Emerge the Dragonborn | The Hobbit

Chapter 5 - Dark of Mirkwood

As the Company ventured deeper into the tangled woods, the air grew heavy with an eerie silence. The dense canopy above blocked out most of the sunlight, casting long shadows on the forest floor. The Company treaded cautiously along the path, Gandalf's final words before he departed rung in their ears. The ominous whispers of the trees and the haunting calls of unseen creatures added to the unsettling atmosphere. Mirky streams wound their way through the undergrowth, reflecting the dim light and revealing glimpses of the twisted roots that seem to reach out like gnarled fingers.

Soon the group came to a brief halt. Anaynah noticed that the path they were following was getting harder and harder to make out and seemed to have almost disappeared.

"This way!" Dwalin confirmed as he banged his axe against the floor to find the stone, resuming to head-on. The Company continued forward, Kili stopping to hold a thick vine to allow Anaynah to come in after him, shooting him a brief smile.

"Air. I need air." Bofur said breathlessly.

"My head, it's swimming!" Oin called out.

As they trekked deeper into the woods, the air became thicker and darker. Anaynah remembered Gandalf's warnings, of how the air was thick with illusion and how it could lead them astray, and the thought of that frightened her.

"We found the bridge!" Kili exclaimed. however, upon further investigation, they saw that it was broken off in two.

"We could try and swim it?" Bofur cluelessly suggested.

"Didn't you hear what Gandalf said?" Thorin protested, "A dark magic lies upon this forest, the waters of this stream are enchanted," he repeated the words of Gandalf.

"Doesn't look very enchanting to me." Anaynah rolled her eyes at Bofur's sarcastic comment.

"We must find another way across," Thorin scoured the area in search of safe passage. Anaynah's mind started to disfunction, with a sniff she gave her eyes a quick rub to wake herself.

"These vines look strong enough," Kili suggested, grabbing hold of them to see if they would hold his weight or not. Thorin however did not like that idea.

"Kili!" The leader exclaimed, "We send the lightest first."

It did not take more than a second for Bilbo to realise that all eyes were now on him, for he truly was the littlest of them all. He appeared baffled, opening his mouth to protest only for it to close for he knew there was no point arguing with them.

Anaynah couldn't tear her eyes away as Bilbo cautiously stepped onto the bulky vines, gripping another one to maintain his balance. The vines groaned in protest under his weight, but Bilbo reassured the company,

"It's alright, can't see any problem." However, just as he spoke, he lost his footing and tumbled downwards, leaving everyone breathless as he dangled upside down, inches above the water. A collective sigh of relief escaped them when he didn't plunge into the stream, "There's one. Everything's... fine," Bilbo grunted, reaching for another vine to regain his footing.

"He's gonna fall again."

Dwalin's prediction came true as Bilbo fell again, forming a bridge between two vines with his body. The Company winced at the close call. After a few tense moments, Bilbo continued his journey, hauling himself from vine to vine until he finally reached the other side, collapsing from exhaustion.

"Something is not right, it is not right at all. Stay where you are! Oh..."
Bilbo's warning fell on deaf ears as the rest of the company tangled themselves in the vines, attempting to cross the stream together. Anaynah leapt from vine to vine, swaying on the vines as they swung, The Dwarves around her seemed so distant, even though the shouts came from all sides. She was so close to solid ground, however, she lost grip on the vine, sending her tumbling down. Luckily she managed to hastily grasp onto a sturdier vine, pulling herself up, finally reaching the sturdy ground and landing on her knees to get her head straight.