The Weird Little Dude With The Ring

***I'm throwing some different riddles into Gollum's game just to shake things up a bit.***

That night all I could think about was what Thorin said. We'd found a cave and had settled in for the night. Dwarves were snoring all around me but I was wide awake. A battle was raging inside my head. Thorin hates me, he's made that clear, he doesn't want me here. I don't belong here. I should just go back to Rivendell, take Elrond up on his offer. But then I remembered the promise I made to Kili.

I love Kili, so much it hurts, but I honestly don't know if I can stay. As awful as it sounds, he was able to get over my disappearance once, I'm sure he can do it again. Besides he has Fili and Thorin and the rest of the company, does he even need me?

I'm so torn. I just...I need a walk.

I quietly got up from my spot on the cave floor between Fili and Kili and carefully stepped over Dwarf after Dwarf until I made it to the entrance of the cave. I was just about to leave when a voice stopped me. Damn it! I forgot Bofur was up taking first watch!

"Where do you think you're going?"

"For a walk."

"You're going back to Rivendell! No, no, you can't turn back now. You're part of the company. You're one of us."

I gave him a small smile, glad at least a few of the Dwarves thought that way.

"Am I though? Thorin made his feelings pretty clear earlier. He doesn't think I should be here and I'm starting to wonder if he's right. I don't know what I was thinking, I should have stayed behind with Bilbo."

"No. You're homesick. I understand."

I guess I was homesick in a way. Not for Bag End but for a place I could truly call home. Bofur and the rest of the Dwarves knew better than anyone how it felt not to have a home.

"It's not just that Bofur. Elrond offered me a home! A real home, something I've always wanted but never truly had. I wanna help you guys, I really do but what if I can't? What if we get to Erebor and I screw everything up? Make things worse? I can't do that, not to you, not to Kili and Fili, not to any of you, not even Thorin. I haven't decided anything yet, I just need to clear my head."

"Well if you do decide to leave us, I wish you the best of luck. I really do."

I smiled and hugged Bofur. As I turned to walk away he stopped me once again.

"What's that?"

I looked down where he was looking to my blade. It was glowing blue. Fuck, please don't be more Orcs!

I looked back at Bofur with wide eyes. The blue glow could only mean two things and neither of them were ideal. Thorin shot up from where he'd been laying.

"Wake up!"

I looked down at the ground to see a line moving through the dirt.

Before anyone could ask what was going on the ground gave way and we all fell through. We landed not so gracefully on a sort of rocky slide, shooting down pinging off the rocky walls until we landed in a heap on the end of a wooden bridge.

Bombur was, unfortunately, the last to land causing everyone to groan under his weight.

Before we could blink Goblins came rushing at us. We all scrambled trying to get to our feet but they were on us, dragging us across the bridge. A fight broke out between the Goblins and Dwarves as we were viscously shoved across the bridge and down a path.

I dropped down to my hands and knees making myself as small as possible. If I could go unnoticed long enough I could find a way out, head back to Rivendell, get Gandalf, and help save the Dwarves.

My plan seemed to be working as I watched the Goblin hoard disappear with the company. Although they were still near enough for my blade to keep it's glow.

I kept low as I snuck through the under ground. Suddenly a Goblin dropped from the sky out of no where and I was thrust into a sword fight.

I fought as hard as I could, I couldn't let the Dwarves down. The goblin managed to leap onto my back. I tried to shake him but it was no use, so I bit it's arm, hard. The Goblin let out a screech and fell off my back, but not before reaching out blindly and grabbing onto me. We stumbled back and I was falling deeper into the under ground. It seemed like forever before I finally landed but in reality it had only been a few seconds. I hit the ground hard knocking the wind out of me. My blade landed a second later a little too close to my head for my liking.

I looked around from where I lay on the ground, I saw the Goblin a few feet away still alive but not fully conscious. Luckily I'd landed in what seemed to be some kind of mushroom patch.

I froze as out of the darkness came a creature, it looked as if it were a Human/Goblin hybrid of some sort. A Goblin reject, banished to the depths of this underground cave. His skin was leathery and his body, boney. His face was all cheek bones and big ears. He had a few strands of hair scattered about his head and big blue eyes. He was a creepy little thing but somehow sort of cute.

