The Navigator

Riverside Mayhem

Vistial may have been the best navigator in Middle Earth, but she had no clue as to how she escaped the Mirkwood Kingdom. She mainly trusted her instincts, which were better than most because of her skin-changer abilities. Somehow, Vistial finds an opening that leads outside and she barrels through it. Immediately shifting, she takes off, hoping to find the others.

"Kili!" Vistial hears a shout and follows it to the river. A load of barrels was in the water, stopped by the elven gate. Vistial recognizes the barrels' cargo. It was the Company.

"Kili." Vistial mutters, not believing what she was seeing. Kili was running to open the gate while the Orcs overran the bridge. The dwarf lets out a cry of pain as an arrow met its mark.

"Kili!" Vistial shouts. She dives toward the bridge and knocks a few Orcs off, roaring at them. Her scales were bright red in color, blinding to the eye. She stood protectively over Kili, determined to not let any Orc touch him. Still growling at the Orcs, she sneakily pushes the lever down. The gate then opens and the barrels are free.

"Go." She orders.

"But Vistial..." Kili starts, but Vistial interrupts.

"Go now! I'll catch up." Vistial practically shoves Kili off the bridge and into a barrel. She makes sure the dwarves manage to get through before leaping after them. She yelps in pain as one of the Orcs slash her front leg. She instinctively shifts back to normal and rolls onto the ground. Vistial gasps as Borg grabs her by the throat, lifting her into the air. She tried to squirm out of his hold, but to no avail.

"Vistial!" She could hear one of the dwaves shout, but her brain couldn't distinguish who it was. Her body was starting to shut down as she gasped for air. Borg suddenly roars in pain and drops Vistial, clutching his arm that now had an arrow protruding out of it. Vistial falls into the river and disappears in the waves. She tries to swim back to the surface, but she could tell she was starting to go unconscious. Just as her vision went black, two hands grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her to the surface.

"I've got her!" Fili shouts, pulling Vistial to the surface. He instantly could tell she was unconscious and manages to keep her afloat.

"Hang on, Vistial. I've got you." He mutters.

"Pass her here. I'll be able to keep her afloat easier." Dwalin orders. Fili lets go of Vistial as Dwalin floats by, grabbing her arm. The dwarf pulls her to the side of his barrel and attempts to pull her out of the water. As he passes, Bofur helps Dwalin slip Vistial into an empty barrel. The girl's head hung limply as they gently eased her inside. Bofur then proceeds to tie a loose rope he had found around her barrel and Dwalin's, so she wouldn't get lost in the current.

"Anything behind us?" Thorin demands.

"Not that I can see." Fili replies.

"I think we've outrun the Orcs." Dwalin states, keeping an eye on his cargo.

"Not for long. We've lost the current. Bombur's half drowned." Balin comments.

"Make for the shore! " Thorin orders. Dwalin attempts to pull Vistial out of the barrel, but is unsuccessful.

"I could use some help over here." Bofur, Dori, Oin, and Bifur rush over and help Dwalin lay the girl on the ground.

"I don't think she's breathing." Oin says after examining her. Thorin kneels next to the girl. Oin was right.

"What do we do?" Ori asks.

"Do you not know how to do CPR?" Bilbo asks. The dwarves blankly look at the Hobbit, who sighs and crouches quickly next to Vistial.

"Move." He orders to Thorin, who moves aside. Bilbo starts to do CPR, not like he wanted to, but Vistial would die if he didn't.

"Come on, Vistial. Breathe." Bilbo mutters, doing another round of CPR. The second he breathes into her mouth, Vistial shoots up with a gasp, head-butting the Hobbit. Thorin steadies the girl as she coughs up water while the others help Bilbo with his now-aching head.

"Wha...what happened?" Vistial croaks.

"You weren't breathing. Bilbo saved you." Thorin explains. Vistial looks over at Bilbo, who was rubbing his head, and pulls him into a hug.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry for head-butting you." Bilbo chuckles at the girl's statement.

"I'm alright. And you're welcome." Bilbo replies. Thorin stands and looks at the Company.

"On your feet." He orders.

"Kili's wounded. His leg needs binding." Fili says. Vistial had completely forgotten about Kili's wound and was by his side in an instant.

"There's an Orc pack on our tail. We keep moving." Dwalin states.

"To where?" Bilbo asks.

"To the mountain. We're so close." Thorin says.

"A lake lies between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it." Vistial points out.

"So then we go around." Bilbo says.

"The Orcs will run us down, as sure as daylight. We've no weapons to defend ourselves." Dwalin points out.

"Bind his leg, quickly. You have two minutes." Vistial helps Fili with Kili's leg. She notices a shadow and sees a man aiming an arrow at Ori, who had sat to dump water out of his boots. Vistial throws herself between the young dwarf and the man, using a log for a shield. The arrow imbeds itself in the wood. Kili goes to throw a rock, but another arrow knocks the rock out of his hand.

"Do it again, and you're dead." The man retorts, aiming at Kili.

"Excuse me, but you're from Lake-town, if I'm not mistaken." Balin cuts in, stepping toward the man. "That barge over there, it wouldn't be available for hire, by any chance?" The man lowers his bow and walks away abruptly, Balin on his heels. Thorin motions to follow and Vistial walks after the dwarves.

"What makes you think I would help you?" The man says.

"Those boots have seen better days. As has that coat. No doubt you have some hungry mouths to feed. How many bairns?" Balin asks.

"A boy and two girls." The man answers.

"And your wife, I imagine she's a beauty." The man stops at Balin's words and looks up.

"Aye. She was."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Balin starts, realizing his mistake, but Dwalin cuts in.

"Oh, come on, come on. Enough of the niceties." Dwalin says.

"What's your hurry?" The man asks.

"What's it to you?" Dwalin growls.

"I would like to know who you are and what you are doing in these lands." The man replies.

"We are simple merchants from the Blue Mountains, journeying to see our kin in the Iron Hills." Balin answers.

"Simple merchants, you say?" The man questions, eyeing Bilbo and Vistial.

"We need food, supplies, weapons." Thorin cuts in, stepping in front of the man. "Can you help us?"

"I know where these barrels came from." The man says, examining the barrels.

"What of it?" Thorin demands, eyeing the man.

"I don't know what business you had with the Elves, but I don't think it ended well." The man says. "No one enters Lake-town but by leave of the Master. All his wealth comes from trade with the Woodland Realm. He would see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil."

"I'll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen." Balin states.

"Aye. But for that, you would need a smuggler."

"For which we would pay double." Balin says. The man looks at the dwarf, then at the others.

"Hop in."