A/N: A little warning to ya'll: This chapter depicts scenes of gore and violence. I tried to not get too detailed when it came to injuries and the like, but I do describe some spraying blood and such. ...Which is part of the reason why this was my favorite chapter to write thus far. Anyway. Here's the long-awaited Goblin Town chapter!
She didn't know what time it was when she awoke with a start. Bolting upright, Baylee quietly panted, looking around in a mixture of fear and shock. The company, save for Bilbo (who was now on watch), was still fast asleep and the only light to be found came from the lantern at her father's side. Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh of relief and flopped backwards.
Her hands covered her face and she let out another sigh. She had been having a horrible nightmare that involved a pair of stone giants emerging from the sides of a single, massive mountain. From inside the mountain, an enormous dragon had come forth. All three creatures had started to chase the company and, one by one, the members had been caught and killed in some fashion until only she and Bilbo remained. They had just managed to find shelter when the ground started to crumble beneath her father's feet. As he started to fall, she had managed to grab his hand but, try as she might, she hadn't been strong enough to pull him to safety.
'That was a bad one,' she thought. When she rubbed her face, she found her cheeks to be a bit damp and sticky with half-dried tears. It didn't help that she had been having nightmares more and more frequently ever since they left Rivendell. 'Why do I keep having so many nightmares? Before this, I'd have one—maybe two—a year. But now I'm having them practically every other night.'
Letting her arms fall to her sides, she turned her head to look at her father as he sat by the cave entrance. She then frowned; the lantern was on his right, which faced away from her. And yet, she could see a bit of cool light coming from his left side. She wondered what it could be.
And then she remembered.
Looking down at her own sword, Baylee found a bit of light escaping from the very top of the scabbard. Her mouth went dry and her heart started to race; sitting upright once more, she snatched up her sword.
Seeing movement in the corner of his eye, Bilbo glanced over only to find his daughter wide awake and sitting up, making him frown in confusion. "Bay—" His eyes widened in horror as the area around her was bathed in cool, blue light. Swearing, he copied her and pulled his sword partway out.
It, too, glowed bright blue.
"Wake up!" Baylee cried. "Everyone, wake—"
The floor trembled and loud, metallic groans filled their ears. As the dwarves started to stir, clanks could be both heard and felt from below. Now being wide awake, Baylee had the sense to quickly buckle her sword around her waist—and just in time.
A large crack formed in the ground, allowing the sand to fall through it and, just a few seconds later, the floor fell out from beneath them. Shouts and cries of fear filled the air as the fifteen companions fell down into a semi-smooth tunnel that acted more as a slide than anything. More than once, the group found themselves being flung through the air only to land on hard stone again.
Just as quickly as the terrifying slide began, it ended. The dwarves and hobbits were all but spat out of a chute and down onto a walled off, wooden landing. As luck would have it, Bombur landed on the top of the dwarf-and-hobbit pile, making nearly everyone below him curse.
Before they could even think about gathering their wits about them, however, they heard snarls and growls. The next thing they knew, there was a crowd of goblins rushing towards them. They tried to scramble to their feet, but there wasn't enough room, nor did they have enough time. As such, when the goblins reached them, the dwarves who were closest to the front did their best to kick the creatures away.
It was of no use as the sheer number of goblins quickly overwhelmed them. One by one, the members of the company were hauled to their feet and dragged forward. Long, spindly fingers searched their persons as they were pulled, looking for weapons and anything of value.
Though these goblins were much smaller than the orcs they had seen, Baylee found them to be just as terrifying. Their skin was so pale, she could see the black veins beneath it and their bodies were covered in blemishes and oozing pustules. Worse of all was their faces: They were squashed flat with many having only two slits for a nose and their teeth were long, sharp, and yellow.
Like the others, she was dragged forward and started to get searched. She struggled against the hands pulling and tugging at her. "Don't touch me!" she cried, managing to wrench herself away from one. There was a ripping sound and, as she glanced back, she was just barely able to see another holding a piece of her dress. Looking ahead of her once more, she cursed when she found one of the goblins starting to lift the front of her dress and petticoats. Instinctively, she raised her foot and slammed it into the goblin's gut; she was more than a little surprised when it was sent flying backwards over the ledge.
A squeak suddenly left her mouth as she was yanked forward. The goblin hadn't let go of her clothes. No one noticed as she went toppling over the edge of the path and started to slide down another semi-smooth rock wall.
There was no landing platform at the end of this wall, however—just a sheer drop off into the abyss.
Her mind racing with thoughts of her imminent death, Baylee turned her head left and right, looking for anything that could slow her fall. The goblin swung its other arm up, able to grab hold of her ankle. As its nails dug into her flesh, she cried out in pain and tried to use her free leg to kick it away from her.
Then, she saw it: About two feet away from the end of the wall, there was a rope dangling. Looking up, she found that it was connected to one of the many wooden bridges.
'Yavanna, bless me with good timing,' she thought, kicking at the goblin again. This time, she got it in the face, but it refused to let go of her leg. For a third time, she kicked it and it only dug its nails deeper into her leg, leaving a set of bloody gouges in her ankle.
The end of the wall was getting closer and closer. Forcing herself to forget about the goblin for now, she kept her focus on the rope.
Ten yards away; she did her best to angle her body to be more in line with it.
Five yards away; she made sure nothing was blocking her arms.
Two yards away; she wondered if her heart would give out from beating so fast.
One yard away; she reached out—
"Got it!" she cried, gripping onto the rope for dear life. To her great pain and horror, however, the goblin continued to cling onto her. Unable to hold their combined weight, she felt her hands sliding down the rope, the rough fibers tearing at her palms. Having no time to think, she risked letting go with one hand and drew her sword. She swung it down as if it were an axe, feeling flesh and bone split in half under the sharp blade.
The goblin finally let go of her leg, falling into the abyss.
