All was well up on the mountain path, until we met a thunderstorm. A terrific meeting of two great thunderstorms. Nothing could compare to being in the middle of thunder and lightning, at night. The lightning splintered on the peaks, and rocks shivered, and great crashes split the air and rolled and tumbled into every cave and hollow; the darkness was filled with overwhelming noise and sudden light.
Our trail stood high up in a narrow place, a dangerous place, with a cliff on one side and a dreadful fall into a dim valley on the other. It was barely wide enough for us to step down one at a time. Certain sections proved more difficult for myself than my companions, no thanks to my usually advantageous height.
The sky dumped buckets and buckets. That heavy crying made the stone beneath our boots slippery and dangerous like a frozen lake. Then came a wind, and more rain, and the wind whipped the rain and the hail about in every direction.
An overhanging rock was no protection at all from the elements.
"Hold on!" called Thorin. He slowly inched forward, leading us through the storm, careful not to be taken by the sheer drop at his side.
Just in front of me was Bilbo. I saw his legs move in a funny direction.
"Bilbo!"
A rock beneath his furry feet gave out, and he started falling. The others cried in alarm. I reached out and yanked him back against the wall at my side. From then, he kept a tight grip on my cloak, and refused to let go.
"We must find shelter!" I heard someone call. Maybe Thorin? It was hard to tell.
Oh, how I hoped there'd be a cave soon.
Suddenly, Dwalin called out, "Look out!"
A massive boulder hurtled through the air. It smashed against the mountainside, just above our heads, and crumbled into dozens of pieces, causing rocks to fall all around. We pressed ourselves up against the cliff, just under the overhang, to avoid them.
"This is no thunderstorm!" cried Balin. He had a bit of trouble speaking as his beard kept flying up into his face. "It's a thunder... battle! Look!"
Peeping out in the lightning flashes, we saw that across the valley the stone giants were out, and hurled rocks at one another for a game, and caught them, and tossed them down into the darkness where they smashed among the trees far below, or splintered into little bits with a bang.
One giant reared up and tore a boulder right out of the mountainside.
"Well, bless me, the legends are true. Giants!" Bofur exclaimed. "Stone giants!"
With a roar, the towering figure launched the rock like a mighty baseball player.
A second giant appeared from just around the corner. It took a direct hit to the head. Some of the rock pieces flew off and crashed into the mountain over our head. That debris pelted down on us from above.
"Take cover, you'll fall!"
Bofur quickly pressed himself to the wall before getting knocked down into the chasm. We all screamed together and braced ourselves and held on as rocks flew past our faces. They avoided us, but not the pathway under our feet, which began to crumble away from the vibrations and impact of the falling rocks.
Then, an almighty crack rent the air and the mountain shuddered, shifting sharply with us all clinging to the rocks.
We're on one, I realized with horror.
"What's happening?" I heard Kili say.
My heart clenched in sudden fear when I saw the group being separated in half. Fili and Kili reached for each other over the divide as the gap between them widened, a yawning cavern of empty space and a deadly fall if you didn't hold on.
"Kili! Grab my hand! Ki—"
"Fili!" I pulled Fili back to keep him from falling.
In a flash, the ground had split completely. Part of the company stood on one side of the ravine, and part on the other. Indeed, all fifteen of us were standing on the kneecaps of yet another giant. We could do nothing but hold on and pray.
As our giant stood up, another approached and slammed its head into our giant.
We clung to the giant's leg for dear life. I still had Bilbo pinned protectively with my body, one arm on the rocks behind me, and one arm keeping Dwalin away from the edge. I could vaguely make out the string of foul curses flying from his lips.
The giant slammed into the mountain, violently jarring us. During the giant's recovery, the other half of the company made it onto a—stable—rock ledge. However, they couldn't do anything but watch the rest of us get viciously tossed about.
The two giants fought with their fists. We ducked as a giant's fist made contact with the rock scant meters above our heads, showing us with a fresh wave of jagged shards. Eventually, our giant won the scuffle, and it knocked the other down into the valley.
Immediately after its victory, its head got knocked off by a boulder.
Our giant now staggered backwards, knees going forward as its body tumbled. We held onto each other and braced for impact. We headed straight for the mountainside at a terrible speed.
At the last second, we hit a narrow ledge, and all at once, jumped off.
