The orcs pushed us further and further over bridges by which they connected their tunnels and passages. The wooden planks lay loosely over the scaffolding. The only one who had escaped from us was Bilbo, the orcs had simply overlooked him. Again and again they hit us at random, just for fun. Beside me, Bofur was pushed on. One of the orcs punched me right in the face, blood spurting out of my nose.
"Leave her alone!" The dwarf next to me shouted, he got a slash in return with the flat side of a sword.
Slowly but surely we entered the centre of Orkstadt, a terrible music sounded that dug painfully into my sensitive ears. I cupped my hands over my pointed ears. The source of the noise was on a platform above us and was an orc band. The orcs pushed us on until we stood before their king. It was the fattest, ugliest orc I had ever seen, his whole body covered in boils. He didn't seem to think he needed to hide his ugliness, for he wore only a loincloth.
"Before you know it I'll be singing a song." he rose and stomped towards us.
I ran my fingers over my eyes, super he was a drama queen too.
(Everything in italics is sung by the orc).
Pack, hack, zwick and zwack. Grib, dig ears off, beat and beat until you wail and complain...off into the dark hole. Down in the city of the orcs. The orcs repeated the last sentence in chorus. I stood in the middle of the dwarves and hastily hid my elven ears, for my height clearly identified me as a dwarf, if even one of the orcs here saw my ears, they would put two and two together, not even orcs were that stupid not to see this connection.
With the whip a blow until you scream until you whimper, when you lie strapped to the rack. Off, off into the dark hole....down in the city of orcs.
The orcs around us swayed to the beat of the song. Kili, who was at the front, tried to push one of the orcs away and I might have imagined it, but I was pretty sure his gaze briefly sought mine.
Hammer and hacks, until the bones cracked, with one bang the orc king speared one of his subjects with his staff and hurled him past us, I grabbed you right away. Smack, smack and smash. Beng, biol, zitter and rio you can whimper and plead, no one will let you go. Off, off to the dark hole down in the city the king began to spin and almost impaled me with his staff orcs.
The orcs cheered like it was the best song they had ever heard. I was just glad it was over, my ears would not have stood that music much longer.
The regent rolled five orcs on his way to his throne "How do you like my song, one of my own compositions."
I gagged.
Balin seemed to see it the same way "This is not a song, this is an abomination."
The king simply ignored the interjection "What are you still standing here for." he drove at his subjects "search them!"
Eagerly the orcs obeyed their king's command. " Hands off!" I shouted as they took my daggers and sword from me. My mother's sword landed in a heap with all the others.
"Who dared to enter my kingdom armed?" the king almost had a heart attack.
"Dwarves your wickedness. " one of the orcs enlightened him.
The king wrinkled his nose "What brings you here, speak."
After a few seconds Bofur plucked up courage and began to stammer out an excuse "We were on a road, actually it was just a path or actually more like a trail. Well, anyway, we were on this road, path or trail and then suddenly we weren't. "
I was proud of him, he had learned something from last time and was trying to stall for time, but it wouldn't work forever either and it was uncertain if Gandalf would save us this time.
"And that's the problem." continued Bofur "Since we were supposed to be in Dunland last week to....." looking helpfully at Gloin
"To visit distant relatives." the red-haired dwarf helped out.
"Silence!" roared the leader of the orcs, Bofur pressed his lips together "For your silence you must pay, with unending torment." the orcs cheered "Hollow the bonebreaker, and the mangler."
I had to swallow, that didn't sound good at all, but it got worse.
The ugly orc pointed at me "Start with the dwarf woman!"
I was grabbed by two orcs and pulled forward. I kicked around, and punched one of the orcs in the face, I would not make it easy for them.
"What is this?" the orc king stared at my face, one of the orcs turned my head so that my ears were visible. I gritted my teeth as my head was held.
"I've never seen anything like it." Oberork stared at my pointed ears in fascination "Cut them off."
"No!" I shrieked. I cringed and got hold of one of the knives I still carried. I rammed it into the eye of one of the orcs holding me. Immediately five orcs came running towards me and threw me to the ground. Two held me down by the arms, two by the feet, one held my head and pulled out a knife.
I squirmed and screamed.
"Leona!" I heard Kili shout my name. My head flew over to him, he was struggling against the orcs holding him back.
