Protect- Chapter 3
AN- Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait but life kind of caught up with me. So without further ado here is chapter 3. Enjoy.
With Thorin unconscious, Bilbo was able to gentle roll the dwarf king on his side to assess the damage to his back. Thorin's back was littered with patches of burnt flesh, just like his stomach, as well as a wicked looking cut that ran diagonally from below his left shoulder blade to just above his right hip.
'I'll need a salve to ward off infection. Might as well patch Thorin up while he is unconscious. Hopefully he won't feel anything.'
Bilbo left the cave and Thorin behind in order to gather the herbs he would need to make his salves. Not wanting to leave Thorin alone for too very long, he worked quickly, keen eyes spotting the various colors and shapes of the herbs he needed; rosemary and lavender to ward off infection, lemon thyme and comfrey to speed up healing. And Willow bark to dull the pain.
Bilbo became so caught up in his searching that he failed to hear the approaching orc party until they were almost on top of him.
The orcs careened into the clearing, grumbling and snorting, growling to each other in the dark language. Bilbo was startled by the sudden appearance of the orcs and it seemed that the orcs were surprised by him as well. There were several moments of utter silence as the two groups stared at each other in shock. Bilbo was the first one in the small clearing to recover and he bolted, turning swiftly and running back the way he had come, herbs clutched tightly to his chest.
A heartbeat later, the orcs were after him, horrible shrieks ripping through the previously peaceful air, as they tore through the undergrowth after their prey. 'It's lucky' Thought Bilbo 'That hobbits are so quick on their feet'.
He sped back to the cave before it dawned on him that he should be drawing the Orcs away from the injured dwarf king, instead of towards. 'I can't let them find Thorin again!' With that thought in mind, Bilbo suddenly veered to the left and began running away from the cave.
The Orcs followed after him like a pack of wolves chasing a rabbit, just as he had hoped. Running faster, Bilbo jerked backwards as the ground abruptly dropped out from beneath his feet. It was only by pure luck that he was able to throw all of his weight backwards with enough force so as not to end up falling off of the cliff. Panting from his now seated position on the ground, Bilbo glanced around wildly, eyes widening with fear as the orc party came into view, the head orc leering at Bilbo grotesquely as he spotted their now cornered prey.
The orcs slowed, their headlong chase turning into a predatory stalk, as they headed for the helpless hobbit. "Nowhere left to run little hobbit. Nowhere left to hide." Sneered the head orc. Bilbo gave a tiny involuntary shudder at the orc's tone. Then he remembered his ring. He slowly shifted his armful of herbs to free one of his hands, which he then slowly slid into his pocket, trying to mask his movements from the orcs using the healing herbs.
Then, just as the head orc thrust out an arm to grab the still shaking hobbit, Bilbo shoved the ring onto his first finger, and swiftly rolled to the side in order to evade the Orc's grasp.
Chaos erupted as every orc in the herd swung their blades wildly around in an attempt to find the now vanished hobbit. Bilbo quickly crawled between the wildly swinging orcs, carefully avoiding each blade swing and step of the horde, as the head orc screamed in the black speech. Finally he reached the edge of the clearing. Standing he bolted into the forest and back towards the cave, eager to feel safe once more. Eager to make sure Thorin was ok. He ran faster.
Once he was back in the cave, Bilbo made quick work of Thorin's injuries. He made a salve from the herbs he had collected and he made sure to liberally apply it to each and every cut to ward off infection. He was also able to scavenge a needle and some thread from his pack, which he used to sew up the worst of Thorin's wounds as best he could. He found a spare shirt in his pack, which he tore up into long strips and used to cover as many of Thorin's injuries as he could. The smaller cuts he left to breath in hopes that the salve would keep them clean, and the air would allow them to scab over.
Luckily Thorin stayed unconscious for Bilbo's ministrations, only grunting and shifting when Bilbo tended to the deepest and worst of the injuries.
But at long last Thorin's wounds were wrapped and clean to the best of Bilbo's ability and all that was left to do was wait and let the herbs and Thorin's own body heal itself. Bilbo left the dwarf alone to rest as he searched their dark sanctuary more thoroughly.
At the very back of the cave lay a small pool of clear water that had accumulated from a steady trickle that ran down the cave wall. Bilbo cupped his hands and gave the water a tentative taste. It was pure and clean as well as cold due to the overall temperature of the cavern.
Shifting through his pack once again, Bilbo found his wooden bowl that he had been given for meals by Bombur. He filled the bowl and took it back to Thorin in order to coax him into drinking a bit. Bilbo settled Thorin's head gently in his lap and slowly coaxed the Dwarf to swallow a few mouthfuls of the cool liquid. Thorin did not wake through the ordeal.
For the next couple of hours Bilbo occupied himself between checks on Thorin's condition, by collecting as many edible plants as he could find from near the mouth of the cave, still wary of the searching Orc hordes. He found several varieties of edible mushrooms- as well as some very poisonous and inedible mushrooms- and a few handfuls of berries that were enough to make the hobbit a small meal. He was also able to gather wood for a possible fire, but with the orcs still searching so close he was unwilling to take the risk.
Eventually darkness fell and the temperature in the cave dropped rapidly with the loss of the sunlight. Bilbo curled up next to the dwarf king's form for the night after covering his still bare chest with what was left of Bilbo's once fine waistcoat. Bilbo argued with himself that he was only sleeping so close in order to keep tabs on Thorin's health for the night, as well as for warmth. 'After all it wouldn't be right for Thorin to freeze to death after all the effort I put into getting him away from the orcs.' Reasoned Bilbo. And if a deeper part of Bilbo's subconscious grumbled mine, well then the hobbit frankly just chose to ignore it.
Lying beside Thorin as the shadows grew deeper in the safety of their cave, Bilbo allowed his mind to wander. Now that he had Thorin away from the clutches of Azog and they were relatively safe, he was finally able to calm down enough to think about why he had been so frantic to get Thorin back.
All he could remember was the utter panic and complete loss of thought that he had experienced as he watched Azog ride off with Thorin as his prisoner. Then there was only one thought clambering around in Bilbo's mind. Growing in volume and intensity until it was shrieking from every nook and corner. HE IS MINE. GIVE HIM BACK.
In fact, when Bilbo had seen Azog sneering at him as he turned to take Thorin away, Bilbo had almost seen red. Not purely from rage but also from mind-numbing terror at the thought of losing his dwarf. In that instant he just knew he had to get Thorin back so he could keep him safe. Keep him protected. In that instant his brain had claimed Thorin. 'HE IS MINE'.
So really there was no thought behind his going after Thorin. In fact it wasn't until he had finally reached the Orc camp that Bilbo had begun to fully realize the extent of his actions. It was then that he had realized having an actual plan and maybe some dwarven backup might have been a good idea. But by then it was all too late and he had just had to manage with what he had.
'It had all turned out ok in the end' mused Bilbo silently as he curled up tighter against Thorin's side 'we are both still alive and even relatively safe. A job well done if I do say so myself.'
And with that last proud thought drifting along in his head, Bilbo slipped quietly off to sleep.
