Chapter Text
The Goblin King was screaming about Gandalf wielding Glamdring behind them as everyone scrambled for their weapons. Bofur was tossing them backwards to Bombur who tossed what looked like Kíli’s sword back down the line. The one who took the longest was unsurprisingly Fíli. While it was good practice to have a weapon for any situation, it sure took the boy a long time to search for them when they were strewed about.
At one point Dwalin bashed a goblin’s head in with Óin’s battle staff and Thorin hoped he hadn’t damaged it. They would never hear the end from their healer.
The ensuing fight, once everyone was situated, was something to behold. They were sorely outnumbered, even with the addition of the elf warriors, along with Lindir, and Thorin wasn’t sure how exactly it was they had been able to survive it the first time they had done this.
Amazingly enough, Bombur and Ori were the ones doing the most damage. Strength clearly ran in the family of ‘Ri with how Ori was swinging that hammer around while Bombur just pushed goblins aside.
Thorin didn’t have any more time to watch the others however, as the Goblin King finally found his footing and headed right for him. He quickly reached for Orcrist as Nori held it out to him and blocked the downward strike of the large pike just a fast, causing the larger creature to stumble back and finally tumble off the platform.
Rather then watching to ensure the goblin king actually fell down far enough so as not to come right back at him from behind, Thorin quickly headed back for his axe and sword Deathless. He knew it wouldn’t be until they were near the bottom again before they saw the foul creature and he was not about to leave either of his long time companions behind this time.
He hoped they wouldn’t go tumbling down the crevice on the three-level bridge again. ‘Or have a giant corpse land on us,’ he remembered with a distasteful grimace. However, what Thorin wanted and what was actually happening had yet to coincide with each other as of yet. Thorin wasn’t about to rule anything out any more.
Orcrist was just a magnificent blade as it had been before, slicing through goblin thick hide as if it were creamed butter. It seemed as if Gandalf was having the same ease as Thorin was if the bouncing goblin head was anything to go by. ‘Must be the way the elves forge their metal,’ Thorin realized when he saw Glorfindel going through goblins with the same smoothness. Elrohir had put away his bow in favor of his own sword and the two were making quite the headway through goblins towards the Company.
Poor Lindir, however, was practically clinging to Gandalf’s side. It was clear that the minstrel had received some training with his sword but it was also extremely apparent that the elf had fallen very out of practice. He spent most times just parrying with the goblins then actually doing any damage, though he was trying.
Glorifindel made it to Thorin’s side just as he stabbed another two foes clean through.
“How in the world did you all end up here?” Glorfindel asked as they pressed back-to-back.
“An unfortunate combination of assassins, stone-giants and trap doors,” Thorin told him bluntly.
“What?”
“It’s been a terrible day all around really,” Thorin grunted as he swung left and then parried right. “What are all of you doing here with the wizard?”
Glorifindel huffed as he went low for the next swing. “You were the one who said there was something wrong with the Greenwood when we met,” the elf explained. “Everyone was ready to pass it off as wild rumors, but when Elrond and the others were in their council it seems that some of your statements were partially confirmed. Elrond really didn’t have a choice in sending someone to investigate the claims. Elrohir volunteered and of course Elladan couldn’t be left out. Seeing as the boys are good friends of Legolas, Lindir was sent to be a impartial witness.”
“That explains them,” Thorin grunted as he sliced through an arm and back up across a goblin’s chest. “Then why are you here?”
“The things you said about Thranduil made me curious so I tagged along,” he shrugged as much as he could while pushing back another rush attempt.
Thorin gave the elf a pointed look in the few seconds between attacks. “Bullshit.”
Glorfindel gave a boisterous laugh. “Very well. The truth is, it’s rather boring in Rivendell,” he proclaimed as he struck down another opponent, “and you’re the most interesting thing to come along in the last one hundred years or so.”
“Glad I could be of service to stave off your boredom,” Thorin grinned.
“Would you two shut up and focus on the thrice damned fight in front of you!” Glóin bellowed. “This is not a time for a social visit!”
“There’s always time for a social visit,” Thorin retorted even as he ran another Goblin through. “Dori! You wouldn’t happen to have any tea on you, perchance?”
“Shut your kingly trap and go kill some more goblins!” Dori snapped as he braced against the hard swing of a goblin blade.
Everyone around them grunted in agreement just as Gandalf called for everyone to follow him and quickly.
‘Does he know the way out?’ Thorin wondered briefly as they followed the gray figure. ‘Or is he just running at random?’
Not that any of them had a choice. Running was their only option and the only reason they were doing so well was due to the fact that the platforms upon which they were fighting could only hold so many. Most goblins were getting shoved off the edge by their own fellow goblins in a bid to get the dwarrows, wizard and now elves.
