Nature's Child

Chapter 6: The Ill Forest

It's midday when we arrive at what's been called Mirkwood.
The tall, looming trees, with darkness shadowing everything beyond three layers, stand ominously before us.
Between the huge gnarled trunks, under the twisted branches, with dark leaves and crawling ivy, stand the rotten remains of an old elven arch on the forest's edge. It leads into a tunnel made of great trees close together, old and strangled by creepers with blackened, leaning leaves.
I shudder a little, and step closer to Thorin.
He glances at me. "What's wrong?" He mutters to me.
"It's so...quiet," I mutter, the silence of the trees making my ears ring, "The trees aren't telling stories..."
Gandalf looks at me, a look of concern on his face. "The Elven Gate," he says, looking up at the rest of the company, "Here lies the path through Mirkwood," he turns back to the others.
"No sign of the Orcs..." Dwalin says, "we have luck on our side,"
Gandalf smiles softly, then looks towards the south.
I follow his eyes, and see the figure of the bear watching over us from a distant ridge. I smile softly as well.
"Set the ponies loose," Gandalf says, "let them return to their Master,"
I nod, going to Simon. I pet his mane as Kili helps me take the saddle and supplies off of him. "Thank you, my friend," I say softly to the pony, "behave for Beorn, and be kind to the other ponies,"
'You're very kind, miss,' Simon replies, nudging me with his nose, 'I wish you and your friends luck on your journey,'
I nod. "Thank you," I say, and nudge him to follow the other ponies.
Kili watches him, and looks at me. "What did he say?" He asks.
"He wished us good luck," I say, "and...I feel like we'll need it,"
He nods a little.
I glance over my shoulder, seeing my cousin staring into the forest. I tilt my head, seeing him turning something over in his hand. I walk up to him, and gently grab the shoulder of his coat.
"The forest feels...sick," he mutters, "Like a disease lies upon it," he looks at me, nervously. He then looks at Gandalf, who is nearby. "Is there no other way around?" He asks.
"Not unless we go two hundred miles North and twice that distance...South," Gandalf replies, also looking into the forest. He pauses, as if he's seen something.
I furrow my eyebrows, and look into the shadows of the forest. I gasp softly.
The shape of a dark figure seems to be watching us from just inside the forest.
Gandalf goes to walk away from the edge of the forest, but some instinct seems to make him turn back. He reaches up to one of the statues, and pushes aside a creeper shrouding it.
Beneath the vines is a fire red eye - a crudely drawn symbol on the statue.
I shudder again, a soapy sort of taste building a little in the back of my throat. I raise a hand to my mouth.
"The High Fells..." Gandalf mutters to himself, "so be it,"
I look at him. "Pardon?" I ask, and watch as he walks back toward Nori, who is just about to turn Gandalf's horse loose.
"Not my horse," Gandalf calls out, "I need it!"
The dwarves, Bilbo and I stare in disbelief.
"You're leaving us?" Bilbo asks.
"I would not do this unless I had to," Gandalf says, then pauses, looking at my cousin.
Thorin approaches me. "Are you sure you're well enough to continue, Nora?" He asks, in Khuzdul, genuinely concerned sounding.
I nod. "I'll...I'll hold out," I say, replying in Khuzdul, "I...I'll have to, if I am to reach Erebor with the rest of you,"
He nods.
"This is not the Greenwood of old," Gandalf says, loud enough for the company to hear, "The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion, it will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray," He gives me a very concerned look.
I smile softly and nod, watching as he mounts his horse.
"Lead us astray?" Bilbo asks, "What does that mean...?"
"I will be waiting for you at the Overlook before the slopes of Erebor," Gandalf says, looking at Thorin, "Keep the map and key safe. Do not enter that Mountain without me,"
Thorin nods a little.
"Stay on the path, do not leave it," Gandalf says, "if you do, you will never find it again,"
I grit my teeth, starting to grip the hems of my sleeves.
"No matter what may come, stay on the path!" Gandalf calls out again as he rides away.
"Come on," Thorin says, gently tugging my sleeve, then turning to the rest of the company, and starting toward the Elven Gate, "we must reach Erebor before the sun sets on Durin's Day. It is our one chance to find the hidden door into the Mountain. We have three days to cross this forest!"
I look at Bilbo, and he gently grabs my hand as we follow the company into the forest.
---
I haven't let go of Bilbo's hand as we continue through the forest.
As Thorin leads us through the twisted gloom of Mirkwood forest the path twists and turns down gullies and ravines, passing through tunnels carved into huge trees.
"The path turns this way," he calls out from ahead, "follow me!"
I take deep, slow breaths to keep myself calm, but the sick, heavy feeling of the strange air is starting to make me feel dizzy. I grip tightly onto my cousin's hand, holding it with both of mine.
"Air," I hear Bofur say from ahead of us, "I need some air..."
"My head," Oin, behind us, says, "it's swimming. What's happening?"
"Keep moving!" Thorin calls out, "Nori, why have we stopped?"
"The path..." I mutter, my eyes drooping, my voice barely a whisper. It's taking all of my might to stay awake, to concentrate in the silence that is so loud.
"Nora?" Bilbo asks me, "Are you alright?"
"It's disappeared," Nori says from the front.
"What's going on?" Dwalin calls out.
"We've lost the path!" Oin answers.
"Find it!" Thorin orders, a tone of urgency in his voice, "All of you, look. Look for the path!"
