AN: I first wanted to thank everyone for their kind reviews for the last two chapters. I was a littler scared to publish the reveal as, I wasn't sure how people would like it. I'm so thankful to you all. It was the most commented on chapter as of yet.

There is now art for this by justalittlebattie, posted on archiveofourown, if you would like to see it. It's linked to my profile & set as a part of this series. It's a little glimpse into the future with Bofur and Iris.

I used both book and movie to write this chapter...

Chapter Twenty Three

Creatures in the Dark

She stifled a groan as she tried to sit up. She'd been awake for a few minutes trying to remember exactly what had happened. One moment she'd been trying to get away from their makeshift camp without being seen by anyone and the next thing she knew, she was here, with her head throbbing and no idea where she was.

It didn't make since to her, she could remember putting her stuff into her bag, she could remember a blue glow and the feeling of falling. Did she fall down the cliff like she'd almost done earlier? But that didn't make since either because she was inside and although it was damp, there was no sign of the torrential downpour that they'd been in only a short time before. She was sitting in a bed of mushrooms, that must have cushioned her landing, but she could tell she'd hit her head rather hard and could only thank her dwarfish heritage that she hadn't done further damage. Yet, in the soft light that was coming from somewhere, she could see the blood on her fingers from where she'd pressed them against the back of her head. That wasn't the only place that hurt either, it was getting a bit hard to breath, which meant she'd probably cracked something and she could only hope she hadn't done enough damage to have broken a rib, it was going to be hard enough to get out of where ever she was at.

Struggling to stand, she could see that the light was actually coming from her sword, which had landed not too far away, but still under some of the mushrooms that she'd flattened. It was then that she realized she could hear something as well, something that was far enough away to only be a whisper, but it sounded like someone was singing while working, as there was an off tune feel to it, followed by a random bang.

As silently as her upbringing had taught her, Iris picked up her sword and pack, and started to make her way towards the sound. Though, she almost gave herself away with a squeak when all of a sudden her little sword went out, leaving her solid black. She stumbled a bit in the dark, landing on one knee with her hands out in front of her, one of which finding something very strange in the dark. It felt like a ring, and without even really thinking about it, said ring went directly into her pocket.

Without the light of her sword to guide the way, she fumbled for her hand bow that would have normally been attached to her hip, only to find shattered remains. Reaching for the other, she found it had suffered the same fate, the loss of them tugging deeply at her heart.

Thankfully, the darkness didn't last long, as long streams of light seemed to filter in from above. They were few and far between, but it was enough to give her some vision. The problem was, it was a vision she truly didn't want to have. She found herself on the edge of a lake in the middle of a giant cavern. The water was very calm, as if it hadn't moved in hundreds of years, but that wasn't what caught her vision. It was the thing, for she couldn't tell exactly what it was, crouched over what looked like a person, hitting it with a rock. That was what the bangs she heard were.

She must have made some sort of sound because the next thing she knew, there were bright eyes looking in her direction and all she could think about was getting out of it's line of sight, moving as quickly as she dared to duck behind an large rock formation.

It wasn't fast enough.

She peaked around the rock and very quickly feared when she couldn't see the creature where it had been before. It wasn't anywhere within view and she had a feeling that she was in a lot of trouble if it caught up with her. On instinct, she held her elvish blade out up, and took a step back, only just in time as the thing jumped down to where she'd just been standing.

"Bless us and splash us, Precious! That's a meaty mouthful." It started moving closer to her, but she brandished her sword towards it and finally came to a stop with it pointing right at the center of it's neck. Thankfully causing it to back up in fear.

"Stay back. I'm warning you, don't come any closer." She couldn't think of anything more frightening to say to this thing. Now that it was closer, it seemed to have a sickly gray pale to it, as if it hadn't seen sunlight in years. It looked worse than a goblin, all skin a bones, wiry in a way that a hobbit or dwarf could never be. It's head almost seemed to be too big for it's body, all mouth and eyes… she'd never seen eyes like that on anything, they seemed to take up half of it's face, and were the most expressive thing about it. When it first landed in front of her, they'd glinted in the faint light, but now it seemed like a scared colt, that would bolt at the slightest of moves. She wasn't going to let her guard down though.

"It's got an elfish blade, but it's not an Elfs." Those eyes were starting to look dangerous again, "Not an Elfs, no. What is it, Precious? What is it?"

Oh how her head hurt, and she was trying to keep her mind on the thing in front of her, but she was smart enough to keep her name to herself, "I am a Hobbit from the Shire."

The damnable thing seemed to get excited, "Oh! We like Goblinses, batses, and fishes, but we hasn't tried Hobbitses before. Is it soft? Is it juicy?" This thing was not having her for her supper, she had been starting to slowly lower her blade as she wasn't used to the weight of the small sword yet, but as it started to come closer, she held it up again.