Needless to say, since he knew which direction they were going to run in, Thorin was right in front leading the way down to the swaying bridge. He couldn’t say who was behind him aside from Glorfindel and that was only because when a goblin appeared above him, the taller elf’s longer arm had an easier reach.
Thorin ignored the screaming goblin in order to ensure the path in front was clear. The last time it had been Dwalin and Nori up ahead. Thorin grudgingly wished he had allowed his old warrior-brother to go first. Dwalin’s dual axes would make shorter work of this mess.
Then Thorin looked up and saw the mass hoard running right towards them.
“Dwalin!”
“Here!” and the next thing he knew, the dwarf himself was pushing past the tall elf none too gentle. He took one look at the coming goblins and instantly spun around. “Post!”
He, Thorin and Nori, who had followed Dwalin, Fíli and Bifur instantly cut the ropes holding together the railing while Glorfindel just looked on bemused.
“Charge!”
Swinging the giant post back and forth actually was more fun then Thorin expected. Especially since Glorfindel and Lindir who was between Fíli and Bifur, couldn’t figure out which way to go and simply ended up leaping over it every time it swung their way.
“I should be up front more often,” Thorin chuckled. “You have a lot more fun.”
“This is not the time to be making jokes!” Lindir yelped, sounding completely distraught. Fíli just let out a burst of hysterical laughter and Thorin couldn’t help but join him.
The fighting continued in its chaos and Thorin had lost count of how many he had struck down. He was hoping to have a higher number then last time but Glorifindel was unfortunately much lighter on his feet and kept beating Thorin to the kill.
Coming up to a three-way split at the end of the bridge simply meant that goblins were now charging at them from three different directions. Balin was handling his own quite nicely while Óin was having a hay-day swinging his battle staff around, knocking any goblin near him down and out. ‘Old warrior my arse,’
Thorin was actually impressed with how much he remembered about this fight as he sliced three more goblins down to size. Especially considering he had done all he could to try and forget the whole experience.
He glanced to the left just in time to see the one batch of goblins going for ropes in order to swing down at them from the side. “Cut the ropes!” he ordered and didn’t bother to watch the falling scaffolding tangle the swinging goblins this time, no matter how amusing it had been.
He’d have to remember to mention to Kíli how fortunate his quick thinking with the ladder had been as he and the others who had gotten separated scrambled over it.
It was another mad dash to the broken off bridge that most likely had been damaged when the large goblin had fallen on it. Thorin paused at the one end to ensure everyone got on, a feat he had to accomplish by pushing one of Elrond’s sons up before Kíli cut the rope holding it in place.
Being on a large, rickety bridge swinging freely was apparently more than Lindir could take and he was the first one off when it swung close enough to the other side of the crevice.
Everyone scrambled off when it swung back the second time and Fíli cut the last rope suspending the thing.
Thorin felt a swell of pride in his chest at his nephews clear thinking during battle. He had been worried when they had bunked down in that smaller cave that the attack of the dwarrow assassins would have hindered this battle but evidently being thrust into life-or-death situations meant they had no time to dwell over such things. He would be sure to have a long, sit-down talk with them on the morrow after they got down from that blasted large rock that Beorn’s ancestors had carved.
It was just chaos of flashing swords and snarling goblins as they continued on their mad dash to what everyone else thought was safety and what Thorin knew was just going to be more fighting.
Bombur’s sudden appearance behind them surprised Thorin for a moment and he wondered how everyone kept getting separated.
“This whole place is just one giant maze!” he snarled as he took out another goblin. “Gandalf! Are you sure you know where you’re going? Or are we lost? Again?”
There was a laugh from one of Elrond’s sons, truly Thorin couldn’t tell which was which and frankly didn’t care either way, as Gandalf shot him an unamused look before turning the corner and knocking some more goblins aside.
A tap of the wizard’s staff and a boulder dropped down in front of them that Dwalin and Fíli instantly took advantage of, Bofur lunging to help shove it down the path ahead of them.
Thorin couldn’t help but snicker as goblins were practically mowed down by the thing, complete with squishing sounds. The cry of the one that went over the cliff with the boulder was especially entertaining.
“You’re enjoying this far too much,” Glorfindel rebuked.
“Oh don’t try to tell me you’re not,” Thorin smirked back as he spun around and took another goblins head.
In truth, the blond elf did look like he was having far too much fun himself as he sliced through the chest of another opponent. “Maybe.”
“You must admit this far outweighs the monotony of Rivendell,” Thorin pressed as he chopped off one goblin’s arm and then ran him through.
“You seem rather enthusiastic about all of this,” Glorfindel chose to say instead of replying to that statement.
“As I said, It’s been one hell of a day,” Thorin told him. “Unfortunately it’s not over yet.”
“Don’t say that!” both Glóin and Lindir shouted back at him.
Thorin was amused, albeit a bit puzzled over their sudden panic, but didn’t have much time to ponder it when their conversation was suddenly cut off by the surprise appearance of the Goblin King springing up through the bridge ahead of them.
