The floor sloped down even more sharply than ever and we all were hurled downward into whatever was at the bottom. Turns out that the bottom was a firm stone cavern. I was glad my arm was well enough not to cause too many issues now. The landing was as harsh as I thought it would be, heightened by the fact that Kili landed across my legs. He got up hurriedly, apologising in Khuzdul, and then apologising for apologising in Khuzdul before he remembered that 'sorry' was one of the few words I actually knew in the language. We shared a grin at the memory of him sitting on me and the discovery of my miniscule knowledge of his mother tongue.
There was a hole in the wall at one end of the cavern and I eyed the dark space with a great deal of suspicion. We had all took a bump or two on our way down, but Bombur had taken the most as he hobbled to his feet and stumbled confusedly for a while.
We had no time to collect our wits about us. In an instant there were goblins surrounding us, forcing us to cower into a circle. They were disgusting and they smelled nearly as bad as the Trolls had. Their skin was sallow and sickly; their teeth fanged like a sabre-tooth; the eyes a vicious yellow; and their limbs looked uncomfortably long; they were the single most hideous monsters that I had ever seen. They were not as tall as I had expected, some were even as small as Bilbo, and the tallest would only just have surpassed Gandalf's height.
Kili placed a warning hand over one of mine when I reached for my boot, he shook his head. Was I just supposed to let them rip us to shreds just to make sure they did not take my weapons? Should I not defend myself? Instead of arguing I rolled my eyes, he seemed to understand my inner complaints and shook his head again to dismiss them.
He kept his hand there and clung like a shadow to my back, "Don't let them know you're a girl," He hissed. I could imagine what they would do if they found out I was female, it would not be very pretty and I would definitely do anything I could to avoid it.
It did not matter how tightly we packed ourselves together, the Orcs broke us away one by one; grabbing any arms legs or middles they could lay a hand on. In no time at all, or so it had seemed, Kili was torn from my back and I was shouldered roughly by one of the great brutes. The hideous beast bounded along, sending me bouncing painfully against his back; I would have been shocked that I was not causing him pain too, but having seen the thick hide the creature wore as skin, I was sure I could be felt as no more than a fly repeatedly landing upon it. I, on the other hand, could already feel the bruises gathering upon my paper thin skin; in comparison I felt incredibly fragile.
The Goblin finally threw me down onto the growing pile of Dwarves, only to have two more Dwarves deposited on top of me. Luckily it was not poor old Bombur. Above me was Kili and above him, his brother. The youngest gave me an apologetic grimace as the rest of the pile began shifting beneath me; the wiggling movement of me beneath him caused a whole world of problem for Kili. And I could feel that problem against my thigh. Unfortunately, without the Dwarves below and above me getting up, I could not do so either which did not make any of this any better.
Finally Fili yanked his brother off of me and Kili held a very embarrassed and sheepish hand toward me to help me up. I took it, blushing more than I had wanted to and not quite being able to meet his eye. It was silly really, given that we had just been captured by Orcs whom would not doubt kill us, to be getting such confusing butterflies, it was all more than a little awkward. If now was not the time to remember the morning we left Bag End, it certainly was not the time to dwell on what this event might mean for Kili and me.
We had been placed before the largest, filthiest animal I had even witnessed; he wore nothing but a sullied loincloth and an almost toothless, menacing grin. He was taller by far than any other Goblin, taller than two or three Goblins stood on top of one another. I could smell him from where I stood.
"We found this lot prowling around the front porch," One of the lesser Orcs informed the Great Goblin, this one had the same fashion sense.
The Great Goblin scowled, "Who dares enter the Great Goblin's kingdom armed as such? Thieves? Spies? Assassins?"
"Dwarves, your malevolence." The nearest Orc answered somewhat tremulously. Even the followers were afraid of this leader, and that would not bode well for us.
"What are you doing in these parts of the Wild?" The Goblin leader demanded. He leered down with an ugly snarl of a smile. "Speak!"
Under Thorin's stubborn gaze none of us spoke a word, not that we would have anyway, but the emotion in the leader's eyes spoke that anyone who told them of our quest would be far worse than dead once we were through this.
"Very well," The Great Orc mused, "If they will not talk, make them squawk!" He certainly was not disappointed in our silence. The Goblin turned to his closest followers, "Bring up the mangler, bring up the bone breaker." He scanned our Company, an evil glint shining in his beige eyes.
"Well don't just stand there, search them!" The Great Goblin ordered. "Every crack, every crevice."
And they did, thoroughly and roughly. My bag was taken off my shoulder and thrown to my feet. They searched my pockets and inside my jacket, luckily they never searched my boots nor my cloak and so did not fine my weapons. They did, however, find something else.
"This one don't feel like a Dwarf to me," One Goblin commented to a fellow Orc.
