Chapter Text
The crashing of the thunder drowned out every other sound, so that they only realised too late that the roar was not just coming from the raging forces of nature.
But also of the towering rock giants that fought a mighty battle.
Dwalin recognised the danger at the last moment and shouted a warning so that they could press themselves against the rock face before the mass of splintering rocks could sweep them away.
But the relief was short-lived as they realised they had been walking along the legs of one of the giants, which at that very moment began to stir.
The group was separated from each other, helplessly watching as the gap between them widened.
A headbutt hit the giant whose legs they were desperately clinging to and he was thrown against the side of the mountain.
Thorin's group just managed to leave their perilous position and leap onto the ledge against which the leg had been flung, Kili last, before the giant swung a blow at one of the other giants and pulled his leg away.
But half of the companions were still on his other leg and they could not help them and had to watch powerlessly as the giants continued their brutal fight.
Then suddenly an enormous boulder crashed against the head of the rock giant and the force was so great that the giant's head was flung away.
It crashed into the rock face just above the spot where Thorin and the others watched the battle and the uncertain fate of their friends in sheer horror.
A rain of stone splinters and large pieces of rock poured down on them and it was a miracle that no one was seriously injured.
The beheaded giant's body, however, was spun around by the abrupt loss of his head and the knee on which his involuntary passengers were desperately clinging was thrown with full force against the rock face.
Thorin and the others screamed at the top of their lungs in despair when they saw this and tried to reach the point of impact as quickly as possible. Horrified, they saw the giant's colossal stone body crash backwards into the ravine, his leg bare rock and no sign of the dwarrow or the hobbit.
Fear drove them on as they followed the narrow ledge that led to where they feared they would find the crushed remains of their friends. But as they rounded the last outcrop, relief flooded through them. There they all lay in a heap and, thanks to some higher power, they all seemed to be unharmed.
Thorin's face twisted into a relieved smile as he made his way through the pile of lying dwarves to check on Fili.
„Where is Bilbo?“ he heard Bofur say.
„Where is the hobbit?“ his voice became more anxious.
Thorin turned round and let his eyes wander over those lying on the ground, but he couldn't see the halfling anywhere.
„There!“ shouted Bofur and Thorin turned in his direction and looked where he was pointing.
Bilbo was dangling over the abyss.
His hands clung to the rain-soaked rock just below the ledge, threatening to slip off at any moment.
He saw Ori rush forwards and throw himself to the ground to reach Bilbo, while at the same moment the hobbit's hands lost their grip. At the last moment he managed to hold on with one hand and clung to the small ledge he had managed to grab, his eyes wide with fear.
Bofur was now lying next to Ori, trying just as desperately to reach Bilbo, but their arms were simply not long enough.
Thorin didn't hesitate a moment longer and swung himself down the rock face, grabbed the hobbit's arm and lifted him up so that the waiting hands of Bofur and Ori could reach him.
But suddenly he himself lost his foothold, he could already feel the pull of the depths below him when Dwalin's hands abruptly closed around his forearm and saved him from falling into the blackness.
He dangled from his shield-brother's hand and gazed into the black abyss below him, when suddenly a gigantic rock fist crashed into the slope just below him.
Dwalin lost his footing and together they fell onto the freshly formed ledge below them.
Something else landed on top of him, knocking the air out of his lungs.
‘Rock’ he thought at first, but it was too soft and warm for that.
‘Hobbit’ he thought with horror as he realised that Bilbo had also fallen, like Ori and Bofur he now realised, he also heard Dwalin swearing behind him and thought he could make out another voice, Fili?
He looked up and saw the fear-struck faces of the others looking down at them and realised at that moment that they were moving away from him.
He threw his head round and saw that the giant on whose arm they had fallen had only half his body left and was slowly falling backwards into the dark ravine.
