The Lonely Mountain was magnificent to behold. It stood tall and proud like a snow-capped, rocky castle. It seemed to pop out of the ground like a tree and it could be seen for miles and miles. When the girls landed at the shore across the lake, Traude walked a few feet in front of the boat, then stopped, allowing herself to take it all in as she dug her feet in the snow. It was almost overwhelming for her, looking out at the mountain ahead of them She never thought they'd make it this far. But they had. Against everything that was thrown at them, they had finally made it to the vast prairie that surrounded the mountain. Her home. And were now closer to their goal than ever. Traude then took one more calming breath and steadied herself. Time to get moving.
All around the mountain was nothing but flat prairie, covered in snow that went up to the heels of the girls shoes. The only real highland other than the mountain were some large hills. The girls spent most of the day crossing from the lakeshore where they landed to the hill closest to the mountain that also provided a view of the area ahead. As they headed up the hill, Brianna looked around her. It was a very beautiful and peaceful scenario, with carefully spaced pine trees dotting the landscape. But that's what was strange. It was too quiet. Not a single bird sound. Just the wind howling through the air, rustling the pine leaves and the girls footsteps. Barbara then took a moment to sit down near Brianna and catching her breath.
"Doesn't look like a dragon went through here." Brianna said motioning towards the trees "I thought all the trees were burnt."
"Nature is a resilient thing, miss Baggins." Barbara replied "But appearances can be deceiving."
Brianna knew what she meant. "It's so quiet. You'd expect a bird at least."
"It wasn't always like this, trust me." Barbara added "Once all the hills around Erebor were lined with woodlands. And it was filled with bird song."
"So the trees came back but the birds didn't?" Brianna asked.
"Seems that way." Barbara confirmed.
"Does that include thrushes?" Beate asked as she walked up to the two.
"Of course." Barbara responded as she stood up "Why?"
"There's one right there." Beate said pointing to her left.
Barbara and Brianna looked to where she was pointing and sure enough there was a thrush that had just plucked a worm out of a hole in a rock and soon fluttered off. Traude then approached the three girls with the rest of the group in tow.
"Good news, girls." she said happily "We're making good time. We should be at the slope of the mountain in no time."
The girls finally reached the top of the hill and gasped with awe. Before them on the slopes near the mountain, in the center of the grassy field, was a large city. The buildings looked broken and old, growing no higher then two stories, with the exception of a rather large one that seemed to be about three stories tall. The walls covered up most of the buildings, but like the buildings themselves it was clear they were crumbling and were in need of repair.
"W-What is that place?" Brianna asked.
"It was once the city of Dale." Daniela responded from next to Brianna "Now it is a ruin."
"Smaug caused all that?" Brianna inquired.
"Yes." Bridget replied "Never underestimate the power of dragon fire."
"We don't have time to dwell on that." Traude said "It's already late afternoon. We've got to find the door before then."
"But isn't this the overlook?" Brianna asked turning to Traude who was just behind her "Gillian said to wait her here."
"Yeah, she's right." Dorothea piped up from just behind Daniela "I think we should-"
"Do any of you see her?" Traude demanded.
Everyone looked down at the field and sure enough there was no Gillian. Just an abandoned, ghostly city and a seemingly never-ending grassland with the occasional grove of trees in the distance.
Brianna sighed. "No. We don't see her."
"There you go." Traude said "Take a breather. We'll rest for a few minutes then we must be on our way."
The girls did as instructed and sat down on the top of the hill, the same cold wind still blowing in the air. Bridget worked with Gerlinde, Barbara and Nadja to make sure they had enough supplies, Dorothea sat with her arms around her legs whilst Ottilie sat nearby drawing a sketch of the mountain and the area around it which included Dale. Dorothea had seen Ottilie draw since she was eight but it never ceased to amaze her how fast her sister could draw. Brianna sat down next to Dorothea and then took notice of something close to Dale. There was a slope on the mountains left side that merged into one of the nearby hills in which there was a beautiful waterfall that had a river flowing under it which curved around the entrance of Erebor and stretched all the way to the lake which could be seen behind the girls in the distance. Next to the waterfall was a large fortress that, like Dale, was in a terrible state, with a small forest now growing around it. It stood proudly like a silent knight guarding the ghost city of Dale.
"What's that there?" Brianna asked as Dorothea turned to face her "Next to the waterfall?"
"Ravenhill." Dorothea replied "Not much of a sight compared to the mountain."
"I think it looks fine enough." Brianna said.
Dorothea chuckled softly and then reached into her dress pocket and clutched something in her hands, close to her chest. Brianna grew curious over what she was clutching so tenderly.
"What's that you got in your hands?" Brianna inquired.
Dorothea felt a tad embarrassed about Brianna asking her such a question. But she knew she could trust her so she opened up her hands and in her hands were three crocus flowers.
"Very nice." Brianna said "Where did you get those?"
"Beorn's garden." Dorothea replied softly "As a keepsake. They can still grow in cold weather."
"You kept those in your pocket all this way?" Brianna pointed out.
"No. They were in my bag most of the time." Dorothea responded "I only put it in my pocket when we left Lake-town."
Brianna smiled but then her warm smile turned a little mischievous. She hadn't forgotten the way Dorothea looked so lovingly at Beorn. And so she saw an opportunity and went for it.
"Any particular reason you chose flowers?" she asked.
Dorothea blushed slightly. "I j-just thought they looked nice. I can put them in the small pot and grow them."
"You sure?" Brianna asked again "Don't want to forget someone? Someone you just mentioned?"
Dorothea bit her lip and felt her cheeks burn red from her blushing. It didn't help that she heard Ottilie chuckling from just behind her. She thought it was her private secret. But the more she thought about for those few seconds of silence, the more silly it sounded. And after all, she hadn't exactly been subtle about her feelings.
"Am I that obvious?" she asked.
"Yes!" Ottilie called out without turning around.
Brianna just nodded and Dorothea moaned with embarrassment and looked down at the ground. But when she looked back up to Brianna, she wasn't laughing at her like her sister was.
"Okay then. Why?" she asked.
Dorothea nodded. "I know it sounds silly and I don't know him well but you heard him when we dined there. He's been through so much. So much pain." she paused for a second, beaming from ear to ear "I thought maybe, maybe, I could help ease all that pain."
Brianna was surprised by how affectionately Dorothea spoke of Beorn. Too Brianna, he seemed like a reasonable but intimidating fellow who apparently transformed into a vicious bear. But it seemed Dorothea saw more in him then the others did. Brianna then remembered something herself and then reached into her own pocket and held out an acorn much to Dorothea's surprise.
"I know it's not what you got but I found it near the trees in his yard." Brianna said "So consider it my keepsake."
Dorothea chuckled softly while they both looked at the acorn. Brianna sighed a rather disappointed sigh.
"To be honest I have no idea what to do with it." she said.
"I'm sure you'll think of something." Dorothea said happily "You got us out of prison after all."
"Alright, girls!" Traude suddenly called out "Up on your feet! We're going to cross through Dale and to the mountain!"
Traude, Dorothea and Ottilie (who had just finished her drawing) got on their feet, grabbed their bags and weapons as they joined the others and then began down the hill, resuming their journey towards the mountain. And the dragon that lay inside it.