Unexpected

Chapter 14: Barrels Out Of Bond

"Come on." the dwarf king spoke. "Let's go."

The company paddled through the river with their hands. They appeared to be underneath the Woodland Realm. The dwarves and hobbit bathed in sunlight as they emerged from the tunnel.

Thorin, who led the dwarves in his barrel, caught a glance of what was before them. A waterfall. "Hold on!"

The company plunge through the rapids. The waters of the raging river were not merciful. The barrels immediately sank before bobbing upward again.

Eili and Bilbo held onto each other as tightly as possible. Behind her, the young dwarf heard a horn sound. She turned to see the blond elf from before, Legolas, and a small army of elves storming the area around the river.

The company neared a guard post built above the river, just before another small waterfall. Hearing the horn's cries, one of the guards moved swiftly towards a wooden lever. The barrels all came to a stop, piling up against each other. The sound of old metal creaked as a heavy, sluice gate shut beneath the guard post, stopping the company's movements.

All of a sudden, one of the elven guards was impaled with a black arrow. As their body fell into the water, several orcs were revealed. They swarmed the elves, killing them brutally. Dozens of the beasts ran out from their cover and attacked.

The dwarves were at a disadvantage, as they were bereft of any weapons. A foul looking Orc threw himself onto the barrels. Bilbo swiftly pulled his sword, Sting, from its sheath and sliced the orc's belly open. More orcs gathered around the company, forcing them to fight with their fists.

Kili hopped out of his barrel, balancing precariously on its rim. He jumped to the stairs that led to the guard post. An orc wielding a blade blocked his path. Unarmed, Kili had no choice but to dodge.

"Kili!" Yelled Dwalin, tossing him a sword he had just taken from an enemy.

Kili caught it and beheaded the orc before him. He fought his way up the stairs, killing any foe in his path. Kili had almost reached the lever, until he was struck. A black arrow was lodged in his calf.

"Kili!" Eili and Fili called in unison. Their voices were both filled with concern.

Kili strained to reach the lever as he groaned and yelped in pain. He fell to the ground and rolled onto his back.

Eili caught sight of Kili's assaulter. It was Bolg. He had been at the cliff edge when the trees were ablaze. Bolg led the orcs in their attack this day.

An armoured orc raised his weapon and charged toward Kili. Eili yelled to members of the company for any weapon she could use. The dwarf couldn't watch her brother die at the fault of a single arrow. Though no one threw Eili a weapon, someone did answer her call.

The elegant elf with long red hair, who Eili would later know as Tauriel, appeared from amidst the battle. She loaded her bow and fired an arrow into the orcs head.

Bolg barked at his fellow orcs. They surrounded Tauriel. As she fought them off, Legolas came to her aid.

Kili lifted himself from the ground and just managed to grab the lever. The dwarf fell once more, pulling the lever down with him. He grunted in pain.

"Kili!" His brother called for him.

The metal sluice opened, freeing the dwarves. Eili and Fili grasped onto the edges of the stone guard post. They held Kili's empty barrel, assuring it wouldn't float away.

Kili dangled his legs off the ledge of the guard post. He pushed himself off and slid into the barrel. As Kili fell into the barrel, the shaft of the arrow snapped off. He struggled to suppress a cry.

The river was fierce and ran wildly. Orcs followed the company's movements along the riverside.  They began shooting arrows at the company. The orc's lunged at the dwarves, jumping into the rushing waters. Eili wielded a dark sword that she had taken from the enemy. She slew anything and everything she could. Company members shouted, throwing weapons to one another when need be.
Orcs stood on a fallen tree that stretched across the river. "Cut the log!" Thorin ordered, lodging his axe into the fallen trunk. Dwalin dug his axe into the log as well. It broke, causing the orcs to fall into the river.

Bilbo held onto Eili's barrel for dear life, not wanting to be separated from the company nor her.

"Bombur!" Dwalin threw an axe to the plump dwarf. Just ahead was an orcs spear stuck in a fallen tree branch. The spear caught onto Bomburs barrel, catapulting him into the air and onto the riverside. He rolled at an intense speed, trampling his enemies. The barrel eventually reached a stop and Bombur pushed it's sides out. Holding a weapon in each hand, he spun and killed the orcs around him one by one. The dwarf broke out of the remains barrel still attached to him. He ran towards the river and jumped, landing in an empty barrel.

On the riverside, Eili watched the elves fight. They were swift and graceful. Their movements were elegant. It looked as if they were dancing. Legolas fought three orcs at once. Shooting one in the head and kicking the other into the river, he focused on the last beast. Preoccupied, the elf hadn't noticed the orc sneaking up from behind. Eili threw the blade she held, lodging itself into the side of the orcs head. It's body collapsed to the ground. She watched as the elves killed the last of their enemies.

•

The water was now peaceful. The dwarves paddled through the calm river with their hands.

"Anything behind us?" Thorin asked.

"Not that I can see."

"I think we've outrun the orcs."

"Not for long." said Thorin, "We've lost the current."

"Bofur is half drowned."

"Make for the shore!" The dwarf king commanded. "Come on, let's go!"

Eili paddled towards the riverbank. She was cold and exhausted. The young dwarf was out of breath and her muscles ached.

She reached the rocky bank. Eili climbed out of her barrel and dragged it onto the land.

Kili crawled out of his barrel. Eili pulled his barrel onto the bank. Kili took a few steps and fell to his knees. He clenched his teeth, trying not to cry out in pain. Eili ran to his side. She examined his calf quickly and pulled out her handkerchief. She pressed it against his wound.

"I'm fine, it's nothing." Kili reassured. Eili gave him an irritated look.

"On your feet." Thorin demanded.

"Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding." Eili said, worriedly.

"There's an orc pack on our tail; we keep moving." Thorin ordered.

"To where?"

"To the mountain; we're so close." Bilbo said, hopeful.

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

"So then we go around." The hobbit suggested.

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

"Bind his leg, quickly." Thorin's said, looking down at his nephew. "You have two minutes."

Eili cleaned the wound as best she could with the river water. Fili took Eili's handkerchief and put pressure on the wound. Fili tore off a piece of his clothing, which Eili tied around her brothers calf.

After she was done, Eili wiped her eyes and looked up. She saw the outline of a figure behind Ori. Dwalin quickly grabbed a tree branch and charged the figure. An arrow flew into the branch, stopping Dwalin immediately. Kili grabbed a rock and raised his hand to throw it. The man shot an arrow at him, knocking the rock out of his hand.

"Do it again, and you're dead."