[IC] The Hobbit/LOTR: Another Age of Evil Beginnings { Elven & Angel }

[The Elvenqueen]

Tauriel nodded slightly and kept the knife held to the Orc's throat, to keep it in line.
"The dwarves are gone!" Mel called ahead to them as she jogged up to join them. "The current is too strong, they will be at the end of the river before we can catch them."

[AngelBites15]

Legolas heard the cry of his cousin, and looked down the river's path, watching the barrels dissapear in the distance around the corner. "Mel", he suddenly said to her. "Tell my father that we have a prisoner, and that its information may be useful for us", he said to her.

As the company continued to float down the river in their barrels, there was a peaceful movement in the water, so they could just drift down slowly. "Anything behind us?", Thorin called to Balin, who was near the back. "Not that I can see" "I think we’ve outrun the Orcs" "Not for long, we’ve lost the current", he told them as they continued to drift with Maleficent standing halfway in the water, so she could help move the barrels. She worried for Kili after he was shot, and he could probably be mortally injured. This worried her badly, like how a mother would be, and she's internally surprised that she's getting this feeling. Maybe a true bond was visible between them after all.

[The Elvenqueen]

Mel nodded her head and turned to go back towards the palace, though she had only taken a few steps before she stopped again to look over her shoulder at them. "The two of you aren't going to do something foolish, are you?"

"Whatever would make you think that?" Tauriel protested indignantly. "Of course not! We will be right behind you."

"Let's keep moving, we can't stop!" Thorin called to the others as he pushed his barrel to the shore, letting Maleficent help him out of the barrel as with his clothes soaked through he didn't have enough strength, as exhausted as he was, to do it alone. He then helped the fae to get the others onto the shore as well.

Kili could only take a few steps once he was on the shore before his leg collapsed underneath him, he groaned loudly in pain and put his hand on the wound, as if it would help, gritting his teeth together.

[AngelBites15]

Maleficent was helping the dwarves get out of their barrels until she herself managed to step onto dry land, her wings folding behind her back and miraculously turning into her black cloak, as it drapes over her catsuit. She heard groaning from ahead of her, and noticed Kili still in pain from the arrow shot, and his wound looks to be beyond healing. Managing to reach him, she kneeled at his side and hurriedly tore a piece of her black cloak, using it to tame the huge bleeding cut. "Shh...", she softly told him as she put a little bit of pressure to stop the bleeding. "Let me", the fae said to him. "I promised Gandalf I would protect this group. Now, I made a huge mistake", she added before putting a little more pressure. "I'm sorry", she apologized if it was giving him too much pain.

[The Elvenqueen]

Kili tried to shake his head weakly in protest but the wound hurt so much that he was grateful for the help.

"We keep moving!" Thorin growled sharply.
"Kili's wounded!" Filing protested loudly. "His leg needs binding!"
"Then bind his leg, quickly, you have two minutes." the dwarf Prince snapped back.

[AngelBites15]

"Where do we go?", Balin asked Thorin. "To the mountain, we’re so close", Bilbo intervened as he was damp from being in the Rapids. "A lake lies between us and that mountain, we have no way to cross it" "So then we go around" "The Orcs will run us down as sure as daylight. We’ve no weapons to defend ourselves", Dwalin firmly told the Hobbit before Maleficent made a sigh and moved for Fili to bind his brother's leg. She stayed close to them, helping Kili cope through the pain. Sure, he may be stubborn enough, but it was amusing that he had the eagerness of being constantly reckless.

[The Elvenqueen]

Fili crouched down and used the material Maleficent had been dabbling at the wound with to tie it off tightly to stop the bleeding. Kili gritted his teeth in pain and held on tightly to Maleficent's hand, grateful that she was there.

Meanwhile, Tauriel and Mel went with Legolas back to the underground halls, with the Orc in tow, so Thranduil could interrogate it.

[AngelBites15]

Maleficent stayed by them and let Kili hold onto her if he needed to. This was the first time that the young dwarf actually needed her support with physical touch, and the fae was happy of this. He trusted her.

As Ori was getting rid of the water in his boots, a bowman came up from behind, and was ready to shoot. As he does so, Dwalin intervenes and the arrow hits the piece of wood in his hand. Another was shot, but was miraculously stopped by the fae's dagger. "Do it again and you’re dead", the mystery figure warned them as he continued to point his arrow at them.

