Luin eventually found the dwarves down in the dungeons. The dungeons were in a massive cavern beneath the palace made out of the trunks of huge trees. The steps and cells were all carved out of wood above the earth. When Luin got there, Bilbo was in the process of unlocking them them all with the keys he had taken off of a slumbering guard. Half of the company were already out and hanging around as they waited for the last of them to be freed. They all cried out with joy as they spotted Luin running down the steps. The strength had returned to his legs and Luin took the steps two at a time.

"Luin!", Kili, Fili and Ori all cheered.

"Did you get my message?" Luin asked Bilbo. The hobbit nodded.

"Yeah, a voice in my head telling me how to get into Mirkwood and the directions to the dungeons was definitely easy to miss", he snarked, seeming slightly grumpy. Luin smiled and ruffled his curly hair, glad that the spell had worked. He had been unsure since it was a rather complicated spell. The hobbit relaxed and smiled back. "Thank you. I had been stuck sneaking around the lower city of a whole day before you helped me".

The click to Thorin's cell sounded and the door swung open. The dark haired dwarf stepped out and patted Bilbo on the shoulder. He nodded at Luin to convey his gratitude. Luin nodded back, exhaustion written on his face.

"What did you do?" Balin asked. "We could hear your song from down here, what happened to the elves?" The old dwarf pointed towards the prone snoring figure of a guard on the ground some distance away.

"I just sent them to sleep. We've got half an hour before the castle wakes so we'd better move quickly", Luin looked around. "Bilbo, do you know a way to get out of here?"

"Yeah", Bilbo waved towards the lower levels. He began running downstairs. "It's this way, come on".

Luin stopped at the slumbering guard. The elf had a small blade strapped to his belt, visible in the torch light. Quickly, he slipped it out of its sheath. He snuck the small blade into his boots before following after the others. It always paid to have multiple weapons and something told Luin that he would need it. Just in case.

The hobbit lead them all down into the stone cellars of the castle through twisting tunnels and corridors. Huge caves of rock buried underground. They all crept as quickly and quietly as possible as Bilbo headed into the wine cellar, passing several snoring guards and castle servants as they went. Although the spell should hold out, no one wanted to accidentally wake them and raise the alarm. The wine cellar was filled head to toe with massive barrels of wine, each about the size of Bilbo. It was lit by the flickering flames of torches along the earth walls. Luin spotted the slumbering forms of three elves at a table. From the empty bottles, it was obvious that they had been drinking before Luin's music had put them to sleep. He doubted they would be waking up anytime soon even if the magic wore off.

"I can't believe it", Bofur said happily. "We're in the cellars!"

"You're supposed to be leading us out of here", Nori hissed. "Not further in".

"Just be quiet and trust me", Bilbo hissed back. He waved them one by one towards a pile of stacked empty barrels. "Come on, get in the barrels, we haven't much time".

Luin fidgeted  anxiously as they all began squeezing in one by one. He trusted Bilbo but he could feel the time ticking on. Several of them had to push Bombur into a barrel, his girth almost making him too big. The dwarves also had to crawl over each other to get into the barrels on top, tucking themselves in with grumbled whispers. It all involved a lot of uncoordinated limbs and snarked comments along with the occasional groan of pain. The whole time, Bilbo kept hissing at them to be quiet and to move quickly.

There were only fourteen barrels. Luin glanced at Bilbo and the hobbit nodded. He would stay behind and get them out. Luin nodded back and swung himself into the last barrel. It was a tight squeeze. He was much taller than all of the dwarves and Bilbo, but he was thin and lean. He had to take off his case and fit it next to him. Knees up to his chest and back pressed uncomfortably tightly agains the wood. Once he was as comfortable as he could get, Luin stuck his head out and gave Bilbo a thumbs up.

"What are we supposed to do next?" Bofur asked.

"Um hold your breath", Bilbo replied. Above them, shouts echoed down. They had run out of time, the half an hour was up. The elves were all waking. Bilbo pulled on a lever and the whole floor tipped. Luin had the dizzying sensation of his barrel rolling down and then the emptiness of falling before he was submerged under water.

For a brief second, Luin was downing. The sky was black and he was in the sea and he was downing. Air rose in bubbles around him and he couldn't move, couldn't see. Everything was dark and blue and heavy. Then his barrel was bobbing to the surface. He gasped loudly as he met the air and the black sky disappeared. The heavy weight of drowning gone. Around him, the dwarves bobbed up and they gave shouts of triumph. There was a splash as Bilbo jumped after them. He clung on to to Nori's barrel like a wet cat as they were pulled down stream.

"Well done master baggins", Thorin commented. Bilbo waved a hand as he tried not to swallow more water. "Come on!" Thorin called as he began paddling his barrel along. "Lets go".

They didn't have to paddle much before the current took them. It began to pull them along as a smooth speed. Luin, who couldn't move at all in his barrel, pushed himself out of it and swam alongside them. He struggled for a moment, going under as he strapped his case securely to his back, before resurfacing. Fili, who was the nearest, grabbed Luin by the arm and heaved him closer. Luin caught on to the side of his barrel with a snort, brushing his dripping hair out of his eyes. The now wet braids looking bedraggled and soppy.

"Thanks", he huffed, spitting out water.

"Can't have our wizard drowning can we?" Fili joked back with a smile. Together, they began paddling along. Luin kicking with his long legs.

The current spun them around out into the sunlight of dawn and the exposed sky. The light blinded them all for a second before they dropped. Luin screamed as they fell off a small water fall. His legs scrapped against the rocks harshly as they bounced along, landing with another submerging splash. When they came up again, they were promptly tugged into a series of sickening rapids. They were completely at mercy of the water, unable to swim in any direction for long. Luin half wished he had stayed inside his barrel. But he was a good swimmer and it was easy just to cling on to Fili's barrel like a float.

