Bella wasn't sure how long they had been herded by the goblins before they walked through a narrow opening and into the biggest crevasse she'd ever imagined. It was as though the entire mountain had been hollowed out before these miserable creatures built hundreds of endless layers of scaffolding against the walls. Her heart sank as she took in the thousands of pale, twisted beings that crawled everywhere. Unless they made a plan or got some outside help, there was no possible way that they could get out of here alive.
A horrible racket could just barely be heard above the squawks and squeals. At least until they were further into the massive chamber, then it was about the only thing one could hear. Off-tune horns, clashing pots, and she wasn't entirely sure what else. All she knew was that it was the worst thing she had ever heard. She actually would have clapped her hands over her ears if she didn't feel the greater need to keep hold of Fili.
The monstrous racket was reaching a peak when she spied where they were being taken. A platform connected to a central spire where there sat the largest, ugliest, wartiest goblin she'd never wished to see. He was so fat, she was almost afraid he had no loincloth, and his chin was so long, she wasn't sure if it was really a chin or a grotesque mockery of a beard. Then, he opened his mouth with the oiliest, gravelly, disgusting voice she'd ever heard. "I feel a song coming on."
Bella did not care to note the "song's" lyrics. Bilbo and Ori could if they wanted to, but she preferred the promise of completely blotting it from her memory once they were out of here. She scowled as the entire population of goblins joined in on the chorus of "down, down, down in Goblin Town." Then she and Fili were shoved into the mass of dwarves now on the large platform. She winced as the Goblin King (what else could he be with that crown of bones) needlessly impaled one of the much smaller goblins on the end of his skull-topped scepter. But it certainly was enough warning to duck out of the way when as a finale the giant goblin turned in a slow circle, sweeping his scepter over them much too close.
"Does he honestly consider that singing?" Bella whispered as the goblin pumped his fist in some odd victory.
"Since all his subjects are cheering him on, I'd say so," Fili whispered back.
Bella grimaced as she heard a squelch and squeal as the Goblin King mounted his throne.
"Before you ask: no, you don't want to know," Fili said.
"Catchy, isn't it?" the Goblin King asked proudly. "One of my own compositions."
"That's not a song," Balin said. "It's an abomination."
"All Free Peoples at least would agree on that," Bella muttered even as the goblins behind them roared in protest.
"Abominations, mutations, evasions," the Goblin said, "that's all you're going to find down here."
Then the goblins started throwing down the weapons they had gathered from the Company, including Thorin's Orcrist and Fili's Khuzde and Fangon-nen. Upon entering the mountains, Bella had stored Amralime and Melethen in her pack . . . a pack that she had lost in their tumble. Her heart sank as she acknowledged her loss. Not only were they irreplaceable because so few of those blades remained but because they had been customized and given to her by her One.
"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" the Goblin King demanded. "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"
"Dwarves, Your Malevolence," a goblin answered.
"Dwarves?!" the king roared.
"Found them on the front porch," the first goblin confirmed.
"Don't just stand there! Search them! Every crack! Every crevice!"
Bella fought back a scream as a half-dozen hands started grasping her and pulling at her clothes.
Fili jerked her away. "She's hiding nothing!"
"She had a knife," the goblin growled.
"As any respectable woman would have in case of self-defense on any journey," Fili said.
"It would appear," the first goblin said, "that they are in league with elves."
Bella briefly caught sight of the king examining a silver candlestick. "Made in Rivendell." He scoffed. "Second Age. Couldn't give it away."
"Just a couple of keepsakes," Nori said quietly.
Bella didn't have time to respond before a pair of pale, spindly arms caught her round the waist, heaving her up.
"This one ain't no dwarf," the goblin said, half-tossing her to another and out the reach of the dwarves. "It's a halfling. See its feet."
"That's Hobbit to you!" she cried just before she was unceremoniously dumped atop a pile of Nori's "keepsakes." She scowled up at the Goblin King as he towered over her.
"A hobbit, hm? Any relation to a Bullroarer Took?" he asked.
She dragged up every scrap of Baggins properness she had as she stood and straightened herself out. "I am a Baggins, and no proper Baggins would even be associated with such un-hobbit-like hobbits as Bullroarer Took. Even if we Baggins did associate with such folk, that particular fellow has been long dead and gone."