[The Elvenqueen]

Balin walked forward with his hands up in surrender, realising that the man must be one of the Lakemen. "Excuse me, but...you're from Laketown, aren't you?" He peered behind the man and saw the large boat floating tethered there. "That barge over there, you wouldn't happen to have it available for hire?"

[AngelBites15]

At the barge, the mystery man begins putting the empty barrels onto the barge. The company followed and were clearly stripped of protection. Consequently, the fae stayed close to the twins since they were now defenseless. "What makes you think I would help you?", the man asked them in annoyance.

[The Elvenqueen]

"Those shoes have seen better days, and that coat." Balin observed, moving to stand near the man. "I'm sure you have a few hungry mouths to feed, too. How many bairns?" He asked the man, hoping his assumption was right and he did indeed have children or this could be difficult if they offended him. Thankfully Balin was right and the man answered him as he kept loading the barrels onto the barge.

"A boy and two girls."
"And your wife?" continued Balin confidently. "I imagine she's a beauty!"
The man went quiet as he nodded sadly.
"She was..."
Balin blinked and quickly stumbled over his words to apologise.
"O-oh...I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to..."

[AngelBites15]

"Oh, come on, come on. Enough with the niceties", Dwalin groaned in disgust, which made Maleficent roll her eyes with her eyes closing. "What’s your hurry?" "What’s it to you?" "I would like to know who you are, and what you were doing in these lands", the man demanded of them asa he was preparing to take off. Maleficent kept her cloak on, but removed her black headress, letting her hair flow loose.

[The Elvenqueen]

"What's it to you?!" Dwalin demanded defensively. The Laketown man picked at a dent in one of the barrels where the wood had started to peel away.
"I know where these barrels came from." he stated seriously.
"...what of it?" asked Thorin uneasily, suddenly feeling wary of asking this man for help. What if he just turned them back over to the Elves?
"I don't know what business you had with the Elves, but I don't think it ended well." The man continued as he untied the boat. "All of the Master's trade comes from the Woodland Realm, he would see you in irons before risking the wrath of King Thranduil."

"Offer him more!" muttered Thorin to Balin in frustration under his breath. They needed to get across the Lake and this was the only way, or the Orcs would catch them and finish what they had started.

[AngelBites15]

"I’ll wager there are ways to enter that town unseen", Balin suggested as to try and perk up this man's interest. "Aye. But for that you would need a smuggler" "For which we would pay double", that seemed to have worked as it did indeed take up the score to get across the lake.

Back in Mirkwood, Legolas held the orc at knifepoint while holding him on his knees. "You were tracking the company of thirteen dwarves. Why?!", the prince demanded.

[The Elvenqueen]

(Sorry, I had to go to dinner)

The dwarves all gathered on the deck of the boat as Bard sat at the helm and steered it through the waters. "Watch out!" shouted Ori as he saw a large structure in their path, and all the dwarves ducked out of the way and yelled in panic. Kili had stayed with Maleficent and held onto her arm in a panic, and even Fili-who had stayed near his brother-jumped closer to the fae when he thought they were going to crash into the rock formation.
"What are you trying to do, drown us?!" Thorin hissed at the man.
"I was born and bred in these waters, master dwarf." Bard explained impassively. "If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here."
Thorin grumbled something under his breath and made his way over to Balin who was counting out the coins that the dwarves had pooled together to pay Bard.

"Not thirteen." sneered the Orc at him. "At least, not for long. That young black-haired one, we stuck him with a Morgurth shaft." he had no idea that Mel had intercepted Bolg's arrow and it hadn't hit Kili.
"Answer the question, filth." Tauriel snarled at the Orc, her daggers held at the ready to strike, if needed.
"I don't answer to dogs, she-elf!" the Orc snarled back at her in Black Speech.
"You will answer this one!" snapped Mel from where she stood close to Tauriel.
"One dead dwarf is no concern to me." Thranduil waved a hand dismissively as he paced in a circle around the Orc. "Who sent you to track them, and why?"

[AngelBites15]

As they were boarding the barge, the fae felt a light-weight upon her head. As she went to find it, she notices that she couldn't feel her horns anymore. How was that possible? The deformity spell must be fading, but what was the reason why? She had to ask Gandalf about this. This was new to her, and this new discovery was helpful. Even if she didn't have horns now, she still wanted to keep her black horned headress.