Thorin's arms wrapped protectively around the body of the halfling lying unconscious in his lap and his eyes closed with fatal finality. ‘I have failed’ flashed through his mind as a tremendous impact shook his body and he was flung away from the giant's body with the hobbit in his arms.
Darkness embraced him.
~~~~~~~~
Rain on his face woke him up.
And the glare of lightning that lit up his surroundings.
He sat up with difficulty, still holding Bilbo in his arms, who also began to stir.
‘Good, he's alive,’ Thorin thought, trying to recognise other figures around him.
Dwarves were excellent at seeing in the dark, but even their eyes could not permeate complete blackness.
He hoped fervently for another flash.
There!
Another flash revealed four figures in his immediate surroundings, one of which was definitely Dwalin, who was leaning on his hands and about to stand up, and one right next to him whom he did not yet recognise.
Two others close behind.
Thorin slowly sat Bilbo up, waited until he was no longer leaning on him and then struggled to his feet.
As far as he could tell, he had by some miracle remained unharmed. „Wait here and don't move!“ he called to Bilbo over the roaring thunder and staggered in the direction in which he had seen Dwalin.
„Dwalin!“ he shouted.
„Thorin!“ came the immediate reply.
And the next flash of lightning showed him that he was standing right next to Dwalin.
And next to him was Fili and a few steps further Ori, who was clinging to Bofur.
„Can you get up?“ Thorin shouted to them, „We have to find shelter! Who knows if there are more giants here.“
„Thorin!“ shouted Dwalin „Who all fell with us?“
„I don't know exactly. But I think it was just the five of us and the halfling.“
He turned in Bilbo's direction and wanted to go towards him to pull the hobbit to his feet, when a huge boulder struck right in front of him and only the instinctive jump backwards saved his life.
„Bilbo!“ he shouted and ran around the boulder as fast as he could.
Another bolt of lightning flashed through the sky and showed him that the place where he thought he had left the hobbit was empty.
„Bilbo!“ he shouted so loudly he thought his throat would tear.
Then suddenly he heard the faint voice of the hobbit over the rumble of thunder.
Searching, he raised his head desperately hoping for another bolt of lightning.
He moved in the direction from where he thought he had heard the voice and there, the lightning he had hoped for came, revealing the figure of the hobbit, who had squeezed himself into a narrow crevice in the rock face to escape the rockfall.
‘Clever fellow,’ Thorin thought with relief and helped the hobbit out of the crevice.
Small stones were still falling from time to time and hitting the ground beside them, although it was hard to tell whether they were stones or just the pelting rain.
When Thorin had gathered everyone around him and was sure that none of them were too badly injured and he couldn't make out anyone else from their fellowship, they began to feel their way along the nearest rock face, hoping to find a small cave or something similar to be at least somewhat protected from the forces of this tempestuous night.
The thunderstorm was both a blessing and a curse, because although they would hardly have been able to make any headway without the constant lightning, the heavy rain and the lashing wind slowed their progress considerably.
When Bilbo stumbled again next to him and hit his knees, Thorin went over to hold the hobbit by the arm so that he would not fall down again, as this also slowed them down considerably.
After what felt like an eternity, they came to a rock overhang that seemed to offer enough protection.
They gratefully slipped under the overhanging rock and pressed themselves against the wall so that they all had room, discovering that the overhang opened up to a small cave at the back, into which they hesitantly ventured.
Thorin heard one of his companions rummaging in his backpack and after a short while he heard someone making scratching noises and suddenly sparks lit up the small room.
He saw Bofur crouching on the floor above his open backpack, playing with the little sparking tool he had made. It was extremely practical, because you could use it to light a fire almost anywhere and at any time, provided it wasn't raining cats and dogs and you had dry material to ignite it.
In this case, it was a small oil lamp that Bofur had also taken out of his rucksack.
The dwarf placed the small lamp on a raised stone in the centre of the cave so that the light from its flickering flame spread evenly throughout the small cave.
