It's another chapter! Finally, eh?
A massive thanks to everyone who left a review for the last chapter, and the story over all! I really enjoyed all the feedback you guys gave me and I hope that some of you are still out there and ready to continue with Cinna's adventure :)
Also thanks to the Followers and Favourites! I appreciate every single one!
Well, off we go then, I hope you enjoy!
Morning came much sooner than Cinna would have liked, though she hadn't managed to find much sleep after her midnight talk with Thorin anyway. Her thoughts, though hazy and unfocused, had kept her up for most of the night.
The company was up at first light, quickly packing up their things in order to set off toward the mountain as soon as possible. The pack on the fae's back was slightly lighter now that some of their food provisions had been used, which made it a little bit easier for her to keep up with the others as they departed, leaving the remnants of their long since gone out campfire behind.
As they marched further into the desolated land, the small brown patches of dried grass slowly began to disappear and the landscape became more rocky and barren as the paths grew steeper, and Cinna had to watch her step as to not slip on one of the sharp rocks that lined the ground as they climbed, going on without a break as morning passed.
The fae wasn't quite sure how long they had been walking, though as she glanced up at the sky, judging by the position of the sun, it must have been several hours as it was almost midday.
"We are making good time," someone said next to her and Cinna turned her head to find Thorin walking past, sending her a small nod as she followed swiftly after him, gratefully accepting the hand he offered as they climbed a particularly steep couple of rocks. As she reached the dwarf-king's level, along with the others, her eyes suddenly widened as she realised that they had come onto a sort of overlook and she carefully took a few steps forward until she was standing by the edge that led down into a large valley.
The fae peered out to where the outline of a ruined city that lay in the midst of the valley stood against the horizon and she looked with wide eyes at what must once have been tall towers, which now lay in a pile of rocks and rubble in the distance.
"What is this place?" Bilbo asked breathlessly from where he had come to stand next to her, his eyes just as wide as the fae's as he beheld the scene before him.
"This was once the city of Dale," explained Balin with a sombre expression on his bearded face, his voice carrying a certain melancholy as he remembered what once was. "It was a beautiful town, with tall towers and copper roofs that would gleam in the sunlight. You could see it from afar… Now it is a ruin. The desolation of Smaug."
The dwarves all stood in the cold breeze and stared at the remnants of the city for a few long moments, none of them saying anything as they looked from its outlines to the mountain that towered behind, Erebor's peak reaching high into the blue sky. Cinna felt a shiver run down her spine, partly from the cold air that nipped at her clothes but mostly from the eerie scene before her. As much as the desolated landscape had told her of what had happened here all these years ago, these ruins told a different story altogether. The story of people; of men, women and children that had lived in this city, spent each and every day here in peace and prosperity until one day the sky had darkened and their lives were destroyed along with their home in only a few moments.
"The sun will soon reach midday," Thorin then spoke, pulling the attention of his men away from the lost city and back to him as he addressed the company. "We move on. We must find the hidden door into the mountain before it sets. This way."
The dwarf-king made to lead on, though he stopped momentarily when Bilbo spoke up in confusion, looking at Thorin questioningly. "Wait! Is this the overlook? Gandalf said to meet him here, on no account were we to enter the mountain without him."
Thorin's eyebrows rose slightly as he turned toward the hobbit, his voice stern but his demeanour calm as he answered. "Do you see him anywhere?" he uttered. "We have no time to wait upon the wizard. We're on our own. Come!"
And with that he set off, marching swiftly as he formed the head of the company, the dwarves following after their king without another word. Bilbo hesitated for a moment, glancing back at the ruins of Dale with a small frown before he felt someone grab hold of his sleeve gently and he looked around to find Cinna leading him away after the others, her face showing the same slight concern that he felt bubbling in his stomach.
"He is right," the fae muttered as they quickened their pace to keep up with the rest of the company. "If we are to reach the mountain in time, we cannot wait for Gandalf."
Bilbo just nodded and said nothing else as they marched along and the hours passed as they left Dale behind and came ever closer to the mountain, which grew ever taller before them.
Cinna's legs were slowly starting to ache, her muscles longing for a break though she did not dare suggest any such thing, as Thorin seemed ever more determined to keep going the closer they came. And after a few more hours they finally reached the mountain, the fae feeling tired and out of breath. They kept a great distance between themselves and the dark maw of the front gate that lay before them, instead moving along the sides of the mountain as they searched for the hidden door that would grant them passage into Erebor.
However, the search was proving fruitless still after a long while in which they had divided into small groups to cover more space. Cinna was following after Dwalin and Bilbo, her eyes scanning her surroundings for something that might stand out to her, though she wasn't actually sure what they were looking for exactly.
"Anything?" she heard Thorin's voice carry over to them from further away where he was searching together with Gloin and Bifur. While Dwalin called back to him that they had found nothing so far, the fae shortly watched Bilbo as he inspected a great stone that stood alone like a pillar near the mountain's side.
"If the map is true," Dwalin muttered as he stepped up next to Cinna, sighing quietly as he glanced up the mountain. "The hidden door should lie directly above us."