Baylee gripped harder at the rope; she stopped sliding. As she dangled there, she awkwardly put her sword back in its sheath and grabbed onto the rope with her other hand. For a moment, she allowed herself to just hang there and take in what had just happened.
"I…I killed a goblin," she whispered, looking down into the darkness below. "I killed a goblin. Prim is not going to like that…"
Swallowing hard, she turned her vision upwards, focusing her attention on the top of the rope. She started to pull herself up the rope, doing her best to ignore the pain in her palms and leg.
'Yavanna, thank you for letting me survive that,' she thought, her nose scrunching up as she continued to climb. It was hard work; she was used to carrying heavy trays of food, yes, but pulling her own weight up a rope was an entirely new experience. By the time she was halfway up, her shoulders and back were burning fiercely and her hands ached from holding the rope so tightly.
When she finally reached the top, her body was shaking from the exertion. Dragging herself up onto the bridge, she quietly panted in an attempt to get her breath back. As she knelt there, she could feel sweat rolling down the back of her neck while tears rolled down her cheeks. She shakily raised her hand to her face and wiped away some of the tears only to look at her hand and frown. Shaking her head, she swallowed hard and focused on breathing.
After just a moment or two passed, she drew her sword and used the blade—which no longer glowed—to help push her to her feet.
'I have to find da' and the others,' she told herself, her shoulders still heaving with the effort of breathing. 'I have to find them. I don't know what'll happen when I get there, but I know I must find them.'
Her legs felt like jelly as she walked and there were times she stumbled, but using her sword as a bit of a walking stick, she was able to stay upright. The longer she walked, the more she started to notice that she could hear a horrible sound in the distance. It almost sounded like it could be music, but if it was, it was unlike any sort she had heard before.
She drew near to a bend and her sword suddenly lit up, making her frown. Pressing herself against the rock wall, she kept the blade wedged between her body and the stone so its glow wouldn't attract any attention. Concentrating on listening, she could hear voices coming closer to her spot; what the voices were saying, though, she didn't know, as they didn't speak in Westron. Taking a few, cautious steps forward, she peeked around the edge of the corner in order to see what was coming.
Three goblins were hobbling down the path; two of them seemed to be arguing while the third acted as an instigator rather than a moderator. They were moving at a rather quick pace and the arguing pair seemed rather flustered.
'I have two choices,' she told herself. 'I could let them pass by without seeing me or I could try to take them on…' Biting her lower lip, she shrank down slightly, making herself less visible. 'I don't think I could take on three goblins just yet. I was only able to take out that one because he was dangling below me…'
She did her best to keep her breathing slow and even as she heard the goblins draw nearer and nearer. They soon came around the corner, the two still arguing while the third continued to fan the flames. Out of nowhere, the taller of the three grabbed the middle one and, yelling at it in the strange language, slammed it against the wall—right beside Baylee.
For a few seconds, the four creatures exchanged confused looks. Then, taking the initiative, Baylee darted away from the wall and stabbed her sword into the tall goblin's gut. Remembering how Fili had taught her to twist when pulling the blade out, she did just that before hopping backwards to put some distance between her and the other two.
As their companion fell to the ground, clutching its stomach in agony, the other two finally came to their senses and drew their swords—at least, they looked like swords, but they seemed to be made out of bone and rock. They charged forward, slashing and hacking at the hobbit lass.
Having never fought against more than one opponent and having only one good eye, Baylee found it extremely difficult to keep track of both goblins. What didn't help was their erratic movements. It made it hard for her to know when to block and when to simply hop out of the way. At one point, she felt one of them make contact with her upper arm, but she was too distracted by the fight to notice the pain.
And then, she got an opening.
The shorter of the two goblins had thwacked the other in the face on accident. With the one stunned, she was able to lunge forward and, using both hands, brought the sword into the side of its neck. Not being as strong as the dwarves, she wasn't able to decapitate the creature, so when she pulled the sword back out, she was hit by a spray of its hot, black blood.
"Yuck, yuck, yuck!" she squeaked, feeling it splatter across her face. She didn't have time to wipe it away, however, as the final goblin rushed towards her. It swung its sword and she ducked under the blade only to be knocked to the ground as it backhanded her. Some extremely unladylike words left her mouth as she landed, hard, on her shoulder. Looking up, she rolled out of the way as the goblin tried to stab her.
Scrambling to her feet, Baylee held her sword in a defensive position. With just this one left, it was easier for her to fight—she was even able to move forward as she attacked, forcing it to back up towards the edge of the path. If she had had time to think, she would have realized that her movements were far more instinctive and fluid than when she had first started learning how to use a sword.
The goblin stabbed at her, but she sidestepped. Grabbing its arm, she yanked it towards her, impaling it on her sword. A look of shock came to its face and it gurgled in a mixture of pain and surprise. Baylee shoved it backwards, pulling her sword from its torso. It fell to the ground, black blood oozing from its mouth and the hole in his gut. She looked at her sword, watching as its glow faded away with the goblin's dying breaths.
With a new burst of adrenaline coursing through her veins, she took off at a sprint. The awful music was getting louder, though not by much, and she hoped that the music wasn't in celebration of the dwarves and her father getting slaughtered…
'Surely I would hear more cheering and less music if that was happening?' she told herself in an attempt to keep her hopes up. 'Yes, that would almost certainly be the case.'
While sprinting, she looked at the path ahead only to wince: The entire area was a maze of bridges, gangways, stone paths, tightropes, and tunnels leading off to who-knew-where. The music echoed up from some of these tunnels, making it sound like it was all around her. Part of her cursed the horrid racket, as it hurt her ears, but she also found it to be a blessing, as it was (hopefully) guiding her towards the others.
But then, a new sound joined the music: The sound of fighting. Her brows furrowed and she, as she neared a tunnel, her sword began to glow blue for a third time. Peeking around the edge of the tunnel's entrance, she could see that it was only a couple of yards long. On the opposite side was a sight for sore eyes:
Gandalf.
