Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not my own, yadda yadda yadda. I'm not making any money off of this. (Though I wish I could.)
We fell and I let out a girly scream. Had it been any other time, I am sure that I would have been teased endlessly.
We crashed into the walls as we all slid down in a hellish roller coaster ride of death. Everything whipped by so quickly that I began to feel nauseated. My body careened and crashed into rocks and dwarves alike and the ground below began to rapidly approach.
I fell with a thud on top of Dori and Nori. Bilbo then landed on top of me, and Bofur barely missed landing on both of us. I groaned in pain and struggled to stand. The noise of an endless rabble came closer to us and we all began to fumble, trying to regain our footing before the goblin horde attacked.
Thorin met my eyes briefly and before I could react, he struck out his hand and pulled my hood over my head. I didn't even have a chance to wonder why when suddenly, the stunted and horribly malformed creatures were on us.
They hissed and snapped, growled and grumbled as they grabbed us and pushed us hastily to our feet. Our weapons were quickly pulled from us and soon we were being shoved along a narrow wooden bridge. I stumbled over a loose rock and I felt the sharp jab of an elbow catch me in the ribs. A goblin growled at me, and shoved me. I decked him and his head jerked back with the force of it, stunned and though he fell away, another immediately took its place.
Slowly, the cavernous tunnels came into view. Flickering fire light glowed around us as thousands of goblins hollered and roared. A deafening horn trumpeted and drums started, followed by what I guess passed for instruments here. It was a deafening racket as all the goblins began to screech and sing . We fought helplessly against our captors, but it didn't matter. There was too many of them.
As we were jostled and shoved, poked and prodded, a deep and crackling voice spoke loudly
"I feel a song coming on…"
"Clap! Snap! The black crack
Grib, grab! Pinch, nab!
And down -down to Goblin town
You go, my lad!"
The voice was terribly out of tune and it echoed all around us. I cringed at the awful noise, between the Goblin king's voice, the loud banging of drums, and the horrible snarling and snapping of his subjects around us. As we neared the throne, I caught sight of the enormous monstrosity that was the Goblin King. He was hugely fat with endless dirty rolls coming over his filthy and stained loin cloth. An enormous chin that dropped well down to his gut jiggled with the tune. His greasy and sparse hair stuck to his skill and his beady eyes regarded us with interest. Pus filled boils and goiters oozed everywhere I could see.
With much pushing and shoving I was maneuvered towards the middle of the group by Balin and Dwalin as we were stopped roughly before the Goblin King and I tried to hold back a retch as the smell of him assaulted my nose.
"Catchy isn't it? Its one of my own compositions," The king said proudly, coming to plop back down on his throne.
"That isn't a song, its an abomination." Balin snapped from in front of me. The goblins around us sneered and grumbled, brandishing their weapons at us.
"Abominations. Mutations. Deviations. That is all you are going to find down here." He shifted in his seat and waved a meaty hand in our direction. Our weapons were dumped unceremoniously on the floor and I grimaced as my beautiful bow was tossed into the heap. The goblins squabbled over our belongings.
"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" The king demanded, lurching to his feet and stepping menacingly close to us. Fili and Kili moved casually to stand in front of me, and I realized there were trying to hide me and my gender.
"Spies? Thieves!? ASSASSINS?!" Spittle dripped from his chin.
"Dwarves, your malevolence," A small bug-eyed goblin hobbled forward. "We found them on the front porch!"
Suddenly a goblin came up from behind me and shoved me roughly forward before any of my companions could react. I fell on all fours in front of the goblin king. He looked down and regarded me with interest.
"And look what we sniffed out! A woman!" The goblin who had shoved me forward ripped my hood away from my face, taking a handful of hair with it.
"Well. Don't just stand there. Search the dwarves. And tie this pretty little thing up for me!" The king roared. The color drained from my face and I grit my teeth in determination. The bug eyed goblin from before grabbed at me and I punched him too. He rocked back, but grabbed my hands in his. Another goblin came up from behind me and grabbed me around the middle. I flailed and slammed my head back. I felt a satisfying crunch and thud as he fell down. Three more, then another four, goblins grabbed me and forced me to my knees. They quickly tied rope tightly around my wrists.
"What are you doing in these parts?" The king demanded, bending down to peer at me. I refused to meet his eyes, instead stared at the floor, terrified. "Come on now, pretty little bird. You can sing for me."
He laughed crudely and reached down, his hand easily as big as my face, and grabbed my hair. He pulled it back painfully.
