Fili crouched at the edge of the jutting shelf and looked out across the bridge. With a well-practiced eye, he gauged the shape and strength of the stone. It was narrow, but not very narrow; and it was long, but only a few yards long, perhaps fifteen feet at most. Many times in his youth, he and his brother had gone exploring in the caves and chasms beneath Ered Luin, and he would not have hesitated there to cross a bridge such as this, even if it had hung out in the open and there had been reason to cross it. He would have done it for the fun of it, and to show off to his little brother, but back home there were healers and helpers in plenty, many dwarves with miles of rope who would all have been eager to help rescue Thorin's nephew from a fall.
At Ered Luin, there had not been the pressure of living on to protect his brother and Betta who might starve or suffocate or be killed in any number of ways if Fili were to die. And there was no risk that he would be left broken and dying far below while Kili looked on helplessly…
Fili shook his head and stood up, refusing to think those thoughts. He turned his eyes to the steep wall on his left and examined the stone as if it were only a large block of granite that he had a need to cut. Millennia ago, when the world was new and the land still in turmoil, bitter cold and violent war had up-heaved these mountains and split the chasm that he stood in now. Those torment had left long fractures in the massive stone and over time the walls had shifted and slid, breaking open in some places, while in others jutted out in ledges like the shelf he stood upon and the bridge he looked at now. It was sheer luck that one of the fractures had run exactly between the shelf and the hole in the wall that was his goal and had slipped out far enough to be walked upon.
Fili looked down – not far down, not enough to see the churning waters below. He looked at the stone under his feet. The bridge was almost level with the shelf and only an irregular joint showed that the two were not one piece. There was no need to scale down or climb up to it. Fili might have stepped over the raised joint and been upon the bridge without any trouble at all.
Satisfied with that part of his journey, he walked along the edge of the shelf to the very farthest point where it stretched high above the deadly chasm. From there, he looked back and tried to see from an angle the hole that he was aiming for, but there was little more to see from here than from beside the wall. That corner of the chasm was dark with shadows that blocked his view of anything but the darker shadow within the cave. He could not see clearly where the bridge met the entrance, and he suspected that the end of his crossing would not be as easily negotiated as the beginning. But it was the crossing that worried him most. The bridge – or ledge, it really was a ledge, but call it a bridge and hopefully it will bring you to a safer end – So, the bridge was only a little wider than the length of Fili's boots, and there were few handholds along the sheer wall. Neither he nor his brother were confident that the short length of rope in Betta's bag would bear his weight if he fell at the far end. It had been spun with weaker loads in mind, and they had no iron stakes to brace or tie it off.
Returning to the wall, Fili tore a loose thread from the cuff of his coat and dropped it over the side of the shelf. It did not fall down but shot straight up into the air, twisting and turning as it was cast along the strong wind that came up from the chasm, the breath of the churning waters below.
Fili sighed. He was as ready as he ever would be, and he held out his hand. Kili handed him the rope. They had spoken long together in the quiet of the tunnel before finally joining Betta outside. They had already discussed the best way for Fili to make the crossing, as well as how he would then bring their baggage across and the other two members of his company. They had had little conversation over what would be done if Fili failed to make the crossing, if he fell, or if the cave on the other side proved unsafe. Their quest would be over in either case.
Fili took the rope and tied it securely to his belt. The falling waters made too much noise for speech, but he needed only to glance once into his brother's eyes to read all of Kili's doubts and fears there. He forced a smile and nodded to him, pretending to be as confident as he had been at the edge of countless bridges and climbs back at Ered Luin. Kili's smile was also forced, and he squeezed his brother's arm to prove that he was reassured.
Fili looked past his brother's shoulder toward Betta, but she stood apart from them with her arms crossed and her back to the bridge. She did not look at him or bid him any farewell, but he did not blame her. It was her quest and for her especially that he was taking this risk. He knew both parts of her mind; that if he fell, it would be her fault for not aiding him and saving him, but also that if she did not say goodbye, then he could not die. He pitied her and knew how hard it must be for her to admit that she was helpless in the face of anything, but he was also grateful that she stayed away. He did not know if he had the strength to make more than one farewell.
Kili had already fastened the other end of their rope to a wide, outcrop of stone on the shelf near the bridge. He had wanted to hold onto the end and give Fili as much length as he could, but Fili had insisted that they tie it off instead. He refused to take the risk that if he fell, his weight would pull down Kili with him.
