"Everything looks the same! How do you know where we are?" Tauriel exclaimed to Alywin annoyed.
"My dear," he replied as he studying the cracks in the side of the mountain to, "You do not understand the magic of these mountains."
"I understand that you are a poor leader," she repied as she leaned against the cold mountain and wiped sleet from her brow. The snow would not let up and she was becoming restless with the lack of progress on this journey. She thought of turning around and going back. She did not want to return to Mirkwood empty handed, but she felt this journey was going no where.
"Ah ha!" Alywin exclaimed. Tauriel looked up to see just in time forAlywin to grab her and take her to the side of the ledge. They both ducked down.
"What are you doing?" asked Tauriel.
"Shhhhh," Alywin held up his finger to his lips, "just wait for it.."
Tauriel looked back bewildered, but slowly a small crack in the side of the mountain where they were started to open. The crack opened large enough that she saw a gobblin jump out of it. The Goblin began scanning the area around the ledge looking for who ever just disturbed him. Tauriel and Alywin ducked down. Alywin slowly reached for a stone and swiftly threw it over the goblins head to around the other side of the ledge. The goblin huffed and ran around the opposite side of the ledge to follow the sound in hopes to find something to eat. Once out of the goblins sight the two ran through the open crack of the mountain.
Once inside the mountain, Alywin and Tauriel tried to find a spot to hide. Inside was very dark, but Tauriel could make out a few goblins on the other side of a large pit that was in the middle of the area. The pit glowed with orange indicating that hot lava or fire of some sort was in the bottom of the pit.
"Lets move quietly," Alywin whispered to Tauriel. They stayed on all fours as they slowly crawled on the ledge that outlined the pit. The ledge began to get thinner and Tauriel feared the earth with give out and they would fall to their fiery deaths.
The gobins across the other side of the pit continued to not notice them. They seemed to be working on something. It sounded like they were hacking up raw meat from some forsaken almost vomited due to the horrid smell, but was grateful they were distracted otherwise they may have noticed her and Alywin.
Once past the large pit the path they were following turned to stairs that winded down a narrow hallway to the left. The two quickly walked down the stairs still careful to not make a sound. The hallway was getting smaller and began to feel a bit claustrophobic the hallway winded further and further down.
Finally they were led to a doorway. The doorway opened to a dark body of water. Tauriel could not tell if it was in fact water or even tar. She saw something glowing on the otherside of the body of water. A small set of rocks sat across from the water and there was something glowing that sat on one of the rocks. A white pure glow. One that could only belong to the diamonds that belonged to her elven kingdom. She gasped at the sight of their beauty.
"There are your jewels, princess," said Alywin. Tauriel could not believe how frivolously they just lain on a rock. They belong in grand display in the elven kingdom where they could be celebrated for their beauty. She became angry at how they were being treated and began to walk towards them.
"Don't," Alywin held out his harm to stop Tauriel from entering the water, "We will need a boat of some kind. Who knows what lurks beneath that black water."
"A boat? Oh, sure. Let me just go fetch one from the goblins! Im sure they wont mind," Tauriel mocked.
Alywin looked around and thought for a moment. There certainly was no boat is sight. Although in the corner he did notice quite large rocks. Possibly 3 and half feet around for each one. Quickly he grabbed one and placed it in the water. To his luck the water was shallow enough to use the large rock a stepping stone. He grabbed a second one and created another stepping stone towards the jewels. After placing about 5 of these large rocks in the water about two feet apart from each other the water became too deep to put down anymore. They would have to jump the remaining five feet to the area the jewels sat.
Alywin jumped the last five feet to the area where the jewels were and Tauriel wasted no time in following him. "Ha!" Tauriel yeled out with glee as she grabbed up the jewels and placed them in her sack.
"And what of my cut," Alywin asked.
"What of it?" Tauriel smiled.
The celebration of finally finding the jewels didnt last long. They heard a disgusting slinking sound. The gobins had found them possibly by following their scent. Alywin and Tauriel stood on the island of rocks as one by one goblins began to pour out of the hallways from where they came. Tauriel scanned the area for a new exit to flee but she found none. They would simply have to kill all of the goblins to escape. They were quicly surronded by the goblins that didnt fear the black water. Tauriel drew her daggars and Alywin drew his sword.
Tauriel counted about five in all. The first goblin lunged to her and she crossed her daggers in defense and then slit his throat as hard as she could. He fell lifeless to the ground. Alywin swung his sword to decapitate one then another in two swift motions. Another lunged to Tauriel and she did the same thing with her daggers except as she slit his throat another goblin the last one, jumped on her back. She felt its long finger nails and its cold, disgusting breath on her neck. Alywin took his sword and swung at the goblin on her back. It made a disgusting cry as it fell. Alywin then stuck his sword straight down into its belly where it shook before he stopped and became lifeless.
Before Tauriel had time to react to the attack Alywin turned to her said, "We need to leave. Now. More monsters of the mountain will surely know we are here."
He grabbed Tauriels hand as they hopped back over their stepping stones and ran back up the hallway they had come down in. Everything was happening quickly and Tauriel feared that others in the mountain had heard their presence and waited for them at the top of the stairs. Sure enough as the reached the top there was something blocking the entrance to the stairs. It was a large mountain troll.
"Look what I have found. A nice tasty meal. An elf and a man," said the troll.
"You wouldn't want to eat us, Troll. For we would be too large to cook," Alywin said in an attempt to get the troll to let them go.
The troll leaned forward, "Tough to cook, but such is what comes with a large meal," the troll said slowly. He leaned down a touched one of Tauriels curls. Alywin quickly stabbed his hand with his sword. "Feisty meal," the troll said turning to Alywin.
They began to fight as the troll kept trying to grab Alywin and Alywin jumped out of the way everytime and stabbed the troll in a new place.
"Run," Alywin said, but Tauriel didn't want to leave the man. She jumped onto the trolls back and stabbed his neck with one of her daggers. He cried out in pain and reached for her on his back. He held out Tauriel at arms length. "Let her go," cried out Alywin.
The troll looked at the and and simply stated, "okay" then threw Tauriel hard against the wall. Tauriels head struck the wall first and then everything went black