At some point, Tauriel had come to check on everyone. Halien was asleep against Thorin's shoulder and the others were sitting in a corner, waiting for freedom. As she slept, Tauriel spoke with Kili. He told her of the promise he had made to his mother, Dis, and then mentioned the loud noises coming from above. Tauriel said it was Mereth e-nGilith, the Feast of Starlight. She then told him about the stars and they talked about their different views and experiences with watching the stars. Above them, Legolas watched as they enjoyed the conversation, a scowl upon his face.
Later on, when Tauriel and Legolas disappeared, Bofur mentioned that it should be close to sunrise.
"We're never going to reach the mountain, are we?" Ori asked.
"Not stuck in here you won't," Bilbo said, suddenly appearing, the keys to their cells in hand.
Thorin woke Halien up as Bilbo unlocked their cell door.
"Bilbo!" Halien exclaimed in a hushed tone when she saw him smile. "Well done, my friend."
Bilbo quickly unlocked each of the cells and the company silently slipped out of them and followed Bilbo and Halien. Bilbo told her of the empty barrels he had found while trying to find a way out for them and she nodded.
"Aye, when the wine is emptied from the barrels, they are sent down to the river that flows to Laketown. The Bargeman of Laketown comes now and then to collect them and bring them back to the town. They are refilled, then transported back to the gates. The door to release the barrels would be an unexpected and excellent way to escape." She explained. "Well done, Bilbo."
Bilbo smiled and they wandered through the halls, avoiding the guards. They made their way through to the room where Merith and Gilian were passed out drunk at the table. Bilbo directed them to get into the barrels. Once everyone was inside of one, Bilbo pulled the lever and the door opened, letting the barrels roll down into the river below. The company waited for Bilbo to join them and then they pushed their way out of the cavern and further down the river.
Halien heard Legolas call for them to shut the gate and the horn blew. Everyone looked ahead of them and watched as the gate slammed shut, trapping them. Then, out of nowhere, the elven guards were attacked by Orcs. Halien looked and saw dozens of Orcs, then she called out when Kili jumped out of his barrel and ran to where the lever was. He fought his way to the lever and tried to pull it, but he was shot with an arrow. Just when Thorin realized that Kili was going to be killed, Tauriel came to their rescue once more.
"Kili!" Halien cried as he pulled the lever and the barrels flowed downstream again.
Fili called to his brother and Kili jumped into his barrel, the shaft of the arrow in his leg snapping. The barrels ran down the river as fast as the current would take them. Halien did not have her bow and arrows with her, nor did she have Fenumë Dagnir- which sadden her deeply- so she was left with her magik. Halien summoned the water magik and struck at the Orcs.
As they made their way down the river, the other elves and Legolas attacked the Orcs and the dwarves grabbed any of the weapons they could to fend off the Orcs. Legolas and Tauriel ran along the river banks, on either side of the company. The river's current pulled them along faster than Halien though. A couple of Orcs managed to hoist Bombur up and out of the water, but he broke the spear and rolled along the bank, crushing the Orcs in his path. When he finally landed, he kicked out the bottom of the barrel and used the club and ax he had in his hands, and killed several of the Orcs by spinning around. He threw the weapons to Dwalin and Nori, then jumped into an empty barrel.
Legolas began jumping on the dwarves' heads, back and forth to cross the river. He shot his arrows at the Orcs and Halien saw that one was sneaking up behind him. Thorin had seen this, too, and threw the sword he had at the moment at the Orc, killing it before it could get to her brother. Halien thanked him silently and watched as her brother's face fell as they went around the bend and out of the Woodland Realm's borders.
The danger was nearly behind them, and they quickly lost the Orcs that were trailing them. When the current slowed, they made their way to the shore. Everyone got out of their barrels and Halien rushed to Kili.
"Kili, you should have been more careful!" she said. Fili came to her side.
"Get up. We have to keep moving!" Thorin said, looking around.
"Kili's injured. His leg needs binding!" Fili said.
Thorin looked to Halien as the others pointed out that the Orc pack was still behind them and that a vast lake still separated them from the Lonely Mountain.
'Can you heal him? Even quickly before the Orcs get closer?'
Halien shook her head. "I am afraid I cannot, not until we find shelter. I do not recognize this type of arrow. The shaft broke, so there is no real way to tell for sure. He needs to be treated for it immediately."
Thorin nodded. "Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes."
While Fili tended to his brother's light leg, Halien went to the bank and see if any weapons could have washed up onto the shore, anything they could take with them if they could procure nothing in Laketown.
