"What is the meaning of this?" boomed a large round-bellied man, covered in the finest of furs and dripping in golden jewellery. He walked towards them with a struggle, his weight unevenly distributed from the size of his stomach to the thinness of his spindly ankles. He stopped after a few a short steps with heavy breathing while a light sweat formed on the top of his curling lip. A small of a crown of sorts was framed by his length of scraggly grey hair that fell limply onto the bumpy surface of his greasy chin. He moved his body to stand more impressively, taking on the stature of a rather pompous bear, before shouting again harshly for an answer.
"We caught 'em stealing weapons, Sire!" One of the guards called proudly and motioned for the company to stand along the steps of the courtyard. "All of 'em!"
A mass of people had now flocked to the scene and Thorin quickly saw that not a single person was dressed as grandly as the overweight man on the steps leading to the Town Hall. In fact, the crowd were more reminiscent of an army of skeletons dressed in draping rags, the sense of desperation hung in the air like a solid, viscid smog. The dwarf was suddenly pushed into the centre of the drama so that all could see the culprits of such crimes.
"Ah! Enemies of the state, huh?" The Master laughed, showing off a row of uneven and deeply discoloured teeth. "Well, what to do with you lot..."
"A desperate bunch of mercenaries if ever there was, Sire." A small weasel of a man crept out from behind the large man's shadow; his dark hair slick with natural oils. He stood by the Masters side and smirked to them all arrogantly. "I can advise you on their punishment, my lord, as your counsellor."
(Y/N) and Balin had caught wind of the commotion and ran towards the crowd, ready to join the company in their protests, when Thorin had seen them and cast a look towards the old dwarf to try and tell him to keep hidden and get to safety. Balin held out a hand to stop the girl and shook his head, moving only to pull his cloak around his face and indicating for her to use her hood.
"Hold your tongue!-" spat Dwalin menacingly, drawing the attention back to the ensuing insult-throwing that was taking place, all of which was targeted towards the dwarves. The crowd sensed the power behind the warriors voice and looked nervously from the vagabonds and back to the Master, anxious as to see what would happen next. "-You do not know to whom you speak! This is no common criminal. This is Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror!"
The people surrounding them began to whisper excitedly, rushing to get a glimpse of the leader. (Y/N) even saw several of the ladies straighten down their hair and start to flutter their lashes in his direction before savagely being shot down when the king didn't pay the slightest bit of attention. Thorin stepped forward to stand by his friend, placing a hand on Dwalins shoulder before turning to address the writhing throng of locals. "We are indeed the dwarves of Erebor. We have come to reclaim our homeland-" He said simply while turning his view to look around at the run-down housing and their inhabitants. "-I remember this town in the great days of old. Fleets of boats lay at the harbour, filled with silks and fine gems. This was no forsaken town on a lake, this was the centre of all trade in the north!" The dwarf boomed at the top of his lungs, emotional at how cruel time had been. "I would see those days return. I would relight the great forges of the dwarves and send wealth and riches flowing once more from the halls of my fathers!"
The crowd cheered in jubilation at his words, moving to hug each other and congratulate their neighbours. The thought that they could buy decent food, new clothes and have a chance of good business was more than enough to make the dwarf king the new hero of Lake Town, and soon enough there were offers of food and lodgings being tossed about to the company. Suddenly there came a gasp from the back of the people as Bard had pushed through, tears running down his face. "Death! That is what you'll bring upon us. Dragon fire and ruin. If you awaken that beast, it will destroy us all." The Boat Man roared, glancing at his friends for support.
Thorin turned to speak to him, his tone lukewarm and desultory. "I promise you this; if we succeed, all will share in the wealth of the mountain."
Everyone was overwhelmed to hear the statement again, and now the people started to dance about and sing merry songs into the cold air. Bard sank back into the mass of bodies, knowing he could not take on such an issue when the notion of wealth was so deeply set in the mind of the poor. As the Boatman walked away, he called to the dwarf king passionately while grabbing at his youngest daughters hand to lead her back home."You have no right. No right to enter that mountain!"
"I have the only right!-" Thorin hissed back, staring after Bard and cursing under his breath. The dwarf king then turned to face the Master, who had stood to witness the exchange between the two strong-willed egos with a mixture of confusion and stupidity. "-I now speak to the Master of the men of the lake. Will you share in the great wealth of our people? What say you?" Thorin squared up to the man, pushing his chest out while a quizzical look bled across his handsome face. He knew that the man had no choice unless he wished to be trampled by a hoard of 300 angry citizens. The master hesitated for a moment, his face twisting wildly as his brain kicked into gear. "I say unto you...welcome! Welcome and rise! Welcome, King Under the Mountain!"
***
After agreeing to help the company of dwarves, the master had taken Thorin to his personal armoury, where stashed away he had many shiny and well-polished blades, the sharpest of steel arrows and the thickest and heaviest of chain-mail suits. The Master allowed each member to take a single weapon of choice and one piece of armour protection before selfishly filling their rucksacks with only a few pieces of spoiled fruit and a handful of dried nuts. He then sent them all off quickly to the dock, asking them to use whichever boat they desired and to hurry on to the lonely mountain, bringing back piles of gold for him. "..and for your people!" Insisted Bilbo with a frown, reminding the master that he was to share any of the goods.
"Of course, Of course!" The man replied flippantly, already rubbing his hands together in greed as he followed them about like a bad smell.
Thorin inspected the barges, unimpressed at the condition that they lay in. He kicked at the most sturdy of the underwhelming fleet and motioned for the company to climb aboard, taking a few moments to thank the crowd of people who had gathered to wish them well. Once the vessel was in motion, and the dank sight of Lake Town was a good distance away, the king asked Balin and Ori to steer while he looked over the map one last time, pulling it from his jacket and settling down on the deck for a while to study.
