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Chapter 6: Over Hill and in the Bloody Dark
The next ten days were uneventful for the Company. They walked. They ate. Walked some more, and finally slept for the night, and then got up and did the same thing the next day. But day by day they were coming closer to the edge of the mountains. Bilbo started to notice that they had started on an upward angle and were climbing up. At first it was easy, but by the 7th day, the angle was starting to get steep, and Mr. Baggins, who was not accustomed to such hikes, was near dead on his feet by the end of the day.
The Dwarves of course were used to climbing in mountains, and it paid them little bother. Likewise were Harry and Luna, who were both in good shape physically. If the climb bothered Gandalf, he gave no sign of it.
Adding to Bilbo's discomfort was the weather. It was getting colder the further up the mountain they went. Also there were the paths to deal with. When they started at the base of the mountain, the path leading up into them had been wide and well defined, and one was able to step out of the way of sharp rocks and the like. But now it had narrowed considerably, and Bilbo was having a horrible time trying to avoid stepping on sharp stones, and at the same time trying to keep the pony he was leading from doing the same. But it was no use. (at least for him) He invariably would step on a rock, and although the rock didn't cut his foot because of the thick pad of callus built up through 50 years of walking barefoot, it still hurt like all hell.
In the end, Harry had made him some, what he called sandals which had very thick bottoms on them. He had originally made him hiking boots but the things were so heavy, that he had to take them off after only a half an hour. These though were much better. They were light, and they cushioned his feet against the rocks.
But that had been the only bright spot of their trip up into the mountain so far. He was still cold, and they still weren't stopping for meals as often as he would have liked…...only TWICE today, and it was past noon already, and he was getting hungry.
Bilbo was busy grumbling to himself, that he "Should have kept his mouth shut and stayed home where people ate at civilized hours," and thinking that this adventure "couldn't possibly get any more uncomfortable!" when of course it did.
-=ooo000ooo=-
Harry and Luna on the other hand, seemed to be in good spirits. They had never seen mountains like these, and the trek up into them had been a delight from their point of view. Very early on Harry had transfigured his trainers into hiking boots, and was surprised to see Luna do the same. "I didn't know you knew about hiking boots Luna." He said to her. Choosing not to say anything about the fact that Luna's boots were neon pink with sequence on them.
"Oh I've worn these kind of boots before Harry." She explained. "When Daddy and I went looking for Snorkacks, usually in Sweden and Austria, we often found ourselves in mountains where there were loose rocks everywhere. The weight of them took some getting used to, but they're better than twisting your ankle, or falling and bruising your tailbone. Once you do that once, you never want to do it again, believe me." She smiled at him as she was saying all this, seemingly without taking a breath.
Harry opened his mouth to ask how you treat a bruised tailbone…and then shut it. No. I don't want to know. He thought to himself.
They had both noticed Bilbo struggling over the rocks, so Harry asked him, "Bilbo, would you like me to make you a pair of hiking boots like Luna and I have? They'll protect your feet from the rocks." Bilbo had agreed to try them, and Harry transfigured two tree branches into boots that would fit the Hobbit. He regretted it almost as soon as he did it. He has used a sizing spell to make sure the boots fit, but he hadn't taken into account the size of Hobbit feet, or the thick layer of hair, (fur really) that covered them. The boots ended up looking like a cross between clown shoes, and Frankenstein boots, and between the weight, and how hot Bilbo's feet got in them, the poor Hobbit had only managed to last about half an hour before they completely wore him out.
It had been Luna that had saved the day. "Why don't you turn them into sandals Harry, only with a thick sole to cushion Bilbo's walk?"
"Luna that's brilliant." He told her, and with a swish of his wand, the Frankenboots were gone, and in their place was an extra long, extra wide pair of sandals, complete with a thick layer of sponge rubber for the sole. "Try these Bilbo. They're nowhere near as heavy."
Bilbo tried them on and found that he hardly noticed the weight of them. Best of all, they prevented the rocks from cutting into the bottoms of his feet. "Thank you so much Mr. Potter." He told Harry. "And thank you as well Miss Lovegood for thinking of them. This is ever so much better."
"Oh anytime Bilbo, and don't you think it's time you started calling us Harry and Luna? Friends usually address each other by their first names."