The light revealed to them that they were in a small tube-like cave that became narrower and narrower towards the back but still seemed to lead quite deep into the mountain. The floor was slightly sloping and very wet as the torrential rain poured in through the entrance and made its way to the back of the cave.
But since these masses of water must have created huge puddles, if not small ponds, it could be concluded that the cave had no immediate end.
Thorin did not like the idea at all.
He knew what loathsome creatures roamed the depths of the Misty Mountains and he had not the slightest desire to face any of them at the moment.
He was about to decide that they should continue searching when he saw that Fili's face was covered in blood and Ori was holding his arm strangely apart. Dwalin also showed a few wounds, but they seemed to be only minor superficial injuries.
Concerned, Thorin turned to his nephew and examined him. It soon turned out that he had probably only been hit on the temple by a rock splinter and that it was bleeding profusely but otherwise not very deeply, he quickly tore a flimsy bandage from an his shirt and bandaged Fili's head.
Fili looked worn out, which was not surprising considering the circumstances.
„Uncle, do you think the others made it?“
Thorin carefully placed his forehead against his nephew's and said quietly, „I'm sure they made it. Balin is with them.“
„But I'm worried about Kili!“
Thorin stepped back a little and looked Fili in the eye: „Of course you are. You're a good big brother, but Kili is very good at looking after himself. Well... mostly. As I said, Balin is with him.“
That at least elicited a smile from Fili.
Thorin briefly put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. ‘Good, at least he can still smile’ He thought and turned to the others.
Dwalin was inspecting Ori's arm and Bofur was standing by Bilbo, who was crouched on a small rock at the entrance to the cave with his head in his hands.
„Come on Bilbo, you can't be serious.“ he heard Bofur say softly as he stepped closer.
„What's going on here?“ he asked firmly as he reached the two of them.
Bilbo looked up and Thorin sucked in his breath as he saw the gaping wound on the hobbit's forehead. Blood was still pouring from the wound down the right side of his face and slowly seeping into the collar of Bilbo's shirt.
He knelt down next to the hobbit, tore another piece from his shirt and carefully began to wipe the blood from Bilbo's cheek.
The halfling sat stock-still and stared at him in confusion, his eyes wide open.
„Bofur, do you still have this tincture of Oin to cleanse wounds?“ Thorin addressed his words to the dwarf.
Bofur's face brightened and he began to rummage in his rucksack. „Ah sure, the tincture, I could have thought of that myself. Maybe you can knock some sense into our burglar's head in the meantime. He thinks it's his fault that we're down here now.“ Bofur said almost absently as he disappeared into the depths of his rucksack.
Thorin looked from Bofur to Bilbo in surprise. „What kind of nonsense is this?“
Bilbo looked into his eyes and he could read guilt in them, even if he could not explain why. The halfling only held his gaze for a moment before lowering his head and murmuring quietly: „If I hadn't slipped then none of us would have fallen. Then we would still be with the others...“
Thorin stared at the hobbit in disbelief and lowered his hand with which he was still dabbing at the blood.
„And how could you have prevented the stone giant from almost pulling you into the abyss? Or hit the mountain and shake us all down like ripe fruit?“ he said in a harsh tone, „No one could have done anything else in this situation than we did. If anyone is to blame for this situation, it is I who have led you all on this journey.“
His voice had a definitive tone that brooked no argument. But Bilbo looked at him doubtfully and opened his mouth as if to protest. Thorin would hear none of it and raised his hand to silence the hobbit, then turned back to the dwarf beside him.
„Bofur, where is the tincture?“
„Got it boss, already got it. Here. But careful, the stuff burns like fire.“
Thorin took the small bottle and pulled out the cork. An acrid odour immediately rose to his nose ‘Oin and his tinctures,’ he thought, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he turned Bilbo's head so that he could drip a few drops of the deep red liquid onto his forehead.
He thought he could see small puffs of smoke rising from the wound and was almost certain he could hear a hissing sound. But that might have been the rain outside the cave confusing his senses.