"I am very proud of you for what you said back there, Thorin." (Y/N) smiled, creeping up behind him to wrap her arms around his neck. "You gave those people some hope."
"Thank you." He said, pulling her down gently to kiss her cheek and then sit next to him on the solid wooden bench.
"You do play your role as king very well." The girl playfully teased, before glancing down at the map to help him in his work. "-So, where will we be docking?"
Thorin glanced at her with sudden amazement and awe, as the wind from the sail blew her hair about wildly and her cheeks were tinged rosy-pink from the cold of the water. He had dreamed of the moment that he could walk her into Erebor as his queen and now that it finally seemed to be taking place, Thorin was happier than ever. But there was still one thing that bothered him, something that the dwarf knew his lover would not take laying down."I want you to remain outside of Erebor if we are to slay the dragon." He spoke sternly, frowning as the look of hurt and shock registered across (Y/N)s features.
"What? Why? Do you not think I can fight?" She asked harshly, pulling her hand away as Thorin tried to make a grab for it.
"Amrâlimê, I think you could probably fight better than us all. But if anything were to happen to you, I could never live with myself. I need you to stay safe. That dragon is cunning and fierce, I will not risk you getting hurt." The dwarf turned back to his map, hoping that would settle the matter.
"I can understand that, but what makes you think I am any happier about you facing such a beast?? If you must fight Smaug, I will be alongside you!" She raised her voice defiantly and got up, not caring that the other dwarves had opened their ears to listen in.
The king followed her action and rose to his feet intimidatingly, towering over her and crossing his strong arms across his chest while arching a sturdy brow. "There is no room for argument here, (Y/N). I will not allow you. End of."
(Y/N) turned to storm away but the king held out a hand and grasped his fingers around her wrist, roughly spinning her around then back towards him. "Thorin, I love you. More than anything in this entire middle earth-" The girl spoke apologetically but ripped herself away from him. "-and more than I ever will love anything in this entire middle earth. I will not let you fight this battle alone."
"Please (Y/N), I cannot risk losing you..." He sighed sadly, tearing up and then looking to his feet before slumping back dejectedly.
"What makes you think I would let that happen?" She cast him a small but confident grin then walked away slowly to sit with Nori and Dori, who were making up a small meal of cooked apples and honey.
The boat gently fell upon the shoreline of the lonely mountain; craggy rocks and spurts of bog-grass spread out as far as the eye could see. A thick fog had formed over the water and lapped in-land to copy the rolling motion of the foaming waves below, isolating them all from the view of every distant settlement or town. It was late afternoon now and the sun cast an ominous glow upon the peak of the unfathomable heights above, meaning that their time was running short. Once everyone had clambered out of the barge and landed on the harsh sand, Thorin called to them all as they pulled their bags over them and prepared to set out.
"We have little time left to find the hidden door, the map should show us the way. I will lead, (Y/N) you will stay behind me and the rest of you can spread out once we get to the general area that the door should be in. Let's move-" and he hurried off across the terrain with animated haste. The others ran after him, excitement growing and adrenaline racing through their bodies, ready for the hunt for home.
It had unfortunately taken several hours to find an inclination of a doorway, the whole company wandering on for miles and circling the base of the mountain. Bilbo had started to call out as the light began to fade to a dull glow, having cleverly spotted a hidden staircase cut deep into the rock and spiralling to the top of the hill. Thorin had all but skipped his way up, leaving the others to chase after him, breathless but excited and fervent. Once everyone was stood on the crumbling ledge at the height of the stairway, Thorin ceremoniously removed the key to the hidden door and lined them all up.
"Now what?" Asked Ori nervously, eyeing the solid stone wall that sat before them for a hint of the next clue.
(Y/N) started to run her fingers over the wall, acutely feeling for a space big enough to fit a key end. At once everyone began to follow suit, desperately searching for all their worth. Several minutes in and no-one was any closer, Dori and Bofur stepping back to clear some room.
"We must try to break the door down, the frame will give if we hit it with enough force!" Thorin boomed out of frustration, handing Dwalin a steel war-hammer and motioning for him to swing it about. One by one they hit the rock with their swords and weapons, but nothing more happened. The stone didn't even chip away, not a crack. Balin tugged at the king's robes and pointed out across the landscape with a tear in his eyes.
"The moon, Thorin. We are too late."
The silver glitter of luna rays started to twinkle across the land before them, bathing the hillside in a shimmery glow. The dwarf sunk to his knees and held his head in his hands to cry. "What did we miss? The map, the key...It is over. We have failed! But how?!" Thorin pulled out the map again, looking at the writing scrawled across it and studying all of his handwritten notes.
"Thorin?-" Bilbo asked, placing a hand on his shoulder and looking at the stone wall again. The little hobbit started to cock his head and stared confused at the sight of a little thrush bird landing on a pebble and watching the group intensely. "-Thorin!" The songbird then rather strangely began to rapidly tap upon the stone, causing them all turnaround and cheer with amazement at the events that followed. The moonlight illuminated the rocks around them like diamonds and after a few short moments, a single shaft of the brightest starlight fell upon the shelf to reveal a small round dent in the centre of the wall.
"Thorin!" shouted Bilbo loudly, hopping around with joy and gripping a handkerchief to his eyes. "Look, the keyhole, it is there!"
The dwarf king stood to his full height, gripping his fathers key tightly in his palm. He steadied himself and walked over to the stone wall slowly, savouring the moment when a gentle turn of the lock then lead to the doors of Erebor being opened once more.
***