We waited a while before someone jumping out of the bushes riding on a sled led by rabbits.
"Thieves! Fire! Murder! " Stranger shouted.
I pulled the arrow over the bowstring, but Gandalf stopped me:
"Wait! " He said and told me to leave the bow.
The stranger was about the height of a dwarf or a hobbit. He had a long gray beard, as Gandalf did. He was dressed in a dark tunic, and on his head he had a hat, which, like a beard, was dirty as if after birds.
"Radagast! It's Radagast the Brown! " Gandalf said cheerfully and approached him.
"Do you know him? " I asked.
"Of course. " He replied. "That's one of the wizards I've told you about. "
I exchanged glances with Kili.
"What on earth are you doing here? " Gandalf asked.
"I was looking for you, Gandalf. " He replied. "Something's wrong. Something's terrible wrong. "
"Yes? " Our wizard asked.
Radagast was about to say something, but he abstained. It was as if he had forgotten what he had to say. After a while, he was wanted to say something again, but again he forgot.
"Just give me a minute. " He said. "Oh, I had a thought and now I've lost it. It was right there... On the tip of my tongue."
Kili hid his bow and arrow in the meantime.
"Not fun getting old." He whispered to me, to which I laughed.
"Ooh! " Radagast called to which I jumped. "It's not a thought at all..." Said, and rolled his tongue into a roll. "It's a silly old stick insect. " Said and took it out.
It was quite strange. From what Gandalf said, Radagast preferred the company of animals to humans.
***
We took a break so that Gandalf could talk to Radagast. I sat down next to Bilbo, who was looking at his newly acquired sword.
"Beautiful sword. " I said.
"Thank you. " He replied.
"May I? " I asked, and hobbit allowed me to take it and watch it.
The sword was quite light, certainly lighter than mine. That blade is of elvish make which means it'll glow blue when orcs or goblins are nearby.
"May he serve you well. " I said and gave hobbit the sword.
"I've never fought. I've never used a sword in my life." He glanced at me.
"And I hope you never have to. " I replied and smiled.
Suddenly, there was a howl resembling a wolf's howl, but it wasn't a wolf, but something much worse.
"Was that a wolf? Are there wolves out there? " Mr. Baggins asked.
"Wolves? No, that's not a wolf. " Bofur replied.
Suddenly, I saw one of the wargs approaching behind the dwarf.
"Bofur, get down! " I shouted, and when the dwarf bent down, I shot the animal with a bow.
I hit the creature in the head. He fell to the ground, and Thorin and Fili killed him. However, they didn't see another creature that was right behind them. Kili and I exchanged glances and we both scored at the same time.
The shots rushed straight to the target and after a while the animal lay dead, and Thorin and Fili sent us grateful glances.
"Warg scouts! " Thorin said. "Which means an orcs pack is not far behind. "
"Orc pack? " Bilbo asked in disbelief.
"Who did you tell about you quest beyond your kin? " Gandalf interjected and approached Thorin.
"No one. " Dwarf said.
"Who did you tell?! " Gandalf shouted.
"He said that to no one. " I interjected.
"No one, I swear. " Thorin added and put his hand on my shoulder. "What in Durni's name is going on? "
"You're being hunted. " Wizard replied.
"We have to get out of here. " Dwalin interjected.
"We can't! " Ori shouted. "We have no ponies. They bolted! "
"Great. " I said. "How are we going to escape them now? "
" I'll draw them off. " Radagast proposed.
"These are Gundabad Wargs. " Gandalf said. "They'll outrun you. "
"These are Rhosgobel rabbits " Radagast replied. "I'd like to see them try. "
***
And so it happened. Radagast was supposed to distract the orcs while we had to run as far away as possible.
We went out of the forest into an empty clearing, where there were only rocks. We hid behind one of the larger ones, and when we saw Radagast leaving, we moved on. We ran as fast as we could, speeding between the rocks. I probably would have bumped into wargs — creatures similar to wolves, but twice as big and more dangerous — if Thorin hadn't stopped me. He grabbed my hand just in time.
We waited a while for the wargs to run further, and then Gandalf led us on our way. I didn't know where he was leading us, but judging by Thorin's face, certainly not where he wanted.
Suddenly, we noticed that one of the orcs was disconnecting from the rest and rushing straight towards us. We managed to hide behind one of the rocks. I heard the orc ride on his warg, on the rock under which we were hiding.
Thorin nodded to me and Kili to pull out the bow and arrows.
"On three." Kili whispered, to which I just. "Three! " Shouted and we both went out to meet the orc.
I shot the orc straight in the head, just like Kili warg. The orc fell dead, but we still had to finish his warg, which unfortunately caused his moans to echo throughout the valley. I was sure the rest of the horde of orcs had heard him.