"Speak!" He snarled, spit landing in my face. I turned my head away from him and he threw his hand back and let go of my hair at the same time. The strength of his casual movement sent me rocking back and I crashed to the ground painfully. He turned and addressed the vulgar crowd.
"So be it! If we can not make them talk, we will make them squawk! Bring up the mangler! Bring up the bone-breaker!" He whirled and pointed directly at me.
"Start with her, first." One of the goblins grabbed my arm, his long, boney fingers biting deeply. He yanked me roughly to my feet. When I tried to pull away, he backhanded me with such force that lights appeared in my eyes.
"WAIT!" Thorin called. I heard him step forward and I turned to look at him. He would not meet my eyes. The bastard holding on to me jerked me back around to face the king and I spat a mouthful of blood on him. The effort earned me another reeling back hand.
The goblin king turned to look at Thorin.
"Well, well WELL!" He took a step back and peered at Thorin with wide eyes. "Look who it is! Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror! King under the mountain." He bowed mockingly, his voice scornful. He paused, then whipped his head up, his many rolls of fat bouncing with him.
"Oh! But I'm forgetting. You don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you…. Nobody, really."
Thorin did not speak. He merely glared up at the atrocity before him.
"I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head. Nothing attached. An old enemy of yours. Perhaps you know of whom I speak?" The king fixed Thorin with a cruel smirk. "A pale orc, astride a white warg."
Thorin jerked his head up fully and gazed at him with hatred and disbelief.
"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle many years ago!" Throin snarled, taking a step forward angrily.
"So you think his defiling days are over, do you?" The king laughed cruel, then turned to look at me. "Perhaps I will gift her to Azog, and she can find out whether that is true or not."
Some of the dwarves cried out in dismay at hearing his words. I refused to look back at them, afraid that I would break down if I did. It was taking all that I had to stand there and listen to him speak without giving into the growing fear in the pit of my stomach.
"Send word to the pale orc! Tell him I have found his prize!" The goblin king demanded suddenly, waving an enormous arm at a twisted and sad looking creature who scribbled furiously on what looked suspiciously like tanned hide.
Goblins began to crawl up a winding staircase, holding shackles and whips, what looked like bear traps, and all other manners of torture devices. I felt a shiver of fear go through me and one of the goblins grabbed a hold of my face by my chin and licked the length of my cheek.
"Mmm! Fear!" He snarled. I snapped my teeth and caught the fleshy part of his hand between thumb and index finger in my teeth and chomped down as hard as I could. Warm and foul blood squirted into my mouth and he squealed in pain, jerking away. Flesh came lose in my mouth and I fought against the gorge as it rose in my throat. I spat out a quarter sized hunk of bloody tissue and retched.
"Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung! You'll be beaten and battered, from racks' you'll be hung! You will lie down here and never be found, down in the deep of goblin town!" The king cackled manically and danced around, the entire platform we were on shaking. There was much shuffling as the goblins carrying their devices reached us, and as those who had captured us riffled through our belongings. The goblins holding me jerked me to and fro in excitement as whips and other tools were passed around.
Suddenly, a loud and guttural snarl rose from the weapons pile. They had found Orcrist.
"I know that sword!" The king stopped dancing and shied away from the blade. "It is the Goblin-cleaver. The Biter! The blade that sliced a thousand necks!"
Whips began to fly as the goblins were worked up into a frenzy. I promised to myself that I would not scream when the first whip caught me on the back of my legs. The instant it dug into my flesh, I broke that promise. My legs buckled and I screamed in pain, tears instantly springing to my eyes. I jerked away as another goblin made to whip me, the long tongue cracking in the air as I raised my arm up to defend myself. I lashed out blindly, kicking, biting, and throwing my fists around. I fell down solidly and felt the air leave my lungs.
A wave of white light left me momentarily stunned before an explosion of power suddenly rocked the platform. Everyone who was standing was laid flat and I blinked slowly, a heavy buzzing in my ears. The cave, which had been dimly lit before, was thrown into darkness as most of the flames and torches had been blown out by the sudden gust.
"Gandalf!" I cried out as I struggled to stand for the umpteenth time.
"Take up arms! Fight! FIGHT!" He called out.
As my eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, I watched as his tall form slowly came into focus. He was brandishing staff and sword. The dwarves began to scramble to their feet, grappling with the fallen goblins. Once I had regained my footing, I yanked a jagged looking blade from one of my goblin captors and quickly sliced through my ropes, managing to cut into the side of my hand as well. I hissed in pain and, angry, sliced at he goblin that I had taken the blade from as he tried to grab for me.