He was surrounded by a group of about ten goblins and, though he was wielding both his sword and his staff with great skill, the constantly shifting crowd was proving difficult for him. Baylee knew she had an advantage; so focused on Gandalf the goblins were that they paid her no heed as she crept up behind them.
Baylee had brought down three before her presence was finally noticed by both wizard and goblin. She jumped backwards as a large goblin—it had to have been taller than Dwalin at the very least—swung a club covered in jagged, metal spikes at her. As the club slammed into the wall, the hobbit gave a small hop and was able to bring her blade across its neck.
Turning around, she didn't have time to react as another goblin swung at her head with its fist. The boney knuckles slammed into the side of her face and she stumbled backwards, stars filling her vision and pain filling her jaw and cheek. Falling against the wall, she tried to brace herself in an effort to remain upright. She shook her head, clearing most of the bright lights from her eye in time to see the same goblin rushing towards her, an axe held above its head.
With a pained grunt, she thrust her sword forward. The goblin impaled itself on the blade, but as it did so, a second blade was shoved through its chest. Looking up, Baylee saw Gandalf no more than three feet from the goblin; he drew his sword from the creature with ease.
The crowd of goblins now lay on the ground, dead or dying.
"You've become quite the warrior, Miss Baggins," Gandalf chuckled. He helped her stand upright. "How in the world did you avoid capture?"
She shook her head; the side of her face both ached and stung and tears were pouring from her eyes once more. "I-I kicked a goblin who was—who was trying to look up my dress." Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment, though a good portion of it was hidden by the orc blood. "He went toppling over the edge of the cliff and, since he was still holding onto my dress, I was pulled with him. We fell down a wall, but I was able to grab a rope."
He nodded in understanding before motioning for her to follow him. "Come, Miss Baggins. We must find them soon. I fear that these goblins may be in league with Azog."
Though Gandalf was only walking fast, he was tall enough that Baylee practically had to run to keep up with him. More than once, though, she was able to catch up when he stopped at a crossroads where he had her listen to find which direction the music was loudest in.
After what seemed like hours, but what was, in fact, just minutes, Baylee poked her head around a corner. "There they are!" she whispered loudly. Glancing up at Gandalf, she found the wizard leaning over her so he, too, could see around the corner.
The dwarves had been herded out onto a wooden platform. Behind them was an army of goblins practically stacked atop one another. More goblins were coming up behind them, hauling what looked like devices meant for torture.
In front of company, though, was the largest and most disgusting looking creature Baylee had ever laid eyes on: An enormous, fat goblin who almost certainly towered over Gandalf. Even without the comically small crown of bone atop his head, she knew he had to have been the king of these creatures—he was too big not to be.
"Stay close behind me, Miss Baggins," Gandalf quietly ordered.
She nodded, waiting for him to pass her before following. Noticing how he kept his sword tucked behind his back, hiding its glow from anyone in front of them, she did the same. The pair moved slowly as they made their way towards the wooden gangway; thankfully, the goblins seemed too focused on the dwarves to pay any heed to the hobbit and wizard.
Gandalf halted in his tracks as one of the goblins let out a shriek of horror. A few seconds later, the Great Goblin let out a shout of fear and threw himself backwards onto his throne.
"I know that sword!" he shouted. Baylee could see a bit of blue light against his pale flesh. "It is the Goblin-Cleaver! The Biter! The blade that sliced a thousand necks!" The goblins shouted and howled in anger before they started to whip the dwarves with ropes and chains. "Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all!" He pointed at one of the dwarves in particular; Baylee guessed it was Thorin, as it was his sword that had caused such an uproar. "Cut off his head!"
Gandalf started to move again. "When I give the signal, close your eyes," he told her, his words hurried.
She said nothing, once more finding herself sprinting to keep up with him. They shoved their way past some goblins, who were too shocked by their presence to do anything. Then, reaching the gangway, Gandalf lifted his staff.
Baylee clenched her eyes shut.
Barely a second later, there was what could only be described as an explosion of light. It was bright enough that Baylee's vision went entirely white—and that was with her eyes being shut. Standing immediately behind the wizard, she didn't get blasted by the energy sent out by his staff, but she could hear the groaning and creaking of wood as some of the torture devices were sent flying down into the chasm below.
Her vision faded back to black and she opened her eyes. Everyone but her and Gandalf had been knocked to the ground, stunned by the explosion. She moved to walk beside Gandalf as he cautiously made his way forward.
"Take up arms," Gandalf called out to the dwarves. "Fight! FIGHT!"
All at once, the dwarves started getting to their feet. Those closest to the Great Goblin dashed forward, gathering up their fallen weapons and tossing them backwards to their companions. Gandalf and Baylee charged forward, knowing they had to help clear a path for the others to escape by.
With the goblins focused on the tall wizard and the dwarves, fighting was—temporarily, anyway—easier for Baylee. She was able to sneak up behind he creatures, stabbing them or slicing them open with her sword. Hearing a loud crack and a cry, she looked over in time to see the Great Goblin topple over the edge of the platform.
"Follow me!" Gandalf shouted. "Quick! Run!"
The wizard took off down a pathway and the company hurried after him. They ran along stone paths and wooden gangways, pursued by hundreds and hundreds of goblins. As they fled through Goblin Town, their flight was made more difficult by the creatures, who were coming at them from all sides. With their weapons still in hand, the group began hewing down any and all goblins that stood in or alongside their path.
Somehow, the group managed to get split in two: Gandalf led one group along an upper set of gangways while Dwalin led the lower group. As the upper group ran by some scaffolding, there was a shriek from the goblins. Looking across the cavern, they saw ten or twelve goblins swinging towards them on ropes.
"Cut the ropes!" Thorin shouted as he brought his sword through one of the scaffolding's anchor ropes. Hearing a small, rather feminine grunt, he looked down in time to see Baylee slice through one of the ropes. He would have been impressed if he had had the time to think about anything other than survival.
