kiiblade

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Realized I had written Mrs. Preston instead of Mrs. Saxon in my former post. I'm gonna blame the finals from last week! My brain's fried.

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Once again, Ghent assumed that Elayra was joking. Judging by appearance, she appeared petite and he didn't think her capable of handling herself, let alone capable of killing. "Just keep your hands where I can see them, alright? I'm serious!"
Although Elayra seemed sincere in her denial, Ghent remained skeptical. This wasn't something he could readily believe; he wasn't sure what to believe.

"This isn't a joke, huh? Prove it." Proof came sooner than intended. Ghent stared at Drust the way William stared at Elayra's pendant: he couldn't take his eyes off of him. To see a face from the past came as a shock, and he staggered back a step, only to trip over the slide. Smooth.
"I don't believe this. This is too weird." Ghent didn't bother getting back up, he held William to his chest like a stuffed animal while fearing for his own sanity. "I mean. I-it's been so long, and...you were so small...but it is you...I...I never thought..." The mess of words trailed off into nothingness, but Ghent was far from through. "Drust...you didn't age, man. They said you weren't real...Wonderland wasn't real...I got sent into detention three times because of you guys!"

While Ghent was rambling on like a lunatic, a vehicle pulled up and honked twice. The headlights were blinding, and Ghent recognized the sound of Mrs. Saxon's Sedan. "Oh, crap! Don't move, okay?! I'll be right back." Looking half crazed, Ghent got to his feet. The last thing he wanted was for Mrs. Saxon to discover them. The woman would have given Elayra and Drust the third degree; she was relentless.

Ghent dashed off, and William hissed in protest to be jostled in such a way. "Hey, uh...Mrs. Saxon?! I found him!"
The door opened so fast, Ghent was almost hit by it. Mrs. Saxon had her hair in curlers, a tell-tale sign that she'd returned home a while before this. Apparently, William wasn't worth risking a bad hair day.
"Oh, William! My baby! Come here," Mrs. Saxon thanked Ghent tearfully as she stroked William's fur, and then she put her 'child' to the passengers side. "Here." A nail polished hand passed Ghent an envelope, and he stared at it in confusion.
"Huh?" For once, money was the furthest thing from his mind; Ghent was in a daze.
"Your payment, young man." Mrs. Saxon viewed him as if he were mentally ill. "Get in the back, I will give you a ride home."
Of course William would get shotgun. "Uhh. N-no thanks, Ma'am...um...my mom is already on her way. I wouldn't want to worry her by not being here."
Mrs. Saxon didn't argue. Ghent was a mess, she didn't want him in her car.

Goodbyes were exchanged, and Ghent returned to the playground, his mind reeling. What was he supposed to do with this information? This changed everything -- he wasn't even from this world.
Face paler than it should have been, Ghent looked from Elayra to Drust. Where could he take them? Home? No. That would not do at all.
"Right...alright...I'll trust you." Elayra's former threat echoed in Ghent's mind as he looked to Drust's katana. If they'd wanted him dead, he'd be dead. If he wanted answers, he had no choice but to trust them. "I know a place where we can talk in private."

Hobbit-LOTR: Quests, Curses, And Guardians { Angel & Polarize }

Bilbo had jumped down from the tree, Sting drawn and ready. The sword glowed a brilliant blue, and the hobbit ran forward as an orc approached Thorin. The foul creature had plans to slice Thorin's neck in order to decapitate him, but he never got the chance. Right as he swung his sword down, Bilbo threw himself at the orc and knocked him over. In the scuffle, Bilbo managed to stab Thorin's attacker as the others came to their aid.

Kili wasted no time. The youngest stabbed one orc, then moved to kill the next while narrowly dodging a blade to the shoulder. For the first time in a long while, they were outnumbering their foes, and everyone was more than willing to defend their king.

Azog growled in anger to see the acts of heroism from all present. "Have you come in an attempt to erase your crimes?" The Pale Orc looked up to Saeril in hatred, his soulless eyes reflecting the flames around them. In black speech, he cursed her name as he swung his mace upwards to hit her. "You, and the Son's of Durin will die on this day!"

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Sounds good to me!

Aww thank you! Hah! Yeah, he does not know what to think of her. I'm so amused by how their meeting is going.
I just love Elayra's personality along with Drust (seriously, I can't get over these two!) ...oh dear, Ghent's not met him yet...*snort* Hopefully this ends well.
I am so interested to see how (and if!) they all get along during the misadventures to come.

