Chapter 4 : The Trolls Cave

-MAY-

It had been a few weeks since they left the shire. The travel became more and more monotone as the landscape didn't change at all. The days were all alike too. They woke up before the break of the day, they ride all day with a small break for the lunch, and finally, they rest and sleep until the next morning. Erebor was still far far away and the lack of action and fighting started to get on the nerves of the young dwarf Kili. His fists wanted to do something other than holding the reins of his pony all day long, and crafting arrows during the night watches.

Bilbo seemed to get used to be away of his home as he stopped talking about Bag End all the time. However, everyone knew that he was still thinking about it when he was alone. Some dwarves even said that the hobbit would leave them as soon as he could to go back to the shire, not because of the fear but due to his homesickness. Kili trusted Bilbo. He was certain that he would not abandon them even if he had the opportunity to do.


« We'll camp here for the night. » Thorin said as he stopped his pony. « Fili, Kili, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them. »

Kili was happy to finally have some rest. He was exhausted and his legs were hurting due to the long day of riding. Fili went down of his horse and started to unpack some of his stuff. From the distance, the young dwarf saw Gandalf and his uncle talking loudly.

« Gandalf is acting strange… » he murmured for himself.

« Did you say something? » asked Fili.

Gandalf suddenly turned back, leaving Thorin alone in the abandoned house.

« Everything is alright?" Bilbo asked Gandalf, confused. "Where are you going?"

"To seek the company of someone around here who's got any sense!" answered Gandalf passing by the hobbit.

"And who's that?"

"Myself, mister Baggins! I've had enough of dwarves for one day."

He disappeared in the forest without another word. Kili was puzzled, for the first time since the beginning of their journey. Things didn't seem too good very well between his uncle and the old man. The friendship was unlikely to be fixed anytime soon, as Thorin was not the kind of person to apologize for what he could have said. He was too proud for that.

"Will he come back?" the young dwarf asked as he untied his sword for his pony's seddle.

"I do not know brother, Wizards can be very unpredictable. But my reason tells me that he will. Now, come with me."


They were sitting on a wooden branch. Fili was sharpening his knives, again. Kili was making some arrows, again. He had so many it now that he didn't even know what to do with them. He would have been able to kill a whole horde of orcs and still have enough arrows to fell a second horde. He kept thinking about what happened between Gandalf and Thorin. Dwarves were known for having a short temper and being quite stubborn, but his uncle was on a whole other level.

"I do not think it is good for your blades to be sharpened so often, brother," he said while cutting a wooden stick.

"I do not think you will have enough space in your quiver for the amount of arrows you are making brother" answered Fili with a half smile.

"It is the only thing I can do if I do not want to lose my mind."

They both laughed softly. Kili stood up to walk a little bit, since his back and legs started to hurt. He took his bow and put his quiver on his shoulder. He looked around him and saw a tree stump in the distance . The young dwarf took out an arrow and drew the bow. Fili raised his head to look at him. Kili released the arrow and it hit the target. The dwarf smiled with pride. He was known for being one of the best bowmen in the Blue Mountains. Ever Kili's opposite, Fili never felt at ease with a bow. He tried a few times but he was definitely better with heavy weapons and swords.

"There is one thing in which I am better than you brother, and I am pretty sure you will never be able to beat me on that shot," he said with a hint of challenge in his eyes. "The arrow landed right in the middle of the target, 100 feet away from us."

"Indeed it is far" answered Fili while standing up too.

The older dwarf stared at the target, holding his belt. He analyzed the distance. He was in fact impressed by the precision of his brother's shot. Kili didn't only hit the tree stump in the middle, he also succeed to skewer a leaf that was falling from a tree with his arrow. Fili took one of the axes on his boot and threw it without taking the time to aim at the a loud thump, the axe sliced Kili's arrow into halves, hitting the dead center of the stump.

"How!" exclaimed the young dwarf. "How is that even possible?!"

"I may not be the best bowman, brother," answered Fili, satisfied, "but I know how to use my weapons well."