"Move! Run! " Gandalf shouted.
We all ran straight after him. The wargs and orcs were right behind us.
One of the orcs had a bow and fired at me. I turned just in time to see the arrow fly right past my head.
I was running just behind Thorin, but suddenly I stumbled and fell.
"Lia! " Kili shouted.
The orc jumped off his warg and swung his sword at me, but I managed to roll over at the last minute, to the side. I got up and cut his leg and cut off his head.
"Lia! Get down! " Kili shouted as I turned toward him.
I bent down and heard an arrow fly just over my head and hit warg. I turned around and finished off the creature, but I didn't notice another orc swinging his sword at me. I probably would have lost my head if it hadn't been for Thorin, who stopped the blow with his sword and pierced the orc through.
"You're okay? " He asked.
"Yes. " I replied. "Thank you. "
"Look out! " Fili shouted.
Three more orcs came. One wanted to cut my legs, but I jumped up and he didn't succeed. I hit him on the head with the end of my sword and swung at another orc who was right behind me. With one move, I pierced it through.
"Malia, look out! " Thorin shouted.
When I turned around, one of the orcs swung a dagger at me and scratched my right shoulder. I felt a burning pain. I fell to the ground and dropped my sword. The orc began to approach me to finish me off, but Kili came to the creature from behind and pierced it through.
"Hands off! " He shouted finishing off the creature. Then he came up to me and helped me get up. "You're okay? "
"Yes, thank you. " I replied.
"Run! " Balin shouted as I reached for my sword.
More orcs were getting closer. We ran after Gandalf, but the creatures began to surround us. Kili and I were shooting at them with bows, but there were too many.
"Where's Gandalf!? " Fili shouted.
"He's abandoned us! " Dwalin shouted back.
"What now? " I looked at Thorin.
The dwarf just wanted to say something, but he was overtaken by Gandalf, who appeared out of nowhere.
"This way you fools!" He shouted.
So we followed him. Only now I notice the passage that was under the rocks. Wizard told us to get there quickly. Kili and I tried to pull the orcs away as long as possible so that the rest of the Company could safely get to the crossing.
"Kili! Malia! " Thorin called us. "Quik!"
We ran to it and with one quick movement we were already in the cave.
For a moment I thought the orcs would get there, but suddenly there was a horn sound. And it wasn't our dwarven horn. I also heard a whistling shot, and the orcs turned back in the other direction. I heard the sounds of fighting, one of the orcs fell to us, to the cave, but fortunately, he was already dead. He got an arrow straight into his heart. However, it was only when I took it out that I could tell who it belonged to.
"Elves. " I said and looked at Thorin.
Oakenshield wanted to say something, but Dwalin called us that he had found a path so we followed him.
***
The road was long and quite narrow, and especially for Bombur, whom we had to help pass from time to time. After a long while, we saw a light announcing that we had finally found a way out. The view I saw was breathtaking. Rivendell, I thought.
Beautiful houses were built on the mountains, like palaces, built in a typical elven style. They were decorated with numerous columns and statues. The settlement had several small towers and numerous terraces and gazebos. The view was improved by beautiful waterfalls. The settlement could be reached through a narrow bridge, which is one of the most recognizable elements of the landscape.
"The Valley of Imladirs. In the common tongue, it's known by another name. Rivendell. Here lies the Last Homely House East of the Sea. " Gandalf pulled me out of my thoughts.
"This was your plan all along. To seek refuge with our enemy." Thoirn said.
I knew that the Oakenshield didn't have much sympathy for the elves, and I wasn't surprised at him. I didn't like them myself, mainly because they left us in need.
"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. " Gandalf replied. "The only one ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself. "
"You think the elves will give our quest their blessing? They'll try to stop us. "
"Of course they'll. But we have questions that need to be answered."
"Thorin's right. " I interjected. "They haven't helped us once... Why would they do it now? "
"Not every elf, my dear..." Gandalf said to me. "It's what you think. In Rivendell lives my old friend, Elrond, who will definitely help us. Who like whom, but he can be trusted one hundred percent. "
Thorin and I exchanged glances.
"If we're to be successful... " Wizard continued. "This'll need to be handled with tact. And respect. And no small degree of charm. Which is why you'll leave the talking to me. "
So we took the bridge to Rivendell. However, despite Gandalf's words, I was still not very convinced of his plan. Of course, I believe and trust our wizard, but... I don't really know. Maybe it's just bad experiences from earlier years. Thorin didn't want to talk about what had happened. I knew it was too painful for him. It seems that my distrust of the elves came with what happened in the past and with Balin's story. Soon we'll find out what these whole elves are like and whether our wizard is actually right.