Another handy tip, thank you! I tried to keep 'that' to a minimum in this post, and I will keep that in mind for future posts too. Oops. There I go again... I have a terrible habit of repeating myself -- sometimes I have to go through and reword an entire post so I don't use the same word 3-4 times. xD

Admittedly, I didn't try to use the indentations in my last post since I wasn't using Word. :'( Let me know if the indentations worked! I can see them on my computer, I just hope it works on your end, too!

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

"I am not offended." Ghent was offended by being accused of being offended. Irony at its best. "I'm in...credulous." The books in Frank's store had been good for boosting his vocabulary, but his pronunciation of the word left something to be desired.
Ghent stayed in place when Elayra stepped forward, but he flinched back as if he expected her to pull a knife. "Whoa! Keep those hands where I can see them." Incredulous was putting it lightly; he was straight up paranoid.

"Is this a prank?" For the second time that evening, Ghent turned his head to get a quick look at Drust. As anticipated, the hooded figure was closer than before. Ghent would never admit it, but he was worried, and he wondered how quick of an escape he could make while lugging William. "My last name is Preston. I still don't know what a Madrail is -- how do you know my name, anyway?"

Unsurprisingly, Ghent remained tight lipped when Wonderland was brought into the picture, though the mention of his father startled him from his stubbornness. "Do you know him?" Elayra had hit a weak spot. If she had information regarding his family, Ghent was willing to risk the possibility that this may have been a hoax.
"If this is a joke..." Ghent didn't complete his threat, simply because he didn't have one. In the past, he would have gotten into a tussle with Mrs. Saxon's son and any others responsible, but this was a girl! He couldn't fight a girl. They were defenseless, after all. Ghent had no idea who he was dealing with.

With a shaky breath of defeat, Ghent caved. "No, I don't remember any of those places. I do remember being in the woods, and...I remember a little girl." Ghent started to open up, but he was also taking care not to let his guard down. "There was a guy was leading the way. It was dark...we were supposed to go somewhere safe." Discussing Wonderland was not something Ghent took pleasure in; he felt foolish to voice these memories out loud, but he was also hopeful that this stranger could help him recover the missing pieces.
"There was some weird sort of door. Maybe it was a portal...I don't know. It sounds stupid." Ghent watched her like a hawk for any indication that he was being lead on, and he attempted to keep an ear out for any sign that Drust was closing in on them. "I was the only one to make it. I never saw them again."

Hobbit-LOTR: Quests, Curses, And Guardians { Angel & Polarize }

Bilbo was witness to the attack, and he managed to stand up on the tree. While completely unlike him, he felt a fire within his heart, one of courage. Thorin needed help, and he may have been the only one there light enough to leave the tree without disturbing it.

At the same moment, The White Warg clamped its jaws around Thorin. Kili's eyes widened in horror as Thorin yelled out in pain; the sound was foreign to him, for he'd always believed his uncle immortal. For a young dwarf like Kili, nothing had ever seemed strong enough to harm Thorin, and yet here he was, at risk of being slaughtered before their eyes.
Dwalin tried to leave his place in order to assist Thorin, but the tree branches he held onto broke, swinging him over the edge and preventing him from reaching his king.

Thorin managed to hit the warg's head with the pommel of his sword, a hit enough to make the beast roar and throw him several feet away. Thorin landed heavily, his sword far from reach, his vision going dark. As it was, he was moments from losing consciousness, and Azog knew that.
The Pale Orc smirked cruelly, his eyes locked to Saeril. "Bring me the Dwarf’s head," he commanded the orc nearest to him. "This one is mine." With that, he gave a roar and charged towards her, his mace in hand.

Hobbit-LOTR: Quests, Curses, And Guardians { Angel & Polarize }

Kili caught one of the pinecones, quickly shifted it to his other hand, then whipped it at the nearest warg. The rest of the company helped, and soon the clearing was engulfed in a wall of flame. This earned cheers from them all, and Azog roared in fury at their show of resistance. This was not to last, however. The cheers turned into cries of fear as the roots of the tree started to give way; the tree tipped precariously over the edge of the cliff, but stopped, only inches away from the cliff.

Again, Kili almost lost his grip. Holding on at such an angle was becoming impossible, and he was frightened certain that one of them was sure to fall. As if to answer his fears, Dori fell, but he managed to hold on for dear life when Gandalf extended him his staff.

Thorin would take no more of this. Saeril could not handle them all on her own, nor should she have to. Slowly, he pushed himself up, hatred burning in his eyes. Azog would pay for the grief and torment he had brought to them all.
Through the flames, Thorin ran towards him, Ocrist drawn.
The attack never made its mark; Azog was one step ahead. With the assist of his warg, he was faster, and both attacked Thorin first. Thorin managed to swing his sword, but he was thrown to the ground, then hit with Azog's mace as the others looked on in shock.

