[General POV]
Time waited for no one and passed normally; the dark night had gone, giving way to the arrival of the radiant dawn, and the animals began to emerge from their dens. In a forest, the members of the expedition were joking and laughing among themselves. At the front was Thorin Oakenshield, the king of Durin's dwarves.
A few hours ago, they had left Rivendell and were now in the forest that marked the border of the Elven territory. Along the way, they encountered some groups of Elven scouts, but with Aldril's intervention, they were allowed to pass without many questions.
Thorin's tense face began to relax the further he got from Rivendell. He did not feel comfortable being in Elven territory, and his insecurities grew when he saw how the White Wizard opposed their quest to reclaim Erebor, so he decided to leave at night.
The major problem of the expedition, "The hidden entrance to Erebor," had been resolved. He was annoyed that Gandalf did not accompany them, as the Grey Wizard had proven to be very resourceful, and along with Aldril, they formed a formidable duo. Thorin even thought that he would not be a match for them together, but there was nothing he could do; he could not give orders to the wizard.
Looking at the forest's edge a little further ahead, Thorin turned his head and, with a strong voice that commanded authority, said, "Everyone be alert, we will soon leave Elven territory. Balin, I need you at the front, take out the map and guide us."
Nodding, Balin urged his horse to move faster, positioning himself next to Thorin. He took out the map. "We exited from the southeast, so we need to keep the same direction. In a week, we will be reaching the Misty Mountains. I recommend we take the High Pass since the Caradhras Pass has terrible weather and would delay us."
Nodding at Balin, Thorin looked at the rest of the group. "You heard him, try not to deplete the provisions in a few weeks. This goes for you, Bombur, do not make the same mistake as last month."
At Thorin's reminder, everyone looked at Bombur with mocking smiles. He was the main reason the group ran out of food in less than a month. If it weren't for Aldril and Kili hunting, they probably would have starved to death.
"If I don't eat, I'll die of hunger," Bombur muttered, lowering his head in embarrassment. Thorin could not understand him; he had a voracious appetite, and if he did not eat, he feared he would go mad.
Soon, the expedition team left the forest, completely abandoning the Elven territory. Thorin felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He felt that at any moment, the Elves would detain them and take the map, ending their journey.
As they rode, Bilbo, the curious young hobbit, was whispering to Aldril about what he had learned from Tindómiel, but he was still curious about something. "Hey Aldril, you already know who your mother is, but don't you know anything about your father?"
At Bilbo's question, Aldril was a bit stunned. Bilbo was right; he had not asked anything about who his father was. However, not wanting to fill his mind with more questions, he gave a vague answer. "The truth is, I forgot, but he must have been a great man to win my mother's heart."
"I think the same," Bilbo agreed. With all the accomplishments he knew of Tindómiel, not just any man could win her over and much less father her child.
In his conversation with Bilbo, Aldril shared part of his childhood and how he was not welcomed by the villagers, leading to his eventual meeting with Gandalf. Like Aldril, Bilbo shared funny anecdotes from his own childhood, such as the time he came home covered in mud, and his mother almost had a breakdown upon seeing him so dirty.
-Mirkwood-
Meanwhile, in the distance in Mirkwood, an extremely beautiful elf was upset, speaking with a blonde-haired elf who exuded elegance.
"You have left His Majesty's territory many times, my prince. I don't know what you find attractive about that young human. His Majesty has reprimanded me for not being able to stop you," explained the beautiful elf in a melodious voice, but with slight annoyance in her tone.
"You are my best friend, Tauriel, so stop calling me prince. I don't know; ever since I first saw her, a new feeling has arisen in me. Just seeing her from afar makes me happy, you must understand," responded the elf tiredly. A month ago, a young woman from Esgaroth docked with her father, Bard, at the quay to receive a shipment of wine. From the moment he saw the young woman, he was smitten.
Since then, he occasionally went to Esgaroth to meet the young human, who was also charmed by the elf's courtship. His behavior clearly annoyed his father, who tasked Tauriel, the captain of the guards, with not allowing his son to leave to see the young human.
"I know, Legolas, it's just that your behavior has angered the king. Please, spare me your father's reprimands and try to return before your absence is noticed," replied Tauriel with a tired sigh. She could not understand why her best friend Legolas had changed. She did not understand the feeling he had for the young human, and when she asked King Thranduil, he only said that his son should not love a human.
Since then, Tauriel had wondered what the feeling of "love" was and did not know if she would ever feel it.
-A few weeks later-
The expedition team was now at the foot of a mountain range made of rocks. This mountain awakened Aldril's memory, so he quickly reminded the group, "Be careful, from what I read in Rivendell, this place is inhabited by giants." Along with Aldril's words, a rumble sounded in the sky.
"Rumble!"
A thunderclap that foretold a storm sounded, alerting all the members of the expedition. Thorin, with a calm face, looked at Aldril. "I already knew, Mr. Aldril, but thank you for the reminder. Besides, I doubt we will encounter the giants; they are usually asleep at this hour."
At Thorin's words, everyone else was speechless, and only one thought came to their minds: 'Why on earth did Thorin choose this path?'
