(Bilbo)

My body aches all over. I can feel it deep in my bones, especially my back. If I can feel the pain throughout my body, I at least know I'm not dead. My toes are wiggling so I can walk, possibly. The sound of pattering footsteps echoed through the small dark cavern. Slowly I force my eyes to open seeing the unconscious Goblin a few feet away. Looking down I see the large patch of mushrooms I've landed in. They all collectively hide my body except for the glowing blue hue of my sword. My ears pick up on the sound of pattering feet and two shining eyes emerge from the dark. A disfigured and malnourished creature emerges from the dark, its breathing ragged and voice nothing short of a growl.

"Yes, yes, yeees!" it exclaims setting its sights on the goblin "Gollum. Gollum."

I lower as much as I can into the mushrooms hiding. The creature, Gollum, circles the Goblin before taking hold of its ankles and pulling it down into its hiding place. Suddenly, the Goblin springs to live screeching and lashing out to the Gollum creature. Gollum grabs a nearby rock and pounds it against the Goblins head. As Gollum beats down on the Goblin, I notice the golden glimmer of a ring fall from his loincloth. It lands on the cave floor with a soft thud.

The goblins body goes limp again, knocked out cold. Gollum continues to pull the Goblin into the dark tunnel "Nasty goblinses. Better than old bones, precious. Better than nothing!"

Gollum rounds the corner, out of sight and with the goblins body. One he's gone I make my move. Quickly I emerge from the mushrooms and retrieve my sword that still glows blue. Glimmering from the light of my sword I see the golden ring that had fallen from the creature's pocket. I pick it up an examine it laying in my palm.

In the distance I hear the moan from the cave dweller and my body trembles in fear. Without another thought I drop the ring into my pocket and follow the creature's voice.

"Too many boneses, precious. Not enough flesh!"

"Shut up! Get its skin off. Start with its head." The creature Gollum banters with itself.

I cautiously make my way around the corner. I see Gollum, or the two versions of him, silhouetted on top of an outcropping rock in the middle of a small lake. He sings joyfully whilst beating the goblin.

"The cold hard lands, they bites our hands, the gnaws out feet. The rocks and stones, they're like old bones, all bare of meat. Cold as death, they have no breath, its good to eat."

The goblin howls in pain sitting straight up but Gollum is too quick for him. He smashes in the goblins head with another stone. I flinch hearing the cracking of the skull meeting the rock. My sword flickers as the shining blue hue begins fading. Panicking I dive behind a boulder as the cavern falls silent. The light of my sword slowly flickers away. I know the goblin is dead. I peer over at Gollum's rock cautiously. I see the spot where he was crouched down now empty.

He's gone.

The scuffling from above keys me in. My heart nearly stops, and I dare let my eyes look up. Gollum has climbed up to the rock above me. He jumps down and gives me a toothy grin "Bless us and splash us, precious! That's a meaty mouthful!"

Just as Gollum crawls towards me I stick up my sword pointing the tip of the blade to his throat. He retreats with his bulging blue eyes wide with fear choking out "Gollum. Gollum."

"Back! Stay back!" I threaten forcing him to back away from me "I'm warning you, don't come any closer."

He eyes me suspiciously "It's got an elvish blade, but it's not an elf's. Not an elf's, no." he squints "What is it, precious? What is it?"

Breathlessy I speak "My name is Bilbo Baggins."

The creature scrunches his nose "Bagginses? What is a Bagginses, precious?"

"I'm a Hobbit from the Shire."

"Oh!" the creature exclaims laughing "We like goblinses, batses and fishes, but we haven't tried hobbitses before." His almost childlike demeanor falls as he smiels sinisterly "Is it soft? Is it juicy?"

Gollum steps closer to me, mouthwatering. I hold out my sword again waving it wildly and slashing out "Now, keep your distance! I'll use this is I have to!"

The creature snarls and growls at me and the thrashing of my blade. I've never killed a thing in my life, and despite the unpleasantness of this creature, I don't want to take its life.

"I don't want any trouble, do you understand? Just show me the way out and I'll be on my way!"

"Why? Is it lost?"

"Yes, yes, and I want to be unlost as soon as possible."

Gollum's face lights up returning to his more pleasant self "Oh! We knows! We knows safe path for hobbitses. Safe paths in the dark."

Immediately he snaps "Shut up!"

I raise a brow "I didn't say anything."

"We wasn't talking to you."

"Well, yes, we was precious, we was."

I roll my eyes "Look, I don't know what your game is, but I-..."

Excited Gollum jumps up on the rock "Games?! We love games, dosen't we precious?"

He motions to me happily "Does it like games? Does it? Does it? Does it like to play?"

I shrug "Maybe?"

"What has roots as nobody sees, is taller than trees. Up, up, up it goes, and yet never grows?" he points to me waiting for me to solve the simple and most basic riddle.

"The mountain."

Gollum nods and releases a breathless laughter "Yes, yes! Oh, let us have another one. Come on, do it again, do it again! Ask us."

"No!" his second self-interrupts "No more riddles! Finish him off! Finish him now! Gollum! Gollum!"

Just before he can lunge, I hold my hand out in almost a surrender "No! No! I want to play, I do. I can see you are very good at this."

The creature's eyes grow wide and almost innocent again. The snarl turns into a smile as he falls for my flattery.

I force a smile "So, why don't we have a game of riddles? Yes? Just you and me."

He scuttles forward excited "Yes. Yes. Just us."

"If I win, you show me the way out."

Quickly he hides behind the rock again speaking back and forth between his two selves "And if it loses? What then?"

