Athena ran through the dark and narrow passageways below the mountain, the constant fear of being found by Smaug gnawing at her while she and Bilbo tried to reach the exit together. They jogged up one of the staircases, her lungs threatening to collapse under her shallow breaths.
"You're alive," she heard a familiar voice state, looking up to see Thorin waiting for them at the top of the stairs. Even though he was now in danger as well, she couldn't help but to feel comforted that he had not deserted them.
"Not for much longer!" Bilbo cried out, but Thorin blocked the doorway and their way out.
"Did you find the Arkenstone?"
"The dragon's coming!"
"The Arkenstone!"
"Did you not hear him?! There is a dragon on our trail!" Athena intercepted the argument, staring at Thorin in disbelief of his lack of care for the wellbeing of the both of them.
"Did you find it?" He pressed, in a quieter voice than before.
"No. We have to get out," he lied effortlessly but was unable to take the step towards the door.
Thorin blocked the entryway with his sword before using it to push Bilbo backwards, Athena staring with horror in her eyes at the uncharacteristic behaviour of her friend.
"What the hell are you doing?!" She called out, stepping forwards to try and get to the threatened Hobbit but being forced to stop her footsteps when the point of the sword jabbed at her chest.
"Thorin," Bilbo called out his name, but it only served to further fuel the king's actions, his sword alternating between the both of them as he advanced on them, with every step forward he took they took one backwards.
A snarling in the distance broke Thorin out of whatever trance he was in, their eyes shifting over to the beast that had found them. Thorin now shielded Bilbo and Athena with his body, them backing away from the nearing dragon that was more provoked than it had been before. The rest of the Dwarves soon came out to join them, clustering together to face off the dragon with their weapons drawn, but they did not frighten Smaug as they had hoped, instead their presence only caused him to feel more resentful towards them.
"You will burn!" He bellowed, crawling his way towards them with fire gathering in his throat.
The company let out a synchronised cry before running back down the steps, throwing themselves down the mound of treasure to escape the fire that threatened to burn them all alive. Athena tumbled down the treasure, feeling herself being knocked about by the panicked Dwarves that surrounded her from all angles. She felt herself being hoisted up by a firm grasp, Dwalin pushing her through the doorway and back to temporary safety from the anger of the dragon.
When they were safely in the confines of what looked to be some sort of dining room, Athena turned around only to watch Thorin come stumbling into the room with his clothing aflame. He threw himself to the ground and shrugged the garment from his shoulders, standing up as if he hadn't just been engulfed by searing heat.
"Come on," and at his order they took off running after their king.
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At the next order of Thorin they came to a stop on one of the many walkways woven through Erebor. There was no light to guide them and they were forced to search the darkness to see where they were going. They stood still for a moment, straining their ears for any sound in the enormous mountain. There was no sign of Smaug.
"We've given him the slip," Dori whispered to Thorin.
"No, he's too cunning for that," Dwalin responded, Athena silently agreeing with him.
Smaug had his blind spots, but his nose hadn't betrayed him yet. They had managed to get away from his grasp for now but it was only a matter of time before he found them again.
"So where to now?"
"The western guardroom. There may be a way out," Thorin answered Bilbo's question, looking at the rest of the company huddled behind him.
"It's too high. There's no chance that way," claimed Balin.
"It's our only chance. We have to try."
They ventured out onto the bridge one by one, walking in a line across the path. There were no walls to shield them if their foe managed to find them and it stretched out in front of them further than the ordinary eye could see.
Athena stopped in her tracks when a coin fell to the floor at Bilbo's feet, looking over his shoulder at the piece of metal that had paid them a visit. Everybody went silent while the Hobbit patted his pockets, but they had had no time to collect any treasures that they may have wanted to keep for themselves. More coins began to fall on their path and she found the hairs on the back of her neck sticking up. Taking a deep breath to prepare herself for what she was about to see she slowly shifted her gaze upwards to see the deep scarlet underside of Smaug hovering above them, pieces of gold clinging to his scales and dropping off with his movements. She hadn't taken into consideration that such a large creature would be able to move so silently as to gain on them without anyone realising.
With a gesture of his hand Thorin beckoned them to continue moving across the bridge, everybody taking cautious steps while their eyes never left the roaming dragon above them.
When they reached the end of the bridge they began to run through the closed off hallway, confident that they would not be caught by the beast seeing as he wouldn't be able to fit through the passageway.
"Stay close," Thorin ordered them as they hurried through the opening to the guardroom.
Her eyes fell on the floor of the guardroom, it was littered with a copious amount of corpses. They must have been Dwarves that had become trapped in the mountain when Smaug first invaded, probably dying from starvation or dehydration. It was a horrific sight to behold, most of the bodies hadn't even decayed and identifying features still remained on their faces.
"That's it then. There's no way out," Dwalin stated once noticing the doorway that was blocked off by fallen rubble.
"The last of our kin. They must have come here, hoping beyond hope. We could try to reach the mines. We might last a few days," Balin suggested solemnly.
"No, I will not die like this. Cowering, clawing for breath," Thorin whispered, stepping towards the bodies that surrounded the hopeless company, "we make for the forges."
