BETA: Anarithilien. Thank you as always.

Thanks to reviewers too: freddie. Ethelefeanorian, UnnamedElement, Alanic.

OCs;

Miriel - a young woman of the Wood. Legolas and Anglach's contemporary

Theliel - another woman of the Wood. Older, Laersul's contemporary.

Anglach - a friend of Legolas.

Chapter 5: Bilbo Baggins

It seemed very unfair to Bilbo that he had fought off the spiders and only THEN had the elves arrived. 'Could've got here sooner,' he grumbled to himself as he stomped along after the little procession with his ring jammed onto his finger. And they still did not know where Thorin was. They had only realised he was missing once Bilbo had saved them from the spiders and all feared that he may somehow still be their prisoner.

Of course the dwarf that the Wood-elves had already captured and Legolas and Anglach brought back to the stronghold, was Thorin. But Bilbo did not know that and there was not much any of them could do now for the elves marched them along at a sharp pace.

Bilbo could see Fili and Kili ahead of him but he himself of course, was invisible. Even so he didn't feel quite right walking with the dwarves and so he held back. The last elf seemed very suspicious, and kept looking back with his sharp green eyes and Bilbo could not help but duck behind a tree or bush whenever the elf glanced over his shoulder and frowned like he could smell something foul. Bilbo thought it was very bad-mannered until he reminded himself that the elf could not actually see him and so could not possibly be making faces at him.

The elf was tall and his hair was long and very dark. The other elves seemed to defer to him so he must be in charge, Bilbo thought. He was perhaps even more handsome than the other elves, like one of those marble warriors at the gates of Rivendell perhaps, Bilbo thought, and his sharp green eyes were very bright.

Then there was the sound of running water and suddenly the path ran along the forest river on one side and on the other, a steep hillside climbed. Tall beech trees, their leaves the bronze of Autumn, crowded together over the hillside and right down to the forest river, clinging about the stony shore, their roots winding and twisting into the river itself where the water flowed strong and deep. He paused to stare at it for he was very, very thirsty and so almost missed it when the elves suddenly turned to cross a bridge that spanned it. In fact, had the elves not turned to cross it, Bilbo would not even have known it was there for the eye slid off it as if it were a mere fallen log. As soon as Bilbo's feet were on the bridge however, he saw well wrought stone beneath his feet, carved about with curling vines and wreaths of oak and ash and beech. But it seemed to lead straight into the hillside.

And then to Bilbo's astonishment, a crack of golden-green light slowly appeared in the hillside at the far end of the bridge and from within was the sound of music, flutes and harps reminiscent of the feast they had stumbled upon. The huge gates to the Elvenking's palace were opening in the hillside. The gates were carved, vines and roots and branches scrolled and curled, deer and birds peered out from the carved foliage; no longer were they simply part of the hillside but lavish and ornate.

Bilbo and the dwarves stared in astonishment but where the elves prodded and shoved the dwarves towards the opening gates, Bilbo had no one prodding him and stood staring. It was only when the first dwarf disappeared through the gates that Bilbo suddenly realised he would be left behind if he were not quick.

He launched himself forward, just as the second and third dwarves were disappearing through the opening in the hillside and the first of the elvish guards. But as he ran towards the gates, it seemed they suddenly quickened their closing, almost as if they knew he was there and sought to keep him out. One after another, the dwarves disappeared into the hillside and Bilbo thought he would be left behind again.

He ran faster and was half way over the bridge.

You shall not pass!

A strange, sonorous voice was in his mind and suddenly the roots and vines seemed to thrust out from the gates, reaching for him. A stag shook itself free of the stone and leapt out of the carvings as if it had been there all along and simply hiding; it ran fleetly towards him and leapt over his head. Bilbo ducked to avoid its flying hooves but suddenly there were birds too flying at him as if they too had just escaped from the stone itself, their wings beating at his face so he threw up his hands to defend himself…but when he touched them, they vanished and the air was empty between his hands. He stared. There was the sound of pounding hoofs and another stag, and another leapt at him, barely skimming over his head and he crouched on the bridge in fear.

You shall not pass.

It the vines then that hurled themselves at him. Thorns grew thickly along the sinuous tendrils and caught at his clothes. The trailing roots wrapped about his ankles and suddenly writhed upwards, seeking to hold him. Bilbo stared in horror and suddenly Sting was in his hand and he slashed downwards. For a moment the Gates' roots and vines drew back and Bilbo seized the moment to launch himself towards the rapidly closing gates.

I am not an enemy, he cried to himself as he leapt over the vines and roots that curled and lashed at him as he passed and the birds flocked around him, crying and beating the air with their wings. I am just lost and want to stay with my friends.

No!

He saw the gap closing and closing as the last dwarf disappeared inside and only the elves' leader was left and about to step between the gates. Bilbo ran as fast as his feet could take him, for he knew he would not be able to squeeze through as he had at the Goblin Gate.

Suddenly the elves' leader paused abruptly and turned his head to stare back along the bridge. He seemed unaware of the writhing roots and vines, the fluttering birds, but for a moment his eyes lingered upon Bilbo as he ran towards the elf. Then one of the other elves called, 'Thalos!' and the elf turned away and strode towards the gates.

