Hello! A new chapter for you lovely people!
DwarvenWarrior: Aww, thank you so much! :D I missed reading your reviews as much as you've missed my writing, let me tell you :D Yes, we finally got rid of the tension (was about time, right? :D) I hope you'll like the oncoming chapters, we're about to meet good old Thranduil in the next one :D
Akilah Swiftblade: Thank you! I'm glad you liked the last chapter :) And yeah, Fili can read his brother like an open book :D I'm glad you like that! :)
Teshka: I'm glad you liked the last chapters :) And I totally agree, the spiders and Gollum are just... ugh. I wouldn't want to meet either of them :D And the anticlimactic deaths are something that I don't like either, if a character as important as Smaug, Thorin, Fili or Kili dies, it should at least be a bit more meaningful :)
Beloved Daughter: I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, I really wanted Tarya to get caught by the spiders, too, tough the experience isn't really a nice one for her... you'll see what I mean :P
Angel of the Night Watchers: Thanks! Oh yeah, she'll have a few things to say to Thorin once she gets the chance :D
Thanks also to kaia, Nairad, ZabuzasGirl for your reviews! :)
And of course, thanks to the people who followed and favorited!
I hope you'll like the new chapter and leave me a review if you do because I would love to read from you! :D
Bilbo stood alone and lost between the dark trees for a long while, not knowing what to do or where to go. He had lost his friends, the last thing he'd heard being Tarya's frantic call for him from far away before her voice had suddenly vanished together with the others, leaving him on his own in an awfully quiet forest.
The hobbit knew that he needed to find his friends as soon as possible, if only he had even one clue which direction to take. He had no idea where he was and if he was honest with himself, Bilbo dreaded to move even one metre further into this dark maze of trees, afraid to get lost even more than he already was. But he could not just keep standing there and wait until morning came. He could not just abandon his friends. Bilbo had no doubt that they had run into trouble, or else he would still be hearing their calls, and he was their only hope. Now, all he had to do was muster the courage to move in the direction their voices had last come from, although that was harder than he'd thought and it was a long while before he hesitantly set out in the direction he thought might be the right one.
Bilbo had been walking for quite a while, the nightly darkness of the forest already giving way to a lighter, grey morning dimness and his sword held tightly in one hand as he followed along the trees, when he suddenly stumbled over something in the dimness. He quickly jerked around, sword raised; only to realize a moment later that it had been the leg of a dead spider. A gigantic, dead spider, Bilbo thought, eyes widening as he gulped slightly. He looked at the creature for another moment, noticing the hilt of a dagger sticking out of the beast's body. Bilbo recognized that dagger. Fili had given it to Tarya before they had left Rivendell, the time that had past between then and now seeming like an eternity to the hobbit. Slowly, he stepped closer, reluctantly pulling the dagger from the spider's corpse with silent disgust.
He was just sticking the weapon into his belt when he suddenly heard a rustling to his left and jerked around, a small, frightened noise leaving his throat as he saw another massive spider coming at him, quickly scrambling over a big tree root towards him with its long sticky legs. The little hobbit raised his small sword again, swinging it defensively at the beast out of reflex as he stumbled backwards. The spider hissed viciously, although it seemed rather confused than threatened by Bilbo's blade. The hobbit felt his heart thump fast and loudly in his chest and when the monstrous spider took another few steps towards him, he quickly held out his sword in front of him, slamming it right into the spider's eyes with a cry that was both fearful and full of desperate courage.
The spider screeched and jerked as Bilbo's sword pierced it and it fell to the ground only seconds later, legs still twitching nervously until any movement stopped altogether. Bilbo was breathing heavily as he pulled his sword out of the spider's head, gulping as he saw the dark blood covering the shiny blade. A strange feeling filled him then, as he realized that he had just killed a giant spider in the dark, without the help of Gandalf or the dwarves or anybody else. And somehow, that made a big difference to him. Bilbo suddenly felt different now, fiercer and bolder than he'd ever felt before and as he wiped his blade on the grass, he released a deep breath.
