CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Mirkwood
"And he never found out about it because his nasty little pets that had been tailing me, they all lost themselves within the deep labyrinth of Mirkwood," Farren had been telling Bilbo the tale of when several of a greedy king's fellow soldiers had crossed Farren and Abe's path, and they had spent a good couple of days being chased like a goose.
"Is it likely that they are still there?" Bilbo said nervously, pulling on the reins of his pony, stopping it from swerving away from the pack,
"Of course not, this occurred about two hundred years ago," Farren chuckled, "They are long gone," she assured him, raising her head to quickly check where they were.
There it was. Like a black sea stretching out as far as the eye could see, with several mountains and other shadowous shapes looming out of the middle. Mirkwood; the darkest forest in all of Middle-Earth, and the only place on this side of the Misty Mountains that Farren knew of. She felt like it was calling her, like something very strong had reached into her gut and was whispering in her ear, wanting her to come closer.
Digging her heels into her pony's shoulders, she set off in a quick trot, past the rest of the Company and far up ahead. The wind became wilder as she picked up speed, her hair blowing back and her cloak flapping loudly against her back. She was galloping at full pelt now, her eyes wide and watering against the breeze, her lips open and sucking in harsh breaths as if she had been running for hours.
"FARREN!" she faintly heard a bellow from behind her and she was sure that she felt someone try to grab on to her cloak, "STOP!" she heard the shout again and she blinked rapidly, straining on her panting pony's reins,
"Gandalf," she puffed out as the wizard came up next to her, "I don't – I'm so sorry – I - ?"
"Come here my girl," he soothed calmly, tugging her off her pony and into his arms, embracing her tightly, "I must warn you, do not venture near Dol Guldur,"
"Why?" Farren asked breathlessly, wiping her head of a cold sweat that had appeared,
"There is dark magic there that will tempt you and will play with your mind," Gandalf uttered in her ear, releasing her shoulders, "You have to be careful,"
"Yes," was her simple, nervous reply and she turned back towards her oncoming Company, and her concerned Hobbit,
"Farren," he said quietly, ungracefully sliding off his pony, "What happened back there? You sounded – mad,"
"I was just excited," she stuttered with a smile, "I haven't been to Mirkwood in two hundred years,"
"You've been here before?" Kili asked in surprise, distracting Farren from the uncomfortable tightening in her chest and she nodded,
"I was born within those very trees," Farren said, pointing ahead of her, into the dense undergrowth, "Those dark and poisoned trees? Gandalf, what happened here?"
"Is there another way around?" Bilbo asked nervously, "This forest feels sick…as if it has a disease laying on it,"
"Not unless you want to go two hundred miles north, or twice that distance south," Gandalf commented loudly, walking towards the edge of the forest and side stepping between two large oak trees.
Farren suddenly felt a presence appear, not around her but around Gandalf who stood in front of an ivy ridden stone font that had beautifully intricate carvings of men with spears and woman with bows. She approached him quietly, as to not disturb his suddenly shocked nature, the presence becoming stronger yet not alarming Farren. She had felt this presence before, at Rivendell when Elrond and Gandalf had left her to attend an important meeting with an elf she did not recognise.
My name is Galadriel and you must do as Gandalf has said, as misty and melodic voice filled her ears, and Farren stopping breathing for a moment, casting a wary eye around her for any unwanted visitors, he will be leaving you and you must protect the Hobbit, and the Dwarves.
She nodded, knowing fully well that the mysterious voice could not see her.
"No, don't let my horse go," Gandalf's alert tone shook her from her dream, "I need it!"