Working on pure adrenaline now, I slashed and hacked as I made my way to the pile of weapons. I fell to my knees and grabbed my sword first. I quickly tied it to my belt, threw my bow and quiver over my shoulders, and began to follow after Gandalf and the dwarves, who were leaving a path of destruction in their wake.
I pulled my sword free and caught up with them as they slashed through another group of goblins. One made to grab for me and quickly I jerked out of the way, bringing my sword down. With a sickening crunch, his arm was severed. I ignored the gore that surrounded me and dove into the pack of dwarves.
"Quickly, now!" Gandalf called. We raced down the tunnels and pathways, dipping and dodging, hacking and slashing as we went. When we reached an open section, I cursed loudly at the large gaggle of the foul creatures in front of us, blocking our way. Dwalin yelled something I didn't catch. He and a few others hastily grabbed at the posts in the ground and cut them free. Using them as battering rams, they charged forward, knocking the screaming creatures down to the depths below. We quickly scrambled through, pushing forward as fast as we were able.
Arrows began to rain down on us and I watched Kili deflect one arrow then another. Had it not been such a serious situation, I would have berated him for being such a show off. Instead, I shoved my sword back into its sheath and began to fire back. The goblin archers ducked under the sudden and unexpected fire and I took out three before they retreated back, my bow far outmatching their own in speed and accuracy.
"Jump!" I barely heard Thorin yell over the noise around us. I watched as the dwarves jumped to the path ahead, only for it to break lose and begin to swing. The rest of us scrambled to get to the path. I tucked my bow and quiver back where they belonged and jumped. I grabbed hold of a support beam, and for a second faltered. My hands were slick with blood, and I was having a hard time finding a hand hold. Dwalin reached out and grasped my arm, hauling me to my feet and steadying me.
We jumped to the path before us and continued on down the trail. Gandalf knocked down several large rocks with his staff and, like a video game, they rolled down and either crushed or shoved the Goblins coming our way. Out of breath, we reached a large bridge, but were suddenly stop. The Goblin King stood before us, slamming his large tipped staff on the floor. Goblins surrounded us.
"You thought you could escape me?!" The king threw back his head and laughed. "What are you going to do now, wizard?"
Gandalf hardly hesitated. He lept forward and smashed the goblin king in the eye with his staff and, as he fell, twisted and slashed his sword through the creatures great belly.
Here was something that wasn't in the movies.
Thick ropey intestines and other viscera poured out of the wound, an awful stench permeating the air as his bowels were perforated. The goblin king looked on in shock and Gandalf took that moment to slash his throat. Blood splattered everywhere as the blade bit in deep. The dwarf king let out a long, rattling breath, bubbles foaming from his mouth, before he crashed forward. We all had about two seconds to think 'oh, shit' before the bridge gave way, and suddenly we were all falling again.
I knocked hard against Balin, crashed against a wall, smacked my already injured hand against a protruding rock, and smashed into Bofur before we hit the ground, falling in boneless heaps, the wreckage falling around us. The wind was knocked out of me, but I still tried to scramble out of the pile. Gandalf followed suit.
"Well, that could have been worse," Bofur said, sarcastically. I managed to pull myself free of the wood and crashed down, landing on the ground with a solid thud. Just as I did so, the dead king fell and landed with a loud thunk on the very top of the pile. The dwarves groaned.
"You've got to be joking," Dwalin muttered. Gandalf and I set about helping our companions out from under the rubble. As the last of us came free, the noise from above began to grow.
"Gandalf!" Kili yelled, looking up. Our eyes followed to the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of goblins swarming down towards us.
"There's too many. We cannot fight!" Dwalin yelled, frustrated.
"Only one thing will save us; daylight! Come!" He waved his staff and took off. We followed behind, though I began to lag terribly. I was winded.
We broke though the mountain, the last light of day blinding me. I stumbled as we ran down the slope and fell to my knees, hard. A strong hand grabbed my upper arm and hauled me to my feet. Thorin tugged me along with him as we ran.
Finally, as the slope tapered off, the company began to slow. I came to a stop shortly after passing Gandalf, bending over to relieve the burning pain in my side. My breaths came in great gasping pants and I felt like my legs were going to collapse beneath me.
Gandalf watched as we all slowed, counting each of us as we passed. .
"Fili… Kili.. That makes eleven. Thorin, Talya, that's thirteen… Bombur, fourteen." Gandalf narrowed his eyes. "Wheres Bilbo?"
"Curse the Halfling! Now hes lost?!" Dwalin snapped.
