A Single Dream is More Powerful Than a Thousand Realities

Trees and Wargs

WARNING: Violence in this chapter (though just how violent it is is debatable):

Thorin elected to maintain camp for the day to allow the company the rest they'd been deprived of thanks to their unfortunate encounter. No one objected to the small reprieve, especially Lyla. Her torso ached fiercely from being handled so roughly by the trolls and though she was fairly certain no lasting damage had been inflicted, she was grateful to rest her weary body. Each breath she took ached within her chest and the thought of marching through dense foliage or riding a horse that would jostle you about certainly turned her stomach sour.
That being said, though, Lyla was not anxious to remain in the company of one Thorin Oakenshield. That pompous, self-righteous...blasted dwarf. Lyla watched the other dwarves hunting for the troll hoard that Gandalf had reminded them to search for, while she elected to remain behind. She didn't care for treasure hunting anyway (ironic since she was hired to burgle treasure from a bloody dragon). Sitting in the shade of a rather imposing tree, the horses lazily rooting for grass to consume, Lyla scrunched her face up in annoyance as her mind replayed the horrid humiliation.
Thorin's words had sufficiently embarrassed and shamed her in front of the entire company. And she still didn't believe she deserved such a tongue lashing. Least of all in front of people who already held a stiff suspicion towards. And had she been more Took in that moment, Thorin might has received a similar condescension and malice laced within her retort. However, the Baggins side-the ever proper and peace-abiding heritage running through her veins-deemed it best to remain silent.
Lyla was regretting that choice right now.
It had been at least a few hours and the majority of the company had given her a wide berth, as though she were as inferior as Thorin deemed her to be. She did feel the pitying gazes of the two princes, though they too kept their distance. Bofur, however, remained completely unruffled by the events and determined it his personal mission to elicit a smile from her lips.
It was all for naught though. Lyla was in no mood to smile and soon enough even Bofur wandered away in search of treasure.
And so that left Lyla sitting under a tree, alone and conflicted. Her stomach clenched in knots that seemed ever-present lately. The stinging pain of loneliness pricked at her making her frown deepen on her face. She just didn't understand the malice and contempt that Thorin held for her. It was ridiculous really, and yet he continued to show a complete lack of respect for her presence. It appeared that she was neither needed nor wanted by the great king under the mountain and the only reason she was on this daunting quest was because of the word of a wizard.
"Confusticate blasted gammy wizards," she grumbled closing her eyes, blocking out the painful throb in her torso.
As soon as her eyes closed, exhaustion overtook her senses. All the adrenaline having finally worn off, and her anger and wounded pride subsiding, Lyla started to slip into a peaceful slumber beneath the tree surrounded by the soft noises of horses grazing.
What she didn't notice, however, was the pair of watchful eyes, gazing at her slumped and resting form. The eyes, which belonged to a very observant dwarf narrowed suspiciously as he watched the young hobbit wince whenever they moved.
Lyla didn't know how long she had slept, but suddenly rough hands were upon her shaking vigorously. With a hiss of pain she opened here eyes to the frantic gaze of Bofur.
"On yer feet laddie, we have to get moving," He remarked, his usual cheerful demeanor exchanged for a harried and haggard appearance. Worry spiked in Lyla's chest, as she slowly got to her feet, hissing at the movements.
"What's happened?" she murmured, her voice low and pained, noticing the dwarves scuttling about packing their belongings in a hasty manner.
"Kili spotted wargs a few leagues away. We need to leave this place. Quickly," Bofur eyed her carefully, his eyes assessing her face. "Are ye alright lad?" He questioned quietly.
Lyla was suddenly defensive. Though this wasn't Thorin's demanding presence hounding her with questions, she wasn't too keen on letting anyone in the company know about her pain. With her current status as an 'unwanted member' of the company, she half expected Thorin to leave her behind if he found out. Dramatic as that sounded, she was hesitant to risk anything.
"I'm fine," she replied (though the bindings around her chest dug painfully into her skin and the throbbing pain in her torso only continued). "Just a little sore is all. It's been a long night."
"Aye it has laddie." Bofur didn't sound convinced, but he didn't question her further, "Let's get a move on then shall we?"
Lyla nodded and helped to collect that rest of her belongings and loaded them onto Myrtle's back and hastily mounted as the rest of the company did the same.
"Try and stay on your guard," Thorin remarked, facing the company, "We know not how many scouts may be out there and we can't risk alerting an entire part of hunters upon us." He shot Lyla a pointed look and she felt her cheeks flush slightly.
The nerve of that dwarf!
Unfortunately, they didn't need to remain on their guard. A deep, bone-chilling howl filled the air as a monstrous beast leapt at Dori, who had yet to get on his speckled pony, pinning him underneath two large brown paws. Kili and Thorin quickly dismounted, followed by Nori and Bofur, attacking the beast and pulling Dori to safety. At the same time, a second black beast descended upon the group, this time aimed at Balin, though Dwalin was quick to leap on the back of the beast before it could tackle his brother, burying his large battle axe in the monster's skull. Lyla's stomach rolled as she stared in shock at the large beasts and sheer ferocity that the dwarves exhibited as they attacked. The best Lyla could do in the situation was grip Myrtle's reins to try and steady the quaking creature.
