The trek up the mountains was almost treacherous. The uneven terrain of many loose rocks made it hard to keep an even rapid pace. To make things worse, the pathway only got narrower and narrower and the clouds looked heavy with rain. The restless travel upwards had destroyed the happy little aura of the forest and most of the dwarves went back to their 'we hate this useless mutt' mood. Bilbo's big feet didn't grant him much comfort since he kept tripping on loose rocks.
The higher they got, the narrower the path. Amaris had shifted to a wolf's shape for fear that her human height might throw her off balance. A few hours ago it had stated to rain, just a light drizzle, then it got wetter and harder, the air got colder. And now it came down in tidal waves. Amaris felt absolutely miserable, the rain was constantly blurring her vision, her paws ached from the uneven and sharp rocks. The rain had soaked through her fur and it now hung heavily from her shivering frame adding weight to her already sore muscles. Everything hurt, her paws hurt, her legs hurt, her back hurt, her sides hurt, her eyes stung from the constant rain, her teeth hurt from the cold weather. Hell, even her tail hurt.
"I regret leaving my bed," she growled under her breath. The unhappy grumbling was drowned out in the constant lightning and shouting from the dwarves.
"Alright, hold on!" Yells Thorin from the front of the group.
"What do you think we are trying to do?" She barked, literally. She bowed her head against the strong gust of wind just as Bilbo, who was behind her, slipped and almost fell. She quickly spun around and pushed him back to the rock wall with her muzzle. He was about to thank her when Dwalin shouted.
"LOOK OUT!" He bellowed as a gigantic boulder crashed from who knows were onto the mountain side. Amaris quickly shifted and pressed her back against the wall as to not to be crushed.
"This is no thunderstorm!" Exclaimed Balin, "It's a thunder-battle! Look!" He pointed to the adjacent mound of rock that was somehow moving on its own. "Well bless me. The legends are true! Giants! Stone Giants!" The moving mound of rock got up, taking the from of a human-like shape and threw a rock at the mountain side again.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Amaris shouted. What really angered her was the fact that there was no provocation at all. The giants just woke up and decided it'd be fun to bash each-other's heads in. "What, do they do this every Tuesday!?" She spat as she struggled not die by falling or being crushed by a billion ton boulder.
The fight between the colossal rock mounds ended up in half of the company, including Kili, Bofur and Bilbo, almost getting smashed against the mountain. Amaris admitted that her heart stopped for a moment and would be lying if she said she hand not fought to be the first one after Thorin in racing towards them, in wolf form since it was less likely that she would slip. She gave a heavy sigh of relief when they were all alright. She had miscounted.
"We're alright! We're alive!" Reassured Balin over the howling weather.
"Were is Bilbo? Were is the hobbit?" Asked Bofur and the company searched frantically. Fearing the worst, Amaris leapt over to the edge and looked down. There he was.
"Bilbo!" She yelped horrified, "Over here, you numskulls!" She turned and barked to the dwarves who could't understand her but recognized her bark and came over as well.
"Get him!" Hollered Thorin as Bofur threw himself on his stomach and reached down. Amaris couldn't reach him even if she transformed and paced the edge nervously.
"Take my hand! Bilbo! Come on and take it!" Urged Bofur accompanied by Amaris's anxious barking along with a few worried whines. When Bilbo took it and Bofur began to pull him up Thorin swung down to help as Amaris reached down and clamped her jaws on the back of his coat and tugged upwards, almost falling down herself. She mustered all of her strength and reared her head backwards and Bilbo tumbled onto the path in front of her. While the others sat down panting, she nuzzled him worriedly to check for injuries.
"I thought we had lost our burglar," panted Dwalin. The soaked wolf huffed in agreement after concluding that her little bunny remained unscathed of any serious injury.
"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place among us," Thorin sneered down at the little hobbit who was visibly hurt by the dwarf's comment. Amaris stood in defense of her little friend by lifting her head and snarling at Thorin and snapping her jaws at him. This wasn't like petty little irritable growls she had given given him before. She had her head leveled and steady, hackles raised and there was a glinting of white as her teeth made a small appearance. She glared at him with her burning mismatched eyes that glowed in the darkness.
"And neither do you!" He snarled right back at the wolf. The canid loosened her attack pose and hid her teeth. She was still glaring at him, but there was a twinge of hurt in her eyes. He turned with an angry grunt and shouted to Dwalin before making his way into the cave. The wolf gently nudged the hobbit up and towards it.
They inspected the cave throughly to satisfy Thorin's paranoia of unknown crevices in these mountains and finally settled. Amaris switched back to human and wrung the rainwater out of her curly red hair.
"Right! Let's get a fire started!" Gloin rubbed him hands together but the idea was shot down by Thorin.
"Get some sleep, we start at first light,"
"But we are supposed to wait for Gandalf in the mountains until he joins us. That was the plan," argues Balin.