"Hm," the king grunted, leaning closer to have a better look at her. "I could almost swear that you bore some resemblance to him."
Bella fought to keep from gagging at the slimy, putrid, rotting odor rolling off the giant goblin. "That tends to be the way of things among races. Dwarves look like other dwarves. Elves look like other elves. Hobbits look like other hobbits," she said. Honestly, she'd never seen a real resemblance between Bullroarer and she and her brother. Maybe the hair, but little to nothing else.
She was relieved when Bifur snagged her back through the line of goblins and into the fold of dwarves. Mixed feelings came in when Kili demanded, "What would it matter to you anyway if she were related to some random hobbit?"
"It is because of Bullroarer Took that I became king," the giant goblin answered. "He lopped my father's head clean off his shoulders. I thought perhaps a little reward would have been in order." His face twisted in a contorted, evil smile. "Instead of the slow death in store for the rest of you, her death would have been swift and painless."
"Little reward that is," Bifur grumbled.
"My thoughts exactly," she whispered.
"What are you doing in these parts?" the Goblin King demanded.
Oin nudged Thorin back. "Don't worry, lad. I'll handle this." The healer took the central position before the group as the goblin returned to his throne.
"No tricks," the goblin warned. "I want the truth, warts and all."
"You're going to have to speak up," Oin said. "Your boys flattened my trumpet." He held up the offended hearing aid.
"I'll flatten more than your trumpet," the king roared, rumbling forward.
Bella found herself being maneuvered back so that the dwarves created a protective barrier around her. She doubted it'd do much good with a rampaging goblin nearly twice the height of a man. Apparently a dwarf was on her way of thinking.
Bofur leaped in front of everyone. "If it's information you're wanting, I'm the one you should speak to." His words instantly halted the rampage, and caused the Goblin King's attention to focus completely on him. For a terrifying, silent moment, Bella feared Bofur had acted before planning. Then, "We were on the road, well, not so much road, more like a path. Actually it's not even that come to think of it, it's more like a track."
Bella released a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. He was going to ramble their way out of this. Hopefully long enough for someone to come up with a plan or, oh wonder of wonders if it could be true, Gandalf come at just the right time like he had for the trolls.
"Anyway the point is," Bofur continued, "we were on this road, like a path, like a track, and then we weren't. Which is a problem because we were supposed to be in Dunland, last Tuesday."
"Visiting distant relations," Dori added in helpfully.
Bofur nodded. "Some Redbeards on me mother's side and–"
"Shut UP!" the Goblin King roared. Well, at least the idea worked for a minute or two. "If they will not talk," the goblin declared, "we'll make them squawk! Bring out the Mangler! Bring out the Bone Breaker!" All the goblins roared with anticipation. "Start with the youngest!" The Goblin King pointed to Ori.
Bella grabbed hold of the terrified dwarf, pulling him into the center with her.
"I can't let them take either of the princes," Ori quietly protested. "Better me than one of them."
"Better none of you," Bella snapped.
"Wait!" a strong shout sounded.
Bella jolted. Thorin.
The dwarven king stepped forward from the fold, stepping out of its safety.
The giant goblin instantly recognized him. "Well, well, well. Look who it is: Thorin, Son of Thrain, Son of Thror, King under the Mountain." He swept a mocking bow that had Bella bristling on behalf of her One's family. "Oh, but I'm forgetting," the wart-beast continued, "you don't have a mountain. And, you're not a king. Which makes you nobody really."
Bella ground her teeth, shifting forward but for Ori and Oin.
The Goblin King was considering Thorin thoughtfully. "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak. An old enemy of yours. The Pale Orc astride a white warg."
"Azog the Defiler," Thorin answered quietly, a unique tension of fear and anger in his voice, "was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago." Bella could have sworn his voice cracked with grief over the lives Azog had stolen.
"So you think his defiling days are over, do you?" the Goblin King asked. He then started laughing as he turned to a miserable, tiny goblin in a swinging basket. "Send word to the Pale Orc. Tell him, I have found his prize." Then the little beast was zipping down into the depths.
"What of us now?" Ori whispered. "Thorin's fate now seems plain, but the rest of us?"
"Pray that the Valar intervene and soon," Bella whispered back.
