Chapter 44: Trapdoor

[General POV]

The cave was at the end of the trail, and the expedition team quickly followed Thorin towards it. They were in a hurry to take shelter from the rain and have at least a few seconds of peace. The stone giants' attack had pushed their mentality to the limit, making them feel like they could die at any moment, causing mental exhaustion. Most of them just wanted to sleep to relax their nerves.

Thorin cautiously entered the cave. He had experience in this and knew that a beast might be using this cave as a lair. With his elven sword in hand, ready for any attack, he advanced slowly. The cave was quite spacious and too clean, suggesting that no animal used it as a lair.

Relaxing his posture a bit, Thorin looked back at the group following him. "It seems safe, but just in case, investigate further. We don't want any surprises while we rest."

With Thorin's order, all the dwarves set to work. The only ones who didn't investigate were Aldril and Bilbo. The darkness was not an impediment to Aldril's eyes; it looked like a lit room where there was nothing. For this reason, Aldril reminded Bilbo that it wasn't necessary to search as the cave was clear.

While they were arranging their backpacks, Aldril's thoughts drifted to the part of the plot where the team falls into the goblins' trap and gets captured. Activating his hawk-eye ability, Aldril easily observed details that would go unnoticed by others. For him, the line dividing the floor was clearly a trapdoor. He thought of telling the others, but something almost divine warned him that it would trigger tragic events and change the course of the story.

That feeling gave him goosebumps, and he decided to abandon the idea of warning the team about the trap. 'I don't know where that premonition came from. But if I've learned anything, it's to listen when something inside you says not to do it. Besides, I can use this situation to kill some goblins and earn skill points.'

Additionally, this part of the plot was crucial for the story. Bilbo Baggins, a simple hobbit, would find the most powerful ring in all of Middle-earth, the One Ring. If Aldril intervened in this event, who knows what tragic future would occur. Maybe Sauron would capture Gollum and obtain the One Ring, thus dooming Middle-earth.

After a few minutes, everyone returned and shared what they had seen with Thorin.

"There are no traces of any animals," said Glóin as he dropped his backpack and sat down. He was extremely tired, and his mentality was not good. He urgently needed a nap.

"Same here, just some pieces of wood," added Fili, who threw the little wood he had found. He brought it because he thought the group would make a campfire.

Nodding to Fili, Bombur quickly suggested, "Let's make a fire to heat the food." He quickly dropped his backpack and took out some sausages, eager to relieve his nervousness with delicious food.

"Hurry up, let's light the fire," Bombur urged while piling the wood. His hurried actions stopped at Thorin's voice, which, although calm, imposed authority.

"No, the smoke will get trapped in the cave and force us out to breathe," Thorin said, looking at Balin beside him. "Balin, take out the dried meat and the wine. Let's eat and rest. We'll leave at dawn."

With Thorin's order, everyone began to settle in the cave. While the others got comfortable, Balin took out the meat and wine, then looked at Thorin and said, "We should wait for Gandalf. That was the agreed plan."

Shaking his head, Thorin replied, "Plans change." Then he looked at the dwarves and gave more instructions. "Bofur, you'll be the first to keep watch, and Bombur, you'll be the second. Avoid eating our provisions while we sleep," he warned, giving Bombur a serious look.

At Thorin's words, Balin hesitated to speak further, finally giving up and shaking his head. He knew that Gandalf's actions in taking them to Rivendell had upset Thorin, but there was no other way. If they hadn't gone to Rivendell, they would probably all be dead now.

Moreover, from the beginning, Thorin didn't trust Gandalf much. He respected him, that was clear, but trust was different. In Balin's view, Gandalf's plans had led them on the right path, and he had indirectly helped decipher the map. At least he should have trusted the Grey Wizard a little more.

But after all, Thorin was the king of the dwarves of Durin and couldn't go against his decisions unless they posed a great risk, in which case he would only make suggestions to change his decisions.

While the team rested, ate, and drank, the storm outside intensified, and the thunder rumbled louder. Hearing the strong winds whistling outside the cave, Bilbo sighed with relief. "I'm glad we found the cave. I wouldn't want to be outside in that storm," he murmured.

