Suddenly a Warg howls out in the distance. Hearing the howling, we realize we are in danger. "Out of the frying pan..." Thorin says as he looks to Gandalf who finishes his sentence, "...and into the fire! Run! RUN!"

We all start running down the mountain as fast as we can. The Wargs follow us rapidly as it becomes nighttime. Soon the foremost Warg catches up to the group and leaps at Bilbo who ducks behind a rock and the Warg's jaws snap in the air over his head. The Warg lands in front of him. Growling, it charges at him. Bilbo pulls out his sword and holds it in front of him; the charging Warg impales itself in the head on the sword and falls down dead. Bilbo looks on in surprise.

"Bilbo!" I call as I run back to him right as a few more Wargs catch up to the fleeing dwarves, but they are quickly dispatched. We reach a large outcropping of land with a few trees growing on it; we are trapped there, as there is no way off the outcropping besides a great fall down the mountain. "Up into the trees, all of you! Come on, climb! Bilbo, climb!" Gandalf cries as he starts to climb. Bifur throws an axe, killing a Warg which was approaching him. Bofur jumps off a rock and grabs a tree branch, using Dwalin's head as a stepping stone to the tree. Other dwarves begin climbing into the trees as well. I quickly climb a nearby tree before realizing Bilbo isn't next to me.

I look back to see Bilbo trying to pull his sword out of the dead Warg's head, but it is stuck firmly. He continues to pull. "They're coming!" Thorin cries and right as Bilbo pulls his sword out of the Warg; He looks up to see several more Wargs running at him. Using my legs as an anchor I flip back down and grabbing him pull him up into the trees with us. "Go!" I cry as I collect myself and push him further up the tree. Dozens of Wargs circle the trees in which we are perched. The Wargs cease their growling and turn as the White Warg, with a pale Orc on its back, approaches slowly. Thorin looks at him in shock as he says, "Azog?!"

As his White Warg growls, Azog strokes it and talks ominously. "Nuzdigid? Nuzdi gast?" (Do you smell it? The scent of fear) "Ganziligi unarug obod nauzdanish, Torin undag Trainob." (I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thrain) I turn to see that Thorin looks stricken with pain and grief, realizing that Azog had captured his father. Azog speaks to his Wargs and Riders as he says, "Kod, Toragid biriz." (That one is mine)"Wororida!" (Kill the others) At his command, the Wargs leap forward and try to climb the trees. They jump as high as they can, scrabbling at the tree trunks and breaking apart branches in their jaws in their efforts. The trees shake violently at the assault, and we all struggle to hold on.

"Sho gad adol!" (Drink their blood!) Azog cries out into the night air. With the weight of the Wargs climbing it, the furthest tree from the edge of the cliff, which Bilbo, myself, and several other dwarves are in, gets uprooted from the ground and begins leaning wildly. As more Wargs grab onto it, the tree tips over and lands on the next tree. We jump from the falling tree to the next. However, this tree as well tips over; like dominoes, all the trees begin falling over. All the dwarves, Bilbo, Gandalf, and myself manage to jump onto the last tree, on the very edge of the cliff.

This tree doesn't fall over. Azog laughs. Looking around in desperation, Gandalf spies a pinecone. He grabs it and uses his staff to set the pinecone on fire; he then throws it down amid the Wargs, who retreat in fear of the fire. Azog is startled and angry at the unexpected resistance. Gandalf lights two more pinecones and throws one down to Fili. Fili catches the pinecone. Bilbo and the dwarves gather pinecones and Gandalf sets them on fire; We then throw the flaming pinecones like missiles at the Wargs. All the area around the tree gets set on fire, forcing the Wargs to retreat a distance. At least one Warg gallops away with its fur alight.

Azog roars in anger and frustration as the dwarves cheer. Suddenly, our cheers turn into cries of fear as the roots of the tree we are in start to give way; the tree tips precariously over the edge of the cliff, but comes to a rest sticking straight out away from the edge of the cliff. Gandalf looks down and sees the ground far, far, below. The dwarves try to hold on as they get flung around. Ori loses his grip on the tree and falls, but manages to grab on to Dori's leg. "Aahhh! Oh! Oh no!" Ori cries out as Dori calls to Gandalf.

Because of the extra weight, Dori loses his grip on the tree as well and falls, but Gandalf quickly swings his staff down and Dori grabs on to the end of it as he calls, "Hold on, Ori!" Azog growls; Thorin, clinging to the tree, looks at him in hate and anger. Thorin pulls himself up, his sword drawn, and walks down the leaning trunk as I and the others, hanging from the tree, look on. Thorin runs through the burning ground at Azog and his White Warg. Azog spreads his arms wide with a smug grin on his face. Thorin growls as he runs with his sword up and his oaken branch shield held in front of him.

Azog crouches, then roars as his Warg leaps at Thorin. Thorin tries to swing his sword, but the Warg hits him in the chest with its forepaw, smashing Thorin to the ground. The other dwarves in the tree including myself look on in shock. As Thorin gets back on his feet, panting, Azog and his White Warg wheel around and charge at Thorin again. Azog swings his mace and smashes Thorin in the face before he can react. Thorin is brutally flung to the ground by the impact.

