The girls were now in a secluded part of the mountain that was where the hill where the waterfall Brianna had seen began. They looked around them, now at the foot of the mountain itself. But the hidden door was nowhere to be found. Daniela and Gerlinde came back from searching a few feet away having also been unsuccessful in finding the door.

"Did you find it?" Traude inquired.

"Nothing." Daniela replied.

"We looked everywhere." Gerlinde added.

"If the map is true, then the hidden door lies directly above us." Traude said.

"Well, where do we look?" Ottilie asked.

Brianna had kept to herself and remained quiet. She was busy looking at the beautiful scenery around her as she felt the snow and dirt under her feet. There was another smaller waterfall just behind her and the girls which flowed from an underground lake to out of a small cave and streamed down into the river. But then Brianna took notice that before her was a massive dwarf carving that was almost the height of an entire castle. But when she looked closer she noticed a staircase-like platform between the statue's head and the nearby rocks that seemed wide enough to hold everyone.

"Up there!" she called out "I found a way up!"

Everyone looked to where she was and noticed it too. Traude chuckled as she wrapped her left arm around Brianna's shoulders.

"You have keen eyes, hobbit!" she laughed.

"That looks like quite a climb." Nadja said.

"Well then, we'd better get started." Traude ordered "Come on. Before sunset begins."

/

The girls spent what seemed like hours climbing up that dwarf statue. It was especially hard because it was built into the rock itself and there were surprisingly few places to grab onto. And by the time they finally neared the top, it was sunset. But reach the top they did. Traude and Brianna were the first to clamber onto the ledge and saw how there was enough space for everyone to fit without fear of falling off. Their shadows contrasted with the orange-gold color the sun cast on the rocks. Everyone else quickly followed up the makeshift pathway next to the dwarf statues gigantic stone head single file style.

"This must be it." Traude said softly as she observed the rock wall before her "The hidden door."

Once everyone had finally clambered onto the ledge, Traude turned to them, beaming from ear to ear. "Girls, we've all come a long way. Each from different places. Look at us. Housewives, toymakers, midwives, even a hobbit." she said triumphantly "You know what I see? A group of girls who didn't give up. And now look. We're at the mountain. We've done it girls!" she proclaimed as she held up the key "Let all those who doubted us or made fun of us rue this day!"

The girls cheered happily as Traude put the key back in her dress pocket and the rest of the group headed to the rock wall.

"Okay, we have a key." Daniela said as she scanned the rock wall "Which means somewhere there's a key-hole."

Traude, Barbara and Brianna turned to look at the sun as it continued setting, gleaming off the lake in the distance and the snow all around them. Due to all the land being flat, the sun was taking longer to set. Or it seemed to as the girls had no sense of time. But then the girls heard the three words they didn't want to hear.

"I can't find it!" Daniela cried out.

"What?!" Traude barked in horror as everyone turned to look at Daniela who was against the wall "How can that be?!"

"It's not here!" Daniela replied "All there is here is this rock, snow and damn mountain grass!"

"But it said the last light of Durin's Day will shine on the key-hole!" Brianna piped up "Isn't this it?"

"I don't know!" Barbara exclaimed "Nadja, do something!"

"I'm on it." Nadja responded.

Nadja hurried over to the rock wall then put her bag down, opened it and pulled out a small silver cup and a spoon. She put the cup against the rock, with her ear against the cup and she began tapping the rock with her spoon, hoping to tap against something metal. Daniela was beginning to lose her temper and was now kicking the door hoping in vain to kick it down. All it ended up doing was hurting Daniela's feet and complicating Nadja's own efforts to help.

"Stop that!" Nadja barked "I can't hear when you're thumping!"

"Shut your whore mouth!" Daniela roared.

Immediately after saying that, Daniela gave one last kick to the rock with her right foot and without warning injured her toe. She staggered away as she snarled in anger and almost fell over but her sister Barbara caught her.

"That's what you get." Nadja said as she put her equipment back in her bag.

"Traude, the light!" Bridget called out.

Everyone looked behind them and could only watch as the sun was setting faster then they'd thought. Now it was starting to go under the horizon. But what caught their eyes was a faint but large, dark cloud that was slowly starting to move from behind the distant hills. Dorothea took a spyglass from her bag and took a look for herself.

"We got a problem." she said with worry as she hastily put the spyglass away "That looks like a snowstorm."

"Snowstorm?" Beate said "B-But they don't happen this early in the season!"

"Break the door down!" Traude ordered in desperation.

"We can't!" Barbara pointed out "The door can't be opened by force! A powerful spell lies upon it!"

"But we have to!" Gerlinde barked "There has to be a way!"

"Let me try." Ottilie piped up.