"Thank you…Harry," Bilbo answered. "and you too Luna. These…what did you call them…sandals?..." Luna nodded. "…will make walking here much easier."
The sandals had indeed made the walk easier, but now not even his new footwear could help. It was raining again.
-=ooo000ooo=-
The rain, which had started as a light shower late in the day, had quickly turned into a violent thunder storm, and now the entire company was soaked to the skin. They had looked for a dry place to stay for the night, but all they could find had been a relatively shallow over cropping that barely kept the rain from hitting them. Ad to this the wind and the cold…well, everyone was quite miserable let me tell you. Even Luna's usual upbeat manor was diminished considerably.
They tried of course warming and drying charms, but even magic can only do so much. Harry even tried using the Elder Wand to "Impervious" their cloaks, and it worked for a little while. But the rain still got through, and he eventually gave up.
It was Thorn that finally decided to do something about it though. He sent Fili and Kili off to see if they could find a better spot for them to spend the night. They were gone for nearly an hour, before returning. "We found a dry cave." Said Fili.
"Where?" asked Thorin.
"About 20 minutes walk from here." Answered Kili. "It's dry, and will hold all of us plus the ponies."
"Did you explore it thoroughly?" Gandalf asked the two dwarves.
"Yes, yes." They both said. "It goes back about fifty feet into the mountain, and there are no entrances to it from the inside."
Gandalf frowned. He didn't think they could have explored it very well if they were back so soon, and would take a look for himself when they got there. Caves it these parts of the Misty Mountains were dangerous, and very seldom unused. He got up and went over to Harry and Luna who were in a corner with a blanket around them, trying to stay dry and warm. "Mr. Potter, Miss Lovegood, when we get to this cave could I have the assistance of you both in searching it to make sure it's safe? You may be able to see something I miss."
"Of course Gandalf." Harry replied. "We would have done that in any event. 'Constant Vigilance ' as an old teacher of mine used to say."
Luna smiled, thinking about her rather, eccentric great-grandfather.
"A wise man." Agreed Gandalf. "Always be on your guard – at least till we get out of the mountains."
"Don't worry, we will." Harry said gravely. "If the Goblins in these mountains are anything like the ones back home, then they're nothing to take lightly."
They both got up and went over to Bilbo who was helping the dwarves pack up to move to the cave. "Want some help packing Bilbo?" Harry asked.
"Yes please." Answered Bilbo, who seemed to be a bit overwhelmed.
With a swish of his wand, everything around Bilbo was suddenly in motion. All of it packing itself neatly into bags. Luna, Bilbo noticed had gone over to help the dwarves with their packing. "It's amazing how you can do that Mr…Harry. I've never even seen Gandalf do anything like that."
"I don't think it's because he can't." Harry answered him. "I think rather it's because he's not allowed."
"No allowed? But….who….why would they…" Bilbo stammered. Amazed at the very thought that Gandalf could be forbidden from doing something by anyone.
"From what Gandalf told Luna and I when we met. He, and others like him,
were sent here to help the peoples of Middle Earth. They're all very powerful, but they're also supposed to inspire the people to help themselves, and only allowed to use their power in the direst of circumstances. In other words, he's not allowed to interfere directly."
Bilbo pondered this as he watched Luna packing up the dwarves things. Then he thought about the deer that Harry had killed out of reflex. "But what about you and Luna? I see you using magic all the time."
Harry smiled. "We're not from this world Bilbo, nor from the same place as Gandalf. So we're not under the same restrictions. Now, let's get this stuff on the ponies so we can move to the cave Killi and Filli found. I'm tired of being wet and cold."
"Gladly." Replied Bilbo. "Anything is better than this dismal place."
Harry was about to say that there were a lotof things worse than being wet and cold, but decided not to voice his concern to Bilbo. The Hobbit had enough to worry about.
-=ooo000ooo=-
It took the company the better part of two hours to get themselves, their ponies, and all their supplies to the cave as they had to go very slowly. The part found by the dwarves was very narrow, and they had to lead the ponies very carefully. But in the end, they got there in one piece. Although they did have a close call when a stone giant (as Gandalf had called it) tossed a boulder that narrowly missed them. It hadn't been aiming at them, but at another of it's kind, and the boulder, after hitting the side of the mountain, had rolled and bounced within a dozen feet of them before disappearing into the gloom of a ravine far below.