Even after all these years, Kili was still surprised by Fili's skill. Thorin trained him well. Kili still had so much to learn from his older brother. As Fili was walking toward the tree stump to take back his axe, they heard a loud neigh coming from the ponies. Kili started walking towards the sound, leaving his brother behind.

"Wait for me Kili!" Fili called out.

The blonde one quickly took back his axe and rejoined his brother who had drawn his sword. They ran toward the enclosure but saw nothing. The ponies were strangely calm. Kili started counting.

"Two are missing," he said once he was done.

While they were thinking about what might have happened to the ponies, Bilbo arrived with two bowls of soup which he stretched out to them.

"What's the matter?" asked the hobbit.

"We were supposed to be looking after the ponies" Kili answered, counting the horses again.

"Only we've encountered a slight problem" added Fili.

"We had sixteen."

"Now there's fourteen".


They counted the ponies again but still, it seemed that two had completely vanished and the brothers didn't have any clues about what might have happened to them.

"Daisy and Bungo are missing," said Kili as he returned next to Bilbo.

"Well that's not good. And that is not good at all. Shouldn't we tell Thorin?"

"No, let's not worry him" Fili answered, returning too, "as our official burglar, we thought you might like to look into it."

"Well, uh…it looks like something big and stupid uprooted these trees, and you're small. They will never see you." They passed next to a huge tree wretched on the floor. "It's something very big and possibly quite dangerous."

Kili didn't know what to think of all this. They didn't heard a thing. How can two ponies disappear like that with just a decimated tree as a proof? The young dwarf wanted to deal with it by himself without letting his uncle know. He disappointed him enough the last time.

"Hey, there's a light. Over here"

Kili rejoined his brother who was looking above a tree stump with Bilbo on his side, holding the bowl of soup. A light could be seen from the distance and strong deep voice came from this place. Two huge shadows appeared on the trees. Kili knew immediately what they were. He had read about them and he remembered some dwarven warriors talking about slaying such creatures.

"What is it?" asked the hobbit.

"Trolls"

The brothers decided at the same time to come closer, leaving Bilbo behind. It had to be them who stole the ponies. Immediately after they hide behind a huge rock, another troll passed next to them with two other ponies under his arms. Bilbo managed to come next to them, the bowls of soup still in his hands.

"He's got Myrtle and Minty!" Whispered the hobbit. "I think they're gonna eat them! We have to do something!"

"Yes, you should!" Kili smiled thinking about the idea he had. "Mountain trolls are slow. It's perfectly safe, we'll be behind you!"

Fili took from Bilbo's hand the bowls. Looking at the hobbit's scared face, it was clear that he didn't agree with the plan.

"If you run into trouble, hoot twice like a barn owl and once like a brown owl," Fili pushed him.

They looked at Bilbo walking away from them slowly, checking to see if they were still there. Kili was excited by the close danger and even though he knew it could be risky, the lack of action of these last days made him rowdy.

"I have to inform the others" Fili said while looking at the huge trolls. "We couldn't decently deal with it by ourselves."

He turned to his brother and took his shoulders in his hands.

"Kili, you wait for us. Do not do anything reckless like attacking by yourself three trolls."

"I will not" whispered the young dwarf.

Fili wasn't really convinced by his brother's answer. Kili sometimes didn't know how to properly judge his own strength. How many times did he start fights with the strongest dwarves thinking that he would be able to beat them? Fili had stopped counting. But he needed to trust his brother, so he turned back and left after a pat on his brother's back. Kili took out his sword and crawled closer to the trolls to have a better point of view. Bilbo was trying to take the knife from one of the troll's belt to cut the ropes of the ponies' enclosure. However, the troll caught him without acknowledging it and when he saw the hobbit, he threw him away and screamed.

"What are you, then? An oversized squirrel?" One of the trolls asked with a strong voice.

"I'm a burglar... Uh, hobbit" answered Bilbo, hesitating.

"A Burglar-hobbit?"