I hear the dwarves cry out in anguish but all I can do is stare at him my body full of fear. Azog roars in excitement. Bilbo manages to stand up on the tree. The White Warg clamps its jaws around Thorin and he yells in pain. Dwalin tries to get off and tree to assist Thorin, but the tree branches he is holding on to break, swinging him precariously over the edge and preventing him from reaching Thorin. "Thorin!" I cry out along with my companions.

As the White Warg holds Thorin in its mouth, Thorin manages to hit its head with the pommel of his sword. Roaring, the White Warg throws Thorin several feet away onto a flat rock nearby. Thorin lands heavily, his sword falling out of his hand. He is almost unconscious. "Biriz torag khobdudol." (Bring me the Dwarf's head) Azog says to one of his Warg Riders who jumps off his Warg and approaches Thorin. Bilbo, seeing this, pulls out his own sword, which glows blue. The orc approaches Thorin and places its sword against his neck; raising the sword, the rider prepares to decapitate Thorin.

As he swings his sword down, Bilbo throws himself at the Orc and knocks him over. As they fight, Bilbo manages to stab and kill the Orc. As Azog growls in anger, Thorin goes unconscious. Pulling his sword out of the dead Orc's body, Bilbo stands in front of the unconscious Thorin and protects his body. He waves his sword wildly at Azog and the other Wargs. Azog smiles in hatred and speaks in the Black Speech to his Orcs, "Kill him." Pulling myself up, I clutch Ithildin and ripping him from his sheathe feel adrenaline fill my body. A couple of Wargs and Riders approach Bilbo, snarling. Suddenly, Fili, Kili, Dwalin, and myself, plow into the Wargs from the side and start fighting them.

In the confusion, Bilbo yells and leaps forward, wounding a Warg. I make my way toward Azog anger seething throughout my body. As I make my way to him I am distracted by another Orc and turn to fight him. After I slit his throat I glance over to see Fili, Kili, and Dwalin have been surrounded by Wargs, and Bilbo is at Azog's mercy. Suddenly Eagles appear and grabbing some of the Wargs and Orcs toss them over the cliff. Others knock down trees, which crush the Wargs below them. Another Eagle fans the flames with its wings, causing an inferno which burns the Wargs.

Azog snarls in frustration. One Eagle gently grabs Thorin and his sword in its talons and flies away. As Thorin is lifted off the ground, his oaken branch shield slips off his arm and lands on the ground. Azog roars and jumps back as an Eagle flies by him; the Eagle heads straight for an alarmed Bilbo and snatches him off the ground. The rest of the Eagles proceed to snatch the dwarves out of the tree and fly away. As one nears me I jump onto his back and let him carry me away.

I feel the wind blow my hair back out of my face making me squint my eyes. The Eagles soar through the sky over a great distance and over many landscapes. Thorin lies unconscious in one Eagle's talons; the others worry about him. "Thorin!" I hear Fili cry and manage a glance in his direction. The Eagles approach a massive rock structure shaped like a bear; It is the Carrock. The Eagle carrying Thorin gently deposits him and his sword on a flat area on top of the Carrock. Another Eagle lands on the Carrock and Gandalf slides off its neck, running toward the unconscious Thorin.

"Thorin! Thorin."Gandalf calls but Thorin is not responding. When the Eagle I was riding drops me off I stand frozen as I stare Thorin as a sudden realization fills my body. The last thing I had said to him was that he was selfish. As I stare at his unconscious body his form starts to blur with my father's making my eyes fill with tears and my heart stops. Gandalf places his hand on Thorin's face and whispers a spell. Thorin's eyes flutter open and he gasps for air. He speaks weakly, "The halfling?"

"It's all right. Bilbo is here. He's quiet safe." Gabdalf says as the rest of my companions surround the wounded Thorin. Dwalin and Kili help Thorin up. However, once he's up, he shrugs them off and approaches Bilbo. "You! What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed! Did I not say that you would be a burden? That you would not survive in the wild and that you had no place amongst us?"

Thorin advances until he is face to face with Bilbo, who looks worried and frightened. My sadness is instantly replaced with annoyance until Thorin continues, "I've never been so wrong in all my life!" Thorin grabs Bilbo and embraces him deeply. The other dwarves cheer loudly and slap each other on the back while Gandalf smiles. Bilbo, looking quite surprised, hugs Thorin back. "I am sorry I doubted you." Thorin says as he pulls away. "No, I would have doubted me too. I'm not a hero or a warrior...not even a burglar." As everyone chuckles, the Eagles fly away, screeching. I feel a hand gently touch mine and I turn to see Fili who is staring at me concerned.

I instantly wipe my eyes as I say, "I'm fine." He nods and I look back to Thorin who looks beyond Bilbo and sees something; he strides forward, and the others follow his gaze. "Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo ask as we see off in the distance the outline of a single, solitary mountain. "Erebor—The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarf kingdoms of Middle Earth." Gandalf says and Thorin smiles as he says, "Our home." A bird cheeps and flies by. "A raven! The birds are returning to the mountain." Oin says and I chuckle as more birdsong is heard.

"That, my dear Oin, is a thrush." Gandalf says and I feel a smile cross my lips as Thorin says, "But we'll take it as a sign a good omen." "You're right. I do believe the worst is behind us." Bilbo says but you can't help but feel he is wrong. We all look on at the Lonely Mountain as the sun comes up behind us.