Behind them, a loud horn echoed down the valley. Luin glanced downstream. There was a gate in the river ahead manned by elf guards. As the horn sounded, one pulled a leaver and the gate began to close.

"Luin can you do something?" Fili ask wildly as they grew closer to the closed gate.

Luin grunted as water flooded his mouth. He coughed it out. "No. I used up most of my magic on that sleeping spell". Fili only had time to curse before they were all colliding with each other at the gate. Luin was pinned by barrels on all sides. He clung to the rims as the current threatened to drag him under. The dwarves around him grabbing fistfuls of his coat to help keep him up.

Above them a arrow hit one of the elves. He fell into the water. His body hit Luin's, knocking off his grip and he went under. "Luin!" Fili called desperately. Around them, orcs surged over the banks. The blonde dwarf stuck his hands into the water in a effort to pull Luin back up, but he couldn't find anything. The current had dragged him to the water gate, pining him under the barrels. All Luin could do was hold his breath and grip the bottom of the barrels.

"The gate! Someone open the gate!"

Kili climbed out of his barrel and onto the bank. An orc struck at him but he was able to sidestep and trip him into the water where Bilbo slew him. Upon reaching the leaver, Kili hesitates. It was too high for him. He yelled in pain as an orc arrow embedded itself into his calf.

"Kili!" Fili screamed. Pushing past the pain, Kili jumped up and caught on to the lever, using his weight to yank it down. The gates opened and the dwarves were sent spilling into the river. Kili jumped back into his barrel, the impact dislodging the arrow, as they were swept down stream.

Luin surfaced with a gasp, chest heaving. Images of cold blackness still in his minds eye. A hand caught him by the coat and he was pulled towards a barrel. He grasped it like a lifeline as Dwalin held onto his shoulders. Luin heaved for breath as he blinked at the light. Shaking slightly in shock as he came back to the present.

Orcs were running along the banks beside them, arrows aimed and weapons raised. The company's hunters had caught up with them. They dwarves were all unarmed and outmatched. Only the river keeping them moving and Luin was still shaky. He was low on Qi and flashbacks still clouded his mind. He was at a disadvantage. Behind them, Luin could see a green and silver figure keeping pace with them and felt a burst of relief. Tauriel was visible on the other bank, slaying orcs with her arrows. Legolas decapitated a orc with his twin short swords and sped up. He glanced into the water, spotting Luin. The wizard holding a barrel like a wet cat and being pulled along rapidly downstream.

"Right!" Luin called as a orc stabbed at Legolas' shoulder. The elf struck him down with quick efficiency before he was lost behind them as the water dragged Luin in.

They were swept into a series of rapids. Bounced around like a pinball machine. Luin barely had time to draw breath before he was submerged again. The water roared in his ears and clouded his eyes. He couldn't see, couldn't tell where the hell they were headed. Back, legs, shoulders were scrapped and battered against the rocks as they were twisted and swept along. Everything felt bruised. He could only hope that he wouldn't drown here.

On each side of the bank, orcs still chased them. Luin caught sight of several of the dwarves pulling attacking orcs into the water and swiping their weapons. Luin concentrated and raised a hand. His left sword shot out of his belt and flew through the air. It sliced down any orc that got to close. Luin went under and the sword dipped. His hand wavered, losing control for a second before he was surfacing again.

"Luin!" Someone yelled. A orc had launched himself at him. Dwalin caught the creature by the neck and wrenched the axe from his grip. The orc fell into the water behind them with a splash.

Luin called his sword back to his hand and the jade handle fell into his grip. Another orc lunged still them and Luin raised his hand to slice at it. It squealed as a blade came through it's chest from being. Luin gaped as the sword glittered, arm still raised above his head. Legolas pulled out his sword and nodded, a spark in his gaze, before sprinting at another orc. Luin watched the elf in surprise for a moment until water splashed him in the face and he coughed.

At some point, Bombur was catapulted over head. His barrel bounced along the bank, knocking orcs down like bowling pins. Despite the fast paced gravity, life and death situation he was in, Luin couldn't help but absorb the sight. The ginger dwarf had managed to grab a sword and a ax and was bouncing around like a sharp whirlwind. Luin laughed as much as he could as Bombur burst out of his barrel and sliced his way back to the river. He jumped into an empty barrel and resurfaced with a gasp. Luin was amusedly impressed. Never underestimate a dwarf.

Legolas danced along the bank. Luin caught glances of him as the silver haired elf moved with agility between fights. He leapt down onto the dwarves as they passed, balancing on Dori and Bofur's heads as he shot arrows from his bow. Each arrow finding its mark with pin point accuracy. Luin helped as much as he could, throwing his sword like a boomerang so that it soared around, slicing through five orcs before returning to his hand. He caught a glimpse of a smile on Legolas' face as the elf jumped onto the opposite bank.

Another small water fall had Luin coughing up more water. Glancing up, he saw Legolas fighting with orc above them. Another orc was behind him with it's cleaver raised. Luin threw his sword. It struck the orc through the chest just as Legolas kicked his opponent into the river. He turned and saw the orc behind him fall. The sword shot back into Luin's hand. Legolas stared down at him in surprise as Luin was swept past. The river bank now too rocky for the orcs or elves to continue following the party. He raised his hand in a cheeky wave as the prince disappeared behind them. The last image he got was of the silver haired elf standing on top of a bolder watching the river take him away.