"Talisa." The young woman awoke to another morning of Thorin shaking her shoulder to wake her up. Talia groaned before grudgingly opening her eyes. "Talisa, the guards will be here soon, you need to wake up and put the ring on." Thorin whispered.
The Terran got up reluctantly and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "How much time do I have?" she whispered.
"About half an hour." Thorin told her.
Talia was about to slip the ring onto her finger when she realized something. She gave Thorin a look. "Thorin, have you noticed that you're the only one aside from Gandalf who still calls me Talisa?"
Thorin seemed a little taken aback by her question. "I can't say I have." he coolly replied.
The Terran raised her brows. "Well, you know you can call me Talia. It's what my friends call me." Before Thorin could respond to that, the young woman slipped the ring onto her finger, and vanished from his sight.
Talia was making her way into the cellars. It was as she suspected, the Elves were bringing in the leftover wine from the party last night, which could still be going on now for all Talia knew. "We're running out of drink." she heard an Elf say.
"These empty barrels should have been sent to Esgaroth hours ago. The bargeman will be waiting for them." said another Elf. Alright, her plan was beginning to set. All Talia needed now were the keys to the dungeons.
"Say what you like about our ill-tempered king, but he has excellent taste in wine! Come, Elros, try it!" an Elf exclaimed.
"I have the Dwarves in my charge." said the Elf called Elros, holding up a bunch of keys.
The Elf that was facing him scoffed. "They're locked up! Where can they go?"
Talia smirked as the Elves laughed. Luckily for her, the Elves began drinking big gulps of wine. It didn't take long for them to start acting tipsy. The young woman was then able to grab the keys without the Elves even taking notice that they were missing.
The Terran went down to Thorin's dungeon first. Once he was out, she led him to the others. The Dwarves silently cheered when they saw their leader standing with Talia as she let them all out. While Thorin received pats on the shoulder from everyone, Talia received hugs from the younger Dwarves and Balin.
The Dwarves were about to go up the stairs when Talia stopped them. "No, this way." Talia said, and the company began to follow the young woman down the stairs. The Terran had everyone tiptoeing as they made their way to the bottom of the stairs. Talia could see those two Elves who were drinking sitting at the table, and they were passed out drunk.
"I don't believe it! We're in the cellars!" Kili whisper-yelled. Talia turned her head around to see many of the Dwarves narrowing their eyes at her.
"You were supposed to be leading us out, not further in!" Bofur snapped.
"Will you relax? I know what I'm doing!" Talia retorted, causing Bofur to shush her.
Talia led the Dwarves into a large room that contained numerous empty barrels. She turned around to face the company. "Ok, get in the barrels." she whispered.
"What? Are you mad? They'll find us!" Dwalin hissed.
Talia irritatingly shook her head. "No, they won't, I promise! You have to trust me on this!" she insisted. The Dwarves didn't budge, causing Talia to shrug her shoulders.
"Ok, you know what? Fine. You don't wanna get in the barrels? Go back to your cells then! I'll get out of here by myself! You boys can find a way out on your own!" she threatened. The company looked at each other before looking to their leader. Thorin looked at Talia and slightly narrowed his eyes.
"Do as she says!" he commanded.
That did it for them. The Dwarves each climbed into their own barrel. Talia made sure that everyone was in before walking over to a lever. "So, what do we do now?" Bofur asked. The Terran turned around to see the entire company poking their heads out of their barrels, waiting for her next move. Talia smirked and raised her brows.
"Hold your breath." she said cheekily, and pulled the lever.
"Hold my breath? What do you me-" Bofur started, but then the barrels started moving down as the floor opened up to reveal a ramp that led into the river. Talia cringed a little as she could hear the Dwarves screaming and splashing into the water. She smiled to herself as the ramp closed. She had done it. They made it out of the cellars.
"Where is the keeper of the keys?" she heard a voice shout. Talia's moment of satisfaction was short-lived, as she now had to figure out how to get herself out of the cellars. She could hear the footsteps of the guards getting closer as she began to jump on the ground, trying to find the ramp's tipping point. Talia was backing away slowly as she heard the Elves coming into the cellars. That was when she could feel the floor opening, and she began to slide down the ramp.
The young woman screamed as she fell into the river. The water was freezing, and she could feel her muscles tensing immediately after making contact with it. Talia made her way to the surface to feel someone grab her arms. Nori then took her hands and placed them on the edge of his barrel.
"Well done, Talisa!" she could hear Thorin's voice from the front. She turned her head towards him and waved him off. "Come on, let's go!" Thorin shouted. Talia was kicking as Nori and the others paddled through the river with their hands. The Terran's eyes widened as she saw rapids ahead. "HOLD ON!" Thorin bellowed.