She'd remembered one of her books in her bag along with her art book and she pulled it out as fast as possible. It was a book of dwarf spells her father had given her just in case the group would have need of it. Now seemed like as good a time as any. Nadja stepped away from the wall as Ottilie stood before what she hoped was the entrance and recited the first spell that she came across. But when she noticed the light was fading quickly, she flipped through the pages and recited another, more complex spell. But it was too little too late. The sun finally disappeared under the horizon and the sky began to turn from orange, yellow and red to dark blue.

"No!" Traude cried out "No, no, no!"

She moved over to the wall and shoved Ottilie out of the way. She turned her back to the wall and opened the map while a look of heartbreak came across her face.

"The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole." she said as her voice broke "That's what it says, doesn't it? Did we miss something?" she continued as she looked to Barbara "Barbara, please tell me we didn't miss anything."

"We've lost the light." Barbara replied shaking her head sorrowfully "There's nothing more we can do."

Traude couldn't believe it. Their entire mission, her hopes and dreams of retaking Erebor, the hope of bringing her sister and whoever was left of her bloodline home again, restoring the glory of the dwarf kingdoms were dashed. Faded away like the light of the setting sun. Barbara could see the look of heartbreak on everyone's faces but seeing Traude, the one she'd always seen as a daughter, look defeated and broken was almost too painful to bear. Traude turned away from Barbara and then without warning she slammed her fist against the wall and leaned against it, desperately trying to fight back the tears she could feel brewing in her eyes.

"B-But we were so close." Ottilie suddenly said, looking almost as crushed as Traude as she hastily flipped through her book "Maybe I said one wrong. M-Maybe I missed one! I have to...I just-"

"I'm sorry, lass." Barbara said softly "You did what you could."

Ottilie then to the ground and sniffled as if she was about to cry. Dorothea then wrapped her right arm around her sister, pulling her into a hug. Nadja even got up and hugged her little sister. Barbara then began walking towards the walkway with Daniela in tow.

"Come away, girls." she said "It's over."

All the girls then began muttering amongst themselves and quickly began following Barbara as she and Daniela began climbing down, much to Brianna's dismay.

"W-Where are you all going?!" she demanded "We can't give up now!"

The girls didn't listen to her but continued trudging away. Not even Beate listened to Brianna, which shocked her almost as much as what happened next. Brianna turned to see Traude still leaning against the wall only now she'd pulled out the key and was holding it in her left hand. She then turned, walked a few feet away from the wall and then let the key slip out her hand and land in the snow. She was the last person Brianna expected to give up. Seeing her friend like this was one of the most painful things she'd ever seen. Traude silently began to follow the others as she shoved the map onto Brianna's chest as.

"Mrs. Baggins, you're released from your contract." she said with tear-filled eyes in a surprisingly soft but saddened tone "You're free to go."

"Traude, no." Brianna said softly.

"Don't you see?" Traude replied "The journey's over. You can go home."

Brianna blinked in bafflement as Traude turned and walked away. But Brianna wasn't ready to accept defeat. Not when they'd come so far and endured all the danger they'd faced. No, she was their burglar and that meant she had to find a way in, even if it took all night. She thought about this as she began pacing around the now empty ledge, the sound of her feet trudging through the snow, and put the map in her pocket. They must have missed something. It said something about the last light of Durin's Day, some thrush knocking on a rock.

Wait. she thought. That's what Edyta had said in Rivendell when she read the map.

"Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks." she had said.

The thrush! Brianna thought Where is the thrush?

Slowly but surely some light began to show behind Brianna, causing her to look down and it was then she noticed her shadow had returned. But how? The answer came when she turned around and saw the now full moon glowing brightly in the night sky as some clouds moved away. It illuminated the rocks around her as she stared up in wonder. Something then flew right past her and Brianna whizzed her head around and there was the answer. A little brown thrush had landed on a little tiny rock near the rock wall and it had a snail in it's beak. It then began knocking against the rock wall rhythmically as Brianna got a huge smile on her face.

"The thrush." she said with contained excitement "But then that would mean the moon…"

Just then something began glomming in Brianna's right eye. She whipped her head in that direction and it was then she saw it. Partly covered up by some ferns was a small hole and the moonlight was gleaming off some metal on the sides of the hole. She'd found it. The keyhole of the hidden door. She excitedly ran over towards the dwarf statute's gigantic head and looked down to see the girls were still on their way down.

"Hey! I found it!" she called out as loud as she could "I've found the keyhole! Hurry!"

However, they were still climbing down and didn't seem to hear her. So, she threw down her bag to the ground next to her and zipped it open. She muddled through it until she found a trinket: a device with a trigger and what looked like a mini-trumpet she'd heard was called a flare gun. Ophelia had told her of how the dwarves over the decades had crafted things like this never before seen in Middle-Earth and she'd had one but never got the chance to use it. If there ever was a time to use one, Brianna felt like this was it.

