He had a small round head, and from his large mouth protruded uneven yellow teeth. They wore only simple leather skirts, and a stench of excrement and rotting flesh emanated from them.
At this moment, Bilbo trembled with fear, while Kili and Fili still struggled. But the trolls were too strong, and their resistance was like that of infants fighting adults.
"Take him back to camp... roast him and eat him..." said the troll holding Bilbo, his voice muffled.
"Let's deal with this first... pluck the hair... remove the innards..." another troll licked his lips.
The three trolls dragged their captives deeper into the forest; they had a permanent camp in this area. A relatively open space with a fire pit surrounded by stones in the centre, and a pile of firewood next to it.
Soon, a fire was lit, and the trolls roughly tied Bilbo and his two companions to a makeshift grill. It was made of fresh branches, still with leaves, and they were tied side by side. Being about a metre above the fire, they were already beginning to be scorched by the heat of the flames.
"Which one should we roast first?" asked one of the trolls, surveying all three.
"The dwarves... have a lot of meat..." said another.
"The smaller one... tender..."
The three trolls began to argue by the fire, their voices growing louder and louder until they even started shoving each other. They were simple-minded folk and took a long time to make decisions, and Bilbo watched this scene in horror.
---
Back at the camp, Thorin and the others grew increasingly worried, as Karl had been gone for almost two hours. Kili, Fili, and Bilbo had gone to feed the horses, and more than ten minutes had passed without sight of them.
"Something's wrong. They should have been back by now." Thorin stood up, his hand on his battle axe.
Dwalin nodded: "I'll go check."
"No, we'll go together." Thorin shook his head.
Gandalf, who had been leaning against a rock with his eyes closed, opened them and nodded. Thorin led all the dwarves, fully armed, to where the horses were kept. They quickly noticed something was wrong: all the horses were gone, and on the ground were muddy hoofprints. Moreover, these were not human footprints, but huge, heavy ones, each the size of a dwarf.
"Trolls..." Gandalf said quietly, his face looking grim.
Thorin's heart sank. He looked in the direction of the tracks and saw the dense forest. In the darkness, they could vaguely make out flickering lights in the distance and hear muffled, hoarse arguments.
"Quickly!" Thorin roared, charging forward first, with the others following close behind.
They passed through the forest and soon saw a clearing. A fire blazed, and around it, three enormous trolls were arguing. Above the fire, three familiar figures were tied to a grill, desperately trying to break free. At this moment, Thorin's eyes turned red, his mind flooded with a mixture of anger and surprise.
"Damn you, you repulsive monsters! Let go of Kili and the others!" Thorin roared, his voice echoing through the night.
"Kill these three trolls!" Dwalin bellowed, raising his battle axe.
"Aim for his leg!" Balin warned.
In the next instant, eleven dwarves burst forward like enraged bulls. They roared and, swinging their weapons, charged at the three trolls. There was no formation; they all instinctively rushed forward, as if afraid the enemy wouldn't hear them.
Gandalf had just arrived at the edge of the clearing, intending to assess the situation and formulate a plan. But when he saw the dwarves preparing for a suicidal charge, his face instantly blackened like the bottom of a pot. His chest heaved heavily, veins bulged on his forehead, and the hand holding his staff trembled.
"Take a deep breath, take a deep breath," Gandalf repeated to himself, recalling Karl's words. "...For a person like Thorin, I have a suggestion... Why not go along with him and let him overcome obstacles on his own..."
Gandalf closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. "Karl is right, I'm not angry, I'm not angry," he muttered.
He did not join the fight, but watched and waited. Thorin and the dwarves would have to face the consequences themselves and taste the bitter fruit of their impulsiveness. Then, at the most opportune moment, he would strike and make them remember this important lesson.
When Thorin led the eleven dwarves, they roared out of the forest. The three trolls were fiercely arguing about which one to roast first. The sudden attack stunned these simple-minded monsters; their eyes widened in shock. Before they could even react to what was happening, the dwarves were upon them.
"For the people of Durin!" Dwalin roared, and his battle axe sank into a troll's ankle.
"Ouch!" The troll jumped in pain and immediately crashed into its companion standing nearby. Bofur and Bifur acted in perfect harmony, simultaneously attacking the other troll's support leg. Bofur's hammer smashed into its knee, while Bifur's short sword pierced its calf muscle. The troll lost its balance and crashed to the ground, crushing half the grill.
"My toes! My toes!" cried the third troll, the largest. It hopped on one leg, clutching its left foot, which Dori and Nori had cut.
In the ensuing chaos, Bilbo and his two companions were freed from the grill. Kili and Fili picked up the fallen weapons and joined the fight. In an instant, chaos erupted at the scene: the trolls' cries and the dwarves' roars mingled together.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Bilbo grabbed a crude scimitar that had fallen from a troll's grasp. The knife was too big for him; it almost dragged on the ground. He ran to the pen, which was reinforced with thick ropes, and inside were more than a dozen horses. Bilbo struggled with all his might to cut the rope wrapped around the stake. The blade was dull, and the rope was thick and strong, so he had to use his entire body weight to deliver each blow.
"Hurry... hurry..." Bilbo panted, sweat streaming down his forehead. He heard the sounds of battle behind him and knew that every second counted. Finally, the first rope broke, and the horses stirred, neighing in fright. Bilbo turned to the second, the third... At that moment, the troll leader realised what was happening.
Though the largest monster was injured, it was smarter than the other two. It scanned the battlefield and immediately grasped the crux of the problem. These little creatures dared to attack because their "hostages" had been freed. At that moment, the smallest and most inconspicuous creature was trying to free the horses.
"Hey! Hairy man!" the troll roared in a hoarse voice. Its hand cut through the chaos and grabbed Bilbo. Bilbo only had time to let out a muffled groan before he was lifted into the air.
The troll raised Bilbo before him, its eyes glinting menacingly in the firelight. Then it turned to the battlefield: "Stop! Drop your weapons! Or I'll bite his head off!"
It opened its mouth wide, revealing sharp yellow teeth, and its repulsive breath nearly made Bilbo pass out.
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