Chapter 5: Like Flies to Dead Flesh

And so it was that while Bilbo and his company went towards the Lonely Mountain to intercept Nekron and seize the Arkenstone while also getting to Mordor in order to destroy the Ring, Larn, Teegra, Gandalf, and Linas were traveling south to head to Fire Keep in order to warn King Jarol about the existence of the One Ring. As they traveled there, Teegra couldn't help but feel worried for Bilbo, knowing its influence and the weight he has to carry. If she recalled from Kira and Bilbo's tale, and she did, Bilbo felt great pressure from the Ring in using it to save her. Odds are, they'll be put in another circumstance like that. And the moment they do...

"I wish it need not have happened in our time, Gandalf."

"So do I. But it's fortunate that Nekron lacks the one thing to give him strength of knowledge to break all resistance and cover the lands in darkness and ice."

"I just hope Nekron doesn't know the Ring was found."

"He knows, Teegra. His father and the Ring are connected. As such, there's no doubt he'll have known the moment Bilbo used the Ring to save Kira."

Hearing of this, Linas felt oddly concerned for the Hobbit as she spoke to Gandalf.

"Why couldn't we bring him with us, then? Fire Keep could've used the lava around us, or even the Dragonhawks to destroy it."

"I admire your concern, Linas, but Teegra said before it can only be destroyed by the forge that created it. A dragon's fire could not harm that Ring, not even Smaug's."

"Still... I don't feel right leaving him alone."

As they walked, Larn looked to Linas before he spoke his own opinion of the situation.

"Neither do I feel right about leaving Kira alone. But she and Bilbo have each other's care. They made it this far together and helped me feel better when we saw them again. This time wouldn't be any different."

"And how do you know that?"

"My sister usually sets a strong foundation with the people she meets. A lot more than she should, but it's helped us this far. I know they'll be alright."

Hearing this, Teegra smiled at Larn before she spoke.

"I'm glad that you have so much faith in your sister. It's a nice change from last time."

"I know. It really is."

As they continued walking onwards, Gandalf, smiling at their conversation that put them at ease before he spoke up.

"Listen well, all. Before we stop at Fire Keep, I feel compelled to pay a visit to Isengard. There, we shall hopefully acquire the services of someone who hails there in the Wizards' Council: Saruman the White."

Hearing his name, Teegra felt as though it might be helpful, despite her trip back to Fire Keep being longer than expected.

"If you believe it is best, we'll follow you there, Gandalf."

In a short while, Gandalf, Teegra, Linas, and Larn got to Isengard and entered the temple where the Wizard of the group stopped in place in front of the stairs before turning to the group.

"Wait here a moment. Saruman would not take kindly to visitors without knowing about them first. I shall have an audience with him to start. It won't be for too long."

As the trio all nodded to the wizard to wait by the stairs, Gandalf traveler them up and entered the room before he held an audience with the man in a red cloak and a beard as long as his before he spoke to him.

"I have come for your aid, Saruman the White, in troubled times. The Nine are abroad. Darkness approaches in the form of the Ringwraiths, the Black Riders."

Saruman seemed to deem them no threat as he spoke, vexing Gandalf with his apparently oblivious demeanor.

"Is that all the news you have for me, then?"

"Is that not enough?! Sauron is moving through Nekron at last!"

"We can deal with those two ourselves, Gandalf. You and I, one way or another."

Hearing this, Gandalf began to grow weary of his plan as he spoke.

"What talk is this? What are you saying, Saruman?"

"It's time for us to choose. A new age is upon us. A new power is rising. Nothing that Men or Elves or Wizards can do will avail against it. Its enemies are utterly doomed. But its friends..."

As he feared, Gandalf realized Saruman's plan.

"You are saying that we should join with Mordor? With Ice Peak? With them?!"

"Does that displease you?"

Having known of the Ringwraiths' move towards the current Ringbearer, Saruman began to demand his own answer to his inquiry in hopes of acquiring it.

"Where is the Ring, Gandalf?! Why do the Black Riders search for it in Mirkwood?! Have you hidden it there?"

"I see no reason to talk to a traitor such as you!"

