Chapter 7: A Close Call
The dwarves left Rivendell the next day, they had new food supplies, and all felt much rested. The elves did not have any ponies to spare, and thus the group traveled on foot. Gandalf had stayed behind to finish some business with the elves. Thorin led the group with a renewed vigor. All the dwarves knew why their king was suddenly so robust. All eyes fell on the red cape walking beside Bilbo. They would soon have a queen, and an heir.
The journey from the pleasant scenery of Rivendell quickly turned foul as they left the valley. Heavy storms burst upon them, soaking everyone, and dampening their spirits. Suddenly several of them wished they were back in Rivendell, even if it meant dealing with the elves.
Soon the group found themselves climbing the side of another mountain range, the storm here howling and raging above them. Everyone was soaked to the bone, cold, tired, and quite shaken by the commotion about them. Thorin turned to his troop and yelled,
"We must find shelter!" His booming voice almost lost on the wind. His eyes fell on Lily, her red cape clinging to her drenched body. He feared she would fall ill, and would jeopardize the baby. His eyes desperately searched the walls of the mountain for any kind of cave.
In that moment, Balin yelled, "This is no storm, it is a thunder battle!"
"Giants! Stone Giants!" Bofur yelled, looking into the heavens.
Everyone's gaze followed his as they saw the huge stone giants attacking one another, smashing heavily into each other with boulders from the mountain. One threw a huge rock hurtling toward the side where they all stood clinging to the ledge.
"Look out!" Dwalin bellowed as the rock smashed into the cliff-side. It sent all matter of rock and debris showering over the group. Everyone ducked and cowered away from the avalanche, Lily pressed herself into the cliff face, and she suddenly felt someone else pushing against her too. She opened her eyes to find Bilbo shielding her belly. A little laugh of relief escaped her as she smiled at the kindly hobbit.
Just as the relief swam through her veins, the very mountain side upon which they stood began to rumble and shake. With a mighty clatter it broke free from the mountain side and stood up. Lily and Bilbo found themselves on the knee of a stone giant. Thorin gasped in panic as he saw his lover and half of his group get pulled away from him.
"No!" He bellowed into the wind, "Lily!" He yelled, his voice booming. No one could hear him.
Soon the other leg pulled out as well, their giant was doing battle with another. It got knocked backwards, allowing enough time for Thorin and his half of the group to escape to the safer ledge nearby, but the giant soon rose up again, taking Lily and the other half into battle again. Thorin could not bear to see her in such obvious danger, and there was nothing he could do. He stood helplessly on the ledge watching as the giant was overcome and knocked down, sending it's knee hurtling towards the cliff face, with everyone on it.
"NO!" Thorin screamed, as he watched in horror as the stone giant made contact with the mountain side. In a moment it fell away into the depths, and everyone with Thorin searched the mountain side in panic, who had survived?
Thorin could not move, it felt as though his legs had been rooted into the very mountain itself. He stood motionless for what felt like an eternity, eyes wide, mouth open, but no sound coming out. Quickly Dwalin reacted and pushed him forward, they ran along the ledge to where the rocks had collided. There they were, everyone intact. A great sigh of relief left Thorin, Lily lay on the ledge, covered in rock, but unharmed.
"Bilbo!" She said, looking around frantically.
"Where is our hobbit?" Dwalin asked, joining in her search.
"He covered me with his body, and then he just...disappeared!" Lily said frantically.
All eyes fell to the ledge, where young Bilbo was dangling. Lily's eyes grew wide in horror,
"Bilbo!" She screamed. Before she could reach him, the dwarves all began to grab at him, but they could not get a proper grip. Seeing Lily's distress Thorin leaped down, and pulled the hobbit to safety, almost slipping to his own peril, when Dwalin pulled him up.
"I thought we had almost lost our burglar." Dwalin said, patting Bilbo on the back.
"He has been lost ever since he left home, he should never have come here!" Thorin said angrily. Lily gave a scolding look at Thorin before quickly tending to the hobbit.
