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Here is your Friday chapter!

And I will warn you...it's a doozey!

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Chapter 110

~X~

Bofur was working on getting the lads to settle down inside the cave, yet Flinn and Frerin were having none of that. They were far too worried about their father and uncle, unwilling to even think about closing their eyes until they knew they were safe. The hatted miner was not sure how long it would take Fili and the others to complete their mission, but he was certain that the two dwarflings would lose their fight against sleep long before the princes returned.

"Here, Oin," Bofur said, filling one final bowl of stew from the pot before he wrapped a cloth around the handle and handed it to the old healer. "Take the rest of this out to the fellas on guard duty, they could use something warm in their bellies."

"Aye, just make sure you save one of those bowls for me," he instructed, doing as Bofur asked.

"Why can't we leave the cave?" Flinn asked, looking as if he would have liked to accompany Oin.

"Because your father instructed that I keep you here and safe, and that is just what I plan to do," Bofur explained, handing the lad some stew and a spoon. "Now, eat up, before it gets cold." He then turned to Frerin, giving him his supper as well. "You too. You both need to keep your strength up for the journey back home."

"Yes, Bofur," they both nodded, digging into their dinner.

"That's better, lads," he grinned, turning back to his own bowl.

Oin smiled at the two dwarflings, always so amazed at how much they reminded him of Fili and Kili at that age. Then noticing his own supper was there waiting, he hurried out of the cave to deliver the rest of the stew.

The spring night was unusually warm, so no one was complaining about not having a fire, yet the offer of a hot meal was well received. The two dwarves and three men who had remained behind to guard the camp, thanked Oin for the stew, quickly dishing up helpings for each of them.

They were just scraping the bottom of the pot when they all heard an unexpected commotion coming from the mouth of the small cave, followed by the sound of Frerin's frightened screams. They all jumped to their feet, drawing their blades as they ran towards the cave. The men had to crouch just a bit to get inside, but the dwarves raced in, ready to defend their prince's children. Yet when they entered the main cavern…it was empty!

"Where did they go?" Oin gasped, turning around in a circle as if they had somehow missed something. The fire was still burning, their blankets were still there, but their bowls of soup were strewn across the floor…and Bofur, Flinn and Frerin had completely vanished! Oin reached down and picked up Bofur's abandoned weapon - a cross between an ax and a mattock. "Oh, Mahal…what am I going to tell Fili?" he moaned.

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While all of this was going on, Bain had indeed given up his futile attempts to reopen the stone door, for all signs of it had completely disappeared the moment it had shut before of him. They beat on the side of the mountain, struck it with both swords and rocks, yet nothing. So, realizing they were wasting time, the young prince chose to head back to where they had left their soldiers on the other side of the ridge.

Bain hated the idea of leaving his dwarf friends and Tauriel trapped in the mountain, but the only way he could see of saving them now was to storm the main entrance, vanquish the foe, and liberate them all. Still, he had not originally planned on being the one to lead such a charge…he had expected Fili and Kili to do that. But now it was up to him, and he, for one, had no intention of going back and telling those two adorable dwarflings that he had lost their father.

So with a look of grim determination, Bain ordered his men and the dwarves of Erebor to follow him…yet to victory or death, he didn't know.

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Fili, Kili, Tauriel, Dwalin and Nori continued to make their way down one dark corridor and then another, not sure where they were headed, but doing their best not to run into any unwanted company. Several times, when it was the most dark, Kili dared to reach out and take hold of Tauriel's hand, giving it an encouraging squeeze. He loved the fact that she did not pull away, and even returned the gesture a time or two. Oh, how he wished he had been able to tell her the extent of his feelings earlier…yet, there would be time later. Assuming they ever found the blasted exit to these accursed tunnels!

"Shhh," Tauriel whispered, holding her hand out and stopping the others from going any further. "I hear voices heading our way."

"Quick, over here," Fili hissed, leading them to an offshoot of the main shaft. They all scurried to comply, crouching low in the darkness as the sound of feet and voices came closer and closer. Fili dared to peek out, watching as several disgusting orcs led a rag-tag group of men and dwarves past them, each one in chains and shackles, being cruelly shoved if they slowed down or stumbled. When the last one disappeared around the corner, they stood up, looking both left and right, not sure which way they should go.