"It is futile to hold out on me; the Black Riders are drawn to the Ring like flies to dead flesh. Would you rather see the Dark and Ice Lords have it... OR SARUMAN OF MANY COLORS?!"

As he shouted the emphasis to this question, Saruman cast a magic blow of fire at Gandalf, who repelled it with a barrier before the fire went away as he answered.

"Neither of you will have it."

Being crafty in getting the truth out, Saruman had one more card to play in getting it out of Gandalf Greyhame.

"There is a third choice."

With a snap of his fingers, Saruman summoned the Subhumans under his command to bring the ambushed and surprised Teegra, Larn, and Linas up the stairs, one of them being more gentle than others as he brushed Linas' hair gently, making her cringe a bit as she feared the worst before Saruman's main right hand, Grima Wormtongue, brought him his staff before using it to cast a barrier around Isengard, closing off the exits and entrances to the kingdom, much to Gandalf's worry.

"They are to remain here until you tell me where the Ring can be found."

"Saruman, if you do this, if you delay us here, Nekron will surely get it then."

Despite this, Saruman seemed to have made up his mind on the matter as he stepped down the stairs as he spoke.

"Then he will know his good servants, and his enemies."

With that, Saruman descended the steps as he began speaking to the Subhumans.

"Take them to the dungeon until I say. If Greyhame doesn't talk before sunset, do with them as you wish."

In compliance, the Subhumans nodded with grunts before dragging Larn, Teegra, and Linas with them while Saruman chuckled evilly as Gandalf shouted while bound in Saruman's prison known as Isengard.

"Saruman! Saruman! SARUMAN!"

Meanwhile, at Mirkwood, Bilbo and Kira were traveling with Thorin and the other Dwarves inside the dark forest for but a moment before later, they sat at a campfire and ate berries that were distasteful as Kira grimaced along with the others before they heard growling in the woods as they showed looks of concern while Kira and Bilbo held their ground out of caution in case the Ringwraiths were to strike. The next day, they traveled again and stopped at a giant fir-tree as Bilbo and Kira climbed up with the former's feet on top of her shoulders for leverage should he slip while the Hobbit narrated.

"To Gandalf. As per your instructions, I am keeping this log of our journey through Mirkwood Forest. I shall make good use of it someday as a basis for my memoirs, which I intend to call, 'There and Back Again: A Hobbit's Holiday.' The days are terrible, and thenights are impossible, for we are hungry and thirsty. The berries which grow here are hideous. Everything about these woods is unpleasant. And as if that weren't enough, we were in constant fear of the Nazgûl attempting to seize us, although no move has been made thus far. One day, we decided someone should climb to the top of the tallest tree and have a look about. Naturally, Kira offered to come along and provide a foothold as she was already an expert climber in her village. In fact, she tried to offer to climb up in my place, but it wasn't her place. My contract is vague on several points."

As they climbed up on the tree, they poked their heads through the leaves and saw a beautiful sight of large butterflies flying overhead as well as a beautiful horizon of the sun in the day's sky as Kira and Bilbo smiled with the former remembering what her village once was as the views reminded her of the memory before shedding tears and wiping them swiftly as Bilbo held his hand on hers before she smiled at him for the comfort he gave before a butterfly landed on her nose and fluttered its wings in her before it flew away quickly to the sky.

"Ring or no Ring, there are moments that can change a person for all time. And just as Kira wondered if her village would ever be restored, I suddenly if I would ever see my snug Hobbit hole again. I wondered... if I actually wanted to."

The next day, Bilbo and Kira were asleep by the burned out campfire as they wiped their eyes to see clearly before meeting a startling sight: a giant spider that snickered as it drew closer to then while Bilbo screamed as Kira gasped.

"We awoke the next morning to a hideous surprise."

As it crept closer to them, neither Bilbo nor Kira could move their arms before a man with a Jaguar pelt-helmet jumped down and cut the webs off before holding the spider's teeth at bay with his axe before Bilbo and Kira got their weapons out as the latter sliced its legs off in self-defense, burning the appendages off as it shrieked before Bilbo dealt the finishing blow to it, slaying the Spider before an idea dawned on him on what to name his dagger as he found it fitting.