A full arm's length of rope was lost to the stone, and now not even Kili's optimism could account for the last few feet of the crossing. Fili would certainly reach the end of his rope well before he reached the end of the bridge.
Fili tugged at the tether, testing the knot and running through his mind all the motions he would need to make to untie it and let it fall when the time came. Once he had done that, he would be on his own, and if he fell off the bridge, there was no hope of saving him. Both Kili and Betta knew it, and that was why his brother looked so sad, and why in spite of herself Betta finally turned to watch him make the crossing.
Fili's smile was frozen to his face, and he nodded to them each in turn before turning his back, taking a deep breath and stepping out onto the ledge.
He clung to the wall, his cheek pressed hard against the stone while his bare hands searched for any crack or ledge that he might hold. His gloves were in his pockets; he needed to feel the cold stone for any rough patch or loose fracture. He could still feel the pressure where his brother's hand had squeezed his shoulder, but he did not think of that now. The wind from the chasm pulled hard at his coat, but it also pressed him against the wall and held him there. He was glad for the wind, but he did not trust it.
Inch by inch, Fili crept along the ledge, sliding his feet down the smooth surface. The path was remarkably level, though he felt a slight downward slope overall and there were here and there weak fractures where the stone had been crushed and pushed down a full inch or more. Fili stepped more carefully along those places and made note of each crack and loose stone. It was his task not merely to cross from one side to the other, but to test the strength of the ledge and learn every obstacle that his company might encounter when they eventually followed after him. Kili had crossed such bridges before, but Betta would have a harder time of it.
As he slowly moved along above the chasm, Fili's eyes were glued on the end of the bridge and he did not look down. The sight of the tumultuous waters had been dizzying enough when he looked on them from the safety of the shelf; he did not need to be reminded that he was less safe than a spider clinging to a thread high above the ground.
Halfway across, Fili passed from dim light into shadow and he could seen the hole more clearly now. He realized that, unlike the even joint between the shelf and the bridge behind him, there was no easy way into the cave. The downward slope of the ledge broke off several inches before it reached the opening and nearly two feet below. He would need to swing himself over and into the hole with only a thin lip of stone to cling to.
Suddenly, Fili felt something tug against his waist. He stopped and, holding tight to the wall, craned his head back to look over his shoulder behind him. He saw his tether, his lifeline, stretched taught from his waist to the shelf. Kili stood beside the outcrop of stone that it was tied to, his hand hovering just above the rope. His eyes met Fili's and he shook his head. There was no more slack to give.
Betta stood beside Kili, and the same anxiety that was in his eyes was plain on her face. Fili saw her mouth move, but he could not make out the words that she said or what his brother said in answer to her. He turned his face forward again and with his left hand crammed into a narrow crack for support, he reached down slowly with his right and untied the rope from his belt.
He did not look back or down to watch the rope fall away. He did not see the frayed and knotted end swinging in the breeze, cast about by the wind until Kili reeled it in again. No, Fili's eyes were on the dark hole before him, his only hope of safety or the final unknown danger that could kill him.
Looking back in later days on those few moments – for moments only it took him to reach the end of the bridge and safety – Fili remembered little more than the ominous sight of the black cave before him and the rough surface of the cold stone under his hands. He would remember the roar of the waves below and the cold fear in his heart, but little more than that. He reached the end of the bridge and saw the lip of the cave only inches away but impossibly far with the frightening drop below.
Steeling himself, Fili managed to find the glove in his right-hand pocket and to pull it on with his teeth. He reached out and took hold of the rough edge of the cave's entrance, shifting his feet and preparing to swing himself into the hole. That was when his right foot tangled with his left and he slipped and fell off the ledge.
He fell, and only his hand on the lip of the cave saved his life. There was nothing holding him to the wall but the wind at his back and his right hand clenched tight around the lip of the cave. He tasted blood in his mouth from where his cheek had scraped against the wall as he fell and his legs kicked the empty air. He reached up and found the edge with his left hand as well; the sharp stone cut into his bare, unprotected fingers, but he did not feel it. His hands were strong and his arms were used to the heavy labor of a forge. The floor inside the cave was full of many cracks and fissures in the stone; slowly, inch by inch as he had done crossing the chasm, he pulled himself up until he was able to throw first one leg and then the other through the opening.