The group didn't stay long enough to see the scaffolding fall forward, entangling the goblins swinging towards them.
Unaware that half the company was no longer present, Gandalf continued to lead them through the maze; how he knew where to go was a mystery. After what felt like miles, the two groups reconvened at one of the many forks in the road.
They pressed on, not wanting to perish down in Goblin Town. Through more tunnels and along more walkways, they ran. All the while, they continued to hew down goblins left and right.
"It's not far now!" Gandalf called out as they approached a bridge connecting their side of the cavern to the opposite side. He was halfway across it when the other half of the bridge burst upwards. The group skidded to a halt; those in back slammed into those in front. As the dust settled, they found the Great Goblin blocking their path.
"You thought you could escape from me?" he sneered. He swung his massive club at Gandalf, who just barely managed to jump back. He swung again and, once more, the wizard was only just able to get out of the way. "What are you going to do now, wizard?" he mocked, taking a challenging step forward.
Gandalf was silent for a few seconds. Then, throwing himself forward, he raised his staff. The Great Goblin let out a howl of pain as the gnarled end slammed into his eye. He stumbled back and Gandalf pressed forward, bringing the blade of his sword across his stomach, cutting open thick layers of fat and muscle.
Falling to his knees, the Great Goblin covered the wound on his stomach. "…That'll do it," he said, admitting defeat. A gurgling sound left his mouth as Gandalf slammed his sword into the side of his neck. Thick, black blood sprayed out and he collapsed forward.
The sudden jolt of his massive weight made the bridge creak and groan. Baylee's eyes widened when she felt the wood start to shift and wobble. With an almost deafening crack, the bridge broke away from its supports and started to slide down into the cavern. Shouts and screams of terror filled the air as the company clung onto whatever they could to keep from flying off.
In just a few seconds, the bridge reached a narrow gap between the two halves of the cavern. The gap was large enough for the bridge to fit through, yet small enough that the rock walls managed to slow it enough that, when it hit the ground, it wasn't with too much of a jolt. However, its supports, having been badly weakened in the fall, gave out and sandwiched the dwarves between its layers.
Squirming her way out of the rubble, Baylee let out a squeak as she tumbled forward. Once again, luck had been on her side, for as she righted herself and looked up, she was in time to see the massive corpse of the Great Goblin come crashing down atop the bridge.
"You've got t' be joking!" Dwalin growled in a mixture of anger and pain.
Baylee sheathed her sword before hurrying forward to help Gandalf uncover the dwarves from the rubble. She looked around as she did so, watching as, one by one, the dwarves were extricated. Her brows furrowed; there was no sign of her father.
It was then she realized that she hadn't actually seen any sign of Bilbo since they had been in the cave.
"Gandalf!" Kili shouted, drawing her from her thoughts. She followed his gaze and felt the color drain from her face.
Thousands of goblins were rushing down towards them.
"There's too many o' them!" Dwalin cried. "We can't fight them!"
"Only one thing will save us now," Gandalf told them as he pulled Nori to his feet, "and that is daylight. Come on! On your feet!" He helped pull Bifur up and pointed in the direction they needed to run.
Turning, Baylee made to run with the others. Before she could take a step, however, someone lifted her up and over his shoulder.
"I've got you, lass!" Bofur told her, holding onto her with one arm as he ran. "Just hold on!"
Doing as she was told, Baylee gripped onto his jacket. As she looked in front of her, she could see Bifur, Bombur, Dori, and Ori taking up the rear of the group. She tried to look over her shoulder, but it was useless. If she turned one way, Bofur's head blocked her vision and if she turned the other way, her blind eye kept her from seeing anything.
"Have you seen da'?" she questioned, her voice filled with worry.
"Was just goin' t' ask you that, lass," Bofur replied in between breaths. "I'm sure he's 'round here somewhere!" Though he tried to sound optimistic, she could hear the worry in his voice.
A whimper left her mouth, but it went unheard in the chaos. 'Yavanna, I know I've asked a lot of you today, but please—please let my da' be alright,' she silently prayed, her eyes clenching shut. 'And…and if any of the other Valar are listening, please…please don't let us die like this.' She swallowed hard as she felt hot tears begin to roll down her cheeks—or had they never stopped? She wasn't sure.
For the first time since leaving, she regretted coming on this adventure.
A blast of fresh air suddenly hit her in the face and she gasped, her eyes opening wide. She blinked against the sudden daylight, seeing as the four dwarves ahead of her did the same. Looking around as best she could, she found that they were finally outside the mountain. Where they were running to now, though, she was still clueless.
Soon enough, Bofur slowed his pace and, panting, he set Baylee down on the ground before resting his weight on his mattock. She found that they had come to a halt in the middle of a pine forest. All around her, the dwarves were gasping for breath; not a single member of the company was without some sort of injury. Even Dwalin, Thorin, and Fili—the best fighters in the group—had injuries that were still bleeding.
"Five, six, seven, eight…Bifur, Bofur, Baylee—that's eleven," Gandalf counted as he came to a halt in the middle of the group. Somehow, he was the only one in the group not out of breath. "Fili, Kili. That's thirteen." He looked to his left as Bombur finally came to a half, collapsing onto his back. "And Bombur is fourteen." A large frown came to the wizard's face. "Where's Bilbo?" he demanded. "Where is our burglar!?"
"Curse that halfling!" Dwalin snapped, his shoulders heaving from the effort of breathing. "Now he's lost!?"
"I thought he was with Dori!" Gloin called out.
Dori looked at him angrily. "Don't blame me!" he snapped.
"Where? Where did you last see him?" Gandalf questioned, leaning against his staff.
"I think I saw him slip away," Nori said after a moment. "When they first collared us."
Baylee felt her stomach drop and she bit her lower lip. A hand came to rest on her shoulder; once again, it was Bofur.