"Should we follow them…or keep heading the way we were?" Dwalin asked.

"I doubt they would be taking their prisoners towards the entrance," Fili reasoned, wishing he could slay every one of the vile creatures, yet knowing the five of them alone could do very little. They needed Bain and their armies, but they were nearly a day's ride away, according to Glorfindel's assessment of how long it took to get around the mountainside. Their best bet was to remain undiscovered until help arrived. "We must keep heading the way we were, and hope it leads us out."

They all agreed, though a bit reluctantly, everyone hating to leave the prisoners to the mercy of their jailers, but Fili was right. They first needed to escape themselves, before they could expect to help the others. And so they trudged on, until they saw a light up ahead. Inching closer, they saw that it was coming from a hole in the tunnel wall, allowing them to get their first look at the catacomb of mine shafts that had been dug into the mountain. There was a vast open cavern before them, with large pits, tunnels, and stone ledges carved into the walls. It would have taken years to do this much damage, proving just how long this Gorbash fiend had been enslaving others. And as dwarves who understood mining, they could tell that no one had given any regard to safety, or the stability of the mountain…it was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

"How long have they been at this?" Nori asked, craning his head to see how far down one of the chasms went.

"Longer than they should have, that's for damn sure!" Dwalin muttered, shaking his head in disgust. "Poor sods…how many lost their lives in this hell hole?"

"Well, we'll not allow it to be one more!" Fili said with determination. "Now, let's find the exit and put an end to all this."

"Aye," Kili nodded, his face grim.

So they continued on through the maze of tunnels, using all their skill and inborn dwarf ability to navigate underground without losing their sense of direction. However, after what felt like hours, they came to a fork in the road…with three choices of where to go from there.

"Now what?" Nori asked, looking down one direction, then the others.

"This one seems to lead in a more upward direction," Kili suggested, pointing to the middle one.

"While this one here looks as if there is light up ahead," Tauriel said, gesturing to the left.

"But this tunnel smells better than the others," Dwalin told them, sniffing the air in the one to the right.

Fili gave a sigh, knowing they had no other choice but to split up.

"Kili, you and Tauriel check out the one on the right," Fili suggested, knowing full well that his brother would prefer the elf as his partner over either of the other two dwarves. "I will take the middle one, while Dwalin, you and Nori go to the right. Only check it out for the first hundred or so yards, and then come back and report. Don't take any other offshoot, and don't get caught." The last part went without saying, but he felt compelled to do so anyway.

"I don't like the idea of you going alone, Fili," Kili stated, looking uncomfortable with the plan.

"Well, there are three tunnels and only five of us…you do the math, Kili," Fili grinned, giving his brother a wink of assurance. "I'll be fine, I'm only going a short distance and then I'll meet you back here. Don't worry, brother, I've got this." He gave Kili a pat on the shoulder and then headed through the tunnel he had chosen, his blades drawn before him.

Kili watched him go for a moment and then nodded to Tauriel, the two of them taking the left shaft while Nori and Dwalin disappeared down the right. They had walked for nearly five minutes, with no sign of it going anywhere productive. They passed another window cut in the wall, which had apparently been where the light was coming from, but no sign of an exit, so they decided to turn back. Yet just as they did, there came a loud sound of an explosion, somewhere nearby…perhaps directly behind the very wall of the tunnel they were in.

"What was that?" Tauriel asked, reaching out to brace herself as the floor beneath her feet shook from the force.

"It sounds like they're blasting…maybe creating new tunnels for mining," Kili offered, having been around such things all his life. Yet due to the instability of their operation, the shaking didn't end there. Soon the walls and the ceiling were rumbling too, dust and rocks beginning to rain down on them from all directions.

