Immediately all the dwarfs took cover behind the piled stones. Only Thorin stood motionless on the wall, his bow still raised, the next arrow already on the string.
For a moment nothing happened, then Thranduil quickly raised his hand and the Elves reacted immediately, taking down the arches and returning to their original position.
"We have come to tell you," Thranduil raised his voice, "Payment of your debt has been offered and accepted." The dwarves emerged cautiously from their cover at Thranduil's words.
Ilèyn relaxed a little when she heard that at least the Elf King had accepted the rather involuntary offer from Oakenshield.
"What payment?" asked Thorin, who still hadn't lowered the bow. "I gave you nothing! You have nothing!"
At this statement, Thranduil's gaze wandered over to Bard. He reached into his coat pocket and took out the Arkenstone. The jewel gleamed in his hand as he held it up and presented it to the Dwarf King.
"We have this." said Bard.
Ilèyn looked carefully at Thorin, whose features were derailed. Slowly he lowered the bow and pierced Bard and Thranduil with deadly eyes.
"They have the Arkenstone." said Kili, who was standing close to his uncle, "Thieves! How came you by the heirloom of our house? That stone belongs to the King!"
"And the king may have it!" replied Bard "With our goodwill." Bard tossed the stone up a little, caught it again, and put it back in his cloak.
"But first," said the Dragon-Slayer, "he must honor his word."
Thorin shook his head in disbelief.
"They are taking us for fools." he grumbled, so that only the dwarves could hear. "This is a ruse."
The dwarf king did not take his eyes off Thranduil and Bard. Fili looked doubtfully at his uncle, Ilèyn exchanged a worried look with Bilbo.
"A filthy lie." said Thorin angrily "The Arkenstone is in this Mountain! It is a trick!" he called down to them.
"No, it's no trick." At the sentence she heard Bilbo say, Ilèyn's heart skipped "The stone is real."
Slowly the hobbit stepped in front of Thorin among the other dwarves.
"I gave it to them."
The dwarves turned to Bilbo and looked at the hobbit in horror.
"We..." Ilèyn then said "We did that." She stepped from Fili's side to Bilbo and stood next to him. When she briefly met the Blonde's gaze, she was met by confusion, shock and uncertainty.
"You...?" Thorin uttered softly.
Bilbo hesitated to say something.
"I took it as my 14th share." he then admitted.
Thorin's eyes darted back and forth between Ilèyn and Bilbo, his gaze growing gloomy.
"You would steal from me." he said, stunned.
"Steal from you?" said Ilèyn, shocked, "No."
"No, I may be a burglar, but I like to think I'm an honest one." Bilbo added.
Thorin took a step closer. The look he gave the two of them honestly scared Ilèyn.
"I'm willing to let it stand against my claim." said Bilbo.
"Against your claim?" Thorin asked.
The tension in the air was almost palpable with one's hands. Ilèyn and Bilbo took a small step back. Ilèyn looked for help at Fili, who was watching worriedly what was happening.
Thorin laughed in disbelief.
"Your claim." he said "You have no claim over me, you miserable rat!" Thorin tossed his sword aside, shouting the last words angrily.
Ilèyn winced briefly.
"I was going to give it to you." said Bilbo seriously "Many times I wanted to, but..."
"But what, thief?" Thorin's voice became more and more menacing, so that he no longer sounded like the dwarf Ilèyn had met.
"You are changed, Thorin!" Ilèyn did a step towards Thorin and stood against the Dwarf King "The dwarf I met in this company would never have gone back on his word!"
"Would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin!" added Bilbo, strengthened by Ilèyn's support.
"Don't speak to me as if you know me, nasty She-Elf!" Thorin spat and took several steps towards Ilèyn. This shocked Thorin's behavior and his statement, but despite the fear that rose in her, she held the gaze of the dwarf.
"You accompanied us, as an enemy, as a spy for your king down there!" roared Thorin and now stood right in front of the archer.
Ilèyn's heart beat up to her throat, she screwed up her mouth angrily and glared at Thorin.
"Throw her from the rampart!" Thorin ordered suddenly and Ilèyn gasped in horror.
Ilèyn looked panicked at Fili, who was standing next to his uncle.
"Thorin..." said the blonde, horrified.
"Did you not hear me?" shouted Thorin and grabbed Fili by the arm to force him to do it. Fili tore himself away, the other dwarfs did not react to Thorin's command either.
Thorin whirled back to Ilèyn.
"I will do it myself! Curse you!" he exclaimed angrily, grabbed Ilèyn by the collar and dragged her to the wall. Ilèyn made a painful sound when Thorin twisted her arm and pushed her halfway over Wall.
"No! No!" called Kili.
"Thorin, no!" Fili tried to free Ilèyn from Thorin's tight grip.
"Stop!" it suddenly came from below. Ilèyn managed to turn her head a little and saw Thranduil, who had ridden closer to the wall and had raised his hand.
"Kill her and it will be the last thing you did with your head on your shoulders."
Ilèyn, breathing heavily, looked again at Thorin, who was still holding her. His eyes glared as he looked from Thranduil to Ilèyn and back again. The Elf King gave a small hand signal and only a few moments later all archers had their weapons pointed up the wall again.
"Thorin, please!" Ilèyn heard Fili say and clearly heard his despair.
"And if you don't like my burglar" it suddenly sounded from the ranks of the elves and Gandalf the Gray hurried to the gate "then please don't damage him! Return him to me!"
The wizard stepped a little closer.
