I have a long chapter for you, my pretties! Albeit there is a trade-off...there will be a bit of a hiatus after this chapter so that myself and my beta can catch up. Do not fret, my pretties, I am not abandoning this fic. I have an entire timeline drawn out I just need to get the creative juices flowing. Again, thank you to my beta Nathalia!

Chapter 5

Fíli tossed and turned that night in his bed, his eyes clenched shut. The dreams were black and fearful.

Fíli was alone in a dark room, stripped of his weapons. He felt naked without his hidden knives. A wind rushed past his back, causing him to turn around and reach for the knife that wasn't there.

"Who's there?" Fíli called out in the darkness.

"Bring it to me," a strange voice hissed.

Fíli's blue eyes tried desperately to make out any forms in the dark but nothing could be seen. "Show yourself!"

Something placed its hand on his shoulder. When he turned, all he saw was nothing. "Bring it to me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know of what I speak."

"Speak plainly!"

Two red dots could be seen in front of him. Fíli felt his feet rushing him forward, the red spots seeming to get further and further away. Suddenly the world fell out from under him and he was falling, landing in on a rocky landscape. When he looked around he found himself back on the battlefield of the Battle of Five Armies. The battle raged around him, everyone seemingly ignorant of the dwarf that just fell from the sky. On the hill in front of him Fíli saw a tall, shadowy figure staring at him. It was not solid, that much he could tell. A voice whispered something in a tongue Fíli was unfamiliar with, slowly growing louder in his ears. It reached out his hand and whispered, "Bring it to me. Together we can save him."

The world once again went dark. In a matter of seconds Fíli found himself in a cave. Before him was an Orc with a pale white skin. If Fíli knew any better he would have thought it was Azog but where a claw should have been was a hand.

"Bolg," he muttered to himself.

The Orc didn't seem to hear him as he circled something on the ground.

Not just something, someone. Someone who was bound and lying on the floor. Blood seeped through his clothes from the wounds on his skin and his mouth was gritted. The black hair covered most of his face but it didn't take a fool to recognize the form.

"KÍLI!"

However it seemed his brother could not hear him. "Together, we will be strong. Your brother will not have to suffer. Just bring me what the Halfling carries. It possess great powers, dear Fíli. You can be unstoppable."

Kíli's form dissolved before his eyes. "Bring it to me or suffer the consequences."

Fíli could see the shadowy figure in the trees in front of him. Before he could react the shadow rushed him, howling a scream that pierced his ears.

When Fíli bolted upright in his bed his knife was in his hand. Beorn's house was still, Kíli and Bilbo still lay fast asleep in their beds. His chest rose and fell violently as he tried to catch his breath. He could feel his head spinning from the dream.

After glancing at Bilbo with contemplation he laid his head back down on his pillow, falling asleep as he pondered the words from the shadow in his dream.

When the morning finally broke the soft rays shone through the slits of the curtains, landing gently on Kíli's face. The new warmth pulled him from his rest, his brown eyes fluttering as they opened.

The first thing he saw was Bilbo still fast asleep. At the table was Fíli, his pipe lit as he poured over a map.

So as not to disturb the sleeping Hobbit, Kíli treaded as softly as a dwarf could over to his brother. His body was still stiff from waking up so when he slid onto the bench across from his brother he landed with a soft thud.

"Sleep well, brother?" Kíli asked with a grin.

When Fíli's eyes looked to him, however, Kíli saw a haunted look. All Fíli saw when he first looked to him was the Kíli he saw in his dreams; bound and wounded. But with a blink he saw normal, happy Kíli.

He put on a genuine grin and replied, "Better than most I've had recently."

"Are you sure? You look worried."

"No, I'm fine. It's just now with the news Beorn gave us about the roads being watched I'm just trying to plan our new route West."

"What's the problem?"

"It's the mountains. We can't take the path through the mountains and I don't want a second attempt at the High Pass and the goblin caves. Unfortunately I don't know any other way through."

"What about Dimrill Dale?" Kíli asked, pointing it out on the map.

Fíli gave him a horrified gaze. "Moria?"

"Yeah."

"Are you daft?"

"No, why?"

"Did you not pay attention to Balin's story he told Bilbo about the Battle of Azanulbizar?"

"Of course I did."

"Then you know why we can't go through there."

"Well we wouldn't go through the mines, obviously. I'm sure Thorin mentioned a path over it in the stories he use to tell us."

"No, it's too risky, Kíli."

"What other choice do we have, Fíli? You said it yourself, we can't take the High Pass or the Old Forest Road and you don't know any other paths. By the time we figure it out Bolg will probably have caught up to us. It's the lesser of two evils."

"Perhaps Beorn knows of another way," Fíli pondered aloud.

By this time Bilbo had woken from his slumber and had joined the dwarves at the table, sitting beside Kíli. "Good morning," he greeted cheerfully.

"Ah, Bilbo, perhaps you would like to voice your opinion on this matter," Kíli greeted, turning the map so Bilbo could get a better view, "What route do you think we should take through the mountains?"

Bilbo was at a loss for words. "Well, erm… I'm not so sure I would be of any help. I don't know these mountains and…"

Bilbo's stuttering ramble was cut short as Beorn came rushing in. "You need to leave, now."

"What…?" began Fíli.

"Orcs, not too far from here. They'll be here soon so you should leave while you still can."

