By midmorning we had hiked a few good miles up the mountain and into the fog. The mountain was so desolate. The trees that were once here, were now just burnt twigs. "It's so quiet." Bilbo observed, stopping at taking in the view.
"It wasn't always like this. Once, these slopes were lined with woodlands. The trees were filled with birdsong." Balin said as he and Bilbo gazed at the view. "Relax Master Baggins. We have food, we have tools, and we're making good time." Thorin said as he approached, with his sword he was using as a walking stick. As he walked off, Thorin must have recognized something and started running up to an embankment overlooking a valley below. We followed him; I ran up beside him and stared out. In the distance stood the remains of a city. It was unnerving as the ruined city sat quiet. The fog billowed behind the city, casting a haze that made the deserted desolate town unnerving.
"What is this place?" Bilbo asked as we all gazed out.
Balin was the first to answer, "it was once the city of Dale. Now it is a ruin." Thorin turned to look at Balin. "The sun will soon reach midday; let's find the hidden door into the mountain before it sets. This way!" Thorin began to move away when an idea hit me. "Wait….is this the overlook? Gandalf said to me him here. On no account were we-" I began to argue when Thorin interrupted me. "Do you see him? We have no time to wait upon the man. We're on our own." Thorin turned to walk away. The other followed him, Bilbo glanced back at Dale before following. I turned to stare at where we had come from, before turning to look at Dale. There was no hope for me to stop them now.
3 hours later….
I was starving. We hadn't stopped for lunch or a break since we reached the outskirts into the mountain aka where the city of Erebor was. Turns out…. It is a kingdom under the mountain. So we would not be able to excess the full amount of damage until we entered the mountain. The rather large entrance to the mountain was open but no one really knew what was inside to dare to go in, fearful that something deadly may be at the entrance.
Every few minutes, Thorin would yell out if anyone found anything. Someone would respond "nothing!" and it would repeat.
"If the map is true, the hidden doo lies directly above us." Thorin said as he gazed at the map. I walked over to where he was to glance at the map. Except the map only gave us an idea where the door could be. It could be anywhere on the mountain.
"Up here!" Bilbo yelled out, jumping around, and pointing up to a giant stone statue of a dwarf in armor. His coat was etched out into the rock making a stair-like design. Perfect enough to get up the mountain to an entrance. Thorin grabbed my hand and we ran up to where Bilbo was followed by the everyone else. "You have keen eyes, Master Baggins." Thorin proudly acknowledged, patting Bilbo on the back, before leading everyone up.
We eventually made it a spot behind the statue's giant ax, a little rock-walled clearing in the side of the mountain. A perfect spot for an entrance. Thorin ran over to the one spot on the walls where the rock was incredibly smooth. "This must be it. The hidden door." Thorin turned to everyone, "let all those who doubted us rue this day!" He held up the key Gandalf had given to him back in Rivendell. That felt like years ago. All the men threw up their arms and began to cheer.
"Right, then. We have a key, which means somewhere, there is a keyhole." Dwalin said as he went up to the wall to inspect it. Thorin walked away to edge of the clearing and looked out at the setting sun. "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole." He quoted from the riddle on the map. He turned back to the wall, waiting for a keyhole to appear. Except nothing appeared.
The sun was setting fast. I could tell he was getting frantic as he motioned for Nori to use his master thieving skills to locate a keyhole. Nori began to tap on the rock with a spoon in different parts while holding his ear to a cup against the wall. If it was a matter of urgency, it was quite comical. Meanwhile, Dwalin began pushing against the wall.
The sun was getting lower on the horizon.
"We're losing the light."
Dwalin began to kick on the stone while Nori began to tap faster and more frantically. "Be quiet! I can't hear when your thumping!" Nori yelled up at Dwalin. Dwalin ignored him and continued to try and force the door open. "I can't find it…it's not here! It's not here." Thorin glanced back at the sun, which continued to sink and yelled for the dwarves to break it down. Dwalin, Gloin, and Bifur smashed at the wall with their axes, but nothing happened. Their axes began to break off.
