"No!" Thorin's cries echoed through the caves of the mountain.
Guided by blind rage he shoved his captors off his body and reached for his nearest weapon. All of the dwarves quickly followed suit, taking advantage of their stunned opponents. By the time the goblin king had managed to recover himself and asses the danger of the new intruder, terror had struck his heart.
"He wields the Foe-Hammer, the Beater, bright as daylight!"
The goblins tried to escape the following carnage but the dwarves have already regained their weapons and were on the warpath. The goblin king became enraged at the chaos now ensuing in his throne room. He looked his eyes on Nori as the younger dwarf fell to the floor. The giant goblin mustered all his energy to lift himself and began to charge Nori.
Before the king could seize his chance to draw blood, Thorin used the distraction to attack. He jumped forward, deflected the goblin's blow, and shoved him backward. The great goblin's unbalanced body carried him to the edge of the platform and Thorin felt satisfaction as he tumbled over the edge.
There seemed to be a brief moment were all the emotions in Thorin's mind swirled into a mass of confusion. The pain of loss, the satisfaction of revenge and concern for the other dwarves all demanded his attention. He chose to allow his warrior instinct to guide him and was met by the savage glares of the goblins. Gandalf was the first to react.
"Follow me. Quick! Run!" he ordered.
The goblins surged forward, craving blood as payment for the fallen leader. As the dwarves ran, it seemed every goblin they tried to cut down was replaced by a dozen more. They seeped from every tunnel or hole in the wall as the company kept pushing away from the throne room.
The suspended passageways were a mess of tunnels and bridges. Each led in a different direction to places the dwarves could only guess at. They placed their faith in the wizard who moved on without any hesitation. Wood gave way and the bridges barely supported their weight. However, each dwarf rose to the challenge of every enemy slashing and stabbing to clear their path.
Gandalf felt his urgency decrease as they approached the final bridge leading to the exit. As the wizard began to lead, the group across Thorin looked on in disbelief when the Great Goblin suddenly broke through from underneath the bridge. Thorin then felt a brief moment of relief, which was quickly replaced by horror. The whole company was forced to look on as Nola's tiny frame was being crushed in the greasy fist of the Goblin King. Taking advantage of their halted momentum, the goblins swarmed around them blocking off every possible exit.
"You thought you could escape me?" the Goblin King taunted.
"Release her you disgusting mass of puss!" Gandalf shouted
The Goblin swung his mace in response forcing Gandalf to move backwards. The goblin roared in laughter as the dwarves struggled to hold the grey wizard on his feet. Thorin saw the goblin tighten his grip on his captive and as a result, Nola was struggling to breathe. They had to move quickly.
The goblin king smiled in satisfaction. "What are you going to do now, wizard?"
The dwarves had now had enough of this disgusting race. They looked on proudly as their comrade rushed forward and smacked the fatty mass in the face. The goblin couched holding his eye in pain as Gandalf struck again, this time slashing him across the stomach with his sword.
The goblin king looked down in shock realizing what had happened. "That'll do it."
With one more swing of his sword Gandalf slashed open the goblin's throat condemning him to his final fate. As the giant goblin threatened to plummet over the edge Nola reached out to Thorin. This time he would be there to catch her. He rushed forward as the bridge began to collapse from the weight of the goblin king. He felt the wood give out from his feet as he ran forward to catch her. He caught her hand and kicked the lifeless fingers of the giant goblin to release his grip. He lifted her up and pulled her close to his own body.
They did not have long to celebrate before the bridge began to slide and give away completely. Thorin forced Nola down against the bridge and pinned her body under his. The whole bridge dropped down and slid down the sides of the cavern. It continued to pick up speed until the dwarves were screaming in terror.
They finally crashed landed at the bottom of the cavern. Thorin and Nola rolled away from the wreckage landing on the hard stone floor. Nola blinked several times to clear her vision before looking up at the male dwarf above her. He closed his eyes as she reached out to stroke his cheek with her fingers. For the first time since she had rejoined them she felt safe and protected.
"Well, that could have been worse." Bofur spoke up suddenly.
Nola smiled to herself thinking it could have definitely been worse. Thorin mirrored her thought and clutched her tightly imagining what it would have been like to find her cold body on the cavern floor. Suddenly, the heavy corpse of the Goblin King landed on top of the wreckage with a loud bang socking the two of them. They looked up to see the other dwarves were squashed under his weight
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin shouted in dismay.
As the rose to her free the other dwarves Nola could not help but laugh. However, they had not escaped danger yet.
"Gandalf!" Kili screamed directing everyone's attention above them.
Hundreds of goblins swarmed down to catch their pray. The dwarves moved quickly to free themselves and unsheathe their weapons.
"There's too many! We can't fight them." Dwalin realized.
"Only one thing will save us… daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet!" Gandalf began to run once again.
The dwarves all groaned, their bodies aching as they began to move forward.
"Come on you lazy dwarves. Who wants to say they couldn't keep up with the old man?" Nola teased.
With that new energy surged through the dwarves and they rushed to catch up with Gandalf. They move quickly through the thin passages ways that led out of the mountain. Nola surged with relief when she saw the light at the end of the tunnel. When she could finally breath the clean air she knew they were safe from the goblin hoard. As the dwarves gathered under the trees she could hear Gandalf mumbling a head count.
"Five, six, seven, eight...Bifur, Bofur...that's ten...Fili, Kili...that's twelve...and Bombur - that makes thirteen." Gandalf said with a final sigh.
Nola glanced around quickly, panic striking her once again. "Where's Bilbo?"