Chapter Seven: Down in Goblin Town
They walked for several days, stopping only when necessary. Bilbo avoided being alone with Thorin, sticking close to Fili, Kili, and Ori near the back of the group, who were all too happy to spend time with their favorite hobbit. Finally they reached the cross in the Misty Mountains finding that the trail is narrow and dangerous, with a cliff on one side and a sheer drop on the other. There was a fierce storm in the air, with lightning and rain all around.
"Hold on!" Thorin screams over the storm. As Fili walks, the stone beneath his feet gives away, and he starts falling into the chasm but Dwalin manages to pull him back in time. "We must find shelter!"
"Watch out!" Dwalin calls, pointing at the top of the mountain. The Dwarves look up and see a massive boulder hurtling through the air; it hits the mountainside above them, causing rocks to fall all around them as they press themselves against the mountain. Balin's face is stricken.
"This is no thunderstorm; it's a thunder battle! Look!" A stone giant rears up from a nearby mountain; it rips off a massive boulder from the top of the mountain. Bofur seems a little starstruck, peering out to look at the spectacle before them.
"Well bless me, the legends are true. Giants; Stone Giants!" Thorin smacks the back of his head.
"Take cover you fool!"
"What's happening?" Kili yells. The first giant throws a boulder far in the air; another stone giant appears from behind the Company, and it is hit in the head. The dwarves yell at each other to brace and hold on, and the rocks beneath their feet begin to give way from all the vibrations and from the impact of the falling rocks. The ground between some of the Company members splits; part of the group is on one side, and part on the other. As the two stone giants fight with their fists, the dwarves hold on tight as they are flung around. One of the groups manages to jump to a different spot. A third stone giant appears, and it throws a boulder at the head of one of the first two. That one falls over; as the first group watches, it appears to them that the other group of the Company has been smashed to bits. The hurt stone giant loses its footing and falls down the chasm. Thorin watches horrified as his nephew is put in harm's way again.
"No! No! Kili!" The group rushes to the spot where the others appeared to have been crushed. They were miraculously alright. Bofur looks around.
"Where's Bilbo and Kili? Where are they? There!"
"Get them!" Dwalin screams. Bilbo is hanging onto the edge of the cliff with just his fingertips looking down at his other hand which is holding tightly onto Kili, who would've fallen to his death had the hobbit not jumped down after him. Ori dives onto the ground and tries to grab Bilbo's arm, but Bilbo slips and falls another few feet before he catches another handhold. As the dwarves try to pull him up unsuccessfully, Thorin swings down on the cliff next to Bilbo and boosts him up, but instead of climbing up he swings Kili to where the others pull him to safety. Dwalin tries to lift Thorin back up too, but Thorin loses his grip and begins falling. Bilbo, now with a better hold, is able to grab the back of the king's jacket and heave him to where the balding warrior is able to pull him to safety. The burglar himself slips down several more feet, his feet touching a smooth part of the cliff, and has to use the air as a foothold, but finally manages to climb up himself to where the others were, where he is immediately pulled into Kili's hold, who clings to him as if he will disappear if he lets go.
"I thought we'd agreed no more risking your life to save us!" Kili said. Bilbo grinned, soaked to the bone but unscathed.
"No, you guys agreed to that; I didn't. And I will continue to risk my neck until you guys get it through your thick skulls to stop getting into danger." Although clearly Kili, along with Thorin, wanted to say more, Bilbo cut them off. "We need shelter to wait out this storm. It would be pointlessly dangerous to continue on tonight." They go off and find a cave.
"Looks safe enough." Dwalin remarks. Thorin shook his head.
"Search to the back; caves in mountains are seldom unoccupied." Dwalin searches the cave all the way to the end with a lantern.
"There's nothing here." he calls. Gloin drops a bundle of wood on the floor and rubs his hands.
"Alright then! Let's get a fire started." The dwarf king grabs his hand.
"No fires, not in this place. Get some sleep. We start at first light." Balin frowns.
"We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan."
"Plans change. Bofur, take the first watch." Bilbo steps up.
"I'll stay up with you. This place feels… wrong. No one should take watch alone in this place." Before Thorin could protest, the hobbit grabbed the hatted dwarf and pulled him over to a rock near the entrance of the cave. He growled when he saw them sit beside each other, leaning back against the wall. He starts to charge forward, but Balin pulls him back, shaking his head at him. He watches as the three youngest of the Company situated their bedrolls around Bilbo, who turns slightly to watch them with a fond smile. When the hobbit pulls out a small piece of wood and a carving knife, Ori looks up.
"Bilbo, I know it's kind of childish, but will you tell a story?" The other two look up eagerly, and for the first time Thorin realized how young those three really were, barely past their majority. But Bilbo just smiled, nodded and began to weave a tale of three princes who had to overcome the odds, and defeat a dragon in order to save their home. It was a version of their journey, the king realized, with those three at the center of it. By the time the heroes were having a celebratory feast for killing the dragon, Fili, Kili, and Ori were fast asleep, and the other dwarves were watching as Bilbo finish the tale, entranced by the story, most of them forgetting that they were in fact on a dangerous adventure at that very moment. Seeing that the three 'princes' were asleep, the hobbit leaned down and brushed a hand against each of their foreheads before pressing a kiss to their brows. As he pulled the blankets over them and slid off their weapons, laying the last one against the wall, Bilbo turned back to his whittling, ignoring the stares that followed him.
