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Chapter Twenty Three - Fell Things Beneath The Trees

The company had dismounted from the ponies once they saw no danger seemed to be in the immediate area. Thorin was the first to climb off the mount. Maura was right behind him, when her boot got stuck in the stirrup and she gasped when she lost her balance. The prince turned around when he heard the sound and caught the half-breed in his arms as she threw hers around his neck. The woman could feel her pulse running after having that sick feeling of falling.

"T-thank you." Maura awkwardly whispered, feeling embarrassed at they're suddenly closeness. Thorin had already steadied her but failed to notice he still had a hold of her. For a second their eyes locked. Thorin had never noticed until now, that the healer's eyes weren't the same shade as a typical dwarf. Her's were an ember shade; filled with warmth, unlike his own icy distant, cold blue ones . Maura cleared her throat when she could take the princes intense gaze. "Thorin, you can let me go now. I think I can manage from here." The prince removed his hands, and awkward mumbled something, to clear himself from the woman as he went away from the others to gather his thoughts. First the feeling of jealous when he watched the healer and the skin changer chat and now his embarrassing daze into her eyes. What was going to happen to him next? 'The urge to know what her skin felt like? The taste of her lips on his.'

"You alright laddie?" Balin voice spoke up over his own voices that were in his head and he let out a started grunt as he whirled around to see his adviser looking at him with slight concern. " You've been acting odd since we left the skin changers home." the elder dwarf added, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I'm fine. We should get moving." Thorin ordered, brushing off the other dwarf's concern.

"Set the ponies loose! Let them return to their master." The wizard commanded, as he saw Beorn in his bear form up on a cliff scanning the area. The dwarves went to work right away and began removing their supplies the giant man had supplied them with. Maura was untying her satchel of medical supplies from the back of Midnight. She stroked the sides of the animals face, as she felt a tear roll down her face. She had bounded with this creature in the short time they were together and she stroked his mane one last time and gave it push to follow the other free ponies to go back home.

"You have everything lass?" Balin asked her with a smile.

"Yes. I think so. Do we really have to enter this...forest?" She asked as looked in the direction of the eerie forest.

"I'm afraid so Maura. It's the fastest route for us to get to the mountain before Durin's day falls." Balin explained. The healer nodded in understand, only to glance back up at the trees and suddenly get a dark sick feeling go through her.

"Not my horse! I need it!" Gandalf shouted as he came rushing over to them with a new determination. Nori stopped what he was doing and the others began to shout at the wizard in protest. He couldn't have picked a worse time to abandon them all.

"You're not leaving us?" The hobbit panicked as he looked at the wizard uneasy.

"I would not do this unless I had to." The wizard replied, regrettable. Thorin was not to thrill about this sudden turn of events as he shot the wizard a look of annoyance. Gandalf was about to keep walking when something made him stop. The dwarves began to murmur amongst themselves, wondering what they were going to do now without the wizards guidance.

"I'll be waiting for you at the overlook before the slopes of Erebor." The wizard informed as he approached Thorin to look at him directly when he said this. "Keep the map and key safe. Do not enter that mountain without me." Thorin nodded that he understood and looked to the others. Maura looked up at the sky when she felt drops of rain hit her face and it began drizzle over them. "This is not the Greenwood of old. There is a stream in the woods that carries a dark enchantment. Do not touch the water." He informed the group. "Cross only by the stone bridge. The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion. It'll seek to enter your mind and lead you astray."

"Lead us astray? What does that mean?" The hobbit hissed quietly, looking at his aunt with a wary look.

"You must stay on the path. Do not leave it. If you do, you'll never find it again." He added, nudging his horse to get moving. " No matter what may come, stay on the path!" The old man shouted behind him before disappearing across the plain.

"Come on. We must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's day." Thorin pressed to the others. The company all nodded in agreement and began to follow their leader into the dark eerie forest. " It is our one chance to find the hidden door."

The first few days of the journey through the forest was smooth. The company was alert and focused, finding the path with ease. It took the company over a week, until they finally found the bridge and at this point they were already exhausted beyond means. Much to Maura's dismay they had sent the hobbit to cross the vines first, since he was the lightest. It took a lot of effort but they all made it across safely....well almost all of them. Bombur had succumb to the dark enchantment and was put into a deep sleep. Maura and Oin tried everything in their knowledge to wake the hibernating dwarf, the young woman even slapped poor Bombur across the face, but nothing happened. Thorin, Dwalin and few others left the path to go find supplies they could use to make a makeshift bed to carry the fat dwarf for the time being until he woke up; if he ever would.

Another week had gone by and the days only seemed to get darker. The company found it even harder to breathe and were clawing for air as they wondered how much further they had before they would get to the end of this cursed forest, unaware that they had gone off the path days ago. It wasn't until Maura noticed through her exhausted eyes that the path had suddenly disappeared. Hearing this, Thorin ordered a few of his men to all search for where the path could be and were to report back within the hour. While they waited for the return of their companions, they took the opportunity to rest and see what food they had left.

Dwalin, Nori, Bofur and Gloin all returned but none of them were successful at finding the path. The company once again packed up and decided to keep going thinking it would show up, that maybe they just missed it and it was right in front of them. They had only walked for a couple of hours before some compliant's were said from a few of the members, insisting they needed to rest. The dwarves stopped and insisted they'd only take a short rest, they needed to keep going if they hoped to get out of this forest soon. But as they sat on the stumps and rocks the heaviness of the air only got heavier on their minds, making it impossible for them to what was, and wasn't real. The half-breed had gotten up from her spot beside Thorin. Something across the area had caught her attention and her eyes widen. If she hadn't been under the power of dark magic this forest had put on her, she would have known the thing she was seeing was nothing but an illusion of something she had lost so long ago, that still haunts her to this day. The healer tried to make a run for it, screaming she had to save them. She didn't get far when Dwalin managed to grab her and hold her back, but it didn't stop her from struggling. The prince and the others had never seen their young woman companion in so much distress and couldn't see what she clearly saw. To them it was nothing but trees and more trees. Maura managed to get loose and the others chased after her, with Bilbo yelling after all of them, that they were to stay on the path.

The woman came to abrupt stop as she searched frantically for the two faces that had vanished on her. She could barely hear the faint shouts of the other dwarves, when out of nowhere she suddenly felt a sick feeling go through her and her world around her went dark.