"I thought… he was with… Dori." Gloin panted heavily.
"Don't blame me!" Dori snapped.
"Well, where did you last see him?!" Gandalf asked, exasperated.
"I think I saw him slip away, back when they first collared us." Nori said slowly.
"I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and took it!" Thorin snapped, looking at each of us in turn. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! Hes' thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out his door. We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone."
When Thorin looked at me, I shook my head sadly and turned away.
"No, He isn't." came Bilbo's voice softly from behind a tree. He stepped into view and everyone stared at him in shock. Gandalf gave a relieved laughed.
"Bilbo Baggins. I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!"
Bilbo walked slowly towards us, patting Balin affection ally on the shoulder as the old dwarf greeted him warmly.
"Bilbo! We'd give up on you!" Kili said, his voice filled with wonder.
"How on earth did you get past the Goblins?!" Fili asked, incredulous.
Dwalin muttered to himself, and then there was silence. We all regarded Bilbo and he shifted nervously. He gave a small anxious laugh, and slipped his hand down from his hip into his pocket and I felt a shiver of dread. The One Ring.
"Well, what does it matter? He's back!" Gandalf cleared his throat as he spoke.
"It matters! I want to know. Why did you come back?" Thorin asked, his eyes narrowed.
"Look," Bilbo said softly. He came to stand in the middle of the group and my heart went out to him. He looked at Thorin "I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you're right."
Bilbo shrugged and gave a sad smile. "I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See. That's where belong. That's home. And that is why I came back, because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you."
Bilbo's voice broke a little. "But I will help you take it back, if I can."
Gandalf gives a small laugh and I realized he had tears in his eyes. He wasn't the only one. Thorin could only stare on in wonder and I once again shook my head at him.
Suddenly, there was a loud, long howl. Thorin jerked his head up and we all followed his gaze. Rider-less wargs were running full tilt at us, snarling and snapping their jaws.
"Out of the frying pan…" Thorin started
"… and into the fire. Run!" Gandalf finished. A second wave of adrenaline, or maybe it was the third? Hit me and soon I was running along side my companions. The rapidly fading sun disappeared behind the mountains and suddenly, we were plunged once more into darkness.
Slavering jaws snapped at us as the lead wargs caught up. I had to jerk hurriedly to the side as a one snapped at me. It over corrected itself and went down, hard. I ran passed, dodging its flailing paws.
"Up into the trees! All of you. Come on, climb! Bilbo, climb!" Gandalf called. He hastily made his way up one of the pine trees and the dwarves followed after, helping each other as they went. I lept up and grabbed a hold of a branch and pulled myself up the farthest tree, despite my protesting muscles. I hauled myself just out of reach as another warg snapped at my ankles.
"They're coming!" Thorin yelled as more wargs approached, bearing orcs on their backs. A massive albino warg stepped up and those surrounding him parted. A ferociously tall and imposing orc sat upon its back, scars criss crossing his face. He sneered and growled out something in a harsh language I could not begin to understand.
I looked between the orc and Thorin, the pain and grief written there on his face heartbreaking.
Azog snarled something, and suddenly the wargs lept forward, growling menacingly as they came at us. Teeth and fangs snapped from below as the wargs tried to get at us. I watched helplessly as first one tree, then another toppled. I reached out and grabbed Bilbo as he fell forward. Around me, my companions settled themselves into the tree, not being able to tear their eyes away from the pale orc and his mount.
"Fili! Talya!" I glanced up at Gandalf when I heard my name. He dropped burning pine cones down at us, as we were directly below him, and began to throw them desperately. The others joined in, and soon flames rose in the dry brush around us. One of my pine cones struck a warg on the top of his head and rolled down his back, lighting the thick fur as it went. It howled pitifully and ran, a cheer going up amongst ourselves. A lone warg, enraged by the fire, lunged one last time at the tree we were in, and I felt it start to sway.
"SHIT!" I clung around my branch and held my eyes shut as tightly as I could. My stomach dropped as the tree swayed and fell, coming to rest precariously at the edge of the cliff. We all were yelling and struggling to keep our grip. Behind me, Ori fell, then Dori, with Gandalf barely able to save them.
On the ledge before us, Azog snarled loudly, his warg echoing him. I closed my eyes for a second, knowing what was coming. Tears welled as I watched Thorin stand. He glared at Azog with anger for a moment, before lifting up his sword and, brandishing his Oaken shield, charging the pale orc. We all watched on helplessly as Thorin fell, caught in the face with the warg's paws. He scrambled to his feet and brought up his sword once more, only to be struck down again by Azog's huge mace. The massive warg gripped him in its teeth and shook him. Thorin's pained cries tore at me and I watched as he was tossed like a rag doll and landed in a heap.
