, exhausted, Bilbo burrowed himself deep in his blankets.
The night passed slowly. Bilbo watched the moon rise higher and higher in the night sky until it seemed to come to a standstill right above his very head. He squeezed his eyes shut. He tossed and turned. But no matter what he did, he could not escape its cutting brightness. "The moon shines brighter when you are out in the wilderness," Fili had told him early into the journey and he hadn't believed him then. But now it occurred to him that, due to the lanterns and fires that remained lit throughout the night in the Shire, the moon did not seem to shine as bright. In the wilderness, with nothing to compete with, the moon was free to shine with unrivaled intensity.
Bilbo sighed heavily and turned around beneath his blankets once again. All around him, the Dwarves were snoring thunderously loud. He was sure that Gandalf had taken his rest somewhere beyond the boulders and trees, but he wasn't sure. Gandalf had started an alarming habit of appearing and disappearing at will during the journey.
"Nasty buggers, they are," he heard Gloin saying loudly to Oin, the curly-bearded Dwarf who had trouble hearing. Bilbo assumed that they were talking about the Sthrusas; creatures that seemed to have grown bigger and uglier in his imagination as the day went on. "They can live for days without food or water," Gloin continued happily, "The young' uns can curl themselves up into a wee little ball and stay just like that - like a deep sleep, except they don't wake up unless you really prod at 'em. And trust me, I've tried."
That was enough of that. Bilbo stood up abruptly and began to gather his blankets around him like a flustered maiden gathering up her skirts.
"Where do you think you're going?" Gloin called as Bilbo trundled past them.
"I've had quite enough talk about the st …the thr …the...the monster things. I'm going somewhere where there is more peace and less moonlight ."
For some reason, the two Dwarves found the sight of him bumbling and fussing about to be quite entertaining. He did his best to ignore their laughter, or at least appear unaffected by it when suddenly something cold and hard wrapped itself around his big toe. "Oh dear," he moaned, fearing for the worst. He reached down and uncurled what seemed to be a chain from his foot. Indeed, as he held it up to the moonlight, he saw that it was a locket wrought of gold and silver. Glancing around him, he found no immediate sign of the owner. Below him, Bofur lay snoring loudly next to Bombur, whose jaw was working away sleepily at some dream of food. There was Thorin, Fili, and Kili but none of them were awake.
"Hmm," he said curiously and pressed a small button that made the locket pop open. As he walked, he took in the face of a woman and child that had been sketched onto a piece of parchment beneath the glass. She and the child were not Dwarven, nor were they Elven or Hobbit. Her cheeks were high and her face was narrow, much like Gandalf's. The smile that she bore was plain and youthful, her eyes small and yet full of mirth. All that could be seen of the child was its bald head and slumped shoulders, but it was obvious to him that it was the woman's son or daughter.
Suddenly, Bilbo's toe caught on something again and this time he went tumbling. Blast it all, he was on the verge of saying when he looked up and realized that he had stumbled over Nadi's leg. As he watched, she whimpered and turned to face him, her eyes closed against the waking world.
"Oh," he said in surprise as she wriggled her shoulders and quickly turned to face the other direction. He thought that he had seen a cloth wrung around her cheeks and clenched tight between her teeth. He reached out and gently fingered the knot on the back of her head. It seemed as if somebody had tied a cloth around her mouth while she was asleep. Or perhaps , he wondered, she has accidentally wound a loose handkerchief around her face while she tossed and turned during the night ? Either way, it would not do to have her so hindered. She could choke. He hurriedly stuffed the locket in the pocket of his trousers and set about trying to untie the knot as gently as he could. It was tighter than he expected but finally, after a few tense moments, the knot fell apart in his hands and he softly slipped the fabric from beneath her head.
"Poor thing," he said quietly and brushed the hair away from her face. She winced in her sleep and moaned louder, her mulberry purple lips moving sleepily around soundless words. Her beard was beginning to come in, he noticed. Its darkness graced her jaw like a shadow.
" The worst is yet to com e," she said quietly. Bilbo leaned down and tucked her blankets tighter around her shoulders.
"Which means the worst is almost over," he said gently. "Quiet, now."
". ..couldn't bear to be without you… "
Bilbo blushed deeply at this and moved back a few paces. "I'm sure you don't mean that. You're quite the sleep-talker, aren't you, Nadi?"
