An Unexpected Companion
Chapter 19
Dry Tinder
"If you go to the Mountain, you will bring doom to all of us."
Tiki did not flinch as she sat across from Bard at his kitchen table. She could see the fear in his dark eyes. The worry. If emotions had a scent, she was sure he would be reeking of anxiety. Good. It meant he wasn't stupid.
"So you would rather have a pending disaster on your doorstep?" Tiki replied.
A clatter came from the sitting room nearby. Dori and Kili were busy packing supplies, both dwarves bound and determined to get to Thorin's side before he faced Smaug. Bard did not stop them, but he also did not encourage them. He didn't even say a word. He went to Tiki instead. A plea to someone he believed was a wise, ancient elf to intervene and talk sense into dwarves.
He clearly does not know the stubbornness of dwarves or dragons.
Bard gave Tiki a pleading look. "Take a look around. Does it look like we can do anything here? We are a town floating on a lake. The water provides some protection, but if Smaug were to be stirred he would bring fire and death to all within his gaze! We have no walls, no standing army. We are fisherfolk, and that is all!"
"You weren't always," Legolas replied from his spot near the door. "I remember the men of Dale, your ancestors. They were a proud people."
"That pride brought us low," Bard replied. "The memory of ancestors cannot provide the safety that we need to live."
"You're correct," Tiki nodded. "You have to do that yourself."
Bard's gaze hardened. Tiki continued.
"Sooner or later, Smaug will stir. Whether by his own volition or by the hand of another, he will awaken and fly from the mountain. It is not a matter of if, only when. Your course of action may prevent it from happening in your lifetime, but what about your children? Your grandchildren?"
"This is not about them-"
"It absolutely is because the only way they will live a life free from fear is if you confront the monster now," Tiki pointed at the table. "Here. On terms that favor us."
"What terms?" Bard scoffed. "Three elves and a company of dwarves against a dragon?"
"Actually, Legolas and Tauriel are both going back to the Greenwood," Tiki said, making Legolas furrow his brow, "to tell his majesty Thranduil that he better bring aid. You will need it."
"We don't need aid to handle Smaug, we need an army!" Bard exclaimed
"He expects an army." Tiki smiled and then pointed at Bard. "I still hear it in you. Fight. That rare quality you humans possess in droves. You never know when to give up, and you haven't as much as you claim to have. Yet, as much as you wish to do so, you are correct in one thing. You cannot fight Smaug." Tiki leaned forward. "You, Bard, must get the people of Laketown to safety. Lead them across the lake toward the forest, where the Elves will protect you."
"I will make certain of that," Legolas nodded in agreement.
Uncertainty still filled Bard's gaze. He ducked his eyes, grimacing as he mulled over Tiki's words. Slowly, he shook his head.
"And what of Smaug?"
Tiki drew in a deep breath. From the next room over, she heard Kili and Dori holler for her. They were ready to leave, which meant it was time for her to go as well.
"Leave him to us," Tiki replied.
The chair legs groaned against the floor as she rose from her seat. She gave both Legolas and Tauriel a nod. They would help Bard in any way they could before racing back to King Thranduil. The latter part of this was a gamble on Tiki's part. Would the King help? Would he take the risk that was needed to help his neighbors? She had to trust he would. It was not her place to do that for him.
No, Tiki's place was at the Lonely Mountain, facing the dragon.
She moved around the table, but before leaving, she placed a hand on Bard's shoulder.
"I have found in my long life that in the moments of greatest strife the greatest of people emerge, and they are seldom the obvious ones. You can do this, Bard. You must."
Am I reassuring him, or myself?
Her hand slid from his shoulder. Tiki spun on her heel and marched to Kili and Dori, who were waiting by the open front door of Bard's house. She helped shoulder a pack of supplies, bid farewell to Tauriel and Legolas, then strode out the door toward a small boat that would ferry them from Laketown to the northernmost shore of the Long Lake. From there, they would walk to Erebor.
"Thorin's already there I reckon," Dori said as he took his seat in the boat. "Hopefully he has a small measure of patience and isn't breaking the doors down already."
"If I know him at all, he's already slain the lizard with his own hands!" Kili replied with a wide grin.
"Aye, and Bilbo will have found the Arkenstone too."
Arkenstone? That was a new one for Tiki. She heard no mention of something like that before. Gandalf and Thorin never said anything. The thought only lingered a moment before she shook her head, placing it to the back of her mind. She had bigger things to worry about.
Much bigger, much scalier, and far more fiery things.
The row to the lakeshore was long and quiet, and the march through the wasteland that was once Dale even quieter. When they passed by the ruins of the old city, Tiki's steps faltered. She gazed upon the broken battlements and towers, still scorched by fire and smoke. Her heart thudded in her chest. For a moment, she swore she wasn't looking at a city in Middle Earth, but rather, at Ylisstol and its ultimate fate. At least, that is what all the nightmares she had of home told her.
