Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 8 of Seven Wonders. I want to thank those who have left reviews. It truly does mean a lot to me that you guys are enjoying it. I'm trying my best to make sure that the updates are done weekly, but sometimes I'll miss a week. I hope that you guys enjoy this next chapter. Without further ado Chapter 8. ENJOY!

Chapter 8

Night time had come and the dwarves, Bilbo and Artemis would be enjoying the soup that Bombur had made.

"He's been a long time." Bilbo said softly.

"Who?" Bofur asked, looking at the hobbit.

"Gandalf."

Artemis shook her head and took a drag from the cigarette she held in her hand.

"He's a wizard! He does what he chooses. Here, do us a favor. Take this to the lads." Bofur said, handing him the two bowls that were for Fili and Kili.

Bilbo goes to take the soup to the two young dwarves.

Bofur looked at Artemis. "Are you sure that you don't want a bowl?" He asked her.

"I am sure." She told him. "Bombur put fish in the soup did he not?"

"Aye he did."

"Then I can't have it." She told him.

"And why is that lass?"

"I can't eat fish. I have an allergic reaction to it."

"Oh…"

"Besides I think I have something in my bag if I get hungry." She said with a small smile.

Kili and Fili ran into the camp. "Trolls. They have our ponies.

Thorin stood up quickly and grabbed his sword. "To arms." He looked at Artemis who was grabbing her dual swords. "No, you will be staying here."

"You are not my King. Bilbo is my friend. He wasn't with Kili or Fili which means he is with the trolls. Trying to get our missing ponies." She said brushing past them. She was not going to allow Bilbo to get hurt by those trolls. She could only hope that she wouldn't be grabbed by one of those ugly creatures that she was about to face off with the rest of the company.

They hid in the bushes.

"Hold his toes over the fire. Make him squeal." The troll said.

Kili suddenly ran past her and cut the troll's leg making him fall down and howl in pain. "Drop him."

"You what?" Troll two said.

"I said, drop him." Kili repeated himself.

The second troll threw Bilbo at Kili knocking them both down.

Artemis and the rest of the company came out to fight the trolls.

Bilbo had taken the knife to try and free the ponies that the trolls had taken.

Artemis saw that the second troll saw Bilbo. She ran towards Bilbo and felt the trolls hand smack her out of the way. She went flying, landing hard onto the ground near Thorin and the others.

"Bilbo!" Kili yelled.

"No!" Thorin said, grabbing onto Kili.

"Lay down your arms or we'll rip his off." The second troll said.

Thorin glared at Bilbo and dropped his weapon.

The others soon followed.

Dwalin, Bofur, Dori, Ori, Nori, and Bifur were tied up on a spit. Thorin, Kili, Gili, Gloin, Bombur, Balin, Oin, and Bilbo tied up in sacks.

The troll that had picked up Artemis had thrown her harshly into the sack causing her to scream. He then threw her next to Fili.

Fili looked at Artemis in concern. Was she hurt badly?

"Don't bother cooking them. Let's just sit on them and squash them into jelly." Troll one said.

"They should be sauteed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage." Said the third troll.

"Is that really necessary?" Dori asked.

"Oh, that does sound quite good." Troll one said.

"Untie us you monsters!" Yelled Oin.

"Take on someone your own size." Gloin yelled.

Fear was beginning to show in the dwarves. Bilbo was afraid that they would not live to see another day and he was concerned about Artemis because she wasn't saying a single word. He could tell that she was in a lot of pain. He could only hope that Artemis wasn't hurt badly that it could kill her.

"Never mind the seasoning. We ain't got all night. Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone." The second troll said.

"Wait!" Bilbo yelled. "You are making a terrible mistake."

"You can't reason with them, they're half-wits!" Dori yelled at Bilbo.

"Half-wits? What does that make us?" Bofur asked.

Bilbo somehow got up onto his feet. He looked at the trolls. "Uh, I mean with the, uh, with, uh, with the seasoning."

"What about the seasoning?" The third one asked.

"Well have you smelt them? You're going to need something stronger than sage before you plate up this lot."

The dwarves called him a traitor and one of them kicked Bilbo.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" The second one asked.

"Shut up, and let the, uh, flurgaburburrahobbit talk." The third one snapped.

"Uh, t-the secret to cooking dwarf is, um…."