"Thorin!" Kili attempted to climb forward in order to reach him, but any movement risked the tree falling over completely.

Hobbit-LOTR: Quests, Curses, And Guardians { Angel & Polarize }

"No! She has to come with us!" Kili had struggled against Thorin's vice-like grip, but he'd no choice. Thorin was stronger, and he wasn't caving.
"Why won't she come?!" If nothing else, Kili wished to stay and fight. Leaving felt cowardly, and he feared for his godmother's life. "Thorin! We must stop her!"
Despite Kili's protests, Thorin did not release his hold, nor was he willing to relent. "Kili, enough! She has made her choice," the king gave him a push towards the nearest tree, and he checked to see that the others were in tow. "Now climb!"
Dismayed, Kili did climb, and he went as high as he could so that he might catch a glimpse of Saeril. The tree swayed dangerously as Bombur hoisted himself up, but for the most part, it felt secure. Brows furrowed in worry, Kili looked to his older brother as he held onto the tree.

The wargs had caught up with them, and they were now trapped to the tree. The monsters had ceased their growling, then turned as the white warg, with Azog on its back, approached. Thorin looked to Azog, stricken to see his sworn enemy alive and well.

Azog smirked cruelly, he seemed to take delight in seeing Thorin's shock. “Do you smell it? The scent of fear?" The Pale Orc stroked his warg with his hand, and then his steely gaze matched Thorin's as he spoke in black speech. “I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain."
Thorin was hit with grief and hatred all at once. The Goblin King had spoken the truth. “It cannot be.”
“That one is mine." Azog faced his mini army as he sent them to attack. “Kill the others!"
At his command, the Wargs ran forward and tried to climb the trees. They jumped as high as they could, clawing
at the tree trunks and breaking apart branches in their jaws. The trees shook violently at the assault, and the company struggled to hold on.
"Drink their blood!" Azog's attention was drawn to Saeril, and recognition showed in his eyes. During the days of her corruption, she had sent him to cause destruction upon Moria.

"Do you have further orders?" This was a taunt, for Azog knew of her crimes, and he made sure that she was reminded of them.

Hobbit-LOTR: Quests, Curses, And Guardians { Angel & Polarize }

"But your leg is hurt!" Kili couldn't imagine leaving without her; from the sound of it, there were plenty of wargs, and he did not wish to leave Saeril on her own. They'd barely escaped the last group, and he feared for her safety even though she did have the gift of flight. If there were orc riders, they could shoot her down. "I'm not leaving without you. You have to come!"

"KILI! NOW!" Thorin barked the order. The rest of the company was fleeing down the hill, but his nephew hadn't budged. This was no time for heroics; they would be mauled to death if action was not soon taken. Time was running out, and so Thorin grabbed Kili by the arm to force him along. "You would do well to follow," he advised Saeril to come, though he would not try to stop her if she wished to stay. Saeril was capable of handling herself, unlike her godson.

Hobbit-LOTR: Quests, Curses, And Guardians { Angel & Polarize }

The company barely made it, but thanks to everyone working together, everyone survived. All but Bilbo.
“Curse the halfling! Now he’s lost?!” Dwalin looked for him in vain, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"I thought he was with Dori!” Gloin was quick to foist off any blame.
Dori was still panting from the run. “Don’t blame me!”
"I’ll tell you what happened!" Thorin sheathed his sword then faced them all. "Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He’s thought of
nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since first he stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone.”

Kili looked the clearing over in hopes of spotting Bilbo, but he did not. What if he'd been wounded? For a brief moment in time, he nearly voiced his concerns, but a familiar voice broke through.

“No, he isn’t.” Bilbo clasped a hand to Balin's shoulder as he passed him by, and then he stopped. To explain his whereabouts would take too long, and he was not certain that he wanted to. For reasons even he did not yet know, he wished to keep the ring a secret.

“Bilbo, we’d given you up!” Kili smiled to see him; he was fond of their burglar, and he'd long considered him part of their group even if Thorin did not.
For once, his uncle was proved wrong, but he was not sold quite yet. Skeptical, Thorin looked him over for evidence that Bilbo had gone through the same battle they had. "I want to know: why did you come back?”

There was a brief, awkward pause. Bilbo looked to the ground, readjusted his collar, then found it within himself to resume eye contact. “Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you’re right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books. And my armchair. And my garden." To speak of such things made him miss them all the more, but Bilbo continued on, never losing his voice. "See, that’s where I belong. That’s home. And that’s why I came back, cause you don’t have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can.”

Bilbo had finally found his courage, but he would need much more of it. The hobbit had finished speaking right in time, for in that moment, a howl broke through the clearing. This was the howl of a warg, one belonging to the Pale Orc.