He snarled and growled as he approached the fallen Goblin.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" He said excitedly.

I could see a few sharp jagged teeth inside his mouth but not nearly enough to make a full set.

I stopped breathing as the little guy crept closer. I was still hidden by the mushrooms I'd landed in and I intended to keep it that way a while longer.

"Yes! Gollum! Gollum!" It said sounding as if it was retching as it spoke.

I assumed that might be it's name. Gollum grabbed the Goblin by it's ankles and began dragging it deeper into the cave. Suddenly the Goblin came alive and Gollum was quick to grab a near by rock bashing the Goblin in the head a few times.

As I watched the small battle I noticed something shiny fly out of the folds of Gollum's loin cloth. The little creature didn't seem to notice as it finished it's assault on the Goblin and resumed dragging it away.

"Nasty Goblinses!" He grunted as he pulled. "Better than old bones, precious. Better than nothing."

Once the little thing disappeared I got up and grabbed my blade.

The glow of my blade reflected off whatever fell earlier and I picked it up. It was a gold ring. I shrugged as I pocketed the ring. Now to find a way out of here. A way to Gandalf. A way to help.

In the distance I heard Gollum groan in annoyance.

"Too many boneses, precious. Not enough flesh!" It whined. "Shut up! Cut it's skin off! Start with it's head."

It was like the little creature was arguing with voices in his head or something.

I peeked around the corner and Gollum had the Goblin up on a rocky ledge. I watched and listened as Gollum started singing to himself.

"The cold hard lands, they bites our hands, they gnaws our feet. The rocks and stones, they're like old bones, all bare of meat!"

I crept closer as he sang, still trying to stay out of sight.

"Cold as death, without no breath, it's good to eat!"

The Goblin screamed as it awoke once again probably concussed, and again Gollum just bashed him over the head. The glow of my blade flickered and went out confirming the Goblins death, and also confirming that Gollum himself was not quite a Goblin.

As I peeked back around the corner I saw Gollum had vanished from the rock ledge he'd been on only seconds earlier. Then I heard breathing above my head.

I looked up horrified to see the shadowed figure of Gollum above me, staring down at me with glowing blue eyes.

"Bless us and splash us precious! That's a meaty mouthful!" Gollum mused as he dropped down and crouched in front of me.

I aimed my blade at him as he moved closer. Gollum retched again repeating his name twice like before.

"Get back!" I ordered.

Gollum obeyed backing into a rock looking frightened.

"It's got an Elfish blade. But it's not an Elfs. Not an Elfs, no. What is it, precious? What is it?"

"My name is Ashryn."

"Ashrynses? What is an Ashrynses, precious?"

"I'm a hybrid, from Bag End."

"Oh! We like Goblinses, batses, and fishes. But we hasn't tried Hybridses before!" Gollum looked at me curiously. "Is it soft? Is it juicy?"

He crept toward me.

"Nope! You stay right there!" I snapped waving my sword.

Gollum screamed at me.

"I don't want to hurt you, got it? Just show me the way out of here." I insisted.

"Why? Is it lost?"

"Sure. I just need to get out of here as fast as possible!"

Gollum ducked behind a rock.

"Ooh! We knows! We knows safe path for Hybridses!" He exclaimed popping out from behind the rock. "Safe paths in the dark. Shut up!" It snarled.

"I literally said nothing."

"We wasn't talking to you! Oh, yes, we was, precious. We was."

"Look, I don't know what game you're playing but..."

"Games! Oh, we love games, doesn't we, precious? Does it like games? Does it, does it? Does it like to play?" Gollum asked excitedly.

"Uh...maybe?" I replied.

"What has roots as nobody sees? Is taller than trees? Up, up, up it goes and yet never grows."

"A mountain." I answered easily.

"Yes! Yes!" Gollum laughed happily. "Oh, let's have another one, eh? Yes! Do it again! Do it again! Ask us! No! No more riddles! Finish her off! Finish her now! Gollum, Gollum!"

I was a little thrown off at what was happening right now. One second Gollum is this vicious monster beating a Goblin to death and wanting to eat me and now he's like a small excitable child wanting to play but at the same time he's acting totally unhinged.

Gollum snarled and came at me again.

