"See, see?" Gollum grinned, "We've led you out!"
Bilbo had never been so glad in all his life to see a swamp. Well, smell it actually, Bilbo had spent time in sulfur mines living as a dwarf but this swamp stank worse than anything he'd ever encountered. It was like a mix between the usual reek of mud and rot mixed with the heavy putrid smell that followed a battle.
He was suddenly very jealous of the fact that his ghostly companion had no sense of smell.
"Ugh." He groaned, stepping through the thick bog and feeling the muck stick to the hair on his feet and between his toes.
"Come master, we shall take you on safe paths!" Gollum rumbled, the Hobbit wished he'd stop calling him master.
Gollum had decided, apparently, that because Bilbo held the Ring, he was the creatures ruler. Which, as horrible as it sounded, was probably a good thing. Gollum would probably at least think twice before betraying him.
-oOo-
"I hate this place." Thrain complained, "It's too quiet, there is something wrong about it."
"Oh be quiet." Bilbo snapped, "At least orcs wont follow us in here."
Thrain gave him an affronted look.
"Sorry." Bilbo sighed, brushing his muck coated hair to the side, "I'm just tired."
He nibbled on his lembas bread, though his appetite had disappeared days ago and was further discouraged as he watched Gollum pluck a worm from the mud and eat it. Bilbo offered him some of the bread but the creature had refused it in favor of bugs and on one occasion a raw fish. Idly he wondered if there were other creatures like Gollum, maybe some sort of subspecies of Goblin, he did look a bit like one.
He knew better than to ask Gollum directly, he doubted even he knew where he came from.
"Thrain, could you fly up and see how many more days it's going to take to cross this bog?" Bilbo asked, glancing back over to where Thrain was only to find him gone.
"Grandfather?" Bilbo called, glancing about.
Nothing.
"Grandfa-"
"Here!"
Bilbo turned to see Thrain floating beside him again, breathing heavily for some reason.
"Are you alright?" He asked, "I can barely see you."
"Yes fine." Thrain replied curtly, "Let's keep moving."
Bilbo opened his mouth to argue but found himself too tired to bother.
They continued across the muddy grass path through the swamp for hour in silence. Well, mostly silence, Gollum continued to mutter to himself the way he always did bt neither Thrain nor Bilbo spoke. The Hobbit took to searching their surroundings and that's when he saw them.
Faces, in the dirty water. Dead faces.
"There are dead people in the swamp!" He cried, jumping back and almost slipping.
"All dead, all rotten." Gollum spat, "Elves and men and orcs, from the great battle long ago..."
The original battle with Sauron...
"Carefully, or you will fall and go down with the dead ones..." Gollum warned.
Bilbo swallowed nervously and continued on but he couldn't stop staring at the bodies in the water. They were so pale and ghastly, he felt as if they were watching him behind closed lids.
One in particular caught his eyes, in shining gold armor with a smooth face and dark hair, whoever the warrior was in life, he might have been handsome. Somebody's friend, somebody's family, and yet he lay here at the bottom of the marsh.
Suddenly, the corpse opened it's eyes and Bilbo felt a strange downwards pull. Before he knew it he'd fallen into the water.
Cold. Green. Choking.
It was so much deeper than it looked, the Hobbit found himself fully submerged in the putrid waters, eyes open staring at the white ghosts reaching for him at the bottom. The warrior was no longer a pale body but a rotted, skeletal corpse and it was reaching for him...
He let out a cry which the waters turned silent and turned back towards the surface, reaching up and hurriedly pulling himself up onto the bank with fistfuls of weed. He could feel himself slipping back down into the water, being pulled by the trapped spirits. At least until a solid hand grabbed him by his cape and pulled him up. Breathing heavily he became aware of Thrain calling to him and he looked up to see the barely visible ghost staring at him with concern. Gollum was pulling him completely above the water. He'd saved Bilbo...
"Gollum." He breathed in shock, the creature began to mutter and hopped off down the path again, waving at Bilbo to follow.
Thrain floated closer as if to help him but his ghostly hands went straight through Bilbo's solid form.
"I can take care of myself." Bilbo choked, getting to his feet shakily, "You should leave."
"What where did that come from?" Thrain argued, "And you just proved you can'y look after yourself, falling into the waters like that."
"I got out didn't I?" Bilbo snapped, "These souls are trapped here, just like you were, it's driving them to darkness, so leave and go to the halls of our forefathers before you become a shade like them."
Thrain looked conflicted, Bilbo felt a tinge of bitterness at the realization that Thrain wanted to go. He was only staying out of obligation.
"I know it takes conscious effort to stay with me now." Bilbo argued again, "Just...let go already, it's not like you can protect me like before."
"You will not be joining me soon." Thrain ordered eventually, "You are not to die, understand me?"
"Understood." Bilbo sighed, his first smile and weeks tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I am sorry for leaving you alone." Thrain mourned, "But..."
"You don't belong here." Bilbo argued, giving a nod in the direction of Gollum, "Just, go. I have Gollum."
"That may not be a good thing." Thrain warned darkly, "I do not trust him."
"It's better than nothing." Bilbo replied, "Goodbye grandfather and thank you."
Thrain smiled at him.
Crossing over, as it seems, was a lot less dramatic than Bilbo imagined. There were no flashes of light or brilliant opening in the grey clouds. Thrain simply let out a deep, relaxed breath and became more and more transparent until he was no longer there at all.
"Hurry up master! We must keeps going!" Gollum called.
"Coming." Bilbo sighed.
Thrain was right, he did feel as if he were alone.
-oOo-
"Bilbo!" Kili called, using his sharp marksman eyes to search the fields of stone and dirt for any sign of his brother.
The only reply he got was his own echo.
"Bili!" He tried again, "Bili are you out there?!"
More silence.
"Kili please, you've been doing this every few hours for days, your voice carries for miles in this place just face it, he's way ahead of us." Fili pleaded, "Stopping to shout isn't helping."
"I know, I'm just...worried." Kili sighed, sliding back down to his brother.
Thorin was characteristically silent, he barely spoke these days, it reminded his sister sons of the early days of their quest to Erebor.
"Why is it our little brother always ends up doing the most dangerous things." Fili breathed looking at his feet, "I thought it was our job to keep him out of these sorts of situations."
"It is." Kili grumbled, kicking a rock into the stone.
"Enough whinging." Thorin cut in, "We need to keep moving if we ever hope to catch up to him."
"Yes, Uncle." The breathed.
'Be okay Bili', Kili prayed silently, 'We're coming for you.'
Sorry about slow replies again, the studying is over and now it's time for my actual exams to start tomorrow :s eep.
I know Thrain leaving seems very anticlimactic but I wanted it to be a sombre, sort of quiet event. Especially since Bilbo is the only one who could see him.