Curse of the East (Fili/The Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 31 - Thief In The Dark

      A/N - Alright, first off I just need to apologize for the fact that I haven't updated for almost the entirety of my summer vacation; but so much has happened (good and bad) and I just completely forgot about updating. The second thing I want to apologize for is the fact that this chapter is almost twice as long as the chapters thus far. I want to thank you for being patient and sticking with me even though I am terrible at this. I will do my best to keep that from happening again.

~Andie    

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      I made my way slowly through the dark tunnel in the direction Balin had pointed; though without anyone else here  it felt as though the walls themselves were closing in around me. Like they had no intention of letting me anywhere  near the treasure, and they were going to crush me if I didn't turn back. The logical part of me knew it was nothing  more than a hallucination; the dragon spell seeking to enter my mind and lead me astray. I shook my head from side to  side several times,reciting facts I already knew about dragons to distract myself as I continued forward. I had always   known the spell to only effect those who looked into the eyes of the beast; but it seemed from having been here for so  long the spell had spread. Though just how far it had spread exactly I could not be sure. 

     I exited the tunnel, and the air seemed to clear. I took several large gulps of air, and my chest burned as though I had been holding my breath for an exceptionally long time. When I finally opened my eyes and looked around I was so surprised I could not form an intelligent thought for several long moments.

     I found myself standing in a room so large I could barely fathom it; I wondered for a brief moment if perhaps I could fit the whole of the Shire in here, and at the end of the moment I still wasn't certain it couldn't be done. The room was magnificent, but it wasn't just the size of the room that had startled me so badly I couldn't make myself move.

     I was standing about halfway up a staircase that lead to somewhere I couldn't see. From where I stood I could look out over most of the room, and as far as my eye could see there was nothing but mountains of gold and gems piled haphazardly across the entirety of the space. Mountains and mountains of treasure rolling like the hills of the place I had grown up. Thorin had spoken of the great treasure hoard of Thror, though never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such a place. Though I now understood why Smaug had wanted it so badly. Dragons covet gold above all else, and this was the ultimate prize to be won.

     I finally got my feet to move, and as I descended the stairs it became clear to me that this, was not how the gold had  been stored in the great days of old. There had to have been some organization to it,but at the same time I knew that  Smaug did not need order. Dragons had no use for the wealth they guarded, but they knew it down to the last ounce.  And Smaug had sat atop this pile for so long he likely knew every single piece of it down to the smallest coin. This  task was going to be much harder than I had originally thought. I now understood however why Thorin had been so  desperate to take back the mountain. Though as I stood here I remembered the claims of the elves; that the greed of a dragon would corrupt the heart of all who entered the mountain, but I felt nothing but sadness and regret. Looking out  over the vast treasure all I could see was death. So many had lost their lives because of this gold, gold that simply  could not all be spent in an age. I wanted nothing more than to get what I had come for and get as far away from this  place as I possibly could; but that was easier said than done.

     I made my way cautiously from the steps, though I quickly realized this was going to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. I couldn't see the dragon, but with how large this room was and with how much gold there was; there were just so many places the creature could be hiding. I opened my hand, and stared for a long moment at the necklace that sat in my palm. It was so small, and yet it was the only thing that would keep me alive if I ran into the dragon. I slipped it over my head as I moved further into the room.