"Nope! Don't even think about it! I'll play your game, I can tell you're pretty good at it. So how bout you and me have a game of riddles?"

"Yes! Yes, just us!"

"Yeah of course! But if I win, you have to get me out of here."

"Yes!" Gollum's smile faltered after that and he snarled. "And if it loses? What then? Well if it loses, precious, then we eats it!" He turned to me. "If Ashryn loses, we eats it whole." Gollum said like it was a fair deal.

"Sure." I said giving up on trying to understand this little gremlin.

I sheathed my blade hoping I wouldn't need it at least for the next little while, while we played our game.

"Well, Ashryn first." Gollum urged.

"I break but never fall. And I fall but never break. What are we?"

He squinted as he thought about it. A few times he looked as though he had it but then he went right back to squinting.

"Day and night? Day and night! Yes, my precious! Our turn! Voiceless, it cries. Wingless, flutters. Toothless, bites. Mouthless, mutters."

I paused and thought about it.

"Oh! OH! We knows! We knows!" Gollum piped up. "Shut up!"

Gollum dropped down behind a rock.

"Wind!"

"Very clever Hybridses. Very clever." Gollum growled clearly unhappy with my figuring out the answer.

He crept toward me menacingly and I pulled out my blade and pointed it at him as I recited my next riddle.

"If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven't got me."

Gollum started muttering to himself repeating bits and pieces of my riddle.

"Well, come on, what is it?" I pushed.

"It's nasty." He said pointing at me.

"Give up yet?"

"Give us a chance, precious! Give us a chance!"

He grunted and strained like he was trying to take a giant shit until suddenly his face lit up.

"Secretses!" He cried. "Secretses! Sneaky little secretses. Yes."

He laughed as he scurried up the rocks and disappeared.

"We have one for you!" His voice echoed through the cave. "All things it devours. Birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron. Bites steel. Grinds hard stones to meal." He paused. "Answer us."

I was turning in place trying to see where his voice was coming from, where he might pop out of.

"Hang on! I gave you time!" I thought about it. "I don't know this one." I mumbled.

"Is it tasty? Is it scrumptious?" Gollum sang out. "Is it crunchable?" He growled as he grabbed the back of my neck.

I jumped away. Little bastard scared the shit out of me!

"Let me think you little shit!"

"It's stuck. Ashrynses is stuck. Time's up."

That's when it hit me!

"Time! The answer is time!"

Gollum growled, he was angry now.

"Last question." He snarled. "Last chance. Ask us. ASK US!"

I wracked my brain for another one. I felt the ring in my pocket and mumbled to myself.

"What's in my pocket?"

Gollum took that as my riddle.

"That's no fair. It's not fair! It's against the rules!" He pouted. "Now ask us another one."

"Not gonna happen. You told me to ask you a question and that's my question. What's in my pocket?"

Gollum growled and jumped off the rock he'd been perched on.

"Three guesses, precious. It must give us three."

"Fair enough. Three guesses."

"Handses!" He cried holding up his boney ones.

I shook my head holding up my own.

"Two more."

Gollum flew into a frantic sort of frustration.

"Fishbones, Goblins teeth, wet shells, bats wings...Knife! Oh shut up!"

"Not a knife. Last guess. Make it count."

"String!" He spun around in a circle. "Or nothing!"

"That was two guesses in one, but I'll let it slide since you were off on both."

With that Gollum fell over sobbing. I almost felt bad for the little guy.

"Alright I won. Now get me out of here like you promised."

"Did we say so, precious?" Gollum asked dragging himself to his feet. "Did we say so? What has it got in it's pocketses?"

"That's none of your business now is it? You lost."

"Lost? Lost? Lost?"

Gollum seemed to realize something as he fumbled around his own pockets.

He became frantic when he didn't find what he was looking for.

"Where is it? Where is it?! No! Where is it?! No! No! Lost! Curse us and splash us! My precious is lost!" He cried.

I took the ring out and hid it behind my back.

"What did you lose?"

"Mustn't ask us! Not it's business!" He grabbed his head as he cried. "No! Gollum! Gollum!"

Then the crying stopped and Gollum spoke in a deadly voice.

"What has it got in it's nasty little pocketses?"

