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Thorin started his way down the path. "Come on, we must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's Day. Let's move, we've but one chance to find the hidden door."
We shuffled our way through the opening in the forest.
"Remember! Stay on the path!"
Right as I took my first steps into the dark forest, I felt the weight of the evil that enveloped us. My posture sagged and my focus lacked and drifted away. I kept trying to bring myself back to being highly attentive but it never lasted long. I stumbled every now and then, seeming I had lost all my coordination and sense. I had never felt so disoriented.
Soon enough, the path ended. A small body of water separated us from the rest of the path. There was once a bridge but it had collapsed. I recalled what Gandalf said about not going into the water. I turned to Thorin. "What now?"
Kili walked to a nearby vine that lead into a series of vines stretching over the water.
"These vines look sturdy enough," he said gripping onto a branching end. He began to act as if he was going to begin the climb.
"Kili, stop," Thorin shouted. "We send the lightest first."
Thorin nodded to me and then gestured to the vines. I walked over to the vine Kili was holding.
"Adina, you don't have to do this," he pleaded.
"Yes, I do. I need to make up for myself." I grasped the vine as hard as I could. My knuckles turned white. I stabilized myself before I took the next step. The vine swayed a bit, but I maintained my balance. I maneuvered myself through the vines and across the river. When I was about some distance away, my foot slipped. I quickly readjusted my hands to keep myself from plummeting into the water. I hung over the dark river and stared at my reflection. Suddenly my mind drifted away and my eyes became tired. My grip loosened and I slid closer to the water. I jolted myself awake and returned my hold.
"Hold off back there! It's not safe, something's wrong!" I exclaimed. I turned my head to look behind me but my words were too late. Every dwarf had already began their way across the river. I groaned and continued to climb.
We weaved our bodies through the branches, trying to keep ourselves upright. My weight grew heavier and it became almost impossible for me to keep my eyes open. It seemed all the dwarves were struggling with the same things. Bomber didn't last long before he fell into the river. We all sighed and started our way down towards him to try to carry him the rest of the way.
Once we were across the river, we then worked our way in and out of trees. My feet grew tired fast. It took all my energy just to keep myself upright. We had only been in Mirkwood for maybe a mile or so, but there was no doubt that we had been walking in circles. The path never seemed to end. With each step it felt like my feet sunk deeper into the soft dirt as leaves crackled beneath.
I looked around me. Everyone seemed to be in a daze as well. Kili looked half asleep while Fili continued to drag his feet. I spun around to find Bilbo, which made me feel incredibly dizzy and nauseous. He was only a few paces behind me but he was blinking aggressively to keep his eyes open. He slumped as he walked and momentarily would bounce off every other tree.
We continued to drag on until night began to fall upon us. The setting became very dark and the air thicken to the point where taking a breath exhausted me.
"Air. I need air," Bofur complained.
"My head is spinning," Kili exhaled. He stumbled into me and almost knocked me over. I used all my effort to help him gain his balance. Dwalin stopped ahead.
"The path! It's gone! Find the path!" He exclaimed. Everyone immediately shift their eyes to the ground and spun around in circles.
"Find it! All of you!" Thorin commanded out of breath. After running around in circles for a moment we all became dizzy and sick to our stomachs.
"What's going on? What hour is it?" Gloin mumbled.
"Who cares about time! I don't even know what day it is!" Bofur shot back.
"None of it looks familiar, I don't remember any of these places," Balin said with discouragement.
"There is no end to this accursed forest!" Thorin shouted. The echo bounced around until it faded away into the miles of trees.
"I gotta sit down," I exhaled and collapsed. Bilbo slumped over a rock across from me. He slowly lifted up his hand and touched a stringy, white substance that was next to him. I squinted and tilted my head. It looked like a giant web. Suddenly a hand fell in front of me. A blurry Fili stood before me.
"We- we have to keep moving," he babbled. Kili hung off his shoulder. I stood, but almost fell over.
Dori reached down in front of him and picked up a pouch, "A tobacco pouch. There's dwarves in these woods."
Oin looked alarmed. Bofur grasped the item as well.
"This looks like mine," he said.
"That's because it is yours!" Bilbo stumbled out of nowhere. "Can't you all see? We are going in circles!"
"We can't keep going on, we gotta," I slurred. I spun myself around and then looked up. I pointed to the sky that was hidden by wicked branches. "We gotta go up...up there."
"Ah yes, th-that's good," Bilbo muttered. We quickly gathered ourselves and began our climb to the top while the dwarves wandered aimlessly below. I was surprisingly able to hold my attention long enough to get to the top. Bilbo was right along with me.
I came along my final steps and steadied my feet on the bark. I shoved my forearms through the bush of leaves and opened my arms to part the twigs. A beam of soft light broke through. I squinted and took one more step to bring half of my body out into the fresh air.
I took a deep breath and let my eyes close after strenuously keeping them open. Pure air rushes through my nose as a refreshing breeze blew through my matted hair. I stretched my hands to the sky and stretched my fingertips to the clouds. Half of a sun rested on the horizon with a flaming gold and orange beam. Purple and blue streaks stretched overhead. A mass of blue and silver butterflies emerged from the depths of the forest to take flight to the open sky. I wished to have their freedom. I was jealous of how easy it was for them to escape to the world. I brought myself back to scan the terrain and there it stood before me... the mountain of stories.
"We're so close," I sighed to Bilbo.
"Indeed we are, but only if we keep going. We have to find a way out of this dreadful place."
"We must get to the others! We can't hold off now." Excited grew within me as I called down to the others, but silence followed. There was no answer below. My heart stopped. I quickly shifted my footing so I could begin to maneuver back down. The company was gone...no sign of them anywhere. I quickly stood back up to Bilbo's view.
