The Woman Out of Time [1]

Chapter 26: The Bowman

The river finally calms down after we have long lost sight of the orcs. I paddle for shore, unable to take another moment in this godforsaken barrel. I will never look at a barrel the same.

"I think we've outrun the orcs!" Bofur chirps, his hat drooping on his head from the weight of water.

"Not for long. We've lost the current," Thorin states, his eyes surveying the shore. "Make for the shore! Come on, let's go!"

I tip my barrel, almost falling over as I lift myself out of it. I nearly lose my footing as I fall into the shallow water, dragging the barrel behind me as I make for the shore. My clothes sag from the weight of being wet around me. Even my hair loose out of my braids is drenched. I wobble a little as I reach land, swaying from steadiness.

Thanks to the water, I shiver, but I welcome it as I no longer feel ill. I regret that thought as the cold breeze hits me, and I hiss at it. The dwarves join me on the rocky shore, some taking off their boots to release the water within. Everyone looks terrible, soaked and unarmed. There is no food or supplies to go anywhere, but orcs on our tail stopping us from resting.

"On your feet", Thorin orders the others. He looks anxious, being out in the open without supplies and weapons.

"Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding," Fili states in concern, his brother perched on a rock, leg bloody.

"There's an orc pack on our tail. We keep moving," Thorin presses, his tone far from joking.

Balin huffs, pulling himself to stand. "To where?"

"To the mountain. We're so close," Bilbo offers.

"A lake lies between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it."

"So then we go around."

"The orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight. We have no weapons to defend ourselves," Dwalin reasons.

Unsure what to do, Thorin presses his lips, turning to Fili. "Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes."

Hearing this, some of the other dwarves sit down, Ori commencing emptying his boot.

A hand braces on my upper back. "Are you alright?" I flinch in fright, looking over my shoulder to see Thorin.

"Yeah, I'm fine", I answer, turning to gesture to Kili. "His wound will need to be cleaned and bandaged as soon as possible. Binding it isn't going to do," I state, all my studies coming to use.

"We can't afford to delay", Thorin offers, glancing at his nephew with concern. "We will tend to it as soon as we have a moment to rest."

I nod, understanding but still worried about what could happen if Kili's wound gets infected. We turn abruptly with the sound of a bowstring being pulled. A man stands above us on a rock, bow drawn with an arrow pointed at Ori. I'm swept behind Thorin by the King's arm in a blink of an eye. Dwalin jumps in front of Ori with a branch. The arrow is fired, embedding into the branch in front of Dwalin.

Another arrow is fired, a rock being thrown from Kili's hand by its force.

The man reloads his bow. "Do it again, and you're dead", he warns, pointing the arrow between Dwalin and Kili.

Balin approaches the man, his hands held in surrender. "Excuse me, but, uh, you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken?" Balin greets, gesturing to the river. "That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?"

Our eyes divert to the river where, sure enough, there is a boat a little further down at a dock. By the time our eyes have returned to the man, he has lowered his bow, walking in pursuit of the boat. We all look amongst each other, Balin making to follow the bowman, and the others slowly start in pursuit.