But they were mere nightmares. Lies of the mind. Ylisstol would still fight, even if she wasn't there to help guide them in it, just as the dwarves of Erebor and men of Laketown would continue to fight as well.
"A pity isn't it?" Dori muttered as he gazed upon Dale's ruins.
"Only for now," Kili replied, his voice filled with optimism. "When we are done, it will be rebuilt. The treasure of Erebor will make it grander than it ever was before!"
Tiki cracked a smile at that. "That is mighty generous of a dwarf who isn't the king."
"Ah, but I'm related to him. He'll listen to me."
"I hope so, Kili. Truly, I do," Dori nodded before moving on, leading the way to the mountain.
Tiki stole one last glance at the ruined city. When she finished here, she would have to discover a way home. Or at least, deduce how she came here, for that might contain the clue that leads her back to Ylisstol. Otherwise, her home would be like Dale.
Dead.
Just like Dale, the land at the base of the Lonely Mountain was dead. Scorched by fire long ago, the only things that managed to grow in the dry, cracked earth were thorns and thistles. The entire land was like tinder ready for a match. Tiki now had a better grasp of Bard's worry. Not only would Smaug's awakening lead to much destruction on the lake, but it could also set the entire countryside ablaze. A world of fire.
I have seen it before.
Her mind's eye showed her the plains of Ylisse surrounding Ylisstol, once verdant green, now yellowed and dry like poor straw. When Grima arrived there, it would spark. A raging inferno would blaze the likes of which the world had never seen before.
The same was true for this region of Middle Earth. Her actions now, and the actions of their enemy, would determine if the blaze would last for only a moment or a lifetime.
"Which way do you think they went from here?" Kili asked Dori.
"Well, they certainly did not go through the front door, I think?"
"Thorin would be bold enough."
"And Balin cautious enough to tell him to not be an idiot," Dori retorted. "Remember, a secret entrance was outlined on that map Gandalf gave us and Elrond deciphered. They went there, I'm sure of it."
"Well, do you remember where the secret entrance is?"
"Do you?" Dori asked, an eyebrow raised.
Both dwarves turned to the still quiet Tiki. Tiki looked down at them.
"Hm?"
"The entrance, Lady Tiki," Dori began. "Do you perchance recall-"
"I was asleep."
"Aule's beard, of course you were," Dori huffed. "You do that a lot for an elf."
"What? Sleep?"
"That too," Dori grumbled, moving close to the mountain, his gaze fixated on the sheer slope and jagged cliffs that made its walls.
Tiki tilted her head. "What do think he meant by that?"
Kili said nothing. He followed Dori.
"What do you mean by that!?"
When no answer came, Tiki huffed. She followed the dwarves, if for no other reason than to both see the secret door they were talking about, and to actually get an answer to her question.
Eventually, it was Kili that let out an excited whoop. He pointed up, toward a cleft in the rock along the eastern side of the Mountain. Tiki looked, and she smiled when she saw the glint of sun off of steel that could only come from the sharpened edge of an ax. Upon closer scrutiny, Tiki spied stairs carved into the rock, only visible if one knew what they were looking for.
It took no time for them to scale the stairs, the dwarves' excitement making their steps light. When they reached the top, Dwalin was the first to greet them. He wrapped Kili in a warm embrace and patted Dori's shoulder. The other dwarves crowded around them as well, smiling and laughing, happy to see Kili back on his feet.
But Thorin and Balin hung back. Tiki spotted them and made her way over after receiving some embraces from Ori, Nori, and Fili. When she reached them, both looked uncomfortable. Worried even. That's when Tiki looked around and realized someone was missing. Her heart dropped in her chest.
"Bilbo?"
Thorin did not look at her. Balin swallowed.
"Inside," he said, "looking for-"
"Balin," Thorin warned.
"She has every right to know as the rest of us!" Balin argued.
"The Arkenstone," Tiki said, surprising both dwarves. "Dori mentioned something about that. I thought nothing of it until now. And, if I'm hearing you correctly, you sent Bilbo into a dragon's den to retrieve a rock while the dragon is still alive!?"
"It's not just any rock," Thorin grumbled, stepping forward and meeting Tiki's furious gaze. "It is the symbol of my people, my throne! The heart of the very mountain. Without it, I cannot unite the dwarf lords and have them…" he trailed off when Tiki's fury grew to the point where she gave him an unblinking stare.
"Have them what?" Tiki growled, trying her best to restrain the more animalistic instincts that raged inside of her. "That's what this is all about? Politics? You never aimed to kill Smaug now. You wanted to gain the means to rally your people to do it for you."
"Thirteen dwarves, a hobbit, and a she-elf against Smaug?" Thorin scoffed. "I felt Smaug's fire when this kingdom was lost. I know what he is capable of. We cannot assassinate him. No, we need an army."