Cinna, never actually having been shown the map, just nodded silently and sighed as well, still watching Bilbo as he walked around the stone and suddenly disappeared behind it, reappearing immediately afterwards, waving wildly at them.
"Over here!" he called, and both Cinna and Dwalin were quick to jog over to where the Halfling stood, peering around the stone as Bilbo pointed to what looked like rough steps going upwards. Cinna smiled brightly at her friend while Dwalin quickly ran to get the others, who gathered swiftly, coming together from wherever they had been searching. Thorin was at their front, taking a look at what Bilbo had discovered before he put one hand on his shoulder, squeezing heartily.
"Well done, Master Baggins," he smiled, nodding at the Halfling as he moved forward. "You have keen eyes. Follow me."
Cinna filed in after Bilbo and Dwalin as they followed the rough steps in single line, soon finding traces of a narrow track, often lost, often rediscovered, that wandered on to the top of the southern ridge and brought them at last to a still narrower ledge, which turned north across the face of the Mountain. Silently, clinging on to the rocky wall on their right, they went on in single file along the ledge, carefully minding their every step as the path led them ever higher and grew steeper until they finally turned into a little steep-walled bay that lay still and quiet.
The ground there was covered in green grass, which was the first thing Cinna noticed. The second thing was, that its entrance could not be seen from below because of the overhang of the cliff, nor from further off because it was so small that it looked like a dark crack and no more.
The bay was open to the sky above but as the company gathered there, they saw that at its inner end a flat wall rose up that in the lower part, close to the ground, was as smooth and upright as masons' work, but without a joint or crevice to be seen. There was no real sign of post or lintel or threshold, nor any sign of bar or bolt or a keyhole to be seen; yet none of them doubted that they had found the hidden door at last. And just in time, as the afternoon had now passed and the sun had slowly begun to set as they had made their long and wary way up here.
"This must be it," Thorin spoke as he walked up to the wall, shortly letting his hand run over the surface, before he reached around his neck and pulled out a large key that was tied around a leather band. He smiled broadly as he turned back to his companions, gripping the key tightly in his hand. "The hidden door. Let all those who doubted us rue this day!"
The dwarves cheered loudly and Cinna couldn't help but smile brightly at their joy, watching as Dwalin stepped forward as well, inspecting the door as he spoke. "Right then, we have a key. Which means that somewhere there is a keyhole."
"The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole," Thorin breathed, quoting the words that the map read, as he glanced from the steadily setting sun to where Dwalin was inspecting the wall without finding anything. They waited with baited breath, all of them watching the stone as the sun shone dark orange light upon it, though nothing changed. No keyhole appeared, the surface of the wall remained exactly the same as before while the sun sunk lower on the horizon, starting to disappear behind the far mountaintops.
Cinna's gaze flicked from the wall to Thorin as he motioned for Nori to inspect the door, too, the dwarf-king's face now growing tense and showing his nerves. Nori, ever resourceful, prodded at the wall with a few tools, leaning his head close and listening for any hollow sounds.
"We're losing the light," Thorin said urgently as half the sun had already disappeared on the horizon. "Come on!"
But still, they found nothing and at last, when the sun was threatening to disappear completely Thorin called for them to break it down and they began to beat on it furiously, they kicked and thrust and pushed at it. They implored it to move, they even spoke fragments of broken spells of opening, and still nothing stirred.
"It's no good! The door's sealed!" Balin cried out. "It can't be opened by force! There's a powerful magic on it."
Cinna's face fell when suddenly the sun disappeared completely and the bay was dipped in shadow while the dwarves stood panting in front of the still unmoving wall. The fae looked around, shortly catching Bilbo's gaze who seemed just as taken aback as she was, before she saw Thorin step slowly into their midst, holding the map and key loosely in his hands.
"No," he breathed, all joy drained from his face as he looked at his companions almost helplessly, reciting the same words again. "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole. That's what it says. What… what did we miss? What did we miss?"
His voice grew quieter and yet more urgent as he looked to Balin for an answer, the old dwarf casting his gaze to the ground shortly before he shook his head, glancing back up at Thorin. "We've lost the light. There's no more to be done. We had but one chance," he spoke with a deep sigh, shaking his head once more as he addressed the company quietly, turning away. "Come away, lads. It's over."
"But…" Cinna started without knowing what she meant to say, only able to stand and stare as the dwarves bowed their heads and turned, moving to follow Balin as he made to walk back the way they had come. Her brows furrowed as she watched them, not knowing what to do when even Thorin, after a long moment of devastated silence, let the key fall to the ground with a small thump and turned away, walking past herself and Bilbo without looking at them.
"Where are you going?" Bilbo asked beside her as Thorin passed, not answering and instead pushing the map he had been holding into the hobbit's chest, forcing Bilbo to catch it as he let go and walked away without a word. "Wait a minute!"
"Thorin!" Cinna called finally as well, glancing from the dark stone-wall to his retreating form. "Wait! You can't give up now!"