They found the cave was indeed dry, but because of the weather outside, extremely damp. Harry levitated some large rocks into the center of the cave and said "Luna could you help me with this and cast Incendio on the rocks to heat them up? That should warm this place up."
"Of course Harry. Anything for you." Luna said innocently.
Harry blinked at this, wondering if there was some other meaning to that statement, but pushed the thought aside. "On three then?" he asked Luna nodded.
"One…two…three. INCENDIO!" they both cast in unison.
Fire shot out of both their wands and blasted onto the rocks. They held the spell for nearly 2 minutes before Harry nodded and they both stopped. The rocks were now blazing hot. "There, they should stay hot for quite a while, and we can re-heat them later as needed."
"Thank you." Thorin said. This will make all the difference. We can dry our clothes, and maybe even cook some of the deer meat we have left by putting on the rocks."
"No problem." Harry replied, and then saw that Gandalf had come over to them.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Lovegood, could I borrow both of you for a little while. I want to check out this cave more thoroughly before we all go to sleep."
"Sure." Harry said. "We might as well get it over with so we can get some rest. How do you want to do this Gandalf? Split up and each of us search a section. Or all together?"
"All together I should think." Replied the old wizard. "The caves not that big, and I mainly want you to examine it with me because you might see something I miss."
So while the dwarves and Bilbo were changing into dry clothes and laying their wet ones out to dry near the rocks, Gandalf, Harry and Luna started running magical scans of the back wall of the cave. Harry had decided to use the Elder wand for this to give him the best possible chance of detecting if there anything of concern. He found nothing to alarm him, but he did find that there was an opening behind the center of the back wall. It didn't concern him because this was a cave after all, and caves had open spaces all over the place. Besides, the back wall was solid with no openings. Luna detected nothing, but did notice he was again using the fabled wand.
"I detect nothing." Gandalf finally said. "Did either of you find anything?"
Harry told him about the open space behind the wall, and Gandalf agreed that this wasn't unusual. That most of the caves in these mountains were honeycombed with passages and openings. But something still bothered Harry about it. Maybe, he thought to himself, maybe Mad Eye's paranoia is just rubbing off on me. Still…Silently he cast a security ward on the back wall. Luna looked at him questioningly. "Just in case." He said simply.
-=ooo000ooo=-
Bilbo couldn't sleep.
He didn't know why he couldn't, all he knew was that he couldn't get comfortable. It was almost he thought, like he was being watched. He knew this was impossible because everyone was asleep, even Gandalf. And so it was because of this, that he found himself sitting up with his back to the wall of the cave staring into the dark, think of his warm soft bed back in Bagend.
He almost didn't notice the back wall when it started to move quietly to the side, but that wouldn't have mattered because no sooner did it start to move when the loudest sound he had ever heard started ringing inside the small cave.
The sound, had he known it, was a claxon, and it instantly woke everyone up. However most of them had by this time been in a deep sleep, and between waking up suddenly, and the noise, they were more than a bit disorientated. It was this that allowed the Goblins, for Goblins it was that poured in through the hole in the wall, to capture nearly all of them. All save for Harry, Luna, and Gandalf.
Gandalf and Harry had awoken and immediately starting sending spells at their then unseen intruders. At least 20 of the Goblins were cut down before they realized there were too many to fight off without the help of the Dwarves. Harry disillusioned Luna and then himself before looking for Gandalf. Not seeing the old wizard, he figured he had done something similar. "Don't make a sound Luna. We can't fight them off right now."
"But Harry, what about the dwarves? We can't just leave them." She protested.
"We won't." he said quickly. "When the Goblins take them, wherever they're going to take them, we'll follow. I'm sure Gandalf is still here too, so we should be able to surprise them and get everyone out."
"Alright, but I don't like it." She finally said.
"I don't like it either Luna, but it's the only chance they have. Even three wizards can't take on…" he looked around and did a quick estimate. "at least a hundred goblin warriors when they're ready for a fight. We have to catch them off guard."