"Thorin!" Bilbo says, "I'm going to have Nora sit for a moment. She's gone pale," he gently tugs me over to a downed tree, and sits me on the rough bark. "Hold on, Nora," he says, "we'll find the path...we have to..."
I nod, turning my face to his shoulder, feeling the fabric of his coat, closing my eyes. "Do you...do you ever wish...you were back in the Shire?" I ask, quietly.
He pauses, and sighs. "Every day," he says, softly, "but...we need to help them get their home back before we can go back to ours..."
I nod a little. "...life with Dwarves doesn't seem so bad..." I mutter, thinking of what could happen after we get Erebor back, "...though...I do wonder what the little rivers and plants of the Shire would tell me, now that I know how to listen..."
He nods. Then pauses. "You...you said the forest was silent..." he mutters, "...right?"
I nod.
"Nora..." he says, "...if you suddenly hear something...please say something,"
I nod, and, almost out of instinct, start to listen more closely to our surroundings, when I hear a faint whispering.
But it's not from around us, in the forest.
It's from Bilbo's waistcoat pocket.
I furrow my eyebrows.
"Nora, Bilbo, come on," Bofur says, standing us up, "we need to keep moving,"
I nod, following my cousin and the dwarves, feeling like not just my body, but my mind as well, is suspended in some kind of syrup.
Suddenly, I'm stopped by Bilbo, and I open my eyes. I see that we are perched high on a rocky outcrop.
"I don't remember any of this," Balin says, his voice echoing in an odd way, "none of it's familiar,"
"It's got to be here," Dori says.
"What hour is it?" Thorin asks, urgently.
I grab Thorin's sleeve, letting go of Bilbo. I feel that I'm trembling, and I grip tightly onto Thorin.
He gently pats my hands, and makes sure I am still holding onto him as we start to walk again.
I hug his arm tightly, my breathing starting to shake. "Thorin..." I mutter, "...I...I can feel...I feel...the forest dying..."
He looks at me, concerned. "Do you need to rest?" He asks.
I shake my head. "I...I'm..." I mutter, then cough as the sour taste rises again. I wretch, and stumble forward, tumbling to the ground.
"Nora!" Thorin calls out, kneeling with me as I cough up a kind of inky black, syrup-like liquid.
I shudder, shutting my eyes, the substance burning my tongue. I raise my hands to my head as my ears start ringing, and a whispering fills it.
An unnatural, evil, angry sounding whisper.
"Nora...are you alright?" Thorin asks me, softly, offering me his water skin.
I nod, taking a small sip, rinsing my mouth out, and then taking a few more small sips. I take a deep breath. "Something is near..." I mutter, "...something evil..."
He looks concerned.
"Look!" Ori says, a little further away, picking something up off of the ground, "A tobacco pouch! There's Dwarves in these woods!"
"Dwarves from the Blue Mountains, no less," Bofur says, taking the pouch from him, "This is exactly like mine!"
"Because it is yours!" Bilbo says, taking it from Bofur, waving it in the dwarf's face, then giving it back, "You understand? We are going 'round in circles. We're lost!"
"We are not lost!" Thorin snaps, making me jump, my ears ringing again. He looks up.
I look up as well, seeing light peek through the canopy above.
"We keep heading East," Thorin says, quieter.
"Aye, but which way is East?" Oin says, "We've lost the sun,"
"I thought you were the expert-" Dwalin says, challenging his company members, sparking an argument.
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes again, leaning against Thorin. I push all other things out of my attention, just listening to the silence of the forest. Then, I hear something.
Something is getting closer.
I open my eyes. "Thorin..." I mutter.
He glances at me, then tilts his head, as if listening. "...what was that?" he whispers. Suddenly, pulling me up with him, he stands. "Enough!" He yells at the rest of the company, making my ears ring again, "Be quiet - all of you!"
There's a stunned silence. The dwarves all turn to look at me and Thorin.
"We are being watched..." Thorin whispers.
The hair on the back of my neck bristles as I hear the whispers from behind me. I glance over my shoulder, and gasp in horror, but as the thing leaps at us, the world goes black.
---
I blink my eyes open, and tear at the soft, sticky webs wrapping around me, spitting it out of my mouth, and quickly getting to my feet. I look around at the other, stirring figures. "Nora?" I ask, quietly, "Nora!"
"Thorin!" Kili calls out, gently tossing me my sword as more spiders barrel toward us.
As I fight them off, I see one, still cocooned figure on the forest floor. "Nora..." I whisper.
The others fight off the spiders, covering me as I dash toward the hobbit.
I slide on the ground, dropping my sword as I reach her. I start tearing at the webbing around her face, so she can at least breathe, only to see her lips have gone a sickly blue, and she seems to be trembling. "No...no, no, no..." I mutter, continuing to clear the webbing from her, and picking her up, holding her to my chest. "Balin!" I shout, looking for my friend.
He looks at me, looks at Nora, and a look of dread shows on his face.
I take a deep breath, starting to retreat. "Go," I shout at the rest of the company, "go, run! Get out of here,"
The other dwarves desperately fight off advancing spiders as we try to flee. We find ourselves in a clearing, everyone surrounding Nora and I.
Nora coughs weakly, and takes a shuddering breath, making my heart rise into my throat.
Suddenly, from out of seemingly the forest itself, a golden haired elf appears, killing the giant spiders with incredible skill.
I stumble back, and fall, Nora landing on top of me, other Dwarves tumbling down with me.
I look up at a tall woodland elf with long white hair stares at me down the sights of another arrow.
"Do not think I won't kill you, Dwarf," he says to me, "It would be my pleasure,"