What the expedition team didn't know was that a group of orcs riding wargs had appeared under the intense rain in the barren lands. In front of them was a pale orc, larger than the common orcs, riding a huge white warg, clearly the alpha of all the present wargs.

With a grimace of disdain at the horrible weather and the now broken path, the orc turned around, annoyed, his horrible face visible by the flashes of thunder in the sky.

His scarred face contrasted with his mouth full of sharp, disordered teeth. The upper part of his body was bare, revealing various scars, but one in particular stood out among the rest, a large scar running diagonally from his collarbone to his waist. Additionally, he was missing a hand, replaced by a sword adapted to his arm.

The alpha warg sniffed the ground and growled, giving all the answers the pale orc wanted. With a grin, he shouted in a deep voice, "The stench of those filthy dwarves hasn't dissipated yet. They've crossed the mountain! Pass my orders and increase the bounty on their heads!"

"Yes, sir," said one of the following orcs respectfully, quickly writing something in a strange language and placing the note on a raven, which immediately took flight.

"Let's go. They can't be far," the pale orc urged his warg to move forward with one last look at the storm. He was ecstatic, getting closer to his prey, and for some reason, his biggest scar burned as if remembering the blade that had cut him.

The expedition team in the cave was unaware that the orcs had already caught up to them. They were chewing the meat and drinking the wine the elves had given them, unconcerned about what was happening outside the cave.

They were very happy, having almost emptied the elves' wine reserves. They would have wine for about a month and a half if they managed it well, but with their behavior, the wine would last only a few weeks.

Unlike the dwarves, Aldril was drying his head with a towel taken from his storage ring. Fortunately, his mother's cloak hadn't gotten wet. He didn't know what material it was made of, but he was grateful it didn't get soaked.

With a sigh, Aldril leaned against the cave wall and took a piece of elven bread from his reserves, chewing it. Unlike the others, he wasn't mentally tired, all thanks to his increased attributes. Additionally, the drink his uncle Elrond had given him was miraculous. He called it Imladris, and a small sip of this drink warmed his cold, rain-soaked body and revived his energy to the maximum. He was curious about how the elves made this drink and would investigate it upon his return to Rivendell.

It didn't take long for everyone to finish eating, and due to mental exhaustion, they weren't in the mood to stay awake. In just a few minutes, a symphony of snores filled the cave.

Aldril, aware that the trapdoor would soon open, got up and moved towards the cave entrance. This was clearly seen by Bilbo, who couldn't sleep. Seeing Aldril move, he quickly got up and followed him.

"Can't sleep?" Aldril asked.

"No, and it seems neither can you," Bilbo replied, positioning himself on the other side and looking at the strong storm brewing. With growing doubt, Bilbo asked, "Do you think Gandalf will catch up to us?"

Stopping his gaze at the storm, Aldril focused on Bilbo and gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course, it's only a matter of time before he catches up."

Receiving Aldril's response, Bilbo nodded. He feared they would leave Gandalf behind, as Bilbo considered him a good friend.

"Hey, Aldril, could you..." Bilbo's words got stuck in his throat as both his sword and Aldril's began to glow. Both, aware of what this meant, looked at the sleeping dwarves, who were snoring even louder.

Aldril observed as the small but imperceptible line dividing the trapdoor began to open. Focusing his attention on this, he couldn't stop Bilbo, who had already run towards the dwarves and was shouting.

"Wake up!"

Bilbo's shout had the desired effect, as all the dwarves quickly got up.

"What's going on?" shouted Thorin, the quickest to rise, looking seriously at Bilbo. "What happened?" an agitated Dwalin asked.

Seeing the awake dwarves, Bilbo was about to speak, but before he could, a creaking sound was heard in the cave, and with it, the ground began to fall, taking everyone with it.

"Damn it! What's happening?" a desperate Glóin shouted, but his words were left hanging as he quickly fell into the trapdoor with everyone else.

Aldril saw this and sighed with weariness, as he also saw Bilbo fall with the dwarves. But he wasn't worried about him; it was most likely that, as in the plot, Bilbo would be safe and then fall to meet Gollum.

"And here we go," with another sigh, Aldril drew Anguirel from its sheath and calmly threw himself into the trapdoor.

***

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