Chapter 24: Battle of Stone and Rain
Edyth slowly swirls her porridge around with her spoon, resting her head against her hand. Usually, porridge is her favourite but this morning, it looks like off milk to her eyes. Her stomach doesn't even growl in hunger, despite not having eaten in many hours. They have an hour this morning to do as they please, Thorin and Balin spending the time discussing their plans for travel.
"Come do some training," Fili calls, striding up to her.
Edyth glances up but doesn't hold her gaze as the sun hurts her eyes. "Not today," she mutters.
"We haven't done any in nearly three days," Fili counters. "You have to keep practising if you want to improve."
Edyth exhales slowly, shaking her head. "I know," she asserts. "But I just don't feel up to it."
Fili strides closer with his hands on his hips. "If she doesn't want to, she doesn't want to," Kili barks, sitting next to her with his own bowl empty. Fili places his hands up in mock surrender.
"I was just going to say some exercise could do some good," he defends. "I'll keep it light. Just drills of what we already know."
Edyth sates at her bowl, contemplating. Then, she nods, passing the bowl off to Kili. "Maybe some exercise will help," she agrees. Fili smiles and the pair wander over to a flat space, pulling out their swords.
True to his words, they only perform light drills, developing her muscle memory and strength. She knows from the moment they start that it's not going to help but she can't bring herself to say no to him anymore, so they press on. Every hit she takes, her knees falter slightly and it becomes only a matter of time. Even though the training is only light, it strains her more than their first ever session.
Unable to hold herself anymore, she drops her sword, holding up her hands. Fili drops his stance, shoulders sagging as they end early. But Edyth shakes her head – not really at anything in particular – and sinks to the ground, placing her head between her knees, breathing rapidly.
A hand lays on her back, tracing up and down her spine. It just doesn't feel like enough air reaches her lungs, like a light-headedness from not breathing deeply. "Maybe you picked up something up in Rivendell?" Fili suggests. Edyth doesn't bring herself to respond, only leaning backwards to lie down fully, holding her arms over her face. "Do you want me to take you back to your bedroll?" Edyth shakes her head, not having any desire to move. But the sun makes its way through the gaps of her arms, so she rolls onto her side, so it hits her back instead.
The headache that came on five days ago never left neither her nor Bilbo and they pushed through with the hope that it would figure itself out over time.
"I'm going to bring Oin over."
Edyth only grunts in response, barely able to form a care. In a matter of minutes, Fili returns with both Oin and Thorin. The healer pulls her arms away from her face, ushering her to sit up. Edyth does so reluctantly, sitting hunched over. She must look like a mess. Oin feels for her temperature first, then looks at a few more things such as her eyes and throat. "Headache?" She nods. "Tired?" Again, she nods. Oin sighs, sharing a look with Thorin.
"Mountain sickness," the Dwarven king confirms.
"Mountain sickness?" Fili repeats.
"It affects the race of Men, and Hobbits as it seems. We've travelled high too fast. Her body isn't coping. And I'm going to guess neither is her brother."
"Not to worry though," Oin adds quickly, sensing the younger pair's growing concern. "I've got something for her head."
"And we won't be travelling much higher for another few days," Thorin says. "It'll pass naturally, you'll just have to wait it out I'm afraid."
Edyth puts on a large smile, though her eyes are barely open. "I'm not dying?" she goads.
Oin pats her knee, chuckling. "Not yet, lass. Just don't do anything too strenuous. And I think she can be excused from watch duty for the next few days?"
"Agreed," Thorin nods. "We're leaving in half an hour's time."
Thorin leaves them as well as Oin who promises to bring over something for her headache leaving Edyth with a sheepish Fili. "So, exercise probably wasn't the best idea," he smiles coyly. Edyth lazily shakes her head, giving him an amused smile.
"Probably not," she mutters.
Xx
Whatever Oin gave her does wonder for her head and though she remains on the tired side, travelling becomes as easy as it was back in the first few weeks after they left the Shire. Even Bilbo returns to his usual self after only an hour. The only downside that still remains is a little dizziness and light-headedness but keeping her head pointed to the ground keeps it at bay for the most part.
"How are you doing?"
Edyth smiles up at Kili. "Fine," she answers honestly. "Thorin was right. It's passing over naturally. How are your parasites?"