"I shall give you a name," Bilbo muttered quietly as he put the small sword back into its sheath. "I shall call you Sting."
With this newfound courage, Bilbo shot the dead spider a last look before he turned and followed along the trees that were now plastered with large cobwebs, almost like a trail that led him deeper into the forest.
It was not long after his encounter with the giant spider that he saw a second one and Bilbo quickly hid behind a large tree trunk as he saw it moving towards him from a distance. He stayed there, eyes closing for a moment to calm down as he heard the spider climb the very tree he was hiding behind on the other side of the trunk. It was sheer luck that he stayed unnoticed.
Bilbo was trying to calm his breathing when he suddenly remembered the magic ring that was still securely put away in the pocket of his waistcoat. Quickly, he slipped two fingers into the pocket and fumbled for the small gold ring. A peculiar feeling rushed through the little hobbit once he had it out and was looking at the small circle lying on his palm. Nothing special happened, the ring just looking like a simple ring in his hand, and yet it felt as if this piece of jewellery had a strong presence of its own, heavy in the hobbit's hand. Bilbo took a shuddering breath before he quickly slipped the ring on his finger, still pressing himself to the trunk behind him. He looked around, a bit calmer now that he knew no one – or nothing – could see him before he carefully peeked around the tree trunk, eyes widening as he spotted a clearing, adorned with cobwebs so that it almost seemed like a large dark nest. Several cocoons were dangling from thick branches and after Bilbo had counted fourteen, he had no doubt left that his friends were trapped in those things. He saw some noses sticking out of the spider's silk, recognizing Balin's crooked one among them and one of the cocoons was so large that it could only have Bombur in it, Bilbo thought.
He needed to free them, the hobbit thought, his brain rummaging for a plan as he tried to count the spiders that were moving in and around the trees all around him. They were too many to fight, Bilbo knew. He knew by now that he was able defeated one if it was alone but as it was, there were far more than only one spider moving around, probably about twenty. The only way Bilbo could save his friends was if he managed to draw the spiders away and come back to cut them loose, hoping that he would have enough time for them to be gone before the beasts came back.
Silently, he bent down and picked up a few stones that were lying on the ground, weighing them in his hand as he mustered the courage for what he was about to do. There was a large spider, moving along a branch towards the cocoon that Bombur was in and Bilbo waited until the beast was standing atop the cocoon until he flung the first stone, hitting the spider right on the head and it fell to the ground senseless, all its legs curled up. Bilbo didn't hesitate to throw the next stone that sent a second spider to the ground. He threw two more until the spiders realized which direction the stones were coming from and they came rushing towards the invisible Bilbo who quickly scurried away to another spot. He threw more stones at the spiders that had left their nest to search for him and just a moment later, when he had knocked three more of them out, he began to sing a song and moved stealthily and quickly around the trees, attempting to draw them away from the dwarves.
He had to draw his sword in order to get through a rather large cobweb that was blocking his way and as soon as the spiders had spotted the shiny blade in the darkness, Bilbo had them all on his heels.
Tarya had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a long while, nauseous and feeling like her head was about to burst any second. The spiders kept pinching her – and probably everybody else – as soon as she was even moving slightly, sending more of their venom through her veins. She didn't have the strength to move even one muscle anymore by now and even breathing was hard. She had lost hope quite a while ago, her will to fight fading with every shallow breath that travelled through her lungs.
But as she found back to consciousness this time, there was something different. Through the heavy veil that lay over her mind, she thought she suddenly heard someone singing, which was quite ridiculous come to think about it. And yet, the voice was there and it sounded strangely familiar to her. But before Tarya could think further on the mysterious singer in the woods, she felt herself drifting back into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness again, unable to fight it.
The Amarok awoke again to a feeling like everything around her was suddenly turned upside down and Tarya almost got sick just as she heard something sharp cut through something thick near her ear. It was just a moment later that she felt the cocoon she had been trapped in being ripped open, struggling to open her eyes as someone was pulling strings of spider silk from her face.
"Tarya!"