"You're not making a very splendid figure as King under the Mountain." noted Gandalf, "Are you, Thorin, son of Thrain?"
Thorin had fixed the wizard with his gaze and his grip on Ilèyn's arms loosened somewhat. Seeing her chance, she propped herself up from the stones and twisted past the dwarf king. She staggered and went down on her knees, Fili rushed to her and quickly pulled her up.
"Ilèyn, I..." He led her away from Thorin, Bilbo scurried after them "I'm so sorry." Fili said, shaken.
Ilèyn didn't answer, she was just processing the fact that her uncle had actually saved her life. She freed herself from Fili's grip, looked at him absently, and then hurried with Bilbo to the rope that was still attached to the iron ring. Bilbo had already thrown it down the wall and was almost at the bottom. Ilèyn quickly climbed the stones, the rope firmly in hand, and followed him. She didn't look back up, her feet hit safe ground and she scrambled over the boulders. She followed Bilbo, who had stepped next to Gandalf.
"Why should I buy back that which is rightfully mine?" Thorin asked, who meanwhile was pacing restlessly up and down on the rampart.
"Keep the stone." said Thranduil in that moment, turning to Bard, "Sell it. Ecthelion of Gondor will give you a good price for it."
"I will kill you!" shouted Thorin angrily "By my oath, I will kill you all!"
Ilèyn could not believe what had become of Thorin, like his companions.
"Your oath means nothing!" Thranduil poisoned.
"Uncle..." said Ilèyn quietly "don't provoke him."
Thranduil looked down at her, then turned his gaze back to Thorin, who was still pounding from one end of the wall to the other.
"I've heard enough." said the Elf King and turned to his archers. He gave the order that Ilèyn had been afraid of all along.
"Uncle, wait!" she cried desperately "Please don't, please!"
"Thorin!" said Gandalf "Lay down your arms! Open these doors. This treasure will be your death."
Ilèyn looked up the wall, at Fili. She was about to give up the last hope and felt sadness come over her.
"Give us your answer!" Bard called upstairs, "Will you have peace? Or war?"
A large raven landed on the wall in front of Thorin, croaking and flapping its wings. Thorin looked at the bird for a long time, then turned his gaze to the horizon.
"I will have war." he said and only a moment later it began to rumble like the earth was shaking. There were marching noises and Ilèyn followed Thorin's gaze. An army appeared out of nowhere on the hills surrounding them. An army of dwarves, armed to the teeth and furious. Very angry. Ilèyn's mouth stood open, stunned. As amazed as Gandalf, Thranduil and everyone else present reacted, it was probably the case that no one had expected the arrival of another army.
The dwarves were numerous and stopped a little below the ridge, so that the full extent of the army could not yet be seen. At the head of the army a figure rode on an... what exactly was that? Ilèyn couldn't really see it. She followed Gandalf and Bilbo, who hurried between the Elven warriors in the direction from which the dwarf army came. Thranduil had already ridden to the head of his soldiers before them and the Elven army was on the move to oppose the dwarves. Ilèyn had to be careful not to be trampled by the Elves and kept pace with Gandalf and Bilbo.
"Hey!" roared the figure leading the dwarves, "Thorin!"
The dwarfs on the wall called out to him.
"Who is that?" asked Bilbo, who hurried between Ilèyn and Gandalf. "He doesn't look very happy."
"It is Dain." answered Gandalf thoughtfully and very worried. "Lord of the Iron Hills. Thorin's cousin."
"Are they alike?" Ilèyn asked.
"I've always found Thorin the more reasonable of the two." answered Gandalf with a meaningful look.
Bilbo and Ilèyn looked at each other.
The Elf army had taken position, the fishermen of Lake Town were among them. Gandalf hurried forward and Ilèyn tried to see between the soldiers what was going on.
"Good Morning!" came the shrill greeting from Dain "How are we all? I have a wee proposition if you wouldn't mind giving me a few moments of your time." The dwarf's voice echoed in the valley.
Bilbo and Ilèyn squeezed past the fishermen and found a place where they could see what was happening.
Now Ilèyn could see what Dain was riding on. A big pig, even in war armor.
"Would you consider," continued Dain, "just sodding off? All of you! Right now!" The dwarf began to roar loudly again out of nowhere. Dain's outburst made the fishermen back off a little, but the Elves didn't move an inch.
"Stand fast!" Bard called to his people.
"Come now, Lord Dain." Gandalf raised his voice and stepped forward.
"Gandalf the Grey." Dain just said and looked at the wizard "Tell this rabble to leave, or I'll water the ground with their blood!"
The fishermen around Ilèyn and Bilbo began to mumble nervously.
"There is no need for war between dwarves, men and elves." replied Gandalf and ran towards the Dwarf Lord until he was only a few steps in front of him. "A legion of Orcs march on the Mountain. Stand your army down."
Ilèyn perked up when Gandalf mentioned the orcs. She hadn't noticed that at all. Immediately she looked at Bilbo.
"Did you know about the orcs?" she hissed, startled.
Bilbo shook his head.
"I will not stand down before any Elf." said Dain "Not least this faithless Woodland sprite." The dwarf lord gestured at Thranduil with his large hammer.
"He wishes nothing but ill upon my people." he said, "If he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'll split his pretty head open! See if he's still smirking then."
With that, Dain turned his mount and headed back toward the hill, back to his army.
"Dain! Wait!"
Gandalf's words were no longer of any use.
The dwarves were determined.