Chapter 7
He wasn't quite sure why, but something didn't sit quite right with Bilbo.
He had been sitting on that boulder for some time now and he could feel his stomach start to growl. Surely the lads had already started supper and would have brought him some. Or perhaps the brothers were planning on playing a practical joke on the Hobbit. It wouldn't be the first time they did that. So he sat there and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
An hour passed and Bilbo couldn't take it anymore. If he didn't get fed soon he was going to bite off the next person who looked at him funny.
Rather gracefully he slid from the boulder and marched over to the camp, shoulders tense and his face angry. "You two better have saved me some food or so help me! I do not care if you are the royal princes of Erebor, I will…"
Bilbo had to stop his rant when he finally reached the camp.
Or what should have been the camp.
The fire hadn't even been lit. Fíli and Kíli's weapons lay by their packs untouched with no sign of the dwarves anywhere. Something sank in the bottom of Bilbo's stomach, and it fell further the moment he recognized Fíli's hunting knife that glistened red with blood on the ground. "That's... not... good."
As he knelt down to pick it up, he heard a group of laughter coming from further into the pass in the mountains. It wasn't Orc laughter or Goblin laughter - it sounded like Men. Bilbo quickly slipped the ring on and followed the sound.
It led him to a small camp surrounded by a quarry of boulders. Five full grown men dressed in dirty stained clothing sat around the fire, laughing as they cooked a deer on a spit. Away from the fire and tethered to ground by thick ropes and stakes were the two dwarf brothers. Kíli was bound to a tree, his brown eyes watching with concern at Fíli who lay on the other side of camp, his hands restricted by a rope and tethered to the ground.
Bilbo sighed to himself. He needed to get the princes away.
Getting to Kíli would be easy. Getting to Fíli, however, was going to be difficult. Fíli was far from any concealment so sneaking him off would be quite a task.
It would be so easy if Fíli had a ring like his.
As an idea formed in his mind Bilbo thought that, if it were to work, he was going to have to be very sneaky indeed.
The laughter of the men muted his footsteps as he tiptoed up to Fíli. He waited until he was behind them before he whispered, "Fíli."
Fíli looked around, recognizing the voice. "Bilbo?"
"I'm behind you; I have my ring on. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just a knock to the head. I've had worse."
"Who are they?"
"Bandits. They hide in the mountains and attack travelers. They were going to tie us up and leave us for dead after they ransacked our camp."
How matter-of-factly Fíli had said it, without so much as a hint of worry in his voice, was a little disturbing to Bilbo - but he immediately remembered who he was talking to. Fíli, as well as all of the other dwarves, had faced far scarier, life-threatening predicaments on their journey to Erebor, not to mention the Battle of Five Armies and Ravina.
"Do you have a plan, Bilbo?" Fíli asked.
"One, but it's tricky."
Softly, Bilbo moved so he was in front of Fíli, untethering his binds from the ground. Once he was free from the ground Bilbo moved so he was concealed behind Fíli and slipped the ring from his finger, placing it in the blonde's hands.
"Soon as I get into the bushes, put this on. When you do, get over to Kíli and get him away. "
"What are you going to do?"
Bilbo twiddled his thumbs as he tip-toed away. He wasn't quite sure himself what he was going to do, but that had never stopped him before.
The moment he was in the bushes he turned around in time to see Fíli slip the ring on his finger and disappear.
Kíli's eyes went wide when he saw his brother vanishing out of thin air. The bandits recognized that and looked to where their other prisoner had been, only to see the rope coiled on the ground and no dwarf to be seen.
"Where did he go?" one of them roared.
As three of them searched around the area, the fourth growled and stood up, turning to Kíli and advancing on him. "Tell me where he went or I will gut you!"
The bandit drew out his knife, the fire glimmering off the blade. Before Kíli could say a word, however, Bilbo jumped from his hiding spot and said, "Wait!"
The bandits spun and grinned a devilish smile as they descended upon poor Bilbo.
The moment Fíli had put the ring on, he found himself in a phantom world. Everything shimmered and shifted as if nothing was solid. The wind roared in his ears, but he felt no breeze.
Slowly he got to his feet and watched as the bandits descended upon the Hobbit. Fíli was just about to rush forward and take out one from behind when Bilbo said, "Now hang on just a moment."
"And why should we?"
