The Last Mage (Thorin Oakensheild love story)

Chapter 2

We all sit at a table in Bilbo's dining room. I sit in between Gandalf and Dwalin. (Gandalf told me all the names of the dwarves beforehand)

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did the all come?" Balin asks. He looked like a wise and gentle soul. "Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin answered.

The dwarves all murmur happily among themselves. "What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asks, kind of in a demanding voice.

"They will not come." The leader says. Disappointment spreads through the company. "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone." More murmurs spread through the group.

"You're going in a quest? Bilbo asks finally speaking up and stepping forward.

"Bilbo, my dear fellow let us have a little more light," Gandalf says. Bilbo brings a candle over the table. "Far to the east, over ranges and rings, beyond Woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak."

"The lonely mountain" Bilbo reads.

"Aye, Oin has read the portents and the portents say that it is time," Gloin announced.

Oin continued, "Ravens have been flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."

"What beast?" Bilbo asked his voice quavering a bit out of fear.

"That, Bilbo, would be Smaug, the terrible. A dragon that has done unspeakable things." I said finally speaking up.

At the end of the table, the youngest dwarf, Ori stood up abruptly. "I'm not afraid! I'm up for it! I'll give him a taste of dwarven iron right up his jacksie!"

Many of the dwarves cheered at his brave words. But I remained straight-faced and silent. The dwarf next to him, Dori, pulled at his arm and told him to "Sit down!"

"The task would be difficult with an army behind us," Balin said to them all. "But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest."

Chaos erupted through the dwarves, offended at Balin's insult. I leaned back to avoid something that was being thrown in that direction. I looked at Gandalf were our eyes met, who shook his head impatiently.

Fili then slammed his fist down on the table to stop the noise. "We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!"

His brother, Kili, spoke up beside him. "And you forget, we have a wizard and a mage in our company. Gandalf would have killed many dragons in his time. And Evelyn said that she had already killed two!"

I spoke up for Gandalf who looked flustered, " I have already said, that Smaug is not in my power, he is a full-grown dragon, that is very powerful. I am only one mage, what can I do?"

Soon the dwarves all broke out into argument, about how I could kill the dragon, and why I doubted myself for it.

But luckily Thorin could tell I didn't want to talk about it and interrupted. "Silence!" Causing me to let out a small sigh of relief. "If we have read the signs, do you think others will have not read the to? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we set back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize the chance to take back Erebor?"

The dwarves erupted into cheer once again, moved by Thorin's strong words.

"You forget, the front gate is sealed," Balin said causing the others to return to their chairs sadly. "There is no way into the mountain."