The Valar Child: The Desolation of Smaug

Chapter 15 - Stand By the Grey Stone

Beren

Thorin turned around and studied the sun as it began to set. "Search for the door!" Thorin ordered. Nori pulled out a spoon and what honestly looked like a cup to me, and began to tap on the surface of the stone. However, the tapping was not enough for Thorin. "Dwalin! Help!" Thorin said, and the big dwarf shouldered by me, and began to beat on the stone with his ax. I cringed every time the metal hit rock.

My thoughts were, Dragons have a very acute sense of hearing. If everything has been quiet in there for this long, Smaug is going to hear this racket. I turned around and saw that the sun was beginning to set.

"Hurry!" Now, three dwarves began beating on the stone. I finally had enough. Jumping forward, I pushed them all back, and set myself in front of the rock.

"You're going to wake the dragon! This stone will send vibrations through the mountain. No matter how minute they are by the time they reach Smaug, he'll still feel them!" I warned. Dwalin made another attempt to go at the wall, but I shoved him back.

"And how are you suddenly the expert on dragons?" Thorin asked me snidely. I looked down at my boots and saw my hands clenching in front of me. A second later, I glanced up at the dwarf king.

"As a young boy, I made it my duty to know everything about the beast that destroyed my home. I'm surprised you didn't do that same thing," the last part was a challenge to Thorin. His mouth became a thin line and he stepped forward. The fist that came out, was not surprising. I sidestepped the blow. The rest of the dwarves growled, but I saw Hildar and Bilbo out of the corner of my eye. Hildar's eyes were wide with terror, and the Halfling looked at me pleadingly. Both Thorin and I were experienced warriors. It would have to come down to who's stamina was the longest lasting. Thorin's foot hooked around my calf, and I fell backward. Landing on my back, I looked up and saw Thorin about to stomp on my chest. Catching his leg, I wrapped my leg around his, and knocked him down. My long leg across his body pinned him down, and I started to twist his leg.

"Enough!" Hildar finally said, and she ran up. Pushing me off Thorin, she drew her adoptive father into her arms. She looked at me and helped him stand up. Hildar walked over to me, and pulled me up. "This fighting is not what we need. Look." She pointed to the sun, which was setting. Nori went back to his tapping, and the other dwarves all glared at me. Well, except for Balin. Bilbo came to me and sat next to me.

"Are you alright?" Bilbo asked me.

"Yes, Halfling. My pride is intact," I told him with a hint of a smile on his face. Bilbo smiled at me, but that was when we looked up, and saw that the light of the sun had passed. We were covered in shadow.

"And the last light of Durin's Day... will shine upon the key hole," Thorin said numbly. He was holding the map and the key. He glanced up at all of us, and I saw Hildar walk over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder. "That's what it says. What did we miss?" It was true. Hildar had told me what the map said, and, they had followed everything it said. What were we still missing? The dwarves all started to turn around and leave the stone plateau.

"Where are you going?" Bilbo asked them, not believing what he was seeing. I wasn't believing it either. They had traveled all this way, and they were just leaving? "You can't give up now!" Bilbo said. Thorin folded up the map and dropped the key. Hildar looked at him, disappointment clear in her face. Thorin glanced at her, and I could tell that a silent conversation was going between them. He held out his hand and she stepped back. Thorin's eyes narrowed as they shifted to me. I stood my ground. Without another word, he walked away too.