Daughter of The Darkness

Chapter 11

When Smaug attacked

The huge dragon ripped had ripped and burned its way through Dale. Hundreds of people lay dead across its once lively and festive streets. But the city of Dale meant nothing to the Fire Drake, he was after another, far greater prize.

"Elfreda, get yourself and the women and children out!" ordered Thrain. They were in the armoury, the rest of the soldiers had left, following the young dwarf Thorin into battle at the main gate. Elfreda strapped her belt around her waist, sheathing her sword in it too. She walked you to the heir of Erebor and said sternly
"Forgive me sir, but I am not going anywhere whilst Erebor still stands" Thrain huffed, she had the stubbornness of any dwarf lord.
"Fine," he said "but take these, this may be the only way to get in again when the time comes,". With this he handed her a roll of parchment tied in a scroll with a key. Elfreda took it, hiding it in her quiver, there it would be safe.
With that she left the armoury looping the long leather strap which held her quiver around her back. Thrain departed around the back of the mountain, he needed to find his father.

Elfreda, now alone, sprinted down the main causeway, she could hear the screams and the crunches of the dwarven soldiers. She arrived at what had been the main gate. Now it was a gaping hole, the solid rock had been ripped apart, large cubes of the heavy substance where thrown across the once beautiful hallway.

She saw the dragon. It was huge and covered with black smog. It breathed a hurricane of blazing red fire. It funnelled towards her.
Luckily Elfreda ducked under one of the ginormous blocks. The heat the came over the top of her was almost too intense. It's heat fried the air around her, making it hard to breathe, she chocked falling forwards onto her stomach- she had never felt this weak.

The blaze of fire stopped and the instinct to breathe overcame Elfreda. She inhaled the fresh air, which filled her lungs and filled her again with courage.

She stood as a giant foot plunged towards her. A hand grabbed her and pulled her backwards. She landed on the ground with a huff. The young dwarf prince fell next to her.
"Thanks, Thorin!" she exclaimed. He looked scared. She nudged his shoulder.
"Come on," she said, standing up. Elfreda held out her hand, pulling up. They grasped each others wrists in symbol of their loyalty as friendship.

A roar echoed like thunder. Elfreda glanced over at Thorin, who looked back at her. There was another roar an this time there was a yell of pain.

"The king!" Thorin shouted. He sprinted off as fast as his legs could carry him. Elfreda ran after him. Thorin shouted for his grandfather, but there was no reply.

Elfreda had an idea. She lead her friend to the gold hoard. They ran down a circuit of small corridors and hallways. Every now and again, they would find a huddle of dwarves, crying and praying to protection. The young prince ordered them to get out, and get far away to their brothers in the Iron Hills. They followed their young leaders advise.

When the young leader and his companion arrived, they saw Thrain calling for his father an his king. All three of them looked around for their king but to no hope.
"The dragon is getting too near, we must find him!" fretted Thrain. That was when Elfreda spotted Thròr. He was piling as much gold as possible into his garments.
"The dragon sickness will end him," confronted Elfreda. The others knew it was true- they must take him away from this curse.
"I'll get him and we'll get him out of here!" she stated. With that she ran off, sliding down the stair case into the valley of gold. She searched for Thrór's shadow amongst the heaps of cursed treasure.

He was less than ten meters in front of her. She forward rolled and picked up a large golden goblet. Behind her king, she apologised to him before knocking him out cold with a knock to the head. Elfreda helped the heavy king up and emptied his pockets to make him lighter. With his arm around her shoulder, she heaved him through the valley of metal and up the stair case to where his relatives waited, worrying.

She handed the king to his son and his grandson who put one arm around each shoulder.

The dragon had finally arrived.

It dived into the gold, causing a huge wave which erupted like the explosion of a golden star. The dragon laughed and buried itself. Smaugs wings and tail swung and flapped about. The tail swooped around.

Thorin turned around to look at Elfreda. Her eyes opened wide with fear. She smile sweetly at Thorin, just as the beasts tail sweeped her aside, dragging her off into the piles of endless treasure.

"Elfreda!" Thorin cried. His father held his son as he screamed for his friend. Thorin tried to go after her but he father pushed him back.
"We need to go," ordered his father "Elfreda would not want you to die for her when she has already passed to our ancestors,"
Thrain was right. The heir and the young prince carried the king out of the mountain.

Elfreda was tossed and turned, beaten and bruised as she was stirred in with the gold. She was flung aside, flying through the air until he landed with a hefty thud on the stone floor. Elfreda skidded along the floor, she was bleeding all over her body. Elfreda felt she would die here, like many of her friends and colleagues.

Then she remembered the scroll. Elfreda crawled, pulling herself along with her fingers. She finally scrambled behind a wall; pushing herself up, her broken back relying on the stone to support her. She cut the leather strap of her quiver, pulling it off of her back. She emptied the arrows out of it, and found the scroll. Elfreda untied the key from the scroll, she then tied it around her neck for safe keeping. Unrolling the parchment, Elfreda gasped as she saw a map of Middle Earth. She read the ancient dwarvish symbols. Moon runes. Elfreda rolled it back up and slotted it into her quiver- she had to get out now.