Price of Battle ➝ The Hobbit ✓

Part Eighteen

PART EIGHTEEN ~

One thousand out of the three thousand soldiers had been dispatched back to Erebor; Fili was commanding three hundred of them, while Kili rode with the other seven hundred on small steeds suited for dwarves.

Fili's small band had taken the forest route as it was a quicker path back to their beloved home, and wouldn't be too hard to pass with only a small army, plus it gave them the chance to strike down any lone packs before they reached their destination.

Kili's group had travelled on the vast, open plain round the forest, backtracking on the route they had travelled with Thorin. The ponies would hopefully burden them to Erebor before the army of Orcs arrived. All two thousand of them; although the dwarves of Erebor were outnumbered for now, those who had stayed behind in the city would quickly form up a large rank. Plus their skill should certainly outmatch those of an Orc's, and the army of merciless beasts would hopefully be dispatched of with easily. Hopefully; if all went to plan. They still had the element of surprise, for the Orcs were heedless to the fact that their conversation had been spied on; the dwarves were fully aware of their 'surprise' attack.

As Fili's band trudged tirelessly through the forest, the three scouts he had sent ahead lunged out of the trees, their legs flying through the thickets as they came to an abrupt halt before the leader of the soldiers. They were breathing heavily, their legs trembling from the effort of running.

The young dwarf prince raised an eyebrow, allowing them time to regain their breaths.

"A squad of... of orcs... sighted... not too far... too far away," One gasped in between mouthfuls of air. "Head... heading this way."

Fili nodded thoughtfully. "How many?"

"At least a dozen."

Fili sighed and gestured for the first rank of soldiers to come forth; twenty of them, all grim-faced. Then he waved his hand in the direction of the sighting and they bowed respectively before galloping off through the leaves, their weapons rattling noisily by their sides.

"We shall continue until nightfall. Don't give up," Fili called to the other warriors. "We shall defend our home and protect our families!"

He received a chorus of shouts and cheers, and they continued on through the forest, their feet plodding on in unison as they chattered quietly to one another, fatigue beginning to wear them down as the day wore on.

~

The soldiers travelled swiftly through the forest, their legs carrying them onwards for the rest of the day; until the pale disk of the sun began to sink low behind the trees, and a sudden dusk settled upon Middle-Earth.

Worry started to wear down on Fili, for the twenty warriors he had sent out had still not returned. He feared there were more orcs than they thought, or that they had been ambushed. His mind was ringing with horrid thoughts; keeping him from a much required sleep, so he eventually decided he would set off with another dozen and see what had occurred. He could have sent the scouts on ahead again, but he feared they may be caught also. No, it was better for him to go himself.

With this planned, he finally got some rest.

~

A/N: Sorry this part is really short and terrible. I'm still a little puzzled over what to write, and I haven't really been thinking about it because I've been revising. I just thought I'd give you a quick update because I'm back to school tomorrow, so I seriously doubt I'll be able to write any of my fanfics until the weekend. But, y'know. Only another four or five weeks until the next holiday... yay.

I'll try and upload a better part on Friday/Saturday.

Thanks for reading!

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~ _imagine_fantasy_