Chapter 60: The Ring

Black armor. An aura that could sweep aside an army. And a gaze, lofty and sharp, that didn't belong to any ordinary man.

All of it, every terrifying inch reminded the Goblin King of one figure. A presence that once ruled over all Orcs and Wargs with absolute power.

The shadow in his memory began to overlap with the figure standing before him.

No… it can't be him.

Sure, this one was powerful. Very powerful. But not that powerful.

The one he was thinking of wasn't just a good fighter… he was a nightmare given flesh.

"Don't waste time clashing with him! Take the other tunnel, now!"

The Goblin King, seasoned in survival, turned tail and fled with a stampede of howling Goblins in tow.

"Hey! What? You're really running away?!"

"Get back here!" Eric shouted, sprinting after them.

Back inside the cave network, chaos had broken out. Eric was chasing a mob of goblins, slashing as he ran. Meanwhile, a different swarm of goblins had surrounded Gandalf and the dwarves.

The poor Goblin King was stuck in the middle, sweating bullets, dodging attacks from Eric while barking out commands to his goblins to harass the others.

The whole place was filled with shouts, clangs, and squeals pure pandemonium.

While battles raged above, at the bottom of a forgotten crevice deep within the mountain, Bilbo Baggins slowly awoke.

His eyes fluttered open to the sound of a rasping voice muttering nearby.

"Goblin meat… stringy and tough… gotta peel the skin off first, yes… precious…"

"Still, better than nothing. Gollum…"

Thanks to the unique stealthiness of hobbits, Bilbo had avoided being spotted even while unconscious.

Now, crouched behind a rock, he peered out at the source of the voice, a small, wiry creature bludgeoning a goblin to death with a rock.

The poor goblin didn't stand a chance.

As it collapsed in a heap, something golden slipped from the creature's tattered loincloth. A ring. It bounced once, then rolled directly to Bilbo's feet.

He picked it up, blinking.

"What's this?"

The gold gleamed warmly in his palm. Quite pretty, actually.

"Gollum!"

Startled, Bilbo quickly tucked the ring into his pocket and glanced back toward the goblin-slayer.

The creature was licking its lips.

It was… unsettling.

Bilbo's pulse quickened. He looked away to steady his nerves, but when he turned back, the creature was gone.

He froze.

A moment later, two bulging eyes appeared right in front of him.

"Ohhh, preciousss… look at that juicy face! So plump… so full of meat! Gollum!"

The creature grinned wickedly and lunged.

Bilbo yelped and instinctively drew his short sword, placing the tip right against the creature's throat.

"Back! Stay back!"

"Gollum… that blade… an Elvish blade. But you're not an elf. Not an orc either… What are you, hmm?"

"I'm Bilbo Baggins."

"Baggins? Baggins is what? Gollum?"

"I'm a hobbit. From the Shire."

"Oooh… hobbitsss. We've had bats. We've had fish. But never hobbits, no, never tasted that! Gollum! Are they sweet? Tender?"

"Back off!"

Bilbo waved his blade again, forcing the creature to retreat.

"Listen, I don't want trouble. Just tell me the way out and we can both walk away from this. I'm not playing games here--"

"Games?"

"We love games, precious! Yesss, riddleses! If you wins, we show the way out! Gollum!"

"…We?"

"Yes! Me and precious, of course. Gollum."

Bilbo looked around. No one else.

Right. Schizophrenic cannibal. Great.

The creature was, of course, Gollum, who had survived alone in this shadowy pit beneath the Goblin town for who knew how long.

And somehow, by fate, or sheer absurdity the hobbit and the monster began a game of riddles.

Bad luck for Gollum.

Because Bilbo Baggins was very good at riddles.

Within minutes, Gollum was losing. Badly.

And he hated losing.

"You lost," Bilbo said, slightly breathless but relieved. "Now show me the way out."

"Lost? No, no no, precious! We didn't lose! Gollum!"

Gollum glared at Bilbo's sword, then slowly reached toward his waist, where he normally kept his precious ring.

His fingers fumbled… found nothing.

"It's gone?"

His eyes went wild.

"My precious… MY PRECIOUS! NOOO! LOST! STOLEN!"

"What's in your pocketsss, hmm?" Gollum growled, eyes narrowing at Bilbo.

"Nothing."

Bilbo shifted, keeping the ring hidden behind his back.

"You took it! YOU TOOK MY PRECIOUS!"

With a scream, Gollum lunged. Bilbo didn't have time to react, he was slammed to the ground.

The ring flew from his hand, spinning through the air.

And then…

It slipped onto Bilbo's finger.

Perfect fit.

And in that instant, Bilbo vanished.

Just like that, he was gone from Gollum's sight.

The ring had chosen. It was done with Gollum.

"Where is he?! WHERE DID HE GO?!"

Gollum thrashed, screamed, sobbed.

"He must be heading for the exit! Yes! The exit!"

Muttering madly, Gollum began stumbling away.

Bilbo, still invisible, didn't waste time pondering the magic. He tiptoed after him, grateful for the stroke of luck.

Back in the upper caverns, Gandalf was leading the charge, blasting goblins with his staff and slashing with his sword.

"Move, move!" he barked.

But when he glanced back, the goblins hadn't stopped.

In fact, they were chasing harder--like something had scared them forward.

"What now?! Why won't they quit!"

"They're like bugs in armor!" one dwarf shouted.

At the rear, the Goblin King was panting as he scrambled along, giving orders and anxiously glancing behind him.

There, still behind him, was him.

That man in black.

That demon of a warrior.

And he was still chasing. Still running. Still placing block after block underfoot to scale impossible terrain like a madman.

"Why won't he stop chasing me?!"

Terrified, the Goblin King pushed forward, driving the goblins and dwarves toward a narrow chokepoint.

Finally, finally, he thought, they were cornered.

The black figure was no longer in sight. Maybe they'd lost him.

"You're out of road, wizard!" the Goblin King growled, swinging his massive skull-headed staff at Gandalf.

Gandalf blocked with his sword, but a sword is still a sword, and this thing was basically a bony warhammer.

CLANG!

The force of the blow knocked Gandalf back several feet. He stumbled, barely keeping his footing.

The Goblin King grinned. "Let's see you cast your way out of this one!"

He raised the staff again--

But Gandalf slammed his own staff into the ground.

And his sword, dropped earlier, suddenly flew through the air, spinning straight toward the Goblin King.

SHUNK!

It sliced across his belly. The Goblin King collapsed to his knees, wheezing.

Victory was at hand.

"W-wait! Stop! I surrender! Let's be civil! I'll let you go!"

Before Gandalf could speak, a voice rang out from above.

A voice that made every goblin shudder.

It was him.

He had caught up.

Up on the ledge, Eric removed the block he'd been placing to bridge the gap, drew his sword, and leapt.

Down he came in a perfect arc.

CRACK!

The sword slammed into the Goblin King's head, ending him in one clean blow.