"Fili?" the Amarok rasped as she recognized his blonde mane in the dimness of a morning forest. The young prince tried to shoot her a smile but failed miserably before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her out of the cocoon. Remains of cobwebs were sticking to his hair and his beard, Tarya noticed, as he slowly helped her to her feet.
"Are you all right?" the blond asked, looking at her worriedly as she faltered heavily. "Can you stand?"
Tarya clenched her teeth together as she nodded, not willing to be a burden to anyone, knowing that Fili needed to help the rest of the company. But she could feel that she wasn't strong enough to stand and as if Fili knew it, he kept a solid hold of her for another few moments while her breathing was still coming ragged and her legs trembled underneath her. Her eyes fell closed for a second as the dizziness overwhelmed her again and even though Fili didn't seem to be very solidly standing on his feet himself, he quickly picked her up as her legs gave in beneath her and she felt her friend stumbling slightly as he carried her over to a large tree trunk and set her down, so her back was leaning against it. He crouched down before her and looked her over for a moment before he quietly spoke to her again.
"Stay here," Fili muttered, his voice calming and his gaze worried as he took her face between his hands, obviously trying to get her eyes to focus on him, which didn't quite work. Tarya's mind was clouded, her body weak and she couldn't quite concentrate on her blond friend, still feeling dizzy, sick and so very tired.
"Tarya," Fili's voice became more urging as he gripped her face a bit tighter between his hands and she finally managed to focus on him. His blue eyes were staring at her worriedly. "Do not fall asleep again, do you hear me? I'll be right back, little sister, just… just stay awake!"
Tarya nodded weakly as she returned Fili's intent gaze before the young dwarf let go of her and hurried back towards the remaining cocoons. The Amarok tried to stay awake, as he had told her, struggling to keep her eyes open as she took long, deep breaths. She couldn't tell how much venom the spiders had pumped into her; she just hoped that it would wear off soon, so she could help her friends. There were a few cocoons still hanging in the trees, others lying on the floor, some empty, some still unopened and as Tarya's gaze wandered over the clearing, she was unconsciously searching for a certain brown-haired dwarf but she couldn't spot him anywhere.
"Here," someone suddenly spoke up from next to her and Tarya turned her head – the small gesture making her nauseous again – to see Bilbo standing beside her, holding one of her daggers out to her. "Thought you might need it."
"Bilbo!" Tarya smiled weakly but happily at her friend, as he handed her the dagger, crouching down and hugging her tightly at the same time. "Thank you… It's good to see you," Tarya muttered against his shoulder and Bilbo just gave her a soft nod before he got back up and set off to help Fili and the others free the rest of the companions from their cocoons.
It didn't take long until almost everyone was free, some quite steady on their feet while others still looked very green around the nose, though Tarya seemed to be the only one affected as badly by the spider toxin. Fili was standing a few feet from her, keeping an eye on her while helping Bombur to his feet. It was then that Tarya could hear Thorin quietly calling Kili's name and as she turned her head towards the dwarf-king, she could see that he was helping his nephew to his feet before he pulled him into a short but fierce hug. Tarya felt relief wash over her as she saw Kili's face, his gaze darting worriedly over the company until he spotted his brother. The Amarok watched the younger dwarf stumble towards Fili; obviously not steady on his own feet, before catching his older brother in a tight hug once he had reached him. The brothers exchanged a few quiet words that she couldn't make out before Fili nodded towards her.
Tarya felt her heart skip a beat when Kili's gaze finally settled on her, warm brown eyes filling with worry once again as he noticed her poor state. Tarya tried to push herself up but fell back against the trunk weakly, trembling slightly, feeling cold and tired. But her heart still had enough energy to flutter wildly in her chest as Kili hurried towards her, letting himself fall down to his knees before her and reaching out his hand to put it on her cheek.
"Tarya," he muttered quietly, brows furrowing worriedly as his fingers grazed her cold skin. He didn't have the chance to say more, Bilbo speaking over his quiet voice from where he was standing next to Bofur.
"We need to go!" The hobbit urged, "The spiders will be coming back any second and I for one don't want to be here when they do!"
