Chapter 21: Not Safe Yet!

Chapter 21 already, I'm so happy with all the reads this has gotten so far Already past 300!

Anyway on with the chapter I guess..

Start of recap...

Suddenly, the heavy corpse of the Great Goblin lands on the wreckage, squishing the dwarves further. They cry out in pain.

[Dwalin:] “You’ve got to be joking!”

Calen snickers at the Dwarves.

As the  dwarves extricate themselves from the rubble, Kili looks up and sees thousands of goblins running at them.

[Kili:] “Gandalf!”

[Dwalin:] “There’s too many! We can’t fight them.”

[Gandalf:] “Only one thing will save us: daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet!”

The dwarves get up quickly, helping each other out of the rubble, and they run away, following Gandalf.

Calen runs as fast as she can next to gandalf keeping close to him.

End of recap...

Third person pov...

Still invisible, Bilbo runs down the mountain after the rest of the Company.

Far in front of him, Gandalf pauses to count how many dwarves are with him. The dwarves pause to collect their breath.

[Gandalf:] “Five, six, seven, eight...Bifur, Bofur...that’s ten...Fili, Kili...that’s twelve...and Bombur-

"I'm here Gandalf don't forget me" yells Calen grinning up at Gandalf jumping a bit, her face is covered in mud and blood form her or the Goblins she had killed.

Gandalf smiles down at the little elfling, ruffling her hair playfully, "of course Calen I couldn't forget about you now could I" he says smiling.

The elfling then runs over to Kili nad jumps on to his back.

Gandalf smiled and went back to counting the Dwarves.

"- that makes thirteen. Where’s Bilbo? Where is our Hobbit? Where is our hobbit?!”

[Dwalin:] “Curse the halfling! Now he’s lost?!”

[Gloin:] “I thought he was with Dori!”

[Dori:] “Don’t blame me!”

[Gandalf:] “Well, where did you last see him?”

[Nori:] “I think I saw him slip away, when they first collared us.”

[Gandalf:] “What happened exactly? Tell me!”

'Bilbo hurry up and come out' Calen begged silently as the Dwarves started shouting at each other.

Bilbo, still invisible, has caught up to the rest of the group. He hides behind a tree as Thorin speaks.

[Thorin:] “I’ll tell you what happened. 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.”

Calen glares daggers as thorin says that out her hobbit.

"thorin you idiot" she growled under her breath.

Bilbo, who is still invisible, hears everything Thorin said. He leans on the tree as he ponders what he has just heard. The dwarves look at each other.

[Bilbo:] “No, he isn’t.”  

Calen gasps in happiness and runs up to bilbo and hugs him tightly not caring if she gets more dirty than before.

"Bilbo your alive!" she exclaimed.

Bilbo steps out from behind the tree, no longer invisible. With the elfling in his arms.

The dwarves look up in shock and relief. Gandalf laughs as he speaks.

[Gandalf:] “Bilbo Baggins! I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my life!”

Bilbo strides forward into the group; he pats Balin affectionately on the shoulder with the hand that wasn't holding Calen up.

[Kili:] “Bilbo, we’d given you up!”

[Fili:] “How on earth did you get past the Goblins?!”

[Dwalin:] “How, indeed.”

There is an awkward silence as Bilbo tries to think what to say. In the end, he gives a nervous laugh and puts his hands on his hips.

Gandalf and Calen both only notices Bilbo sliding the Ring into his waistcoat pocket. Gandalf looks a bit perturbed.

[Gandalf:] “Well, what does it matter? He’s back!”

[Thorin:] “It matters!  I want to know: why did you come back?”

[Bilbo:] “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.”

After Bilbo speaks, there is silence as the dwarves think about what Bilbo said. Gandalf smiles slightly, happy that Bilbo has changed so much - for the better.

Calen smiles and hugs bilbo tighter, bilbo wraps his arms around her and hugs back just as tight.

Gandalf then speaks as if remembering something.

"another thing, Elfling how on Middle-earth did you manage to catch up with Bilbo and the Dwarves" he asked the elfling.

Said elfling looked nervously to the ground, "W-well I'm not sure I just wished to be with Bilbo and *Poof* there was a bright light and there I was standing in front of Bilbo and thorin" she tried to explain.

Gandalf who was quite shocked only nodded and the Dwarves made there way away from the Goblins

With Azog the Destroyer...

Azog and his Warg Riders get to the top of the mountain.

[Azog:] "Run them down! Tear them to pieces!"

He swings his mace forward, and several of his Wargs (without riders) leap forward and race down the mountain after the Company, howling.

Hearing the howling, the Company members realize they are in danger.

[Thorin:] “Out of the frying pan...”

[Gandalf:] “...and into the fire! Run! RUN!”

They all start running down the mountain as fast as they can. The Wargs follow them rapidly; it becomes nighttime.

Soon the foremost Warg catches up to the group and leaps at Bilbo; Bilbo ducks behind a rock and the Warg’s jaws snap in the air over his head.

The Warg lands in front of him. Growling, it charges at him.

Gandalf helps the little elfling climb up into the tree that he was in only she was up higher and was safe.

For now at least they all were.

Bilbo pulls out his sword and holds it in front of him; the charging Warg impales itself in the head on the sword and falls down dead. Bilbo looks on in surprise.

Up I N the tree Calen gasps soflty and covers her eyes scared for Bilbo.

A few more Wargs catch up to the fleeing dwarves, but they are quickly dispatched.

The Company reaches a large outcropping of land with a few trees growing on it; they are trapped there, as there is no way off the outcropping besides a great fall down the mountain.

[Gandalf:] “Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb! Bilbo, climb!”

Bifur throws an axe, killing a Warg which was approaching him. Bofur jumps off a rock and grabs a tree branch, using Dwalin’s head as a stepping stone to the tree.

Other dwarves begin climbing into the trees as well. Bilbo tries to pull his sword out of the dead Warg’s head, but it is stuck firmly. He continues to pull.

[Thorin:] “They’re coming!”

"Hurry bilbo!" shrieks the little elfling

To be continued (once again)...

No not he's this time, but only this one, for real the next chapter is the last one I promise.

Word count : 1205