The procedure must have hurt, but the hobbit only squinted his eyes and gritted his teeth, but no sound escaped his lips. ‘Tough one,’ Thorin thought with growing respect.
When he had finished the tincture, he handed it back to Bofur. „Help Dwalin with Ori, Bofur.“
Then he set about tearing more strips from his shirt and wrapping them around Bilbo's forehead as a makeshift bandage. As he knotted the strip, he asked: „Do you have any other injuries? Are you in pain anywhere?“
Bilbo shook his head slowly but then paused as if to listen and then slowly grabbed his back. He had taken off his backpack, but he still had his cloak on. Thorin stretched his hand towards his back and asked,
„May I?“ Bilbo looked at him with wide eyes and then nodded.
Slowly Thorin pulled his travelling cloak aside and pushed his doublet upwards, letting a whistling sound escape through his front teeth as he saw the gigantic bruise on the halfling's right side.
That had probably been the moment when he had fallen on him, he thought he could almost make out the outline of his belt buckle.
„It seems to be just a bruise. But I'll have to feel to check whether any ribs are broken. That will hurt. All right?“
Bilbo closed his eyes and nodded.
Thorin carefully touched the bruise. He felt the hobbit's breathing quicken as he ran his hands gently over his ribs to check for any swelling. Under his fingertips he felt a shudder run through the hobbit, but when he raised his eyes, almost expecting to see pain in the halfling's face, he was surprised to see a slight blush colouring Bilbo's cheeks.
Thorin's breath caught at the sight, for this expression did not reflect pain at all. Slowly, his gaze travelled from the beautifully flushed cheeks to Bilbo's slightly parted lips and lingered there while his hands continued to caress the halfling's delicate skin as if guided by an unknown force. Somewhere in the far corner of his suddenly fogged mind, he was aware that his touches actually had a purpose other than the suddenly awakened desire to touch more of the creamy skin and see more of the beautiful expression on Bilbo's face.
A cry of pain echoed through the cave and, startled, he withdrew his hands.
He looked round and saw Ori clutching his arm, tears streaming down his face, Dwalin standing beside him with a sympathetic expression. He had probably just put Ori's arm back in place, as his shoulder had been dislocated.
Thorin cleared his throat, carefully pulled the doublet down again and looked Bilbo in the eye.
The hobbit's face was bright red and his eyes had a strange glassy expression. Thorin sensed that his face was not exactly pale either and cleared his throat once more. „I couldn't find any fractures, but I may be wrong, my knowledge of healing is not very great and is only enough for the bare necessities. Even if I can't do much to heal worse injuries, let me know if you're in pain.“
„Thank you.“ Bilbo murmured softly and quickly lowered his gaze again, his cheeks still that beautiful shade of red.
Thorin nodded to him once, stood up and then turned away to check on the others. He felt a little weak on his feet somehow and shook his head to clear the light fog that still seemed to be on his mind.
He saw that Dwalin was giving him an enquiring look and Bofur and Fili were also staring at him.
„What's going on?“ he asked as he came closer.
Bofur averted his eyes and focussed on Ori's arm again.
Dwalin let out a grunt and turned back to Ori as well.
Only Fili continued to stare at him and then said quietly, „Well, uncle, it's just that we're surprised that you care so much about Bilbo. Because... well .... you didn't exactly get on well... um... with him before... so we are surprised.“
Thorin blinked once and looked at Fili in astonishment.
Had he really been so dismissive of the hobbit?
„Well he's injured and it would hinder our progress if he's not well enough to walk.“ he replied in a gruff tone.
„Yes, sure, but Bofur could have done that too, couldn't he?“ said Fili with a wink.
Thorin looked at him perplexed, then collected himself and said with all the authority he possessed, „Nonsense. After all, I looked after you too and didn't leave it to Bofur, so why shouldn't I look after the hobbit as well?“
„Sure, Uncle.“ Fili said and then turned to the other three, but it looked like he was just trying to hide his grin.
