Hopeless Wanderer (Hobbit Fanfic Story)

Chapter 28: Bard

After a while, we were far from the Mirkwood borders and away from the orcs, but for how long was the question? 

"Anything behind us?" Thorin asked.

"Not that I can see." Balin replied.

"I think we've outrun the orcs." Bofur suggested with a hopeful tone.

"Not for long, we've lost the current." Thorin commented.

"Which means they'll catch up at this pace." I added.

"We almost half drowned!" Dwalin protested.

"Make for the shore!" Thorin ordered.

"Aye."

"Come on, let's go!" Thorin shouted.

We managed to reach the shore in one piece with the barrels tossed aside on the shore. We were all drenched from head to toe in water.

Kili fell to his knees and when Bofur, Fili, and I approached him, he assured us it was nothing. But I had a feeling that he was wounded from that arrow.

"On your feet." Thorin ordered.

"Kili's wounded, his leg needs binding." Fili informed him.

"There's an orc pack at our tail. We keep moving." Thorin replied.

"To where?" Balin asked.

"To the mountain, we're so close." Bilbo chimed in.

A lake lies between us and that mountain." Balin reminded him.

"There's no way to cross it." Nanor added.

"So then we go around." Bilbo suggested.

"The orcs will run us down as sure as daylight. We've no weapons to defend ourselves." Dwalin argued.

"Thorin, please, Kili is wounded." I begged.

His expression softened when his eyes met mine. "Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes."

With that he walked off towards Dwalin and Balin. I helped Fili bind Kili's leg with an old cloth rag. As soon as we finished, I sensed someone with a weapon. I whipped around to see a man with long black hair, an old coat with a simple tunic, trousers, and boots, holding a bow and arrows. The man looks like he's ready to shoot us.

Dwalin intervenes before I could think of what do do. However the man's arrow struck the piece of wood that Dwalin had in his two hands. Kili then attempted to throw a stone, but it ended up in vain as the man shot the stone out of his hand.

"Do it again and you're dead." The man warned as he pointed his arrow at us.

We remained still, unsure of what to do. Balin then gathered the courage to approach him.

"Excuse me, but you're from Laketown, if I'm not mistaken? That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire by any chance?" Balin asked.

Ah, I see where he's going with this. The man then walked down to his barge and we followed along in hope that Balin could convince him.

"What makes you think I would help you?" The man asked.

"Those boots have seen better days, as has that coat." Balin commented as the man began to put the barrels the onto his barge. "No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed? How many bairns?"