And so they watched as the Dwarves and Bilbo were all bound, and disarmed by the Goblins before being roughly shoved through the cave opening into the
Dark cavern beyond. Harry and Luna managed to get through just before the Goblins shut the cave entrance door. There was sign of Gandalf.
They followed quietly behind for what seemed like hours to them. All the while listening to the Goblins singing a rather horrible song about where they lived, deep in the mountains.
Finally though, they came to a huge hall that was lit by dozens of torches. At the far end of which was a large throne, and an even larger Goblin sitting in it. Bilbo and the Dwarves were all made to kneel before one of the Goblins leading them approached the Throne and bowed.
"Who are these miserable persons?" he bellowed at the Goblin
"Dwarves, and this!" said one of the drivers, pulling at Bilbo's chain so that he fell forward onto his knees. "We found them sheltering in our Front Porch." The Goblin warrior said.
"What do you mean by it?" said the Great Goblin turning to Thorin. "Up to no good, I'll warrant! Spying on my people, I guess! Thieves, I shouldn't be surprised to learn! Murderers and friends of Elves, not unlikely! Come! What have you got to say?"
"Thorin the Dwarf at your service!" trying to sound polite as this was not the time for rudeness. "Of the things which you suspect and imagine we had no idea at all. We took shelter from a storm in what seemed a empty cave. Nothing was further from our thoughts than inconveniencing you or your people in any way whatever."
"So you say! And what you were doing up in the mountains at all, and where you were coming from, and where you were going to? In fact I want to know all about you. Not that it will do you much good, Thorin Oakenshield…yes I know who you are. In fact I know too much about your folk already. But let's have the truth, or I will make sure that what remains of your lives is particularly painful. No matter how short it is!"
"We were on a journey to visit our relatives, and the other descendants of our grandfathers, who live on the East side of these mountains," said Thorin, not quite knowing what to say, when obviously the exact truth would not do at all.
"He is a liar, O truly tremendous one!" said one of the warriors. "Many of our people were struck by lightning in the cave, when we invited these, creatures to come below, and they are as dead as stones. Also he was carrying this!" and held up the sword Thorin had gotten from the Trolls lair.
The Great Goblin gave an almost primal howl of rage when he saw the sword, and all his soldiers started grinding their teeth, and clashing their shields. They knew it at once. It had been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of goblins in its day, when the Elves of Gondolin fought them in the hills. The Elves had called it Orcrist in their tongue, or Goblin-cleaver, but the goblins called it simply Biter, and the only thing they hated more than it, was any one that carried it.
"Murderers! Elf-friends!" the Great Goblin shouted. "Slash them! Beat
them! Bite them! Take them away to a dark hole and never let them see the light again!" He was in such a rage that he jumped off his seat and rushed at Thorin with his mouth open to bite him. But at that moment all the lights in the cavern went out with a POOF!
-=ooo000ooo=-
Harry and Luna had been quietly watching and listening to all of this from the back of the cavern. He had started forming a plan to free the Dwarves and Bilbo when Orcrist was revealed and the plan went up in smoke.
"Oh shit!" Harry quietly swore. "This isn't going to end well Luna." He said to her quietly. "Don't cast to stun. Goblins are tough at the best of times, and most of these are wearing armor on top of that.
Harry, like Luna, already had his wand in his hand, and he switched it to his left as he started to pull the black sword out of its scabbard when all the lights went out. "Gandalf!" he said.
-=ooo000ooo=-
The chaos that ensured when the lights went out, had to be heard to be believed. Goblins were yelling from every point on the room. Harry and Luna also heard the occasional voice of one of the Dwarves as one of them was either hit or bumped into in the dark. Suddenly there was a flash of light in the corner as a sword, bathed in a blue glow lit the room. It instantly got the attention of all the Goblins as well, as their screaming increased ten fold. They knew that sword. It had been named Glamdring by the Elves, and as Harry watched, he saw it come sweeping down and cleave the Great Goblin completely in half.
It was this that moved Harry into action. He pulled the black bladed sword from his scabbard, wondering if it too would glow blue in the dark. To his astonishment it did indeed glow, but not blue. Instead the swords blade gave off bright fire red glow, almost like it had been heated in a forge. He started in at the Goblins, chopping away at them one by one, with Luna staying behind him and watching his back. She even hit two goblins with reducto curses when they got too close to the pair, Both went down and didn't get up.