"Don't you dare come any closer to me you fiend. I will gut you if I have to!" Well, that didn't work, it only cause it to get angrier at her, and she took a frightened step backwards. "Please, I don't want any trouble, I just need to find away out of here. If you would show me the way, I would be able to leave you to yourself."

"Why, is it lost?"

"Yes, I am ever so much lost. I wish to get back to my friends as quickly as possible." And perhaps have someone look at her head and ribs, they were getting worse by the moment.

Those eyes changed again, becoming ever so much friendlier and the voice changed as well, as if someone else was speaking out of the same mouth. "Ooh! We knows! We knows safe paths for Hobbitses. Safe paths in the dark." Within seconds the creature seemed to be having an argument with itself, it's voice changing frequently as it seemed at war in it's own mind.

After a short time, Iris was fed up with hit, she needed to get out of there, and she sure didn't want to be anyone's dinner, though she could use some herself. The memory of what had happened was quickly coming back to her and she was getting more frightened at the moment, she needed to find her dwarves. "Look, I don't know what you're playing at, but I am..."

"Games? We love games, doesn't was Precious? Does it like games? Does it? Does it? Does it like to play?" This thing was crazy, she hadn't mentioned games at all.

"Perhaps?" if it would get her out there faster.

It then started to spout off a riddle? Well, at least it was an easy one, with everything that was going on, it just seemed almost funny for this thing to give her a simple riddle as a game. When she answered it correctly, it started to laugh at her. And then the other voice tried to convince itself to eat her again. At this point she was starting to give it a name in her head, Gollum, after the sound it kept making after it spoke.

Gollum snarled at her, and made as if it was going to attack, when she started speaking the first riddle that came to mind, not a particularly hard one, one that would have been used with children really to keep them entertained, but it was the first thing that was there. Thankfully, it stopped it in it's tracks and the nicer voice seemed to be in charge again. It seemed almost excited that she was playing with it.

After it sadly, got it the riddle correct, they quickly negotiated terms of their game; one that she refused to let it win because she wasn't going to be it's dinner; so she would have an escort out when she won.

For a split second she thought about putting her sword away, as if to show that she trusted that this creature wouldn't betray her, but she could almost hear Dwalin yelling in the back of her head to never give the enemy any sort of advantage. Instead, she backed up a few more steps, so that she had a rock at her back, and it was in full sight, and motioned for him to take the next riddle.

After a few rounds, she was starting to get frustrated, how could this thing, that seeming lived in the darkest cave, know the answers. Some of the riddles, that they'd shared between them had a hobbit history to them, and this Gollum, was no hobbit that she'd ever seen. Finally, she was frustrated, she couldn't think of anything else, and it was insisting that this be the last question, to finish the game off. She shoved her free hand into her pocket, a sign of confusion, when she encountered something unexpected. "What have I got in my pocket?" slipped out before she even had the chance to stop herself. She really needed to stop doing that.

Of course the creature thought that was the question and started to have a bit of a fit, "That's not fair. It's not fair! It's against the rules! Ask us another one."

If it meant living or being this thing's dinner, she was going to stretch the rules as far as she could. She was a burglar after all, "No, no, no, no. You said 'As me a question.' Well, that is my question. What have I got in my pocket?"

"Three guesses, Precious. It must give us three." Well, that was fair she guessed, since she wasn't exactly following the rules any longer, and she'd given it more when it was trying to figure out the riddle about eggs anyway.

"Three guesses. Very well, guess away." She placed her free hand on her hip and continued to hold her sword in the other

"Handses!" Well, it was slightly unobservant at least.

"Wrong, guess again." All the while hoping it wouldn't guess right.

Gollum seemed to be muttering several guesses to itself, all things that she would have been fully disgusted to have anywhere near her person, but perhaps not so off hand for it. Finally it seemed to settle on something, "Knife!"

Oh than Yavanna, "Wrong again. Last guess." She sent a silent prayer up to her creator.

Both voices answered this time, it's eyes flashing dangerously between them, "String! Or nothing."

Her maker was watching out for her this night, "Two guesses at once; wrong both times." The creature seemed devastated by the fact that it was wrong. It threw itself to the floor, sobbing, yet she wasn't willing to wait for it to get over it's loss, for it may just realize how unfair a loss it was.

"So, come then, I won the game, you promised to show me the way out." And it really was the only thing she wanted now. Freedom from the hole she found herself in.

"What has it got in its pocketses?" Well bugger it all, it caught up quickly.

"That's no concern of yours. You lost." Please oh please leave it at that. She knew it wouldn't, but she could hope.

"Lost?" Oh, this wasn't good, the sword wasn't keeping the creature back, she could see the look in it's eye as it came at her. It was going to kill her.

Until shock and the thing started picking at it's thread bare coverings, "Where is it? Where is it? No! Ahh! Where is it? No! No!" It was tearing around the cave, as if it was searching for something. "Lost! Curses and splashes, my precious is lost!" It was sobbing quietly for a few moments, before its face contorted into anger and then it turned back to look on her. It's eyes were dark and cold, she had a feeling that she knew exactly what it was searching for, "What has it got in its nasty little pocketses?"

