Unexpected

Chapter 4: Trolls

The troll panicked. It had just sneezed all over the poor hobbit, who had been mistaken for a handkerchief.

"Ahh! Blimey! Look! Look! Look what's come out of me 'ooter! It's got arms and legs and everything." The other two trolls gathered around to look. Bilbo laid on the handkerchief, covered in the disgusting substance. The troll shook Bilbo off the handkerchief and onto the ground.

"What are you?" One asked, "An oversized squibble?"

"I'm a burglar-- uhh, Hobbit." Bilbo stuttered.

"A Burglar-Hobbit?"

"Can we cook 'im?"

"We can try!" It said as it reached for the hobbit. He dodged thanks to his small size. Bilbo ran, only to be cornered by another troll. They continued to try and capture Bilbo while he continued to dodge. Eili took this chance and slowly moved closer to the trolls. One of them picked up a ladle to hit the hobbit. It swung, hitting one of his fellow trolls in the process. She watched as the creature caught Bilbo by the legs and held him upside down in the air.

"Are there any more of you little fellas hiding where you shouldn't?" It asked.

"No. It's jus-" Bilbo was cut off.

"He's lying!"

"No I'm not!" He exclaimed. Eili had to get him down. She had to take matters into her own hands. She decided to go for the troll that held Bilbo. Eili would slash his leg and he would instinctively grab his leg, therefore dropping the hobbit.

"Hold his toes over the fire. Make him squeal." The leader said.

Now was her chance. Since the trolls had switched positions, Eili had to improvise. Their backs were turned as they moved towards the fire. She ran out and slashed one of the trolls. He started to howl and fell. The earth shook a bit when the troll hit the ground.

"Drop him!" The young dwarf yelled. She could feel my voice shake.

"You what?" The one asked. It still held Bilbo. Eili heard three hoots behind her. Two like a barn owl, one like a brown owl. Thank goodness.

"I said drop him." She held her sword in front of herself and looked at Bilbo. His expression was a mix of relief and fear. Eili looked back at the troll. It hesitated, then threw Bilbo at her. Just then, the whole Company ran out from their cover. Eili caught the hobbit, forcing them both backwards.

"Are you alright?!" The young dwarf asked. He nodded and thanked her gratefully. They scrambled to their feet and joined the battle. Eili began firing arrows at the trolls' eyes. One of the trolls stumbled towards her and she drove her sword into its leg. Eili had always loved watching the Company fight. Everyone was always in perfect sync with each other. One would swing their ax, the dwarf in front would dodge it by kneeling, and then another would jump onto the kneelers back. She was always in awe, and now she was a part of it. Unfortunately, all of it was put to an end very quickly. Upon trying to free the ponies, which he successfully did, Bilbo was caught. The trolls held him by all four limbs.

"Lay down your arms, or we'll rip his off." The creature exclaimed.

Kili looked to his uncle for guidance. Thorin looked in frustration at Bilbo and impaled the ground with his sword. The company followed, throwing down their weapons. Eili removed her bow, quiver, sword, and knife, throwing them to the ground.

•

The trolls tied them all in sacks. Several dwarves were tied to a spit above the fire and the rest were lying on the ground nearby. The trolls debated how to cook the Company. Sauté, grill, turn them to jelly, season them. "Never mind the seasoning; we ain't got all night! Dawn ain't far away, so let's get a move on. I don't fancy being turned to stone." Bilbos head bobbed up. Mountain trolls turn to stone at the sight of sunlight. Eili thought. If we distracted them long enough, perhaps the sun will take them.

"Wait, you're making a terrible mistake!" The hobbit shouted, gaining the trolls' attention. Bilbo managed to stand up, despite being tied in the sack.

"I meant with the, uh, with the seasoning." He thought quickly.

"What about the seasoning?" The troll asked.

Bilbo continued to reason with them. He had been buying the Company time, and it had undoubtedly worked. The hobbit suggested even more ways to cook them. Eili must have been the only one to catch on, because the other dwarves threatened to beat the hobbit.

"The secret to cooking dwarf is to, uh, skin them first!" Bilbo stuttere.

"What a load of rubbish!" The troll said. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all."

Another troll joined in. "He's right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf! Nice and crunchy." He grabbed Bombur and dangled him upside down over his mouth.

"Not that one, he's infected!" Bilbo exclaimed. "He's got worms in his... Tubes!"

The troll was truly disturbed. He immediately dropped Bombur onto the ground.

"In fact, they all have it, they're all infested with parasites. It's a terrible business; I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't." Bilbo added.

The Company looked quite confused.

"Did he say parasites?"

"We don't have parasites! You have parasites!"

Thorin kicked them. The dwarves realized what Bilbo meant and went along with his plan.

"I've got parasites as big as my arm!"

"I've got the biggest parasites! I've got huge parasites!"

Just then, Gandalf appeared on the large rocks above the clearing.
"The dawn will take you all!"

Gandalf stroke the rock with his staff, splitting the rock in half. The sunlight behind it began to pour into the clearing. When the sunlight hit the trolls' skin, they began turning into stone amidst loud screams and howls of pain. Within seconds, there were three stone statues of trolls. All the dwarves began to cheer and laugh. Eili laughed at the dwarves still roasting on the spit.