The Adventure of Andrea Baggins

Orc attack

«Why did you hide this from us?", Dwalin growled while they paddled on. Andy let out a huff.

"Now? Really?", she asked. Before Dwalin could say something else, Thorin called out from the front of the group.

"Hold on!", he shouted. The moment later, the barrels got caught in the strong pull of the stream and picked up speed. Andy almost flew out of her barrel, as the river took a dive and she didn't hold on as good as she should have. As she hit the barrel floor again with a thud, a horn could be heard in the distance. With a gasp she shot up, shifted into an elf and stood on the brim of the barrel. With her enhanced eyesight, she looked ahead.

"They're closing the gates!", she called out alarmed. She wanted to jump to shore, to open the gates again, as an arrow shot past her ear, barely missing her. Shocked she flinched and lost her balance. With a scream she fell into the water.

"Andy!", Kili called out. The stream pulled her down, making it hard to break through the surface again. As a barrel hit her from the side, she slipped back under water, dizziness filling her head.

"No", Thorin called angrily, as his barrel hit against the closed gate. Within moment all the barrels were dammed up against each other, making going back impossible. The elven guards pulled their swords and descended to the river, ready to arrest the company. They didn't get far, as another arrow pierced the air, hitting one of them in the back. Suddenly, orcs broke out of the bushes, starting an attack. The guards were practically run over, not expected any danger. Andy somehow managed to pull herself to shore, coughing up a lot of water. A scream escaped her mouth, as another elf dropped dead next to her, his throat slit. Her head spun around, to see an orc rushing towards her, its sword held high above its head. Quickly she rolled to the side, the blade missing her body and got stuck in the ground. With a well-placed kick, Andy threw the orc back and picked the sword from the ground herself. Before it realized what happened, its head was off.

"Gorid zib goridug! [Slay them all]", the orc commander screamed, leading another wave over the walls forming the boarder. Andy tried to hold them away from the trapped company as good as possible. She wasn't quite as good in fighting with an orc sword, since it was rough material and not forged as a sword should be. After she stabbed another orc through the chest, a hit in her back sent her to the ground. Turning into a Hobbit, Andy rolled off, landed back on her feet and swirled around. A scream pierced through the sound of battle, alarming Andy. The moment of distraction was enough, for the orc to hurl his arm at her, throwing her back. She hit the wall of the bridge; air pressed out of her lungs. Disoriented she tried to stay on her feet, the sword ready. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kili lying on the stairs heading up to the lever.

"Kili", Andy shouted worried. An arrow flew past them, hitting the orc who was about to behead Kili. Surprised their head shot around. Tauriel rushed down the hill, killing orcs all over the place. As she reached the bridge, she cleared the path for Kili. Andy gathered her strength again and followed him up the stairs. With a hiss, Kili pulled the lever down, opening the gates.

"Come on, quickly", Andy urged him and shoved him over the edge. He landed in a barrel, the shaft of the arrow stuck in his leg snapping. Another scream escaped his mouth. Andy threw her sword down towards Dwalin, who caught it without hesitation. "They'll be more coming. Try not to get killed. "

She didn't wait for an answer and took off immediately. Turning back into an elf she picked up two swords from two dead orcs and followed the stream down. Tauriel followed. And to her surprise, Legolas appeared. Together they followed the company by foot, keeping the orc away as good as possible. At one point, Legolas jumped off a trunk hanging over the river, shooting the orc that was about to attack and landed on Dori's and Dwalin's heads. Andy, who struck down another orc, looked up in amazement and had to grin. She was totally going to rub that under Dwalin's nose. From the river Legolas kept shooting orcs, clearing the banks so far, that Andy could catch up to them. To get to the other shore, Legolas jumped from head-to-head, tackling another orc. Dwalin's grim face was hilarious. Light-footed Andy threw orcs off balance, throwing them into the river. They couldn't swim. She was facing down four orcs as one of them, smacked one of her swords out of her hand. Surprised Andy watched it fly away before snapping back to the fight, barely able to block the blow to her head. Out of nowhere, Legolas joined the fight, taking over two of the four. They were too caught up in the fight to notice another one, lifting its sword high over its head.