Slowly everyone except Bofur and Bilbo laid down on their mats and at least pretended to fall asleep. Several hours later, Bofur and Bilbo had been talking about Ered Luin when the hobbit jumped to his feet and raced over to Ori's sword. It was glowing blue.
"GET UP, ALL OF YOU!" He screamed. Thorin was the first to get to his feet, and hears strange machinery noises and sees cracks forming on the floor.
"Wake up. Wake up!" But it's too late, they moved too slow. Before anyone can really react, the floor of the cave collapses downwards; it was actually a giant trap door. Bilbo instinctually hovered for a few seconds before allowing himself to fall, but he kept an eye on each of his group, blowing them away from rocks that would've really hurt them. The entire Company fell down a chute, slid through a tunnel, and landed in a giant wooden cage. As they struggle to get up, a horde of goblins attacks them, takes away their weapons, and drags them all away. Bilbo pushes his way to the front of the group next to Thorin. The dwarf sees that his face is unusually pale, but before he can comment, the hobbit leans over to whisper in his ear.
"Listen to me; I have a plan to make sure that none of you guys are hurt, but you're not going to like it. But, you can't no matter what, allow any of the others try to stop them, got it?" Thorin nods dumbly, not really understanding what he was agreeing to, but knowing that it couldn't be good but before he can ask any questions, the goblin horde brings the dwarves through a vast network of tunnels and wooden bridges to the throne room and platform of the Great Goblin. The Great Goblin is a massive goblin sitting on a throne, holding a mace topped with a skull. He is huge when compared to the other goblins, and is incredibly ugly, with warts all over his swinging chin. The dwarves' weapons are piled together. The Great Goblin jumps off his throne, trampling several goblins, and approaches the Company .
"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom? Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" The goblin king screams, pointing at the Company .
"Dwarves, Your Malevolence." Grinnah, the goblin croaks out.
"Dwarves?" The goblin king asks, sounding intrigued.
"We found them on the front porch." A lesser goblin replied. The great goblin snorted.
"Well, don't just stand there; search them! Every crack, every crevice." The goblins wade into the group of dwarves, searching them thoroughly, throwing away whatever they find. Oin's hearing trumpet is thrown on the floor and crushed underfoot. Suddenly, one goblin screeches and jumps back, pointing at Bilbo. The Goblin King's face turns into a grotesque smile.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't a hobbit. What are you doing so far from home, you filth?" Bilbo's face was a mask of calm, but the dwarves behind him could see that his hands were slightly shaking.
"Wouldn't you love to know. I would say that if you unchained me I would tell you, but we both know that that's not true and that I would most likely just behead you like Bullroarer Took did to your grandfather." The massive goblin snarled.
"Bring him to me, Grinnah," he hissed out to the goblin next to him, who lunged forward and grabbed Bilbo's hair, pulling him to the front and forcing him to his knees in front of the goblin king. He took his head in his hands and turned it side to side. "You look uncannily like him, you know, Old Bullroarer. Who are you, hobbit?" The hobbit smirked up at him.
"I am Bilbo Took, great-great-many-more-greats-great grandson of Bullroarer Took." The goblin gasped.
"No it can't be. Where is your necklace thing? I know everyone of you disgusting creatures get one. There it is." The Great Goblin pulls the chain up to his eyes, making Bilbo dangle a few feet off the ground. A second later he was dropped to the ground and a scream of outrage came from the large goblin. "It's true, then! You are his descendant! You are going to wish you never left your comfy little hobbit hole when we are done with you." He backhanded Bilbo, sending him flying away several feet. The hobbit just spat out some blood and grinned up at the goblins.
"If you think that a little slap is going to do me any damage then you are sorely mistaken. You should get out more, do some push-ups; you're awfully fat." The goblin king shrieked in anger and turned to a group of nearby goblins.
"Beat him up, show him what goblins can do; why you shouldn't make us your enemy. But don't touch his necklace. When we finally decide to take mercy on him after weeks of torture, I want him to see that his heritage did nothing to protect him!" With that the goblins pounced on him, completely ignoring the dwarves and their shouts of outrage. Bilbo's plan had worked; he had drawn the goblins away from the Company, but at what price? Kili and Ori had tears streaming down their faces as they struggled against the goblins that held them, and Fili didn't seem that much better. They didn't understand really why Bilbo was being tortured and not them, but the older ones did. They had heard stories of the cruelty of goblins, and couldn't help but be glad that Bilbo took the punishment and not themselves. Everyone, that is, except Thorin, who was struggling just as much as his nephews. He had to reach Bilbo, they were hurting HIS Bilbo, he had to save him!