"RUN!" Kili yelled, grabbing her hand and headed back the way they had come, praying that Fili and the others were in a more stable area. Yet as they ran past the little window, Kili saw that the hole in the rock had left that part of the tunnel dangerously unstable. He could see the crack that led from the opening to the ceiling growing wider with each passing second, and he knew they were not going to make it past before the whole ceiling fell in on them. He didn't know if they should try to get past it, or stop and run the other way, and he had only a split second to decide.

Tauriel's keen eyes saw the same thing, recognizing the danger immediately. And without even giving it a moment's thought, Tauriel reached out and shoved Kili as hard as she could from behind, propelling him past the crumbling section just as the ceiling gave way.

Falling to the floor, the dwarf prince rolled several more feet before he came to a stop. Yet when he turned back around, his eyes grew wide with terror as he watched the tunnel fill up with rock and stone behind him.

"TAURIEL!" Kili screamed, leaping to his feet as he fought his way back to where he had last seen her, covering his head with his arms as more debris rained down on top of him. Yet he did not halt, desperate to get to her at all costs. When the rumbling finally stopped, and he was at last able to stand without being struck by falling rocks, he began to dig his way back, praying with all he had that the love of his life was not buried under all that rubble. "Tauriel! Can you hear me? TAURIEL!" He screamed, not caring who might hear his frantic calls. No! No! No! This could not be happening! Tauriel could not be gone, she just couldn't be! Kili worked all the harder, moving rock after rock, his back straining and his fingers beginning to bleed as the sharp edges cut into his skin, yet he did not even notice - his only thought was to rescue his one.

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Fili had been halfway back to the fork when he too had felt the rumbling, stopping briefly to steady himself against the wall, lest he lose his footing. Yet when he heard his brother's frantic voice screaming Tauriel's name, he raced on ahead. If Kili was not even attempting to be quiet, he knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong. It didn't take Fili long to locate him, his desperate calls leading him right to him.

"Kili! Kili…what happened?" Fili cried out, running towards him and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Kili…talk to me!"

"Tauriel…she pushed me through, but she…she didn't make it!" Kili told him, his voice full of fear. "Help me, please…she might be trapped!"

Fili needed no further urging as he immediately grabbed the nearest rock and heaved it out of the way, reaching for another, and then another. They had not gotten far when they heard the sound of footsteps behind them, and while they were definitely the sounds of dwarf boots…that was not all they heard.

Spinning around, they drew their swords once again, ready to fend off whomever came into view, yet when they saw Nori and Dwalin, both unarmed and hands bound in front of them…they knew they were sunk.

"Put down your weapons, scum…or we stick these two and watch them bleed out," a filthy orc hissed, jabbing his crude blade into Dwalin's back, just enough to make the dwarf flinch, though he refused to cry out.

"Sorry, lads," Nori said with a heavy sigh. "They got the drop on us."

Fili and Kili stared at their two friends for a moment before doing as they were told, dropping their swords to the floor.

"Tie them up, boys," the lead orc snarled, gesturing to several of the others who were crowded in the tunnels behind him. Within seconds, both Fili and Kili were surrounded, the vile creatures scratching and clawing at them as they searched for more weapons. Fili was a veritable walking arsenal, yet despite his constant struggle, in time they had managed to locate even his most hidden blades. Kili, who carried a lot less, also put up a valiant fight, though his reasons were different from his brother. While Fili was cursing a blue streak at the orcs, Kili was struggling to get back to the cave-in, all the while screaming Tauriel's name. Yet sadly, no answer came, nor did their captors seem at all concerned that someone might be buried under there. In the end, all four dwarves were dragged through the tunnel, back to the fork in the road, and down the right shaft where Nori and Dwalin had gone. All the while, Kili kept calling out for Tauriel.

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Gorbash sat on his rock throne, which was just a crude chair cut into the side of the wall, but he relished the feeling of power it gave him. He was a hulking figure, with features of both orc and man, for he was a vile mixture of both. His long scraggly hair was pulled back and tied off, allowing the scars on his leather-like face to be clearly visible. His teeth were razor sharp, either from his orcish side, or filed down to create the vicious look. Long had Gorbash terrorized Middle Earth, preying on the helpless or unfortunate for his own gain…and if he had his way, he would continue for many more years to come.