"What happened exactly?" Gandalf asked, sounding a bit rushed. "Tell me!"
Thorin stepped forward, his brows knitted together in anger and annoyance; there was a trail of blood leading down his face from a large cut on his cheek. "I'll tell you what happened," he snapped. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our burglar again. He is long gone."
Though his words did anger her, Baylee couldn't help but admit that some of them were true. Bilbo had been constantly wishing that the two of them were back in Bag End. But…but surely, he wouldn't just abandon them like that?
Surely, he wouldn't abandoned her like that?
"No, he isn't long gone."
Her eyes widened and she spun around, seeing Bilbo stepping out from behind a tree. She let out a cry of joy and rushed towards him. He caught her as she stumbled, holding her close to him.
"Bilbo Baggins!" Gandalf grinned. "I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!"
"Bilbo, we'd given you up!" Kili chirped, a broad smile on his lips.
"How on earth did you get past the goblins?!" Fili gawked.
"How indeed…" Dwalin murmured, his eyes narrowed in skepticism.
For a long moment, Bilbo was quiet, choosing to console his daughter as he tried to think of a way to explain his absence and reappearance. While part of him wanted to tell the truth—about how he had fallen into the depths of the mountains, how he had had a riddle contest with a strange creature that called himself 'Gollum', and how he had found a magic ring that let him become invisible—but something in the back of his mind told him that it would be best to keep that a secret.
A heavy sigh then left his mouth. "Look, I know you doubt me," he began, "and I know you always have, despite becoming my friends. And you're right—I do often dream of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden." Kissing the top of Baylee's head, a small smile came to his lips. "See, that's where Baylee and I belong. That's home. And…And that's why I came back: Because you lot don't have one—a home, that is. It was taken from you. But I will do my best to help you take it back if I can."
Silence fell over the group, punctured only by the occasional sniffle from Baylee or groan of pain from someone else. As he looked at each dwarf in turn, Bilbo came to realize that, despite his ordeal, the dwarves and his daughter had had an even more harrowing journey through the mountain than him. He was just about to suggest that they start tending to everyone's injuries when they heard a howl echo down the mountain.
"Oh no," he mumbled, eyes widening.
"Out of the frying pan," Thorin growled.
"And into the fire," Gandalf finished. "Run. Run!"
Still hurting from their escape through Goblin Town, the group started to half run, half stumble, their way down the mountain. While they ran, the sun was starting to quickly disappear behind the Misty Mountains, making the road ahead hard to see. It was because of this lack of light that the group suddenly came to realize that they had become cornered on a wide, pine-covered outcropping. The only way off was either backtracking or jumping off the edge of the cliff to their deaths.
"Up into the trees, all of you!" Gandalf ordered. "Come on, climb!" He rushed towards the furthest and tallest tree.
As Baylee ran, she looked up, trying to find a tree with branches low enough for her to reach. But even the lowest branches were far too high up for her to reach. Around her, the dwarves were helping each other up into the trees, but none of them seemed to take notice of her—at least, that's what she thought.
"Baylee!" Fili called from the furthest tree. "Over here!" He crouched down, his fingers clasped together.
She ran towards him and jumped, hoping she judged the distance correctly. Her answer came when her foot landed in his hands and he suddenly thrust her upwards. A pair of hands caught her, pulling her onto the branch; it was Kili.
"You alright?" he asked, breathing heavily.
Shaking her head, she looked up at him. "No, but who of us is right now?" she managed to say with a small laugh. She tried to swallow, but she found her mouth and throat dry.
Fili soon joined them, as well as Dori and Ori—and just in time. On the ground below was a pack of wargs. They circled the bases of the trees, hoping that a dwarf or hobbit would slip and fall into their jaws. They soon backed off and stood still, however, as a pale orc on a white warg came riding towards them.
He brought the warg to a halt atop a large boulder. Behind him were more riders, all of them wearing wicked grins as they looked at the trapped company. The pale orc began to speak in a language most of them didn't understand.
"Is…is that Azog?" Baylee whispered, her eyes widening.
"…I…I think that is," Fili replied. As she glanced at him, she saw that his eyes were wide as well.
"I thought he was supposed to be dead?!" Kili gawked. "Uncle killed him! At the Battle of Azanulbizar!"
Azog belted out an order and the rider-less wargs charged forward. They started jumping and biting at the trees in futile attempts to climb them. But, being smart, they soon realized that, while they couldn't climb the tall pines, they could still bring them down. The ground was too rocky for the roots to dig very far, making it easy for three or four wargs to start pushing one of the trees over. As it tipped over, more wargs were able to grab the lowest branches, pulling it down even faster.
Baylee watched in horror as the dwarves and her father were forced to jump out of the tree and into the next. But with the sudden addition of their weight, that tree began to fall as well. The same happened with the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh trees until everyone was left in the tall pine on the very edge of the cliff. Everyone was more than a little thankful to find that this tree's roots seemed to be stronger than the rest.
Out of nowhere, a flaming missile hit the ground and, rolling, caught the dry grass on fire. The wargs, startled by this sudden fire, backed up in fear.
"Fili!"
The prince looked up just in time to catch a large pinecone that Gandalf had set alight. Their eyes wide, Baylee and Kili grabbed pinecones of their own. They used Fili's to get theirs lit, lightly blowing on them to ensure the flames caught well. Then, before their hands could be burnt, they threw the pinecones down at the wargs.
Patches of fire soon littered the ground, keeping the wargs at bay—for now. Someone even managed to hit one of the closer wargs with a pinecone and the creature's fur burst into flames. The group cheered victoriously as they found themselves in less danger.
Then, the tree groaned.
Their cheers turned to cries of fear as the tree gave a shudder and began to tip backwards, out over the sheer drop. Luckily, it didn't fall entirely—but it now stuck straight out, leaving them level with the ground. Almost everyone made the mistake of looking down.
The nearest bit of ground was over half a mile away, straight down.