He stood up and brushed the dust away from his pants. Of course, she hadn't meant it , he thought as he turned to retrieve his blankets, but I suppose she wouldn't mind if I slept closer to her. She had, after all, found a very comfortable spot beneath two stooped trees that blocked out the moonlight. And if he were honest with himself, he quite liked the way that she smelled. It reminded him of home, for a reason that he could not quite place yet.
He dumped his blankets on the ground and began to spread his palms along the rough fabric when suddenly there was a high, piercing scream from behind him.
He jumped and squealed in fright. The rest of the Dwarves were on their feet in seconds, looking around in alarm.
"Oh no," Bilbo said as Nadi bolted upright and let out another scream that echoed disconcertingly around the mountain.
"Nadi, it's me," Bilbo pleaded and shook her desperately by the shoulders. Her eyes remained closed as she clutched his shirt so hard that the fabric began to tear beneath her fingernails. She screamed again.
" Aiiiiiiiiie! Kili! Kili! Please! "
"Nadi! Nadi! Please, it's me, Bilbo. Wake up!"
" I'm sorry! I'm sorry! "
"Shut her up," Thorin commanded from behind him. The Dwarven King was not looking at Nadi, but rather eyeing the surrounding hills that echoed with her fright. " Shut her up! Now!"
"Forgive me, lassie," Dwalin shoved Bilbo aside and struck Nadi on the cheek. Her eyes flew open and flashed in rage. She swung her hand behind her but, anticipating her attack, Dwalin grabbed her wrist, pressed it down by her side, and put a large hand over her mouth.
All was silent. Nobody dared move. Nobody dared breathe. Even the woodland creatures that chirped and chattered and squeaked had fallen silent. Bilbo gulped heavily, sensing a presence that he did not understand. The silence was suffocating.
Then, from his left, came an awful hissing...
X
She was floating. No, just barely. She was treading water. No - she looked around her in a panic. A viscous brown river was flowing past her body. She waved her hands around desperately and gulped as she lost footing and began to flounder. The river was up to her chin, any second she would fumble and tumble under. She closed her eyes against the murky grains that brushed her cheek and prayed to be saved.
"The worst...is yet...to come…" she gargled as a mouthful of river water found its way into her throat. It was up to her cheek now, soon to reach her nose. She clamped her teeth together and exhaled with a frightened cough.
Before her stood Kili. His shoulders were bare, like hers, and his hair was unwound along his back. But unlike her, the river only came up to his hips and didn't seem to affect him in the slightest. He smiled down at her and waved his hand lazily through the muck.
"What is it?" He asked, teasing her.
"I was thinking...I couldn't bear to be without you…"
"Then don't do it."
She found her footing then. Quickly, she braced the sole of her foot on the silty ground and grabbed a bow and arrow that had been floating past her. She slid the wood of the arrow in a notch made in the bow and aimed at Kili's heart. The arrow flew forward with a crisp whoosh and buried itself in Kili's flesh.
"NO!" She cried in anguish. Kili touched his skin where blood quickly began to bloom around the arrow's shaft. He looked back up at her, fingers red, eyes full of confusion, and betrayal. Suddenly his eyes rolled upwards, and he fell forward into the river.
" Aiiiiiiiiie!" She screamed and began to thrash around in search of his body. But the river water was too thick, its murkiness obscuring his form from her sight. " Kili! Kili! Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
X
Suddenly she woke. Her cheek stung and her neck felt as if it had been twisted. She opened her eyes and saw Dwalin kneeling before her with an upturned hand. Company or not, she reflexively raised her hand to strike back but he caught her and pressed a rough palm against her lips.
Everything was quiet.
Something was very, very wrong.
And suddenly she heard the hissing.
X
Bilbo could hardly believe his own eyes. For there, standing at the top of a boulder, was the strangest creature that he had ever seen. It was light blue, with thickly feathered wings that rose out of its back. Its body was strong like a small hound's and striped. The head was small and domed, with a grinning, rubbery mouth that split open to show a row of wickedly curved teeth. Its beady yellow eyes seemed to focus on his face and his face alone. Despite its size, he knew that it was a creature whose strength shouldn't be taken lightly. It lowered itself towards the ground, opened its mouth, and hissed a long, wicked hiss…
Nadi twisted around in her bedding and grabbed a dinner pot. Still swaddled, she rolled around again and flung the pot at the Sthrusa as hard as she could. The creature balked and let out a high pitched whine.