Slavery had always been a lucrative business for him, his size and strength making it easy to press those weaker than him into his service…whether they wished to or not. It brought him pleasure to see others cower before him, be they his prisoners, or his own men, for he was cruel to both and ruled with an iron fist.

Gorbash had been listening to complaints and excuses all day…not enough workers, not enough ore being found, not enough product to ship out to his customers in Mordor. No one seemed to realize that he was already breaking his prisoners' backs in order to deliver the goods from the mine, what did they expect…that he start forcing his own men to labor as well?

He was growing weary of this mountain, having been holed up here for the past twenty plus years, amassing his fortune and causing fear with his power and reputation. Yet he knew that the dark forces in Mordor were growing, silently stockpiling weapons and supplies for an army that would one day sweep over all of Middle Earth. And he planned to become rich beyond measure from the deal. But without more workers, he would soon fall behind on his delivery schedule, and even he knew better than to disappoint the dark one…for that would mean certain death.

"Boss!" came the call of one of his orcs, loping into the cavern that served as his official meeting chambers. "We've got some new prisoners."

"Oh, and where might these have come from?" he asked, his sinister smile showing off his yellow, pointy teeth.

"From the cave in the woods," the grey skinned lackey explained. "We heard the alarm bells ring, telling us that some traveler had found it and chosen to make camp for the night. So we snuck through the secret tunnels and captured them."

"How many?" Gorbash asked, leaning forward on his throne anxiously. More prisoners was good news indeed.

"Three," he reported. "Three dwarves."

"Dwarves? Excellent!" he nodded, very pleased by this news. They are more suited for work in the mines than men are…yet they do not break as easily." He gave a sinister smile. "Though I do so enjoy the process of trying. Bring them in, let me get a look at our new guests."

The orc shuffled off, returning with several more guards who were shoving one male dwarf along, while another one carried two squirming dwarflings in his bulky arms.

"You said there were three dwarves!" Gorbash yelled, bringing his fist down on the arm of his stone chair. "Instead, you bring me one, and…and, what are those supposed to be anyway?"

"Hardly more than a mouthful, if you ask me," the orc holding the two wiggling lads laughed, leaning in to lick the back of Frerin's head, making him squeal in fright and disgust. "But I'm willing to give them a try, as long as their bones don't get stuck in my throat."

"NO!" Bofur cried out, looking from the two lads and then towards the creature who sat before him. "Please, don't let him eat them. Do whatever you want to me…but don't hurt the lads!"

"Precious to you, are they?" Gorbash asked, eying Bofur thoughtfully. "And what might you offer to me in exchange for their lives. It appears you have very little of value with you."

"I…I could offer you my services," Bofur called out after a few moments of thought. "I noticed on our way here that you are involved in a mining operation of sorts."

"So?" Gorbash was so far not impressed.

"I'm a miner by trade," Bofur revealed. "Born and bred with a pick in my hand," he said quite proudly.

"Most dwarves are…what makes you so special?" the orc-man asked, tapping his clawed fingers on the stone of his chair impatiently.

"Well, I'm not just any miner, I'm also an engineer, the head of my craft." the hatted dwarf explained, laying it on as thick as he could before the creature got bored with his talking and decided to serve Flinn and Frerin up for dinner!

"Engineer are ya?" Gorbash said thoughtfully. "And what were you doing hiding in our little cave…with two lads no less?"

Bofur, ever the storyteller, quickly wove a tale in his mind, ready to sell it to Gorbash in hopes of not tipping him off to their big rescue plan.

"Well, you see…me and the lads were traveling from the Iron Hills to Erebor to take a job there," he explained. "We got a bit turned around on our journey and took refuge in that cave for the night…which was apparently a very bad idea."

"Were they alone?" Gorbash questioned the orc that had brought them in.

"They were the only ones in the cave, boss," he answered, not daring to tell him that they didn't bother to search outside for any more.

"So…you fancy yourself an expert miner, do ya?" the half orc/half man asked, wondering if he might find a special use for this new prisoner.