There was a cry as Ori lost his grip on the tree. He started to fall, but was able to grab onto Dori's leg. Even though he was the strongest member of the company, Dori struggled to continue holding onto his branch. His grip finally failed and he cried out in terror. Gandalf thrust out his staff, letting Dori snatch it; he grunted, finding himself now struggling to stay in the tree.
Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning, she watched as Thorin pulled himself up onto the tree trunk. His gaze was fixed on Azog and, as he walked, he drew his sword. From her branch, she could see that he was slipping his left arm into his oaken shield.
"What're you doing?" Balin shouted. "Thorin!"
But Thorin didn't hear him. He reached the bottom of the tree and, his sword glowing brightly as he raised it, started to charge forward. Azog started to laugh as his warg crouched down. Seeing the warg spring forward, Thorin braced himself and swung his sword forward, intending to hit the creature.
Instead, the warg slammed its forepaws into his chest, knocking him to the ground. For half a moment, he lay there, stunned by the blow. But as he smelled the smoke and felt the heat of the flames around him, Thorin was brought out of his stupor. He rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. Before he could even lift his sword, though, Azog was riding back towards him. He swung his mace, grinning as it slammed into the dwarf and sent him flying backwards.
Baylee's body started to move of its own accord. She pulled herself up onto the tree's trunk as the white warg grabbed Thorin in its jaws. As it violently shook him, she drew her sword and started to walk forward, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. Looking up, she found Bilbo standing beside her, his own sword drawn.
"We're doing this together," he told her.
She nodded, a small smile on her lips.
The two hobbits began to run forward as one of the orcs jumped off its warg. With the smoke obscuring them from sight, Bilbo and Baylee were able to remain unseen as they hurried towards the injured Thorin. They watched the orc approached Thorin, drawing its sword when it was just a couple of feet from him.
The orc raised its sword and swung downwards. There was a loud, metallic clang as its blade didn't meet flesh, but another blade. Its brows furrowed and it looked down, surprised to find Baylee practically on her knees, her glowing sword raised above her head. One hand gripped the handle while the other pressed upwards on the flat of the blade, pushing back against the orc.
But before the orc could question where she had come from, Bilbo slammed into it from the side, knocking them both to the ground. They struggled against one another for a few seconds before Bilbo was able to shove his sword into the creature's gut. A dying gurgle left its mouth as Baylee rushed over, plunging her blade into its chest and giving it a good twist.
Father and daughter drew their swords from the orc and adopted defensive stances as they stood in front of the unconscious Thorin. Azog, more than a little angry at the audacity of these two, shouted out an order that needed no translation: Kill them.
The hobbits watched a pair of warg riders started to stalk towards them. Bilbo swung his sword awkwardly, trying to intimidate the riders, but to no avail. In fact, they ended up laughing at the sight.
Out of nowhere, Fili, Kili, and Dwalin cried out as they slammed their bodies into the pair of riders. With both orc and warg now on the ground, they brought their weapons down on their skulls or across their throats. Baylee yelled and bolted forward, bringing her blade across the throat of a warg that had been going for Dwalin. As it crumpled to the ground, its rider was flung forward, but it rolled and was able to quickly get back to its feet.
Even when hunched over, the orc towered over her. Sneering down at the hobbit, it drew a pair of swords and started to swing at her. She was able to block a few of the blows and even parried one. But just as she got ready to block another attack, she stumbled over a rock that she had thought was further away. She fell forward, landing on her stomach. The orc, however, ended up stumbling over her in turn and also fell on its face. Rolling onto her back, Baylee flung herself forward, driving her sword into the orc's neck.
She cried out as a rider snatched her by her hair and hoisted her into the air. It turned her around, wanting to get a better look at her before it would kill her and feed her to its warg. Growling, she slammed her foot into its face, making it release her in shock. As she fell, she thrust her sword forward, feeling it sink into some sort of flesh and get dragged down by her bodyweight.
Baylee landed on her back with a small yelp of pain; hitting the hard rock only helped to remind her of all her other aches and pains. She watched as the warg—who had been the one injured by her blade—retreated. But two more soon came to take its place. The creatures snarled down at her, hungry looks in their faces.
There was a piercing cry and a massive pair of talons snatched the wargs up only to fling them over the edge of the precipice.
Confused, Baylee glanced skyward and felt her jaw go slack. High above them, giant eagles were circling the area. Four or five swooped down, starting to attack the wargs and riders while others started to pluck the dwarves out of the tree. Rolling over and pushing herself to her knees, she looked up in time to see one eagle land beside Thorin. With a surprising amount of care, it scooped him and his sword up in its talons before taking off.
As it flew into the air, she watched as Thorin's oaken shield slipped off his arm and landed with a clatter on the ground. Biting her lower lip, Baylee scrambled to her feet and, after sheathing her sword, she darted over. She grabbed the shield; not wanting to drop it, she slid it over her arm, knowing full well that it looked ridiculous on her small frame.
It had been a good idea, however, as no more than a minute later, she yelped when one of the eagles grabbed her in its talons. It flew her out over the edge of the cliff and dropped her, making her shriek in terror. Her fall was a short one and, in just a few seconds, she found herself sitting atop the back of a different eagle. Bilbo was already there, looking just as shellshocked as she felt.
"D-Da'?" she stammered.
"D-Don't look down, dear," he stuttered. He had just made the mistake of peering over the side of the eagle. "Don't—Don't look down."
She nodded slowly, not wanting to tell him that she already knew how far away the ground was thanks to looking down while in the tree. Regardless, she did as he said and chose to instead scoot closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her, his eyes clenching shut as he swallowed hard.
As they sat in silence, their adrenaline began to fade and all of their injuries started to make themselves known. Bilbo's back, shoulder, and knees hurt from his fall into the chasm, and his arms ached from having to use his sword so much. Baylee's entire body hurt, but what hurt the most were the claw marks in her ankle and her rope-burnt palms.