He tried not to think about it and concentrated on finding the driest possible place to camp for the night.
This turned out to be difficult. Even the cave walls seemed to be dripping. They had no choice but to spend the night sitting as close together as possible.
Dwalin took the first watch.
As Thorin sat down next to the halfling and slowly let the exhaustion overtake him, his last thoughts centred on the new feelings that had been kindled in him.
Thunder cracked and below him Bilbo hung by one hand from the rock. His other hand waved in the air, searching for a hold. He stretched out towards Thorin, his eyes pleading for help, his mouth twisted in helpless fear. But Thorin could not move, could not reach out for the hobbit, was paralysed. He had to watch as the halfling's hand was slipping away and he slowly became swallowed up by the darkness surging beneath him. The last thing he saw was Bilbo's eyes staring at him with unspoken suffering and then finally being consumed.
Thorin was startled out of his sleep by a burning pain in his chest. It felt as if someone had reached into his chest with a burning steel glove and crushed his heart.
He gasped and bent over with his hands pressed to his heart. Cold sweat covered his forehead and he felt sick. For a brief moment, he wasn't sure if he was going to throw up.
„Thorin?“ the worried voice of Dwalin reached his ear. „What's wrong, are you in pain?“
He heard Dwalin approach and slowly straightened up.
Involuntarily, he felt for Bilbo, who was sitting next to him, to make sure he was there. When his hand found the halfling's arm, something inside him loosened and the nausea eased a little.
„Nightmare.“ he gasped as he felt Dwalin crouching in front of him.
„I'll take over the watch now, I can't sleep anyway and need to think.“
The tall dwarf grunted a sound that he had understood and took Thorin's place after he slowly and reluctantly released his hand from the halfling to stand up.
Thorin sat down at the entrance to the cave and listened to the storm that was still raging out there. The patter of the rain had a calming effect on him and as the last shreds of the nightmare faded, his thoughts found a warmer direction to drift in.
He thought of the feel of that tender skin under his rough hands and the turmoil inside him at the sight of the blushing Hobbit.
He was beginning to realise the meaning and he now knew the cause of his quickening heartbeat as the image of Bilbo's slightly parted lips danced before his mind's eye.
He was aware that the hobbit was causing a strange pull within him, he had known that since their eyes had first met.
But he had actively suppressed what it might mean, for he was sure that he would only be distracted from the important task ahead of him if he allowed these feelings to intensify.
But now he felt his resistance crumble and the pull began to grow stronger.
This nightmare had shown him how strong his affection for the halfling already was, how violently the fear had shaken him at the sight of the small body dangling over the seemingly endless abyss.
He had also feared for his nephew, but the feeling had been quite different, the fear for Fili was an elementary, deep fear of the loss of his family that he had known for a long time and that had always accompanied him.
But the thought that Bilbo could be torn from him so suddenly was connected with a fear that reached into his soul and awakened a pain there that he had never experienced before and that unsettled him deeply. For he now realised with unalterable certainty that should he lose the hobbit, it would break him and leave him as a mere insensate shell.
He let his gaze wander to the corner where his companions were sitting close together and even if he could only recognise their outlines from time to time in the lightning still flashing through the night, he still knew exactly where the hobbit was sitting.
Outside, the storm slowly calmed down until it finally stopped completely, while the storm inside Thorin was just beginning to pick up speed.
~~~~~~~~
The next morning was grey and dull, the air was damp and cold, their clothes were clammy and they had all slept little or not at all.
But it didn't help, standing around feeling sorry for themselves wasn't going to get them anywhere.
While they were still gathering themselves and looking around a little disorientated, Thorin began to take a closer look at the surroundings. The ravine that lay before them was a narrow gorge with a rocky floor interspersed with patches of brown earth on which a stunted shrub and some grass grew here and there.
