(Sarah's POV)
It was freezing. And very foggy.
Ice chunks were floating everywhere in the water.
I had no idea how Bard was able to navigate through it all.Everyone's breath came out in puffs of fog, and we weren't all completely dry. So now, we were wet and freezing. I wrapped my arms around myself and continued sitting against the side of the barge, shivering and trying to ignore the pain. I grouchily muttered to myself, "Darn cold... Can't deal with anything under forty degrees..."
Vigorously rubbing my arms and hands to get at least a little heat, I asked, "How is it so cold here?" "Autumn is almost over," Bard replied as he steered the boat, "In a few weeks, winter will be upon us. Now that is when it gets really cold." That didn't sound pleasant. "Well that's just flipping fantastic," I mumbled, rubbing my hands together. In my discomfort, I glanced over at the dwarves. They were all standing and talking amongst themselves around the barrels.
"Hey Kili, Fili," I called, coughing in the cold, "Could you- sorry- Could you come here please?"What is it, Sarah?" they asked, coming over. I motioned for them to sit on either side of me and said, " Warm me up. I need heat." They did as they were told. I slipped my arms through theirs and just sat there, shivering.
"How are you so cold?" Fili asked, "You're wearing your sweatshirt." "I'm still soaked- in wet clothes- all over my body," I replied, my teeth chattering, "And it's- freezing." I gave him a look. "Does that not compute with you?"
He seemed to put two and two together, but he didn't respond. It was silent for a minute. I leaned against the mast as the other dwarves talked. "I say we throw this boatman overboard," I heard Dwalin whisper. "That's not nice, Dwalin," I commented, frowning. "He's fine. Just do what he says." Dwalin scoffed, but was silent.
Suddenly, everyone gasped as two large stone ruins appeared out of the fog. "Watch out!" Bofur exclaimed, bracing himself for impact. I did the same, and heard his voice echo as Bard easily dodged the hazard. "What're you trying to do?" Thorin asked unhappily, "Drown us?" "I was born and bred on these waters, master dwarf," Bard replied calmly, "If I wanted to drown you, I would not do it here."
I almost shuddered at those words. Thorin scowled at him, but held his tongue all the same. Balin sat at a bench, counting the money we were to give to Bard for smuggling us into Laketown. "Everything appears to be in order," he said, looking at the coins. "Only... We're twenty silver coins short." Thorin and the rest of the company automatically looked to Gloin for cash since he was one of the greedy ones in the group.
"Come on, Gloin," Thorin said, walking over to him, "Give us what you have." Gloin feigned surprise. "Don't look to me!" he spluttered, "I have been led dry by this quest! And what have I seen?" He went on talking about how all he had seen was misery and naught. Thorin rolled his eyes, as did the rest of us. "Come on," Thorin continued sternly, holding out his hand. Gloin reluctantly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag of money. He put it into Thorin's hand, and Thorin tossed it to Balin, who proceeded to open it up and pour out the contents.
"We are still ten coins short," Balin stated, recounting the money once again. "What?" Gloin exclaimed, "I thought I had twenty!" He started accusing the others of stealing, and then they all started quarreling. "Enough!" Thorin shouted, "Does anyone else have anything of value?" Everyone looked over themselves.
I saw that Nori was looking at me. "What?" I asked. He pointed and said, "Sarah's got a shiny necklace we might could use." Everyone's gaze turned to me. I looked down and saw that my necklace was hanging out of my shirt. I was surprised it hadn't come off in the rapids. Thorin came over to me and asked, "Where did you get it?" "I found it in the troll cave," I replied, knowing where this was going. He held out his hand and said, "We need it, Sarah." I held it in my hand and protested, "But Gandalf enchanted it to give me good luck." "We don't need luck," he replied gruffly.
I frowned, too tired to protest, and reluctantly took off the necklace. As soon as it was placed into his hand, I felt a worse feeling take its place. My leg hurt worse than it did before, as did the rest of my body. But I didn't say anything. I noticed that everyone was now staring off into the distance. "What're y'all staring at?" I asked quietly. No one answered. I glanced in the same direction as they were, and saw the lonely mountain through the fog. Under it, I saw that we were approaching Laketown. Some dwarves had tears in their eyes, the rest of us only smiled.
Staring and smiling, we heard Bard tell us, "Give me the money. Quick." "We will give it to you when we get there," Thorin said, brushing off his comment as he continued staring at his old home. Bard quickly and earnestly continued, "If you value your freedom, you will do as I say."
Thorin blinked back to reality and looked at Bard.He nodded, and Balin gave him the small bag of payment. Thorin handed it to Bard, who put it into his coat. I was going to miss my necklace. "Now get into the barrels," he instructed, nodding towards the barrels. "But we just got out of them!" Ori whined. The others joined in along with him in agreement. "There are guards up ahead," Bard explained, "Just do as I say."
They all got into the barrels again. Fili and Kili tried to help me in, but against their protests Bard had to carry me and gently slip me into the barrel. I gasped through gritted teeth and quietly cried out in pain as I bent my bad leg. Bard looked concerned and asked, "Are you alright?" I shook my head and said, "No. But the sooner I get out, the better." He nodded and said, "I will try to get there as quick as I can." I nodded back gratefully. "Okay thanks."
We sat in the barrels for the next five minutes or so, I tried counting the seconds to get my mind off the pain. The only comfort I had was that it was out of the cold wind. I heard some panicked whispers come from the dwarves,and then I smelled something yucky. "Smells like fish," I mumbled to myself. Then I remembered. Fish. "Oh no," I whined, and looked up.
I had just enough time to put a hand over my mouth and nose as I held my breath. A bunch of dead fish came pouring down on me. I held my breath for as long as I could, but it wasn't long enough. As I gasped for air through my hands, I wanted to throw up. "Ewwwww. Oh my gosh that's disgusting," I said unhappily, but I felt a foot kick my barrel. "Quiet," Bard's muffled voice said, "We are approaching the tall gates."
I tried breathing in through my mouth and out through my nose. The smell of fish reminded me of the smell my dog had every certain time of the month because of his glands. My family always had to take him to the vet so they could clean it out. It wasn't a pleasant smell. I heard Bard conversing with someone whom I assumed was the gate keeper and yearned to get out of this predicament.
Then I heard someone stop him and say, "Not so fast." Ugh it's Alfrid, I thought. From what I could hear, that dude made me dislike him and his unibrow so much more in real life than in the movie. He tried arguing over the barrels, and then I heard him order the guards to tip the fish into the water. I felt my barrel starting to be tipped, and I held on, trying not to make any noise or be seen. Then, almost as soon as they started, they stopped and set my barrel upright again. I sighed quietly with relief.
It was silent for a while until I heard the dwarves starting to get out. I tried, but my leg stopped me from moving. "Get me out!" I exclaimed weakly, weaving my arms through the pounds of dead fish. I felt my barrel being tipped over gently, and down I came with its contents. "Ewewewew," I said, attempting to get the rest off of me. Kili and Fili helped and picked me up as I blinked at the sunlight leaving the sky. It was sunset now. I hadn't seen one for who knows how long.