Finally, between Glamdring and the black blade of Eöl, Harry and Gandalf managed to cut a path to the dwarves (and Bilbo) and release their chains.
"Now, quickly. Follow me!" Gandalf commanded; and before Bilbo or the Dwarves understood what had happened they was trotting along again, as fast as they could. down one dark passage after another, the yells of the goblin-hall growing fainter behind him. Gandalf, Harry saw had lit up the top of his staff and it was giving off enough pale light in the gloom to light their way.
"Quicker, quicker!" said the voice. "The torches will soon be relit." How long they ran down those dark passage ways, they never knew. But finally after a while, they had to stop. When they did, Gandalf lit his staff up brighter so that they could all see better.
"Are we all here?" said he, handing his sword back to Thorin with a bow. "Let me see: one-that's Thorin; two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven; where are Fili and Kili? Here they are, twelve, thirteen, here's Mr. Baggins, that's fourteen, and Mr. Potter and Miss Lovegood. That's sixteen. Good. Well, well! it could be worse, and then again it might be a good deal better. No ponies, and no food, and no knowing quite where we are, and hordes of angry goblins just behind! On we go!"
So on they went. Gandalf as it turned out had been quite right about the hoards of angry Goblins, as they began to hear goblin noises and horrible cries far behind them in the passages they had come through. This actually helped them to move even faster than ever. But there was a problem. The problem of course was Bilbo. The poor Hobbit could not possibly go half as fast as the dwarves or the three humans, so Harry took it on himself to carry Bilbo on his back.
But Goblins can still run faster than dwarves, and these goblins knew the way better as they had made these tunnels paths themselves. That and the fact that they were beyond angry at the group, so no matter how fast a pace they tried to keep, they could hear from the sounds that the Goblins were gaining on them.
Finally it got so that they could hear the flap of the goblin feet, many many feet which seemed only just round the last corner, and they could make out the red glow of their torches.
"Why, O why did I ever leave my hobbit-hole!" said Mr. Baggins as he was bumping up and down on Harry's back.
It was at this point that Gandalf fell behind, and Thorin with him. They turned a sharp corner. "About turn and face them!" he shouted. "Draw your sword, Thorin! Harry we need your sword as well!"
Great. Harry thought to himself. We're all going to die, so he finally decides to call me by my first name. But Harry lowered Bilbo down off his back and told him to stay with Luna. "I need someone to protect her Bilbo." and Harry saw the small Hobbit straighten up slightly at this.
The Goblins came scurrying round the corner in full cry, and found Goblin-cleaver and Foe-hammer shining cold and bright right in their astonished eyes. But what made it worse though was Harry standing in between them both, his sword drawn as well, and it's blade burning like the fires of hell.
The Goblins in front dropped their torches and gave one yell before they were killed. The ones behind yelled even more, and leaped back knocking over those that were running after them.
Soon they were all shrieking, and in complete confusion, and most of them were hustling back the way they had come. It was a long time before any of them dared to turn that comer again. But by that time the company long gone. Far into the dark tunnels of the Goblins' realm.
But when the goblins discovered that, they snuffed out their torches and put soft shoes, almost like slippers. They chose their fastest runners with the sharpest eyes and ears. These ran forward, faster than weasels in the dark, only making hardly no noise at all. That is why neither Bilbo, nor the dwarves, nor even Gandalf, Harry or Luna heard them coming. And of course. Approaching from behind with no torches, they didn't see then either.
But the Goblins saw them as they ran silently up behind, for Gandalf was letting his staff give off enough light for them to see where they were going.
Suddenly Harry, who was at the back, again carrying Bilbo, was grabbed from behind in the dark. He shouted and then fell off to his left and into the dark, taking Bilbo with him. Both rolled down a shallow embankment, Bilbo knocking his head on a rock and plunging him into blackness.
-=ooo000ooo=-
A/N: A quick note to those reading Not Another Time Travel Fic.
I'm still working on it. I just can't get it to come out the way I want it. So please be patient with me constant readers. (I love that term. I lifted it from Stephen King)
Cheers.
TD