Book 2: Hanging On [Thorin Oakenshield]

Book 2: Final Chapter

Only seconds ticked by when Smaug broke into the forge. To the blacksmith it felt as though she had taken a few steps before the area below her began to tremble under his footsteps. As sweat dripped down the side of her face from the blazing heat the Half-breed was lifted off the ground to stand on Dwalin's shoulders. Checking the hinges in the door flaps to the furnaces to be sure they were in working order after being dormant for sixty years.

"Pull!" Poppy shouted, as the taller Dwarf crouched lower, gripping the ankles tightly.

The bolt was stuck in place, unable to loosen it herself. Out of the corner of her eyes the blacksmith watched the glowing underbelly of the dragon pass. That was enough motivation to pry it loose.

"This one is good!" she stated.

As Smaug stalked through the chamber he was only concerned with finding one Dwarf in particular. And it wasn't hard, slowly turning to stare at the prince standing out in the open, brows narrowing. Fire formed once more in his throat ready to burn everything to ashes. Thorin waited until the last moment to shout,

"Now!"

Leaping for the lever, Bilbo pulled using all of his body weight to open the floodgates in the wall allowing water to spill out. The pressure so great that when it slammed into the beast's side, a cry of rage escaped his maw. The cool liquid extinguished his inner flame, forcing Smaug to the ground and sprawling to gain some sort of stability with little success. The Hobbit's actions set other mills and the hanging mining carts overhead into motion.

From the steam that filled the room from the contrasting heat and cold, the dragon emerged, no longer finding pleasure in the hunt. Now all he wished to do was swallow every last one of them. A flash of light temporarily dazed Smaug as the jarred flash-flame exploded on impact. Balin managed to complete Thorin's request in order to buy them more time for the gold to melt in the furnaces.

"Poppy!" Dwalin grunted.

"Working on it," the blacksmith managed out behind clenched teeth.

Using her weight to work lose the last bolt on the final furnace she grew desperate. Praying to any higher being that may be listening to help them. There was a loud crash on the far side of the room as a section of the overhead mining carts were cut free, the company glancing up to find Glóin and Bifur perched in another section being the cause of the assault. Smaug roared from the heavy weight as it threatened to halt his advances. The dragon lashed out in a fury as the Dwarves sought cover from the flaying steel carts crash about still attached to the iron taunt coils. He reared back, breaking free the last ones hanging and causing Glóin and Bifur to come crashing to the ground.

"Poppy!" Dwalin shouted.

There was a trolley heading straight for them as it roughly bounced across the ground aiming for the Half-breed's form. She would be crushed. With all her strength, she jerked the tool in hand down as the Dwarf pulled them to the ground. The prince's gaze watched as the object hurled through the air, its direction on point as Dwalin and Poppy's forms disappeared behind the furnace between them.

"No!" he shouted over the noise.

With no signs of them, Thorin nearly rushed from his position to check on their condition. Until the top of the Dwarf's head cleared the edge.

"Open them, now!" the blacksmith shouted.

Relieved to hear that both were alive, he pulled another lever allowing the doors to slide smoothly open. Molten gold rushed down the chutes into the carved out rivers in the stone floor.