"Bombur!" Nadi called and Bombur, who was closest, reached into her bags and withdrew a magnificent ax. He tossed it towards her and, in one swift movement, she caught it and jumped from beneath her blankets. The creature jumped towards her at the same time and they collided in the middle. Nadi yelped and fell crashing to the floor. The creature's head rolled a few feet away from its body, its eye roving madly in its head. Nadi stood up, spit the grit from her teeth, and strolled up to the bodiless head. Without a word, she slammed the end of the shaft into the skull and stood there panting, surveying her work beneath frenzied hair. Then, she turned to look at Thorin, horror dawning in her eyes.
"That was fantastic!" Bilbo said, unsure as to why all eyes were turned to Nadi, and not in the friendliest of ways. She stood there in her nightclothes, eyes wide, ax hung limply from her bloodied hand. He took a few steps towards her and looked around. "Right? I mean we're safe now."
"Bilbo," she said quietly, "remember the tracks we saw at the riverbank?"
"Of course, yes, there was a..." Pack. "Ohhh…" he moaned.
"There'll be more where that came from," Gloin said, ever the master of that which was obvious.
"Her caterwauling has alerted the pack to our presence," Thorin thundered. "Arm yourselves."
Suddenly Gandalf appeared from beyond the trees, inquiring as to what the noise was all about when suddenly there was a mighty rumbling along the ground.
" Arm yourselves!" Thorin growled in a louder voice. Gandalf held out his staff as the trees before them began to wave wildly and the thicket was shredded and tossed in the air. Nadi jumped in front of Bilbo and thrust her arm out, brandishing a kitchen knife.
"Take it. Better than nothing," she hissed as he took the utensil. She smelt of sweat and rancid fright, but her bulk was a welcome blockage against whatever was shaking the trees. "The area between their shoulders is weakest. Try to strike there or along the back of the neck. Or get them onto their back, strike the underbelly. Use those big feet of yours."
An army of Sthrusas burst forward from the trees, their eyes and razor-sharp teeth glinting evilly in the moonlight. Bilbo almost fainted at the sight of their powerful limbs grinding and their terrible faces smiling. A Sthrusa leaped at Nadi. She raised her ax with a warrior's cry and brought it down clean between the creature's shoulders.
"Like so!" She said and sent the creature flying with the handle of her weapon. Bilbo felt a sharp pain on his ankle and looked down to find an infant creature nipping weakly at his skin. Frightened, and quite alarmed, he tried to shake it off, but it grinned and bit down harder. It was stuck to him now and refused to unleash itself.
"Uh," he looked to Nadi for help, but two of the creatures had attached themselves to her body and had sent her tumbling to the ground. All of the other Dwarves were busy fighting them off, too. He caught the Wizard's eye and squeaked, 'help' but Gandalf was busy blasting waves of them away with his staff.
There was only one thing left to do. Bilbo held his breath and sent the blade of the kitchen knife flying towards the creature's back. The Sthrusa squealed and fell limply to the ground. Bilbo's victory was short-lived, however, as another, full-grown creature leaped up and landed on his shoulder. Without thinking, this time, Bilbo plunged the knife into its underbelly and sent it tumbling to the ground.
"Don't let them swarm you," Thorin called out to the Company, wielding a mighty sword.
"Defend yourself in a circular motion!" Nadi cried. She had been backed into a large boulder and Bilbo could see now that the Sthrusas preferred surrounding their opponent and attacking from all sides, especially from behind. Keeping the boulder behind her had given her a singular advantage against their strategy in that they could not jump on her back. Bilbo ran to do the same thing. But a group of six creatures was quick to surround him. Hissing, wet jaws hung open, they advanced upon him slowly, without fear.
"Back, back!" He cried to the animals, but their hesitancy was only short-lived. Seeing his weakness, the first Sthrusa leaped forward and he plunged his blade into its neck. Two more attacked from either side and he swung his arm blindly, wildly, and by some luck made contact with both. The other three sprung up. He closed his eyes and swung blindly again. Nadi had been right. It didn't matter what he did, so long as he defended himself in a circular motion, breaking their swarm.
