CHAPTER TEN
GOLLUM
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*Bilbo's POV*
Before I could even realise that the creature had jumped off a cliff and crouched right in front of me, it's planted a smirk on it's face one that was stomach turning making you want to gag by the amount of saliva pouring out of it's mouth, it had fish and bones stuck in the gaps of it's teeth, with a small rag around it's waist.
"Bless us and splash us, precious. ", the creature grumbled, "That's a meaty mouthful.", it hissed strangely, an unknown voice. "Gollum! Gollum!", it spoke as it coughed, causing me to flinch from his outburst before I instantly pointed my sword directly to it's face.
"Back!", I ordered. "Stay back.", I hissed, "I'm warning you, don't come any closer.", I spoke firmly. Stepping closer to the creature as he walked backwards from the end of my blade.
"It's got an Elfish blade", the creature mumbled to itself, "But it's not an Elf's", it exhaled sharply, "Not an Elfses, no"
"What is it precious? What is it?", it questioned staring down at my glowing blue sword as I swallowed nervously and frowned my eyebrows
"My name", I paused take in a deep breath. "Is Bilbo Baggins", I finished exhaling as I shifted my stance more comfortably.
"Bagginsess", creature thought thinking for a moment. "What is a Bagginsess, precious?" it questioned, thinking I was some kind of anonymous creature in it's eyes I guess it's never seen a Baggins before or even a hobbit.
"I'm a Hobbit from the Shire" I go to nervously still protecting myself and my sword of my hand tightly.
"Oh" he paused, "We like Goblins, Bates, and Fishes", he smirked. "But we hadn't tried Hobbits before" it exclaimed before I realised, it kept repeating the word frequently throwing me off a bit. "Is it soft", it questioned creepily, "Is it juicy", it questioned stepping in closer towards me before I swung my sword trying to keep it away from my shaking body.
"Now, now keep your distance", I waved my sword towards its face, making sure it would stay clear away from me, "I'll use this", it paused in inhaling a deep breath, "If I have to" the creature than crouched on all fours making me take a step back. "I don't want any trouble, do you understand?", I questioned. "Just show me the way to get out of here and I'll be on my way."
"Why?", it questioned examining me, "Is it lost?"
"Yes. Yes, and I want to get unlock as soon as possible.", I stated as the creature nodded it's head slowly.
"Oh", he exclaimed, "We knows! We know safe paths for Hobbitsess", he paused with excitement written on his face, "Safe paths in the dark. Shut up!", I frowned my eyebrows in confusion at the way he talks and how it addresses 'we' so often.
"I didn't say anything", I stated shifting my stance slightly.
"I wasn't talking to you", it spoke up before turning around behind the rock and continuing, "Oh, yes, we were. Precious. We was." it spoke to itself over its own breath.
"Look I don't know what your game I'd, but I-"
"Games", it paused, "Oh we love Games, don't we, precious? Does it like Games? Does it, does it? Does it like to play?" it said startling me slightly before letting out a laugh seems a bit strange in the moment.
"Maybe." I stated before I could say anything else you interrupted me, "What has roots that nobody sees?" it paused gesturing it's interrupted its words, "Is taller than trees? Up, up, up it goes and yet.", it grinned.
"Never grows", it pointed at me with its index finger in anticipation of my answer, but of course everyone knows the answer to this particular riddle.
"The mountain", I replied bluntly as if it was so obvious.
"Yes, yes", he chuckled, "Oh, let's have another one, eh?", before I could even open my mouth he help himself to answer the questioned he spoke, "Yes! Do it again, do it's again. Ask us.", he paused changing his facial expression to anger. "No! No more riddles. Finish him off!", he viciously smirked my way. "Finish him off! Gollum! Gollum!"
"No", I instantly stopped the creature, "No. No. No. I want to play", I smiled trying to sound less scared, "I do. I want to play. I can see, you are very good at this. So why don't we, have a game of riddles? Yes?", I questioned, bringing him in closer, "Just. Just us", I smiled, trying to sneak behind him, and basically trying to save my own god damn life.
"Yes. Yes just us", he smirked getting to close for comfort.
"Yes", I smiled. "And if I win, you show me the way out. Yes?"
"Yes", he paused, "And if he loses? What then?", the creature questioned as I swallowed nervously. "Well, if it loses, precious, then we eats it!", he squealed as my eyes grew widened, "If Baggins loses, we eats it whole", he exclaimed looking directly into my eyes, I was taken back a bit. I thought about it for a moment before coming to a reason.
"Fair enough", I finally said, "Well, Bagginsess first", he told me.
"Thirty white horses on a Red Hill", I started my riddle, "First say camp, then they camp then", I paused, "They stand still", I finished with a grin, waiting for him answer. It took him a while before he blurted the answer.
"Teeth? Teeth!", he exclaimed as I sighed annoyed, "Oh yes my precious.", he rejoiced loudly before committing. "But we, we only have nine", he hissed, showing me his disgusting strange teeth, "Our turn", he paused walking around me. "Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites. Mouthless mutters", he looked at me waiting for me to answer, but it was sort of difficult.