The other Orc came over to examine me and looked me over. "It don't have no beard, that be true, but it's small."
"Its hair is awful long," The first Orc put in. "And it has lumps on its chest."
The second nodded, trying to see that for himself. I slapped the hands away firmly, cursing myself for having breasts for the first time in my life, they were more trouble than they were worth apparently.
"I think we got ourselves a lady Dwarf," The second Goblin announced to the rest of the pack.
I could see Kili stiffen beside me, but made sure to keep my mouth shut; my voice would only confirm the suspicions of these beasts. They pushed me forward, closer to their leader, just where I absolutely did not wish to be.
"You are sure this is a woman?" The Great one sneered. Right then I wished I could slit his throat just for that one comment, but I stared mutedly at him, daring him to try something.
The first Goblin nodded, "I am sure as anything, your malevolence." By this point, menacing contraptions, no doubt meant for torture, had been procured and were awaiting their first occupants.
The leader snorted, "I'll sort this one out, make sure she really is a she," He leered. "Every crevice," He repeated, I had to repress the shiver that went through me at his words, and in that moment I hated being a woman. "You lot get to work. Start with the youngest."
Two of the Orcs rushed forward and each grabbed one of Kili's arms and dragged him roughly along the floor toward one of the machines.
"Wait!" Thorin pleaded, stepping into full view of the Great Goblin.
So he was okay with the creatures doing whatever they liked to me, but to hurt one of his Dwarves was over the line? Clearly he only recognised Dwarf members of his Company. Although, if I had to choose between them using me as they planned or them torturing and causing Kili pain, I would probably step in to save Kili from harm too.
"Well, well, well!" The Great Goblin boomed, "If it isn't Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror, King Under the Mountain!" He took a low mocking bow, "Oh!" He frowned in feigned confusion, "But I'm forgetting you don't have mountain, and you're not a king. Which makes you nobody really."
Thorin's scowl grew ever deeper and his eyes took on a dangerously dark turn, casting shadows over his entire expression. This must be how he felt when I told him he was not my king, only worse. The filthy Orc leader took me his overly large hands and squeezed the air from my lungs.
The Great Goblin began singing in a feral, guttural snarl, "Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung, and you'll be beaten and battered, from racks you'll be hung. You will die down here and never be found, down in the deep of Goblin town."
The Goblins were beginning to rummage through our bags, I was slightly relieved they passed over mine, probably thinking that a weak woman's possessions were of no importance and certainly not dangerous. They were right, of course, my bag held only clothes and water skins. My weapons were still upon my person. Not that they knew that. One of the Goblins was throwing about Thorin's clothes and underclothes when he came upon something that made him scream and bawl like a child.
In his hand he held Thorin's sword, Orcrist, which glowed bright blue in the presence of all these Orcs, and that which he had found in the Troll hoard. The beasts could not look at it for their yammering and squalling, and it had yet to arm a single one of them.
"I know that sword! It is the Goblin-cleaver! The Biter! The blade that sliced a thousand necks!" The Great Goblin cried, "A reminder of the Goblin-wars won and lost!" The Great Goblin let me fall from his grasp, I was no longer of interest now that he was in a frenzy of fear and fury. "Slash them, beat them, peel them, kill them all!"
I landed on my bag and quickly shouldered it before anyone could take it from me. One of the Orcs had somehow managed to take a hold of Thorin, grabbing him by the beard and reeling him in. The Great Goblin screamed: "Cut off his head!"
Suddenly the cavern was filled with fire and light that echoed around the caves. I could see nothing nor could I hear a thing, my every sense had been obscured in a single moment. Without a thought I had my blade in hand. If this were some Goblin mischief, I would be ready for it this time. The light was replaced by a grey smoke, there were shapes moving between the wisps and swirls, but I could not tell if they were friend or foe. Then from the grey, came more Grey. Gandalf the Grey to be specific. Maybe I had been wrong about him deserting us, he had left to find some way to help us. I could never be more relieved than I was in that moment to see the old man and his knobbly staff. Wizards, I decided, were good friends to keep.
The wizard gave me a wink and nodded approvingly at my unsheathed sword. He turned to the Dwarves, "Take up arms. Fight. Fight!" He ordered.
The Dwarves scrambled to the pile of swords, knives, axes and bows that the Goblins had carelessly thought to pile up for just such an opportunity. They wielded them, now smirking at the lesser armed Orcs whom were terrified now that Thorin was united with his sword and even more so now they had seen Glamdring, the Elvish-sword Gandalf had coveted from the Trolls.
"He wields the Foe-hammer, the beater, bright as daylight!" Squawked the Great Goblin.