"Don't you mind a word he has said, Bilbo Baggins. I owe you my life, and the life of my child." Lily said kindly. Bilbo merely smiled in return.
"A cave, this way! Dwalin, check towards the back." Thorin announced, stepping into the shelter. Everyone followed him in, grateful to be out of the storm.
"Let's get to lighting a fire then." Balin announced.
"No, not here, caves in the mountains are seldom unoccupied. Bofur, you will take first watch." Thorin said, pacing around the cave.
As soon as everyone was in and settled, Thorin went to Lily, grabbing her and pulling her into a strong embrace. He pulled her just behind a bit of rock so the others could not see.
"I was so worried. I have never felt fear like that in all my life." Thorin whispered into her neck. As Lily pulled back slightly she saw tears in the king's eyes.
"I owe my life to Bilbo, he saved me and our child twice on this mountain alone. You should not be so cruel to him!" Lily said in a warning tone.
Thorin cast an eye towards the hobbit, who was struggling to get comfortable on the cave floor. It was indeed true. In the morning he would make amends with the hobbit, but for now, he only wished to lay with his love, and hold her closely to him.
"Let us not think on it now. Morning will prevail cooler heads." Thorin whispered. He then commenced in making a space for them to sleep, pulling Lily down with him into his chest. It did not take her long before sleep took her. Thorin could not sleep, the events that had just happened reminded him of what a fool he had been to bring her along. He should have left her in Rivendell, as Elrond had said. It was too late to send her back now, she could not go alone.
A rustling then caught the dwarf king's ears. It was soon followed by the voice of Bofur addressing someone,
"Where are you going?" He said, standing up and facing someone.
"Back to Rivendell. I don't belong here, Thorin was right, I never should have left Bag-End." Said the voice of Bilbo. Thorin flinched at hearing his words. He had been to harsh.
"You're homesick, I understand!" Bofur said in his kindly way.
"No, no you don't understand. You are used to living like this, not belonging anywhere!" Bilbo began to say angrily. The look on Bofur's face made him correct himself,
"I'm sorry."
"No, no you're right, we don't belong anywhere. I wish you the best of luck, I really do." Bofur said, with a sad smile.
Bilbo turned to leave as Bofur noticed something glowing blue by Bilbo's side,
"What's that?" Bofur asked curiously. As Bilbo pulled Sting out of it's hilt, a look of panic shot across his face. Orcs or goblins were near.
Thorin felt the ground shake, and noticed the sand rushing away into cracks on the floor. His grip on Lily tightened,
"Wake up! All of you wake up!" The king bellowed. It was all too late, as everyone suddenly fell through a trap door in the floor into a deep tunnel. The tunnel was winding and steep, making them slide ever deeper down into the mountain. Thorin clung to Lily with all his might, shielding her body against the blows of the fall with his own. Soon they all landed in a giant basket at the bottom. Thorin quickly looked at Lily to asses the damage, her blue eyes looking around startled, but she was uninjured.
Before he could react, Lily was pulled from him by terrible Goblin hands.
"So pretty." He heard a shrill voice saying, carrying her away, "The Great Goblin will be pleased!" Said another,
"NO!" Thorin boomed, but was suddenly overwhelmed by many goblin hands grabbing him and pulling him out of the basket. They began to march the dwarves deeper into the cave. Thorin's eyes remained fixed on Lily who had been tied by the hands and was being carried in the air on her back. She wriggled and writhed against the goblins, but they only screeched in delight.
In all the commotion, no one noticed Bilbo was missing.
Soon the group of dwarves was brought into an opening in the cave, and were stopped a few yards away from a great throne, upon which the Great Goblin sat, but Lily was carried forward, and dropped at the feet of the goblin. Thorin pushed and fought against the goblins, but there were too many, he had to reach Lily, but he simply could not break through.
"Who dares to enter my mountain?" Demanded the Great Goblin, stepping down from his throne made of bones. "And what's this?" He said, looking down at Lily, who suddenly felt real terror.