"Well, you see, that is an excellent question, and, well, the excellent answer would be…"
"Spit it out, Halfling!"
Bilbo was obviously startled, his stuttering coming to a halt and his body freezing. As Bilbo continued to take advantage of the bandits' attention, Fïli ran to his brother and quickly began to untie him. Kíli looked around for the person untying him as the ropes loosened one by one.
"What in Durin's name…?"
"Shh, Kee, it's me."
"Fíli? Where…?"
"I'm borrowing Bilbo's ring. You need to get back to the camp and grab your weapons. I'm going to help Bilbo."
Kíli was freed, and he ran from the bandit camp to get his supplies.
With his brother gone, Fíli turned back around, noticing that one of the bandits had picked Bilbo off the ground and was holding his knife in a very threatening manner. "Loosen your tongue or lose it."
Without thinking, Fíli picked up a nearby stone and lobbed it at the knife. His aim was true, striking the hand holding the knife with such force it made the bandit drop it. Bilbo fell to the ground as the bandits spun around to find the source.
"Who's there?" one asked.
"You see, that was what I was trying to tell you. This place… it's, er... it's haunted!"
"Haunted?"
Fíli had to stifle a laugh as he snuck around to a new location and picked up another stone. When he saw his chance he once again threw it, hitting another bandit right between the eyes.
"Yes, haunted! It's a ghost of a dwarf that use to dwell here. All those who try to harm any dwarves in this area disappear, never to be seen or heard from again."
The pure look of terror in the bandit's eyes was so hilarious that Fíli couldn't help but snigger. Evidently, they heard it too. "Did you hear that?'
Fíli crept closer to the group of bandits. Picking up a log from the fire, flames still dancing on the wood, Fíli began to wave it about, spinning it in circles with a flick of his wrist. The sight of the flaming, floating log turned the bandits' faces pale white.
"You see? Haunted," Bilbo stated, trying his best not to laugh.
Fíli got close enough and swung it faster and harder. The bandits tried to back up but soon found it was no good.
"Let's get out of here!" one shouted.
The bandits let out a terrified yell as they ran off, away from the mountains and into the plains. Once they were gone Bilbo and Fíli finally let out the laughter they had been desperately trying to keep in.
Fíli removed the ring from his finger and placed a hand on Bilbo's shoulder. "Well done, Bilbo."
"Yes, well, you weren't too bad yourself."
They shared a laugh while Kíli came running in, his bow drawn with an arrow notched. "What happened? Where are the bandits?"
"You're a little late, brother. Bilbo and I took care of them while you took your time getting your weapons."
"Well, I'm sorry that I could not exactly remember how to get to the camp. I was a bit preoccupied being carried off by a group of bandits."
The little troop continued to laugh until finally their sides hurt.
Soon their laughter subsided, and Fíli looked towards the East. "The sun won't rise for a few more hours. We shall take that time to rest before we head into the mountains. Kíli, take Bilbo and fetch the ponies and our gear."
With a nod, Kíli and Bilbo began to walk away.
They hadn't taken two steps when Bilbo stopped and turned back to Fíli. "Wait, I forgot something."
Bilbo approached the young prince and held out his hand. "May I have my ring back?"
Fíli had all but forgotten that he was carrying the ring in his hand. Slowly he brought it up so that he could take a closer look at it. A dark voice hissed something in his head in a language he had never heard before, and Fíli found himself not wanting to return the ring to Bilbo. The golden band was so beautiful, after all. Flawless in every sense of the word. Besides, he was the Prince of Erebor, Keeper of the Arkenstone and Heir to the Throne. What was Bilbo in comparison to him?
Kíli took a step forward and placed his hand on Fíli's arm. "Fíli?"
The sudden touch and question of his brother jolted him from the trance he was in. Fíli looked from Bilbo to the ring and then back to Bilbo. "Of course. Here you go, Bilbo."
Fíli was very hesitant as he handed it back to Bilbo. As it left his hand, he instantly began to crave its presence once more. He watched helplessly as his brother and the hobbit vanished, his mind longing for the time the ring would return.
TBC…
I had to have a bit of light-hearted moment in here somewhere. Honestly I had no idea what I was going to do as far as a plan to save them from the bandits and eventually this sort of just popped into my head. I'm very pleased how this turned out. :) And some of you asked for the Ring sort of influencing our dear Fíli so...:) Please read and review!