"Rumble!"
Another thunderclap sounded, this time accompanied by dark clouds. Just then, many more thunderclaps echoed in the mountain. Kili, swallowing hard, approached Balin. "Hey Balin, considering the bad weather and the possibility of giants, isn't there a safer route?"
Balin looked at the young dwarf and understood Kili's nervousness. The rocky mountains, the storm, and the palpable danger of the giants made the young dwarf nervous, and not only him, but the others were also nervous.
Shaking his head, Balin looked at Thorin and then back at Kili. "There is, but it would take us a month to cross."
Hearing Balin's words, the others were filled with joy, and when they were about to suggest returning and taking the other path, Thorin's impassive voice sounded.
"Durin's Day is near, and we cannot afford to lose a month." After Thorin's words, everyone dismissed the idea of taking the other path mentioned by Balin.
But this path had another problem they hadn't considered: the horses wouldn't be able to cross—it would be extremely dangerous. This was clearly noticed by Thorin, who dismounted his horse and said, "The horses can't pass through here. It's better to let them go, to return to nature. Take everything necessary."
This clearly made Bilbo nervous, who looked at Aldril's indifferent face and nervously said, "Aldril, what do we do?" He knew his friend Aldril was very attached to his horse, and Thorin's command to leave it would surely make him angry.
But unlike what Bilbo thought, Aldril dismounted Shadow star and guided him towards Balin. "Excuse me, Balin, can you lend me the map?"
Perplexed by Aldril's request, Balin nodded and handed it to him. Taking it, Aldril opened it alongside Shadow star and said, "Alright, my friend, we may be separated for a while."
His words were met with a strong neigh from Shadow star, who didn't want to be separated from Aldril. "I know, my friend, but it's a very dangerous path, and I don't want anything to happen to you. I know you are smart and can understand me. Take all the horses and lead them to Caradhras Pass." Pointing at the map, Aldril showed it to Shadow star, who neighed in agreement.
"Good, after that, go to the Anduin River and then skirt Mirkwood, and finally reach Erebor. I'll be waiting for you there. If you encounter a wizard like Gandalf, he will help you if you ask." With a neigh, Shadow star looked Aldril in the eyes.
Aldril could have sworn he saw Shadow star eyes clouding, as if about to cry, so he quickly hugged him and said, "We'll only be separated for a while. I trust you. We'll meet again in Erebor, Big Guy." With that, Aldril petted his horse.
This was clearly seen by everyone, who felt very bad but could do nothing. Only a few minutes passed, and the whole group had taken their provisions and left the horses. The horses quickly gathered around Shadow star, who, with a strong neigh, raised his two front legs and turned around to take the path Aldril had indicated.
Looking at his horse in the distance, Aldril took a deep breath and murmured, "May great Varda guide you safely, my dear friend," then turned around to follow the group, trusting that Shadow star would reach Erebor. After all, he wasn't an ordinary horse.
Seeing Aldril's mood, Bilbo quickly patted his arm. "I trust that Shadow star will arrive safely." At Bilbo's attempt to lift his spirits, Aldril smiled in gratitude and nodded. "I believe so too."
Aldril was very upset and berated himself for his idiocy. 'Why did I forget this path is not suitable for horses? I should have told them to take the other path from the beginning, and then I wouldn't have to part from Shadow star. I'm an idiot!'
"Rumble"
The sky grew darker, and the thunder became more frequent. The storm was approaching the expedition team very quickly. The group had lasted three months, crossed mountains, forests, and rivers, but this path was by far the most dangerous they had encountered.
This path was essentially made of rocks. One side was close to the steep rock wall, and the other side was a deep cliff. If someone with a fear of heights crossed this path, they would die of a heart attack.
The path's width was only about 40 centimeters, so they had to be extremely careful to step properly; otherwise, they would fall to their deaths. This path was further complicated by the provisions and their weapons they carried.
The dwarves' complaints didn't take long to start. Bofur, who was walking slowly with one hand on the wall, looked curiously at the dark abyss and said aloud, "This is definitely the last time I take this path, I swear."
Dori, who was walking in front of Bofur, agreed. "I wouldn't mind taking another month to cross the other way. Here I feel like death is whispering in my ear with every step."
Dwalin, who was in front of them, spoke with a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Who was the idiot who made a path like this?"
Balin, walking at the front, said loudly, "This path formed naturally."
The dwarves' conversation was ignored by Aldril, as being the tallest, he had to be more careful than the others. Any misstep and he would fall into the abyss. Things got much worse as the wind started to blow fiercely, and drops began to fall on everyone's faces.
"Damn it, it's starting to rain. Be more careful, focus on where you step!" shouted Aldril from the back.
At that moment, Bilbo, who was more observant, shouted, catching everyone's attention. "What is that?" He wondered, as in the distance, a goat was seen climbing up the steep path.
Bombur, seeing a potential prey, shouted with joy, "It's a goat, Aldril, can you shoot it?" This left everyone speechless. They were clearly focused on not falling, but Bombur ignored the danger and asked a foolish question.
"Are you stupid? If he shoots, it'll fall," retorted Kili, who was behind Bombur. His brother Fili joined in, "Focus on not falling, Bombur, your fat feet almost take up the entire path's width."