With a bit of luck, there were animals living here that they could hunt, because it looked like they would have to wander in this ravine for a while and the meagre supplies they had with them would soon be used up.
The morning light revealed how devastatingly the rock giants had raged, it had been a veritable rock massacre. The destruction was massive. And more rocks had fallen during the night and Thorin sent a short prayer of thanks to Mahal that the entrance to their cave had remained clear.
However, the way they had come yesterday was blocked and that meant that they had to continue in the other direction, moving further away from their friends.
But at least he recognised the peaks of the mountains around them and knew which way to go. If the rock giants had only fought in this part of the mountain range and everything was clear in the other direction, then in about five days they should come to a passage that led them to the great Anduin River. From there it was another five or six days' march towards the old woodland road they had planned to take, where they would hopefully meet up with their companions.
After a final search of the cave to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything and a quick breakfast, the small group set off.
The light of day was weak here at the bottom of the gorge and even though it did not affect the dwarves' sharp vision, Bilbo had his problems and occasionally stumbled over pieces of rock and small plants that he did not see in time.
After Bilbo had stumbled a few times and almost hit his head once, Thorin stepped next to him and grabbed his arm.
„Hold on to my arm and you won't fall.“ he told the hobbit in a grumpy tone.
Bilbo involuntarily pulled his arm out of Thorin's grip and stared at him in bewilderment.
„What... I mean, why are you doing this?“
Thorin frowned and said, „I want to prevent you from constantly falling, it slows down our pace if we always have to wait for you, then we'll never get out of this gorge.“
He saw something harden in the hobbit's eyes.
„Fine!“ Bilbo hissed and went to Bofur. „Would you help me Bofur? I can't seem to get up fast enough when I'm destroying my legs in this godforsaken twilight, so the king can walk at a pace he thinks is more suitable and doesn't have to deal with my ballast.“
Thorin stopped as if thunderstruck and glanced helplessly at Dwalin, who was walking next to him. The bald dwarf grinned slightly and shrugged his shoulders.
He thought he heard Bofur chuckle. Fili walked past him with Ori on his arm and he too seemed to be hiding a grin under his blond moustache, while Ori's face was simply filled with pain. His arm must still be tormenting him.
Still deeply confused, he walked behind the group, trying to figure out what he could have said that had angered the hobbit so much.
While he was brooding to what he had said, he suddenly heard the sound of falling stones behind him and he thought he heard some kind of voice.
He stopped abruptly „Dwalin!“ he whisper-yelled.
The tall dwarf not far in front of him turned round and came back the way he had come.
„I hear something!“ Thorin signalled to him in Iglishmêk. He pointed in the direction in which he had heard the stones falling.
The others had also stopped and were listening.
Dwalin pulled his axes from their back holsters and readied himself for battle.
Bofur let go of Bilbo's arm and pushed the hobbit behind him while he drew his warhammer, Fili stood before the wounded Ori, swords drawn and ready for battle.
They waited in tense silence for another sound or a sign that they were under attack.
Then they heard more stones falling, clattering onto the narrow path not far behind them. Thorin took a step in the direction they had come from and tried to look up at the rock face to see what was chasing them, Dwalin following at his heels.
Suddenly they heard a strangled cry and the sliding of a body on smooth rock. More and more stones came crashing down and suddenly the voice became louder and louder.
Dwalin narrowed his eyes, took a quick step forwards, dropped his axes and held out his arms.
With a loud „Oof“ he caught the body that had fallen from above and stumbled backwards a few steps to regain his balance, but he failed and with a thud he and the rescued one fell to the ground in a heap.
Thorin knew that hair.
„Nori!“ Ori shouted at that moment and pushed past Fili, who had lowered his swords in the meantime.
The young dwarf lunged at the Dwalin-Nori pile and hugged his brother with a pained sound as his arm was squeezed.
„Nori where did you come from?“
„Are you alone?“
„Are the others around?“
„Are you hurt?“
„How did you get here?“
At the same time, they all bombarded the red-haired dwarf with questions.