"A gift my lord, we thought you might enjoy it." Said a goblin nearby. "She came with the dwarves, we found them sitting on the front porch."
The goblin then scooped Lily into his awful paws, examining her.
"No, please don't!" She begged, writhing in his clutch, turning her head away from him. Thorin could see her face lined with fear and disgust, her eyes were closed tightly. It made his blood thunder in his eyes, that filthy thing had her in his hands!
"Well now, isn't this a delicious little delicacy!" Said the Great Goblin, "All nicely wrapped up for me." He jeered, undoing her cloak and letting it slip to the floor. His horrid, large, yellowing eyes then examined her fine garb, clinging to her firm body. "Mmmm..." He groaned. With one swift move he used the nail of his finger to tear open her top and expose a breast.
"NO!" Lily screamed, her wriggling became more frantic.
Thorin looked on in horror, an animalistic bellow came bursting from him, but he could not move past the goblins.
"It seems the dwarf king does not like having his precious treasure touched." The Great Goblin said, fixing his eyes on Thorin while lazily dragging his tongue over Lily's exposed breast. Seeing Thorin being overcome with rage and horror, the Great Goblin gave a loud, roaring laugh.
Lily's face became awash with shame, she could not escape, she tried to push, pull, wriggle as much as she could, but his grip was firm, and unrelenting. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and she suddenly became quite limp. She opened her eyes and found Thorin's, the look of utter despair on his face, mixed with an intense rage made her shame even deeper. He had seen her defiled.
"I will finish with you later." The Great Goblin said, letting Lily fall roughly to the ground. She merely lay there, her face turned away.
The Great Goblin then turned a horrid finger on Thorin,
"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Do you know of whom I speak? A pale orc astride a white warg." The goblin said with a sneer. He then turned to send a messenger to alert the pale orc.
As he turned to face the company again, another goblin picked up Orcrist from the floor, and upon unsheathing it, noticed it was the Goblin Cleaver. This stunned the Great Goblin, causing him to bellow at the goblins,
"Kill them, kill them all!"
The dwarves struggled quite in vain against the goblins, and Thorin was soon on his back with a knife to his throat, when a sudden burst of what can only be described as daylight came flooding into the cavern. The moment of light stunned the goblins enough for the dwarves to recover their senses.
"Take up arms!" A familiar voice commanded. It was Gandalf. Thorin was quickly on his feet, he looked around for Lily, seeing Gandalf lifting her to her feet,
"Come my child, now we must take our leave." Gandalf said in a soothing voice to the limp figure. Gandalf grabbed her red cape and quickly wrapped it around her, covering her exposed body. He then swiftly cut her bonds, freeing her hands.
Thorin wanted nothing more than to get to her, but goblins kept coming at him, and he had to fight them off, one at a time. Gandalf then led the way out, commanding others to follow. The tunnels were winding, and goblins came from everywhere, but all Thorin could focus on was the red cape fluttering up ahead behind Gandalf.
Soon they reached a path that would surely lead them out, when the Great Goblin climbed upon the bridge, snarling at Gandalf,
"You did not think you could escape me so easily?" He lunged at Gandalf, who then in two swift moves slayed the goblin. In that moment, the weight of the Great Goblin forced the rickety wooden bridge to snap from both ends, falling down into the depths of the mountain below. Thorin only glanced Gandalf shielding Lily before they made contact with the cave floor.
As soon as they were out of the debris, the run began again. Gandalf led them quickly through the tunnels and safely out into the daylight. They were free. Thorin ran as quickly as his legs would carry him, his eyes fixed on Lily, he had to reach her, he had to know she was unhurt. Finally Gandalf stopped before a great cliff. He rested his hands on Lily's shoulders, speaking to her. Thorin came ever closer and closer. A look from Gandalf stopped him dead in his tracks. He slowly shook his head. Lily would not face him. Thorin was taken aback.