Chapter 15
"The Goblin Tunnels"
Torshar's heart was filled with fear as she latched onto Thorin while gravity pulled them down into the dark crevices of what she knew were goblin caves. Motion sickness was beginning to overtake her as they all continued to tumble and roll until they came crashing down into a cage-like structure with an open top and entrance. When the room stopped spinning, Torshar took notice of the fact that about fifty goblins were advancing!
The second two of the vile creatures laid hands upon her, the versifier let forth a blood curdling scream and began to lash out. Tears poured down her cheeks as she was picked up and carried away, shrieking at the top of her lungs, "THORIN!"
Her terror filled voice reached his ears and only fueled his rage but before he could make a beeline for his woman, the prince and company were detained by the other forty, or so, goblins. They were then dragged through the caverns, across bridges of wood and rope, until they were stalled before a giant throne of rotting wood, bones, and cloth. The company was disarmed of all weapons and belongings then pushed closer to the throne where the Goblin King, a creature of disgusting disfigurement sat but quickly stood upon seeing the prisoners, "Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?! Spies, thieves, assassins?!"
"Dwarves, Your Malevolence!" the leader stated as he bowed slightly, "Found them on the Front Porch!"
"Well, don't just stand there! Search them! Every crack, every crevice!" the enormous, fat blob of lard ordered. Once the deed was done, "What are you doing in these parts? Speak!" no one uttered a sound.
"Very well, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring up them Mangler! Bring up the BoneBreaker! Start with the female!" Upon that order, two goblins, with a line of chain in their hands, moved forward while yanking whatever was chained up into view before everyone present. A young female dwarf with moonlit hair and starlight, anger filled, eyes; Torshar.
Her clothes were ripped to near shreds; both wrists were chained and held by her captors. The Goblin King sneered in amusement as the female fell to the wood floor between the dwarf company and his repulsive self, "We haven't been graced by your presence for many years now, Lady Torshar! I see the scars have disappeared… Why don't we freshen them up a bit? Slash her, make her bleed!"
One of her guards produced a whip while the other unsheathed a crudely made sword of bone as four other goblin soldiers advanced, each pair grabbing one chain and a fifth ripped the back of her tunic and undershirt open to exposed her back. Torshar held back her tears as the two pairs with her chains pulled so her arms were spread horizontally and she put on a brave face while meeting the gaze of her prince.
"Whatever they do… No matter how much it pains you… Say nothing…" she whispered loud enough for him to hear as the first goblin raised his whip then brought it down to crack against her open back; making a loud pop as it connected. Though it caused her extreme pain, the versifier would wince but refused to cry out and give them that satisfaction again. The second laid his sword, the sharp edge down, on the fresh whelp that began to appear then applied slight pressure and sliced the wound open. Torshar held back her cries of pain but she could no longer fight the tears. The process continued until her entire back was screaming red with blood and inflammation. Both pairs of chain holders slacked slightly and allowed the exhausted versifier to fall onto her side, her breath coming out in small puffs.
"Still no words to save your kin?" the king asked then chuckled at the silence, "Very well, she will be first."
"Wait!" Thorin shouted and stepped forward through his companions to stand in front of them.
"Well, well, well, look who it is! Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror! King Under the Mountain!" the revolting ruler stated and mockingly bowed, "Oh, but I'm forgetting! You don't have a mountain! And you're not a king. Which makes you… nobody really."
"He is more of a king… Than you will ever be…" Torshar coughed as she attempted to get up but was yanked by the hair, by the king's hand.
"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your heads. Just the heads, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak? A pale Orc, astride a white warg."
"Azog the Defiler, is dead… He was slain in battle long ago!" the dwarf prince stated as his anger rose at the mention of his archenemy and how his woman was being handled.
"So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" the king questioned then chuckled as he turned to his scribe and dropped Torshar to the floor where she was grabbed by one of her guards, "Send word to the pale Orc, tell him I have found his prizes." As the minion left, he turned back to the guard and nodded. The subordinate returned the gesture, buried his fist in the versifier's hair, pulled her head back, and placed his blade against her throat.
"You coward…" she spoke defiantly, making the king turn to her.
"And what makes you say that?"
"You won't do your own dirty work… You order your soldiers to spill blood in your name… You are a scared, pathetic excuse for a king…" this caused the great goblin to retrace his steps, grip her by the hair once more, and pick her up to look him in the eye.
"I am no coward!" he shouted as he produced a hidden blade and ran it through her neck!
Thorin and company wailed in horror as the king dropped the body that jerked and convulsed as it went into shock. The prince tried to fight the goblin entourage that held them at bay as he made eye contact with Torshar once more before her body stilled and life left her eyes. He fought back the tears as, slowly, he stopped fighting; his spirit broken as well as his heart.