"He'll see us, sure as death," argued Dwalin.
"Not if we split up."
"Thorin, we'll never make it," Balin stuck up for Dwalin.
"Some of us might. Lead him to the forges. We kill the dragon. If this is to end in fire, then we will all burn together."
The plan sounded less than hopeful, but with their circumstances it was the only one they had that had even the smallest chance of survival. And they were going to take it.
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Athena stepped out onto the bridge that they had used earlier with Thorin, Balin, and Bilbo at her side, breaking out into a run as soon as they were exposed once more,
"This way!" Thorin called out to them.
"Flee, flee! Run for your lives! There is nowhere to hide!" A booming voice came out of the shadows around them, the motion of his wings sending wind whooshing through the cavernous mountain.
He appeared before the cluster of four, stopping them in their tracks as he blocked the way that they were planning to escape to.
"Behind you!" Cried out Dori from another bridge a little below them, a sword clutched in both of his hands with Ori and Bombur close to him.
Their cries successfully diverted the attention of Smaug, the beast lunging at the fearful group as they fled from his hungry jaws. It gave Athena and the others the chance that they needed to continue along the bridge and through the doorway, she could distanty hear Dwalin provoking the dragon to encourage him in a different direction in order to protect those that he was currently hunting down.
They continued to run through the winding maze of hallways in Erebor, not once slowing down their steps with the everlasting threat of death haunting their every movement.
"It's this way! This way! Come on!" Balin called out to the three of them as he shifted down into a tunnel at the side of them, Athena following him and ducking a little to fit underneath the low-hanging ceiling.
"Thorin!" Bilbo called out to the Dwarf who had continued to run.
Thorin turned around at the Hobbit's call, all of them staring at him and waiting for him to follow them down the right path, but he was only able to take two steps before Smaug came bounding around the corner.
"Follow Balin!" Thorin quickly ordered.
Bilbo hesitantly stepped back towards Balin and Athena, Balin thrusting him into the dank tunnel at the last second before the recognisable glow of orange filled their vision. They reeled back from the scorching heat before taking off down the tunnel. None of them wanted to leave behind their friend but they had no choice if they wanted to survive the outraged dragon, Athena could only pray that Thorin was able to make it out unburnt.
They stopped to catch their breath when they reached their destination. She rested her hands against her knees and took deep breaths to fill her lungs with the much needed oxygen that they had been deprived of. When she looked up she found herself in a vast open space, situated before her were several large unlit Dwarven furnaces. The furnaces themselves were big enough to be mistaken for lodgings.
"The plan's not going to work. These furnaces are stone cold," Dwalin regretfully stated.
Athena took this time to take a silent headcount, letting out a breath of relief at none of them being missing. Even Thorin had returned from earlier with Nori at his side.
"He's right, we've no fire hot enough to set them ablaze," Balin stepped over to their king with his words.
"Have we not?" He muttered to himself, the distant echo of Smaug's heavy breaths reaching them.
"He's insane," Athena whispered to herself as she realised what he was referring to, but despite her words there was a ghost of a smile on her face.
"I did not look to see you so easily outwitted!" Thorin yelled at Smaug, stepping between two pillars that kept them safe from the reach of the beast. "You have grown slow and fat in your dotage." Smaug clambered out of the pit that he was in previously, his eyes blazing at the Dwarf who was insulting him. "Slug." That was the word that set Smaug off.
Thorin ordered them all to take cover, everyone choosing a pillar to take shelter behind as quickly as they could. Athena pushed herself against the icy metal, closing her eyes at the fire that soon filled the air either side of her. Sweat formed on her brow, no longer feeling any chill on her back as the metal itself warmed up behind her, the flames threatening to toast her where she stood. Then the pain of the heat dimmed and she warily opened one eye.
The furnaces lit up the room as the fire settled within them, the flames reaching up towards the ceiling. The plan had worked. It was not just the furnaces that were fuelled with the outcome, it was also the anger of Smaug behind them. They rushed away from their previous hiding spots as the dragon barreled against the only thing keeping him away from the company, bending the metal backwards with his sheer strength.
"Bombur! Get those bellows working! Go!" Thorin ordered, using the little time that they had to maintain order within the company and keep their plan flowing.
"Alright," he responded before hobbling over to a chain and launching himself onto it to pull it down—the fire briefly turning blue at the action.
"Bilbo! Up there, on my mark, pull that lever," he told the Hobbit, a hand on his back to lead him in the right direction.
Smaug didn't stop his assault on the gate, continuing to bash against it with his dreadful claws. The metal continued to bend under his barrage of attacks, threatening to fall apart at any second.
"Balin, can you still make some flash-flame?" Thorin asked his closest advisor.
"Aye. It'll only take a jiffy," he replied, taking Dori, Ori, and Athena with him.
"We don't have a jiffy," Dwalin muttered as he stood beside Thorin watching the dragon.
Athena turned around just in time to see Smaug break down the barricade, his talons pounding against the stone flooring beneath him while the gate broke apart and was flung across the room, his eyes searching for the company with nothing but hatred dwelling inside.