"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.", sings a foul voice as I approach.
I look over a ledge, clinging to the rock. I cannot believe how much I dislike being here, but I cannot leave the dwarves to their faith. So my eyes scan my surroundings before they fall upon the dwarves as they stand before the Goblin king. Their weapons taken from them and are being examined by minor goblins with interest. Suddenly a certain sword catches all their attention.
"I know that sword! It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks.", the Goblin king shouts in alarm, crawling onto his throne in fright as the other goblins shriek in fear. "Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! Cut off his head!", the Goblin king orders, wanting to get rid of the intruders as quick as possible.
They pile on Thorin and one goblin holds up a large dagger, about to end the dwarf prince his life. I am about to rush forth, but it is then that a bright force crashes through the dark halls, making me squint. When it dies down , I feel relieved to find that Gandalf has arrived. I'm quite surprised at the crafty wizard who even eludes my eyes.
I waste no time to crash in the middle of the fray that commences and shoot down any Goblin that escapes the weapons wielded by the dwarves. At one point, Thorin manages to work the Goblin king over the edge of the outcrop they were on, making him fall down far below.
"Run! Follow Gandalf out of here!", I yell at them. "I will take the rear!", I finish, turning to the oncoming goblins. I follow close behind, blocking the path to goblins rushing after them in any way I can. It slows them down at least as I can't do much more without wasting arrows. Speaking of which, I find myself soon to be a target for the enemy and I have trouble dodging the onslaught of arrows heading my way.
"Therith! Go down!", Gandalf calls. "Get yourself out of here!", he orders in a tone of voice that makes it final. Gritting my teeth, I reluctantly listen and take a dive. There is nothing I can do if I'm shot down after all.
Reaching the bottom, I find myself out of the range of archers to my relief and let my wings retreat. I wait, putting my trust in Gandalf on getting them out of there. Soon though, a great crashing sound reaches my ears and many shouts of dwarves. Rushing over to where the noise disappeared to, I come across an alcove, filled with stacked and moaning dwarves. Gandalf stands to the side, having avoided the mess. "Well that could have been worse.", says Bofur.
I cringe as the heavy body of the Goblin king comes falling from above and right on top of them. They cry out in pain and discomfort. "You've got to be joking!", calls Dwalin annoyed. I rush over to help them out of their peril. "Everyone well?", I ask hurriedly, receiving some grunts and complaints, but nobody seems to be badly hurt.
Kili looks up and his face turns pale at the sight up above. "Gandalf!", he calls, alerting the wizard. "There's too many! We can't fight them.", Dwalin exclaims worried as we watch thousands of goblins crawl down. "Only one thing will save us: daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet!", Gandalf calls, urging the company on.
We rush through tunnels, small and large, narrow and wide until we finally come upon the exit. I run out through the exit and into the last light of day, breathing a sigh of fresh air in relief.
"Five, six, seven, eight...Bifur, Bofur...that's ten...Fili, Kili...that's twelve...Therith and Bombur - that makes fourteen. Where's Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit? Where is our hobbit?!", Gandalf asks in panic, making me look at him alarmed. How could I have forgotten him?
"Curse the halfling! Now he's lost?!", Dwalin complains. "I thought he was with Dori!", Gloin exclaims. "Don't blame me!", Dori retorts. "Well, where did you last see him?", Gandalf asks hurriedly. "I think I saw him slip away, when they first collared us.", Nori explains. "What happened exactly? Tell me!", Gandalf demands.
"I'll tell you what happened.", starts Thorin. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone.", he accuses.
"Please be quiet!", I call, now angry. "Do not say such things without knowing it if it's true. It is my fault. I saw him last and I told him to stay put. He probably is still in there somewhere! I have to go back!", I tell them, turning around, only to come face to face with the previously mentioned hobbit.
I look at him gaping. "Bilbo, oh for the sake of Valar.", I exclaim, crushing him in an embrace. "I am so sorry.", I apologize, feeling guilty to no end. "Don't!", he calls alarmed. "I made it out without so much as a scratch.", he reassures me as I let go. "And how did you manage that feat?", Thorin asks suspiciously, causing a tense silence to fall upon the company.
"Well, what does it matter? He's back!", Gandalf exclaims in an attempt to avoid argument. "It matters! I want to know: why did you come back?", Thorin questions, making Bilbo look up at Thorin, a strange look on his face. "Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's home. And that's why I came back, cause you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.", Bilbo says to him. I can't help but smile at the kind words.