"They're hiding away at the moment." The pair chuckle, falling into a comfortable silence until Edyth's foot steps on a loose rock and she falters slightly. She rights herself after a short 'whoa'. "Clumsy," Kili comments cheekily.
Edyth gapes, pointing to the rock behind them. "It was loose," she cries. Kili makes an expression of disbelief, scrunching his nose. Edyth gives him a hard nudge with the side of her arm.
"Excuses," he hums, shaking his head.
"You better sleep with one eye open tonight," she drawls, now carefully watching her path. "You taught me where to stab to kill."
"I know you're trying but you really don't sound threatening."
Edyth pouts her bottom lip, not giving in. "Alright, I'll just let Thorin know about what you have on you then."
Kili side-eyes her with narrowed lids. "Fine. That was a good threat," he submits. Edyth smirks victoriously, nudging his side with her shoulder to emphasis her playfulness. "So."
"So?" she repeats after his pause.
Kili opens his mouth, turning and tilting his head towards her. "I was actually thinking-"
"Oh, there's a shocker."
Kili stares at her blankly, well, slightly irritably. "Have you been talking with Dwalin?"
"Yes actually. He's good company." She stares back, holding his glare for a long moment until she finally breaks it with a chuckle. "I'm sorry, what were you going to say?"
"I was thinking," he drawls out, "that I could give it to you." Edyth has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. She raises an eyebrow in a request for further information. Kili sucks his lips, digging into his coat pocket. From it, he protrudes the mithril chain necklace.
Edyth lips round as her eyes flicker between his face and hand. "Oh, Kili. It is absolutely beautiful and thank you, but I don't have any need for it." She almost feels bad for rejecting it but as Kili had said – it is priceless. And she knows he has no idea what giving it to her would mean.
"A-are you sure?" Kili frowns, holding the chain closer to her. "It's a gift, you don't have to have a need for it."
Edyth nods with a small smile, nudging his arm back to his own side. "I'm sure. Hold onto it for now, you'll find someone worth more than its price." She grins at her own play on words, feeling better about turning the offer down. He will find someone and regret giving it to her – and that doesn't upset her at all.
Xx
If her toes tingle in the rain, they are buzzing right now. An hour ago, the sky was clearer than it had been in Rivendell, but now the edges of storm clouds roll in. The Mountain pass has thinned out, forcing them to travel in a single file and be quite aware of their foot placement.
"How do your toes feel?!" Dwalin cries from behind her.
"Not good!" she exclaims, eyeing off the darkness in the sky. She has already pulled her cloak out, though it is a nuisance to wear with a pack. The wind begins to pick up, at first starting as a soft whistle that you would usually hear and feel this high up in the mountains. But it soon turns into a howl, like a cry from the gods. Even with her hair tied back, loose strands fly into her mouth and eyes but with her hands occupied with keeping her close to the mountainside, she bears with the annoyance.
She cannot really tell who is just in front of her, but directly behind her is Kili, followed by Fili, Bofur, Bilbo, and Dwalin behind him. She pities Bilbo who does have his own cloak but is in his thick red jacket – not that it'll do much if it begins to rain.
The rain doesn't start as a soft patter, the clouds opening themselves completely at once, drowning them within a minute. Edyth tugs her hood up but the rain still hits her face. They continue moving, even through the brewing storm onto the side of a mountain, the path barely wider than Bombur himself. The clouds now cover the entire sky, the rain and wind mixing to create havoc.
Every few minutes she can't help but check over her shoulder, only grasping momentarily relief each time she sees everybody behind her, but it disappears once again as she looks forward. The brothers' faces have hair strung to them; their blue hoods pulled up.
Every minute that they push on, simply walking becomes an arduous task and even Thorin struggles just as hard.
"Hold on!"
Edyth does just that, always having one hand on the mountainside, constantly looking for something to grip for if she is to slip. The urge to check over her shoulder grows too strong again so she moves to soothe it, looking over her right. Kili is just behind her as usual, the side of Fili's head visible behind him but she cannot see Bilbo due to the bend of the path. Gripping the mountainside, she leans outwards ever so slightly, the risk of falling worth the relief of knowing where her brother is.