Kili was about to go and help him but he remembered his brother's words. Help should arrive soon and he just have to wait a little longer. Bilbo was not in danger yet, he was arguing with the trolls, trying to win some time. Kili squeezed his fingers around the handle of his sword, biting his lips. He knew well that he couldn't take down three trolls by himself, he was not stupid, but he would not let Bilbo die without a struggle. After all, it was his idea to send the hobbit alone, and he didn't want to be the reason his friend died.

«Are there any more of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't?" Said another troll while holding Bilbo by the feets.

"No"

A smile appeared on Kili's lips despite the situation; he knew Bilbo was faithful to the company. He knew he would never betray them and he regretted that Thorin was not here to witness it.

"He is lying! Hold his toes over the fire! Make him squeal!"

Kili couldn't wait anymore. He feared for the life of the hobbit. He had to do something, hoping that the other dwarves would arrive before the trolls killed him. He drew his sword and ran out of the bushes. The young dwarf hit one of the gigantic creatures in the calf twice and the hideous troll fell next to him, screaming and holding his feet.

"Drop him!" ordered Kili.

"You what?!" shouted the troll who was holding Bilbo upside down.

"I said, drop him" repeated the young dwarf, turning his sword in his hands with a smile, excited by the incoming fight.

The troll did as he said. He threw Bilbo on him and they both fell on the floor. It was at right this moment that all the dwarves arrived, sword and axes in hands. Kili helped Bilbo to stand up and he took his sword.

"Stay back master Baggins, we will take care of those trolls."

He then ran to join his brother in the battle. He managed to hit each troll in the stomach or legs multiple times. Suddenly, he saw one of them about to punch Thorin's back so he ran toward him and jumped to hit his arm with as much might as he could. Kili fell on his hips and shoulder with a scream. He hadn't anticipated the fall. His uncle quickly came to help him stand up with a thankful smile. The idleness of the last month slowed down his moves and in this kind of fight, the numerous arrows he made were useless.

"Fili! On my shoulders!"

Fili turned to his brother after dodging a blow, confused. He however did as his brother told him and climbed on his shoulder to hit one troll in the face. The older one immediately went down after to go help Ori who has been caught. The dwarf fell in front of Thorin's foots, and Kili and Dori hastened to help him. When he looked up, he saw the trolls holding Bilbo by his feet and hands.

"Bilbo!" He screamed.

"No!" Thorin prevented him from attacking.

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off."

Kili swore. He should have stayed close to the hobbit and he knew that he was not the kind of person to obey. They needed to do something but what should they do? One move and Bilbo would be dead. They couldn't surrender. It wasn't a place to die! Kili begged at his uncle in silence. He feared that Thorin might leave Bilbo, thinking that their quest is more important than the life of one simple hobbit. Thorin kept his eyes on the trolls, analyzing every possibility he had to get out of this situation. The prince finally put down his sword on the floor and the other dwarves followed suit. Kili couldn't accept giving up without fighting, so he looked at Thorin again. His uncle silently told him to do the same as the rest of the company. The young dwarf angrily threw his sword to the floor, flustered by his own weakness.


"Dying like that is really disgraceful" thought Kili. He somehow knew that he would never have died at an old age. It was in his genes. His great grandfather and possibly grandfather both were both killed during a battle, his father too. The line of Durïn wasn't really the kind of dwarves to die in their bed from old age with a grey beard. Death had always been marvelous for dwarves as long as it came during a glorious battle against strong foes, but being eaten by trolls? He just hoped that his ancestors could not see him at that moment.

"Wait! You are making a terrible mistake." Bilbo stood up and jumped toward the trolls. "I mean, with the seasoning."

Kili looked at him, confused. What was he trying to do? There is nothing one could do to reason stupid creatures like trolls. They only think about eating and avoiding the sun. It was lost cause.

"What about the seasoning?" asked one of the trolls.

"Well, have you smelled them? You're gonna need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up."

"Traitor!" Screamed Bombur.

Bilbo totally ignored the dwarves, the lot of which were complaining behind him.