Suddenly an eerie howl echoes through the night, signaling only one thing… "Out of the frying pan...", mutters Thorin. "...and into the fire! Run! RUN!", Gandalf shouts before we dart off down the mountain.
As fast as our legs can take us, we rush onward, wargs on our tails. Soon we reach an outcrop on the mountain, effectively trapping us. "Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb! Bilbo, climb!", Gandalf calls out and I look to see Bilbo trying to retrieve his sword from the head of a warg with difficulty. When he finally does so, I slide back down the tree I was in and boost him up before following after him a warg snapping at our feet.
"We cannot stay here Gandalf! We have to take the offence!", I shout to him as the wargs slam into the trees, making them shake hard. "I'm already on it!", he calls back. When I look at him, I can just catch the sight of a petit moth flying away from him.
Suddenly the wargs back off and we look over to see the cause of this. "Azog!",Thorin says, anger coating his voice as he spits out the name. I see him looking at a large pale orc on an even paler warg. He is missing an arm, it having been replaced by one of metal. The look that is seen on his face as we are trapped is one of great satisfaction. This orc makes me more uncomfortable than any I have encountered before.
"Nuzdigid? Nuzdi gast?", the orc known as Azog starts to speak. "Ganzilig-i unarug obod nauzdanish, Torin undag Train-ob." I do not quite understand what he said, but from the look on Thorin's face, it struck a cord. "Kod, Toragid biriz.", the orc says to the wargs and their riders. "Worori-da!", He shouts before they rush forward, striking the trees harder than before. "Sho gad adol!"
We gasp as our tree gets uprooted from the force and falls over into the next tree. We manage to jump across, but the weight of the tree causes the next tree to fall over as well and so it continues until we are all gathered within the last tree.
Suddenly I spot a burning pinecone flying overhead and see it land amidst the wargs. They back off as the dry grass catches fire. Gandalf passes more of them along to the rest of us and we throw them a little further every time, making them back off further and flee. The dwarves cheer, but I do not feel comfortable enough just yet to do so.
Suddenly the tree we are in starts to creak and roots break, causing the tree to fall over the edge until just hanging on by a thread. Ori loses his grip, yelling as he barely manages to catch himself on Dori's boot. Dori slips as well from the weight, yelling for Gandalf who swings his staff and Dori catches it just in time. Gandalf groans at the weight, but looks up surprised as I tiptoe past him on the tree trunk before jumping off, much to the shock of the two dwarves.
They sigh in relief as my wings come forth and I hurriedly take hold of Ori as Dori's boot starts slipping. "I almost forgot about that. Many thanks Therith.", Ori says. "You're quite welcome.", I say with a strain, barely keeping hold on him. I'm not quite so strong as to carry such weight easily. My strength lies elsewhere.
I barely register Thorin leaving the tree and heading for Azog as I urge myself to beat my wings harder. "Therith, we're sinking.", Ori says nervously as we indeed dip below the outcrop. "I am aware my friend.", I tell him as I hear much yelling above, but I can't focus on that at the moment while having such a hard time flying.
"Therith! Watch out!", Ori suddenly calls in panic. I look up in time to see Dori slipping from Gandalf's staff. I quickly free one hand, holding onto Ori by the back of his coat and catch the falling Dori with the other, my hand clasping his. I gasp at the weight dragging me down, my wings growing tired and feeling like giving out when a screech reaches my ears.
Opening my eyes, I see the shadow of an eagle below me, circling and more of them up above us. "Dori, let go!", I tell him. "Are you mad!", he says looking up wide-eyed. "Trust me!", I say before letting him go. He screams as he falls before softly landing between the wings of the eagle below.
Another eagle rushes by and I throw Ori on its back with the last of my strength. I barely get a moment before claws snatch me from the air and I'm flown away from the mountain. I can see the others following, Thorin sadly unconscious as he hangs limp from the claws of another eagle.
"Therith?!", calls a voice above me, and I look up to see Gandalf's face peeking over the side of the giant eagle carrying me. "I'm alright Gandalf.", I say tiredly. "I'll just close my eyes for a moment.", I finish, sighing and doing just that. We're save for now and I do hope that it will take a long time before we run into more trouble. My body and mind are tired and I soon drift to sleep, the soft wind caressing me like a mother would her child.