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windemereOoh, the exciting part!
Disclaimer: Tolkien. Peter Jackson. Need I say more? There are quite a few lines from TH: AUJ in here, which of course belong to Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro. Lots of dialogue from the movie in this part.
They wake to Thorin’s shouts and the ground falling away beneath them. It’s not a pleasant wakeup call.
Each of them has known fear before now, not least when they were being chased across the wilderness by a pack of wargs, though some of them may be unwilling to admit it. But the fear that courses through them as they fall into the unknown, tumbling and bumping into each other, is worse still.
The shock of landing takes Kili’s breath away and for a moment he can’t see or hear, stunned senseless. When his sense return he looks around him, searching and finding the others around or under him. They are in a roofless cage that looks suspiciously like it is made of bone; the cavern beyond, lit by firelight, is massive.
Before anything else can filter into Fili’s consciousness they are being grabbed and shoved and surrounded by the ugliest creatures the dwarves have ever seen. ‘Fili’, he whispers to his brother, only to be shoved roughly by the goblin behind him. Fili glances back but receives his own shove.
They are route marched through winding pathways along the cavern walls until they round a corner and can see in the distance a well-lit platform and the giant form of the ugliest goblin yet.
The shudder that passes through Kili is involuntary and completely appropriate.
Even more creatures surround them as they are herded onto the platform in front of the goblin king. Kili doesn’t mind being hidden behind some of the others, but there is his uncle out in front. Suddenly, Kili knows for certain they will die here. They are more than outnumbered and even if they could fight off the immediately hoard enough to escape, there are thousands of goblins around. They will be picked off one by one until the company are all gone and they will never reach daylight. Whichever direction daylight is.
He wants to protest as they are stripped of their weapons, but he can’t even form words. This little quest of their uncle’s is no longer the fun adventure it started out as. Kili just really wants to be home, suddenly, back in the Blue Mountains. He feels a rush of shame go through him at the thought. No doubt the others are all being strong and determined. Even Ori is managing not to look scared.
Hold up, you coward, Kili thinks to himself. The stories he grew up hearing were worse than this. The odds considerably more against the dwarves, and yet he is surrounded by warriors who survived those battles.
There is still hope.
Shame quickly turns to anger at the goblin king’s insult to Thorin. But the next comment sends a rush of disbelief and renewed fear through him. He turns to stare at his brother in shock.
How can the orc leader be alive? Balin said he died and Kili believes Balin above all others when he tells the stories. The orc had lost an arm, for Mahal’s sake!
Thorin thinks likewise, though Kili can hear a note in the voice. His uncle is worried and not just about the situation they are in. He is worried the goblin king speaks true.
‘Send word to the Pale Orc: tell him I have found his prize.’
Kili can see his uncle pale under his dark beard, even in the rosy glow of the torches burning around them. Kili can feel his own heart sink. Maybe it’s not the same orc, but how many pale orcs are there lying around?
Blessedly, or not, there is soon a distraction to be had. The goblin’s calls for the torture implements have been met quickly. Kili can hear the commotion start in the distance, goblins screaming and laughing in their horrible voices. Soon, in the distance along the boardwalks, a great mass of creatures can be seen and between them they drag the most hideous devices the dwarves have ever seen. Crude doesn’t even begin to describe them.
Kili’s heart sinks further and the hope that had been glimmering in his heart, disguised as courage, fails.
He looks up to see his uncle staring at him. There is fear in Thorin’s eyes. Genuine fear and regret. Kili knows Thorin wishes now he’d left his nephews behind. Kili sort of wishes the same thing. He can’t stand it, seeing the weakness in the great warriors gaze so he turns his eyes to his fair-haired brother instead. Fili looks as bleak, but at least it helps a bit, this silent communication between brothers.
If anything, the goblins’ singing is worse than their talking.
The sudden commotion in front of the group is at least a distraction. It is only after the cry echoes from the goblin nearest the dwarven weapon pile that Kili realises what has happened. Of course, the sword. The one Gandalf had given to Thorin. Thorin had explained what Lord Elrond had told him about the new weapon to the company as they climbed the west side of the mountains, but Kili had just thought it was another story. The time of the old elves was long past and how could Elrond know where the sword came from just by looking at it? A better question was how these goblins knew about it, so many generations after the events that had named it.
But Kili doesn’t have to wonder about that for long. The great goblin is not impressed and suddenly their captors bear down upon them. Kili sees his uncle disappear underneath a group of creatures and he tries to get to him.
‘Thorin!’ he cries, but his cry is lost in the shouting of eleven other dwarves.
