"Where?"
Thorin approached the returning group fervently, for this was the moment they've all been waiting for. His mood had brightened upon seeing his nephews and the Halfling ready to tell of their findings. They bore expressions of triumph as the company encircled the three members, absorbing the praise and fleeting moment of attention.
"Well come on! Spit it out!" Dori demanded from excitement. They were all keen to receive the news.
"Don't hold back now." Bofur added.
The young princes took a moment to recuperate some kind of dignified formality.
"There's some steps going up the mountainside south-west of our location. It's about half a day's walk to the top-base." Fili explained. "Bilbo was the one who found the doorstep."
"The path is broken up and was difficult to see where it led, but we were able to find where it continued fairly well, so long as we don't venture too far left or right." Kili added.
"Doorstep?" Éla was confused by the small, infamously funny word she hadn't heard before.
"Oh, right. You weren't with us when we arrived at Bilbo's house in The Shire." Fili recalled the mused scene upon learning the term.
"It's the space just before the door." The hobbit clarified. He shot down their snickering looks, rolling his eyes in doing so. That long, unexpected night back in spring hadn't changed his views on the dwarves. They were still an unruly group.
Their spirits lifted that evening. It hadn't taken much persuasion to get Bilbo and the young heirs to recount their journey up the mountain over dinner time and time again.
The following morning was when they ventured up the path in single file. Dawn barely broke over the treetops of the forest as the dwarves coiled rope around their waists to prevent any mishaps. Bofur and Bombur were left to guard camp while the rest moved to the first visible steps leading high above them, merging with stone, vanishing within a labyrinth of rock layers.
Éla tried not to be fearful of the height and narrow ridges of the worn path. Her stomach flipped every time she looked down on the sharp rock edges pointing out like needles below. It was a fatal drop if one lost their footing. They treaded lightly, each step lingering every time the female looked down.
"You're only making it worse."
Éla looked over her shoulder to Dwalin, who brought up the rear.
"Don't look down." He grumbled, lightly nudging her forward. He wouldn't have done so if Thorin were standing behind them, but he needed to keep her moving before the rope constricted and tugged the dwarf in front.
The ledge snaked around drifts in the mountain wall, leading them closer to their destination. The further along they went, the narrower the path became. The last curve was far more dangerous than what had previously been preceded. One at a time, the company hugged the rock-face and shimmied along its arc before finally being able to navigate the last several yards towards the grassy bay. The area was a fair size with a levelled platform large enough to accommodate the entire company.
The dwarves took turns busying themselves over the horizontal wall that beyond the doorstep. Éla hadn't bothered with it as she found better interest in their camp which could be seen from where she stood. The location was perfectly aligned with a drop in the rock wall straight down to Bofur and Bombur, who looked up into the sky, most likely eyeing them from their post. Éla closed her eyes for a moment, taking in familiar yet lost sounds of the wind on stone. While she felt at ease - relieved even that their home was within reach, there was still an unsettling feeling about the mountain. The air stood still, the atmosphere soundless except for hushed voices growing evidently louder.
"It won't be much longer until Durin's Day." Thorin spoke softly as he gazed upon the female with minor interest.
"The calm before the storm?" Éla muttered. Her hands began to tremble at the thought of the beast, an act that hadn't gone unnoticed. Thorin rested a hand over hers as reality settled in. The abiding stillness overtook the platform, which did nothing to ease the growing tension in her bones.
"Is it too late for a change of mind?" She asked half-heartedly.
Her answer came in the form of a bold frown. Thorin had never frowned at her like that.
The mere thought of a dragon prowling the mountainside at such a vulnerable time and place was unnerving. Éla thought about taking one of the ponies back to the small town of men. She was anxious and felt out of place, yet comfortable alongside the surrounding individuals. It was an odd perception.
"It was a joke."
"That's not funny." The contours of his face hardened as he bore into her with beady, dark eyes. Thorin recounted his conversation with Balin several nights prior but quickly stopped himself from pursuing a few choice words with her. Regardless of the poor pun, it was too late for anyone to back out of the quest. This was no place for a woman, Balin tried to remind him of it. Though he now silently regretted his decision, nothing could be done except to move on with what was intended to be carried out.
His attention diverted to the reckless noise a number of meters from the supposed door-frame. Dori and Dwalin used their weight as leverage to haul up equipment and supplies in small bundles prepared below by Bofur. Their eyes shined brightly at the new tools. Kili's enthusiasm reached a new level as he walked over with a big smile. A dual-headed pick-axe caught the young prince's interest. Some inspected the smith work while others continued the pulley system.
"Yes." Kili mumbled to himself, then disappeared around the grassy bay.
Thorin suspected he was going to find his brother to show him the new toy. As Thorin walked over to the piles of equipment he stopped in an abrupt fashion, everyone facing the hollow entrance of the invisible door. A metallic clang resounded from the bay.
"Arg-"
Bilbo stepped more or less outside and a stifled laugh escaped Fili as he watched his younger brother hold onto his arm as if it were being kept in place by a thin strand of tendon.
"What in-" Thorin marched to the entryway, a bit confused but none surprised what his nephews were up to. It didn't take much to put two and two together. They merely flashed smiles at their uncle, Kili rubbing his arm.
"He thought he could break down the door." Bilbo explained needlessly. "Or at least try to find it in doing so."
"That's not a bad idea." Dori raised one of the picks still held in his hand and approached the smooth rock in confidence. "This task requires a bit more strength."
As the strongest dwarf in the company, Dori swung the tool over his head as hard and swift as his arms would allow. Kili soundlessly hoped the dwarf wouldn't succeed. The contact immediately bent the pick into a curved loop, the force rebounding through his muscles in his arms. He staggered backwards, shaking his upper limbs to relieve the jarring numbness spiking his nerve endings.
Kili snickered under his breath as did a few others. This was quickly turning into an unfavourable competition.
Dori grumbled, perplexed that his swing hadn't caused a single dent or hairline crack at all. His pride had been damaged, beaten by the very stone Mahal had sent them to mine and craft. "There must be a powerful spell cast on that wall."
"Move aside." Dwalin had grabbed a slightly larger tool, one which resembled a smith's hammer. He advanced toward the moonrock, facing down its face as if it were a breathing foe ready to strike.
"It won't work." Dori told him, still nursing his forearms.
Dwalin looked over his shoulder. "Aye, it will. You haven't seen nothing yet."
He steadied his aim as Dori rolled his eyes at the brute. Dwalin's attempt rebounded just as hard as the others, bending the metal head and splintering the wooden handle as the tool hit the rock. He cursed under his breath, backing away from the fortification. The echoes bounced loudly off the rock, traveling outside the bay to be carried by the wind. None prevailed to put a dent in the door.
"Enough. We don't need to draw unnecessary attention to our location." Thorin demanded.
The dwarves hushed into whispers, suddenly aware of the consequence for their poor attempts to open something shut out by magic they did not fully understand. Fear of the dragon returned, and so they remained quiet.
Bilbo on the other hand, took a seat in the grassy bay, the snails keeping him company as the dwarves tended and sorted the provisions. He watched the slimy creatures move sluggishly across the stone floor, leaving a mucous-like residue in its path. Éla soon joined him under the shade to think of a plan. Regardless of her presence, he still felt alone in the confined space and so allowed his mind to wander to the things he misses most back home in Bag-End.