"It's no good! The door's sealed. It can't be opened by force. Powerful magic on it." Balin yelled out, making everyone stop what they were doing. As soon as he finished speaking, the sun set. Thorin ran up to the door. "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole. That's what it says." He said as he reexamined the map. Thorin held up his arms in disbelief, "what did we miss?" No one was willing to speak. Thorin turned to Balin and repeated his question, earnestly and dare I say tearfully. "We've lost the light. There's no more to be done. We had but one chance."
Balin motioned for everyone to follow him as he walked down the steps. No one had the heart to say anything. They were all broken. "Where are you going? You can't give up now!" Bilbo spoke up, trying his best to rally them. He turned to me and then to Thorin, waiting for one of us to help. I shook my head, solemnly while Thorin turned away, dropping the key. "Thorin… you can't give up now!" Bilbo said. Except Thorin did give up. He threw the map and Bilbo's chest and walked past him. "I do not require your services no longer…" he whispered, before descending the stairs with everyone else. Bilbo and I were the only ones left.
Bilbo began to recite the riddle while gesturing with his hands, standing by the wall, and looking around for a bird. I wanted to tell him it was no use, but I didn't have the heart.
Well… I got what I wanted. They didn't get inside. Except this wasn't how I wanted it to happen. To be honest, I wanted them to make it inside. I wanted them to succeed, even if I knew what the cost would be. After listening to them for nights talking about their home and how they wanted to save it, I wanted them to succeed. Afterall, I was the idiot who came up with the idea. Listening to Thorin talking about his home made me want them to succeed.
"The last light. Last light…" Bilbo was saying, awaking me from my thoughts. He was muttering to himself and pacing around the clearing until he stopped at a looked at the sky. I followed his gaze up to the clouds that were moving to reveal the moon. The crescent moon's rays shone perfectly into the clearing, illuminating it. Tap. Tap. We turned back to the wall, seeing a thrush hitting a snail against the wall. Suddenly the light of the moon engulfed the wall. The thrush flew away. The realization hit Bilbo and I at the same time and we both began laughing with relief.
"The last light!" We exclaimed in unison. We watched the moonlight illuminated a keyhole in the wall. Bilbo began jumping up and down, yelling for everyone to come back. "The keyhole! Come back! Come back! It's the light of the moon, the last moon of autumn!"
"Where's the- where's the key? Where's the- it was here…but it was here, it was just here! It was just-" Bilbo and I began to frantically look around for the key. Suddenly his foot hit the key and it goes flying off the clearing. Just before it fell off for good, Thorin's boot steps on the string. We sighed in relief as he bent down to pick it up. Everyone appeared, standing in a line, smiling at the two of us.
Thorin walked over to the wall, placing the key in the keyhole. I held my breath as I watched him turn the key. From within, a latch unlocked and Thorin pushed the door open. "Erebor." Thorin whispered as he stood on the threshold.
"Thorin," Balin said choking up while Thorin placed his hand on his shoulder. Thorin stepped inside into a long dark hallway, lost in memory, while Balin followed. The rest of the Company slowly enters. I stepped over to where Thorin was, watching his eyes light up at the feeling of being home.
Once we were all inside, Nori pointed up to a carving etched into the wall of the throne of Erebor, with a gem above it sending out rays of light in all directions. "'Herein lies the seventh kingdom of Durin's Folk. May the heart of the mountain unite all dwarves in defense of this home'." Gloin read from the inscription in the carving. I felt something hold onto my hand. I looked down to see Thorin's hand wrapped in mine. He sent me a smile, his eyes glistening. (He was totally choking up)
"The throne of the king." Balin said to Bilbo as they stared at the carving.
"Oh. And what's that above it?" Bilbo asked turning to Balin.
"The Arkenstone."
"Arkenstone….and what's that?"
"That, Master Baggins, is why we're here." Thorin said as Bilbo looked bewildered at his statement.