The blast is stunning. Kili’s ears are left ringing and there are dark spots in his vision. For a silent moment, no one moves – dwarf or goblin. Kili is not certain what’s happened, but at least the goblins have stopped trying to kill Thorin.
Kili stumbles to his feet with the others, sound beginning to trickle back into his ears. There is Gandalf, staff in one hand, sword in the other. Gandalf, come to rescue them. Kili has never been so happy to see anyone in his life.
‘Take up arms. Fight! Fight!’ the wizard shouts at them and the dwarves need not further instructions. They dive for the weapons strewn before them, grabbing their own and any goblin blades at hand and begin to hack and slash. Kili grabs the nearest sharp object and slashes down the goblin in front on him in order to retrieve his bow and arrows. Goblins fall everywhere around them. The dwarves are angry now and Kili knows they won’t stop until every last goblin is dead. The great king himself tumbles out of sight, but Kili doesn’t spare a further glance.
‘Follow me,’ Gandalf calls. Quick! Run!’ Kili and the others are only too happy to comply. It feels good to run, slashing and hacking away at the creatures that swarm them, sending dozens plummeting off the boardwalks to their deaths. Kili allows the thrill of battle to race through him, burning away fear and worry and everything except the desire and drive to kill the enemy. It feels wonderful.
The cavern walls and torches pass in a blur. It is all the dwarves can do to keep ahead of their pursuers. The goblins know these paths better than them, but clearly Gandalf has a destination in mind.
Kili ducks as an arrow sails towards him and then knocks another two aside with his sword, just as he spots the goblin shooting at him. There are a few more arrows yet. Quickly he grabs the nearest object to hand – a wooden ladder – and uses it as a make-shift shield against the rest of the volley and then lets it drop down on the heads of the goblins. It is good thinking and serves to create the bridge they need in the next gap in the path. As Kili runs by Dwalin, the warrior smashes the ladder behind them, cutting off the goblin’s ability to follow. He turns to slap Kili hard on the back.
The cavern is a maze of pathways and boardwalks, but Gandalf never slows or loses his way.
Kili thinks they must be getting near the exit. His arms are tired and the strength the battle has brought is already beginning to fade. They need to reach the end soon.
Before them, the wooden floor erupts in a shower of wooden fragments and the goblin king stands before them. Kili had rather thought they’d gotten rid of him.
‘You thought you could escape me?’ he asks the company. ‘What are you going to do now, wizard?’
Kili tightens his grip on the sword in his hand, bracing for a renewed fight.
With a swing of his staff and a slash of his sword, Gandalf gets there first. The great goblin falls forward and Gandalf slashes at his neck, killing him. Below them, the bridge they are on collapses, sending them hurtling downwards. Away from the goblins, at least.
Down, down they fall and Kili can feel his heart in his throat, wondering if they will ever reach a bottom. They reach it soon enough.
‘Ow,’ he mutters, as the bridge collapses on top of him. The other dwarves echo the feeling.
‘Well, that could have been worse,’ Bofur states, right before something very heavy lands on top of them again. It is only the smell that tells Kili it’s the dead goblin.
‘You’ve got to be joking!’ Dwalin shouts. Kili agrees, but he pulls himself out from under the wreckage all the same and looks around. Apparently, there is a bottom to the bloody mountain.
Unfortunately, they aren’t safe yet. Kili is the first to spot the thousands of moving figures racing down the sides of the cavern.
‘Gandalf!’ he screams.
They cannot hope to fight this many. ‘Only one thing will save us: daylight! Here, on your feet!’ Quickly the company complies and flies after the wizard as he races away.
There is less goblin construction down here, so hopefully that is a good sign. And despite the long fall, Gandalf still seems to know where he is going. It doesn’t take long before they reach a long tunnel and hurtle down it, vaguely aware of a light in the distance that is not fire.
Kili can feel the relief so great it nearly knocks him over when they emerge from the cave entrance into a dying day. There are trees and birds and sunlight. Safety.
Finally, they slow to a halt amongst the pines, trying to catch their breaths. Kili is inordinately tired.
Fili manages a smile for his brother. ‘That was some fight,’ he mutters.
‘Fight?’ Kili echoes. ‘I think that counts as battle.’
‘Where is our Hobbit?’ Gandalf shouts.
That’s a very good question. Kili suddenly can’t remember when last he saw Bilbo.
‘Curse the Halfling! Now he’s lost?’ Dwalin sounds more than a little annoyed. Not that he and Bilbo have exactly gotten on well.
‘I thought he was with Dori!’ Gloin protests, as if it’s his fault the Hobbit has disappeared.
‘Don’t blame me!’ Dori returns, equally annoyed.
