Chapter 253: Taking the Waterway Is Not Safe
"Galion, you old scoundrel, we're almost out of wine."
"Those empty barrels should have been sent to Esgaroth hours ago; the boatman is waiting!"
"Complain all you want, our King has a bad temper, and his taste in wine is exceptionally refined."
"Here, Elros." An Elf handed a bottle of red wine to Elros, "Try it."
"I still have to supervise the Dwarves." Elros helplessly pulled out a string of keys.
"They're locked up, where could they go?"
Elros thought that was true, so he hung the keys on the wall, turned around, and enjoyed the fine wine with his friend.
Bilbo crouched bored behind a large wine barrel until he heard snoring, then he tiptoed out and took the keys from the wall.
He hadn't expected everything to go so smoothly; he had the keys, and he had found the exit—the passage used to transport the empty barrels.
Besides, this was also a wine cellar, which perfectly met Gloin's requirements.
As for weapons, he was truly powerless. Ordinary weapons were locked in the armory, which he couldn't get into at all, and even if he did, he couldn't possibly take out so many things.
As for orcrist and the magic staff, they were both in Legolas's hands, and he wasn't confident he could get those items from the skilled Elf Prince.
Bilbo didn't linger and quickly returned to the cells.
The Dwarves were astonished to see the keys in his hand; they hadn't expected him to complete the task so quickly.
"Did you find the exit?" Aaron asked.
Bilbo nodded as he opened the Dwarves' cell, "Yes, I found it. There aren't many guards on that path, so we should be able to pass safely, barring any accidents."
"That's good."
"Follow me on the path below." Bilbo lowered his voice. The Dwarves spontaneously lined up behind him, but when they reached the wine cellar, everyone was dumbfounded.
The Elves who should have been guarding the Dwarves were sprawled on the table, fast asleep, surrounded by a pile of empty wine bottles.
"I can't believe it, we're in the wine cellar." Kili was both excited and puzzled.
Gloin pointed at the empty bottles on the wine table with a regretful expression, "Too bad there aren't any fresh ones."
"You should be leading us out, not deeper in." Bofur said, feeling depressed.
"Is there a secret passage, or a Chamber of Secrets?" Aaronmused, as his family's wine cellar was like that.
Bilbo nodded, then led everyone to a pile of empty barrels. "Everyone, quickly climb into the barrels."
"Are you crazy? They'll find us." Dwalin said, looking angrily at Bilbo.
Just as Bilbo was about to say something, the sound of 'They've escaped!' came from above. Some Elves had discovered their jailbreak.
"No time to explain, you must trust me." Bilbo said anxiously, "Please."
"Do as he says."
At Thorin's command, the Dwarves quickly scrambled into the barrels.
Aaron also climbed in. He vaguely heard the sound of water flowing beneath the floor and immediately understood Bilbo's plan.
"Get ready, there might be an underground river below us."
"Going by water is much safer than going through the main gate." Bilbo said, pulling a lever. The wooden planks slowly tilted, and all the barrels rolled into the underground river.
Just as Bilbo was about to leave, the planks returned to their original position.
The lever remained in the open position, and the sound of guards' footsteps grew closer. Bilbo was at a loss, backing away in a panic.
But after a few steps, the planks began to tilt under his weight, and Bilbo slid into the passage below, but he was still seen by Tauriel and the other Elves who were pursuing them.
Splash!
Water splashed everywhere. Bilbo grabbed a barrel and avoided being too disheveled.
Emerging from the dark underground river was a small waterfall.
Their mode of transport was merely barrels, so they could only drift with the current, struggling to move forward in the rushing water.
Legolas, who had pursued them, saw this scene and immediately ordered the sluice gate of the waterway to be closed.
As the melodious sound of a horn rang out, the Elves guarding the dam pulled a lever, and an iron gate slowly closed.
"No!" Thorin roared in grief, he was only half a meter away from escaping.
"Sigh!" Aaron let out a long sigh, shrugging at Bilbo in the river, "It's not that you didn't find the right path, it's just that our luck is a bit bad.
But it doesn't matter, we still have value to Thranduil; he won't kill us."
"But we'll still be locked up, and it won't be so easy to escape this time." Balin said bitterly.
"It's not impossible. At worst, we'll stick to the previous plan: after we're released, we'll figure out a way to break out of prison, but whether we can reach the Lonely Mountain before Durin's Day is an unknown."
"Absolutely not, we have to find a way to open the gate and pull the lever before the Elves catch up." Thorin said urgently.
"I'll go." Kili volunteered, about to paddle to the shore.
"Where are you going?" Aaron grabbed his barrel, "There's a squad of Elf guards up there, and you're unarmed. One arrow from each of them would turn you into a sieve."
"Then what do we do?"
Aaron hesitated, then turned to look at Bilbo.
Besides him, only Bilbo could turn invisible and pull the lever openly and silently.
"Me again?" Bilbo pointed at himself, speechless. "You can't do it?"