"Not bad, Mister Boggins," Kili said. He was thrown off guard by a particularly large Sthrusa that had flung itself at him. As Bilbo watched in horror, the young Dwarve dropped his sword and caught the Sthrusa with both arms. He didn't see what happened then as Kili tumbled to the ground, for a new swarm had built up around him. Confident now, Bilbo swung his knife boldly, showering chaos and death upon any creature that neared him. He lost balance and fell onto his back, but still, he swung as the bodies of the enemy fell slain about him.
And then, just like that, it was over.
Bilbo opened his eyes and sat up. The Company stood alert, surveying the area around them for more creatures but none came. The bodies of the Sthrusas littered their campground, but none remained alive.
One of the Dwarves laughed and soon, recognizing their victory, the other Dwarves followed suit. Softly at first, Bilbo began to laugh and for no reason, in particular, his eyes sought out Kili who was standing a few paces away from the rest. His laughter caught in his throat then and he squeaked in fright. For there, approaching Kili from atop a boulder was a single, grinning Sthrusa.
"Behind you!" Bilbo called, and Kili spun around.
The young Dwarve cursed, for his sword had fallen away during their battle, and turned to face Nadi who was standing nearest to him.
"Your ax!" He called desperately and held his hand out, "Nadi, throw your ax!"
The creature crouched down and prepared to lunge. Wildly, the Dwarves began to call for Nadi to throw her ax, but the young she-Dwarve stood as if rooted to the spot.
"Nadi, do it now!"
"Your ax, lassie, your ax!"
"Throw it, now !"
"Nadi!" Bilbo called out in a panic, "what are you doing? Throw your ax! Do it, hurry!"
But Nadi did not move. Her face was slack with fright. The creature lunged and Kili crouched down in anticipation of its attack. But it was Ori who made the next move. He slung a large rock from his sling and it hit the creature right in the center of its domed skull. The Sthrusa cried out in surprise as the force of the rock sent it flying backward. Its body was bashed against the boulder, and it fell to the ground twitching and chittering. Kili looked up in surprise then glanced down at the creature lying dead behind his boots.
"By my beard…" someone said quietly.
Thorin spoke three rapid words in Khuzdul and crashed towards Nadi. The Company parted before him like a wind-blown wave as he advanced towards the girl, his eyes alight with fury.
"You could have gotten Kili killed for your hesitancy." Thorin hissed when he was mere inches from her face. The she-Dwarve looked up and into his eyes with difficulty. Her lips were set in a tight, blanched line. "What have you to say for yourself?"
Nadi said nothing. Her cheeks were beginning to turn a dark color and her jaw jumped as she regarded her king. But still, she did not speak. It looked to Bilbo as if she were on the verge of choking. He took a protective step towards her but Gandalf held his staff out and pushed him back.
"In times of peril you act, you do not hesitate, " Thorin said, not a command but rather an assertion. His voice deepened an octave and he stared angrily at her. His face fell then and he regarded her with a curious pity as if he were speaking to a child who had knocked over a bucket of milk. "You know this."
Nadi whimpered, her eyes bright as the moon. "Aye," she finally said weakly, "I do."
"Thorin-" Kili said but Thorin silenced him with a raise of his hand.
"We leave tonight. There may be more of them. Be on the lookout," he commanded, his eyes never leaving her face. "And you. Stay out of my sight."
With that, the Company began to quickly gather their things while stepping over the bodies of the Sthrusas. Nadi moved slowly as if in a dream, her eyes never leaving the tasks beneath her hands. Kili seemed unable to take her eyes off of her. A few times Bilbo saw Dwalin push him back as if to say leave her alone.
Later, the next evening, while smoking the last of his tobacco and watching the Dwarves tell their tales around the fire, Nadi approached him with a shy look on her face.
"My beard is growing back, you see." She clasped her chin in her hands and tilted her head this way and that. Indeed, the hair on her face had increased since the night before. She held out a small shearing knife and looked at him with watering eyes. "I daren't ask the others. Can you…?"
"Of course," Bilbo said quickly, to spare her any shame that she felt by asking. The stem of the pipe in his mouth, he held her head gently and began to slide the blade against her skin. Without her beard, she looked younger, beautiful even. All the while she kept her eyes trained towards the night sky, her lip trembling with every stroke of the blade.