Star-Crossed

Chapter 46

Bilbo was the first to pick up on the uneasiness of the mountains. They looked more like teeth than mountains. The snow-capped peaks held a menacing stance, looming over the company like massive jagged headstones. He didn't like the idea of doing this at night. Then a sound echoed, crashing over the stone and reverberating back. Thunder. 

Through the torrent of rain, Fili could make out only one thing, the yellow feathers of his brother's arrows. Only when the lightning struck could he properly make out the path. His boots slipped on the slick stone path as he shuffled along behind Kili. The path was barely wide enough for his whole boot, one misstep and they would be plummeting to their deaths.
A loud crash sounded overhead. It sounded much different from any thunder they had ever heard. Stone began raining down on them from above.

"Hold on!" Thorin boomed, pressing his back to the stone. Everyone else followed in suit. Just as the company began moving on, the rock below Bilbo's feet gave way. With frantic movements, the Hobbit reached for anything to hold onto. That anything turned out to be Bofur's sleeve and Dwalin's cloak. The dwarves reached out, catching the Burglar and hauling him to his feet. Dwalin steadied him and then turned to the dwarves behind him warning them to watch their step. 

"Thorin, we must find shelter!" Beuren hollered over the pounding rain. Thorin knew she was right, but where were they going to find somewhere safe up here?

"Watch out!" Dwalin roared, leaping backwards to avoid the new wave of falling stone. 

"This is no thunderstorm, it's a thunder battle!" Balin pointed, the outline of two gigantic creatures stood out against the lightning riddled sky. 

"Bless me; the legends are true, giants, stone giants!" Bofur marveled in both awe and horror. Beuren leapt forward, reefing on the back of his shirt and pulling him back against the mountain side. 

"Take cover!" Thorin again ordered. Everyone ducked, yet the stone still pummeled them from above. Before anyone could react the stone between Fili and Kili began to split, pulling the company away from each other. 

"Kili, grab my hand!" Fili called, but by the time Kili could acknowledge what he'd heard it was too late. Thorin looked up, watching as the cliff began to move. They were on the knees of a giant with no foreseeable escape. The company was left clinging to whatever and whoever they could, hoping beyond hope that the giant moving towards their giant wasn't looking for a fight.
After being dealt a particularly nasty blow, their stone giant fell, one knee colliding with the stone. The first half of the company rushed onto the path to safety breathing a sigh of relief. Their relief was short lived, however, as they watched the giant's other knee crash into the cliff face fifty feet before them.

"NO!" Thorin yelled, watching as his companions were lost from sight, amongst them his eldest nephew. They rushed to their aid, slipping and sliding every few feet until they rounded the corner.

There, lying in a pile, were the last half of their company. A tangle of limbs and beards, they all groaned as they tried to climb to their feet. Thorin began taking a headcount in his head as Beuren helped get Bombur to his feet. 

"Where's Bilbo? Where is our hobbit?!" Bofur cried, looking frantically for their hobbit. Beuren raced to the edge, hoping to not find their Hobbit's body.

"Here!" Beuren cried, falling to her knees and stretching out her arm to hopefully pull him up, but she was not close enough, Ori slid beside her, holding his arm out to Bilbo who slipped. He caught himself, but now was even farther down. 

With no other option, Thorin found a foothold, and lowered himself over the edge, hauling their burglar up. Bofur and Ori grabbed him, falling backwards to get him to safety. That's when Thorin found himself in a sticky situation. He felt it just a bit at first, thinking it was only his imagination. Then, the stone below him gave out. 

A hand wrapped around his wrist. He looked up to see Dwalin, his closest companion, staring down at him. Beuren reached for his other arm. Together they dragged him to his feet. 

"Didn't think I was letting you go that easily did you? I just got you back." She said with a cheeky grin. 

"I thought we lost our burglar." Dwalin sighed, helping Bilbo to his feet. 

"He's been lost, ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us. Dwalin, Beuren." The two looked at each other then followed Thorin into a cave.
"It looks safe enough." Dwalin said peering around. 

"Check the back, caves in the mountains are seldom unoccupied." Beuren drew her sword, silently creeping to the back of the cave. She checked every corner and crevice. 

"There's nothing here." She hollered over her shoulder. The rest of the company filed in, each finding their own space to unroll their bedrolls. 

"Right then! Let's get a fire started." Gloin said, dropping a few logs to ready a fire. 

"No, no fires, not in this place. Get some sleep. We start at first light." Thorin ordered. Balin stepped forward.

"We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us." Thorin turned to face him. Beuren sensed the tension in his voice. "That was the plan." 

"Plans change. Bofur take first watch." Thorin replied, walking away from the conversation. Beuren stared after him. When she looked back at Balin he had a hard glare on his face, set dead on her. 

"And what, you think he'll listen to me? This is Thorin we're talking about." Balin shook his head and stepped around her.