Snow and the 13 dwarves

Chapter 6: Could I Be Wrong?

(Sarah's POV)

That night we set up camp on a rocky ledge.  Gloin got a fire started while Kili and Fili got the ponies situated on a grassy hill nearby.  In order to seem useful, I decided to help Bombur cook the soup for everyone.

When everything was done, and the dishes put away, everyone laid down to sleep.  I couldn't fall asleep, I was too busy thinking about everything. It wouldn't be too long before we encountered the trolls, I knew that much. I also began to worry about the ring and the spiders. I hated spiders. Spiders were to me what snakes were to Indiana Jones. Hopefully, we'd find a way around them. Change the plot to avoid the danger? I asked myself, before automatically answering, I would risk it.

I turned over on my side to get comfortable and saw Bilbo quietly get up. He stepped over sleeping dwarves in an attempt not to wake them. I decided to forfeit an hour or two of sleep and sat up close to Fili and Kili, leaning against the rocks behind us.  He made his way over to the ponies, and I smiled when I saw him pull out an apple from his pocket and feed it to Myrtle.  I noticed that he had grown rather fond of his little pony on the journey so far.  "It's our little secret. Sh-sh, you must tell no one!" he whispered kindly as she eagerly crunched on the treat.

Suddenly, an inhuman scream rang out in the night not too far away.  My eyes immediately darted to wherever the sound could have come from, and then I remembered this scene from the movie.  This part with the orc story, I thought to myself.

"What was that?" Bilbo and I asked, only he was looking slightly more alarmed than I was. "Orcs," Fili said, glancing at his sword, "There should be dozens of them out there right now." "O-Orcs?" Bilbo stuttered.  Before Kili could say his part about how orcs come in the night and leave lots of blood, I interrupted.

"I don't like em," I admitted, crossing my arms and explaining, "Very ugly, very brutal, very evil.  Kind of have the body of a man, but uglier. I don't like em. Haven't met one in person yet, and I hope I don't have to."  I nervously chucked at that last part, knowing that I undoubtedly would.  Bilbo gazed out into the distance, seemingly searching for the source. I leaned over to Kili and whispered, "I just saved your butt from a shaming from your uncle."  He looked at me, confusion written on his face.  "You're welcome," I said quietly, smirking and nodding proudly before he could say anything.  Fili chuckled.

Thorin was still staring off into the distance. So dramatic. It was a little while before anyone said anything. I attempted to keep listening for another scream.
"I know he hates orcs," I said quietly, raising my brow and nodding at Thorin. "How did you know that?" Kili asked, surprised. "Fortune teller," I said, tapping my temple with my finger and reminding them of the nickname they had given me.  "Why does he hate them?" Bilbo asked, folding his hands in front of him.

I looked over and noticed that he had gotten closer to us in order to get away from wherever the screaming noise had come from.  I glanced over at Balin, but he too was staring off into the distance.  I decided not to disturb him, and took the liberty of telling the story myself.

"Oh cool.  I guess I'll tell the story.  Okay, so, after Smaug invaded the mountain, Thorin took an army back to try and reclaim it. Unfortunately, an army of orcs had gotten there first."

Kili, Fili, Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo were all looking at me intensely, more so than I thought they should have, but I continued.

"The armies fought, and many people from both armies were slain. Then an orc named Azog the Defiler came along and he uh..." I paused, thinking of what I should say before finally just coming out with, "He beheaded the king..."

I looked up at Thorin. He was looking away again.

"Thorin saw, and only using an oak branch as a shield, went to go fight Azog. And then he cut off Azog's hand, and then the orc army ran away.  A lot of people died. But the survivors, they followed Thorin because his bravery proved that he was someone they could call king."

It was silent for a few moments until Bilbo asked, "And the pale orc... What happened to him?" "The filth died of his wounds long ago," Thorin replied bitterly.  I didn't know what to tell him.  "I dunno.." I started, unsure as to whether or not I should let Thorin know the truth.  "What is it now?" Thorin asked, seemingly annoyed with my vast knowledge.  "What if I told you...," I slowly started, "that... he... is possiblyyy still alive?"

"What??" Thorin exclaimed in disbelief and shock.  He glared at me coldly and said, "It's not possible! You're lying. Lying like the child you are."  "I'm not," I explained quietly, furrowing my brow at the nickname as I continued to say, "Thorin, that screech we heard a few minutes ago? Those are his buddies, the ones that help him.  I think he's hunting you."

Thorin started to walk towards me. "Don't worry," I continued, "He won't attack tonight. But just know that there's a possibility that he's still alive and kicking. Be careful. Just in case." Thorin walked around the fire, obviously angry that his old enemy was once again alive.

"Anything else we should know?" he grunted, fists clenched at his sides. I thought for a minute, trying to scour as much information from my brain as I could. "He's got a metal claw thing for a hand now, and he rides a white warg," I explained, trying to remember all the details. "Oh, and he's gonna play dead," I continued, remembering the movie, "So don't fall for that."

Thorin walked away, Balin following and talking to him in dwarvish.
"Well... I think I made him angry," I mumbled, reminding myself not to do anything stupid next time. "It's alright, we've seen him worse," Kili said, trying to make me feel better, "But we should probably get rest in order to have strength for tomorrow."
I agreed, and lay down on my side again to try to sleep.  I was also trying to remember what else was important from the book and the movie. My knowledge would evidently prove crucial to this group.

Then my eyes widened and I gasped.
"Oh no," I whined, putting my hand in my hair.

"What was that?" Kili asked. 

"Nothing, sorry," I lied, "Just... remembering something."

I knew that I had to tell Gandalf about the necromancer.

But what if this story followed the book instead of the movie? So far it was a combination of both, but could I be wrong?  The necromancer wasn't really in the book, and neither was Azog, so I could've been wrong about that scream being his minions. But then again, what else could've made a scream that scary?
Sighing heavily, I knew that I would just have to wait and see.