A Shot in the Dark (Thilbo - Bagginshield)

Chapter 14

In another lifetime, when he had sat down to write his story, Bilbo had recalled his journey through Mirkwood with a weary sort of fondness. It had been a dreadful thing to go through at the time for sure; starving, giant spiders, cold Elves, and a barrel ride down a raging river was not exactly a vacation. But later, after they had gotten out alive and the rush of blood had died down, he looked back and felt a sort of pride at what he had managed to accomplish. Later he even thought of taking on the forest for a second time; confident and cocky that he could handle anything it threw at him now.

He was wrong.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, WRONG! I was so very wrong, I hate this place; hate it, hate it, hate it! Bilbo chanted to himself, trying not to trip over a tree root for the fifth time in twenty minutes.

They had been in the woods for not even a day and the Hobbit already hated it. He hated the towering trees that tangled into each other and blocked the sunlight from him. He hated the trail that twisted and turned through fallen trees and overgrown vegetation. He hated the black squirrels that watched them go with beady little eyes that looked far too intelligent to him. He hated the unknown sounds that echoed around them and made them all jump and search for a source only to find none. He hated the cobwebs that stretched from tree to tree in thick, dark wads that hung teasingly overhead. But the thing he hated most was the knowledge of the many eyes that watched them as they trudged through the forest.

"You look very angry," Bofur noted as he leaned forward to get a better look at the Hobbit. "What's wrong?"

"I hate this place," Bilbo answered simply. "I hate these trees, I hate these squirrels, I hate these cobwebs, and I absolutely hate these stupid tree roots that keep tripping me!"

Bofur slowly moved back from him. "Um, I'm sorry to hear that? Do you... Do you want to walk behind me? I can trip first and warn you."

Bilbo sighed and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, don't worry about me. I just need time to adjust to this stupid forest. I'll be fine then."

Bofur nodded but still looked concern as he returned to his spot in line. They all walked in a single file with Thorin leading them and Dwalin bringing up the end. It was a slow and silent walk as the forest made not only Bilbo on edge, but everyone else as well. He could see how tense and guarded all the others were from the carefree Kili to the high-strung Dori. No one felt safe in Mirkwood.

It grew worse when the sun went down, and the entire forest became pitch-black. The small fire they made did little to pierce the darkness around them, and it did nothing to hide the red and green eyes that stared out at them from all around.

"Do you think they'll attack us?" Ori whispered from where he was huddled between his brothers. For once he did not seem to mind Nori's arm around his shoulders, or the cloak that Dori had bundled him in.

"Doubtful. If so then they would have done it by now," growled Dwalin as he glared up at the eyes.

"We'll take turns on watch, so nothing surprises us," added Thorin as he calmly looked over Orcrist.

Ori relaxed slightly but continued to glance up nervously at the eyes watching them. Across from him, Fili and Kili were doing much the same only their eyes looked curious. They were clustered together between Dwalin and Balin and were holding a whispered conversation as they took turns staring at the unknown eyes around them.

Bilbo honestly didn't know who the many eyes belonged to—Elf or beast, he really didn't care—but he kept his eye on the pale and round orbs that would occasionally appear. He had no interest in fighting giant spiders again, but he would if the insects tried anything.