The Last One

Chapter 43

Ruive, Fili, Kili, Bofur, and Oin climbed the Lonely Mountain heading for the front gates praying for their friends and kin's safety. As they approached the smashed open gate their hopes dimmed, they ran into the empty halls and Bofur called out, his voice echoing around the stone.

"Hello! Bombur? Bifur? Anybody?"

They ran through the halls in desperate search and came upon a stair case when a familiar voice called out to them.

"WAIT! WAIT!"

"It's Bilbo! He's alive!" Oin cheered.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Bilbo panted, meeting them in a corridor.

"You need to leave. We all need to leave." Bilbo rushed.

"We only just got here?!" Bofur said confused.

"I have tried talking to him, but he won't listen." Bilbo whined still catching his breath.

"What do you mean, laddie?" Oin asked. Everyone looked at Bilbo confused, then it clicked in Ruive's head.

"THORIN. Thorin. Thorin. He's been out there for days. He doesn't sleep. He barely eats. He's not been himself - not at all. It's this - It's this place. I think a sickness lies on it." Bilbo gestured around him.

As he spoke, Fili looked past Bilbo something catching his eyes.

"Sickness? What kind of sickness?" Kili asked concerned.

Fili pushed past the others heading further down into Erebor, the others rush after him calling his name in dire attempts to stop him.

"Fili. Fili. Fili!" Bilbo cried.

As they rounded a corner they were stopped short by the sight of the treasure hoard Smaug slept upon for 60 years. Ruive could feel the evil of dragon-sickness that radiated off the copious amount of treasure. Slowly, a deranged looking Thorin stepped out of a doorway cloaked in ornate robes and jewelry. Softly, almost to himself, he spoke. 

"Gold - Gold beyond measure. Beyond sorrow and grief."

Thorin raised his head, Ruive held in a gasp seeing the darkness in his eyes.

"Behold - the great treasure hoard of Thror." His voice was hoarse and eerie, its echoes whispered throughout the halls. 

Thorin flicked his wrist sending a large blood-red jewel soaring through the air, which Fili caught.  

"Welcome, my sister's sons, to the kingdom of EREBOR." Thorin spreads his arms wide showing off the treasures of Erebor.

Ruive looked away, this was something she'd feared might happen if they reclaimed Erebor. Thror suffered the same greed, but with the essence of dragon even in the air they breathed she could only hope Thorin's mind was strong enough to overcome this sickness. 

Ruive and the dwarves entered a room where the other dwarves were standing or sitting around a long wooden table. The dwarves gathered each other in strong hugs  

"Balin!"

"Kili!"

"Bombur!"

The dwarves combed through the piles of treasure, looking for the Arkenstone. Ruive lightly walked across the top of the gold, her keen eyes searching for the crowning jewel, but her mind wandered elsewhere. Word will have spread of the dragon's defeat, many would look to the mountain for its worth and strategic value. She feared the threat of war, and with Thorin in his condition they were vulnerable and severely outnumbered.

"Any sign of it?!" Thorin shouted from the balcony above the treasure hall.

"Nothing yet."

"Nothing here."