A Priestess For Middle Earth

Chapter 17 The Escape

WORDS IN BOLD IS BLACK SPEECH

Thorin grabs Kagome's hand and begins to run. They ran for what seems like hours through the woods, suddenly coming to a halt and the edge of a cliff. They had no time to backtrack as the Orcs were right on their heels. The only option they had was to climb up into the trees. Thorin lifts Kagome so she can reach one of the branches. He then leaps to grab onto the branch. "Climb higher, Kagome, we must be sure to be out of the Warg's reach." Kagome nods and begins to climb. It was a good thing she was not afraid of heights. She reaches almost the topmost trees and sits down on the branch, Thorin one branch below her.

The rest of the Company also begin to climb the trees as well as Gandalf.  "What are we going to do now?" Ori asks no one in particular.

"I don't know but I'm sure Gandalf will think of something," Nori tells his little brother.

Just then the Orc riders make their appearance over the hill. Immediately the Wargs make a beeline straight for the trees. They begin jumping and snapping their jaws, trying to reach the Dwarves on the bottom branches. One came close to taking Bilbo's foot off. Kagome urged Bilbo to climb higher into the tree. Thorin also urges her to climb higher. But with so many Dwarves in the high branches, the tree becomes top heavy and tumbles over. The Dwarves and Kagome barely have enough time to jump to the other tree. Once again it's too much for the shallow roots and the tree topples over again, now all the Dwarves, Gandalf, Kagome, and Bilbo are clinging for their lives in the branches of a tree that is right on the edge of a precipice.

As if things weren't bad enough, what with them clinging to life by a twig and all, Over the hill comes a figure that was thought to be long since dead. The pale orc Azog the Defiler. Thorin cannot believe his eyes. "Azog."

The pale Orc smirks and takes a deep breath. "**Do you smell it? The scent of fear? I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain"**

Thorin looks on in denial, "It can not be," Thorin mutters.

**That one is mine, kill the others. Save the Priestess for last, she will make a nice prize.** He says pointing at Kagome with his clawed hand.

Gandalf stiffens at his comment. *A prize for whom?* Gandalf thought.

Kagome looks between Thorin and Gandalf. "What did he say and why are you staring at me Gandalf?" Her eyes widen, "Oh Kami, he wants me as a prisoner, doesn't he?"

Gandalf can only nod.

"Well, we can't have that." Kagome removes her bow from her shoulder, aims at the Pale Orc and looses an arrow. The arrow is immediately filled with her spiritual powers and shoots out like a pink missile. Gandalf and the Dwarves watch in anticipation but Azog is just out of range. The arrow spears the ground right in front of him. He laughs and sends his men in to attack.

That is when Gandalf gets the brilliant idea to start lighting pine cones on fire and handing out the little bombs to the dwarves. She, on the other hand, charges the pine cones with her spiritual powers and starts handing them to Bilbo who is a dead shot. As each pine cone even barely touches a Warg or Orc they are turned to ash. The Dwarves cheer at seeing this when suddenly the tree gives way and topples overhanging over the cliff. The Dwarves scramble to keep from falling. Dori and Ori are not so lucky, they are barely hanging on by a thread to Gandalf's staff. Kagome was able to get a firm hold of a tree branch when the tree fell so she was relatively safe. Thorin sighed in relief when he saw that she was okay, she gave him a weak smile.

"I'm okay, Thorin, don't  worry, I could use a little help but I'm okay."

Thorin is able to right himself and inch his way toward Kagome. Once he's close enough he reaches out for her. "Come, my love, I have you."