Violet

Chapter 14: Riddles in the Dark

After a fall like that, you'd just assume that you'd be dead by the time you fell, but our Mr. Baggins was lucky. He fell on large mushrooms while the unfortunate Goblin of the Misty Mountains that attacked Bilbo fell on the hard floor, severely injured, and dying. One white glowing eyes and a creature struggling with the creature until it knocked the Goblin unconscious again, and dragged the thing away.

Bilbo, with his sword in hand noticed something. Something that was on the ground. The hobbit picked up the small golden ring off of the floor and put it in his pocket. From far away, Bilbo could hear the screams of the Orc and the attacks the creature was giving it. Bilbo watched in horror behind a rock after a while. When the Goblin was dead, Bilbo watched as the sword no longer glowed blue. As he turned, the Gollum was gone.

It wasn't until Gollum peered over and landed in front of a frightened Bilbo.

"Bless us and splash us, precious. That's a meaty mouthful." Gollum is about to attack Bilbo, until the little hobbit brings it up to Gollum's neck. He started to slash it back and forth.

"Back. Stay back. I'm warning you, don't come any closer." poor Bilbo shouted.

"It's got an Elfish blade, but it's not an Elfes. Not an Elfes, no. What is it, precious? What is it?" Gollum asked.

"My name...is Bilbo Baggins," Bilbo said frightened. "I'm a...hobbit from the Shire."

"Oh! We like goblinses, batses and fishes, but we hasn't tried Hobbitses before! Is it soft? Is it juicy?" Gollum came closer until Bilbo slashed his sword over again.

"Now! Now, keep...keep your distance!" Bilbo cried. "I'll use this, if I have too. I don't...I don't want any trouble, you understand? Just show me the way to get out of here, and I'll be on my way."

"Why? Is it lost?"

"Yes. Yes, and I want to get unlost, as soon as possible."

"Oh, we knows! We knows safe path for hobbitses. Safe path in the dark. Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything," Bilbo said.

"Wasn't talking to you!" Gollum sneered. "Oh yes, we...we was, precious, we was.

"Look, I...I don't know what your game is, but I..." Bilbo was saying.

"Games?! Oh, we love games, doesn't we, precious?" Golllum said, then he turned to Bilbo, laughing. "Does it like games? Does it, does it, does it like to play?"

"Maybe," Bilbo ansered.

"What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees, up, up, up it goes, and yet never grows?" Gollum asked.

"The mountain," Bilbo answered.

"Yes! Yes! Ooh, let's have another one, huh? Yes. Go, do it again. Do it, do it again, ask us. No! No more riddles. Finish him off, finish him now! Gollum, Gollum!"

"No! No, no, no. I want...I want to play. I do. I want to play. I can see...you are very good at this. Uh...so why don't we have a game of riddles? Yes, just...just...just you and me."

"Yes. Just...just...just us."

"Yes! Yes! And...and if I win, you will show me the way out. Yes?" Bilbo asked.

"Yes. Yes!" Gollum said to himself. "And if it loses, what then? Well, if it loses, precious, then we eats it!"

This caused Bilbo to look up in alarm.

"If Baggins loses, we eats it whole," Gollum said.

Bilbo paused for a second and then answered, "Fair enough."