"Your only wish is to see my kingdom prevail..." Thranduil repeated this slowly, as if he could not quite grasp the fact that this was the only payment the she-elf would seek. The gems meant more to him than any treasure; had Saeril wished to, she could have demanded a hefty sum for her trouble. 

"It is apparent that you were loyal to her...and for that, I will be loyal to you." Thranduil never broke eye contact; he meant what he said. "I have no intention of allowing my kingdom to succumb as the others have. Should the day come when my son needs to take over, he will be ready. As for you...if you recover the gems for me, you will be handsomely rewarded and given a place here within our lands, should you desire it."

A guard showed up then, and Thranduil frowned at the news. The cells were built to hold the strongest of prisoners; escaping could not have been possible without a set of keys. "Do what you must," he gave Saeril the permission to leave, hope returning to him, even if just a little. Having the gems back meant more than any sum of gold.



Thanks to the Ring, Bilbo managed to sneak past the guards undetected. Finding Thorin and the others wasn't difficult; they were creating enough ruckus to be heard from The Shire itself. Once he'd unlocked the doors to every cell, Bilbo lead them down to the wine cellar. A few elves were sound asleep around a table, several empty bottles of wine in front of them. 

“This way.” Bilbo waved them along, and Kili was soon to protest.
“I don’t believe it; we’re in the cellars!”
At that, the company started objecting in hushed whispers.
Bofur nearly tripped on the stairway. “You were supposed to be leading us out, not further in!”
"[i]I know what I am doing![/i]" Bilbo silenced them, and Kili looked around with hope that he and Fili's godmother had returned. "What about Saeril?"

"She is not being held prisoner," Bilbo reassured the youngest, for he had been present in the throne room just briefly. "With some luck, she will follow right after us...now, get into the barrels. All of you."

"With some luck?" Kili repeated, aghast. "What if she[i] can't?[/i]"

A few of the elves started to stir, and Thorin gave Kili a push to get moving. "There is no time! Do as he says!"

Each dwarf got into a barrel, and Bilbo walked along the row, making a quick headcount to ensure no dwarf had been left behind.
"Hold your breath," he took hold of a nearby lever. 
"For what reason?" Kili barely finished the sentence when the floor suddenly opened at a slant. The tilt was enough for the barrels to begin rolling downwards, only to fall at an alarming distance into the raging waters below. Several dwarves shouted and cried out in surprise, and this was enough to wake the guards.

Bilbo remained optimistic until he realized that the floor once again closed itself, leaving him trapped.

"Where is the keeper of the keys?" As soon as she was alerted, Tauriel arrived on the scene. Swiftly, she made her way down the stairs, just in time to see Bilbo slip backwards, then out of the room. The company had escaped.