there and back again

8

They rolled down several tunnels before tumbling into a cage-like arena and being dragged away by goblins.

Raine smiled when she saw Bilbo managing to escape, but it quickly faded when she was thrown to her knees in front of the goblin king.

He glared down at her. "Look who's here!" he said. "If it isn't the little Guardian. Back so soon?"

"Bring out the bone breaker!" he roared to the smaller goblins. "This one has evaded it long enough!"

She sneered at him. "How's the scar healing?"

The goblin king touched the line on his cheek, eyes narrowing. He turned to the Company.

"Who might you be?"

They remained silent until the machine arrived and five goblins dragged Raine towards it.

Raine saw Thorin step forewards before a sack was tugged over her head and she was dragged towards a large wooden podium with a rock suspendid above it.

She heard the muffled sound of the goblin talking to the dwarf as she was tied down.

"We're ready for your orders, sir," a goblin said.

Raine was pulling at her bonds when she heard a familiar voice shouting for the dwarves to pick up arms.

"Gandalf!" she shouted with glee.

The hood was yanked from her head and she saw Thorin above her. "We should get moving," he stated.

"Oh really? I never would have thought!"

The Guardian sprang to her feet and grabbed her sword, slicing at goblins as they ran.

The group nearly reached an exit when the goblin king dropped down from above, landing on the already unstable bridge with a thud.

"Leaving so soon? I thought we could have a bit more fun."

"Define fun," Raine hissed. "Or should I remind you how that scar came to be? It went a little something like this!"

She lunged forewards and slit his throat just as the bridge gave beneath them.

It crashed to the bottom of the chasm with a thud. Raine managed to pull herself free from the rubble when the goblin king's corpse landed in top of the wood.

"Get up, you fools!" Gandalf shouted. "Run!"

Within a few minutes of the order, they were outside, breathingg heavily.

"Where's our hobbit?" Gandalf asked after doing a head count. "Where's Bilbo?"

Raine groaned inwardly, stumbling away from the group to see where they were. She frowned when she saw shadows dart around in the distance.

Her blood froze when she realized what they were.

"Orcs!" she shouted, running back to the group.

As if to strengthen her statement, a warg howled somewhere nearby.

"Run you fools!" Gandalf shouted, herding the Company in the opposite direction.

When they reached a cliff they darted into the trees. And just in time, too. Wargs erupted out of the forest, howling; snarling and nipping up at them.

They were missing by inches.

"Bugger off!" Raine shouted at the creatures, hurling pinecones at them. "I'm tired of seeing your slime-dog faces!"

Thorin gave her a strange look.

"What? I am!"