Chapter 18 The Hunt Begins
"Shapeshifting at will?" Radagast was visibly startled. "What kind of advanced sorcery is that? I've never heard of anything like it. Are you certain?"
Gandalf nodded.
Radagast thought for a moment. "Let me try."
"Go ahead," Gandalf replied.
Before long, Radagast—never much of an actor—did his best to appear natural as he walked over to Bilbo. Smiling gently, he said, "That's a very beautiful raven."
Bilbo, unfamiliar with Radagast, nodded somewhat awkwardly.
"I'm very fond of small animals," Radagast said, reaching out toward Smaug while quietly extending his magical senses.
Smaug, of course, knew exactly what was happening. He immediately fixed Radagast with a sharp stare and beat his wings a few times in clear refusal.
Startled, Radagast yanked his hand back. Without another word, he returned straight to Gandalf, his expression tense, and whispered, "That is not a raven. I don't know what it is—but I'm certain it's extremely powerful."
Gandalf had expected as much. He drew on his pipe, about to speak—
When suddenly—
"Awooo—awooo!"
Two chilling howls tore through the air.
"Trouble!" Gandalf's face changed instantly. Whatever that raven was no longer mattered. He broke into a run toward Bilbo and the others. "Wargs! We must leave immediately!"
As he spoke, Gandalf abruptly noticed—
The raven on Bilbo's shoulder was gone.
What is it planning now? The thought flickered through his mind.
But the situation worsened.
A massive Warg appeared on the ridge to their left.
The next instant, another Warg burst down from a different direction.
---
Smaug hadn't gone far.
Perched in a nearby tree, he studied one of the Wargs carefully, committing its appearance to memory. Then he spread his wings and flew ahead—toward the direction Gandalf's group was heading.
After flying for a while, golden hills came into view. Beyond them, a group of Orcs was moving.
Smaug landed atop a rise and shifted forms, transforming into a Warg.
"Awoooo—!"
If you're going to be a Warg, you might as well howl properly.
Finished with that, Smaug ignored the Orcs entirely and waited quietly.
He didn't have to wait long.
Radagast burst out of the forest first, his rabbit-drawn sled charging ahead and immediately drawing the Orcs' attention.
The thick-headed Orcs took the bait at once and gave chase.
Not long after—
The horses scattered in terror, and Gandalf's party—now on foot—emerged from the forest from another direction.
"This way—quickly!" Gandalf led the charge.
Smaug saw them and bared his teeth in a grin, launching himself forward.
A few seconds later—
"This is bad—we've been spotted!" Gandalf noticed the Warg racing toward them, his heart sinking. "Hide, now!"
By then, Radagast had already lured the Orcs far away.
Smaug ran fast, closing the distance in moments, coming up along the dwarves' rear flank.
Then—he slowed slightly.
At the same time, Thorin Oakenshield and the dwarves ran for their lives, squeezing out every last bit of strength.
Smaug followed at a leisurely pace, enjoying himself immensely.
After ten or so seconds, the group ducked behind a cluster of rocks. Smaug deliberately veered off, pretending not to notice them.
"It didn't see us," Thorin gasped, glancing sideways. Seeing no Warg, he let out a breath of relief.
Gandalf looked as well—confused.
The Warg had clearly seen them. There was no way it hadn't.
Unless—
The missing raven flashed through Gandalf's mind.
The thought had barely formed—
When Smaug suddenly burst back into view.
"Kíli!" Thorin shouted instinctively.
Kíli didn't dare hesitate. He drew his bow and loosed an arrow.
Smaug wasn't some brainless Warg that only knew how to charge straight ahead. He sidestepped in advance, darting aside with effortless ease.
The arrow flew wide.
Kíli drew and fired again.
Smaug shifted again—another clean dodge.
Heh. Just having fun.
After baiting Kíli into loosing several more arrows, Smaug casually turned and trotted away.
Kíli, the other dwarves, and Bilbo were completely baffled, staring in stunned silence.
Gandalf alone smiled faintly, a knowing glint in his eyes.
He was now certain—the strangely behaving Warg was the same creature that had earlier appeared as a raven. And more importantly, Gandalf was nearly convinced that whatever its purpose was, it clearly wasn't to kill Thorin Oakenshield's company.
It feels more like… it's toying with them, Gandalf thought.
There was no time to dwell on it.
"Move," Gandalf said sharply. "We leave. Now."
Staying here wasn't an option—they had to get out, immediately.
Gandalf took the lead.
The thoroughly confused dwarves had no choice but to follow.
They ran.
After only a short distance, the Warg—Smaug in disguise—suddenly appeared again.
"Behind us! That Warg's back!" one of the dwarves shouted.
"Kíli!" Thorin called out instinctively.
Kíli skidded to a stop, turned, drew, and fired.
Smaug dodged a few more times—then gave up the chase and vanished once more.
Thorin kept running, shouting as he went, "Gandalf, what in Durin's name is going on? What is that thing doing?"
"Don't worry about it—run!" Gandalf snapped, eyes scanning ahead as he led them toward Rivendell's hidden approaches.
"We don't have horses!" a dwarf gasped. "At this rate, we won't last long!"
Gandalf didn't answer.
He just kept running.
---
Smaug had had enough fun.
He sprang onto a massive boulder and threw back his head.
"Awooooo—!"
The howl carried far.
Far enough that the Orcs Radagast had led astray—now scattered across a wide area—heard it clearly. One after another, they stopped and turned.
"We've been played!" the lead Orc roared. "The dwarf filth is over there! Kill them!"
In an instant, dozens of Orcs mounted their Wargs and surged forward.
Gandalf glanced back instinctively, following the howl—and spotted Smaug atop the boulder.
He couldn't make sense of it.
He truly couldn't.
This creature clearly didn't want Thorin's company dead… yet it had deliberately drawn the Orcs straight to them.
Is this a game to it?
There was no time to think.
"Orcs!" Gandalf shouted. "They're coming—run! Run!"
Dwarves were not a nimble people. Sprinting like this was agony.
"Where are you taking us?" Thorin barked, on the verge of stopping to make a stand.
"To safety!" Gandalf shouted back. "Keep moving!"
Unfortunately—
Two legs could never outrun four.
Before long, dozens of Orcs and Wargs fanned out, forming a wide encirclement around Thorin Oakenshield's company.
Naturally, Smaug was part of that ring.
"Awooooo—!"
As the dwarves stood panicked and breathless, Smaug lifted his head and howled once more.
The hunt was about to begin.