Much too soon, the horrid torture instruments were rumbling and creaking into sight. As the Goblin King started up another of his "compositions," the lesser goblins started grabbing hold of the Company. A horrible sinking feeling of this was where it would end settled over Bella.
She caught Fili's hand before reaching out and catching Kili's before he was wrenched away. The two brothers wrested themselves from the nearest goblins and stepped closer. She looked for Bilbo. She wanted the four of them to be together one last time for as long as possible.
The goblins suddenly shrieked in terror, roared with fury. "I know that sword!" the Goblin King cried from his horrified perch upon his throne. "It is the Goblin Cleaver, the Biter!"
A fraying rope cut across Bella's face, causing her to cry out. She could still hear the Goblin King shouting but was only aware of Kili dragging her down and collapsing on top of her as Fili attacked the goblin that struck her. They were dead. Deader than dead. Apparently they had unknowingly brought a weapon that the goblins feared above all else, bringing their death sentence.
A great wave of white light infused with mighty power exploded over them. All sounds became muffled even as she could make out Kili's muted grunt and the creaking of the torture devices. In the silent darkness, Bella raised her semi-dazed head to see if she could find the source of this magic.
From the shadows a tall figure with a familiar hat approached. Bella gasped, scrambling to her feet, only to promptly fall again. But she forced herself up despite her head spinning. She half-ran, half-stumbled over the stunned bodies of dwarves and goblins alike until she threw her arms around the Grey Wizard's waist. "You're back," she whispered. "You're back. Just in time." Slowly those behind her were recovering.
"Take up arms," Gandalf ordered. "Fight. Fight!" He fell to a knee. "Your swords, Bella."
Only then did Bella notice the two packs Gandalf had strapped to his back: hers and the pack containing the growing number of furs. She didn't bother wrestling the belts and sheaths out. She just withdrew her courtship swords and turned to the fray behind her. She barely withdrew her swords when Gandalf surged forward, wielding both his sword and his staff.
"He wields the Foe-Hammer!" the Goblin King cried. "The Beater, bright as daylight!"
Bella followed Gandalf's example, striking out at the goblins with both swords. But to her horror, she found it difficult to land a clear deathblow. She was seriously wounding, crippling, incapacitating them, but the dead, hate-filled eyes of the orc she and Kili had killed refused to release her.
"Melethen!" Fili cried, coming in beside her. "Stay focused. Each one of these brutes threaten the life and well-being of Bilbo, Kili, me, the entire Company. Your blow could be the difference between victory or defeat. Don't stop to see their reactions. Fight. Destroy them."
It wasn't even a moment later, that Bella's mind clicked with the seriousness of the situation, as two goblins converged on Kili. She roared, attacking, slicing at the beasts. "I won't let you have them!" she shouted. "You wanted Bullroarer Took? I am his great-great-great-great niece, and I shall show you his fury for daring to lay hands on these dwarves!"
No goblin within reach was safe from her then. It wasn't long until over half her blades were stained black. She was only vaguely aware of Fili positioning himself at her back to make sure she was defended on all sides. She could only hope that Bilbo had similar protection.
"Follow me!" Gandalf called from a walkway opposite the one the goblins had brought them on. "Quick."
Bella scrambled over to him, paying no heed to the slain goblins around her. She forced her breathing to remain measured as she joined the baker's dozen of dwarves in their flight onto more rickety scaffolding. In her opinion, Gandalf's order to run was unneeded, but it did send a burst of energy through her. And . . . dare she consider it? It shot a jolt of hope through her that they were all going to get out of this alive.
Her heart was pounding in her throat as she raced across rickety pathways. Her breath was harsh in her ears. She barely heard Gandalf urging them on, faster, ever faster. She vaguely sensed Fili close behind her. By some miracle the goblins hadn't caught up with them yet. But she knew it was only a matter of time before that changed.
Dwalin met with goblins first, but by then Bella had followed Gandalf up a level where there were less of the monsters. But that lasted only a few seconds before the wizard was flashing his sword through various goblins ahead of them. Bella half-froze when she followed a goblin's fall down onto a distance walkway . . . a walkway that shattered to disappear into the darkness below.
"Keep moving," Fili urged. "Don't stop. No time."
Bella barely nodded, running, running. An ambush separated the Company into ones and twos. She nearly panicked before she felt Fili lightly pressed against her back.
