Raised by Hobbits

Chapter Nine~Thorin's Past Comes Back

(Little Recap)

"But we will help you take it back if we can." says Ash. After Ash speaks, there is silence as the dwarves think about what she said. Gandalf smiles slightly, happy that they have changed so much for the better. 

Then they hear howling. Hearing the howling, the Company members realize they are in danger. "Out of the frying pan..." starts Thorin "...and into the fire! Run! RUN!" shouts Gandalf. 

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 Wargs jaws snap in the air over his head. The Warg lands in front of him. Growling, it charges at him. 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. 

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. "Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb!" shouts Gandalf "Bilbo, climb!" shouts Ash. 

Bofur 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. Ash tries to pull her sword out of the dead Warg's head she killed, but it is stuck firmly. She continues to pull. "They're coming!" shouts Thorin. Gandalf climbs to the top of the furthest tree; Dwalin boosts Balin up. Thorin, Bombur, and the rest climb up trees too. The main body of Wargs and Warg Riders approach. 

Ash finally manages to pull her sword out of the Warg; she looks up to see several more Wargs running at her. She quickly clambers up a tree as the Wargs rush below her. Dozens of Wargs circle the trees in which the Company members are perched. Gandalf reaches out with his staff and picks up a moth sitting in the same tree as him. Bringing the moth close to his face, he whispers to it; he then blows it gently, causing it to flutter away. 

The Wargs cease their growling and turn as the White Warg, with Azog on its back, approaches slowly. Thorin looks at Azog in shock. "Azog?!" shouts Thorin. 

As his White Warg growls, Azog strokes it and talks ominously. "Do you smell it? The scent of fear? I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain." says Azog Thorin looks stricken with pain and grief, realizing that Azog had captured his father. "It cannot be." says Thorn. Azog speaks to his Wargs and Riders. "That one is mine. Kill the others!" he shouts. 

At his command, the Wargs leap forward and try to climb the trees. They jump as high as they can, scrabbling at the tree trunks and breaking apart branches in their jaws in their efforts. The trees shake violently at the assault, and the dwarves struggle to hold on. With the weight of the Wargs climbing it, the furthest tree from the edge of the cliff, which Bilbo, Ash, and several other dwarves are in, gets uprooted from the ground and begins leaning wildly. 

As more Wargs grab onto it, the tree tips over and lands on the next tree; the dwarves, Bilbo, and Ash jump from the falling tree to the next. However, this tree as well tips over; like dominoes, all the trees begin falling over. All the dwarves, Bilbo, Ash, and Gandalf manage to jump onto the last tree, on the very edge of the cliff. This tree doesn't fall over. 

Azog laughs. Looking around in desperation, Gandalf spies a pinecone. He grabs it and uses his staff to set the pinecone on fire; he then throws it down amid the Wargs, who retreat in fear of the fire. Azog is startled and angry at the unexpected resistance. Gandalf lights two more pinecones and throws one down to Fili. he catches the pinecone. Bilbo, Ash, and the dwarves gather pine cones and Gandalf sets them on fire; they then throw the flaming pinecones like missiles at the Wargs.