Mirkwood: an apt name for such a dark, gloomy, spooky forest. The trees were packed so dense and the path wove in such an unorderly manner that you were starting to find it hard to breathe. You, a proud dwarvess and a member of the Company of Thorin Oakenshield, immediately volunteered to climb a tree to guess at the group's bearings, along with Bilbo Baggins. You were the only one other than the hobbit small enough to manage it, and the other dwarves grumbled as you climbed up one of the sickly gray trees beside Bilbo. Once you reached the top few branches, you had to step carefully, but when you finally poked your head above the canopy, Bilbo close behind, all the walking and getting lost and hunger pains were worth it. The most beautiful sight greeted you: red leaves reminding you it was Autumn, azure, slightly cloudy sky, bright, warm, comforting sun, and at least a hundred stunningly-blue butterflies took flight as you and the hobbit beside you disturbed their leafy resting place.

As you reveled in the sights and sunshine for a few extra minutes with Bilbo, you gained a good sense of where the Company had stopped, and the best news was that you all weren't too far from the exit to the dismal forest. You scrambled back down, shouting with glee, until you dropped from the last branch to the forest floor and found none of your fellow dwarves waiting anymore. You frowned and tilted your head.

"Thorin? Dori? Ori? Nori? Oin? Gloin? Kili? Fili? Dwalin? Balin? Bofur? Bifur? Bombur? Anybody? Bilbo, they're all gone, but how- GAH SPIDER!"