I had been completely pinned underneath Fili and Dwalin, but it was still so much better than getting killed or falling to my death. I just struggled to breathe a little. When I spotted Thorin somehow clambering over to us, I announced, "We're alright. We made it!"
Thorin's heart leapt at the sight of everyone slowly sitting up, seemingly uninjured.
"They're alive!" Gloin said to the others climbing over to us.
Unfortunately, the good news was short-lived.
"Where's Bilbo?"
My eyelids flew open. The hobbit was just with me a second ago!! Now, he was nowhere. No sign of his curly-haired head or feet.
"Where is he?!" I did my best to untangle myself from Fili and Dwalin. "Where's the hobbit?!"
"There!"
There he was, dangling by just his hands over the edge of the cliff.
Ori and Bofur dove onto the ground to try grabbing Bilbo's arm. However, in their haste to help him, they knocked him down further. He managed to catch another handhold just out of reach of the outstretched fingers and flailing arms.
Seeing no other choice, Thorin jumped down to a small ledge just below the cliff and hoisted our burglar upwards until he could be hauled up over the top. But just as he did so, one of the hobbit's flailing feet caught him, sending him skidding off the ridge.
The dwarf was saved by me.
One hand gripped his hand for dear life, and the other gripped a rock firmly enough to turn the knuckles white. I had secured Thorin with lightning quick reflexes. He caught my wrist with a tight grip, as did I, both of us refusing to let go. His legs dangled into the empty air for one horrible moment while I used all my strength just to keep us both from going over the side.
"D...Dwalin!" I hissed through clenched teeth, feeling the rocks under my hand crumble away.
Together, we boosted Thorin high enough for him to hoist one leg up over the ledge and pull himself to safety. I made sure nobody else fell over the side by taking a very quick headcount, and also clapped Dwalin's shoulder as thanks for helping. Once done, I sat back and let my chest take in rapid breaths. I had spent all my energy.
I didn't realize dwarves could be so heavy.
Thorin and I met eyes for a short second, both of us panting heavily with sweat trickling down our faces. Or was it rain? Most likely both.
He managed to utter, "Good catch," to which I nodded, unable to talk quite yet.
Bilbo patted my shoulder. "Are you alright, Rose?"
"I...am now," I muttered between gasps of air, struggling to stay conscious. "Are you?"
He looked just as tired but somehow managed a head nod.
"I thought we lost our burglar," Dwalin said.
"He's been lost ever since he left home," Thorin replied, loud enough for those closest to hear him, including Bilbo. His temper ran high after his near fall due to the hobbit's clumsiness—though it was very irrational of him. Any one of the companions could've been the one to fall down the cliff, but in his mind, it was just another tally in the long list of reasons why Bilbo should not be with us. "He should never have come. He has no place amongst us."
"Thorin, cut it out," I said weakly, leaning against the cliff wall for support. I still felt terribly exhausted. "That wasn't his fault, so don't be so cruel."
"Need I remind you that you have no place amongst us either, She-Elf!"
He had pushed one too many buttons.
"Really? Is that what you want to say to me? Because if I had not been here, where would you be?"
"I would be fine, and you should've stayed back at your home. Where you belong."
I pursed my lips, a little appalled at how his temper controlled him.
"That's... That's not..."
I stopped, teeth bared but unable to emit words.
Thorin turned away and moved to the mouth of a cave found by Kili. They were both eager to find shelter, as were the rest of us. The cave they found was dry and spacious at first glance. However, we all knew that first glances could be deceiving.
"Dwalin!" he called, jerking his head towards the entrance. The two of them entered the cave and gave it a cursory look-over.
"It looks safe enough," I heard Dwalin say, a note of relief in his voice.
"Search to the back. Caves in the mountain are seldom unoccupied."
Dwalin quickly searched the cave, finding it all clear. "There's nobody here!"
Thorin gave a sigh of relief and beckoned the rest of the company into the shelter.
Within moments, everyone was inside and making themselves comfortable. I took a moment to ring out my drenched hair, grateful to myself for styling it the way I did. Bilbo collapsed on the ground beside me, completely and utterly exhausted, and shivering in his wet clothes, and looking utterly depressed. No doubt, he sat next to me so as to avoid the rest of the dwarves after what Thorin said.
"He doesn't mean it. He's just upset, and rightly so," I said softly while throwing my blanket, which was sadly damp, around his shoulders.