The orc bent over me with the knife and grabbed my ear. I redoubled my efforts, kicking my feet and screaming.
I yelled out as the knife cut into my skin, I took the last resort I had left and let my hands flame up. Hot blood ran down my ear.
Suddenly the dark cave became as bright as day. A blast wave hurled everyone standing to the floor, destroying the torture devices that had almost been the end of us. Despite the pulsating pain emanating from my ear, I had to laugh. There was only one person in all of Middle Earth who would make such a dramatic entrance.
Gandalf stepped out of the smoke "Take your weapons and fight!" he shouted at us and began to decapitate the orcs that came running towards him.
I jumped to my feet, rolled under an orc's feet and grabbed my sword. I slaughtered every orc that came before my blade. "Thorin look out!"
The dwarf whirled around and dodged the orc king's attack, the colossus got overbalanced and toppled off the platform.
"Come on run!" Gandalf shooed us onto a path, hundreds of orcs breathing down our necks. I just kept running, hand pressed to my bleeding ear, thank Eru there would be no permanent damage, just a new scar. In front of me ran Kili, Dwalin and Thorin who cleared all the orcs out of the way. What was left was given to those further back. We jumped onto a platform, Fili cut a rope and we swung to the other side.
"Jump." Bofur jumped onto a sturdy bridge, but not everyone made it. So we swung back and orcs jumped onto the bridge. The next time we were on the other side, everyone saved themselves on the stable bridge, I went last and cut the rope of the bridge while jumping. It fell into the depths and with it the orcs.
Suddenly there was a crash and the orc king stood in front of us. I stopped abruptly, almost running into Kili.
"Did you really think you would escape?" the fat orc laughed huskily "What will you do now, wizard?"
Gandalf poked him in the eye with his staff, sliced his belly with his sword. The King of the Orcs squeaked out "That would do it."
But Gandalf wasn't done yet, with a growl he slit the colossus' throat.
Gasping, the orc collapsed. But what none of us, not even I, had reckoned with was that the bridge buckled under the dead body's weight.
I clung to a beam with one hand and had to stifle a scream as we plunged into the depths. Just before we hit the ground, the bridge got stuck between the wall, slowing down and then finally crashing to the ground.
Groaning, I struggled to my feet.
"Well, could have been worse." Bofur did not see what I saw from the pile of rubble. The dead orc king sailed towards the rubble of the bridge and crashed into the dwarves.
"You've got to be joking!" complained Dwalin, groaning as he freed himself from the pile of rubble.
Kili was also buried under wood when suddenly his eyes widened "Gandalf." he simply shouted and pointed up the mountain. Hundreds of angry orcs came running towards us, screaming for revenge for the death of their king.
Dwalin helped Dori up "There are too many, we won't make it."
I clutched my sword tightly "We must get to daylight, now." I pulled Kili to his feet. I then freed Gloin and Balin. Gandalf and Thorin helped everyone else.
"Run quickly!" urged Gandalf, and he ran into one of the corridors at the top.
Not once did he hesitate as he led us through the maze of corridors. Still with my hand pressed to my ear, I stumbled along the corridors. After a few agonising minutes we finally reached the mouth of the cave, we reached daylight. Gandalf pushed us even further until we reached a small clearing.
Panting, I propped myself up by my sword, carefully removing my hand from my ear, which had finally stopped bleeding.
"Where is Bilbo?" Gandalf looked around searchingly after counting through.
Now that their lives were no longer in danger, even the dwarves seemed to notice that the hobbit was gone.
"I'll tell you what happened." Thorin looked angry, a small part of that anger seemed to be directed at me too, for only now did I realise what I had done before, they had seen my fire "Master Baggins has seen the opportunity and taken it. He is gone already."
"No he is not!" rang out Bilbo's voice from the trees.
"Bilbo, we had already given up on you." Bofur seemed honestly pleased to see the hobbit.
Thorin gave Bilbo only a quick glance and then turned his cold gaze to me "You, didn't you think I would find out eventually?"
I winced at the cutting sound of his voice, I knew no answer, just stayed silent and held his gaze.
"Speak up!" he ordered me.
"I....." I began to explain, until a howl shattered the silence. The howl of a warg.
"Out of the pan." muttered Thorin.
"Into the fire." finished Gandalf "Run." and so we were running again, from something far more terrifying than a band of mere orcs. The orcish pack had found us.