Unwanted Attractions

Chapter 30

  They finally reach the land, they begin climbing out and towards the mountain. As They climb the foothills of the mountain. Soon, Thorin, recognizing the landscape, runs atop an embankment overlooking a valley. As the other dwarves join him, they look at the other end of the valley and see the ruins of Dale.
  "What is this place?"
  "It was once the city of Dale. Now it is a ruin. The desolation of Smaug."
  "The sun will soon reach midday; let's find the hidden door into the mountain before it sets. This way!"
  "Wait...is this the overlook? Gandalf said to meet him here. On no account were we-"
  Thorin interrupts him abruptly. "Do you see him? We have no time to wait upon the wizard. We're on our own." Thorin turns and walks away. "Come."
  The other dwarves follow him; Bilbo looks back at the city, conflicted. Rosa patted his shoulder passing by "Come brother."

  The group comes closer to the side of the mountain of Erebor. Thorin pants sticking his sword into the ground. He calls to the other dwarves, who are all scouring, trying to find the secret entrance. "Anything?"
  "Nothing!"
  "If the map is true, the hidden door lies directly above us."
  Bilbo, walking around, He notices a massive statue of a dwarf carved into the side of the mountain. Looking closely, he then notices a set of stairs built into the statue. "Up here!"
  "You have keen eyes, Master Baggins." Throin smiles
  With that, they painstakingly make their way up the steep and treacherous steps and find a little rock-walled clearing at the side of the mountain. Thorin runs to the clearing.
  "This must be it. The hidden door."
  The remaining dwarves, Bilbo, and Rosa come into the clearing as well.
  "Let all those who doubted us rue this day!" As Thorin holds up his key, the others cheer.
  "Right. We have our key, which means that somewhere, there is a keyhole." Dwalin begins exploring the walls of the clearing with his fingers, looking for a keyhole.
  Thorin walks to the edge of the clearing and looks out at the setting sun. "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole." Thorin looks at the wall and tries to figure out what the light hitting the wall means. As the sun gets lower and lower on the horizon and nothing changes on the wall, Thorin begins to get frantic. "Nori."
  Nori runs to the wall and begins tapping it in different places with a spoon while holding his ear to a cup held against the wall. Meanwhile, Dwalin now strains and pushes against the wall. As the sun gets lower.
  "We're losing the light," Thorin tells them
  "Come on!" Dwalin begins kicking at the wall.
  "Be quiet! I can't hear when you're thumping."
  "I can't find it...it's not here! It's not here."
  As the sun gets closer to disappearing, Thorin frantically gestures to the other dwarves. "Break it down!"
  With that command, Dwalin, Gloin, and Bifur began smashing at the wall with their weapons, to no avail. "Come on!"
  "It's no good! The door's sealed. It can't be opened by force. Powerful magic on it." Blain tells the others
  The dwarves hitting the door drop their weapons in tiredness and disappointment. The sun disappears behind distant mountains.
  "No!" Thorin stumbles forward and re-examines the old map, reciting the moonrunes "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole. That's what it says." He holds his arms open in disbelief; the other dwarves mutter in disappointment and anger. "What did we miss?" he whispers to himself then walks up to Balin and repeats his question, earnestly and tearfully. "What did we miss, Balin?"
   "We've lost the light. There's no more to be done. We had but one chance." The dwarves bow their heads in despair and turn back toward the stairs. "Come away; it's...it's over."
  "Wait a minute!" Bilbo tries to stop them
  "You wait," Gloin said as they begin heading down the stairs saddened 
   "Where are they going? You can't give up now!" Bilbo looks beseechingly at Thorin, but Thorin turns away. He holds up his key and looks at it, then drops it to the ground, where it clatters. "Thorin...you can't give up now."
  Thorin doesn't answers he throws the map at Bilbo's chest and walks past him. The dwarves descend down the stairs, but Bilbo and Rosa stay in the clearing. Rosa stares off in the distance her mind elsewhere. However, Bilbo begins reciting the riddle from the map to himself while gesturing with his hands.
  "Stand by the grey stone..." He goes and stands by the grey wall. "When the thrush knocks..." He looks around but doesn't see a thrush anywhere. "The setting sun...and the last light of Durin's Day will shine. Hmm. The last light. Last light..."
  "Bilbo?" Rosa whispers worriedly as she notices him talking to himself 
  Bilbo doesn't answer turning away from the wall and continues muttering to himself. With a thought, he looks up and sees the clouds move aside to reveal the moon. He looks at it wonderingly and sees that it illuminates the clearing.
  Suddenly there is a knocking noise both Bilbo and Rosa turn and sees a thrush hitting a snail against the grey wall. Just then, the moonlight hits the wall. As the thrush flies away, Bilbo looks to Rosa smiling and laughing with relief and delight, and points at the wall. "The last light!"
  The moonlight illuminates a keyhole in the rock, and Bilbo gasps in surprise and then yells for the dwarves, who have already gone, to hear. He peers over the edge of the clearing at the stairs but sees no sign of the dwarves. "The keyhole! Come back! Come back! It's the light of the moon, the last moon of autumn! Ha ha ha!"
  "Where's the- Where's the key? Where's the-" Bilbo begins looking around on the ground. "it was here...but it was here, it was here! It was just..." he starts looking frantically around on the ground in the clearing for the key, not see it, his foot hits it and it goes flying from the clearing. Just before it falls off the side of the mountain, Thoirns boot steps on the string and stops it. Bilbo sighs in relief. Thorin slowly reaches down and picks up the key, then examines it. The other dwarves step up beside him. They all smile in relief at Bilbo. Thorin inserts the key into the keyhole and turns it; mechanisms are heard turning behind the rock. Thorin pushes the wall, and a previously unseen door opens into the mountain.