‘Well, where did you see him last?’ Gandalf asks. It’s a reasonable question, but there is a note of intense worry in the wizard’s voice.
Nori pipes up from the back. ‘I think I saw him slip away, when they first collared us.’
Kili thinks that might be true. Actually, he hasn’t seen Bilbo since they fell asleep in the cave on the west side of the mountains after saving the Halfling from a tumble to his death.
‘What happened exactly? Tell me!’ Gandalf demands, and there is real worry in his voice now.
‘I’ll tell you what happened,’ Thorin starts. Kili turns to look at his uncle. The look on his face is thunderous. ‘Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He’s thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone.’
Kili hopes that is not true, but the evidence suggests it is. Though more likely he was caught by goblins and is now dead.
‘No, he isn’t,’ the soft cultured voice behind them makes everyone jump. Bilbo appears as if out of thin around from around a pine tree. Kili shares a grin with his brother.
‘Bilbo Baggins! I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my life!’ Gandalf announces.
‘Bilbo,’ Kili smiles as the Hobbit nears him. ‘We’d given you up!’
‘How on earth did you get past the goblins?’ Fili asks what they’ve all been wondering.
‘How indeed,’ Dwalin mutters, loud enough for all to hear.
Bilbo hesitates.
‘Well, what does it matter? He’s back!’ Gandalf decides, and Kili agrees. They are all safe and well; that’s what matters.
‘It matters!’ Thorin buts in. ‘I want to know: why did you come back?’
Bilbo sighs heavily. Kili opens his mouth to disagree with Thorin, because it doesn’t really matter, but Bilbo gets there first.
‘Look, I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you’re right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books,’ he smiles. ‘And my armchair. And my garden. See, that’s where I belong. That’s home,’ he smiles again, sadly this time. ‘And that’s why I came back, cause you don’t have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back, if I can.’
There is a long silence at that. No one seems to have a response, though Gandalf can’t seem to stop smiling.
Howls break the moment.
Wargs.
‘Out of the frying pan…’ Thorin starts.
Gandalf sighs. ‘…and into the fire! Run! Run!’
***
Um, yeah, cliffhanger? But we all know what happens right? To Be Continued tomorrow...
Disclaimer: Tolkien. Peter Jackson. Need I say more? There are quite a few lines from TH: AUJ in here, which of course belong to Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro. Lots of dialogue from the movie in this part.
They wake to Thorin’s shouts and the ground falling away beneath them. It’s not a pleasant wakeup call.
Each of them has known fear before now, not least when they were being chased across the wilderness by a pack of wargs, though some of them may be unwilling to admit it. But the fear that courses through them as they fall into the unknown, tumbling and bumping into each other, is worse still.
The shock of landing takes Kili’s breath away and for a moment he can’t see or hear, stunned senseless. When his sense return he looks around him, searching and finding the others around or under him. They are in a roofless cage that looks suspiciously like it is made of bone; the cavern beyond, lit by firelight, is massive.
Before anything else can filter into Fili’s consciousness they are being grabbed and shoved and surrounded by the ugliest creatures the dwarves have ever seen. ‘Fili’, he whispers to his brother, only to be shoved roughly by the goblin behind him. Fili glances back but receives his own shove.
They are route marched through winding pathways along the cavern walls until they round a corner and can see in the distance a well-lit platform and the giant form of the ugliest goblin yet.
The shudder that passes through Kili is involuntary and completely appropriate.
Even more creatures surround them as they are herded onto the platform in front of the goblin king. Kili doesn’t mind being hidden behind some of the others, but there is his uncle out in front. Suddenly, Kili knows for certain they will die here. They are more than outnumbered and even if they could fight off the immediately hoard enough to escape, there are thousands of goblins around. They will be picked off one by one until the company are all gone and they will never reach daylight. Whichever direction daylight is.
He wants to protest as they are stripped of their weapons, but he can’t even form words. This little quest of their uncle’s is no longer the fun adventure it started out as. Kili just really wants to be home, suddenly, back in the Blue Mountains. He feels a rush of shame go through him at the thought. No doubt the others are all being strong and determined. Even Ori is managing not to look scared.
Hold up, you coward, Kili thinks to himself. The stories he grew up hearing were worse than this. The odds considerably more against the dwarves, and yet he is surrounded by warriors who survived those battles.
There is still hope.
Shame quickly turns to anger at the goblin king’s insult to Thorin. But the next comment sends a rush of disbelief and renewed fear through him. He turns to stare at his brother in shock.
How can the orc leader be alive? Balin said he died and Kili believes Balin above all others when he tells the stories. The orc had lost an arm, for Mahal’s sake!