"Plans change," he responded as he shot a nasty look at the only female, "Bofur, take the first watch," he commanded. Bofur looked deflated at this news but nonetheless nodded and wandered over to the mouth of the cave. Amaris felt bad for him.
"I'll take it Bofur. You almost died ten minutes ago, get some rest," she suggested softly. The dwarf almost crumbled down to the floor in relief and thanked her endlessly. She sat up on and rock and caught Thorin lift his lip to sneer at her. She did the same in a mocking fashion and everything went quiet.
A few minutes later, when evryone had gone to sleep, Bilbo carefully packed his things and set out to the mouth of the cave. Amaris faked being asleep.
"Hey there little bunny," she whispered and Bilbo jumped in surprise, "were are you going this time of night?" She asked curiously. He turned to her with a pained expression.
"Back to Rivendell," he breathed, there was a sharp tug of her heart.
"And why is that? You're part of the company," she tried to reason.
"I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right. I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. I should've never run out the door," he looked down looking depressed. The tug on her heart tightened, Bilbo then turned up to her with hopeful eyes, "you can come with me," her heart shattered.
"Bilbo," she uttered painfully.
"Thorin won't be disappointed that we're gone, surely some of the others will but," he looked guilty, "they-they'll get over it," Amaris sighed and looked over to the dwarves, both unaware that Thorin was listening intently.
"Bilbo, I cant," she whispered, the hobbit looked very depressed now, "I wont leave these dwarves just because some grumbling bastard of a King says I have no place among them. But i wont stop you if you wish to leave, that is your choice," he looked at her with gratefulness and admiration. "I wish you all the luck in the world," she bowed her head and Bilbo did in return. But in doing so she noticed something odd.
"What's that?" She asked, the hobbit looked down, his sword was glowing blue. Seconds after, there was a soft hissing sound and the floor burst open just as Thorin started to shout at them all to wake up. The floor turned into a twisting slide down, Bombur being the first and Amaris being the last. The dwarves had all fallen onto a pile at the end just before Amaris let out a short cry and landed on top of them.
Amaris's head spun out of control from the loop-ti-loop slide down and there was pain in her lower back from the shock of her fall. She groaned and tried to lift her head as she groggily opened her eyes half-way. Bad idea.
The horrifically disfigured face of a goblin came into view. It was leering down at her with an evil smile giving off a repugnant smell. It was three inches away from her. Her head snapped up as well as her eyes open as she screamed crawling backwards onto the mound of dwarves kicking it repetitively in the face with her boot.
It wasn't long before a hole swarm of goblins rained down on them and pulled them up and down a path into goblin-town. All but the little Bilbo, who was left on all fours on the floor. The rest of the company however, was viciously manhandled towards a throne of sorts. And atop it, sat the biggest, and ugliest goblin Amaris had ever seen. She almost threw up in her mouth. The goblin king got off his throne and sneered down at the company.
"Who would be so bold as to come armed into my kingdom?" He studied them "Spies? Thieves? Assassins?" Each word came out more and more paranoid and panicked than the last. Amaris sighed heavily at him with a 'Gods please help me' look.
"Dwarves my liege," answered one of the goblins.
"Dwarves?" The goblin King fake guessed again as if he hadn't heard the other abomination. He studied them for a moment, "Search them," he commanded.
They obeyed and searched the company, casting every weapon they possessed within reach way from them. Amaris looked longingly at her sword near Thorin's at the Great Goblin's feet.
"What are you doing in these parts? Speak!" They remained silent. The Goblin King then noticed Amaris. I mean she wasn't hard to miss, she stood out like a beanpole in the middle of the company.
"Ive never seen a dwarf quite so tall, and who would you be, Pretty thing?"
Amaris. Gagged.
"Very well, if they will not talk, we'll make them squawk! Bring up the mangler, bring up the bone breaker! Start with the female!" he pointed his large staff over to her over the riot the other Goblins were causing.
"Wait!" Oh great, now Thorin is going to get himself killed because of her.
The goblin king seemed pleasantly surprised at Thorin making his way up front.
"Well, well, well! Look who it is! Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, king under the mountain,"
he did a mock bow, witch made Amaris's blood boil for a reason. The King then erected himself and spoke again. "Oh! But I'm forgetting you don't have mountain, and you're not a king. Which makes you, nobody really" She struggled against her will of biting his head off "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head. Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A pale orc astride a white warg," Thorin looked horrified.
"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago," Thorin declared forcefully. The Goblins laughed.
"So you think his defiling days are done, do you?" He turned to the goblin scribe on his little swing.
"Send word to the pale orc, tell him I have found his prize," he then turned back to Thorin, "in the meantime, what to do with you," he grinned cruelly down at Thorin. That was it. Amaris let out a deep, fearsome growl that emitted from her human throat. But what she didn't anticipate was that the growl would echo throughout goblintown, blowing it out of proportion and even scaring her for a moment. Suddenly, the goblin king was no longer smug.
