The Hobbit | The Lost Bender {Book 1}

13 | Safe haven

{Myrna POV}

We ran through the field as quickly as we could, my legs barely able to keep me standing, let alone carry me all the way. In the distance, I saw Radagast swiftly moving past the rocks.

One of the wargs crashed into a stone, earning a small chuckle from me.
My lungs started to burn as we ran on across the land.
Some of them were closing in on us, threatening violence.

"Hide!" Gandalf exclaimed over his shoulder and we ducked behind the large boulder, pressing our backs against it as tightly as possible. Next to me, Rigmor was shivering.

"Those things are horrible. I will never be able to get a proper night's sleep again."
"Silence!" whisper-shouted Gandalf as I swallowed thickly.

The wargs were now distracted by Radagast as the brown wizard rushed past us. Those rabbits of him were immensely quick.

"Move!"

And off we went, racing through the plains again, the sun stinging in my neck as sweat started trickling town into my tunic. We hid again, heavily panting.
But Ori kept running, not noticing that we had taken cover.

"Ori no! Come back!" Thorin yelled at the younger Dwarf. Gandalf however had other plans.

"Come on! Quick!" My legs began to grow tired as we ran, following the grey wizard in front of us.
"Where are you leading us?" The Dwarven king asked, but he got no response.

I got pushed against a rock again by the Company taking cover.
The growling of a Warg right behind us was audible, and an Orc yelled something in their language.

Shit. Our cover had been blown.

The Wargs stopped chasing Radagast but went to us instead.
Kili nodded in response to a non-verbal sign from his uncle, shooting the Warg and its rider soon after, but it was already too late.

"Move, run!" Gandalf shouted, and we all ran through the grassy hills.

However, we got surrounded by the damn beasts after a moment.
"There they are!"
"This way, quickly!"

We ran for a few more seconds, before realization hit us.
We had been surrounded.

Kili started shooting some of the monsters with his arrows, but a glance at his quiver was enough to know that it would never add up.
"Where is Gandalf?"

Now I noticed it too: the wizard was gone.
"He has abandoned us!" Dwalin shouted.

We gathered around near the place where Gandalf just disappeared a few moments ago. Ori put a pebble in his slingshot and fired it at the leader of the Orc pack, to no avail.

"Hold your ground!" Thorin ordered.

"This way, you fools!" Gandalf's head popped up from an opening in the rocks – of course he'd never leave us behind like this. The Dwarven leader started beckoning everyone to follow the wizard.

"Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!" I got kicked in my heels trice as we all slid into the crack. Gandalf counted out loud, Thorin calling for Kili.

After the last Dwarf jumped in, a war horn sounded, but this time not from an Orc.

Loud noises of battle echoed through the small room we stood in as an Orc tumbled down the hole - dead, an arrow sticking out of his neck.

Thorin examined the arrow. "Elves." He grunted, throwing the arrow to the ground in disgust. Gandalf shot him a scolding glare.

Dwalin yelled from the other side of the room, he had found a way out. "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it, of course." Bofur says, walking towards his friend.
"I think that would be wise." Gandalf mumbled, looking at an unsure Bilbo.
The pathway narrowed, and Bombur was struggling pushing his way through.

Sunlight seeped down through the ceiling, and as I looked up, I saw we were not in a cave anymore, but rather trapped between two mountains or something. We passed a tiny waterfall, and I wanted to stop and touch the water if it weren't for the Dwarfs behind me wanting to get into the light as well.

The air seemed to be pushed out of my lungs as a beautiful open area appeared, a valley with in the distance a city.

"The Valley of Imraldis. In the Common Tongue, it's known by a another name." stated Gandalf.

"Rivendell." Bilbo muttered, completely in awe by the beauty of the Elven town. All Dwarfs were staring at it, still catching their breath from the battle a few minutes ago as Gandalf continued speaking.

"Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea." Thorin stepped towards the wizard, an angry look on his face.
"This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy."

Gandalf was quick to respond: "You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself."

The Dwarven king wasn't convinced.
"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us!"

"Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me."
With that, Gandalf cut off the discussion.

I tried not to snort and found Rigmor staring out over the valley.

"It's absolutely astonishing." she said breathless.
"I know. It is." I muttered.

We made our way over a bridge towards the village. I was happy I was able to put my feet up in a bit. We stopped at a big town circle, looking around a bit confused.

"Mithrandir." a voice sounded as a brunet Elf walked down the stairs.

"Ah, Lindir!" The two men shared some words in a language I didn't understand.

"I must speak with Lord Elrond." Gandalf stated.
"My lord Elrond is not here." Lindir said calmly.
"Not here?" Gandalf quizzed, "Where is he?"

The horns from earlier today were heard again and we spun around to see Elven soldiers approach us on large, galloping horses. My stomach dropped at the speed they were maintaining, fearing we'd be trampled.

"Hold ranks!" Thorin shouted, Bofur shoving Rigmor, Bilbo and me behind him since we were not as armed as most of the Dwarfs were. The Elves started circling around us and eventually halted, one Elf urging his mighty black horse aside.

"Gandalf."
"Lord Elrond." They spoke that language again and I guessed it was Elvish.

The man dismounted his horse and hugged the grey wizard in front of him. He handed an Orcish blade to Lindir.
"Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near."

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf nodded towards the group.
Lord Elrond faced Thorin, who had a nasty scowl on his face, filled with distrust.

"Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."
"I do not believe we have met." Thorin said coldly.

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the Mountain."
"Indeed, he made no mention of you." The Dwarven king snarled.

Elrond was quiet for a moment, his eyes narrowing a bit before saying something in Elvish.

"What is he saying?! Does he offer us insult?!" Gloin barked, pointing his weapon towards the Elf.

"No, master Gloin, he's offering you food." the grey wizard assured.

The Dwarfs started to discuss it amongst each other as Gloin said:
"Ah well, in that case, lead on."

We followed our host to the place where we would share dinner.