"Wargs!" shouted Dwalin as one of the creatures leapt over the hill and into the group. Kili quickly shot it with an arrow and brought it down, so Dwalin could finish it off with his axe.

Gandalf yelled "Move it now!" Bilbo started running with the others, heading into the open meadows, the pack a few miles away. Gandalf looked around, counted the members as they ran by him. "one, two....five six..."

Bilbo got ahead of the others, looking behind him. Kili was the closet one when he said "We might be able to out..." Out of no where a huge creature came and slashed at Bilbo, its blood red eyes staring down at the hobbit. It look like a orc mixed with a werewolf. The creature howled as Bilbo tried to move back, his shoulder bleeding badly. He looked up to see Kili round the corner and he yelled "Kili! Go back! Warn the others!" The creature lowered itself to bounce again and jumped on top of Bilbo, its fangs inches from his throat.

Kili quickly drew an arrow and fired at the Warg attacking Bilbo, to at least help the hobbit before he ran back and shouted. "It's no good, there's more that way too!!"
Skidding to a stop Thorin growled angrily under his breath. "We can't just sit here and wait to be torn to pieces!" the dwarf prince snapped.

Bilbo closed his eyes then suddenly blade came thru the creatures head, taking the head off. As the creature fell a white haired warrior stood there, panting. He said "group together! They don't attack packs, only lone prey!" The warrior ran to take out another monster, the Wargs pack heading towards them. He cursed and said "now would be a time for your aid!" A hooded figure jumped in front of Thorin and the others, a staff in hand and a short blade in the other.

They turned to the other creatures and muttered softly under their breath and suddenly shadows jumped up and wrapped around the hybrids, holding them down. The warrior smirked and said "cut them down quickly! Before their friends show up!"

"Stay together!" Thorin yelled to the others as he drew Orcrist and swung it towards the Wargs. Kili kept his bow out and shot at others from afar.

Gandalf started cutting the creatures down, watching the one with the staff carefully as he could. Bilbo was trying to stay out of the way, his shoulder bleeding badly now. The hooded one ran over to him and cut another of the hybrids down and turned to him. "Stay behind me, little one...ill keep you out of danger..." Bilbo stared when he saw under the hood then nodded. The other warrior moved next to Thorin, panting slightly. "They must have been sent by the same master...why is my concern..."

"That is no concern of yours." the dwarf prince growled defensively. There was no way he was going to tell some complete strangers about his group's quest. They had no right to know as far as he was concerned.
"There's more coming!" Dwalin bellowed as the Wargs and Orcs finally caught up with these strange hybrids.
"There's too many, we can't fight them!"

The warrior looked at him and said "no need to be defensive comrade, just thinking out loud" he looked around and said "we need an escape route!" The hooded one just finished off the last hybrid when Gandalf was near a large rock and looked down. "Everyone this way quickly!" The hooded one turned and saw his thinking and reached down and picked up Bilbo, who was fighting to keep his eyes open against the pain. The warrior ran over and cut another Orc down and moved a smaller rock to see a hole under neath. "Everyone in lets go!"

Obediently, the dwarves slipped past the two strangers and slid into the opening after Bilbo.

Kili and Thorin remained, the younger dwarf shooting down as many of the creatures as he could to buy his friends the needed time to escape. Thorin slashed at oncoming Wargs with Orcrist, though when he looked back and saw Ori's cloak disappearing down the hole and no others left, he turned and shouted across to his nephew.
"Kili!"

Firing the arrow he had just loaded, Kili quickly turned and raced past Thorin, sliding down the hole with his uncle right on his heels. The dwarves all looked up in surprise as a horn sounded, followed by hoofbeats and the screeching of the Orcs, Wargs and other creatures as they were slain. They had to jump to the side as an Orc's corpse dropped into the hole.

Prodding it roughly with the hilt of Orcrist, Thorin could tell the creature was dead. A single arrow stuck out of it's chest, which the dwarf prince reached down and pulled out to examine. Though he quickly dropped it in disgust, recognising the fletchings at the end of the shaft, and the shape of the arrowhead.
"Elves!" he snarled under his breath.

Bilbo looked around and asked "is everyone alright?" When they nodded he smiled weakly and said "oh good...I was...was.." He fell back, the hobbit falling against the wall and nearly hitting the ground if the hooded figure hadn't caught him. Gandalf moved over and said "Bilbo" the hooded one lay Bilbo down and said "I need light, quickly" Gandalf blew into his staff and the stone at the top glowed brightly. The warrior moved over to his companion and said "what happened?" The hooded one said "he was hit by one of the Arcanrais. Thankfully it was claws not teeth. I need water and bandages hooded one reached up and pulled the hood off to show the warrior Mage who had saved them was in fact...

A woman?

She looked around, seeing them all staring at her. "What are you waiting for? You friend needs help and I can't help him without some water and bandages"

"We...we have water." Kili stammered as he held the waterskin in his hand out to the woman. "But I don't know if we have bandages..."
None of the dwarves was really a healer, Oin knew some things but he didn't really carry bandages with him...