"W-What was that? Who's there?! Show yourselves," paranoia returned to his voice witch was heavily strangled by fear. Amaris got an idea. She smirked as she growled again and the Great Goblin tumbled backwards onto his throne whimpering. The dwarves too were searching for the source of the noise since Amaris kept her mouth closed when growling.
"Lass?" Asked Balin discreetly as he saw that she was not looking around fearfully. She winked down at him and continued to growl as she walked slowly towards her sword past Thorin.
"Were are they? Were are they?!" Squeaked the Great Goblin cowering on his throne. Just then, Amaris lunged for her sword and cut off one of Great Goblin's toes. He howled in pain just as a bright flash of light emitted out of nowhere and then Gandalf was there.
"Take up arms! Fight! Fight!" He shouts.
"Oh so now he decides to show up," she growled as she picked up Thorin's sword and tossed it to him, "Catch!" She called, witch he did and proceeded to slay the filth that came his way. Gandalf ushered them to follow him and they fought their way through the seam of goblins at a fast pace. Then the goblin king appeared, blocking their path.
"You thought you could escape me!" He pushed Gandalf and the dwarves back "What are you going to do now, wizard?"
Suddenly Amaris pushed past Gandalf and stabbed the towering filth in the eye using Gandalf's staff, then using her sword to cut opens his belly. The great goblin falls to his knees on the bridge and looks at Gandalf, who was beaming at the smug female.
"That'll do it," he grunted, a bit embarrassed as Amaris used her sword to slit the great goblin's throat, and as he dies, he falls. Breaking the bridge and plunging the company and Gandalf into the deep cavern below. Amaris held on the the wooden structure as it splintered down. Miraculously, they all survived the fall as they land gently on the cave's ground below. Amaris was quickly pulled from the wreckage by Gandalf.
"Well that could have been worse," commented Bofur.
Crash! The body of the dead Goblin king crashed on top of the wreak.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin exclaimed. Amaris fell down and was now gripping her stomach rocking back and forth in laughter. Gandalf chuckled at his 'niece' and helped them up. Just then Kili happened to look up and caught a horrific sight.
"Gandalf!" The wizard and the woman looked up to see goblins swarming downwards like spiders.
"There's too many, we can't fight them!" Warned Dwalin.
"Only one thing will save us; Daylight! Come on!" Gandalf lead the race out of the Goblin cave. Amaris sprinted away like there was no tomorrow. Taking full advantage of her longer legs to pass by the dwarves wizzing by her. They finally made it out to light and they stoped to catch their breath in a ring of trees as the sun set on the horizon. As the company sprang out, Gandalf began the count them.
"Six, seven, eight, nine. Bifur, Bofur, that's eleven. Fili, Kili, that's thirteen. And Amaris, that makes fourteen. Where's Bilbo? Where is our hobbit? Where is our hobbit?!" He looked around worriedly.
Amaris snapped head head up. Bilbo was missing. How had she not noticed?
"Curse that Halfling! Now he's lost! I thought he was with Dori!" growled Gloin.
"Don't blame me!" the mother hen defended himself.
"And where did you last see him?" Gandalf turned to Amaris without directly addressing her. She was still panting with her hands on her knees and shook her head.
"I think I saw him slip away when they first collared us," explained Bofur, Gandalf then turned to said dwarf.
"What happened exactly? Tell me!" urged the wizard but it was Thorin who answered.
"I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our hobbit again, he is long gone," he raved angrily.
"Oh, shove it down a hole just once, would you Thorin," Amaris growled, still panting, "He isn't gone," she spat.
"Gone? Me? Not yet," piped a small familiar voice.
"Bilbo Baggins! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life," praised Gandalf. The little hobbit nodded and glanced at Amaris.
"Hey there little bunny," she whispered with a smile just for the both of them to hear. The dwarves also praised him, but when the question of how he escaped the Goblins came up, he looked quite uncomfortable. This seemed to earn suspicion from Gandalf.
"Oh, what does it matter? He's back," said Gandalf dismissively.
"It matters," argued Thorin, who turned to the hobbit, "I want to know. Why did you come back?" he asked. There was a moment of silence, then Bilbo proceeded to give a small speech about how he wanted to help them reclaim their home. At the end of it he smiled at Amaris who beamed at him.
But to her surprise, everyone was now facing her as well. Why? She had no clue, that is until Thorin spoke up.
"And why do you stay, Wolven Warrior?" Asked Thorin. Well there was a shock. All that came to her mind was Gandalf saying that she was coming along wethere they liked it or not. But she doubted they would take 'he told me to' for an answer. She took a deep breath to speak but immediately stoped.
They were no longer alone.
She turned to face the forest uphill and growled.
"Warg riders,"
End of chapter six