There was only a narrow crack of light to show where the gates were, they were almost closed but the elf raised his hand and murmured something; the Gates froze, trembled on their hinges as if straining to obey him. He slid through the narrow gap easily and Bilbo followed, almost touching him, so close he could have felt Bilbo's breath upon his skin.

Bilbo just managed to squeeze through in much the same way as he squeezed through the front door of the Halls of the Goblins. Just as well. I lost all my buttons there, he thought ruefully, for he did not think the elves would have missed a shower of brass buttons. He dodged around Thalos and crouched in the shadows, squeezing his eyes shut and listening to his heart pounding, for the magical birds and deer of the Gates had frightened him indeed. They were not real, he told himself. Some sort of magic to frighten away those the elves did not want in their stronghold. He thought for a moment how different was their entry to Rivendell and how well they were treated. And here they were, prisoners and fugitives, he himself skulking in the shadows like a thief.

'There is something out there, Ceredir,' Thalos said quietly to the one who had called him. 'The Gates closed too quickly, keeping something out. Did you feel it?'

The other elf, Ceredir, shot a quick look to the gates and then back to Thalos. 'There is darkness in the Wood. I can feel that. Ever since the dwarves invaded our feast. Not the Necromancer. Something else.'

Thalos grunted an agreement and shrugged. 'If anything is outside then there it will remain. I will tell Galadhon to make sure all patrols are vigilant. I am certain something was on the bridge with us but I saw nothing.'

Bilbo shrank back against the stone then, and ducked behind a column to hide. The dwarves were already far down the passage way. He could hear them cursing and protesting. But it seemed that only he had seen the magical guardians of the Gates. None of the elves had even noticed anything and yet, Bilbo thought wonderingly, elves should be able to sense things that other races could not.

He glanced down at his magic ring and wondered if it enabled him to see things unseen as well as hear things in different tongues.

'We will take them to the fourth level,' Thalos said then, nodding towards the disappearing dwarves. 'Make them secure,' he added with a pointed look. 'Although they cannot escape the King's stronghold once in here, I do not want them loose.'

He turned and shot a sudden look right at Bilbo and the hobbit quickly crouched behind his pillar. The elf shook his head slightly and then turned and followed his men. Bilbo followed closely for he did not wish to get lost in these passages, and he needed to keep an eye on the dwarves. He quickly darted from one shadowed corner to another, ducking behind pillars and corners as he went. The passages were dark and narrow but lit with flaring torches that cast shadows on the walls and at one point, Bilbo saw his own shadow loom hugely and then dwindle as he skulked past a torch.

I will need to be very careful, he thought.

And quite suddenly they emerged from the narrow passageways lit with flickering torches into an immense chamber beneath the hill. Beyond, were many more chambers such as this; he could see huge stone arches opening up from one chamber to another. The chambers were light and airy and there were many openings to the sky. A slightly greenish glow was in the light as if they were in a forest. The stalagmites or tites, whichever they were, Bilbo could never quite remember, were carved, he thought, into a semblance of great sinuous tree roots or branches; he felt he was beneath a forest rather than in a cave. This is not at all like Rivendell, Bilbo thought for the second time. And not at all like the goblin caves of course.

The elves led the dwarves through the main chambers with their soaring roofs and arcing bridges like huge tree roots, the twisting fluting pillars like slender tree trunks. At last they turned down a narrow passageway that took them deeper and twisted and turned between pillars and walls and through smooth arches that became smaller, more domestic somehow. But the sound of water was louder, a rushing pour of the forest river as it churned and flowed through the underground palace, smoothing stone, carving new passages and chambers, pooling still and silent in deep caves. Here were waterfalls too, thin streams of silver falling from one level to another.

The elves were not unkind but they clearly did not like dwarves and the dwarves, now that they were inside the stronghold and safe from any spiders and had stopped looking about at the caves in awe, they began bickering and complaining in loud voices.

'Why do you still have us bound?' That was Kili, Bilbo recognised his voice. 'We cannot go anywhere, he just said. Surely you can take off these bonds?' He turned and gave the elf leading him what Balin called his' winsome' look and what Dwalin called his 'I wouldn't hurt a fly but check your fingers after I've shaken your hand' look.

Whatever it was, it didn't work on the elf who just scowled at him and tugged on the ropes that bound them.

In the deepest part of the underground palace, which was in fact not in the least bit deep for dwarves or hobbits, there were a series of small rooms each with a grill in the door so that the elves could keep an eye on the prisoners. These dungeons, as Bilbo thought, were not a bit like he imagined dungeons; they are clean, if a little dusty, and when the dwarves arrived, there were already elves busily emptying the cells of the detritus of the last unhappy soul who had dwelt there though Bilbo, although there seemed to be a lot of candles and blankets, some feather quilts, quite a lot of chalk, all sorts of things. Each dungeon seemed to have a different thing in it so by the end, Bilbo wondered when the last prisoner had been kept there and if in fact, the elves had not been using their dungeons as store rooms!