I held out my sword as he turned to look at me with his big blue eyes.

"She stole it." Gollum whispered. "She stole it!" He then screamed and threw a rock at my head. "She stole it!"

I took that as my cue to run.

Gollum chased after me screaming the whole way.

"Give it to us!"

I found a little crack in the cave wall and tried to wedge myself through it. Gollum caught sight of me and screamed as he galloped forward on all fours.

"It's ours. It's ours!"

At that moment I managed to squeeze through the crack causing Gollum to scream again. I tumbled and fell backwards with a thud. The ring flew out of my pocket. I reached for it and by some miracle it landed on my finger.

The whole world suddenly turned grey and it sounded as though I was underwater.

Gollum flew through the crack growling the whole way as he looked around the cave. He didn't seem to see me even though I was right in front of him.

"Thief! Ashryn!" He screamed before disappearing around a corner.

What on Middle Earth was that? What is this ring? Could Gollum really not see me? Am I invisible?

I shook my head I can figure all that out later, right now I need to get the hell out of here.

I followed Gollum, feeling secure in the fact he couldn't see me.

"Wait! My precious, wait! Gollum! Gollum!"

Then I heard a familiar voice and the thundering of footsteps.

"Quick! Quick!" Gandalf yelled as he appeared at the end of the tunnel I was in.

I watched as the Dwarves ran by. I sighed in relief when I saw Fili and Kili with them, seemingly unharmed. Everyone else looked to be in alright shape as well. Bombur was the last to run by. They didn't seem the least bit worried by my absence, if they'd noticed at all.

I needed to get out of here. I just had to get passed Gollum. I aimed my sword ready to finish him off but he turned and looked back down the tunnel. His face was so sad, so broken. I couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt him. So I took a few steps back and did a run and jump over his head accidently kicking the poor bastard in the face in the process.

I didn't bother to look back as I ran out of the tunnel. Although I did hear Gollum screaming after me.

"Ashryn! Thief! Curse it and crush it! We hates it forever!"

I ran down the hill hoping to catch up with the others.

"5, 6, 7, 8. Bofur, Bifur, that's 10. Fili, Kili! That's 12. And Bombur, that makes 13." Gandalf counted off. "Where's Ashryn?"

"Ashryn's not here?!" Kili asked looking around frantically.

"Where is she?" Gandalf yelled at the group.

"Curse that Elfling. Now she's lost?" Dwalin snapped.

I skidded to a stop and hid behind a tree debating my next move.

"I thought she was with Dori!" Gloin exclaimed.

"Don't blame me!" Dori shot back.

"Well where did you last see her?" Gandalf asked.

"I think I saw her slip away when they first cornered us." Nori announced.

"And what happened exactly? Tell me!"

"I'll tell you what happened." Thorin spoke. "Ashryn saw her chance and she took it! She has thought of nothing but a soft bed and warm hearth since we left Rivendell. We will not be seeing our Elfling again. She is long gone."

Kili looked at Fili.

"She wouldn't abandon us!" He insisted.

"No, I wouldn't." I said stepping out from behind the tree.

Kili and Fili grinned when they saw me and Kili came over sweeping me into his arms. Bofur sighed in relief.

"Ashryn." Gandalf smiled. "I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life."

Kili stood next to me with his arm draped over my shoulder.

"How on earth did you get passed the Goblins?" Fili asked.

"How indeed." Dwalin said looking as pleased to see me as Thorin.

Despite having saved me back on the mountain's edge he still hadn't quite warmed up to me.

I laughed nervously as I slipped the ring back into my pocket.

"Well what does it matter? She's back." Gandalf stepped in. He knew. I could tell.

"It matters. I want to know. Why did you come back?" Thorin asked.

"Look, I know you hate me. You always have and probably always will. And I know you doubt me even more. And you have a point. I have been thinking a lot about Rivendell. I want a place to call home." I shrugged. "Elrond gave me a home. That's why I came back. Because none of you have a home. It was ripped away from you, all of you. But I promise I will do everything in my power to help you take it back, because I know how it feels not to have a home."

Looking out at the Dwarves I could tell that was the moment they all truly accepted me. Thorin was still on the fence but I could tell something in the way he looked at me had changed.

Then the howling started.