"I think he does mean it," Bilbo replied miserably. "And rightly so."
I gave a curt nod, thinking of what the dwarf said to me.
Gloin dropped a bundle of wood, somehow still dry, and rubbed his hands together.
"Right then! Let's get a fire started!" He was eager to eat hot food and dry his clothes.
"No. No fires. Not in this place," Thorin said as he stalked the length of the cave. He turned to the company, not too pleased with the idea of no heat himself; everyone's clothing was drenched along with our supplies and food. "Get some sleep, everyone, and try your best to dry off. We start at first light."
Balin looked at Thorin like he was crazy and said, "We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan."
"Plans change." Thorin then turned. "Bofur, you take the first watch for the night."
The dwarf hesitantly nodded his head. "Right."
⛰
Eventually, everyone had fallen asleep, and silence reigned between us. Once Thorin fell asleep, I swapped watch duty with Bofur to get him some rest, too. He needed it far more than myself, and I was unlikely to get any with my mind currently racing out of control.
I walked amongst my companions, careful not to wake anyone. I couldn't help but find a little joy in watching them peacefully snore. Their snores drowned out the sounds of rain and thunder from outside.
While everyone slept, I sat at the entrance to the cave and smoked my pipe.
"No place amongst us either, She-Elf!... You should've stayed at your home. Where you belong."
My head shook vigorously, a few wisps of hair sticking to my damp cheeks. It was just another mindless insult like all the other times.
"Just as unreasonable as usual."
Still, I found myself lying there in a tight ball of misery, anger, and sadness. It all had to do with the unreasonable dwarf. Since Rivendell, despite not talking to each other very often, Thorin and I had formed something of a tentative friendship, or at least a tolerance for each other, and I didn't want it to be jeopardized. You'd think saving his life wouldn't be a bad thing, but alas, here we are.
I took a moment to blow a smoke ring. I watched it float up and up and up until it hit the ceiling, and then disappeared. It seemed out of place in such a dark place. In fact, lots of things seemed out of place.
"Like me? Where exactly do I belong?"
I was startled out of a smoky trance when Bilbo started to leave the cave, equipped with his pack and walking stick.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Back to Rivendell," Bilbo said in a bitter tone.
I jumped up and stopped him. "No, no, you can't turn back. You're part of the company. You're one of us."
"I'm not, now am I?" I could see the hurt in his eyes. "And neither are you."
"Bilbo, what...?"
"Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right."
"That was just in the heat of the moment back there. You can't let what he said discourage you."
"No! He was right. I'm not a Took. I'm a Baggins. I don't know what I was thinking. I should never have run out my door."
"You're homesick. I understand."
"No, you don't! You don't understand. None of you do! You're used t-to this life, to living on the road, to never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere!"
My heart shuddered, already weakened by the emotions rolling turbulently through me.
Bilbo immediately wanted to take back his words. "Uh, I'm sorry. I didn't..." He struggled to speak again. He wouldn't even look at me.
I shook my head.
"No, you're right."
I gazed back at the thirteen sleeping dwarves, considering myself in the mix, too.
"We don't belong anywhere." I smiled back at the hobbit. "So, I wish you all the luck in the world, Bilbo." He looked surprised to hear it. "I really do." We smiled at each other before he turned and began walking away. However, I noticed something glowing on his person. "What's that?"
Bilbo pulled out his sword to find it glowing blue and stared at me with horror in his eyes.
I turned down to Glamdring and found it glowing as well.
Suddenly, we heard strange machinery noises. Then, I saw with terror a crack opening in the ground beneath us, sand running in to fill the hole.
Bilbo's eyes widened. "What is...that?"
Thorin jolted awake. "Wake up! Wake up!"
They were too late.
Before anyone could grasp the situation, the floor of the cave opened up like a trap door beneath us. It gave way for the entire company to slip and fall. We fell down, down, goodness knows where to. Down a long, cold chute, and through winding tunnels, hitting walls and each other as we went. It only lasted a handful of horrible seconds, but by the end, we collapsed in a heap at the bottom, all on top of each other. I was bruised and jarred, only the pack on my back saving me from worse injuries.
As we struggled to get up, I heard footsteps coming towards us.
"Look out!"
Voices from the company cried out as we saw a fast-approaching horde of goblins.