Talessa was startled awake by the sound of muffled voices. Sitting up quietly, she noticed Bilbo and one of the dwarves—Bofur, maybe—standing near the cave entrance.
"No, no, you can't turn back now, eh?" Bofur said, looking at Bilbo with concern. "You're part of the company; you're one of us."
"I'm not, though, am I?" Bilbo shot back. "Thorin thinks I should never have come, and he's right." He shook his head. "I don't know what I was thinking."
"You're homesick," the dwarf replied kindly. "I understand."
"No, you don't. None of you do." Bilbo's voice was sharp. "You're dwarves—you're used to this life. Living on the road, never settling, never truly belonging anywhere!"
Talessa gasped at the hobbit's harsh words. Everyone knew the dwarves' story—how they had lost their home to Smaug and had wandered Middle-earth ever since, working hard to survive without finding a place to call their own. Her heart ached at the thought of such rootlessness, of being deprived of somewhere safe to return to.
"I'm sorry," Bilbo murmured, his anger fading. "I didn't mean—"
"No, you're right." Bofur's voice was quiet now as he looked around the cave at his sleeping companions, a defeated expression on his face. "We don't belong anywhere."
Talessa glanced toward Thorin, who lay among his men, and wondered what it must feel like to be a king without a throne. But now, at least, they had a chance to reclaim their long-lost kingdom.
When she turned back to Bilbo and Bofur, she saw them both staring at Bilbo's sword, now glowing blue. Their confusion lasted only a moment before Thorin's voice cut through the stillness: "Wake up!"
And then, without warning, the earth opened beneath them, and they were falling.
Thorin didn't have time to react, only to brace himself for impact as they dropped through the cave's floor, his men yelling in surprise. They tumbled down a rocky hollow for what felt like minutes before they landed harshly on a ramshackle bridge in a network of sprawling caves. A goblin den, by the looks of it.
In a matter of moments, they were swarmed by hundreds of the nasty creatures. This was going to be tough, and Thorin damn well hoped the elven guard was skilled enough to protect the women he'd been charged with.
Eline held onto Tessie as they fell, her scream cut short when her back slammed against a jagged rock. They landed atop Ýrdor and some of the dwarves below. The elven guard quickly pulled them to their feet, shielding them as an army of strange, deformed creatures flooded the cavern. Orcs—or goblins, she realized. These must be the deep-dwelling pests of the Misty Mountains.
Struggling to keep a hold on her stumbling friend, Eline was pushed and dragged forward, towards the center of the horrid construction. She glanced back, trying to find Fíli, but all she could see was Bilbo, crouched on the ground, unnoticed by the goblins. Her eyes met Bofur's, who also saw the hobbit's lucky break. Maybe he can escape, she thought with a small sense of relief, even if none of us will.
They were led before a massive goblin with a head nearly as large as his belly. The dwarves' weapons had been stripped from them, now piled in front of the creature's crude throne.
"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" bellowed the grotesque creature. "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?"
"Dwarves, your Malevolence," one of the goblins hissed. "We found them on the Front Porch."
"And what are you doing in these parts?" the goblin leader sneered, but none of the dwarves answered. Silence fell over the group, not a single one willing to betray Thorin's plans.
"Very well, if they won't talk, we'll make them squawk." His grin widened as he gestured towards Ori. "Start with the youngest."
Two goblins grabbed the poor dwarf and began dragging him forward.
"Wait!" Thorin called, stepping to the front. His calm demeanor amazed Eline—her own body was trembling from fear. She noticed Tessie straighten beside her, letting out a shaky breath, her gaze following Thorin's every move. Eline squeezed her hand, and Tessie buried her face in Eline's shoulder, turning away from the terrible scene.
Something brushed Eline's arm, and she jerked, trying to move away from the slimy touch.
"It's just me," Fíli whispered, slipping up behind them. Eline exhaled in relief and slid her free hand into his. He squeezed it gently, trying to calm her.
Unfortunately, the Great Goblin recognized Thorin. Worse yet, an orc named Azog, whom Thorin had thought long dead, had placed a bounty on his head. Just the head. The goblin leader seemed thrilled with this discovery.