She was starting to get really scared and clutched the ring she found in her hand tightly while holding her sword up to try and ward Gollum off. It was all she could do to not wrap her arm around her aching ribs, "He stole it. He stole it! Ahh! HE STOLE IT!" it kept getting louder and louder, finally it's voice echoing off the walls around them. There was a bit of a spike of indignation, she wasn't a male for crying out loud.

When it started throwing stones at her, Iris gave up all since of bravery and ran away, with the creature chasing right behind her. She hurried though the cave as quickly as her body would take her. She could hear it behind her at a distance, screaming to her to give something to him. She found herself in a small side cavern as it ran past the opening. The only way she had to go was threw a small crack in the back of the wall. She wasn't sure if she'd fit threw it, but she couldn't go back out there with that thing that wanted to eat her so she had to try.

She passed her bag through first, it making it's way easily, but when she tried, it wasn't as simple as it looked. Her bindings at least kept her chest from getting too caught at first, but it got tighter quickly. The pressure became too much and she gave an involuntary grunt of pain when it pushed too tightly on her injured ribs; which seemed to echo in the silence.

Unsurprisingly, it attracted the creature that was hunting her, she could see it as it peered into the small alcove, and could tell the very second it saw her. It started snarling and rushing towards her.

Pushing as much as she could, she forced herself through the crack, but her jacket buttons, which had been pressing so deeply into her chest, ripped off, hitting Gollum as it clawed at her through the crack. At least it was enough to get it to back off for a moment in surprise, but it also caused her to lose her balance and she fell backwards.

Before she could get herself back up, the creature was through the crack, growling and looking back and forth for her. Somehow, the creature had grayed out even more, becoming slightly blurry around the edges; which she was attributing to the continual knocks to the head she was taking; and it looked right over her. She was certain that it would notice her, it could surely see better in the darkness than she could, yet it seemed to not be able to do so. She stayed as still as she possibly could, keeping her breath as shallow as possible as it talked to itself about a 'birthday present' and goblins being able to catch him without it.

Finally it stopped, it's eyes growing shrewd, with a deep seated evil shinning in them, "If the Hobbitses has gone that way, we must go quick and see. Go! Not far now. Make haste!" and then it was gone, moving even faster than it had before.

Scooping up her bag, she quickly, but very carefully followed the creature, using every trick she knew to stay quiet. She didn't want to fall again, making more noise and causing it to turn back, as this time it seemed to be pulling her towards an exit. She finally noticed the ring that was seated firmly on her finger, feeling like it had always belonged where it lay, and she wondered if it was what was keeping her from being seen. If so, she could understand this Gollum's anger at losing it, but she wasn't giving it back to it, as it wanted to eat her.

She followed the hissing and cursing; not as quietly as it probably thought it was, "One left, yes. One right, yes. Two right, yes, yes. Two left, yes, yes." It seemed to go on forever, but she could feel the strain on her legs as they were heading steadily upwards. Periodically, it would pause to weep, or to peer around corners as if this horrible creature was frightened to go up further into the goblin territory. Which perhaps it was, if it had always used this ring to do so before.

"Seven right, yes. Six left, yes! This is it. This is the way to the back-door, yes. Here's the passage!" But it wasn't moving any closer, it had stopped by a low opening, peering in and shrinking back, hiding itself, "But we dursn't go in, precious, no we dursn't. Goblinses down there. Lots of goblinses. We smells them." She was only a few feet behind Gollum and she wasn't sure what to do, it was blocking the way, sitting right on top of the opening, swaying his head from side to side as if trying to catch her.

Then, completely unexpectedly, it jumped back and hid behind a rock, only seconds before she sees Gandalf and all her blessed dwarves running by, escaping through the tunnel that Gollum was preventing her to get to. They were alive! They were free! And she HAD to get to them, get past this creature, or she would never get out of here.

In an act of desperation, she pulled out her sword again, and placed the tip just at the nape of Gollum's neck, ready to take the life of this creature that barred her way. Yet, she couldn't do it. It's eyes had changed yet again, great sadness shining in them. For a brief moment, it looked almost Hobbit like, and with pity, Iris lowered her sword again. Silently, she took a few steps backwards, and then starts to run forward and takes a great leap, using another rock to launch herself, and actually stepping on Gollum's head, knocking it over as it turned to try and catch her, having finally heard her movement.

As soon as she landed, she took off at a run after her dwarves and towards the exit, hearing the creature scramble behind her. Thankfully, it didn't follow her out into the bright light, almost as if it burned by the very thought of being in it. It's screams following her as she sped down the mountain after her company.

"Hobbitses! Thief! Curse it and crush it, we hates it forever!" Well, at least the feeling was mutual.

Next chapter: Family, Orcs and Eagles... oh why me?