Try as I might, every time I threw back an opponent another was in its place. I sliced through arms, legs, chests and throats and one by one my attackers fell; I could hear shouts of my name, but I dared not turn away from the onslaught before me – a second of not concentrating properly could lose me my life.
Gandalf pulled me by the arm, "Follow me. Quick! Run!"
A Goblin took a swing of his sword, which I batted away with my own and brought my arm down to cut deeply into his overlong arm. I blocked the axe blow from the oncoming orc and took his other hand that now hung limply to slit him with his own blade. Only then did I do as told.
I ran, not like the paced and thought out run of a sprinter, but the panicked run of someone who could die any moment and wanted desperately not to do so. I knew I would be tired any second now, but I refused to change my pace and was soon amongst the middle of our Company. We all raced, full-speed, after Gandalf, not even daring to chance a look behind us. Much as I tried not to be, I was scared – terrified, if I were to be honest. This place seemed to be a maze of tunnels and turns, not to mention it was pitch black, I could only just see Balin in front of me and the youngest brothers by my side, Kili took my hand to make sure I kept pace with him. We may have been in front, but these Goblins know their tunnels far better than I. And they were certainly chasing us with all of their might.
We came out into a whole new cavern, filled with bridges that spanned from tunnel to tunnel, all closely packed so as one could jump between them if they desired. Which also just happened to be filled with even more Orcs. Fili and Kili forced me between them, ensuring I was out of the way from any errant swings that may come our way. Each blow made their arms shudder as the disarmed and or killed each coming Orc. It was like a sort of magic dance they did, knowing where the other will be before they moved. They moved lightning fast and their swords always found their targets as we slowly made our way through the crowds. An axe broke free of their parries and came down over Kili's head. To the luck of the youngest brother, I was ready and despite their efforts to keep me from the fight, I was needed. Just in the nick of time I had my blade above the brunette Dwarf, effectively cutting of the axe-strike before it could find its mark. My arm shook with the effort of keeping the sharpened metal from continuing its path, but I threw up my sword, swinging the axe away in a wide arc, so that Kili could stab the offending Goblin in the gut, black blood marring his sword.
The exit from this cavern was in sight, but we were not free yet. The humongous Great Goblin emerged from just the passage we were heading towards, effectively blocking our way out.
"You thought you could escape me!" He sneered, his dirt ridden face morphing into an ill-suited smirk of triumph.
Gandalf thrust us backward, there were few Orcs left alive and uninjured and they now halted their fight to laugh at our misfortune; we were as good as dead in their opinions and I was more than certain that they were right.
The Great Goblin snickered, his bulging stomach jiggling nauseatingly, "What are you going to do now, Wizard?"
Gandalf's face took on a determined grimace, he stabbed to unsuspecting Goblin leader in the eye with his gnarled staff. The wood coming away stained with Orc blood. The Goblin wailed and clutched at his now heavily bleeding eye, I suppose he probably regrets speaking as he did now, even I could have told him not to taunt a Wizard; even one as complacent as Gandalf usually was. He raised Glamdring in his other hand and sliced through the Goblin's stomach.
The inside of an Orc was even more disgusting than they were outwardly. And I thought they smelled bad on the outside! The stench was worse even that the Troll Hoard. The gloopy, viscous black liquid oozed from the wound, spreading like oil over the stone; organs fell out with soft, wet thumps, littering the cavern floor with squishy, lumpy innards. I did not want to see them, but at the same time it was hard to look away from something that revolting.
The Great Goblin's last words were: "That'll do it."
Gandalf rose his sword one last time and used it to slash the still living Goblin King's throat. The Orc's breathing was cut off with a gurgle of thick blood that spilled from his neck, sliding down the rest of his body. If only that were the end of our problems. The Great Goblin's final effort to thwart our escape was for his lifeless body to fall and catch on the bridge, snapping it clean in half.
The fall was nearly as terrible as it could possibly be. I just happened to land in a pool of the Great Goblin's sticky, odorous blood, and it felt just as foul as it looked. I could feel my skin rejecting its presence and my stomach heaved. Rocks and cave walls had also rained down, but I had avoided them, so maybe the blood was a small price to pay. The others were not so lucky, I set to helping them remove the rubble from on top of them, freeing them one at a time.
"Well, that could have been worse." Bofur chimed, trying to lighten the mood as he always did, jumping out from his pile of stones and wooden beams.
I laughed derisively, "Speak for yourself!" There was nothing I could use apart from my sleeve to try and wipe the blood from my face, Balin tossed me a ragged handkerchief to aid me, which I gratefully accepted.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin snapped, I turned to see he, too, had fallen foul (literally) and landed in another stinking pool.
I gave my hand to Kili, one of the last to be removed, he took my palm with relief. "You're okay," He beamed, returning to his feet once more.