"My staff was confiscated." Aaron refused righteously. He could cast spells wandlessly, but there was no need to expose himself.
"I'm sure Mr. Burglar knows that the more capable one is, the more one works, right?"
Bilbo's mouth twitched. It seemed only he could do this job.
"I'll do my best!"
Bilbo sighed helplessly and prepared to dive into the water to put on the ring.
But before he could act, he saw an Orc climb onto the dam.
"Uh oh!" Aaron shook his head, feeling weary, "One wave hasn't settled, and another one rises!"
"Careful, Orcs are coming."
The Elves spotted the Orcs and decisively abandoned the Dwarves below, engaging in battle with the Orcs.
But facing this surprise attack, the few, unprepared Elves quickly fell into a disadvantage, suffering heavy losses.
"Kill them, quickly, kill them all!"
A burly Orc shouted from a high vantage point, and an army of Orcs continuously charged out from behind him.
"Who is that?" Aaron asked in surprise, "He feels strong, much larger than a typical Orc."
"Borg, the Orc overseer." Balin said with a solemn expression, "He is Azog's confidant, his strength is no less than Azog's, and among the Orcs, he is above all but the very top."
"Overseer?" Aaron raised an eyebrow, "Looking at this battle where they're clearly overpowering the Elves, he certainly deserves that position."
"It might not be aimed at the Elves." Oin said in a deep voice.
"If not the Elves, then could it be us…?" Halfway through his sentence, Aaron's face changed dramatically, "what the f...!"
As if to confirm his words, several Orcs jumped directly from the bridge and attacked everyone.
The Dwarves fought back. Although they had no weapons, they could barely withstand this assault with just their fists.
Bilbo stabbed an Orc to death, and Aaron immediately seized the short knife from its hand, using this crude weapon for self-defense.
"His grandpa's, I take back what I just said.
What kind of brains do they have? Even if they want to intercept us, there's no need to do it in Elf territory. Wouldn't it be easier once we've escaped?" Aaron was furious, but quickly realized something, "No, we are the main target, but he doesn't plan to spare the Elves either.
Bilbo, act quickly, we need to get out of here."
"I really can't do it now." Bilbo looked troubled. If it had been a moment ago, he could have taken the risk, but now he was surrounded by a pile of barrels, blocked under the stone bridge, and with the surrounding Orcs hindering him, he couldn't move at all.
"I'll go."
Kili jumped to the shore, killed an Orc, snatched its weapon, and quickly rushed towards the lever.
The distance of a dozen meters wasn't long, but four Orcs blocked his path, intending to kill him.
Fortunately, with the support of the people under the bridge, he successfully reached the lever.
However, at that moment, Borg fired a cold arrow, hitting his right leg.
"Kili!" Fili watched his brother lie on the ground, wailing in Pain!, his heart filled with anxiety.
"F***!" Aaron cursed under his breath, "I'll go check."
With that, Aaron jumped onto a barrel, stepped on a few Dwarves' shoulders, and leaped onto the shore.
Just then, an Orc climbed onto the dam and spotted the injured Kili.
Aaron had just thrown the short knife in his hand when an arrow struck the Orc's neck.
He turned his head to see Tauriel, bow in hand, charging in alone.
The Orcs along the way were no match for her, their lives reaped as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.
"What are you looking at?" Aaron patted Kili's face, "I admit she's very dashing, but you're the one who got rescued. Don't you feel ashamed?"
"No." Kili said with a hint of joy, even forgetting the sharp Pain! in his leg.
Aaron:...A lovesick fool like you will probably be henpecked if you ever get married.
"Stop chattering and open the gate quickly." Thorin said impatiently.
"Alright." Aaron tossed Kili into his barrel, then pulled the lever.
Everyone was swept down the waterfall, swaying back and forth in the rushing water.
"The Dwarves are escaping!" Borg roared, "Pursue them!"
The Orc army immediately split in half, all chasing the expedition down the river.
Aaron looked at the dozen or so barrels drifting farther and farther away, utterly bewildered. They didn't forget me, did they?
Whoosh!
The sound of something cutting through the air came from one side. Aaron heard the sound and decisively reached out his left hand to catch the arrow.
"It's not that easy to ambush me." Aaron gave Borg the middle finger, then turned and chased after the expedition. After running for a while, he jumped into his own empty barrel.
"Don't tell me you guys forgot me again." Aaron said, looking at everyone.
"We knew you'd catch up." Kili said weakly, smiling, "We never doubted it."
"Your face, isn't it excessively pale?" Aaron frowned slightly, and by some strange impulse, looked at the arrow in his hand, noticing a strange, pure black smudge on the arrowhead. His pupils immediately widened a few points.
"Kili, you, you…"
Kili's face changed slightly, and he immediately said, "Just a bit injured, lost too much blood, it's normal."
Aaron read the plea in his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then threw the arrow in his hand into the rushing river.