"Thisway! Quickly!" Gandalf was shouting, as the dwarves all began to panic. Kili was the furthest out from the group.

"There'smorecoming!" he called back as we grouped up tighter and tighter within our circle.

"Kili! Shootthem!" Thorin ordered as he dragged me back by the shirt against the rocks. Ow.

Fili's face was grim as he ushered Bilbo in next to me. "We'resurrounded!"

Kili fired off a shot, striking one of the Orcs hard enough that it flew backward off of its Warg. Ori was using his slingshot, but against such large enemies, it did very little.

"Where's Gandalf?"

Dwalin roared, "He's abandoned us!"

"Holdyourground!" Thorin tightened his grip on his sword, face grim. I wanted to roll my eyes, but to be honest, I was trying not to wet myself. Orcs were ugly on screen, but face to face?

Then Gandalf reappeared from within the clutch of rocks and shouted, "Thisway, you fools!" in a very exasperated tone given the circumstances.

For a dwarf who had given up on the wizard's help so quickly, he sure bounced back fast. "Comeon, move! Quickly! Allof you! Go, go, go!"

Have you ever seen a Tolkien dwarf jump? It's literally like watching a rock try to fling itself from a rushing river. But somehow they managed, and as I clambered into the hole myself I could hear Gandalf counting like a preschool teacher.

"nine, ten…"

Thorin and Kili were the last in with a shout as a horn blasted in the distance. "Kili! Run!" They flung themselves into the hole, and were followed down by the filthy body of an orc, an arrow stuck in its skull.

Thorin pulled the arrow, inspected it, and spat, "Elves." He turned to argue with Gandalf some more now that we were in relative safety, but was interrupted by Dwalin.

"I cannaeseewherethepathwayleads. Do we followitor not?"

"We followit, of course!" Bofur answered for the group, as none of us were eager to climb back up and take our chances with orcs fighting elves.

Gandalf sounded way too smug. "I thinkthatwouldbewise."

I took a moment to gather myself, gain back the even breathing of someone not running for their lives and began to stretch out my legs, hoping futilely to avoid the soreness that was sure to appear tomorrow.

Bilbo spotted what I was doing and joined me, even as the dwarves rolled their eyes. But hey! Not all of us are formed straight out of the earth with the sturdiness of stone!

Gandalf's voice echoed back to me from further down the path, and I hopped up to catch up with the group.

"TheValleyof Imladris. Inthe common tongue, it'sknownbyanother name."

Bilbo stopped to stare as we came in sight of the valley, his voice reverent. "Rivendell."

"Hereliesthe last homelyhouse, East ofthe Sea." Gandalf continued as we began the long march down the switchbacks to the valley floor.

Thorin was not happy. "Thiswas your plan allalong, toseekrefugewith our enemy." He growled.

Gandalf merely rolled his eyes. "You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. Theonlyill-willtobe found inthisvalleyisthatwhich you bring yourself."

"You think the Elves willgiveour quest theirblessing? They willtryto stop us." Thorin would not be convinced.

I understood where he was coming from, but at the same time, Elrond wasn't the one who turned away. If the dwarves had asked he would certainly have sent aid. In my opinion, Thorin was being a bit racist.

Gandalf thought so too. "Ofcourse, they will. But we havequestionsthatneedtobeanswered. If we aretobesuccessfulthiswillneedtobehandledwithtact, andrespect, and no smalldegreeofcharm, whichiswhy you willleavethetalkingto me."

And that was the end of that. We all fell silent as we marched down the mountain.