He was hiding at this point, in a corner, while the elves pushed the dwarves into the dungeons. Dwalin pounded on the thick door with his great fists and Fili and Kili were shouting and cursing in Khuzdul and because he was wearing the Ring, Bilbo could understand every word and he felt his ears go quite hot.

The elves took no notice and continued talking in their own tongue which of course Bilbo understood in much the same way as he had understood the spiders and dwarves' oaths and curses.

'Is this going to be enough to hold them? You know what they say about dwarves.' This elf was younger than the others and sounded awestruck.

'What?' The one Thalos had called Ceredir turned to face him with a sceptical air.

'The stone sings to them.' The younger elf stared into one of the dungeons with round eyes. 'It might open for them...Imagine that, the stone just cracking open.'

Thalos snorted. He was leaning in and peering into one of the dungeons through a grill in the door. From the stream of curses in Khuzdul that made Bilbo's ears sting, he guessed it was Dwalin. 'Naurion, you are as bad as Anglach!' he declared lightly and smiled. The young warrior gave a wide smile back that was full of adoration and worship.

'I hope not, Captain. I think Anglach is sleeping outside his dwarf's cell in case he should need his hand held or brow mopped.'

Bilbo looked around, wondering which of these elves was Anglach and if he had taken to a particular dwarf, how Bilbo might be able to use that to free the dwarves.

At that moment a soft call came from further along the passage and Bilbo ducked behind a pillar for there was light approaching with the new voice and it may throw his shadow and he be discovered.

'Thalos? Your father asks for you.' An elf came trotting down the passage, a little breathless. 'You had better come now. He is not very happy.'

Clearly an unhappy father caused some consternation amongst the warriors for they all reacted by quickening their action and Thalos nodded briefly and gestured, bringing Ceredir to his side. He immediately followed the anxious messenger and left Naurion and an older elf, who was stern and looked rather cross.

'Here, you in there,' said the grumpy elf. His accent was lilting, a bit like the Hornblowers of the Southfarthing, thought Bilbo, whose voices were softened by the cultivation of pipeweed for which they were so well known. He was addressing Dwalin who paused momentarily in his thumping and pounding of the thick wooden doors. 'You waste your breath and strength. These doors are impenetrable.' He knocked his fist agains them for good measure. 'You cannot escape. Better to use your energy and speak to the King for he is good and merciful. But he is a demon if crossed.'

Dwalin gave the elf a long look and then opened his mouth and cursed him so roundly and thoroughly that Bilbo covered his ears with his hands and he could hear Ori, Dori and Nori all tutting and murmuring in the next cell. But the elf just smiled pityingly. 'You will stay here forever then and it matters not to me.'

Dwalin recommended his pounding of the doors with his great fists and shouting and then Fili and Kili joined in and it was not long before Bifur and Bofur were swearing and cursing too.

At last the Wood-elves slammed the last door shut and a huge key was turned in the last lock and Bilbo heard the dwarves muttering amongst themselves. Surprisingly there was no guard left and he was able to scuttle to the grill in the door of one of the cells. Quickly he pulled the Ring from his finger and stuffed it into his pocket...And felt suddenly bereft.

Ash Nazg...

A whisper. A thrum of energy, almost sexual. His fingers reached into his pocket and stroked the smooth precious gold...Instantly the anxiety left him and he felt a strange sense of...not quite peace, but relief perhaps?

'Do you think Thorin is still in the forest?' asked a voice from within the cell. There was a heavy sigh. Fili and Kili, he guessed.

'I do not know if I hope he is or if I hope he has been captured either before or since. Either way, we are not going to get to the Mountain in time for Durin's Day.'

It pulled Bilbo back to the present and their dilemma; Thorin. He reached up to the bars of the grille and pulled himself up onto his tiptoes, trying to peer in. Instantly Kili was at the door.

'Why, Mister Baggins!' Kili's face grinned at him, dark eyes filled with glee.

Immediately Fili shoved him out of the way and grinned as well. 'You are ever a source of delight and amazement, Master Baggins!' he said.

'How are you going to get us out?'

'He has a key!' Kili's voice floated out from behind his brother. There was a cheer and the dwarves crowded round their individual doors, cheering and shouting to Bilbo.

'No! No, I haven't...Stop, I don't...'

'Bilbo, you'll let me out first?' called Bofur cheerily. His face was up at the grille and he peered out at Bilbo.

'I am sorry, it will have to be me,' came Dori's apologetic voice. 'I have to go.' He said this emphatically so they would know what he meant.

'No, I haven't got...' Bilbo tried again and flapped his hands at them.

'Well done, Bilbo!' cried Balin over him. 'I knew you could not be lost!'

Just get this door open so I can crack a couple of those smug elvish bastards!' Dwalin rattled the bars.

'Will you listen!' Bilbo suddenly shouted. 'I do not have a key!'

The silence that dropped upon them was absolute and instant. Dwarvish faces clustered round their grilles in silence.

Bilbo heaved a breath. 'Not yet anyway.'

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