"You're not leaving us?" Bilbo said shakily, rapping his own pony smart on the rear, sending it galloping back the way that they had just ventured,
"I would not do this unless I had to," Gandalf muttered sadly, swinging himself up on his horse and sending Thorin a small glance,
"You've changed Bilbo Baggins," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "You're not the same Hobbit as the one who left The Shire,"
Bilbo cleared his throat, shuffling closer to the wizard's horse, "I was going to tell you; I found something in the Goblin Tunnels,"
"Found what?" Gandalf asked curiously, leaning forward and Bilbo slipped his hand into his pocket, fingering with the Ring nervously, hoping it would bring him the courage to be honest with Gandalf,
"I found my courage," and he removed his hand, letting it drop to his side and Gandalf straightened up with a proud smile,
"Good," he said, "Well, that's good, you'll need," and he urged his horse towards where Farren and Thorin stood, bickering about how well she knew the forest,
"I will be waiting for you on the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor," he told them loudly, causing Thorin to narrow his eyes at the wizard, "I leave you in Farren's hands, keep the map and the key safe," Farren jumped at the mention of her name and swallowed thickly, "Do not enter the mountain without me or Farren,"
Gandalf looked down at Thorin, his eyes stone hard and aiming the last sentence at him,
"This is not the Greenwood of old my dear," he turned to Farren, "The very air of the forest is thick with illusion, it will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray,"
She knew he meant what he had warned her about; about the dark temptation at Dol Guldur, that magic will lead only her astray.
"You must stay on the path; do not leave it. If you do, you will never find it again," Farren glanced towards the entrance to the forest, a sprinkle of rain lightly dampening her clothes and she squinted, spotting something that she had not seen before.
"Farren, the path, we need to get to the mountain before Durin's day," Thorin placed a hands on her shoulder and she blinked a few times,
"Yes, Durin's Day," she stumbled over her words, "This way," she instructed, pushing forward and her feet struck something hard,
"The path?" Thorin muttered from behind her, "This our one chance to open the door," she hissed at his words, her body suddenly shivering as a wave of freezing cold breezed over her. Farren looked down and saw what she had seen earlier, the glowing red bricks of the Elven Path. With a smug smile, knowing that no one else could see the path, she beckoned the Company to follow her,
"You can see it I assume?" Thorin asked a little further on, not completely happy following Farren and she nodded,
"I was born in these trees," she explained airily, "I have Elven blood in my veins," and that seemed to settle the matter, and the two were silent from then on.
The Company followed Farren's every move, although not jumping as gracefully as she did over a fallen tree or sidestepping the bones of some sort of horse shapes creature.
"My head is spinning," came a groan from behind her and she sighed, rubbing at her chest that was tightening with every step she took forward,
"I need air," another voice murmured breathlessly and Farren, foolishly, looked back over her shoulder and chuckled at the hyperventilating dwarves.
"No," she had turned her head back, her toes handing over the edge of a steep cliff with sharp rocks and rouge roots at the bottom, "No, the path!"
"What's the matter?" came a worried shout and Farren's eyes cast about her desperately,
"The path is gone!" she cried shrilly, "It's disappeared!"
"Find it, all of you," Thorin bellowed, falling to his knees and brushing leaves away from the floor, "Look for the path!"
"I should be able to see it!" Farren was getting hysterical, searching furiously for that cold, red glow.
Haven't they been this way before? That tree certainly looks familiar, as does that boot print.
"I don't remember this place before," Dwalin muttered from the back, "None of this is familiar,"
"It's got to be here!" Dori replied, kicking at a stone in front of him,
"What hour is it?" Thorin asked and Balin squinted to the sky, but gave up when all he saw was thick foliage,
"I do not know," he sighed, "I do not even know what day it is,"
"Is there no end to this accursed place?" Thorin cried loudly and Farren yawned, and then started to cough thickly.
Someone thumped her on the back,
"You alright lass?" it was Fili and she nodded, swallowing another round of painful coughing,
"It's just the air," she assured him croakily, "It's heavy with disease that my lungs are having trouble with,"
But it was something else and it wasn't just her lungs that were struggling. Her whole body ached as if she had been sprinting for days, and that uncomfortable tug was still twisting in her gut, pulling her astray from the group and nearly away from Bilbo. He held her hand, pulling her along and worrying deeply about her and the odd groans coming from her lips as she tried to free herself from his grip.
Kili and Fili had noticed her irregular behaviour and had taken to trailing the pack, in case Farren tried to break loose. But her contact with Bilbo seemed to have an effect, their skin touching seemed to calm her and bring back some sanity to her mind.