"Just a minute", I paused, "Uh"
"Oh! We knows! We knows! Shut-up!", he exclaimed inwardly before I trudged to the shore. The water is dark but clear. Before include think of the riddles answer, a gust of wind hit the waters surface. Causing it to ripple. Wind? Its wind?!
"Wind", I paused, "It's wind!", I told him proudly as he growled in frustration.
"Of course it is very clever, Hobbitsess, very clever", he said getting closer and closer to me, staring me down viciously.
"A box without hinges key or lid yet golden treasure inside it is it", I told him as I pointed my sword straight in front of me.
"Box", the creature mumbled, "Oh um...box. The lid and key.", he frowned his eyebrows with confusion.
"Well?", I questioned.
"Its nasty", he hissed, gesturing his words.
"Do you give up?", a question to once again hoping you wouldn't guess correct answer.
"Give us a chance, precious!", he shouted "Give us a chance!" He exclaimed hoping he wouldn't figure it out. "Egges" you smiled, "Egges! Wet little egges, yes. Grandmother taught us to suck them" he said proudly as I rolled my eyes not to wanting him to get it but it said I didn't even notice it he was gone I heard him but he was gone. "We have one for you", he whispered as it echoed around me."All things it devours birds, beasts, tress, flowers, gnaws iron, bites steel grinds hard to meal", he hissed as I thought and thought.
"Answer us", he demanded.
"Give me a moment, please", I asked. "I gave you a good long while", I stated. "Birds, beats", I furrowed my eyebrows. "Beast? Trees and flowers", I tried my best to somehow understand the riddle and answer it correctly. "I don't know this one", I spoke up, looking around for the creature, but he was gone.
"Is it tasty?", the creature voice echoed through the walls. "Is it scrumptious?", chills went down my spine. "Is it crunchable?", I felt his heads Bush again behind my back as I stepped away quickly, placing my sword in front of me.
"Let me think ", I exhaled deeply. "Let me think", I told him boldly as I hope it would somehow come to mind.
"It's stuck", the creature grumbled, "Bagginsess is stuck", he smirked viciously. "Times up", he whispered throwing his hands in the air, gesturing to his words.
"Time", I instantly blurted it our, realising that was the answer. "The answer is time", I smiled shifting my weight, clearing my throat, Actually it wasn't that hard"
"Last question", the creature grumbled I'm frustration. "Last chance", he waited for me to give him a riddle.
"Okay", I sighed wondering what riddle to say next.
"Ask us", the creature smiled as I nodded my head. "Asks us", he angrily demanded.
"Yes, ye all right", I paused barely putting my hand in my pocket I felt the object I had picked up earlier.
"What have I got in my pocket?", I mumbled knowing that he heard it.
"That's no fair", the creature said angrily. "It's not fair! It's against the rules!", he yelled before throwing a rock to the ground, "Now ask another one"
"No", I grinned. "No. No. No. You said ask me a question", I paused knowing this would go somewhere. "Well, that is my question. What have I got in my pocket?
"Three guesses, precious", he stated, "It must give us three", he demanded showing only two fingers, making me wonder if he was well.
"Three guesses", I nodded, "Very well, Three guesses", I told him.
"Handses?"
"Wrong. Guess again"
"Fishbone", he quickly rushed around me. "Goblin's teeth, wet shells, bat wings", he closed his eyes in thought, "Knife, Oh shut up!", he spoke to himself as his mood instantly changed.
"Wrong again last guess", I spoke warning him that if he guessed wrong he would show the way out.
"String", he smiled before tuning around, "Or nothing", he smirked as his mood changed again to his evil self.
"Two guesses at once", I smiled. "Wrong both tries. So come, then. I won the game. You promised to show me the way out.", I told him gladly knowing I'll get out of this crazy dark room.
"What did we says, precious? Did we say so? What has it got in its pocketses?", he questioned me as I placed my sword in front of me.
"That's no concern of yours", I shook my head. "You lost", I stated.
"Lost?", he mocked my words. "Lost?", he questioned while trying to grab something from his little pouch in the right side of his rag around his waist. "Where is- where is it?", he shouted. "No! Where is it? No! No! Lost! Curse us and splash us! Precious is lost!", he yelled before it clicked into my head what he was talking about...the ring?
"What have you lost?", I questioned him shaking a bit with nerves.
"Mustn't ask us", the shooters holding his head in his hands. "Not its business! No!", he shouted in distraught, "Gollum! Gollum!", he coughed in agony just before he slowly looked up to me in uttermost hurt. "What has it got", he exhaled. "In it's nasty", he hissed. "Little Pocketses", the thing interlocked his eyes with mine. "He stole it", he spoke up as I placed the sword in front of me to protect me. "He stole it! He stole it!", he yelled before I quickly turned and ran as fast as I could with him following close behind me.