"Don't think, just fight," he said as the goblins swarmed them. "Don't stop, just survive."
Bella cut through each advancing goblin. Slowly they managed to make progress. She heard the familiar sound of arrows. She cut through the last goblin in front of her. Goblin archers were advancing on Kili a dozen feet or so in front of them. "Kili!"
She ran, Fili a couple steps behind her as Kili deflected the arrows with his sword. He then turned away from the goblins. Before she could scream "Idiot!" Kili turned back with a ladder that caught a couple more arrows before he trapped the goblins under it.
"Haha! That's our brother!" Fili cried, seconds before the two of them and a couple other dwarves were racing behind Kili as he pushed the goblins back. Those not trapped under the rungs were plowed off the walkway. Suddenly they were upon a gap between two paths. Even as the goblins fell into the depths below, Kili threw the ladder down so that it connected the two. Dwalin was on the other side and he planted a hard foot on the single rung on his side, securing it. Bella thanked the Valar for her love of footraces and the resulting practice of racing across stepping stones in the rivers. On the other side, they were all reunited with the rest of the Company. She vaguely heard the sound of Dwalin kicking the ladder out of place, stopping any possible pursuers.
Bella ran through another phase where it was those in the front and at the end that had to fight the goblins. But she kept her swords at the ready, just waiting to allow her glowing blades to taste enemy blood again. Suddenly she was just a step behind Gandalf at a sudden end. She didn't have time to cry out before the entire path beneath them swung forward.
"Jump!" Thorin shouted.
Bella cried out as Gandalf caught the back of her coat and flung her onto the next section. Bofur twisted round from where he landed and caught her. "Run, lassie. They'll follow soon. Go."
Bella scrambled backward, watching as the platform swung back, allowing some goblins to hop on. Then it swung forward again. The remaining dwarves and Gandalf leaped off and in the final instant it hung suspended, Fili sliced through the main support rope. She didn't even have time to scream before he was on solid ground and the platform was plunging down.
She paused to the side until Fili reached her. Holding both her blades in one hand, she jerked him forward by his coat flap. "Never do that again."
"No promises, when we're in life or death situations," he said. He smirked. "Do this again when we're not running for our lives. I don't mind you being a bit forward."
"We'll see later," she replied. That was the last reprieve for a while. There were so many goblins swarming them, no one was free from the battle. As was proven over and over again, the scaffolding served as ladders for the goblins to clamber up and down in order to attack from all sides. In the brief seconds she had, she wondered how she wasn't nearly bent double from lack of breath. She could only assume that her adrenaline was working overtime to keep her alive.
Then, she noticed that the planking beneath her feet was changing. The wood was overlaying stone. She looked up ahead to see Gandalf on a stone path cut from the mountain wall. She flinched at a momentary flash before a great boulder fell from the ceiling. It was as wide as the path. She almost laughed. Perfect for clearing the way ahead of them.
There was another reprieve from the fighting as they raced the next hundred yards or so of stone trail unconnected to any other pathways. But of course, as soon as they rounded the corner after the stone track ended. "More goblins. Do they all have a death wish?" she asked as they started fighting again.
She could feel long hours gaining on her. When had they fallen down here again? Did she even want to know? All she knew was that she was starting to get the same bone-deep aching weariness that she'd earned after the trolls as they raced away from the orc pack. And she doubted that there would be another comfortable rest in elvish lodging once they got out of the mountains.
Before she realized what happened, they were racing along semi-deserted pathways. She almost sobbed with relief. Might they be nearing the end of this seemingly endless nightmare? Gloin, Dori, and Balin were ahead of Gandalf as they raced across a bridge between a narrow gap of rock walls. Bella glanced about to be sure of where Fili and Kili were and trying again to locate Bilbo.
The pathway ahead of them exploded, revealing the Goblin King.
Bella half-screamed, sliding to a halt in the midst of the dwarves.
The dwarves retreated, leaving Gandalf in front.
Bella fought her panic as they were surrounded on all sides by the goblins.
"You thought that you could escape me?" the Goblin King taunted. He swung his giant scepter twice, causing the wizard to stumble back.
"Gandalf!" Bella cried. Had he been hit? Was he alright?