"Well, if it loses precious then we eats it!"

Popping back up from the stone the creature shines it childlike face speaking happily "If Baggins loses, we eats it whole."

I pause, disgusted by this information but I chuckle to myself "Fair enough."

The creature looks to me expectantly "Well, Baggins first."

I nod sheathing my sword and ask my first riddle "Thirty white hoses on a red hill. First they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still."

As his eyes shift back and forth Gollum thinks hard on the riddle. Squinting his eyes, he looks back to me "Teef?"

Damn.

"TEEF!" he exclaims happily letting loose a growly laugh "Yes, my precious! But we, we only have nine."

Opening his mouth wide, he displays his sharp nine teeth. I try not to show my disturbance, but I can't help but upturn my nose.

Gollum crawls around "Our turn. Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters, toothless bites, mouthless mutters."

I pause caught slightly off guard "Just a minute."

Stepping over to the lake I look out thinking over the possible answers, however none seem to be the right one. As I'm thinking it over Gollum becomes excited "Oh, we knows! We knows!"

"Shut up!" he scolds himself.

Looking to the lake water a soft breeze rustles the surface. It clicks and I grin "Wind. It's wind. Of course, it is!"

Gollum growls in anger clambering forward "Very clever, hobbitses, very clever."

Unsheathing my sword, I stop him in his tracks "A box without hinges, key or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid."

Muttering to himself Gollum turns rambling "Box...and a lid, then a key..."

"Well?" I ask.

"It's nasty." He hisses pacing up and down the slab of rock.

"Give up?"

"Give us a chance, precious, give us a chance!"

Frustrated, Gollum pounds down on the floor. He puckers his face, deep in thought and infuriated. Suddenly his eyes widen smiling "Eggses!"

My heart falls and I clench my fist as Gollum happily exclaims "Eggses! Wet, crunchy, little eggses. Grandmother taught us to suck them, yes!"

A bat screeches overhead startling me. My eyes look to the ceiling and then back to Gollum who is no longer there. However, his voice echoes from across the cave cavern.

"We have one for you. All things it devours, birds, beasts, trees, and flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel, grinds hard stone to meal."

I keep my sword raised in defense looking around the cave. My mind reels to find an answer as well as keep a lookout for the treacherous creature. His distorted voice rings out "Answer us..."

"Give me a moment, please! I gave you a good long while."

The pit in my stomach forms "I don't know this one."

The sinister voice that had spoken riddles in the dark whispers "Is it tasty? Is it scrumptious? Is it crunchable?!"

Gollum's hands grab at my shoulders and I quickly jump back wielding my sword "Let me think! Let me think..."

Gollum grins "It's stuck. Bagginses is stuck.....times up."

My mind clicks and I turn back around "Time. The answer is time."

The creature's eyes widen at my realization. I clear my throat with a smirk "Actually, it wasn't that hard."

The creature snarls and climbs down to rest on the rock closest to me "Last question. Last chance."

I know I have to make this final riddle good. If Gollum guesses this one, then he's one the game. I can't die down here, and I can't leave Elena alone. She needs me and I have to help her.Impatiently the creature's roars "Ask us. Ask us!"I stumble back "Yes, yes, all right."Strolling to the edge of the bank. I absentmindedly rub my pocket feeling the Ring inside."What have I got in my pocket?"Gollum scrunches up his nose "That's not fair. That's not fair, it's against the rules!"Gollum throws down the rock he had hidden in his fury "Ask us another one!"I scoff "No, no, no. You said, 'ask me a question'. Well, I did. What have I got in my pocket?"He begins panicking "Three guesses, precious. It must give us three!"I agree "Three guesses. Very well, guess away.""Handses."I pull my hands out of my pocket just in time "Wrong, guess again."

Muttering to himself and becoming more panicked he slaps the floor "Knife!... Oh, shut up!"

"Wrong again." I say trying to conceal my smirk "Last guess.""String!" the creature exclaimed then he points to me "Or nothing.""Two guesses at once. Wrong, both times."Gollum falls to the cave floor crying in his defeat. I loom over him, victorious yet anxious "Come on then, I won the game. You promised to show me the way out."Gollum gets to his feet, his back turned "Did we say so, precious? Did we say so?" Slowly, Gollum turns around. He glares up at me sinisterly "What has it got in its pocketses?"I point my blade to him "That's no concern of yours. You lost."Gollum grins as he approaches me "Lost? Lost? Bagginses is lost." He reaches for something hidden at his side. His face registers in shock. Whatever he is looking for, it is not there. I think back to earlier when the ring had fallen from his pocket and now resides in mine.The creature flails and begins frantically searching "Where is it? Where is it? No! No! No!" He digs through bones and rock searching in vain "Lost! Curses and splashes, my precious is lost!" Now it has dawned on me and I take the Ring from my pocket and hide it behind my back "What have you lost?""Mustn't ask us! Not its business! Gollum, gollum!"Gollum leans over the edge of the lake, sobbing. He stares at his reflection, and slowly his cries begin to cease. Gollum's face becomes contorted in anger. His pale discolored body trembling "What has it got in its nasty, little pocketses?" My grasp around the Ring tightens. Slowly, Gollum turns to look at me. His face is pale with shock "He stole it. He stole it! HE STOLE IT!"Snarling, Gollum hurls a stone at me. I manage to deflect it with his sword, and run off, deeper into the tunnels. Gollum chases after me, roaring. Running as fast as I can I wind through the endless tunnels knowing that if Gollum catches me, I'm done for. However, I stop in my tracks as I hear an ear-piercing scream ring out through all the tunnels."Elena."