Her partner pulled his armor off and gear and pulled his shirt off, showing his body that was covered in scars, not much skin wasn't somehow disfigured. "Here Serena...do you want me to start ripping?" She nodded, pushing her dark hair out of her face, her bright silver eyes studying the wound. She looked around and said "I need someone to hold his head while I do this...just rest his head on a lap will work. I need to keep the wound above his heart"

The warrior turned to the dwarves and said "We have not introduced ourselves, I am Wolfgang Bane of the West Sea...this is Lady Serena. We are heading to Rivendale to deliver important information"

"Indeed." Thorin grunted as Bofur quickly moved to help the woman named Serena with Bilbo, as she had instructed. "We are dwarves of the Blue Mountains, we journey across to see our kin in the Iron Hills." he explained, concealing their true purpose in their travels as he did not yet trust these people. They said they were bidden to go to Rivendell, and that meant they were in league with the Elves. If they knew of the quest too, they would tell the Elves, and then the Fair Folk would try to stop them.

Bane looked over at Serena as she used the water to clean the wound, Bilbo gasping in pain. She smiled and said "You are quite brave, master hobbit...the fact you took the wound and still tried to defend your comrades, very noble of you..." Bilbo flinched as she pulled a small bottle from her bag and started to put herbs and liquids into the wound. "This will help with the pain and keep it clean..." She looked at Thorin, glaring at him. "How could you travel without a healer! Its risky where you are heading, even more right now, and you don't bother to at least bring supplies in case one of your company is hurt? What kind of..." Bane suddenly covered her mouth, sighing.

"Please forgive my lady...she's doesn't take lightly when others are hurt like this..." Gandalf was watching her silently, thinking. She slapped Bane's hand and said "I'm just saying...its unwise and selfish..." She turned back to Bilbo, starting to wrap the wound with Bane's ripped shirt.

"We have the wizard with us for such things." Thorin answered sharply. "It may be common for your kind to learn magic and healing and other such strange things but for my kin it is not!"

"Oin knows what we need if we were to need any kind of healing." Kili interjected. "You've just caught us off guard, that's all. We lost a few supplies earlier on the road, we had an encounter with some trolls."

Gandalf said "Its alright, my young Dwarfs...she's had a day is all. You both have been trying to bring warning about those creatures we face above but no one will take heed...by looks neither of you have slept in days and taking that you both have horses with no bags...barely have eaten either. Its just a little burning emotion is all" Bane stared at the grey wizard.

"How the heck did you know all of that..." Serena didn't look up, tying the knot on the bandages and Bilbo opened his eyes. He looked up to see Bofur above him. "Um...hello? what's going on?"

Bane looked at Thorin and said "Please, she didn't mean anything by her words...your friend is right. We have been riding for days with much rest...trying to get someone to listen to our warning...but so far...no one will take it seriously..." Serena looked at her hands, looking tired and worn. Gandalf said "She is known to have a firey temper...the Mage of the Shade"

"Indeed." Thorin grunted, the dwarf prince looking less than impressed as he turned away from them abruptly. But he said no more on the matter and it seemed as if this was as close to a forgiveness that they would get out of Thorin.

"It's alright Bilbo." Bofur spoke soothingly to the hobbit. "You were wounded by that strange creature." he looked up questioningly at Serena. She had called it by a name but he couldn't remember what the word was that she had used. "But this lady here helped you, you're going to be okay. You were very brave."

Suddenly, from further up ahead there came a shout in Dwalin's voice back to the group.
"I cannot see where the pathway leads, Thorin! Do we follow it or no?!"
"Follow it of course!" Thorin bellowed back, seeing no other option. He'd rather follow an unknown path than go back where they had come and face the Elves. Little did the dwarf know that the path would lead them right to Rivendell, the Hidden Valley. The very place he did not want to go, which Gandalf had conveniently not told him of.

Bane rubbed his neck as Serena stood and said "We should go with them for now...just to make sure none of those creatures make a hunt out of this" Bane went to her side and muttered "Was the Alpha with them?" She shook her head. "No...I fear it must have left the pack after their last attack..." Gandalf helped Bilbo up and smiled. "Shall we get moving then?" Bilbo nodded and Gandalf knelt down by Balin and Kili. "I would keep an eye on those two...tired warriors are normally the most on edge"

The two dwarves nodded in understanding to the wizard's advice and kept near the back of the group with Bane and Serena as the group followed the path along.

When the path opened out and the Hidden Valley became visible to them, the dwarves stood on the overhang and stared down in surprise.
Thorin rounded furiously on the wizard when Gandalf appeared out of the pathway. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?!" the dwarf accused, "To seek refuge with our enemy!!"

Gandalf blinked and said "Now who said they were our enemy. I simply thought as a thank you for our new friends for saving us and for helping Master Bilbo we could help them get to their goal. That's all. Besides, its been a long day and a good nights rest under a roof would do us all some good...as well as needed information we will find here about our journay. We won't tell them where we are going, don't worry Thorin"

Bane looked at Serena as they came out and said "You need rest, Serena...maybe after we speak with..." Serena shook her head and said "No...not until I am sure..." Bane looked worried, sighing as she moved ahead. "There's no getting thru to her like this...she's so hard...like stone...I wish someone would smooth her out so she could get some rest..."