"Yes? Come on."

"It's uh…"

"Tell us the secret."

"Yes, I am telling you, the secret is… to skin them first."

"Tom, get me the filleting knife." The third one said.

"If I get you, you little…" Gloin yelled.

"I won't forget that!" Dwalin yelled.

"What a load of rubbish. I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them I say, boots and all." Tom said.

"He's right. Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf." The first one said grabbing Bombur and hanging him over his mouth. "Nice and crunchy."

"Not- not that one. He-he's infected!" Bilbo yelled.

The first one dropped Bombur into the pile. He then picked up Artemis.

Bilbo's eyes widened. He was not expecting him to pick her. "In-in fact they all have, they're in-infested with parasites. It's a terrible business. I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't."

"But not this one." Tom said, taking Artemis from the first troll. "She's human."

Bilbo saw her face grow red due to being upside down. Her necklace was hitting off of her nose and she looked out of it.

"Parasites, did he say parasites?" Oin asked.

"We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" Kili yelled in anger.

"What are you talking about laddie?" Gloin asked.

Artemis groaned in pain. "I am infected!" She yelled.

Tom dropped Artemis causing her to scream in pain. Tom glared at the hobbit. "What would you have us do, then, let them all go?"

"Well…"

"You think I don't know what you're up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?" Bilbo asked in confusion.

Gandalf appeared on top of the rock above the clearing. "The dawn will take you all!"

"Who's that?" The third one asked.

"No idea." Tom said.

"Can we eat him too?" The first one asked.

Gandalf struck the rock with his staff splitting it in half, allowing the sunlight to touch them.

They screamed in pain and turned into stone.

The dwarves cheered.

"Oh, get your foot out of my back!" Dwalin yelled.

Gandalf began to help the dwarves get out of the sacks and off of the spit. He saw Artemis hardly moving in her sack. "Artemis." He called rushing over to her. He pulled open the sack. He cradled the small woman in his arms. He caused her to scream in pain. He took her over to the clearing and laid her down. He couldn't check her fully. He tried his best to at least take the pain away from her that she was feeling.

Artemis continued to gasp out in pain. She slowly got up to her feet.

"Where did you go, if I may ask?" Thorin asked Gandalf.

"To look ahead." Gandalf replied.

"What brought you back?"

"Looking behind. Nasty business. Still, they are all in one piece."

"No thanks to your burglar."

"He had the nous to play for time. None of the rest of you thought of that. They must've come down from Ettenmoors." Gandalf said looking at the trolls.

"Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?"

"Oh not for an age. Not since a darker power ruled these lands. They could have not moved in daylight."

"There must be a cave nearby."

Bilbo came over to Artemis. "Are you alright?"

Artemis rubbed her back. Her face was pale. "I'll be fine." She said out in pants.

They had gone back to camp and got their things before going to find the cave where the trolls might have come from. They soon found the cave.

"Oh, what's that stench?" Nori asked.

"It's a troll hoard. Be careful what you touch." Gandalf said.

Artemis decided to avoid going near the troll hoard. She grabbed her black pants from her bag. She was not going to stay in her skirt forever. She went out of sight and changed into her pants. She came out and put her skirt into her back. She went over and sat next to Bilbo.

Soon enough they came out.

Gandalf came over to Bilbo and Artemis. "Bilbo."

"Hm?"

"Here. This is about your size." Gandalf said, handing him the dagger.

"I can't take this."

"The blade is of Elvish make. Which means it will glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby."

"I've never used a sword in my life."

"And I hope that you never have to. But if you do, remember this. True courage is about knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one." He turned to Artemis. He handed her another sword. "Here you'll need this."

Artemis slowly took it from Gandalf. "But I already have two, Gandalf."

"This one is lighter weight. You'll be able to handle it better."

Artemis nodded her head. "Thank you."

"Something's coming!" Thorin yelled.

"Gandalf?" Bilbo questioned.

"Stay together! Hurry now. Arm yourselves."

Bilbo quickly followed everyone into the woods.

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This is the end of Chapter 8. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried my best to write this chapter out. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter and hopefully it wasn't too bumpy. Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Reviews help me keep going when it comes to writing out stories. It also helps me keep my muse going. I hope to have the next chapter out soon. Until next time.