"Warg scouts," Thorin muttered darkly pulling his sword (something Lyla had never seen him wield before now) from the warg's back, "Which means an orc pack is not far behind."
Orc pack?! Oh this was...
Simply lovely.
"We must move. And move quickly," Gandalf admonished, grabbing the reins of his gelding.
No one moved, probably due to confused panic. Or at least that's what Lyle felt.
"Move!" Gandalf bellowed and at his admonishment, the ponies took off by their own volition, nearly knocking Lyla to the ground in surprise.
Thankfully, Myrtle was a sure-footed creature. She quickly navigated through the thick underbrush of the forest, avoiding large stones and roots, following Gandalf's figure, making up the rear of the company along with Bofur and his dark mare. But no matter how quickly they were moving through the trees, howling followed after them, getting ever louder. Lyla tightened her grip on the rein and chanced a glance behind her, her eyes widening in panic as she spotted three dark shadows weaving through the dense foliage, getting closer and closer to their party. One in particular, was nipping at Bofur's heels, though the kind dwarf did not notice.
To Lyla's horror the beast following Bofur seemed to gain a burst of adrenaline and suddenly leapt towards the dwarf and his pony. The warg landed with precision on top of the two knocking Bofur off his mount and pushing the pony far from him.
"Bofur!" Lyla shouted, yanking her reins to stop Myrtle's movement. She had to do something.
Urging Myrtle towards the scene (though the pony resisted) Lyla quickly grabbed the scruff of the stunned dwarf's coat and yanked him up with all the strength she could muster. Her ribs groaned in protest and spots danced before her eyes, but she refused to let go. She refused to give up her friend to the snapping jowls of that...that beast.
Thankfully, her touch seemed to pull Bofur from his stupor for he quickly grabbed onto the pommel of the saddle and hoisted himself in front of Lyla, grabbing the reins and turning the pony around (his own having bolted after the warg collision). With shaking hands, Lyla clutched onto Bofur's tattered jacket and buried her face into his back, her heart hammering in her chest and her breathing coming out in short gasps. The heady scent of wood smoke and sweat laced her senses and she willed her hear to stop hammering so. She prayed they'd make it past any further attacks.
Luck, however, was not on her side.
Just as they broke the tree line and were swiftly catching up to the rest of the company, a large snarling warg pounced in front of them, sending Myrtle reeling back and throwing Lyla and Bofur to the ground. The startled creature, freed of its burden, darted back into the trees, completely ignored by the warg. No it seemed the creature preferred a hobbit and a dwarf over pony flesh. Lyla scrambled slowly to her feet, sweat pouring off her brow as the pain in her chest increased by the sudden descent to the ground. She back into Bofur who quickly pushed her behind him, pulling out his mattock and gripping the handle tightly.
To her horror and dismay a second and third warg jumped down from the high rocks ensconced on either side of the tree line, their snarls and snapping filling the air around the two.
The wargs had cut them off from the company.
"Mahal help us," Bofur murmured, his grip tightening on his mattock. There was no way past the beasts, except through fight. However, Lyla was unarmed and a vulnerability to such a plan. They needed a distraction.
Lyla's eyes narrowed in thought as she and Bofur slowly backed up towards the forest once more.
The forest.
Trees!
"Bofur, we have to climb!" Lyla whispered fiercely, "If we can get into the trees, maybe we can hold them off until the others come for us."
Bofur didn't say anything, but the sharp nod of his head suggested he agreed with her hasty plan. Taking a deep breath Lyla glanced at the distance between herself and the nearest tree. Only a few feet. She could make it.
They could make it.
"Bofur now!" She shouted and the pair took off towards the tall pine, as the snarls and snaps of the wargs followed closely behind. Bofur grabbed Lyla's wrist and thrust her upward as he too jumped into the branches. Thankfully, hobbits were excellent climbers. Lyla quickly ascended to the topmost portion of the tree, keeping a wary eye on the scene below, with Bofur quickly coming up behind her, panting heavily.
"Quick thinking laddie," He remarked, patting Lyla's shoulder. Lyla would have smile or remarked but her senses were so jumbled and shaking that she could hardly string two words together anymore. She elected nodding her head and resting it against the bark of the tree base, gasping for breath.
Beneath them, the wargs howled and jumped trying to get to the top where Lyla and Bofur sat. The branches beneath them snapped and bent to the abuse the three monstrosities inflicted on the tree. Their weight pounding against the tree shook the entire plant, jostling Lyla and Bofur. But try as they might, the creatures could not reach.
The relief she felt swelling in her heart, however, was short lived. The abuse the three monsters were inflicting upon the tree, weakened the roots. Slowly the tree began to tilt at an odd angle. Lyla's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.
Then she heard it. The guttural sounds of darks speech seeped into the howls of the wargs.
The orcs had found them and there was still no sign of Thoring, Gandalf and the rest.
They were alone.
"We have to jump master Baggins," Bofur's harried voice whispered in her ear.
Nodding as dread filled, her, Lyla steadied herself for the moment when their tree connected with another. As the top most branches collided with the tree nearest to them, the jolt sent Lyla sprawling towards the lower branches, her movements unsteady and her vision unfocused. Her grip slipped and Bofur shouted her name (or rather Bilbo's)as she felt the wind rush past her.

Blast.