Just as she catches a glimpse of his dark jacket, a hand latches onto her upper arm, pushing her back up straight. She attempts a smile at the brunette, but it likely looks more like a wince. She reaches up with the same arm, gripping his hand, pulling it off her arm but doesn't let go. It's another thing to hold onto. His hand is much larger than her own, thick and almost square-like fingers. For his own sake, she lets it go again, knowing that he needs to be able to have every limb to keep himself balanced.
Just before she turns around straight again, her brother's cry pierces the air. "Bilbo!" she cries, not even yet able to see him but there is no mistaking his voice to her. Movement around them pauses as Bilbo slips on a loose rock. His legs begin to slide out from underneath and which he tries to counterbalance. Overshooting, Bilbo begins to fall forwards but Dwalin and Bofur on each side grip him tightly, yanking him back against the mountainside. It is only a short moment of relief for everybody and even Edyth lets out a small cry, leaning against the stone.
"We must find shelter!" Thorin calls from the front. Nobody disagrees. In fact, most probably had already been thinking that. Shelter has certainly been on Edyth mind for at least an hour now.
"Look out!" Dwalin warns.
In the air, a large boulder flies towards them. It is an unbelievable sight to behold, Edyth never having imagined such a large object would be able to soar through the sky as easily as a bird. But the moment of wonder doesn't last long as she presses herself against the mountain, eyes tracing the stone's path. It crashes overhead, splintering into hundreds of pieces that rain down on them as the actual rain does. A few small chunks bounce off her shoulders, one knocking into her already scratched up cheek.
"This is no thunderstorm!" Balin cries. "It's a thunder-battle. Look!"
All eyes turn to where Balin points – not that he needs to because it is one of the largest moving things anybody has ever seen. Edyth falters at the sight of it, her head tilted backwards even just to see it in full. "My gods," she whispers.
"Well bless me," Bofur exclaims, standing forward. "The legends are true! Giants! Stone Giants!"
A giant, made from the very stone they now stand on is stretching upwards, standing at its full height. Breathless is the only word that comes to mind to describe how Edyth feels looking up at it. It is human-shaped, and every inch of its body is made from mountain stone. In its hand is a large boulder, much like the one that just shattered overhead. Now she understands exactly how it was able to fly through the air. The strength of these creatures must be unparalleled, but their size comes with slow movements.
It soars through the air as the first did and they track its path only to find a second Stone Giant to the right. "Take cover you fool!" Even though the words are directed at Bofur who is pulled back by Fili, Edyth follows the instruction, pressing her back against the stone as much as she can. Her cheek stings, watery blood dripping down it.
"Hold on!"
Another rain of rocks pours down on them but not as nearly as bad as the first. Most of them ricochet off the mountain, a few hitting the ground at their feet. One large one lands between Bilbo's feet, sending the edge of the path crumbling to the abyss below. Edyth risks a glance down – just to see where she would go if she is to fall – but her eyes immediately dart back up, knowing that if she is to fall, that would be the end of both this adventure and her life.
Then the ground underneath them begins to move. A choked gasp erupts from her throat as the stone beneath them shakes. "Kili!" Edyth's head snaps on Fili's cry, only to see him beginning to move further away. "Grab my hand!"
Edyth grabs the back of Kili's jacket, watching him stumble between the growing gap. Maybe she should have pushed him instead. She can only watch on in horror as Fili moves further and further away. "Fili!" she cries. "Bilbo!" She doesn't know what to do and that is more terrifying than the prospect of death. Watching two people she cares quite adamantly for being torn away.
Another horrifying realisation comes to everybody. The company has been split in half, finding themselves on the knees of a third Stone Giant, that has just awoken. Usually, Edyth relies on the Dwarves to know what to do – their age and experienced outnumbers hers by many years but by the pure fear on Kili's face, she knows they are just as lost as she is.
The other half of the group becomes smaller and smaller as the legs of the Giant separate. They continue moving through the air until the stone they stand on, crashing into another. They fall to their knees, backs and sides crashing into the stone. "Go, go!" Thorin commands. Edyth begins running as soon as the person in front of her moves. They only have seconds to act.
Reaching the edge, she leaps down onto the still ground, rolling slightly. Kili, the last, is right behind her, evident by the loud sound of his fall. Finding him to close to the edge, his boots dangly over, Edyth leaps forward, winding her arms under his and tugs backwards, pulling him further into the safety of the ground.