One of the sentries that was in charge of the weaponry cried out in fear and threw Orchrist to the ground beside the bloody body of the versifier, causing all goblins, including the king, to shrink away from it, "I know that sword! It is the Goblin Cleaver! The blade that sliced a thousand necks! Slash them! Cut off their heads!" he shrieked. The sentry turned and tackled Thorin to the ground, ordered two more to grab the prince's arms, and positioned his bone knife above him.
'I'm coming, my love…' the prince thought grimly as he accepted his fate. Luckily, a bright wave of light passed over everyone with enough force to knock the goblins off their feet. When the light disappeared and the caves were illuminated by torches once, the company observed a figure in long robes and a pointy hat emerge; Gandalf had come!
"Take up arms… Fight. Fight!" the wizard ordered as he unsheathed Glamdring. Not needing to be told twice, the dwarves quickly retrieved their weapons and attacked the still stunned goblins.
"He wields the Foe Hammer! Bright as daylight!" the king cried out and was blinded by another white light from Gandalf's staff; which caused him to fall off the platform.
Once a path was made, a voice rang out like music from across the wooden bridge, "This way, you fools!" Thorin's gaze followed the direction of the voice and found Torshar standing on the other side, alive and well.
"But how…?" he whispered then turned his gaze down to see the bloody body was not the versifier but a goblin! Gandalf began to lead the company across the bridge to meet up with the young maiden.
"I told you to wait for us!" the wizard shouted.
"And I chose to ignore you! Now, let's go!" she retorted and took off down the corridors of stone. Surprisingly, they did not encounter very many goblins due to the fact that most of them were lying dead on the sides of their path.
'Torshar's handiwork…' the prince smirked as the group began to cross another bridge but stopped when the king burst through it.
"You thought you could escape me?!" he growled, "What are you going to do now, wizard?!" he chuckled.
Torshar stepped up while unsheathing Isenbold, "Something that should have been done a long time ago…" with a horizontal swipe, the Goblin King's stomach bled open and he yowled in pain.
He locked gazes with her, "I suppose… That'll do it…"he confessed but she was not convinced so, just for good measure, she slit his throat as well, causing him to fall face first onto the bridge. The force of the impact caused the old bridge to break from its bracers and slide down the rock wall where it crashed on the stone floor below, making all of the dwarves groan in pain.
Bofur spoke up optimistically, "Well, that could have been worse!" only to groan in despair as the Goblin King's body landed on the wreckage with the dwarves still tangled within.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin stated annoyed. Kili, who lay on his back, took notice of a massive goblin horde advancing towards them. He cried the wizard's name and he helped free them then led the way through another cavern where a light shone through the entrance.
The moment everyone was safe, a fair distance from said cave entrance, Thorin turned on Torshar, "How?! We all saw you die…!"
The versifier sat down on a ledge of stone that poked out from the ground, "Gandalf found me before the goblins shackled my hands. He ordered me to wait here but I couldn't… I had to make sure you were alright, all of you…"
"Do not be angry with her, Thorin. I used a spell to disguise the guard so the Goblin King would be distracted long enough for me to get a handle on the situation." Gandalf explained but the prince did not turn his gaze from Torshar.
"He said, 'your scars have disappeared'… What did he mean?" he demanded softly, "Does it have to do with your last encounter in the mountains…? When they captured you the first time?"
Torshar's eyes widened in horror as she stood quickly and shouted at the wizard, "How dare you speak of my experiences, Gandalf! I told you that in confidence and you swore never to tell!"
"It does not matter, Torshar! Show me your back!" the prince demanded.
The versifier turned her gaze back to the man she loved with sorrow in her eyes, "As you wish…" she rotated away from the company, who did as well, and she disrobed herself of her tunic and held it to her chest to preserve her dignity, "You may turn…"
The breath in Thorin's chest escaped in a weary puff at the sight before him. How could he not feel this when he held her in Rivendell? Her porcelain skin was covered in deep scars from whips, blades, and hot branding rods. The burns were charred black around the edges; the whip marks were still profound due to the repeated abuse of the same spots. Thorin had to fight back the urge to go back into the tunnels and slaughter every single goblin that resided within.
"They tortured me until I would lose consciousness… when I awoke it would all begin again… I lost track of how much time passed… Honestly, I do not remember how I escaped, I just passed out then awoke at the secret entrance to the Valley…" she confessed and tensed when Thorin grazed his fingers across her right shoulder blade where a nasty burn was, "I wanted to tell you so many times, Thorin…" she whispered.
"I know, my love…" the prince replied quietly and leaned forward to kiss the back of her neck. During this whole exchange, the others had discovered the Bilbo was nowhere to be found!