"The best in fact, if I do say so myself, and from what I could tell, you're in desperate need of someone who can tell you where to dig, and how far to tunnel, before things become unstable," he pressed on. "And if that rumbling we felt a bit ago is any indication…I would imagine you have more than a few unstable areas in your mine. Very dangerous, unless you have someone who knows what they're doing. And that would be me." He then turned and looked at Fili's sons, knowing that he had to do everything in his power to keep them alive. "And I'll offer you all my knowledge…just so long as you don't hurt the two wee lads."

"I don't keep no one who don't pull their own weight around here," Gorbash sneered. "If the little whelps don't work, they don't eat…or they get eaten."

"Oh, no, they're strong! They can both work hard!" Bofur assured their captor, turning to the dwarflings and giving them an urgent look. "Isn't that right, lads?"

"Y-y-yes," Flinn stammered, also eager to assure them of their value. "We can work really hard!"

"See. Just please, let them stay with me," he begged.

"Tell you what," Gorbash said, sitting back and stroking his bare chin with his fingers thoughtfully. "I will let them live, just as long as you can prove your worth. But fail me once…and we will feast on their flesh and let the wargs pick their bones, understand?"

"Yes…I won't fail you…I swear!" Bofur promised, breathing a slight sigh of relief.

"Take the little rats to the prisoners' quarters," Gorbash ordered, waving his hand at the orc. "While this engineer and I have a little talk about improving productivity."

"No…wait! You said they could stay with me!" Bofur protested, looking panicked. How was he supposed to keep his promise to Fili if they were taken away from him?

"No…I said they could live as long as you were useful, I never said where or how they would spend this existence," Gorbash sneered. "Now take them away!"

And so, much to Bofur's shame, he had to stand there, his hands still bound, and watch the large smelly orc carry little Flinn and Frerin away from his sight. He had done all he could to protect them when the wretched creatures had suddenly appeared out of the wall of the cave and attacked. Yet they had been too many, and too strong for him to battle alone. Looking back, it was very reminiscent of their capture by the goblins on their journey over the Misty Mountains…and was apparently turning out just as horribly. Bofur could only hope that Oin and the others were able to alert Fili and the soldiers to their predicament, and that help was on the way. But until then, he had to play this Gorbash's game, and do everything in his power to see that he got those two lads home safe…or die trying.

OH MY GOODNESS...I sure left things in a terrible, terrible spot, didn't I? Sorry.

But, tell you what...I MIGHT be convinced to post a bonus chapter this weekend, if I get enough requests asking for one. Yes?

Did I scare anyone with Fili saying "I've got this" and heading off into a dark tunnel alone? Fooled you...bet you thought I was going to kill him or something. ha ha

Poor Bofur, he wants to protect those two lads so much.

Poor Flinn and Frerin...they are so scared (and Frerin now has orc slobbers on his head!)

Poor Kili...his Tauriel saved him, but now he fears she did not save herself.

Poor Fili, all captured and has no idea that his little lads are in trouble too.

Poor Bain...now he has to step up and be the man who saves everyone!

OH, WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

Guest Reviews:

Guest: Yep, duty above all else...but that does not mean they can't mix love in with it! And does them being in the dark give you scared shivers...or excited shivers? Kili enjoys being in the dark with Tauriel. ha ha. And Dis is an awesome dwarrowdam for sure. Bard is both helpful and hot looking...double the fun. Thanks

Emrfangirl: Everyone is now involved, the ravens, the men of Dale, and who knows if Nori's key would come in handy...guess you will have to wait and see. Thanks for your continued reviews!

gginsc: Yes, you do have to love Dis...but careful, I wouldn't be calling her old - she might clobber you. ha ha.

Feu d'Argent: I am getting to add in several really good lines that would not have ever happened in my story universe (since Kili and Tauriel never had their moments - due to him not being hit by the morgal arrow in my story). So watch for more of them! And I think Kili will find his moment. Love can't be denied. Sorry, I did not get the reference... and as for your foreign words, Google translate helped me with that. Good night. Thanks for your continued reviews though!