A Single Dream is More Powerful Than a Thousand Realities

Fire and Water

Lyla stood, wringing her hands together agitatedly as the dwarves milled about, picking weaponry-undamaged by the dragon-off the walls. They grasped various pieces, testing their weight and strength, swinging swords lightly through the air or hefting a large hammer or axe in their arms.

Lyla hadn't noticed these things from her first look-about in the treasure room. She's been a bit preoccupied with the dragon, as she had been, it was easy to make such an oversight.

But she understood, more fully now, the reasoning behind Balin's suggestion.

He knew that the weapons would be here and that their best chance for success would be to use them in an ambush attack on the dragon.

Oh, it was indeed a very foolhardy, Tookish sort of plan.

But the company was taking too long, in the hobbit's opinion. They were fingering the finely engraved handles of various weapons. She watched Nori's light touch flit over a few well encrusted swords, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes wide in astonishment.

The rest of the company wasn't much different. Their focus was trained on the weapons, scrutinizing and assessing. They fingered jewels and rubbed their hands over the delicate craftsmanship of their predecessors, trying to choose the perfect weapon to use against Smaug.

All while trying-mostly unsuccessfully-to keep their gazes from straying to the mountains of gold they stood upon.

Lyla stayed further back, watching the company carefully, the torch in her hand, its orange glow casting shadows upon the walls, gazing around warily. She could see the reaction that the physical presence that this much gold was having on many of the dwarves and it was a bit alarming.

Smaug had not been joking about a dwarf's attachment to glittering objects.

Having no such affinity for a pile of golden metal, Lyla's only concern was to leave the room as quickly as possible. They were already wearing out their luck by lingering THIS long.
She jumped each time a crash resounded through the mountain as thoughts of fire and roars of furry filled her head. Her hand found its way into her trouser pocket where the ring lay.

The temptation to disappear was brightly shining in her mind.

But she couldn't.

'It would be so easy to slip the ring on and make a run for it. You could escape the dragon and this cursed mountain...'

Lyla frowned at the thought and violently pushed them from her mind.

No. She couldn't betray her friends like that.

She WOULDN'T. Why had she even thought that way? That's not who she was. She was a Baggins...and a Took. And they never went back on their word!

So she stood, trying to keep her resolve-and her knees-firm. She could be strong. She could help the dwarves face down the dragon one more time.

Right?

But Lyla knew something was wrong when the crashes ceased.

Her heart dropped to her feet and her eyes widened at the knowledge of what this development meant.

Oh no.

It meant that the dragon was either returning to the cavern...

Or that he was setting his sights on something else.

Balin, who was standing nearest to the hobbit, stiffened and set aside a small dagger encrusted with jewels, and gazed around with furrowed brows, his eyes darting around the large room.

Lyla turned back towards the tunnel, her heart constricting in worry.

If Smaug was headed towards Laketown?