And as if on cue, screeches and hisses could be heard from a distance, coming closer with every second. Tarya caught Kili's hounded gaze as Bilbo quickly turned around after having sent them all an urging look and hurried towards the edge of the clearing, the rest of the company following swiftly.
"Come on," Kili urged as he pulled her to her feet, faltering slightly at the same time she did. Tarya gripped the sleeve of his tunic tightly as a wave of nausea washed over her. She would never be able to run in this state. She wouldn't even make it to the edge of the clearing.
"I can't," she breathed, falling back against the trunk with her back as she tried to breathe away the feeling of being sick. "Just… go, Kili. I can barely stand, I won't make it far."
The hisses were coming closer now and Tarya weakly pushed Kili away from her, causing him to send her a shocked look. She winced slightly upon the expression on her friend's face, as it suddenly turned from shocked to angry.
"No!" Kili called out angrily, making her flinch slightly as he roughly pulled her towards him and away from the trunk. His usually warm brown eyes were now dark with anger. "I will not leave you here! Have you lost your bloody mind now?!"
Tarya's eyes widened as he gripped her chin tightly in one hand, forcing her to look up at him as he brought her face closer to his until they were mere inches from each other. Kili held her gaze with his, the sudden nearness making her heart thump loudly in her chest and her stomach flutter despite the severe situation they were in.
"I will never leave you behind, do you hear me?" he whispered insistently, his warm breath grazing her face as he spoke. "I would carry you if I could but I know you can do it on your own. For me," Kili muttered, gaze softening ever so slightly as she blinked up at him. "Run!"
"Run!" Kili said and released Tarya's chin to grab her hand instead, pulling her with him as he hurried towards the edge of the clearing where he could see his brother waiting. He felt Tarya stumble again and again behind him, heard her ragged breathing as he rushed her along, catching up with the others as they followed Bilbo and Thorin who were at the head of the group. Kili could hear the spiders approaching quickly behind them and it was just a few moments later that he saw them, coming at them from all sides.
"Kili!" Tarya suddenly screamed behind him as he felt her stumble once more. The young dwarf shot a glance over his shoulder, only to see that a spider was quickly catching up to them, shooting its rope in sticky threads, aiming at Tarya's legs. With a furious battle cry, Kili turned around, pushing Tarya behind him in the process and mercilessly slammed his sword into the spider's head. He twisted it before he pulled it out, making sure the beast was dead as it fell to the ground. He felt Tarya lean heavily against his back and he reached one arm behind to keep her upright. Looking around, he could see that the others were fighting as well, now that the monstrous spiders were surrounding them again. The only advantage the dwarves had was that this time, they could actually see what was attacking them.
"Fili!" the brunet dwarf called out, seeing his brother slash his twin blades through a spider's body only a few feet away from him. Fili turned his head towards his little brother with a questioning and worried gaze but as he saw the Amarok slumped against Kili's back, close to unconsciousness again, while his brother was fighting off any spider that came near them, he quickly hurried towards him and wrapped his arms around Tarya, careful not to hurt her with his swords as he set her down on the floor. The Amarok was looking unhealthily pale, her eyes already closed and her breathing shallow as Fili laid her down but there was little they could do about it now, the brothers positioning themselves to the Amarok's both sides defensively as they fought the oncoming spiders, side by side.
But it was hopeless, they all knew. The companions were still affected by the spider venom, their blows not as strong and their reflexes not as fast as usual. In the end, there were simply too many spiders to fight; they did not stand a real chance against them.
It was then, that a strange horn sounded through the forest but none of them had time to think about it as they kept on slashing and slaying spiders with their swords, hammers and axes. Fili was fighting two spiders at once with his blades while Kili was slamming his sword into another. He turned his head as he saw another spider approaching out of the corner of his eye, the beast aiming for Tarya's unconscious body lying on the floor but before he even had the chance to do anything, an arrow whirred past his head, embedding itself right in the spider's eyes. The thing screeched viciously before another arrow came flying through the air, hitting it in the head before it fell to its side, dead.