Thorin thinks likewise, though Kili can hear a note in the voice. His uncle is worried and not just about the situation they are in. He is worried the goblin king speaks true.
‘Send word to the Pale Orc: tell him I have found his prize.’
Kili can see his uncle pale under his dark beard, even in the rosy glow of the torches burning around them. Kili can feel his own heart sink. Maybe it’s not the same orc, but how many pale orcs are there lying around?
Blessedly, or not, there is soon a distraction to be had. The goblin’s calls for the torture implements have been met quickly. Kili can hear the commotion start in the distance, goblins screaming and laughing in their horrible voices. Soon, in the distance along the boardwalks, a great mass of creatures can be seen and between them they drag the most hideous devices the dwarves have ever seen. Crude doesn’t even begin to describe them.
Kili’s heart sinks further and the hope that had been glimmering in his heart, disguised as courage, fails.
He looks up to see his uncle staring at him. There is fear in Thorin’s eyes. Genuine fear and regret. Kili knows Thorin wishes now he’d left his nephews behind. Kili sort of wishes the same thing. He can’t stand it, seeing the weakness in the great warriors gaze so he turns his eyes to his fair-haired brother instead. Fili looks as bleak, but at least it helps a bit, this silent communication between brothers.
If anything, the goblins’ singing is worse than their talking.
The sudden commotion in front of the group is at least a distraction. It is only after the cry echoes from the goblin nearest the dwarven weapon pile that Kili realises what has happened. Of course, the sword. The one Gandalf had given to Thorin. Thorin had explained what Lord Elrond had told him about the new weapon to the company as they climbed the west side of the mountains, but Kili had just thought it was another story. The time of the old elves was long past and how could Elrond know where the sword came from just by looking at it? A better question was how these goblins knew about it, so many generations after the events that had named it.
But Kili doesn’t have to wonder about that for long. The great goblin is not impressed and suddenly their captors bear down upon them. Kili sees his uncle disappear underneath a group of creatures and he tries to get to him.
‘Thorin!’ he cries, but his cry is lost in the shouting of eleven other dwarves.
The blast is stunning. Kili’s ears are left ringing and there are dark spots in his vision. For a silent moment, no one moves – dwarf or goblin. Kili is not certain what’s happened, but at least the goblins have stopped trying to kill Thorin.
Kili stumbles to his feet with the others, sound beginning to trickle back into his ears. There is Gandalf, staff in one hand, sword in the other. Gandalf, come to rescue them. Kili has never been so happy to see anyone in his life.
‘Take up arms. Fight! Fight!’ the wizard shouts at them and the dwarves need not further instructions. They dive for the weapons strewn before them, grabbing their own and any goblin blades at hand and begin to hack and slash. Kili grabs the nearest sharp object and slashes down the goblin in front on him in order to retrieve his bow and arrows. Goblins fall everywhere around them. The dwarves are angry now and Kili knows they won’t stop until every last goblin is dead. The great king himself tumbles out of sight, but Kili doesn’t spare a further glance.
‘Follow me,’ Gandalf calls. Quick! Run!’ Kili and the others are only too happy to comply. It feels good to run, slashing and hacking away at the creatures that swarm them, sending dozens plummeting off the boardwalks to their deaths. Kili allows the thrill of battle to race through him, burning away fear and worry and everything except the desire and drive to kill the enemy. It feels wonderful.
The cavern walls and torches pass in a blur. It is all the dwarves can do to keep ahead of their pursuers. The goblins know these paths better than them, but clearly Gandalf has a destination in mind.
Kili ducks as an arrow sails towards him and then knocks another two aside with his sword, just as he spots the goblin shooting at him. There are a few more arrows yet. Quickly he grabs the nearest object to hand – a wooden ladder – and uses it as a make-shift shield against the rest of the volley and then lets it drop down on the heads of the goblins. It is good thinking and serves to create the bridge they need in the next gap in the path. As Kili runs by Dwalin, the warrior smashes the ladder behind them, cutting off the goblin’s ability to follow. He turns to slap Kili hard on the back.
The cavern is a maze of pathways and boardwalks, but Gandalf never slows or loses his way.
Kili thinks they must be getting near the exit. His arms are tired and the strength the battle has brought is already beginning to fade. They need to reach the end soon.
Before them, the wooden floor erupts in a shower of wooden fragments and the goblin king stands before them. Kili had rather thought they’d gotten rid of him.
‘You thought you could escape me?’ he asks the company. ‘What are you going to do now, wizard?’
Kili tightens his grip on the sword in his hand, bracing for a renewed fight.