Dwalin slowly managed to sit up with the two brothers on his lap and Thorin knelt down next to Dwalin, looking at the newcomer with concern.
He looked battered, with deep shadows under his eyes and scratches all over his face, his fingertips were bloody and his fingernails were broken, as if he had tried to claw at the rock. He also seemed to have had a bad night.
„Quiet!“ the dwarf king said loudly and the questions fell silent. „Why don't we let him catch his breath and recover from his fright?“
He helped Ori stand up and then held out his hand to Nori. But the red-haired dwarf shook his head and leant against Dwalin's chest.
Only now did Thorin realise that Dwalin was holding Nori close and had laid his head against Nori's neck. The tall dwarf's shoulders seemed to tremble.
Thorin could not understand what Dwalin was saying to Nori, but he recognised the tone of voice in which the words were spoken. Deep relief resonated in it as well as concern and ...love.
He could have guessed it from the way they behaved in each other's presence, but he realised that he had only recently opened himself up to these kinds of feelings and was now able to recognise them.
The others, with the exception of Bilbo, seemed less surprised than he and watched with smiles as the two dwarves whispered soft words to each other.
After a short while, during which the rest of the group had withdrawn a little to give them some privacy, Nori moved away from Dwalin and slowly got to his feet with the help of the tall dwarf. Dwalin stabilised him as they walked while they caught up with the small group.
When they arrived, Nori wrapped his arms around his little brother, the younger dwarf winced with a small pained sound at the embrace
„Ori! You're hurt!“ Nori called out in a raspy voice.
He held him at arm's length from him and scrutinised him with his gaze.
„What's wrong?“ Nori craoked.
„Oh, it's not bad Nori. I only dislocated my shoulder when I fell, but Dwalin put it back in place and now it's only a little sore. But enough about me! Tell me what happened to you? Where are the others? How did you manage to follow us?“
Nori let out a relieved sigh and stroked Ori's head once, turning to Dwalin nodding a thanks as he croaked: „I'd love to tell you everything, but I'd have to wet my throat first. Hanging on a rock face for a whole night and half a day makes you surprisingly thirsty!“
Half a waterskin and some dried fruit later, Nori felt able to recount the events of the previous night.
„We were standing on the rock face and had to watch you disappear in the night and everyone was screaming and I thought Balin was going to throw himself after you. And Dori and Kili were about to climb down too. But that wasn't really an option, so we first went into the cave behind us and tried to work out a plan to find you again.“
He took another sip and leaned against Dwalin, who had sat down next to him.
„But nothing anyone had to say seemed reasonable to me. So I sat down at the entrance to the cave and tried to make my own plan. To be honest, I didn't really have any ideas either, so I had no choice but to wait and see if anyone else had anything sensible to say. But at some point, everyone was just too exhausted and wanted to look for a way down in the daylight the next morning. Everyone went to bed and wanted to sleep. But I kept watch at the entrance. And then...“ he faltered and began to tear his hair with his bloody fingers.
Dwalin closed his hands around his injured fingers to stop the former thief from inflicting any more pain on himself.
„Then what happened Nori?“ Ori asked in a soft voice, sitting on his other side.
„They...“ Nori swallowed. „They all disappeared.“ he looked first at Ori and then at everyone else.
„I couldn't do anything. I only heard a rumble from inside and then the screams of the others and when I ran into the cave, they were gone. The whole cave was spotless. Not a single stone was left and they were all gone!“
He stared at them all with wide eyes.
„But then there must have been another entrance, or an exit or a door or something!“ asked Thorin.
Nori shook his head „I've searched everything! I searched every nook and cranny. I examined every recess, looking for anything that might open a hidden door. But I've found nothing. The only clue I have is the disgusting stench of goblins that was in the cave after everyone disappeared.“
Thorin sucked in a sharp breath. „A goblin hoard?“
Fear filled him, for if his loyal dwarves had fallen into the clutches of the goblins, it was almost impossible to ever see them alive again. Deep sadness flowed through him as he thought of what it meant for everyone here.