Kili's head swivelled around as suddenly, Elves came running from the trees, jumping down from branches, killing spiders with their swords and arrows along the way. They moved fast and experienced, Kili realized, as he saw a tall blonde one sliding down the very string of a spider as it moved down from a tree, killing it with his sword before he landed gracefully in front of the two dwarf brothers. The Elf shot them a short look before he moved away, two swords raised.
Another arrow flew past Kili's head and as he turned around, he saw a tall red-haired she-elf, standing a few metres away. She turned swiftly while at the same time pulling another arrow from her quiver and shooting it at a spider that was coming at her before Kili even had time to blink. The dwarves kept fighting as the elves helped them, the screeches of the spiders slowly dying down as most of them were killed while a few fled back into the darkness of the trees. The dwarves were all standing quite close to each other by then but before they could even make a move to run from this place, the blond elf that Kili had seen before suddenly came sliding beneath a low hanging branch, notching an arrow in the process, pointing it right at his uncle's face as he came to a halt before him.
"Do not think I won't kill you, dwarf," the elf threatened angrily, narrowing his eyes at the dwarf-king who just shot the elf a wary look as he shortly glanced at the arrowhead pointing between his eyes. "Who are you? What are you doing in these lands?"
Thorin just narrowed his eyes at the blond elf, silently cursing him, while his elven companions were gathering around the company, pointing their weapons at his men.
"We're travellers," he muttered in response to the elf's question. "Travelling."
The elf just looked at him for a moment and when it became clear that Thorin wouldn't say anything else, he quickly got up from his crouching position, strapping his bow to his back at the same time he pulled a slender sword from there, holding its tip under the dark-haired dwarf's nose.
"If you will not answer to me, you will answer to the king of these woods," the elf growled, nodding at his own companions who immediately stepped closer, pulling out ropes to tie their hands together. "Hand us your weapons, you will come with us."
Kili hesitantly followed his uncle's example as the dwarf-king reluctantly handed out his sword and his war-axe to the elves, for they had no chance to win a fight against them. As the red-haired she-elf that had been shooting arrows before stepped closer towards him, attempting to tie him up, her gaze suddenly flicked to the unconscious woman still lying on the floor and Kili immediately took a step to stand protectively between the elven redhead and Tarya. Fili followed his example not even a second later. The she-elf shot them a short look before her gaze wandered back to Tarya, brows furrowing.
"Legolas!" she called out to the blond elf still standing at the front of the group. He turned his head towards her and slowly walked up to her when she motioned towards something on the floor while his men were tying up the dwarves one by one.
"What is it?" he asked, once he arrived by her side. She just nodded towards the two dwarves and only on second glance Legolas saw the small figure lying behind them on the forest floor. "A woman. Who is she?"
Kili's gaze shortly flicked to Thorin who was standing a few feet away, shaking his head slightly.
"The more important question seems to be another. What happened to her?" the red-haired elf asked, looking at the brunet dwarf before her, although she already knew the answer. The dwarf said nothing and she huffed quietly. "She's been bitten by the spiders," she concluded coolly. "Move out of the way."
Legolas raised his sword at the brunet dwarf when he didn't comply and was quite surprised when the blond one next to him carefully pulled him out of the way, muttering something in a harsh language that might have been Khuzdul as far as the elf knew.
"Don't touch her!" Kili called out as the red-haired she-elf moved forward and knelt down beside Tarya, observing her calmly as she reached one hand to her forehead. The elf shot him an annoyed look.
"Her body is too small, too slender to survive the amount of poison it is filled with. If you don't want your friend to die within the next hour, then you would do better to shut up and let me do a healing spell on her before it is too late," she growled and her words felt like a punch to Kili's stomach. He had known that Tarya was not faring well but he had not thought that she would die of this. And if it meant that Tarya would heal, then he might as well accept the help of an elf, Kili thought, and so he nodded slightly.
He was ripped away from Tarya just as the she-elf laid her hands on her and Kili couldn't do anything as his hands were tied together and he was shoved into the group of dwarves along with his brother.