With a swing of his staff and a slash of his sword, Gandalf gets there first. The great goblin falls forward and Gandalf slashes at his neck, killing him. Below them, the bridge they are on collapses, sending them hurtling downwards. Away from the goblins, at least.
Down, down they fall and Kili can feel his heart in his throat, wondering if they will ever reach a bottom. They reach it soon enough.
‘Ow,’ he mutters, as the bridge collapses on top of him. The other dwarves echo the feeling.
‘Well, that could have been worse,’ Bofur states, right before something very heavy lands on top of them again. It is only the smell that tells Kili it’s the dead goblin.
‘You’ve got to be joking!’ Dwalin shouts. Kili agrees, but he pulls himself out from under the wreckage all the same and looks around. Apparently, there is a bottom to the bloody mountain.
Unfortunately, they aren’t safe yet. Kili is the first to spot the thousands of moving figures racing down the sides of the cavern.
‘Gandalf!’ he screams.
They cannot hope to fight this many. ‘Only one thing will save us: daylight! Here, on your feet!’ Quickly the company complies and flies after the wizard as he races away.
There is less goblin construction down here, so hopefully that is a good sign. And despite the long fall, Gandalf still seems to know where he is going. It doesn’t take long before they reach a long tunnel and hurtle down it, vaguely aware of a light in the distance that is not fire.
Kili can feel the relief so great it nearly knocks him over when they emerge from the cave entrance into a dying day. There are trees and birds and sunlight. Safety.
Finally, they slow to a halt amongst the pines, trying to catch their breaths. Kili is inordinately tired.
Fili manages a smile for his brother. ‘That was some fight,’ he mutters.
‘Fight?’ Kili echoes. ‘I think that counts as battle.’
‘Where is our Hobbit?’ Gandalf shouts.
That’s a very good question. Kili suddenly can’t remember when last he saw Bilbo.
‘Curse the Halfling! Now he’s lost?’ Dwalin sounds more than a little annoyed. Not that he and Bilbo have exactly gotten on well.
‘I thought he was with Dori!’ Gloin protests, as if it’s his fault the Hobbit has disappeared.
‘Don’t blame me!’ Dori returns, equally annoyed.
‘Well, where did you see him last?’ Gandalf asks. It’s a reasonable question, but there is a note of intense worry in the wizard’s voice.
Nori pipes up from the back. ‘I think I saw him slip away, when they first collared us.’
Kili thinks that might be true. Actually, he hasn’t seen Bilbo since they fell asleep in the cave on the west side of the mountains after saving the Halfling from a tumble to his death.
‘What happened exactly? Tell me!’ Gandalf demands, and there is real worry in his voice now.
‘I’ll tell you what happened,’ Thorin starts. Kili turns to look at his uncle. The look on his face is thunderous. ‘Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He’s thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone.’
Kili hopes that is not true, but the evidence suggests it is. Though more likely he was caught by goblins and is now dead.
‘No, he isn’t,’ the soft cultured voice behind them makes everyone jump. Bilbo appears as if out of thin around from around a pine tree. Kili shares a grin with his brother.
‘Bilbo Baggins! I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my life!’ Gandalf announces.
‘Bilbo,’ Kili smiles as the Hobbit nears him. ‘We’d given you up!’
‘How on earth did you get past the goblins?’ Fili asks what they’ve all been wondering.
‘How indeed,’ Dwalin mutters, loud enough for all to hear.
Bilbo hesitates.
‘Well, what does it matter? He’s back!’ Gandalf decides, and Kili agrees. They are all safe and well; that’s what matters.
‘It matters!’ Thorin buts in. ‘I want to know: why did you come back?’
Bilbo sighs heavily. Kili opens his mouth to disagree with Thorin, because it doesn’t really matter, but Bilbo gets there first.
‘Look, I know you doubt me. I know you always have. And you’re right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books,’ he smiles. ‘And my armchair. And my garden. See, that’s where I belong. That’s home,’ he smiles again, sadly this time. ‘And that’s why I came back, cause you don’t have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back, if I can.’
There is a long silence at that. No one seems to have a response, though Gandalf can’t seem to stop smiling.
Howls break the moment.
Wargs.
‘Out of the frying pan…’ Thorin starts.
Gandalf sighs. ‘…and into the fire! Run! Run!’
***
Um, yeah, cliffhanger? But we all know what happens right? To Be Continued tomorrow...
no subject
Date: 2013-03-08 01:48 pm (UTC)I agree with him!
I'm enjoying re-living the film (and book) this way. You're doing great.
no subject
Date: 2013-03-08 02:44 pm (UTC)Thanks for still reading and commenting!