"THORIN!" I couldn't help it. I screamed. Dwalin echoed his name, and Balin cried out a heart wrenching "No!"
We watched in terror as Azog once more muttered in his dark language to one of his remaining riders. He looked on at Thorin with disgust
I looked at Bilbo, who had begun to struggle on his branch.
Bilbo pulled himself to his feet, then yanked his sword from its sheath and took off. He tackled the orc just as it was about to stab a rapidly fading Thorin.
Suddenly heartened by Bilbos' act of bravery, Fili, Kili, and Dwalin managed to get their footing. They pulled themselves up and ran to help.
Around us, great shapes began to emerge in the darkness. The Eagles were here.
The Eagles joined the fray, grabbing orcs and wargs easily in their talons and tossing them easily over the side of the mountain, or crushing them with their powerful claws. One by one, the company was plucked up or caught by the great birds. Gandalf urged me to let go of my branch and, feeling sick and hoping like hell that I would be caught, I let go and began to plummet.
I did not fall for long when I landed on the back of an enormous bird. Each wing was easily the length of a school bus, each feather longer than my arm. Its great head swiveled this way and that, its golden eyes taking in everything around us. The pupils grew and shrank, its third lens blinking away now and again.
I looked behind me and watched as Thorin was gingerly picked up in the talons of one of the powerful raptors, his body limp.
We flew all night, the great Eagles soaring effortlessly above the mountain tops. I sat on the back of my rescuer and looked at each of my companions. It really was amazing that we had made it out alive at all. Each one of them was injured and beyond tired, but they were all alive.
I was exhausted. My cheek hurt. My left hand was crusted with blood and I could hardly move it. The whip marks on the back of my thighs and around my arm burned relentlessly. My muscles protested every movement that I made. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I knew that I would be unable to do so.
As dawn broke, we approached the large jutting platform called Carrock. The eagles soared near and, without landing, dropped each one of us off delicately. Once Thorin was released, I ran to him, having slipped down the back of the raptor I road.
"Thorin!" I knelt at his side, taking his hand in mine. His injuries were so much worse then they were in the movies. A bloody gash was up the side of his jaw and had nearly torn his ear off. His brow was split, his nose bloodied. Bruises had formed up and down his arms and blood lay thick and matted in his hair. Gandalf followed behind me and stopped. He slowly lowered himself to Thorins side and placed a hand on his face. He spoke soft words, reverently, and we waited with bated breath.
After a moment, Thorin's eyes began to flutter open. He strained a moment to focus his eyes as he gazed up at Gandalf and I, and the others who had gathered around us. His eyes lingered for a moment on me before he lifted his head up.
"The Halfling?" His words were weak and he winced as he tried to sit up. I dropped my hand from his and I lent him my shoulder. Without hesitation, he reached out to grasp it. Gandalf and I steadied him as I slowly stood, trying not to wince when he dug his fingers in as he stumbled.
"Its all right. Bilbo is here. He's quite safe." Gandalf answered. Thorin paused and wavered in place and the rest of the company surrounded him. He pushed past them and approached Bilbo.
"You! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?" Thorin asked, advancing on Bilbo. Bilbo looked on, uncertain. Balin made to take a step forward, but I put my hand out. He looked at me questioningly and I smiled very slightly and nodded my head. Confused, he looked back to Thorin.
Thorin stood face to face with Bilbo now, and the hobbit shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny.
"I've never been so wrong in all my life!" Thorin wrapped Bilbo into a tight hug and I fought the urge to say "I told you so."
"I am sorry I doubted you," Thorin stepped back from the hobbit, smiling warmly at him.
"No. I would have doubted me too. I'm not a hero or a warrior. Not even a burglar."
Everyone chuckled at his comment. Bilbo looked at each of the us in turn, stunned at the admiration he found there. I felt eyes on me, and glanced at Thorin to find him watching me. I inclined my head towards him, and he followed suit.
After a moment, Bilbo looked off into the distance, something there catching his eye. In the far off horizon, a single peak rose into the sky. He glanced at Gandalf.
"Is that what I think it is?"
'Erebor. The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle-Earth." Gandalf answered. Without realizing I was doing it, I slowly walked closer to stand near Bilbo, Gandalf, and Thorin for a better look.
"Our home," Thorin's voice was so quiet that I hardly heard him. He was looking off into the distance with wonder and longing.