Despite the pain being inflicted on his body, Bilbo didn't make a single sound during his beating, he focused instead on the wind as it rushed around, wanting to do something but the hobbit couldn't allow it. Only when his shirt was ripped off of him and he felt himself being stood up did he come out of his trance. He took one look at his dwarves before telling himself that he wouldn't look again; seeing Kili and Ori's tears and Fili's pleading eyes were too much, but Thorin was the worst, he was literally shaking with rage. Bilbo sent him a quick, reassuring smile before turning his attention back to the goblin king. Licking his blood covered lips, he smirked up at him.
"Y'know," he drawled, making himself sound as annoying as possible. "You still haven't done anything to me yet yourself. You'll just hide behind your minions and your torture devices, because you're too cowardly to try and fight me in a fair fight, because you'll know that I would win. Best the mighty great goblin in his own kingdom, just like my grandfather did before me." Bilbo knew that he had succeeded when the giant goblin leapt at him, while careful not to crush him, delivered his own beating on the hobbit. He managed to remain silent throughout \most of it, but when he felt his left arm break and then get pulled out of socket, he couldn't keep in a groan of pain, and the wind took advantage of his lapse of attention to push the Great Goblin away from him. Coughing up blood, Bilbo pushed himself to his knees, wincing when he felt his ribs shift; something was definitely broken there. Still, he only thought of the dwarves and was able to grin cheekily up at his attacker.
"I take it back." He rasped out, watching the goblin king's face grew into a triumphant smirk. "Your henchmen can hit harder than you." The king growled.
"Bones will be shattered, necks will be rung! You'll be beaten and battered, from racks you'll be hung. You will lie down here and never be found, down in the deep of Goblin Town." Suddenly, before the giant goblin can leap on Bilbo, there is a massive explosion of bright light and a shock wave rips through the area, flinging goblins in the air and destroying the torturing machines. All of the beasts are knocked down, including the Great Goblin. When the force of the explosion has passed, most of the lights in the area have been snuffed out but standing in front of Bilbo is a man with a tall pointy grey hat. It is Gandalf, holding his staff and his sword, Glamdring. Light slowly returns to the area as the goblins and the dwarves slowly look up, recovering from the shock. They all stare at Gandalf
"Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!" The goblin king screeches, pointing a gnarled hand at the wizard. Slashing his sword at the Great Goblin, the wizard sent its corpse tumbling down several floors and waved his staff, knocking back the closest goblins several hundred feet back. Turning around quickly, he pulled Bilbo to his feet.
"My boy, can you go anywhere without getting yourself into trouble?" The hobbit chuckled but immediately regretted it when pain flared up his chest. Wrapping his right arm around his torso and cradling his left, Bilbo smiled up at his companion.
"It's not like I go looking for danger, Gandalf. But being me does have it's disadvantages; Everyone seems to be out to get you." Before more words can be exchanged between the two, a body crashed into the hobbit, knocking him forward several feet. Hiding how much the collision had hurt him, Bilbo looked down to see Kili's face buried in his chest, tears streaming down his face. Two more dwarfs rammed into him, Fili and Ori, and he held them for several seconds before gently pushing them off of him.
"Not that I'm not glad that we all turned out fine," Thorin snorted at that, but Bilbo could see the concern in his eyes. "We really need to go, lest we want those goblins to capture us again." Grabbing their weapons, they all ran down a tunnel following Gandalf who seemed to know where he was going. With the help of the wind, Bilbo managed to stay slightly ahead of the group most of the time. They could hear the screeching of goblins behind them when suddenly Bilbo stopped and closed his eyes. Seconds later the dwarf's packs and supplies came zooming through the air towards them, and everyone except Bilbo put on the bags. Turning towards the company, he sighed.
"Listen, you guys have to go on without me." He talked over their loud protests. "They don't know who you are yet; they only want me right now. When you guys get to the other side of this hall I'm going to start making this mountain fall apart; you don't want to be anywhere close to here when I do that." He took a step back, but Thorin grabbed his arm, his eyes pleading. Bilbo shook his head. "I can get out, but not if I'm worrying about you all. Trust me, I'll meet you outside!" He pulled away before freezing and grabbing the front of the king's coat, pulling his face down to meet his. Their lips touched and they moved in sync and suddenly the only things that existed were them. They kissed for what seemed like a lifetime before Bilbo pulled away.
"Just in case I don't survive this, I wanted to have at least kissed you once," he murmured against the dwarfs lips, pushing Thorin back.
"Wait!" He called as the hobbit ran back the way they came. Bilbo shook his head, turning back. The dwarves were surprised to see that his normally kind emerald eyes were glowing blue, red, and grey were mixed into the green irises.
"GO!" He cried and suddenly a gust of wind picked up the other 14 members of the Company and flew them to the entrance of the next tunnel, dropping them into it but not letting them run back to Bilbo's side, even when the goblins started pouring in, surrounding him. Balin and Dwalin had to pull Thorin down the tunnel until he started running on his own. When they heard a loud deafening sound that resounded through the tunnel, making the floor shake, no one could be blamed for the tears running down their faces; even Gandalf was crying! Finally they burst out of the tunnel and into the night, only to be met with the piercing howl of a warg. Drawing their weapons as they ran, they soon found themselves cornered at the edge of a cliff.