The Navigator

Mountain Path

"Hey! Hold on!" Vistial struggles to keep her hood up as the storm whips around her. She was walking between the two Durin brothers as the Company walks along the mountain path.

"We must find shelter!" She shouts to Thorin, but the wind rips her words away.

"Look out!" Fili pulls Vistial back against the mountain as boulders fell from above them.

"Hold on! This is no thunderstorm. It's a thunder-battle! Look!" Vistial follows Balin's finger and spots a huge figure rising from the mountain. Vistial mentally curses herself. Why hadn't she remembered about the stone-giants beforehand? Vistial is brought out of her thoughts as the path cracks in half, exposing yet another stone-giant. The girl screams as she almost slips down into the crevice, but Fili grabs her and pulls her to safety.

"Vistial, grab my hand!" Kili shouts, reaching towards her. Vistial tries to grab his hand, but the mountain side she stood on moved away. She had to grab onto the rock-side to keep from falling again. Her eyes widen upon passing the other half of the Company. Kili's eyes watched after her as they fly pass, thrown into the mountain side. The first half run forward, finding the others on the mountain path.

"It's all right! They're alive!" Vistial sits up, blowing dust out of her mouth.

"Where's Bilbo? Where's the Hobbit?" Bofur suddenly shouts. Vistial quickly turns as the dwarves spot Bilbo and rush to help him.

"Grab my hand!"

"Bilbo!"

"Ori, be careful!"

"Take it!" Vistial runs forward instinctively. Swinging down, she grabs Bilbo by the back of his shirt and pulls him up slightly. Vistial's handhold crumbles and she starts to plummet when Thorin darts forward, grabbing her free hand.

"Hold on." Thorin says. He grunts as he starts to pull Vistial up.

"Come on, lass. Up you get." Dwalin says, helping Thorin pull the girl back up to safety. She collapses next to Thorin after being pulled over the side.

"Thank you." Vistial says. Thorin nods, panting for breath like Vistial.

"I thought we'd lost our burglar." Dwalin states from Vistial's other side as Thorin stands.

"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us." Thorin replies. Vistial stares after the dwarven king. He didn't mean it, did he?

"It looks safe enough." Vistial snaps out of her thoughts as the Company stumbles into a cave.

"Dwalin, search to the back. Caves in the mountain are seldom unoccupied." Thorin orders. Vistial slides down to the cave floor as Dwalin runs off.

"There's nothing here." Dwalin reappears after a moment.

"Right, then. Let's get a fire started." Gloin says happily, rubbing his hands together.

"No. No fires. Not in this place. Get some sleep. We start at first light." Thorin intervenes. Vistial gladly obeys, not even taking off her wet cloak as she slumps against the cave wall.

"Are you alright?" Kili says, sitting next to the girl. Vistial shakily nods, not having the strength to reply. As her eyes closed, something warm wraps around her and she unconsciously leans into it, drifting off to sleep.