He kicks around, stumbling to his feet as well and just in time for the group to duck; another stone crushing overhead. They are rained on, Edyth holding her arms over her head and clenching her eyes shut. As soon at the pellets stop, Edyth opens her eyes, looking around for the second half of their group. They are further away than before.
A Giant scrapes his hand across the stone above them, literally tearing a chunk out. The Giants are fighting each other with restraint. Each hit sends a rain of stone through the sky, only a draw of luck deciding where they land. The first has a boulder in both of its hands, arms reaching behind its head before throwing it forward. The small mountain soars, colliding with the second's head. The stone head breaks off, crumbling backwards. It belongs to the Giant her friends are currently holding onto dear life with. The Giant begins to tumble and for a moment, the second half of the company brushes past them. Edyth holds her instinct to reach out, barely able to see their faces but her ears cannot block out the sound of terror coming from both sides.
The Giant falls backwards, headless and dying. If Stone Giants die. The knee that the company are on falls forward, heading straight to another mountain, just a bit further from where they are currently planted. The Giant's roars echo like thunder through the air, shivers running up and down her arms.
"No!"
The knee crashes into the mountainside, and Edyth can swear that the sound of cracking rock is actually her heart shattering to pieces. The knee now falls backwards with the Giant, the small platform now empty, falling to the abyss in chunks. "Bilbo," she whimpers, running forward.
Thorin calls out for his oldest nephew as they round the corner of the makeshift path. Edyth nearly runs up Balin's back as he stops. "They're alright!" Gloin exclaims. "They're alive."
Edyth clasps her hand over her mouth, falling back against the mountain in utter relief. But it is as though someone out there wants her to feel nothing but pain. "Where's Bilbo!? Where's our Hobbit?"
The question sends Edyth eyes wide. There is a line of Dwarves in front of her, but she pushes through them, sliding through the gaps, even falling to her knees to crawl under their legs. "Bilbo!" By the time she reaches the middle, Ori and Bofur are leaning over the edge, hands extended. Edyth scampers towards the edge as well, fully preparing to climb over but another beats her to it.
Thorin jumps down, swinging an arm down and grasps Bilbo's coat. Her brother is hoisted up into Bofur's awaiting hands, but Thorin's own grip slips. Dwalin takes his hand before he can fall out of reach but the warrior struggles, his teeth clenched together. Edyth takes Bilbo into her arms, pulling him well away from the edge as Thorin is also pulled back up to safety.
"You're safe," she whispers for her own sanity, forearms latched around his front as she leans back against the mountain, face open to the rain. Her hood fell long ago.
"I thought we lost our burglar," Dwalin pants.
Thorin scowls in their direction. "He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. The neither of them! They have no place amongst us." Thorin shakes his head, lips shrivelled back to his nose. "A woman," he growls, turning away. "Dwalin!"
For a horrible moment, Edyth almost believed that she would be free of Thorin's scorn. That is something she feels horribly guilty about; hoping that her brother would be the one that Thorin dislikes. She has tried and tried again to try and prove herself yet all she can seem to do is cause a fuss.
Her arms and eyes drop as the company begins to move towards the shelter that Thorin and Dwalin begin to search. The rain still falls but it feels like nothing but a soft patter on her skin now. Bilbo, hurt and silent, shuffles along but Edyth stays out.
"Fili," she calls tiredly. The blond stops his steps, waiting for her to come to him. Edyth picks up her pace, throwing her arms around his neck, praying that he isn't injured with how tight she is embracing him. She buries her head into his shoulder, gripping the back of his coat. "I thought you died."
"I thought I was going to," he confesses. They fall silent. "Let's get out of the rain," he says eventually after nobody moves. Edyth nods slowly, pulling her arms back to herself. "Before you catch your death."
Edyth splutters a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's the least of my worries," she smiles timidly but it only lasts a second. Could she bring herself to go back and face the rest of the company? Fili sighs, taking a step forward. He leans down, touching his forehead against hers.
"You have a place with me," he declares in the softest voice he can manage over the wind and rain. "I look out for you and I know you're looking out for me."
Edyth's eyes clench shut to hold her emotion at bay, scared of what she would do. But she nods softly, biting her cheek. "That means a lot."
"Oi!" They break apart as Kili appears just out of the cave's entrance. "Get inside."