"Are you hurt?" he asked after some minutes.
"Yes. But nothing nearly as bad as my eye, I promise." She felt him lean back and she looked up at him only to watch him cringe.
"Wh-what's all this black stuff on your face?" he asked. Licking his thumb, he started trying to remove it.
She scrunched her nose up. "It's…it's goblin blood, da'," she told him before he could lick his thumb again. "I—I killed a lot of goblins down there. I don't—I don't really know how many." Taking the opportunity, she looked around. There were eagles all around them, each one bearing one or two dwarves. As she twisted around to look ahead of them, she could see the eagle carrying Thorin.
He was unconscious and unmoving as the great bird held him in its talons.
"Goblins are wretched creatures and they were trying to kill you," Bilbo told her, his voice shaking somewhat from the adrenaline crash. "You did what you had to in order to survive. And…And I'm proud of you." He gently turned her chin so she could see the fatherly smile on his lips. "All this time, I've been worried that you weren't strong enough to be part of this journey. That I was going to lose you because you couldn't protect yourself or because I couldn't protect you. I'm so glad to learn just how wrong I was."
A small smile came to her lips as her jaw started to wobble. "R-really?"
He nodded only to let out a soft laugh as she clung onto him. "That's my girl," he murmured, gently rubbing her back. "My brave, strong Baylee…You're just like your grandmother—you know, before she settled down. I'm sure she's watching us from the Halls of Mandos, getting a kick out of us stumbling our way through this quest."
"I think she's yelling at us," she murmured, her eyes closing as she rested her head against Bilbo's shoulder. "The adventures she went on weren't like this. They were just journeys to Bree or Lake Evendim…I doubt she had to fight orcs and goblins and wargs." She didn't bother covering her mouth as she yawned.
Bilbo let out a small sigh, allowing his eyes to close, too. "Your grandmother was an amazing woman, Baylee. There's a reason Gandalf thought I had inherited her adventurous spirit, which leaves me with little doubt that she did, at one point, have to fight some foul creature." Tilting his head down, he kissed her forehead. "He wasn't wrong, though…I did inherit her adventurous spirit, although I only recently discovered it. But you…you most definitely inherited it."
She quietly laughed, though she said nothing. While part of her was happy to hear that he was finally enjoying the adventure, another part of her felt guilty that she was beginning to dislike it. 'If that's what fighting orcs and goblins and wargs is like,' she told herself, 'then I don't want to know what fighting a dragon will be like…'
"Dear? Did you fall asleep?"
"No," she murmured. "I'm just thinking."
He cocked his head, curious. "About…?"
Not wanting to admit that her feelings about the journey were changing, she instead told him, "Thorin. I…I'm worried about him." Her words weren't a lie, at least. "Azog hit him hard enough to send him flying through the air—and you know how heavy dwarves are. That kind of blow had to have wrecked some sort of damage to his body."
As she spoke, the more she realized that she felt more than just worried about Thorin: She felt scared for him. What if he was dead? Or, what if he had an injury that would prevent him from continuing the journey? He was their leader, their king, their friend.
This quest would be nothing without him there.
"I'm worried, too," Bilbo sighed in agreement. "I'm worried about all of you. I saw the injuries you lot sustained…I don't think Oin has enough healing supplies to treat them all." His brows furrowed as he heard a quiet sniffle and, looking down, he found Baylee clutching onto his vest. "Baylee…?"
"I-I'm sorry," she choked out. "It's just—it's just all hitting me now." That, too, was not a lie; the adrenaline had completely left her body by this point, leaving her a quivering mess.
He nodded slowly and started to comfortingly stroke the back of her head. "Cry as much as you need, dear," he said. Swallowing hard, he fought past his fear of heights and glanced around at the other eagles.
Somewhat above them, Dori, Nori, and Ori were all gathered on one eagle; the brothers were clinging onto one another for dear life. On the opposite side, Bofur was trying to pull Bifur back down as he stood atop the eagle, flapping his arms. Fili and Kili were ahead of them, also hugging one another as they tried shouting out to their uncle. He didn't see what the others were doing, as their eagles were flying below and he dared not look down.
After some minutes, he peeked down at Baylee only to find that she had cried herself to sleep. A quiet sigh left his mouth and he found himself wondering how much longer it would be until they would be on the ground once more. Feeling sleep beginning to overtake him as well, he fought to stay awake—he didn't want to fall asleep only to tip over and slide off the eagle's back. But, soon, his head tipped forward and his chin came to rest atop Baylee's head as he, too, fell asleep.
A piercing cry awoke the two hobbits from their slumber. Their eyes widened in surprise; the sun was beginning to rise over the eastern horizon.
"How long have we been asleep?" Baylee mumbled. She winced as she sat upright; her body felt as stiff as a board and her muscles ached as she moved.
"A fair few hours by the looks of it," Bilbo replied. He let out a quiet hiss of pain as he stretched and his hand gripped his shoulder. "Nothing like falling into a chasm to remind you that you're getting old," he mumbled.
Her brows furrowing, she looked up at him in horror. "You fell into a chasm?"
He gave her an apologetic smile. "It's a long story, dear…I'll explain it to you when we're not on an eagle's back, alright?" Glancing past her, he saw that they were flying towards an enormous pillar of rock. As they got closer, he could see that the top of the rock had been carved to look like a massive bear's head. "I think we're finally going to land."
"Good…we'll be able to find out how everyone else is doing," Baylee said, tiredly rubbing her eye.
It was then Bilbo finally took notice of something. "Dear…wh-when did you get ahold of that?" he questioned, pointing at the oaken shield.
Her cheeks turned a bit red as she looked at her arm; her adrenaline crash and all the pain and emotions it had brought with it had made her completely forget she was wearing the shield. "It…it fell off Thorin's arm when the eagle grabbed him," she explained after taking a moment to remember. "I didn't think it'd be right to leave it behind…It is his namesake, after all."