Maleficent held onto the rail as she smoothly moves her head from the incoming rock. "He's right. He wouldn't", she spoke in agreement to the man's response to Thorin. She felt Kili cling to her like a child, and she didn't mind it. She was bonding with the twins very closely now, and they were already comfortable enough to mutually touch her now, as she could do for them. "I’ve had enough of this lippy lake-man. I say we throw him over the side and be done with him", Dwalin groaned in annoyance. "Oh, Bard. His name’s Bard", Bilbo spoke up as he corrected him. "How do you know?" "Uh, I asked him", he responded as if it was obvious.

"I would not antagonize her", Legolas sternly warned the orc as he knew that Tauriel didn't have any self-control within her. "The Dwarf runt will never be King!", Narzug responded. "King? There is no King under the mountain, nor will there ever be. None would dare to enter Erebor", Legolas told the orc with his grip on the dagger tightening.

[The Elvenqueen]

"We do not have to like him, we simply have to pay him." Balin reminded his brother as he counted out the coins in front of him. "Only, there's just one problem, we're ten coins short." he declared, looking troubled. Thorin immediately looked in Gloin's direction.
"Gloin." he sighed, exasperated. "Come on, give us what you have."
"Don't look at me!" Gloin protested, rather animatedly. "I have been bled dry by this venture!" he stood up and stamped a foot firmly as he ranted. "And what have I seen for my investments?! Naught but misery and...and grief...and-" he broke off suddenly, gasping in awe, as the mist began to clear and the dwarves caught their first close-up sight of the Lonely Mountain. Suddenly changing his mind, the red-haired dwarf produced his coin pouch and thrust it in Balin's direction. "Here, take it! Take all of it!"
Bilbo cleared his throat awkwardly to get their attention as Bard hurried urgently towards them.
"The money, quick, give it to me!"

"You know nothing!" Narzug sneered with laughter. "My master serves The One. Our time has come again." Mel, who had begun to pace slightly on the spot in agitation, brandished her own knife at the Orc.
"What do you mean?! Speak, Orc!" glancing to Thranduil, she only became more agitated at seeing how the Elvenking had suddenly frozen, wide-eyed as he listened to the rambling Orc. At seeing the King's expression himself, Narzug grinned maliciously at Thranduil. "Ah, do you understand now, Elfling? Your world will burn!"

[AngelBites15]

Maleficent looked up at the Lonely Moubtain before them, and she did have to admit that she gaped her lips a little bit in astonishment. It's been a long time since she has last seen the mountain up close. "It's been an age since I have seen the mountain so close", she said aloud. As Bilbo cleared his throat, Bard was approaching them. "We will pay you when we get our provisions, but not before", Thorin told him sternly. "If you value your freedom, we do as he says", Maleficent reminded the dwarf Prince. "Besides, there are guards ahead", the bargeman said to them as he gestured to the port up ahead.

Quickly acting fast, Bard told the dwarves to hide in the barrels, while the fae concealed herself with her cloak creating a hood to cover her head. With the horns gone, it was now easier. She looked enough like a commoner, but her dark auburn hair was draping over her chest.

"Death is upon you. The flames of war are upon you", the orc began to laugh maliciously.

[The Elvenqueen]

Bard kicked the barrel nearest to him as the dwarf inside was squirming and making a lot of noise. He steered the boat into a small harbour and got off, taking the money with him.
"Maleficent! What is he doing?!" Kili hissed to the fae, who could see that Bard was talking with a fisherman, pointing towards the barrels.

In mere seconds, Thranduil had drawn his sword from its sheathe and hacked Narzug's head clean off his shoulders. Mel and Tauriel stared in shock as the body fell limply to the floor and began to twitch violently.
"What did you do that for?!" Mel protested. "He wasn't finished speaking! We told him you would let him go!"
The Elvenking tilted his head to the side at her. "I did. I freed his wretched head from his miserable shoulders." Thranduil declared in disgust as he stamped on the Orc's legs with a boot, the body stopped twitching.

[AngelBites15]

Unintentionally, Maleficent didn't realize that she was standing next to Kili's barrel when she heard his voice. Using the hood that covered most of her face, she risked a glance over at Bard having a conversation with a fisherman. "He’s talking to what seems to be a fisherman. He’s pointing right at the barrels. And now, they’re shaking hands, must be a deal", she slowly reported every move that Bard made in front of her since she was their only eyes. "I do not want to tell you what he's doing next. Hold your breath", she told them before moving out of the way.

"But there was more the Orc could tell us", Legolas protested, slightly upset on the action that his father had put on their captive.