𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter Two: Rivendell

The valley was nothing but a cemetery of dying grass and cragged rocks. Nightmarish howls of Wargs echoed through the valley as an orc pack hunted down the company of Thorin Oakenshield that was being led through the desolate terrain by Gandalf The Grey.

"Run!" Gandalf yelled, dragging Bilbo along behind him. The orc pack were gaining more ground, spurring the company into action. Gandalf took the front whilst Kili and Fili were at the back of the group, picking off any orc or warg that got too close with their arrows.

Even though it had just been a mere few minutes of sprinting, it had felt like an eternity for Bilbo. He had only ever read about orcs in his books, but he had never seen one up close. And the fact that there was a pack of bloodthirsty orcs hunting him down like he was a piece of meat made his mind feel heavy and disorientated.

"There they are!" Bofur yelled, pointing to a group of warg riding orcs that were spilling over the brim of a hillock, hurtling towards them at great speed. They would be on the company before long and Bilbo only prayed to the Valar that Gandalf and the dwarves would be able to fight the vicious creatures off.

"There's more coming!" Kili yelled, racing out from behind a tree.

"Kili! Shoot them!" Thorin yelled, striking a Warg in the head with his axe. Bilbo gulped, watching as the orc pack began to surround them. He now really wished he had stayed at the safe and comfortable confines of his home. It wasn't until then the Hobbit noticed that Gandalf was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Gandalf!" Bilbo yelled, hiding behind Dwalin and Bombur. A cold weight only grew in Bilbo's stomach as he tried to find where Gandalf had disappeared to. That old wizard was one of his only comforts and now that he was missing only made Bilbo feel even more vulnerable to the approaching orcs.

"He had abandoned us!" Dwalin yelled, crushing the skull of a warg before Dori impaled the orc riding it.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin demanded, taking down another warg. Bilbo tightened the grip of his sword in his sweaty hands, preparing himself for the worst.

"Down here, you fools!" Bilbo snapped his head around to see the Wizard appearing out of a cave. Even though a great relief flooded the Hobbit, he wasted no time sprinting towards Gandalf and sliding down the rocky ground into the darkness of a tunnel.

He could hear Thorin at the top ushering everyone in, and before long the dwarves came hurtling down the rock slope as if it were a slide, one after the other. Just as Thorin appeared at the bottom of the rocky slope, a horn blasted from above, followed by the sounds of arrows whizzing through the air and horse hooves galloping on the ground outside.

"What is the-" Bilbo let out a yelp as an orc came tumbling down the slope and landed at his feet with a nasty thud.

Instantly, the dwarves pointed their weapons at it, only to find that it was already dead. An arrow was buried in its sickly grey chest and there was a great crimson slash down its grotesque face. Bilbo gagged as Thorin reached down and yanked the arrow from the carcass.

"Elves!" Thorin spat with a scowl, throwing the broken arrow shaft to his feet.

Bilbo saw a look of irritation flash across Gandalf's face but he paid no heed to it. The Hobbit was still recovering from the adrenaline that pumped through his system. Only then did he come to his bearings. The company was standing in a damp cave with a winding passage that seemed to go even deeper into the rock.

"I cannot see where the pathway leads!" Dwalin yelled, appearing around the corner, still heaving from the fight. "Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it of course!" Kili said, pushing forward.