"Rumble"
With a thunderclap, the rain fell like a cascade, drenching all the expedition members, obstructing their vision, and making the path wet and even more dangerous.
"Hold on tight and watch your steps!" shouted Thorin, who was at the front of the group. This clearly reflected a true leader, as even in battles with the orcs, he was always in front, leading them.
As they carefully advanced, a huge shadow covered the group. Dwalin, seeing this, suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Watch out!" An enormous rock, like a falling meteor, came crashing down.
"Boom!"
The mountain trembled from the impact. The huge stone crashed at the top of the mountain, causing debris to fall towards the group.
"Watch out, hold on tight!" shouted Thorin as he clung with all his strength to the stone wall. Suddenly, not only stones but also gravel began to fall, rolling down from above everyone's heads.
In just a few seconds, the path became extremely dangerous. Parts of the trail were affected, with sections collapsing and falling into the abyss. This made everyone shout in surprise.
"Damn it!"
"Great Aulë, don't let us fall!"
"That damned rock was thrown by something!"
"Look! Up ahead!"
Everyone who had just recovered from the gravel immediately looked in the direction Bilbo was pointing. The thunder's light illuminated an enormous figure moving slowly. It was a massive stone giant that picked up a rock and hurled it toward another giant in the distance.
"Damn it! That's a stone giant!" Bofur shouted in horror. As Bofur screamed, the distant stone giant threw another rock, which was heading directly toward the group.
"Watch out!!"
The rock struck the giant's arm, causing it to crumble. The group was lucky that, at the last moment, the stone giant moved forward, blocking the thrown rock with its arm.
The battle of the stone giants involved them hurling rocks at each other. This caused the mountain to tremble. All the members of the team huddled against the wall, not daring to move for fear of attracting the giants' attention.
'Damn it, and my mother killed several stone giants? How strong was she?' Aldril thought. He was sure that, at some point, these giants wouldn't be a problem for him, but for now, he couldn't face them.
One of the stone giants seemed to feel that throwing rocks wasn't as effective, so it slowly advanced until it got close to the other giant and struck it down, causing the mountain to tremble even more.
Seeing one of the giants fall, Aldril shouted, "We have to move! Take advantage of them being distracted by fighting!" His shout snapped the dwarves out of their stupor, and they moved as quickly as they could.
"Hurry, the farther we are from them, the better!" shouted Thorin, only to feel the rock beside them tremble and begin to move. This immediately put everyone on high alert.
"Hurry!" shouted Balin as the tremor grew stronger, only to be horrified when another stone giant rose, separating the expedition group.
The dwarves Kili, Bofur, Bombur, Bifur, and Glóin were separated as the path they walked on turned out to be the giant's calf. Thorin, Balin, Aldril, Bilbo, and the others could only watch helplessly as the group was divided.
The giant that had risen was quickly knocked down by a blow from the other giant, causing it to fall and, by some miracle, the two peaks of the path collided, allowing the separated dwarves to return to the trail.
"Quick, jump!"
Aldril and Bilbo, being the last, had to jump the gap that had formed. Just as they leaped, another giant joined the battle and, with a rock, blew off the head of the first giant, causing it to crash into the spot where Kili and the others were.
This was seen by Thorin, who shouted in desperation, "Nooo!!!" He thought the rocks had crushed the rest of his group. Rushing as fast as he could to the impact site, he found all the dwarves safe and sound, quickly approaching them.
"How are you? How is everyone? Are you injured?" Thorin asked quickly, showing concern for his men.
"We're fine, uncle."
"Haha, I'll have to tell this to the others."
"It's alright, we're all still alive."
The dwarves spoke one after another. Thorin, seeing that his group was okay, sighed in relief. As Aldril and Bilbo approached them, the path collapsed, causing Bilbo to nearly fall. He quickly shouted his friend's name.
"Aldril!!"
Aldril reacted swiftly, grabbing Bilbo's hand and, with a strong pull, hoisted him back onto the path. If he had been a second slower, poor Bilbo would have fallen into the abyss.
A pale Bilbo appeared before everyone, who didn't take long to make a joke to lighten the mood. "Haha, looks like you soiled yourself, Bilbo," Dwalin said, patting his shoulder.
Everyone began to laugh, having narrowly escaped death. As the others laughed, Thorin looked at Bilbo. "Be more careful, Mr. Baggins. We don't want you dying prematurely."
Seeing Bilbo nod timidly, Thorin spotted a cave not far from their location. "There's a cave. Let's go inside. It'll be safer there."
With a pat on the shoulder, Aldril encouraged Bilbo. "You now have a story to tell when you return, Bilbo." Fortunately, the path was wider, allowing them to walk more comfortably.
"Yes, I'll tell everyone how I nearly died in a stone giant attack. They'll surely be very surprised," murmured Bilbo as he followed the others. What Bilbo didn't know was that in his next encounter, he would leave a mark on Gollum
***
Our beloved horse is separated from Aldril to later be reunited, enjoy the chapter.
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Psdt: I'm really tired, I think I need to stop staying awake.