Everyone crashed into one another as they skidded to a stop while the goblins chasing them blocked off the way they had come.
“You thought you could escape me,” the Goblin King crowed before taking a swing at Gandalf. Glorfindel left Thorin’s side and pressed through the others in order to reach the wizard’s side as Gandalf fell back onto Ori and Nori who helped the old Maiar up.
“What are you going to do now, Wizard?” the giant creature sneered.
Gandalf jabbed his staff in the foul thing’s eye the same time an elf arrow got the other one and Gandalf sliced through his belly while Glorfindel got the throat this time.
Pity. The Goblin King’s last words of “that’ll do it” the last time had been quite amusing.
“Brace yourselves!” Thorin shouted the same time the sound of the bridge supports cracking reached them.
There was the moment that seemed to just still as the structure wobbled before with a crunch, the whole thing fell out from under their feet.
The slid downward was just as fast and as heart-pounding as before. The side Thorin was closest to scrapped along the the stone wall and they bounced over large rock formations that stuck out from it.
Everyone was screaming, the elves included!
Lindir, unsurprisingly was the loudest of them all. Or it could have been the fact that he sounded the loudest since he was right next to Thorin, gripping his shoulder so tight that Thorin was sure that he unintentionally opened up his spear wound all over again.
Not that he could get the elf to let go. Tapered fingernails were practically digging into his overcoat.
The fall seemed to go on for forever. It was amazing how no one so much as fell off in the rapid decent the bridge did.
Many heartbeats later, they finally went over the edge and fell down the narrowing portion of the crevice before slowing down enough and coming to rest at the bottom and collapsed in on itself.
Thorin was already moving before they had come to a full and complete stop, leaping off the bridge and to the actual ground, hauling Lindir out of the rubble since they elf still hadn’t let go.
He managed to go back around and begin hauling Kíli out just as Bofur announced how it could have been worse.
Thorin quickly just heaved his nephew out of the pile of broken wood and leapt backwards, pulling Kíli and Lindir with him just as the body landed on top of the others with a solid thud. All three of them landed on their backsides since Thorin was still pulling mighty when Kíli had popped free.
His nephew simply blinked up at him before looking back at everyone groaning under the weight of the goblin. “Thanks.”
Thorin patted his nephew’s shoulder. “Don’t mention it,” he said but Kíli was already screaming for Gandalf as he had noticed the approaching goblin hoard when he looked back up the way they had come.
Dwalin was holding Nori upright when he looked to Thorin. “There’s too many. We can’t fight them.”
“The sun!” Lindir shouted back.
“Yes, only daylight can save us now!” Gandalf informed them. “Quickly!”
It was another mad scramble to find their footing and help others out of the broken splinters of wood. Elrond’s sons were helping Glóin and Dori out of the rubble while Kíli grabbed Ori. Thorin checked to ensure Fíli was alright before he pushed them forward down the path Gandalf was running. He made sure everyone was clear, even the elves before following.
Then Thorin had that damn feeling again, as they dashed for the sliver of daylight still ahead of them. Something tingled at the edge of his awareness and he slowed down.
Hadn’t there been a crack in the wall just a moment ago?
Skidding to a sudden halt, Thorin whirled around and headed back the way they came. Bilbo! How in the world could he have forgotten? Bilbo had to have come out the same way they had in order for them to meet up so quickly! That meant that they had used the same tunnel out onto the mountainside proper!
“Thorin?” Bombur gasped out as they passed each other.
“Keep going, I’ll catch up,” he shouted back over his shoulder as he skidded to a stop at the hole.
Peering into the gloom, something made him look down just in time to see a huge head with wide, mad eyes leap up in front of him with long, boney fingers stretched out to claw at his face.
Thorin just reacted and Orcris sliced through the gray creature’s neck easily.
“Yuck. It’s more hideous in person,” he muttered as he stared down at the corpse.
“Thorin?”
Bilbo was scrambling towards him and Thorin saw him shoving something in his pocket as he did so.
Thorin’s breath left him in a whoosh before he could help himself. Bilbo got it! He had found and claimed the One Ring! Thorin didn’t know whether to be happy about this or absolutely terrified.
He’d go with apathy for the moment. There was absolutely no time to dwell on such thing until later.
Holding out a hand for Bilbo to take, he lifted the Hobbit right off his furry feet and over the corpse of the foul creature Thorin had first seen in a dream at Bag End.
“A ring,” Thorin grunted as started running again, pulling Bilbo behind him.
“What?” Bilbo gasped out as they headed for the open gap before them.
“The answer to your riddle,” he elaborated as they burst out into the sunlight. “A ring. One that we’re going to have to have a long discussion about later. For now, keep running.”
Bilbo’s hand tightened around his own and they raced away from gloom of the Misty Mountains and all the horrors it contained.