"Now, I will give you a name. And I shall call you... Sting."

Just then, the mysterious man turned to them as he spoke.

"Quite a dangerous position you've put yourselves in."

As Kira became curious, she spoke her inquiry to him.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Darkwolf. Gandalf appointed me to your aid in case the Nazgûl found you so soon."

"You know Gandalf?"

"As do you, I see. Your friends aren't too far off."

"You know where they are?"

"The Spiders captured them less than two miles of here. Come."

As Darkwolf led Bilbo and Kira to the Dwarves, they came upon the Spiders' nest where all Thirteen were hung and poisoned by the Spiders' venom before noticing the approaching Black Riders and a certain hermit that threatened to harm Kira and himself for theRing as Bilbo narrated.

"Fortunately, we were met with one of your acquaintance, Darkwolf, who helped us in the nick of time. The remainder of the morning was spent in seeking out companions. And we found them, finally, in a place as black and terrible as a patch of midnight that had never been cleared away. Regrettably, we weren't the only ones. The Nazgûl have found us, too, but they weren't alone. In fact, the Spiders were enchanted by the Nazgûl's wraithlike powers under their command to lure us. Even Gollum was seen by their side, and as one would suggest, he hated us with great vengeance."

As they noticed the Nazgûl and Gollum, the latter of them laughed heartily as he spoke while nearing Bombur.

"Gollum, Gollum, Gollum. Wicked Bagginses. Wicked Bagginses cheats us. Gollum. He mustn't go that way. He mustn't hurt precious."

Having warned him before, Kira got out Flamestoke in an attempt to drive him away as she spoke.

"Go away, you scum!"

Bilbo, however, knowing how rash he was to him before, intended to make it right and spoke rationally to deal with him properly, without the Ring.

"What do you want from us?"

To answer him, the Witch-King spoke to Bilbo.

Lord Nekron desires the Ring, and he shall have it now.

Kira only glared at the Witch-King before she spoke to him.

"If you want the Ring, you'll have to go through us first!"

Do you not know death when you see it, human?

However, Gollum had other plans to take it. But since he knew the deadly powers of the Nazgûl, Gollum saw fit to exact his rage-filled temper on poor Bombur to force Bilbo to give the Ring to him instead of the Nazgûl, not that they were expected to let him live for such trickery, but his attempt was altogether acrimonious, all the same.

"Give it to Gollum. Yes, give it to Gollum. Give it! Give it! GIVE IT TO US!"

And so, with a vicious laughter, Gollum began torturing Bombur with his sharp claws, elongated from his time in the cave beneath the high mountains by scratching his flesh through the web while Bombur grew frightened at the creature's tenacity for fear, worrying Bilbo, Kira, and Darkwolf as the former of the trio spoke.

"Go away! Go away!"

"Bombur!"

As Bilbo was forced to watch Gollum torture Bombur, he was forced to get out the Ring, with seemingly all other options exhausted, much to Kira and Darkwolf's concern as they shouted whilst Bilbo narrated.

I certainly could not let my companions, my comrades, become a corpse for that wretched creature. Action was called for.

"Bilbo!"

"No, you fool!"

Despite their cries, Bilbo put on the Ring before he turned invisible. Alas, he wasn't as invisible as he thought for the Nazgûl turned to the Hobbit as they growled before he made haste in grabbing a rock and tossing it at Gollum, knocking him away from Bombur before Kira rushed to Bilbo's side, invisible as he was, as the Nazgûl aimed their cursed blades at something that wasn't there, and swung them at the Hobbit, nearly slicing him to bits as Bilbo narrated further.

"Unfortunately, such action caught the attention of the Nazgûl and lured them to me in spite of successfully removing Gollum from Bombur's person. This debacle proved that Ring or no Ring, the Nazgûl would always find us."