Talia held on to Nori's barrel as tight as she could. She could feel the force of the current that nearly made her let go. She forced herself to not let out any air as the current dragged her down. When the rapids lightened up a little, she pulled herself back up to the surface, and she could hear Nori screaming her name.
The company continued to trail down the river and they were approaching the gate. But, that was when Talia heard a horn sounding off. She looked up ahead to see that an Elf guard was approaching some lever. He was closing the gate.
The young woman could hear Thorin shouting, as he was the first to run into the gate. The rest of the company was not far behind, and soon, they were all gathered at the gate, stopped. Talia could see the guards drawing their weapons, when she suddenly saw one Elf drop down dead. There was an arrow in his back. And then Talia looked up to see an Orc growling at them.
The company began to shout and scream as the Orcs started coming at them. Talia immediately drew her dagger and stabbed any Orcs that were within her arm's reach. She pulled her dagger out of an Orc's neck when she heard Fili call out for his brother.
Talia turned around to see Kili standing right in front of the lever that opened the gate. And there was an arrow sticking out of his leg. "Oh my God." she choked. Kili. The young woman felt a sting in her eyes as he collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. Talia's breathing increased as more Orcs seemed to appear out of nowhere.
But then she saw many of them falling down dead. Talia turned around to see the redhead, Tauriel, shooting down as many Orcs as she could, along with Thranduil's son. Then she could feel the barrels starting to move. The Terran looked to see that Kili had managed to get up and pull the lever. The current was pulling them through the gate.
"Kili!" Fili shouted once more. Talia saw that Kili managed to jump into his barrel, the arrow snapping as he landed. The young woman felt her heart pounding out of worry for her friend as they made their way out. However, she would soon become distracted with staying afloat in the rapids ahead.
Talia was vaguely aware of the fighting happening all around her. She was able to see weapons of the Orcs being tossed and passed around amongst the Dwarves, but the water always rushed over her face before she could see anything else that was happening.
Though she was a decent swimmer, all Talia could focus on was keeping her grip on Nori's barrel. The currents were dragging her both forward and down at an incredibly swift pace, and she could faintly feel the pressure of her legs hitting rocks, and other kinds of debris in the river. Occasionally she would get pulled under the water, but would rise back up before her lungs could scream for oxygen.
It seemed like it took forever, yet seconds before they were in the clearing of the Orcs and Elves. The current had slowed down, and Talia had managed to grab an empty barrel and kick her legs the rest of the way. They were finally out of the woods on this one.
"Anything behind us?" Thorin called.
"Not that I can see!" Balin answered.
"I think we've outrun the Orcs!" Bofur exclaimed.
"Not for long, we've lost the current!" Thorin countered.
"Bombur's half drowned!" Dwalin said. Talia gave a tired laugh when she saw Bofur come up from his barrel, spitting out a stream of water.
"Make for the shore!" Thorin commanded.
Talia let go of her barrel and began swimming towards the shore. She could see Thorin getting out of his barrel and making for a shallow part of the river. He stood the furthest out to make sure everyone made it. However, the rocks must have been slippery, because Thorin slipped on them and landed in the deeper part of the river.
The young woman widened her eyes when she didn't see Thorin coming back up. She heard Dwalin calling out his name, and her heart began racing when she realized none of the Dwarves could swim.
With a deep breath, Talia dove under the water to see that Thorin was sinking to the bottom of the river, which Talia estimated to be what she considered to be about eight feet deep. She could see him struggling to get back up to the surface. The Terran propelled her arms down further and managed to grab Thorin's wrist.
She used whatever strength she had left to pull Thorin back up to the surface. She kicked as hard as she could, despite her legs feeling like noodles from kicking the long distance down the river. When they broke the surface, Talia sucked in as much air as she could, calling out for Dwalin.
The warrior was there instantly to help take Thorin's weight off Talia, pulling his friend out of the water. As a result of using all the strength she had left, all Talia could do was float on her back in the water to catch her breath. She could faintly hear Thorin coughing up water, and then the footsteps of Bofur as he reached out to pull her out of the river.
"Are you alright, lassie?" Bofur asked with concern. The young woman nodded as the hatted Dwarf sat her up against a rock. Talia could see Balin and Dwalin at Thorin's side as he was catching his breath. He was looking around every which way.
"What happened?" the Dwarf king asked.
Balin gave a laugh of relief. "That little lass is stronger than her slender body leads us all to believe! She saved you from drowning, laddie!" Balin exclaimed, giving Thorin a pat on the shoulder.
The Dwarf king looked over at Talia with wide eyes. The young woman stared back, still trying to gain feeling back in her body. "You?" he asked, still appearing to be in shock.
Talia raised her brows and smiled. "Yeah, me. So am I your favorite person in the world now?" she lightly joked, bringing a chuckle from the others.
