The Fight To Escape

Orcs stormed the kingdom, led by Bolg, who was barking out orders in Black Speech.

The Orcs dove onto us from above while others fought the Elves.

Realizing I was the only one in the company with a weapon, I pulled out my blade and stabbed the nearest Orc.

I saw Kili look up at the lever for the gates.

"Don't." I said, my eyes begging him to stay put.

"I love you." He said before leaping out of the barrel.

Dwalin had gotten a hold of an Orcs blade and threw it to Kili, who quickly took out the Orc in front of him.

I fought my heart out while also keeping an eye on Kili's every move.

I saw movement on the shore as Bolg pulled out a bow.

My heart stopped as the arrow flew, almost in slow motion, and embedded itself in Kili's leg.

"Kili!" I screamed.

Fili did the same.

Kili stayed standing and grabbed the lever. He pulled but before he could get a good grip on it his leg gave out and he fell.

I watched as another Orc advanced on Kili. Another arrow flew through the air and I held my breath thinking it was headed straight for him. But it hit the Orc instead. I whipped my head around to see Tauriel standing on the shore, bow in hand.

I was amazed by her fighting ability, she moved as if it was a dance she'd rehearsed a thousand times before.

Bolg barked out more orders to his warriors and a large number of them turned their attention to the She-Elf.

To my surprise Legolas emerged from the bushes and joined the fight, protecting Tauriel with everything he had.

They worked together taking out Orc after Orc. I looked back at Kili to see him struggle to his feet and grab onto the lever. He managed to pull it down before dropping himself back to the ground. I held onto the rocks on the shore, refusing to let the current take me until he was safely back with us.

"Kili!" Fili yelled.

Kili rolled off the edge of the platform he was on and I grabbed him pulling him into the barrel with me. He groaned as the arrow in his leg caught the lip of the barrel and snapped off.

I clung to him and he put an arm around me, the other busy putting pressure on his leg.

"You're insane." I said.

"Eh, you love me." He grinned although I could see the pain in his eyes.

The stream seemed to be a never ending pattern of waterfalls. We would hit a straight for less than a minute before we were hurdled over another fall.

The Orcs raced down the shoreline throwing spears at us, all of them missing thankfully.

One of them leapt at Thorin but he used one of their own blades he'd picked up to cut him down.

Tauriel and Legolas followed us down the river taking out as many Orcs as they could along the way.

Another Orc leapt at Balin who cried out, weaponless. But Thorin was quick to grab a spear out of the water and launch it at the Orc. It hit him mid air pinning him to a tree branch.

A blade was tossed back to Fili who took out yet another Orc at the same time one jumped onto the rim of Dwalin's barrel. He fought it off throwing the Orc into the rocky river bank, earning himself a nice battle axe in the process.

Weapons were being thrown in every direction as we fought off the Orc hoard.

Suddenly poor Bombur was launched into the air like the projectile of a catapult! He bounced and rolled down the shore line taking out a number of the Orcs on the way. When he finally came to a stop he kicked out the bottom of the barrel and leapt to his feet. His arms burst out of the sides, an Orc weapon in each hand. Then he just started spinning. He was like a weaponized kids toy top. Soon the barrel fell away from him completely and he dove back into the water with us landing feet first into an empty barrel. I wasn't sure who had been in it before or if it was always empty, everything was so chaotic it was hard for me to keep track of where everyone was.

Legolas jumped off the shore landing on top on Dwalin and Dori, standing balanced on their heads. Another jump and Fili groaned as Legolas landed on his face. One last leap and he vaulted off the head of another Dwarf before landing on the rocky riverbank. Then next thing you know he's using our heads as stepping stones to run to the other side of the river. I'm sure by now half of us were mildly concussed because of him.

I watched as Legolas attacked an Orc on land while another came up behind him, axe raised ready to end his life. Thorin was quick to launch the axe he was holding through the air and into the Orc.