Before they could touch him, however, Kira blocked their advances with her Flamestoke and countered them with a burning swing, hitting one of the Nazgûl before setting him ablaze with flame and making him vanish into the sky. With that, Darkwolf joined in thebrawl as he combatted the Nazgûl by swinging his axe with tremendous force towards one before severing its faceless head, banishing him back to Mordor from whence he came before noticing a Spider nearing him, only for Darkwolf to swing his axe at it, knocking it off of the tree before it hit the ground and moved no more. It wasn't long before Kira and Darkwolf dealt with the Nazgûl before they and Bilbo freed the Dwarves from their silky confines and the Hobbit turned to the creature, who didn't hesitate to beg for mercy.

"No, please! Let us live! Yes, let us live a little longer...!"

Knowing how sneaky and dangerous Gollum proved himself to be, Thorin spoke to Bilbo about what to be done with him.

"We can't let this affront tell what he knows. He'd sell us all to Sauron for sure. We must put this monstrosity out of its misery."

"No! Please, Bagginses! Don't kill me. We shall stay away... for good, this time..."

Bilbo can't exactly trust him on his word, given what he almost did to Kira, Bombur, and himself. However, the same pity he felt towards this creature returned as he eyed his misshapen and ugly personage before giving his answer.

"We can't let you go that easily, Gollum. But if you promise to remain loyal to our company, you shall come with us to Lonely Mountain and to Mordor. Just know if you try any trickery of the sort like before, Darkwolf will dispose of you swiftly."

Being granted a second chance, Gollum became grateful to Bilbo as he spoke.

"Oh, yesss. Thank you... Master."

With that, Bilbo turned to the group and spoke of the impending danger to return. With the Nazgûl banished for the time being, the Spiders' senses will return and aim to dine on their prey. He most certainly did not want to be around when that happens.

"Alright, everyone. I know the Spiders' poisons have made you weak, but you must follow me. Quickly."

With that, Bilbo led the way as Kira, Darkwolf, Gollum, and the Dwarves followed him before the Spiders' senses were proven to be very quick to return as they'd noticed them and gave chase to their meal.

"Look. On the path ahead. There they are."

"They have freed our supper."

"Now we see you. We will eat you and leave your skin hanging in the tree."

"Grab them!"

As the Spiders growled and hissed, Bilbo had an idea to preserve the group as he stopped and spoke it to Thorin, Kira, and Darkwolf.

"I think I can hold them off. Run to the Wood Elves' clearing."

Despite his valor, Thorin still worried for Bilbo.

"But, how can you—?"

"I will do the stinging! Run! Swiftly, now!"

As the Dwarves took off, Kira and Darkwolf, however, stayed beside Bilbo with their weapons out before the Spiders spoke up amongst themselves.

"We've trapped them now. Close the circle. They can't escape us!"

However, Kira and Bilbo held their weapons out while Darkwolf yelled out with his axe before swinging it at one Spider, embedding it deep in its head before tossing it away as Kira blocked its teeth before burning them with Flamestoke's heat while Bilbo fended off one Spider before attacking another as he shouted.

"Lazy lob! Attercop!"

With the spider slain by the Attercop, one of the Spiders that remained became greatly worried as it spoke before Kira and Bilbo spun their bright weapons in the air.

"Blast! What are they?! What are they called?!"

"Sting!"

"Flamestoke!"

As a result, they created a blend of a blue and red magical circle that threatened to harm the Spiders if they came anywhere near the trio before one among them admitted defeat.

"Away! Retreat! We are no match for Sting or Flamestoke!"

With that, the Spiders retreated before they put their weapons away as Kira looked to Bilbo.

"Are you okay, Bilbo?"

"Right as rain, so far. It's a miracle the Nazgûl failed to sink their blades into my skin."

"Still, we told you you shouldn't use that Ring. There's a reason why Gandalf is afraid of it."

"I'm acutely aware of that much. But hopefully, I wouldn't be forced to use that burden ever again."

As Kira sighed, relieved at least that Bilbo was unscathed by the Nazgûl's attack, and oddly enough, Gollum's attack as well, Darkwolf looked to them before he spoke.

"Alright. Now that they're gone, we must regroup. The Nazgûl would already be on the move again by now."

As an answer, the two responded with a nod as they spoke simultaneously.

"Right."