Nightmares

Author Note: This fic was inspired by Vulgarweed, who took my musings on the possibility of resurrecting Thorin in Middle Earth and twisted it into something so horrible I could not resist writing it. As the raising of the dead is almost universally black magic in the Tolkien universe, I have decided to go for the darkest fix-it fic possible. There will be a fair amount of Bagginshield fluff before Thorin finds the ring, because they are adorable and I am a sadist.

The first three chapters have been edited by the talented Vulgarweed. She is a master of Lord of the Rings and Good Omens fic, go forth and read her works once you are done here. You will not be disappointed!

So, first a bit of scene setting and then on to the Bagginshield! Please enjoy!

Smaug stirred. It had been long since his dreams were troubled by movement from the small creatures of the world, but the thrush's knocking had lifted him from the deepest levels of slumber. Now he skirted the edge of dreams, lulled by visions of gold both real and imagined. The sound of footfalls scrabbling across his floor brought him the rest of the way back to the waking world.

His great nostrils whuffed as he caught the creatures that dared enter his domain, and by the front door no less! Such boldness may once have caught his curiosity, but once recognizing the scent his lips peeled back in disgust. Goblins. Phaw. Of no good even to eat, and they rarely wore armor or jewels of any worth, content as they were with crude iron and the various offal peeled or plucked from their enemies for decoration. Though at times dragons and goblins may find themselves on the same side during the great battles of old, it was entirely a coincidence as far as Smaug was concerned. After all, dragons had standards.

He took a deep, sleepy breath down to the pit of his jewel-encrusted belly, prepared to send a piercing gout of white-hot flame narrow enough to vaporize a man without singing his boots. Yet something caught his attention as the foul creatures drew nearer, and he released the breath through his nostrils. Dragons are able to feel, down to the ounce, every coin and trinket in their hoard. And while the approaching goblins carried no great wealth in their arms or weapons, they did between them possess something… an item that sent ripples through Smaug's sense of his hoard, and a thrill of pleasure down his spine.

"My my, a ring of power?" Smaug purred just as the goblins rounded the corner. The two went rigid with terror at the sound of his voice. One attempted to run before he was drawn up short by his companion's clawed hand and a stream of angry Black Speech.

Smaug smirked. "I have not felt one such as that since…well, since I became King Under the Mountain." He chuckled to himself, the roar of it filling the cavern and bouncing off the walls. The goblins shrank against each other, their eyes tracking up, up, up the mighty bulk that was Smaug the Terrible. "And if I'm not mistaken, that is the very same ring that the rats took with them when they fled. What a shame. But no matter, it has returned." The smell of blood joined the foul stench of goblin as the leader of the two buried his claws deeper into his fellow's arm, and the acrid stench of their terror roiled off the two like sweat.

"We… we bring a message from the Necromancer of Dol Guldur, oh Smaug the Great," said the goblin in Black Speech. Smaug's lip twitched in annoyance as the harsh syllables fell on his ears, but he was no stranger to that tongue.

"Hmmph, never heard of him," said Smaug dismissively. "What message does your master send? Be quick."

"He…our master wishes an alliance," the goblin stuttered. He released his fellow and scrambled through the pockets of his ragged leather jerkin, producing a heavy gold ring set with square-cut emerald. "H-he offers the ring of your ancient enemy as a gesture of good will."

"Does he now?" Smaug crooned. His great bulk unfurled and quick as lightning he encircled the two goblins. They stumbled back, only to realize they were surrounded on all sides. "Surely he does not mean Thror? That one was neither ancient nor an enemy, even with all his armies he was a mere annoyance to be brushed aside. Nevertheless, it is thoughtful of your master to restore this treasure that slipped my grasp. Why don't you leave it here?"

"Ack! I'm not to give you the ring unless you agree to our…terms…" To the goblin's credit, he didn't even finish the sentence before realizing the foolishness of his protests, surrounded as he was by calamity-made-flesh that was Smaug. "I-if we leave it here, will you consider our master's offer?"

"He thinks very highly of himself does he not, your master?" said Smaug. "One wonders at his intelligence, if he is willing to give such a kingly gift to one of the few powers in the world that can destroy it! After all, there is nothing to be gained from giving away such a trinket. For it is of little use unless one is a dwarf, or unless one may control others through it. But the only one who may do that is the lord of all the …Ah!"

Smaug brought his snout in close to the goblins, ignoring their rank stench and took a deep breath that nearly knocked them from their feet with the backdraft. "Aaah! I see now!" Smaug said and laughed to himself. The goblins were now shaking so hard it was a wonder they could stand. "'The Necromancer of Dol Guldur'? Is that what he is calling himself these days? How far the mighty have fallen, that one such as him must now use goblin slaves to do his bidding!"

Smaug uncoiled his great tail, creating an opening for the goblins. "I see the shape of his plans now. He hopes that adding this trinket to my hoard may give him some small power over me. You may tell him that the gift is accepted, but even if he should regain the master ring he so foolishly lost, it will not be enough. His time has come and past. This is the era of Smaug."

The goblin leader dropped the ring from shaking hands, and Smaug shivered with pleasure as it entered his hoard. The two messengers broke and ran, their tiny forms like ants scuttling towards the door. Smaug spared the dwarven ring a glance and then turned his attention to watch to the goblins as they scrambled over the mounds of treasure, the gold slipping beneath them like sand.

"On second thought, what care have I if Sauron receives my message?" Smaug mused aloud. "Let him wonder for a bit. It will give him something to do with his plentiful spare time." Smaug inhaled.

The flame arced straight and true, a single streak of white fire shooting forward like a spear. The goblins had no time to scream. It cut through their armor as if it were no more than paper, and their flesh melted like butter. The fire did not stop once it has consumed such measly targets, but flashed against the wall clear on the other side of the great dwarven hall, adding another scorch mark to the stone. Only a puff of ash, and the pale outline of two figures fleeing in terror, imprinted in soot on the wall, gave any testament that the goblins had even existed.

And with that, Smaug curled back in on himself like a cat around his new treasure. Soon it would be forgotten amongst the vast hoard, only to be recalled should it be stolen.

There, it waited.

Author Note: I'm trying something fairly adventurous with this fic, which is a daily posting schedule. So if you'd like to leave reviews as encouragement as I attempt this race I will love you forever.