"Send word to the Pale Orc," he ordered one of his creatures, which scribbled something on a scrap of lambskin before scurrying off.
The goblin-king started to hum a disturbing tune about Goblin-town as his minions eagerly sifted through the dwarves' belongings. When one of them lifted a sword, the creature let out a horrified screech, halting all the noise.
"The Goblin-cleaver!" the leader shrieked. "The Biter! The blade that sliced a thousand necks!"
"Beat them! Slash them! Kill them!" he screamed.
The goblins lunged, viciously kicking and striking the dwarves. Ýrdor threw himself over Eline and Tessie, shielding them as the blows rained down. Fíli and some of the others tried to form a protective circle, but they were badly outnumbered.
Just then, a blinding light burst through the cavern, and the goblins shrieked, pulling back, some tumbling off the platform in terror.
Eline recognized Gandalf's voice as he shouted, "Take up arms! Fight!" and then they were running, the dwarves cutting their way through the swarm of goblins.
"Well, that could have been worse," Bofur stated as they lay crumpled and bruised in the pile of wood they'd fallen onto, all the way to the bottom of Goblin-town. At that moment, the Great Goblin's humongous body crashed into the pile, flattening it even more.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin gritted, pushing a board off himself before setting out to free the massive Bombur.
During the fall, Thorin had managed to grab Talessa, wrapping her in his arms to take the brunt of the impact. Now, the dazed woman was squirming on top of him, her—somehow still intact—veil covering Thorin's face, and he was sure some of her hair had ended up in his mouth. He pushed on the nearest beam, slipped through a gap, and pulled the woman with him. After helping her to her feet, Thorin quickly brushed over her torso with his hands, checking for any injuries. Thank Durin, he found none.
"We need to get to sunlight!" Gandalf warned, looking up at the swarm of goblins descending from the steep walls. Quickly, they freed the rest of the company and ran for the narrow opening on the mountainside.
"Five... six... seven... Bifur, Bofur," Gandalf counted. "Twelve... Bombur... the two ladies, Ýrdor. Where is Bilbo? Where is our hobbit?"
Talessa sat on a rock, her expression solemn, still shaken from the near-death experience. She was eternally grateful to Ýrdor and the dwarves for protecting her and Eline, making sure they escaped with the least injuries possible. Now, she joined the others in looking around, trying to find the hobbit.
"I think I saw him slip away when they first collared us," Bofur admitted.
"I've seen him too," Eline whispered as she sat next to Talessa. "Do you think he's all right?"
"I'm sure—" Talessa began, but Thorin's voice interrupted. He was claiming that the hobbit had taken his chance and gone back home.
"We will not be seeing our hobbit again. He is long gone," Thorin concluded.
Talessa wasn't so sure. True, Bilbo hadn't seemed overly keen on the adventure, but he had come this far. Surely, he wouldn't have turned back now—and certainly not left them behind.
"I don't know—" she started again, but was cut off by a familiar voice.
Bilbo stepped out from behind a tree, announcing that he, in fact, had not left. The company collectively sighed in relief at the sight of their burglar.
"Bilbo Baggins, I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life," Gandalf laughed.
"How on earth did you get past the goblins?" Fili asked, but the wizard interrupted.
"What does it matter? He's back."
Thorin, however, was not satisfied. "It matters," he said, fixing his heavy gaze on the hobbit. "I want to know. Why did you come back?"
Bilbo hesitated for a moment, then spoke sincerely, "You doubt me. I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag-End. I miss my books, my armchair, and my garden. Because that's where I belong—that's home. But that's why I came back... because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I'll help you take it back if I can."
The company looked at the hobbit in silence, their expressions touched. Even Thorin's gaze seemed to soften.
Suddenly, a cacophony of wolf-like howls and roars echoed from nearby.
"Wargs!" Thorin shouted, and without another word, they were running again. Thorin wasn't sure where they were heading—he just hoped they would reach a place where they could defend themselves.