Fili rolled into the cave and onto his back. He lay for a long time without moving, breathing hard and feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He could not have stood up if he wanted to; his legs were weak and his head spinning from the rush of adrenaline and the relief that poured through him now that he was safe. His arms ached and he felt the blood, wet and cold on his left hand, but he was alive.
Eventually, he sat up and looked around. Where he had landed was too dark to see more than a few yards back from the opening, but he had brought with him a piece of flint and a dry torch wrapped up tight and stowed in his coat to keep it out of the damp air. While he waited for the strength to return to his legs, he lit the torch and held it out, looking around the cave.
But cave it was not. Betta had been right and it was a tunnel that he had reached. The walls and floor, beyond where the chasm broke them, were cut the same as the tunnel that they had followed down from the cavern to the room of waterfalls. Betta had been right, but Fili did not know whether to be glad about that or not. Certainly, he was safe, and they could now go on, but he knew without measuring it that this tunnel sloped still farther down and back east into the hill, not up and south the way that a promising exit would lead them.
With a grunt, Fili pulled himself to his feet and returned to the mouth of the tunnel. He leaned out, no longer afraid of the long fall, and waved to his brother. The relief on Kili's face made the pain in his arms easier to bear, and he signed to his brother all that he had discovered. Betta held tight to Kili's arm while he translated his brother's gestures into words for her.
The dwarves had already decided that Fili would explore before allowing Kili or Betta to try the crossing, but for now he was safe, and they were glad. Fili did not know how they had reacted to his near death, but he guessed his heart had not been the only one to feel the agony of those moments.
Finally, Fili had relayed all that he knew. It was time to go on. Once more, he forced a smile for them, not knowing if they could see it where they stood, and then he stepped back into the tunnel and turned his back on the lighted chasm. He strode quickly down into the darkness, eager to search out as much as he could before the dim torchlight failed. He had perhaps a quarter of an hour, and he meant to use every second of it. Once their company had crossed the bridge with all their supplies, they could not return to the shelf again, and there was no better hope for escape even if they could.
.
Kili had felt his heart stop in his throat the moment the rope fell from his brother's waist. He did not feel it start pounding again until he saw his brother fall from the ledge, and then it was like a heavy drum beating in his chest. He felt as if it were his own body that had been untethered from the earth and he was floating away into nothingness. He was helpless, unable to do anything but watch as Fili fought to drag himself slowly up into the cave, and it was Kili's arms, too, that strained with the effort, hanging tense and with clenched fists at his side.
Betta had been standing beside him and it was not until he saw Fili's feet disappear into the cave that he felt relief wash through his body and he thought to look around for her. She sat on the floor near to the bridge with her head leaning against the stone wall. She looked as if she had collapsed like a limp doll tossed to one side, but he did not go to check on her yet. There could be anything in that empty hole that had swallowed his brother. What if the tunnel was a dead end? What if a mob of angry orcs or a monstrous troll lay waiting to tear him apart? Fili was on his own, and if Fili were destroyed, then Kili could not go on. He would go to Betta and ask her whether she would not like to join him in casting himself over the brink and into the deadly waters below. He guessed that she would agree.
And then Fili had appeared at the mouth of the cave with a light shingling behind him and his news was good. He had found a long tunnel like the one before, and no orcs. The tunnel would need to be explored, of course, and then there would come the danger of bringing their baggage and themselves across to join him, but the short rope would not matter then, their supplies could be tied in many small bundles and swung across the gap. And Fili would be able to reach out of the opening and help them across the last few feet after the rope had failed.
It was over. They had succeeded. Betta had gone back into the tunnel to warm herself, but Kili sat on the cold stone beside the bridge and waited, watching for Fili's return. It was no use thinking about what would come next, or remembering the orders that Fili had given to his brother to follow in the event that he did not return. There was no use thinking of anything but that there would be a grand treasure somewhere and that Kili and his brother would soon return to Ered Luin with gold and honor and the love of their uncle to meet them. Kili thought only of success, because the alternative - their more likely end - was too painful to admit.
Sorry it took a bit to get this one out, and the next one might take a bit longer, too. It really is quite remarkable how so many things in life can all decide to go wrong all at the same time, but c'est la vie.
Thank you all so much for continuing to read and follow this story. Every one of your reviews adds a ray of sunshine to my day and makes me smile even when everything else has gone wrong. Thank you.
-Paint