"Always the thoughtful one, aren't you?" He smiled as he gently patted her shoulder. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it when he wakes up."
'If he wakes up,' she thought.
Within a quarter of an hour, their eagle had landed on the stone pillar. It held its wing out, allowing the two hobbits to slided down it in order to reach the ground. Before either of them could thank the eagle, though, it took off to the air once more.
"Bilbo! Baylee!"
They turned around in unison to find Bofur sprinting over to them. Upon reaching them, he threw one arm around Bilbo and the other around Baylee, pulling them against him in a tight hug.
"Oh, thank Mahal you're alright!" he cried. "I was so worried about the two o' you—neither o' you were answering me when I was shoutin' at you up there. I was startin' to think your injuries had claimed you!"
Bilbo let out a small laugh, his cheeks flushing red as he returned the hug. "Neither of us is that hurt, Bofur," he assured him. "At least, if Baylee was telling me the truth, neither of us is. We just fell asleep is all. I'm sorry if we scared you, though. I promise we didn't mean to." Part of him wished Bofur wasn't hugging onto them so tight, as it made his shoulder and back ache. The rest of him, however, rather welcomed the embrace.
Bofur leaned back to look at them, his hands still on their shoulders; the two hobbits saw he wore a relieved smile. "Aye, I know you didn't," he said. His relief faded somewhat as he saw the cuts and bruises along Bilbo's face and hands. It disappeared entirely when he saw Baylee's injuries and the large rips in her dress. A sigh left his mouth and he lightly shook his head. "We need t' get the two o' you cleaned and bandaged up. You both did a lot o' fighting back there an' it shows." Though there was still concern on his face, a small smile had returned to his lips.
"We'll be fine," Bilbo assured him, his cheeks still red. "I'm sure the others are worse off than us."
"Hmm…Maybe worse off than you, but lookin' at your wee lass here…" He let out an almost fatherly sigh. "Trouble really likes t' tag along with you, doesn't it? Ah, well, better some scratches an' a torn dress than becomin' a pincushion for goblins an' orcs."
A small smile came to her lips and she felt her cheeks turn a bit red as he gently patted her shoulder; she couldn't help but notice that, while he was still holding onto them both, he held Bilbo closer to him. "I'll be fine. I just need to wash all this goblin blood off me and out of my dress."
Then, her brows furrowed somewhat and she leaned to the side; the last eagle had finally arrived. Her eyes widened and she bit her lower lip, watching as it took the utmost care when laying Thorin down on the ground. Relieved of its burden it, like the others, took off to the skies once more. Seeing her worried expression, Bofur turned and his eyes, too, widened. Wordlessly, the three of them rushed over to the unconscious king.
By the time they reached him, Fili and Kili were already kneeling on either side of him, their skin pale with worry. Gandalf before Thorin's head; he held his hand over the king's eyes, whispering softly. At first, Baylee feared the worst had happened, but when Thorin took in a sharp breath, relief washed over her.
"The halflings?" she heard him murmured.
"It's alright. The Bagginses are here—they're quite safe," Gandalf gently assured him. He then frowned, backing off slightly as Thorin started to sit up.
With some difficulty, Fili and Kili helped their uncle to his feet. He wobbled slightly, but as he spotted the hobbits, he shrugged them off. "You!" he snapped, started to walk towards the pair. "What were you doing?! You nearly got yourselves killed!"
Bilbo stared at him in shock and Baylee shrank back slightly; neither had expected him to be upset with them.
"Did I not say you were better off as a grocer and his pet mouse?" he continued, coming ever closer to them. "That it would be a miracle if either of you could learn to use a weapon?" He came to a halt barely a foot away from them, towering over them.
His expression abruptly changed. "I have never been so wrong in all my life." With a surprising amount of ease, he scooped up the two hobbits and held them against him in a hug that was even bigger than Bofur's.
Her cheeks flushing—and, for some reason, her stomach beginning to flutter—Baylee smiled and returned the hug, though she could only use one arm to do such. Bilbo, too, returned the embrace, a relieved laugh leaving his mouth. Around them, the other dwarves began to cheer, both because their king was alive and because they were all safe.
Unconsciously, Thorin gave Baylee an extra little squeeze. "I am sorry I doubted either of you," he said, finally setting them both back on the ground. "Bilbo, especially. I'm glad to have been proven so wrong."
"No, no—I would have doubted me, too," Bilbo told him, giving him a reassuring smile.
"We're not heroes or warriors," Baylee added with a small chuckle. She felt disappointed that the hug had ended, but couldn't figure out why. "Da's not even much of a burglar."
Thorin smiled down at them, but it faltered slightly when he noticed something in the distance behind them. His eyes widened and he gently pushed past the two hobbits, who turned to watch him in confusion. But then, they saw it:
Rising above a sea of trees was a single, lonely mountain.
"Is that—Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo stammered, his eyes widening.
"Erebor," Baylee breathed, a look of shock on her face as well.
"The Lonely Mountain," Gandalf answered with a small nod. "The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle Earth."
A small, reminiscent smile came to Thorin's lips as he stared at the mountain. A single tear went unnoticed as it rolled down his cheek. "Our home," he whispered.
It was then a small songbird flew by, singing its song to the morning sun; Oin's arm rose up as he pointed at it.
"A raven!" he cried. "The birds are returning t' the mountain!"
Shaking his head, Gandalf quietly laughed. "That, my dear Oin, is a thrush."
Thorin's smile grew a bit and he lightly patted the hobbits on the shoulder. "But we'll take it as a sign—a good omen."
"You're right," Bilbo smiled, feeling quite chuffed to be alive and well. He also longed to keep moving, to continue on with their journey. "I do believe the worst is behind us."
Baylee wore a smile as she looked at the mountain in the distance, though she remained silent. While she hoped and prayed the feeling in her gut was wrong, something was telling her that the worst was yet to come.