"The secret to cooking dwarves is to skin them first!"

The dwarves started to yell all at the same time, the trolls seemed to disagree with Bilbo and one of them took Bombur to eat him raw.

"Not that one!" screamed Bilbo. "He's infected! He's got worms in his tubes. In fact, they all have. I wouldn't risk it."

"We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" said Kili, feeling offended by the words of the hobbit.

"What are you talking about laddie?!" Added Dori. Thorin discreetly hit him in the back and Kili finally understood. "I've got parasites as big as my arms!"

"Mine are the biggest parasites! I've got huge parasites!" yelled Kili.

One of the trolls came close to Bilbo with a hideous wince on his face.

"What do you want us to do?" he said. "Let them all go? You think I don't know what you're up to?"

"The dawn will take you all!" everyone heard, and looked towards the source of the voice.

The wizard hit the huge rock he was standing on with his wooden staff, breaking the rock into two parts. The sun appeared and suddenly, the trolls started to shout, their skin turning into stone. They came to a standstill and the company all screamed with joy at the same time, glad to see the old wizard again.

Gandalf came to untie the knot of Bilbo's bag and then the hobbit helped the other dwarves get out. Kili was the first one to be free and he immediately went to his brother with a knife.

"Hurry Kili."

"I would have been so ashamed to meet our ancestors in Mahal's hall and have to tell them that we were eaten by trolls" said the young dwarf laughing.

"Stop joking and untie me now" his brother answered roughly.

Kili did as Fili told him, astounded by his reaction. The blonde one got out of the bag nervously and took back his sword and other weapons before turning back toward Kili.

"We have things to discuss Kili."

He then walked away from the others, expecting his brother to follow him. His brother was never really the kind of person to be easily angered, moreover at his brother, but Kili could guess what the source of his irritation was. He walked after Fili who didn't say a word until they were out of sight of the other dwarves.

"What were you thinking Kili?!" Fili shouted immediately.

"What?"

"Didn't I tell you not to attack the trolls by yourself?!" he continued while walking around his brother nervously. "Can't you just figure by yourself that you can't kill them all by yourself?!"

"I did but…"

"But no! You always act unconsciously and just think! You could have been killed!" Interrupted Fili pointing a finger to his brother's chest.

"But I'm not dead, and Bilbo would have been if I haven't done anything!" Kili went closer to his brother, eyebrows furrowed. "And you know that I am right, that's why you do not know how to answer right now!"

Fili stayed silent, his jaws clenched. Kili knew his brother by heart and he knew what his silence meant. He was angry because he was afraid he might lose his only brother and Kili understood that well. Fili was older than him, meaning he fought many times before he was even allowed to go out during night watches with the dwarven warriors himself. When his older brother used to leave the house for many months to hunt orcs on their lands, Kili had always been terrified that he might get killed just like his father was. He calmed himself down and took his brother's head in his hands.

"One day, you will not be here anymore to protect me, brother," he said softly, almost like a whisper. "You have to trust me."

"I know" Fili said, although what his brother said seemed strange to his ears at the moment.

They hugged each other and Kili felt better. Fili kept seeing him as a little child that needed to be protected, but that wasn't the case anymore.

"The last one to arrive to the first troll is a Moria Goblin" whispered Kili to his brother's ear, his playful spirit coming back quickly.

They both started to run immediately, laughing and forgetting their hassle from before. Fili was running faster, but Kili pushed him into the bushes and quickly climbed on top of the troll's stone head. His brother arrived a few seconds later, with twigs in his hair.

"I won" said the young dwarf proudly.

"You cheated."

"I never said that cheating wasn't allowed brother" he answered, offering his hand to help him get on.

Fili sat next to his brother and brushed his hair kindly. Suddenly, a loud noise came from the forest. The brothers jumped down from the troll and took their swords. A sled drawn by enormous rabbits appeared from the bushes and stopped just in front of the dwarves who gathered to protect each other, swords and axes in hands.

"Radagast!" Gandalf said. "It's Radagast The brown!"