The young woman furrowed her brows when he didn't respond. Despite the cold she felt from being soaked, she could actually feel a heat rising in her cheeks. "Ok. You're still staring at me." she told him awkwardly. Thorin blinked, as if he didn't realize how much he was gawking at her. Immediately snapping out of his state, Thorin was up off the ground in an instant.
"On your feet!" he commanded.
"Uncle, Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding." Fili said. Talia immediately turned her head towards Kili. Her adrenaline had been rushing through her so fast that she'd forgotten that he got shot. He didn't look too beaten up, but he did look a little paler than usual.
"There's an Orc pack on our tail! We keep moving!" Thorin said, causing Balin to scoff.
"To where?" he argued.
The Terran narrowed her eyes. "To the mountain, we're so close." she said.
"A lake lies between us and that mountain, we have no way to cross it." Balin told her.
"Ok, so then we go around it." Talia said.
"The Orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight. We have no weapons to defend ourselves." Dwalin countered.
Talia widened her eyes when she realized that Dwalin was correct. The Dwarves had all their weapons taken from them when they were imprisoned in Mirkwood. Talia was the only one who had weapons...and she hardly knew how to use them. Aside from stabbing, she was clueless. How was the company supposed to get out of this one?
"Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes." Thorin said.
The young woman crawled her way over to Kili as Fili and Bofur began to bind his leg. Fili tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve and slowly began to wrap Kili's leg with it. Kili moaned in pain and was trying his best to stay still. Talia put an arm around his shoulders. "Here, squeeze my hand." she told him, weaving her fingers through his.
Talia couldn't help but admire how much of a trooper Kili was. He held in what Talia thought were probably shouts of pain, and when he squeezed her hand, he seemed to be mindful of his grip. There were only a couple of times when his grip made Talia feel like he was crushing her hand. When it was over, the Terran drew Kili into a hug, which he gratefully returned. "Thank you." he said quietly.
Talia let go and beamed at him. "Hey, what are friends for? You don't have to thank me."
Before Kili could respond, the company heard something in the bushes. They all turned to see a tall man armed with a bow and arrows...and he was aiming an arrow straight for Ori. Dwalin immediately stood in front of the young Dwarf with a branch in his hands. The man shot the branch instantly, along with the rock that Kili was about to throw at him. They were defenseless.
"Do it again, and you're dead." he warned, aiming another arrow.
"Excuse me, but, you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken?" Balin asked with his hands up. "That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?" the older Dwarf asked.
The tall man came out of the glare of the sun, and headed back over to his barge. He had dark, shoulder-length hair, and had an overall grim appearance. From what Talia could see, he looked like a human. He was only a little shorter than Gandalf, and he didn't have pointy ears like an Elf. He had to be a human.
"What makes you think I will help you?" he asked.
"Those boots have seen better days, as has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?" Balin asked.
The Man smirked. "A boy and two girls." he said.
"And your wife, I'd imagine, she's a beauty." Balin said.
"Aye, she was."
Balin frowned at this. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"Oh come on, come on, enough with the niceties." Dwalin interrupted.
"What's your hurry?" the Man asked.
"What's it to you?" Dwalin retorted.
"I would like to know who you are, and what you are doing in these lands." the Man said.
"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains, journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills." Balin elaborated.
"Simple merchants you say?" the Man challenged, not seeming to be buying it.
"We need food, supplies, weapons. Can you help us?" Thorin asked.
The Man was about to respond when he spotted Talia. "Why do you have a woman with you?" he asked.
Talia raised her brows. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she snapped.
The Man raised his own eyebrows and turned to Thorin with clear suspicion. "She's feisty...and also not your kin. Care to explain why any Dwarf would think it wise to bring a strange lass on such a long, dangerous journey?" he asked.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I'm still here, in case you just went blind all of a sudden. And who are you to say I can't keep up with the men? What are you, a sexist?" Talia challenged.
The young woman said no more when she felt a rough hand grab her shoulder. Talia turned her head to glare lightly at Dwalin, a look which he returned. She could see in Dwalin's eyes that he pretty much wanted the same thing as her, but was telling her to calm down for the sake of getting across the lake.
The Man narrowed his eyes at Talia, and said no more on the subject as to why she was here. Instead, he turned his focus on the barrels that were loaded onto the barge. "I know where these barrels came from." he said, causing Thorin to cock an eyebrow.
"What of it?" he challenged.
The Man smirked. "I don't know what business you had with the Elves, but I don't think it ended well. No one enters Laketown but by leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He will see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil."
Talia thought the Man was going to reject them, but then she saw Thorin mouth to Balin to offer him more. "I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen." Balin said.
The Man smirked once more. "Aye. But for that, you will need a smuggler." he told him.
"For which we will pay double!" Balin offered. The Man froze and stared at Balin. Talia could see in his eyes that this was an offer he couldn't refuse. The next thing she knew, the company was on the barge, and crossing the lake.