Legolas didn't seem to notice the assist from Thorin as he took out what appeared to be the last of the Orc pack. But apparently I spoke too soon as more came rushing down the rivers edge yelling in Black Speech.

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We seemed to have lost the Orcs.

We all looked like drowned rats at this point, Bombur seemed to have gotten the most water logged out of all of us.

Once we were sure it was safe we paddled to shore and climbed out of our barrels. I held out my hand for Kili and pulled him up.

He took a few steps then groaned and collapsed to his knees.

"Kili!" I cried as I dropped down next to him.

He held his breath for a second as he felt the end of the arrow embedded in his leg.

"I'm fine. It's nothing." He insisted.

"On your feet." Thorin commanded.

"Thorin, Kili's hurt!" I snapped.

"His leg needs binding." Fili added.

"There's an Orc pack on our tail. We keep moving."

As much as I knew Thorin loved his nephew, and hated to see him in pain, I knew he had to focus on playing leader right now, not the loving uncle.

I also hated that I knew he was right. We did need to keep moving.

"To where?" Balin asked.

"To the mountain, obviously. We're close." I said.

"A lake lies between us and that mountain." He reminded us. "We have no way to cross it."

"So we go around."

"The Orcs will run us down as sure as daylight." Dwalin argued. "We have no weapons to defend ourselves."

Ok, so, he had a point there.

"Bind his leg, quickly." Thorin said to Fili. "You have two minutes."

Ori sat on a little cliff over the water pouring out his boots when a man came up behind him, bow in hand ready to shoot. We all looked up as Dwalin threw himself between the two, armed with a branch.

The man fired his arrow and it lodged itself in the wood. Then he turned to fire on us. Kili used what strength he had left to shove me behind him. He picked up a rock, about to throw it when another arrow stole it from his hand.

"Do it again, and you're dead." The man growled out.

Balin seemed to notice something about the man, that we didn't.

"Excuse me, but you're from Lake-Town, if I'm not mistaken." He raised his hands as the man aimed an arrow his way. "That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?" He asked.

The man lowered his bow and walked over to his boat. We followed.

"What makes you think I would help you?"

"Those boots have seen better days. As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?" Balin asked.

"A boy and two girls."

"And your wife, I imagine she's a beauty."

"Ay. She was."

Balin's face dropped.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"Oh, come on, come on! Enough of the niceties." Dwalin mumbled to Thorin.

The man must have heard him.

"What's your hurry?"

"What's it to you?" He shot back, always the friendly one.

"I would like to know who you are, and what you are doing in these lands."

"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains, journeying to see our kin, in the Iron Hills." Balin bluffed.

"Simple merchants you say?" The man replied looking amused.

"We need food, supplies, weapons." Thorin explained. "Can you help us?"

That's when I noticed he'd gathered all of our barrels from the water and loaded them onto his boat.

"I know where these barrels came from."

"What of it?" Thorin challenged.

"I don't know what business you had with the Elves, but I don't think it ended well." He continued ignoring Thorin's glare. "No one enters Lake-Town but by leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland realm. He would see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil." He said as he tossed a rope at Balin.

"Offer him more." Thorin muttered to the white haired Dwarf.

"I wager there's ways to enter that town unseen."

"Ay. But for that, you would need a smuggler."

"For which we would pay double."

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BACK IN THRANDUILS KINGDOM

"Such is the nature of evil. Out there in the vast ignorance of the world it festers and spreads. A shadow that grows in the dark. A sleepless malice as black as the oncoming wall of night. So it ever was. So will it always be. In time all foul things come fourth." Thranduil said circling the Orc the Elves had taken prisoner.

"You were tracking a company of 13 Dwarves. Why?" Legolas questioned as he held a blade to the Orc's throat.

"Not 13, not anymore. The young one, the black-haired archer, we stuck him with a Morgul shaft. The poison's in his blood. He'll be choking on it soon."