𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐈𝐂 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 // 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘪 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯

~ tweleve ~

"What brings you all here to Goblin Town?" The king inquired. We remained silent. Everyone exchanged glances before our eyes returned to our feet. "Fine, if they will not talk then maybe they will squawk! Bring out the bone breaker! We start with the youngest."

The king glared at Kili, then giving him a menacing grin. Kili inhaled deeply to remain calm. My heartbeat picked up, I grabbed Thorin's arm.

"Wait!" he exclaimed.

"Ah, Thorin. Son of Thrain, son of Thror. King under the Mountain!" The king bowed mockingly. "Although, last time I checked, there was no mountain. I believe that makes you nobody!" The king laughed at his insult. "I know someone who would pay a gracious price for your head. Perhaps you know who I speak of. An old enemy of yours. The pale orc, astride a white warg."

"Azog, the Defiler." He paused in disbelief. "He was slain in battle long ago!" Thorin spat with strain. His patience began to diminish. He gave the coldest stare.

"Ah, so you think!" The king turned to one of his minions that hung from a line of rope in some sort of harness. "Send word to the pale orc. Tell him I have found his prize!"

The stooge laughed hysterically while writing the message. A moment later the king's follower turned away and traveled down a line of rope, vanishing into shadows and darkness.

Admiring his victory, the goblin king began to sing an ear splitting tune that made my head pound. The other goblins began to raid our weapons and belongings. A goblin to my left picked up Thorin's sword and unsheathed it but quickly threw it back to the ground. The king scrambled back to the safety of his throne.

"I know that sword! It is the goblin cleaver!"

All the goblins immediately piled onto us, beating us with whips and clubs. We fell to the ground, caught off guard, as we shielded our faces from the blows. Goblins leaped onto any limb they could manage to grab.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" Commanded the king, and pointed towards Thorin. "Cut off his head!"

Before we could be ripped to shreds, a blinding light erupted through the immense cave that was Goblin Town. Everything went silent. The goblins that clutched me flew off and plummeted into the pit below. The gust of wind carried debris over the platform's ledge. The king fell to the platform but was not carried off. I squinted my eyes trying to find the source of the light. There stood Gandalf proudly. He approached us slowly with his staff in one hand and a blade in the other. We slowly began to arise and continued to gather ourselves.

"Take up arms. Fight. Fight!" Gandalf finished his order with a quick slice of his blade. The head of the goblin that stood before him fell to the ground.

We all took up our weapons and followed Gandalf's lead. We slashed at any horrendous creature in our sight. Every moment my blade caught an enemy, I received the same visions as I had with the orc I encountered. I saw the innocent and noninnocent creatures they had killed. I heard their screams and begs for mercy. I used all the power within me to fight through the gruesome images that entered my mind. The more they came, the faster I was able to get rid of them. I dug deep and focused. I focused on who I was fighting for and why I was fighting.

"I fight for my family. I fight for their justice," I chanted in my head. The visions began to fade until I witnessed them no more. I found my strength, I was able to overcome the blade. There I stood, side by side with the company, fighting for my new family.

We worked together like a well oiled machine against our common enemy. We fought as a unit, slaying every beast with ease. Finally, we made a break for it. With Thorin leading, we took off sprinting across the platforms of rickety wood. I felt sharp shocks of pain with every pounding step of my left leg. I had forgotten about the gash that took up most of my leg. I winced but kept running.

From all corners, goblins swarmed like locusts. They came from all sides with the desire to taste our flesh. I picked up my limp as best as a could and continued. All of a sudden, ropes began to swing towards us. Goblins hung on the end with weapons in the clutch of their bony fingers. Goblins appeared from absolutely every corner. Chaos set in causing panic to follow, we began to improvise. There was no battle strategy.

We used anything useful in our path for defense while constantly swinging at the goblins. We leaped from platform to platform trying to find a way out. At one point, Gandalf struck a rock that hung above with his staff. The rock became a boulder and we rolled it ahead, crushing any goblin that was trying to reach us. It was truly effective. We were almost in the clear, and the exit was dead ahead. As we landed from our final jump, the goblin king landed in front of us.

"You thought you could escape me?!" the goblin king chuckled. He took a swing at Gandalf but Gandalf dodged it. The king swung again and knocked him off balance. We supported Gandalf and pushed him back to his feet. "What are you going to do now, wizard?"

With a single lunge, Gandalf took one slice at the Kings's throat and then another at the fat that hug off the king's stomach.

The king fell to his knees. "Well... that will do it." The king grunted. Gandalf took one more swing to finish off the king with a slash at the throat. The weight of the goblin crashing to the wood caused the bridge below us to collapse. The platform we stood upon plummeted into the depths of the cave. We bounced and slid down the ridges. I clutched Kili for balance but mostly for reassurance.

Finally, we crashed into the rocky ground. My back smacked down on the stone, knocking the wind out of me. Wooden debris fell on top of us, knocking the air down out of my lungs. I shuffled my hand over to Kili. My fingertips found his. I twisted my hand under his and squeezed tightly. I exhaled, trying to gather myself and regulate my breath through coughs. I maneuvered myself out from under the rubble and stood. I reached down to help Kili lift a heavy beam off his ankles. I lifted him to his feet. He smiled down at me. I smiled back. His eyes shifted behind me. His brow furrowed. "Gandalf!" He shouted.

I turned around to find a mass of goblins filing down towards us.

"Move! Now!" Gandalf lead the way away from the horrendous creatures. We took off into the darkness, feeling our way through the pitch black passage. The goblins screeched in defeat as they realized they could not go any further to the daylight. I finally found the light source and swiftly moved towards it. We arrived at another mountain ledge that was covered with forest.

"Where is Bilbo now?" Bofur asked.

"He has been lost since he first stepped out of his door. We will not be seeing our dear hobbit again. He is long gone," Thorin said aggressively.

"No... he isn't," Bilbo said appearing out of thin air. Thorin almost looked embarrassed with the hobbit's arrival. The dwarves crowded around him, patting him on the back, admiring his ability to escape the goblins. I raced up to Bilbo tackled him in an embrace.

"Quit disappearing like that and putting yourself in danger."

"No promises," He responded with a bashful smile.

In the distance, I heard the terrible sound that had followed us from the moment we began this journey. The noise split through the air, making me shudder as it reached my ears. It was the howl of a warg.