Chapter 19: A Visit to Rivendell
"Kill them!" the leading Orc roared, voice shaking with excitement.
The Orcs surged forward together with their Wargs.
Smaug charged as well—naturally not at the very front, and carefully keeping clear of the archer, Kíli.
---
Inside the encirclement.
With their strength nearly spent and no chance of outrunning four-legged hunters, escape on foot was no longer realistic.
"Fight!" Thorin Oakenshield shouted, abandoning all thought of retreat as he raised his sword.
The other twelve dwarves followed, panic written across their faces but steel in their hands.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
At this distance, Kíli was their greatest asset. He fired desperately, arrows flying in rapid succession.
As an archer, Kíli was truly skilled.
Every arrow struck its mark.
Yet instead of relief, dread flooded his chest.
Because on the flank, one Warg was moving with terrifying agility—fast, precise—and worse still, its target was unmistakable.
It was charging straight for Thorin Oakenshield.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"Thorin—watch out!" Kíli cried, loosing arrow after arrow in an attempt to bring Smaug down.
Smaug evaded them all with ease, closing the distance until he was only a few dozen meters away.
Awooo—
Dodging another arrow, Smaug let out a howl.
"Protect Thorin!" the other dwarves shouted belatedly, finally realizing what was happening as they scrambled to form a protective ring.
The dwarves moved fast.
Smaug moved faster.
Whoosh!
He lunged to within a few meters of Thorin's flank, jaws yawning wide, rows of sharp fangs glinting in the light.
Once again staring death in the face, Thorin's nerves went taut, blood roaring in his ears. He chose not to retreat.
Instead, he charged.
"Rraaagh!" Smaug roared, a blast of fetid breath slamming into Thorin.
Then—
He sidestepped.
And spoke.
His voice shed all pretense, arrogance flooding back into every word.
"Thorin Oakenshield. Son of Thráin. Grandson of Thrór."
The battlefield froze.
Thirteen dwarves—and Bilbo, clutching his Elvish dagger and utterly at a loss—stood stunned.
A Warg… speaking?
That's impossible.
In truth, several nearby Orcs and Wargs were just as shocked.
Why can that Warg talk? the Orcs wondered.
Why can it talk, but I can't? the dim-witted Wargs grumbled internally.
---
At the same moment—
Gandalf, who had just located Rivendell's hidden entrance, was the only one who wasn't truly surprised.
Thorin blinked hard, snapping out of his daze.
"You're not a Warg," he snarled. "What are you?"
"Heh," Smaug sneered coldly. "Azog sends his regards. You belong to him. He will kill you—just as he killed your grandfather."
Boom!
Azog the Defiler… was still alive?!
The revelation struck Thorin like a hammer, instantly igniting a raging inferno of hatred.
Without another word, Thorin lunged at Smaug once more.
"Strength without thought—just another brainless dwarf," Smaug mocked, leaping backward in a blur and slipping free of the tightening ring.
Once clear, he turned and bellowed at the Orcs,
"What are you idiots waiting for? Kill these dwarf scum!"
Some of the Orcs, having heard Smaug invoke Azog, instantly understood who he claimed to serve—and dared not disobey.
"Kill!!"
The Orcs surged forward with renewed fury.
Just then—
"Over here! Hurry!" Gandalf shouted, having fully revealed Rivendell's entrance. He cast a meaningful glance at Smaug, now perched atop a massive boulder, before turning back to the dwarves.
The dwarves didn't hesitate.
They broke into a desperate sprint once more.
On the other side.
One dwarf, then another, slid down the slope and vanished into the hidden passage.
"Faster! Move, move!" Thorin Oakenshield shouted at the entrance, his courage undeniable as he urged the others on.
Woooo—
Suddenly, horns sounded in the distance.
The Elven host of Rivendell had arrived.
Smaug heard it—and ignored it.
Instead, he roared at the Orcs again.
"Damn elves! Ignore them! Kill the dwarves! If you don't—Azog will kill you!"
In truth, Orcs might be stupid, but they still understood fear—and they definitely knew how to run.
The moment the horns rang out, most of them instinctively wanted to flee.
But Smaug was faster.
The Orcs hesitated.
Fail to kill the dwarves, and we die when we return.
Kill the dwarves, and maybe—just maybe—we can still escape.
The choice became obvious.
"You lot—hold off the elves!" the leading Orc barked, making a snap decision with his painfully limited brain.
"The rest of you—kill the dwarves!"
The Orcs split into two groups.
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen Orcs and several Wargs charged straight for the hidden entrance.
"Kill!!" the leader roared, spurring his Warg forward and plunging into the passage.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
Unfortunately for him, Elven arrows were faster.
No sooner had the command left his mouth than an arrow punched clean through his skull.
Still, even Elven archery couldn't wipe out so many Orcs and Wargs in an instant.
A handful of them survived long enough to slide into the passage.
"Kill them!" Thorin roared, blazing with fury as he surged forward.
The other dwarves followed without hesitation.
A brutal, close-quarters fight erupted in the narrow tunnel.
Twenty seconds later—
It was over.
Standing amid the corpses of Orcs and Wargs, Thorin Oakenshield felt a deep, savage satisfaction.
Bilbo Baggins felt something very different—revulsion, dread, and the sheer horror of it all.
"This way—quickly!" Gandalf didn't waste a second once the fighting ended, leading them deeper into the passage.
Bilbo followed at once.
The dwarves came after, a step slower but still moving.
"Gandalf," Thorin said after a few paces, realization dawning on him. His voice turned cold.
"Where does this passage lead?"
Gandalf kept walking. He glanced back at Thorin—and said nothing.
That silence was answer enough.
Thorin knew he was right.
And yet—
He kept walking.
Principles, after all, could be… flexible.
---
Aboveground.
Elrond, Lord of Rivendell, led the Elven forces in wiping out the remaining Orcs and most of the Wargs.
A few Wargs managed to escape.
The battle was over.
Mounted on horseback, Elrond cast a glance at the hidden entrance, a faint smile touching his lips.
Then he turned to his warriors.
"Gather the bodies. Burn them all."
---
Inside the hidden passage, a crow did not take to the air.
Instead, it walked leisurely deeper into the tunnel.
Rivendell?
Of course Smaug intended to go in and take a look.
After all—
A place so famous deserved a proper visit.