They didn't need to hear any more. In an instant they were on their feet, rushing around to gather their belongings. It didn't take long for them to gather their things and saddle up.

Before they left, Beorn came to Fíli with an extra satchel. "Some provisions to get you through the mountains."

"Thank you, Beorn."

They spurred their ponies and sped off, leaving the home a small speck in the distance.

At first they thought they got a clean getaway until a Warg jumped from the trees, almost knocking Kíli off his pony. With deadly speed Kíli withdrew his bow and fired an arrow into the beast.

"Run!" Fíli cried.

More and more Orcs and Wargs appeared, taking up the chase. When Kíli ventured a glance behind them he spotted at least a dozen of the creatures.

"We need to lose them!" he called to his brother.

What Kíli didn't know was his brother was already looking for a way out. The plains were open and there weren't many places to hide unless they wanted to head back into the forest. Part of him wanted to stand and fight but he knew that was a foolish idea.

An idea came to him almost instantly. "Kíli!" he called to his brother.

When he heard his name he looked to Fíli. "Take Bilbo and keep heading South. Once you find a way into the mountains, take it."

"Where are you going?"

Fíli withdrew one of his swords. "I'll be right behind you."

Fíli came to a halt, turning his pony around so he was facing the threat. As Kíli and Bilbo continued on, he whispered to himself, "I hope."

The pack kept getting larger as they drew near. He strengthened his grip as he stayed still. He had to time it properly.

His heart almost froze when he saw who was leading the pack.

Bolg.

The very sight of him had the exact same effect as his father had on Thorin. Instead of showing the fear he felt, Fíli kept his face stoic. When he saw the chance, Fíli moved.

His pony galloped as fast as he could towards the forest, the Wargs and Orcs hot on their heels. They had taken the bait. As they entered the woodline, Fíli began making quick, sharp movements, weaving through the trees. If there was one thing Fíli had learnt on their quest was Wargs could not maneuver quickly. Fíli was going to use that to his advantage.

Fíli weaved in and out of the trees with ease. Every once in a while he would glance behind him and see his pursuers struggle to keep up. He had to laugh a bit in both relief and humor when a couple Wargs stumbled into each other while trying to avoid a patch of trees.

One by one the Wargs and Orcs disappeared, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. He needed to lose them for good.

Fíli was so focused on losing the chase that he failed to see the low hanging branch until it hit him, knocking him off his pony. He hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. He could hear the hooves of his pony as he continued to run without his rider. Just when he thought it couldn't have gone any more wrong, the stampede of Wargs grew louder behind him.

Dwalin inwardly cursed Kíli as he did his rounds along the outer wall of Erebor. Since the lads had run off to escort Bilbo home, Dwalin was given the task of filling in as Captain of the Royal Guard until they got back. He didn't want to be doing this. He wanted to train new warriors and be by the King's side so no one could get near him to do him harm. Instead, he was stuck doing Kíli's job. When they got back he was going to have a "word" with him.

He didn't see the arrow until it hit the dwarf standing beside him. Grasper and Keeper were drawn instantly as the guards scanned the area for the source of the arrow. There were no visible signs of an attack on the fields surrounding the mountain but Dwalin recognized the arrow.

"Orcs," he growled.

As the dwarves hurried about to find the source, Dwalin noticed a silver glint hanging from a leather loop. With delicate hands he yanked the loop from the arrow. When he recognized the design he found himself running towards the council chambers.

Dwalin didn't care that Thorin was in an important meeting as he pushed through the double doors. All eyes were on him with looks of both confustion as to what was going on and fear of the sight of the intimidating dwarf. "Thorin, it's the lads."

He did not need to say more. Thorin and Balin were on their feet, Balin apologizing profusely as they left.

Once in the hall, Dwalin held out his hand to show the bead.

"That's Fíl's," Thorin stated.

"It was attached to an Orc arrow that was just fired at us."

"Orcs?" Balin questioned.

"Aye, but there's none outside - at least none that I can see. This is a message."

"What message?"

"The boys are being hunted," Thorin growled as he began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Balin asked.

"I'm going after them."

"You can't just leave."

"And I can't just stand idly by and do nothing knowing they are in danger. They are my kin."

"You have an entire kingdom to worry about, lad," Balin explained.

Bofur, having come by to visit his brother in the kitchens, had overheard the conversation and had followed the sound of the voices.

"I need to find them, Balin. I need to see them safely back."

"I'll go." All eyes were now on Bofur, shocked by his sudden appearance. "I'll go find them."

Bofur really had no clue as to what was going on but he knew the lads and Bilbo were in trouble and he had developed a bit of a soft spot for them.

"Are you sure?" asked Dwalin.

"Oh aye. I'll go help them get out of whatever mess those two have landed themselves in."

Balin and Dwalin looked to Thorin, asking for his thoughts. "Thank you, Bofur. I don't know how I can repay your loyalty."

Bofur smiled. "Anything for the lads. I'll see if anyone else from the company will join me. But there is one thing you can do to repay me."

"Anything."

"Could you tell me exactly what's going on?"

TBC…

Yep, I decided to add a few more dwarves to this adventure. They won't be catching up just yet however they will be included as interludes to provide some uplifting humor. You'll just have to see next chapter who will be joining Bofur. I'll give you a hint; there's two more and together the three of them will make quite a laugh. Hopefully this hiatus doesn't last long. Please read and review in the meantime!