But the dwarves did not listen to either of them and left the two of them standing there, exchanging a helpless look. Cinna glanced from Bilbo's eyes to the map he was holding, frowning slightly as he held it loosely in front of his chest.
"You talked about a prophecy," the fae said then and Bilbo nodded slowly. "What exactly did it say?"
"Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks," Bilbo quickly recalled the words that Elrond had spoken all these months ago upon deciphering the moon runes. "And the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole."
Cinna frowned and gave a short nod, turning her gaze back to the stone-wall. She took a few steps toward it, muttering quietly to herself.
"The last light," the fae repeated as she turned, her foot shortly brushing against the key that Thorin had dropped before and she quickly bent down to pick it up, holding it in both hands as she looked up to the sky that had now darkened with the fall of night, the moon hiding behind a thin wall of clouds. "Durin's Day, the last day of autumn. Stand by the grey stone… when the thrush knocks… with the last light of Durin's Day."
Bilbo watched in confusion as Cinna took a step back from the wall, observing it for a moment before her gaze flicked back toward the sky and her eyebrows suddenly rose in surprise. "What are you doing?" the hobbit asked with a sigh when she looked at him with urgency in her eyes, pointing one hand toward the moon.
"The last light of Durin's Day," she uttered excitedly, causing Bilbo's brows to furrow in confusion. "It isn't the last light of the sun, Bilbo! It's the moon! The last moon of autumn!"
"I don't know if –" Bilbo started though he stopped abruptly when suddenly, they heard a sharp crack behind them. They both turned their heads quickly, finding that there on the grey stone in the grass was a big thrush, nearly coal black, its pale yellow breast freckled with dark spots. The crack sounded again, making them jump slightly. It had caught a snail in its beak and was knocking it on the wall. Another crack echoed over the clearing. And another.
And then suddenly, the clouds moved and revealed the moon's pale light, and both fae and hobbit watched with wide eyes as it caught on the grey stone surface, moving along slowly until it shone brightly on a small hole in the rock, formed undoubtedly like a keyhole.
Bilbo gasped and ran to the edge of the cliff, shouting as loud as he could after the retreating dwarves. "Wait! The keyhole!" he called urgently. "Come back! It's the moon! The last moon of autumn!"
The hobbit laughed as he turned back to the fae, rushing to her side as she joined in his joyous giggles. "The key! Where is the key?" he then gasped, looking around the ground for it until Cinna held it up in front of his face, causing the hobbit to laugh again.
It was at that moment that suddenly the dwarves rushed back into the bay, Thorin ahead by a few metres. The dwarf-king's eyes widened as he saw the light shining on the keyhole, his breath catching in his throat for a moment before his gaze first found Bilbo, who was sending him a bright smile, before it settled on the red-haired fae who was smiling kindly at him, holding out his grandfather's key to him.
Thorin returned their smiles as he stepped forward, taking the key from her hand as she stepped aside slightly so he could access the door. With a trembling hand, the dwarf-king guided the key into the opening, turning it until a resounding click could be heard. Hesitating only a moment, Thorin raised his hands to push against the door with his whole weight, breathing out deeply when the stone moved beneath his touch and the door slowly swung inward.
"Erebor," he breathed as he beheld the dark tunnel that lay behind, slowly stepping over the threshold as emotions flooded through him, bringing memories of a life long ago lost. He let his hands roam over the cold surface of the stone around him, feeling his throat constrict slightly as he spoke. "I know these walls. These halls…. This stone."
He turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder as he made his way further inside, Balin being the first to follow him, closely followed by the rest of the company.
"You remember it, Balin," Thorin spoke quietly, smiling as the old dwarf sent him a short nod, tears in his eyes. "Chambers filled with golden light."
"Aye, I remember," Balin answered, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He felt a small hand on his shoulder then and turned his head to send Cinna a teary smile, reaching up to squeeze her comforting hand. He saw her kind gaze wander from his eyes to something above his head then, and the old dwarf turned slightly to find a carving of Thror's throne on the wall above the door.
"Herein lies the seventh kingdom of Durin's folk," Gloin read quietly the runes that were carved around it, his face showing the sheer marvel he felt. "May the heart of the mountain unite all dwarves in defence of this home."
"The throne of the king," Balin spoke, sending Cinna a small look as she gave a short nod in understanding, studying the carvings intently.
Bilbo, who stood on Balin's other side, observed the carvings carefully and with interest, as well, turning back to the old dwarf as he saw the oval carving above the throne, which was depicted as though it were emanating rays of light. "And what's that above it?" he asked curiously.
"The Arkenstone," Balin answered after a moment, looking at the hobbit intently. Bilbo frowned slightly upon the old dwarf's gaze, giving a small nod while Cinna had looked up abruptly at the mention, immediately thinking back to where she had first heard that word in King Thranduil's throne hall.
"Arkenstone… Ah," the hobbit muttered. "And… and what's that?"
When it was not Balin who answered, but Thorin, all eyes turned to the dwarf-king where he stood a few feet away furthest into the tunnel. "That, Master Baggins," he said with a deep rumble, "is why you are here."