She popped the thing open, slid the flare cassister (which she could fit between her fingers) inside, cocked the gun while pointing it up and with a pop the flare shot out. It made an unusual hissing sound as it went into the air before exploding in a bright flash. She then looked back down and thankfully the girls hadn't moved very far. The girl's attention was caught by the sound of the flare exploding, now emanating a green light. Traude even turned around to look as Bridget pointed up.

"She's lit a signal!" she yelled "The burglar's lit a signal!"

"I FOUND IT!!!" Brianna called out from where she was as loud as she could while waving her arms "COME BACK!!!"

"How?!!" she heard Beate faintly call out from down below.

"IT'S THE LIGHT OF THE MOON!!!" Brianna loudly replied pointing at the moon "THE LAST MOON OF AUTUMN!!! HURRY NOW!!!"

Briana laughed with joy as she stepped away from the edge of the cliff and then zipped her bag shut before she wrapped it around her right shoulder. She then ran to the door hoping to find the key at her feet. But it wasn't there.

"Oh no." she sad to herself as she began searching "Where's the key?! It was just here!"

She turned to her left when her foot suddenly knocked the key free from it's hiding amidst the snow and she watched as it bounced off a rock and towards the edge. But in the nick of time, Traude's foot landed on the string attached to the key before it could go any farther. Traude reached down and picked it up with a look of wonder on her face. She looked then to Brianna and smiled softly. She walked over towards the door while the other girls clambered their way up and stood to the side having made their way along with her.

Time itself seemed to freeze as Traude saw the key-hole and then placed the key inside it and turned it to which it was followed by the sound of something clicking and whirring behind the door. Everyone looked in awe as some hidden runes around the door suddenly appeared in a glowing aqua color. They were written on the sides and above the door. Traude hesitated for just a moment, as she took in the fact that they, against all odds, had succeeded. She took a deep breath, exhaled, then placed both her hands on the door and with all her might she pushed against it. The stone door slowly opened up with a creak and soon a perfect square shape that was wide and big enough for everyone was before them.

The gateway to Erebor was opened.

Traude quietly made her way into the room, feeling an indescribable euphoria. She sighed breathlessly as she looked up at the stone walls around her. It was like she'd traveled back in time to when she was a princess under the mountain by her father's side. And now she had the chance to relive that dream. The rooms walls seemed to glimmer in the moonlight.

"T-Traude…" Barbara said from behind as her voice broke "We made it."

Traude turned to her friend, who had started crying. She put her hand on Barbara's shoulder and smiled comfortingly. The girls eyes then focused on Brianna who stood quietly to the side. Brianna smiled shyly. She felt nervous having all the attention drawn to her. Promptly, everyone laughed and congratulated her, taking the time to give her a pat on the shoulder.

"Alright." Bridget said smiling "Let's do this."

"M-My lady?" Beate piped up as she stepped forward "I know I s-shouldn't ask this but never had the chance to grow up in the mountain of our forefathers. I guess w-what I'm saying is…may I enter first?"

"I guess so." Traude replied.

Beate did as best she could to hold back her excitement. Even without Bertha being there, she still felt honored to be allowed to enter the mountain before the others. She hesitated for a moment, but then Brianna wrapped her arm around her shoulders and then the two of them walked into the passageway.

"I haven't been in this mountain either." Brianna whispered "So I think this is a new experience for both of us."

Beate chuckled as she felt the walls while all the other girls crammed themselves into the passageway, lighting lanterns and torches for visibility. All of them looked up in awe while Barbara and Traude looked like they were both about to start crying any second.

"I remember these halls. When I was a little girl." Traude said "This stone. Don't you remember, Barbara?"

"Yes." Barbara replied "I remember. Chambers filled with golden light. You used to play hide and seek in halls just like this with your brother and sister."

Traude chuckled. "Yeah that was fun."

"What's that there?" Brianna inquired looking up at the doorway.

Everyone turned to where she was looking and saw above the doorway was a carved drawing of a throne with a stone hanging just above it. Above the drawing were dwarf runes that could be made out in the light provided by the moon and the silver embedded in the wall cracks.

"Ottilie?" Gerlinde asked "Would you be a dear and read that?"

Ottilie nodded and looked up at the writing, holding her lantern as high as she could.

"It says 'Here lies the kingdom of Durin's Folk.'" she said "'May all dwarves unite in defense of this home.'"

"That's what it says?" Brianna asked.

"It would seem that way." Nadja responded.

"Well, what's that above the throne?" Brianna inquired as she noticed the stone in the drawing.

"That there is the Arkenstone." Barbara replied.

"What's that?" Brianna asked again.

"That, Mrs. Baggins, is why you are here." Traude pointed out looking directly at Brianna.

Brianna looked back at Traude and then around her. Once again, all eyes were on her. Now she understood the burglar part of her involvement in this quest. She'd have to go into that tunnel and steal a jewel. Into a treasure room that no doubt had a maniacal dragon hiding or sleeping under all that gold.

"Oh." she finally said.