"So are you," I returned his warm smile, fighting the urge to hug him again, I knew this was neither the time nor the place.
Kili's expression changed to that of frustration, his eyes staring just above my head. I pivoted to find the source of his disdain, a host of Orcs were filing through the other end or the cavern, clearly horrified that we had destroyed their leader.
"Gandalf!" Kili shouted in warning.
The other Dwarves and the Wizard turned to face our enemy, swords and axes in hand. We were ready.
"There's too many, we can't fight them." Dwalin complained. He was probably right, I could see no end in this onslaught of Goblin filth.
Gandalf took no more than a second to process our predicament and weigh up our options, not that there were all too many of those. "Only one thing will save us." He declared, "Daylight! Come on!"
The wizard reached down to Ori, the very last Dwarf to be freed from the beams that covered him. "Here, on your feet." He ordered as the Dwarf stumbled and unleashed his weapon.
Once again we found ourselves on the run. How Gandalf seemed to know his way I would never guess and I had not the time nor pressing urge to question him about it right now. I had no idea where Kili was in our newly forged formation, again I was in the middle. I could not see Bilbo either, then again, he would probably be at the back with Balin and Bombur; the Hobbit had never been much of a runner, I would beat him in races at four years old. I just hoped that these Dwarves would look after him and that the Goblins would be even slower than he was.
Gandalf had set an unrelenting pace, much harsher than I would have thought the old man capable, especially seeing as he did not falter from the lead. The tunnels were no longer quite as dark here; a hopeful sign for the lighter things became, then the closer we were to the surface. To my surprise and slight concern. Fili and Kili were at the back, doing their magic dance once more, fending off any Goblin that got too close for their liking and sending them off howling and often with missing limbs. As much as I wanted to, I could not go to help them; Nori was pushing me ahead of him, "They have it covered," He assured me.
They seemed to, but a part of me just wanted to be there to make sure. After all, Kili would not be here if it were not for my parry against the axe earlier. I quickly dismissed that thought, a world with no Kili was not one I wanted to think about, even if I knew it did not exist.
I was starting to get a little tired now, but the walls were getting brighter so I held on and kept going. The Goblins were not being as daring now, some of them even retreated as though the light physically hurt them. Again, this gave me hope; I knew they would not turn to stone like the Trolls (we were not that lucky), if the sunlight sent them reeling, I would certainly get to it as soon as I were able to. Evidently the others were getting tired too; their pace was dropping, yet I still pushed on, my short legs would not carry me as fast as theirs, but I kept up. A stitch was burning into my side, every step was a sharp pain, but I had to move on; stopping would only get me attacked.
Up ahead the light came to a crescendo, it had to be the way out; nothing but daylight could ever be this bright. The air was cleaner here, you could hardly smell the Orc filth at all; the scent of the outdoors was a welcome treat to the nose. Freedom.
We fled out of the cavern into glorious sunlight. It was clear that we had emerged on the other side of the mountains and yet I think I would have preferred going around to going under them, even if it did save a lot of time. There were woods at the very base of the mountain, so I noticed as the first arrow came to land at my feet.
A volley was sent that had us scattering, evidently the volley was accidental as the rest of the arrows came in showers not waver; the Orcs were clearly not that organised. If I could have seen where the archers were, I would have returned fire. Instead, I took charge for once.
"Into the tree line, now!" I ordered. No one moved. An arrow struck Thorin's bag, piercing a water skin inside. "Behind the tree line, or get an arrow to the chest." I reiterated, sprinting for the shelter and not even bothering to see if anyone followed. I knew Gandalf had done as I had said because I could hear his quiet chuckling behind me. Clearly my being bossy was somewhat amusing to the old grey Wizard. I gave it no further thought, I did not care if anyone found it funny; I was getting us to safety and that was all that mattered.
I stopped a few meters into the treeline to see the Dwarves all puffing along. I did not realise I had been holding my breath until I sighed with relief when I spied Kili had made it to the clearing. I almost doubled over with relief and breathed huge gulps of fresh air, now I was finally permitted to rest even if it was for a brief moment. I had no idea a stitch could burn so fiercely until I stopped moving and the fire took over, I really was not made for this kind of exertion. The youngest Dwarf was at my side in an instant. I gifted him a weak smile of relief before moving on to the next great problem. I could not find Bilbo. I had not seen him since we entered the caves. I had thought he would be at the back of our group, and yet now he was nowhere in sight.
Gandalf seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me. "Ori, Nori, Dori," He began counting us off on his fingers, "Oin, Gloin, Bofur, Bifur, Bombur, Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili, Thorin, Veyra…" He stopped short. "We are missing our Hobbit!"
Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter, I didn't want to start the next part in this chapter.
I've named this chapter after David Bowie's 'Magic Dance'.