Silent tears were streaming down Ori's cheeks and Bofur had taken off his shapeless hat and clutched it to his chest.
He put an arm around his nephew and hugged him close. But Thorin's eye searched for Bilbo, who stared at him with eyes wide with fear and helplessness. Thorin returned his gaze and wished he could take him in his arms, give him comfort and support.
No sooner had he thought this than Bofur put his arm around the halfling's slender shoulders.
Bilbo looked at him in surprise and then gazed in astonishment at the hand on his shoulder.
Jealousy suddenly shot hot through Thorin's veins and quickly turned into an all-consuming nausea that mingled with the grief for his almost certainly lost companions. Had he not been holding on to Fili's shoulder, he might have staggered under the sheer onslaught of these emotions.
But he did not take his eyes off Bilbo's face and realised that the hobbit's expression did not really show approval of Bofur's closeness.
He removed his hand from his shoulder and said quietly, „Thank you Bofur, but I'll be fine.“
Thorin thought he saw Bilbo's eyes flick over to him briefly and the nausea seemed to subside a little.
With great effort, he forced himself to turn his attention back to the dwarf who was telling them about the fate of their companions
„But then we have to save them!“ Fili suddenly burst out, wriggling out of his uncle's grip to stare at him with anger in his tear-filled eyes. „Why are we still sitting here doing nothing?“ He stared at them all with a desperate gleam in his eyes. „Fili!“ Thorin said slowly, reaching out to him.
„We have no way of finding them. The way back is blocked and even if we can get to the foot of the mountain, we can't go up. It's impossible to climb these steep slopes. All we can do is finish the path we started, we can't go back.“
But Fili slapped his hand away and whirled round. „We can't just do nothing?! Why? I mean, we have to at least try to find them!“
He looked around wildly, but they avoided his gaze.
All except Ori, who returned it with tears in his eyes.
Fili was beside himself that no one reacted. Full of rage, he let out an inarticulate cry that reverberated in the narrow gorge and broke as a desperate echo in the distance.
Thorin winced at the pain he heard in it. He felt it too.
„Fili.“ said a soft voice.
Fili turned round and saw Ori standing in front of him. The young dwarf took the distraught prince's hands in his and looked him in the eye. „Fili. There's nothing we can do to help them now. But we can keep going and find a way out. And when we have managed to get out of this ravine, we will find a way back to this mountain and into these goblin caves. And if even one of our loved ones is still alive, we'll get him out of there!“
Fili slumped down and hung his head, then straightened up again and nodded. „You're right Ori!“
Thorin gave the young dwarf standing next to his nephew a grateful look and then turned back to Nori, who was looking at the young prince and his brother with a strange expression on his face.
„Nori. What happened then? How did you find us?“
Nori slowly turned his gaze away from his brother and looked at Thorin.
„I don't really know. I was so desperate and thought I'd go back down the path to get help somehow. Maybe the wizard or even the damn elves. Someone. But the way back no longer existed - the giants had destroyed it. It was still raining and I didn't know where to go. When I tried to continue along the path, I lost my footing at some point and slipped. I don't know how deep and in which direction, but somehow I managed to hold on and clung to the rocks as best I could while I tried to get down. Because there was no way up. And so I somehow made it through the night. When the sun came up, I realised that I wasn't that far from the ground and that I might even make it down alive. And then I saw you at some point. I tried to call you, but my voice didn't really want to. But then I slipped and well, then I was here.“ With these words, he patted Dwalin on the chest.
Thorin took a deep breath and expelled it slowly.
„I am glad that you have found us Nori and that you are largely unharmed. But now we also know that we can't afford any more delays. We have to find a way back as quickly as we can and hope that when we find our friends they are still alive.“
They all nodded grimly at him and shouldered their packs. They were ready.