CHAPTER ELEVEN

Her Own Adventure

Farren opened her eyes suddenly, hearing ear bursting shouting and foreign swearing, and she struggled to her feet but seeing no-one. Her sword was in her hand and she found herself in what seemed to be a giant wooden cage, fashioned like an open hand. However, she was alone and the dwarves where know where to be found.

"Bilbo!" she tried to whisper but her voice echoed all around the cavern, ricocheting off pointed rocks and shadowed crevasses. She cringed at the reverberating sounds, so loud it may have well been a shout. Farren abandoned her vocal search and placed her sword back into its sheath, wincing as her shoulder gave a particularly nasty throb.

She was surprised as she climbed carefully from the wooden trap, that no one heard or saw her. In fact, there was no creature that she could see for meters, not even a stray fly. It was as if this cavern was abandoned. But of course, no creature was stupid enough to leave a dwelling as rich as this alone and Farren wondered, as she crept silently over rickety bridges and along ledges that gave way to endless chasms of blackness, what living thing would want to live in such a filty place?

Ah, she thought as she peered over a particularly steep ledge, Goblins. About eight hundred meters below her was what looked like a congregation of writhing ants surrounding a larger flesh coloured wobbling thing that had bellowed something so loudly, that even Farren had to cover her ears.

"Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!"

She growled menacingly, forgetting all about Bilbo and her vow to protect him, drawing her sword and attempting to find a way to get down to her Company.

But that was short lived, because no sooner as she raised her sword, a flush of heat rippled through her body and there was a high pitched scream that nearly burst her ear drums. Then there were small naked goblins racing towards her at all sides, shrieking for their king and for her blood to be spilt…

Her body was thrown backwards against the cliff by an unimaginable force that shattered the rocks above and below her, causing the goblins to slip of the edge or thrown themselves to the floor with their scaly hands over their ears. The wind had been knocked out of her and she struggled for breath, her eyes watering slightly and her mouth wide open with a silent scream. But she lunged forward anyhow, her body flying through the shadowous air like an arrow, straight and true towards where she thought her Company were.

But they were not. Farren's hands flew up to grasp a rogue rope that was suspended in front of her. Her shoulders were nearly ripped out of their sockets as she steadied herself on the fraying rope, swaying to and fro at a dizzying height. Her Company were nowhere to be seen, and there were no goblins either. She had been sure that they had been standing just below her on a wooden platform.

"SCUM! BETRAYOR OF YOUR RACE!" came several screeches from above her and her eyes darted upwards, spotting at least twenty measly goblins sliding messily down her rope in order to slay her with their slime covered weapons.

With a flash of blue, the rope was cut and again, Farren was flying through the humid air, towards the bottomless chasm below. She heard the cries of goblins all around her, trying to jump after her to catch her but failing, instead falling to their deaths.

Her eyes became dry and she was forced to blink quickly, salty tears flying off her cheeks and her hair being pulled by the stench ridden wind that slapped her in the face as she gathered speed.

There was the ground - at least thirty feet from her face and looming ever closer, spinning as the scenes around her got darker and darker the lower she flew. But in-between her and the ground were several goblin infested bridges that were seemingly oblivious to the woman plummeting towards them. Her body turned sharply, her arms shielding her face as she crashed heavily into the first wooden structure; the noise thundering around her and her back ached like someone had whipped her hundreds of times.

The pain only got worse as she shattered through three more platforms, though her skin was not punctured; only scrapped by the angered goblins that attempted to grasp her body as she fell.

Her body met the ground so fast that she didn't even register it, only coming to her senses when her lungs nearly burst from the lack of oxygen. Her head was pounding from the impact and she felt sick as she struggled to stand, her vision spinning and she veered off to the side, stumbling over a rather sharp rock.

Retching slightly, she sat back on her heels and massaged her temples, willing the nausea away. Then realising that her sword was still in her hand and that she was still being pursued by hundreds of goblins, Farren stood and sped off, her feet dragging and nearly causing her to trip several times. She brandished her sword blindly in front of her, cutting down goblins left, right and centre, her eyes focussed on the chink of light only a few yards ahead. The thought of freedom spurred her on, her head clearing from the smog from her landing and she expertly leapt on to a rock, somersaulting through the air and slicing through the necks of the four goblins that stood between her and her exit.

"Vade!," her voice thundered, her free hand flying out against the oncoming creatures and they were thrown back violently, scattering from the invisible wind that was shunting them back like ants.

Farren launched herself through the hole that was smaller than she anticipated, scrapping her shoulder and knee against the rock. Her fist struck the rock, "Etcadentadipiscing," she said and the hole she had come through fell apart, the goblins being sealed in and the danger closed away for the time being.

Flinging her sword to the side, she lay on her back, simply breathing in the crisp and cool air, letting the breeze wash over her bruised skin like a wave.

"Farren Mirkwood!" an elderly and cleared irritated voice called out, "And where have you been?"

"Oh, you would not want to know what horrors I have seen this past hour," she replied breathlessly, smiling and sitting up, facing the group of grinning dwarves, a breathless Hobbit and a relieved Wizard.

Even Thorin was smiling.

He was glad that she was alive.