"What are you going to do now, wizard?" the giant beast challenged. "Or are you going to rely on the relation of Bullroarer Took to get you out of this?
Gandalf leaped forward, jabbing his staff into the monster's eye. Then as the beast was distracted by nursing his minor injury, Gandalf sliced across its bulbous stomach, bringing the creature to its knees.
For a moment all was silent. "That'll do it," the Goblin King said.
"Miss Baggins," Gandalf asked, "do you wish to continue the family tradition?"
Bella stepped forward as she breathed deeply. "I doubt that they'll attribute the start of a game to me, but I do wish to make him pay." She looked the beast dead into its giant, bulbous eyes. "For the capture of my friends, brother, One, and family of my One, and for the threatening of all our lives." She plunged both of her swords into its heart. "You are beaten, just as your father was, filth." She leaped back, wrenching her blades out as she did so.
The former king slumped forward with a mighty crash. The bridge rocked, creaking and groaning.
"Oh, no," she moaned. "Not more falling."
Fili darted forward and pulled her back among the dwarves again just as an entire section of the bridge collapsed underneath them. It crashed and slid down the rock face, shattering anything in its path. There was no stopping the scream that tore her throat even as Fili's own scream rang in her ears. Then the inhabited levels were behind them as they jolted back and forth in a narrow bottleneck before finally crashing to the ground. A chorus of settling wood mixed with the groans of dwarves, hobbits, and wizard.
Catching her breath, Bella saw Kili near the bottom below her. "Kili? You alright?"
He half-coughed as he gave her a pained smile. "We're dwarves, future sister. Formed from the very mountains. It'd take more than this to cause lasting damage."
"And despite his near elvish looks," Fili said from beside her, "my brother has an even thicker skull than the rest." He scrambled down, offering her a hand.
"Hey!" Kili shouted. "I protest both of those accusations."
"Of course you do," Bella said, half-chuckling and rolling her eyes as she scrambled down.
"Well, that could have been worse," Bofur said.
The corpse of the Goblin King crashed down on top of the rubble and remaining dwarves almost out of nowhere. Bella gave a short cry of surprise before cringing in sympathy.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin grunted beside the wincing Kili.
Bella and Fili quickly stepped forward to help pull various members of the Company out from among the wreckage. Thankfully aside from having their breath knocked out and potential bruising, none of them were the worse for wear.
"Gandalf!" Kili cried.
Bella whirled toward him to see the young dwarf staring upward. She looked up and gave a hoarse half-scream when she saw the hordes of goblins racing down the rock face towards them.
"There's too many," Dwalin said. "We can't fight them."
"Only one thing will save us," Gandalf said. "Daylight. Come on."
Bella retrieved a sword she'd dropped before tucking both into her belt before Fili and Kili grabbed her hands. Then they were running once again.
She couldn't have said how long they ran before they finally spied daylight. She could have wept for joy if she hadn't needed the air to breath or her eyesight to keep from stumbling.
Gandalf stopped about ten feet from the exit, just before a small tunnel opening. "Quickly." He waved them on, softly muttering something as they passed.
And then, finally, they were in open air once again. As they continued to run away from the tunnels, Bella heaved in great breathes of fresh mountain air. Pine and scrub brush. Wild winds. Summer heat. Even the faint dry earth. It was beautiful, and it was only the continued rush to put as much distance between the goblin tunnels and themselves that kept her from dropping to her knees at the glory of it.
Author's Note: Okay. Possibly the first time I wrote a battle scene. At least like this. I would like to know if you guys think I did well or not. If I didn't do good, do you have any tips for me to make it better and for future reference?
Okay. I have only ever seen extended scenes of Goblin Town, and thus heard the atrocity that was the Goblin King's song, on youtube. I was not fond of their interpretation. Made me think of a bad, medieval rock band. Those of you who value music, do not listen to this abomination. It is horrible. If you still wish to seek it out, just know you have been warned. So, Bella conveys my disgust of the goblin "music" and the disgusting mound that is the Goblin King.
I believe my thinking concerning the connection between the Goblin King and Bullroarer Took was influenced by The Broom Bearing Baggins of Bag End by Wynni.
So, Goblin Town is behind them. But, do you think the Company has reason to worry about Azog? Is he really alive? Or was the Goblin King mistaken? Thoughts? Theories? I want them all. :-D