"Gandalf disagreed."
"And where is he!?" Thorin roared. "Where is the Gray Pilgrim? Gone again, is he? He ran off to take care of something else he deemed more important, I'm sure. Far more important than the promise he made me, and my people, that he would help us destroy Smaug!"
It slipped out before Tiki could stop it. A growl. Low, rumbling, threatening enough to make the dwarves that had hushed around them grow pale. Balin even took a step back, eyes widening as he gazed at Tiki with fear and confusion. Thorin did not back down though. He glared at Tiki.
"I knew bringing an elf would only cause trouble."
Tiki's eyes lit up with fury. She gritted her teeth and leaned down so that she was face-to-face with the dwarf prince.
"I am no elf."
Before anyone could say anything else, she spun on her heel and marched to the stairs leading back down the mountain. None of the dwarves stopped her. They parted out of her path, all of them looking at her with fear and wonder.
It was a wise decision on their part. No one could get in her way now. Not with how enraged she felt. Not with how afraid she felt. Other than Gandalf, the one true friend she had made during her time here in Middle-Earth was the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. She had already lost Gandalf to the Necromancer as he forced her to flee while he bought her and Radagast time to escape.
She would not lose Bilbo as well.
The mighty gates of Erebor loomed over Tiki. They were broken. Mere chunks of once exquisite rock blocked the way for people to enter the destroyed kingdom under the mountain. Flanking the gate were massive statues that once resembled great dwarven lords of old. Their visages were marred by deep fissures carved into them by massive claws. Their rocky raiment was blackened by long-extinguished flames. Above the stony barricade in front of her yawned the black mouth of silent Erebor, waiting for anyone to dare enter it.
A cold wind blew down the mountain, but Tiki did not shiver. She remained fixated on the shadows beyond the gate. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. For a split second, she flicked her emerald eyes to the secret entrance, where the dwarves hid, watching her, waiting to see what she was about to do. None of them appeared to have the courage to enter the mountain and make sure Bilbo was alive.
She would have to do it herself.
She marched toward the ruined gates, grabbed hold of handholds in the stone, and scaled them, rising to the makeshift ramparts created by Smaug's original rampage. She peered within and saw the scorched bones of corpses littering the grand entry hall of Erebor. A deep trough gouged into the stone floor showed where Smaug originally burst through the dwarven kingdom. She studied those markings and frowned.
He's a big one.
She hopped down from her position and stepped into Erebor, the tapping of her feet echoing off the walls hidden in the shadows of the cavernous space. The stench of smoke still clung to the stale air within. The only sound she heard was the echo of her feet against stone, and the heaviness of her breathing as her anticipation mounted.
She passed through the halls of Erebor, moving through ruins and scorched corpses riddled with cobwebs and dust. It reminded her a bit of beneath the Misty Mountains when she was separated from the dwarves thanks to an ambush. If she wasn't so enveloped with fury, she would have paused and paid silent respects to this tomb.
But, she was enraged, and she had one target for it now.
As she walked, she kept her ears and nose on alert, hoping to smell Bilbo or hear him. If she could get him out of here first, then maybe, she could confront Smaug and end this faster. However, the further into Erebor's depths she delved, the more concerned she became that something had already befallen the Hobbit.
That concern spiked to fear when she heard a deep voice rumble through the darkness.
"Who are you, thief in the shadows?"
Tiki's heart stopped. Thief! Burglar!
"Bilbo."
She didn't walk anymore. She sprinted, racing toward the sound of gold and jewels clinking and clanking in the darkness. She skidded around a corner, and right as she was about to burst into the enormous treasury of Erebor, she hit something. But there was nothing in front of her.
"What in the world?"
"Tiki?" Bilbo's voice said, but he wasn't in front of her.
Tiki gawked. Then she sniffed. Her eyes narrowed and her hand shot out, snagging an invisible collar and making the Hobbit squawk with alarm. When she grabbed him, she pulled him toward her, hiding him behind a wall right as the mountain of gold in the treasure shifted and stirred.
Coins cascaded like raindrops from a storm. Diamonds glittered as they descended like falling stars. An enormous reptilian body with blood-red scales rose from its bed of precious jewels. Sapphires, rubies, emeralds, amethysts, and gold were embedded in the paler underbelly, making the body shimmer like rays of light atop the waves of the sea.
A golden eye with a slitted pupil searched the darkness at the end of a serpentine neck. Snarling lips parted, revealing teeth as sharp and long as spears.
"You come into my home, the lair of the mighty and terrible Smaug, like a shadow? Answer me, thief," Smaug rumbled as he slithered across his bed of gold. "Where are you hiding? Where are you-"
Smaug stopped talking. He sniffed. His eyes narrowed. Tiki closed her eyes and sighed. She forgot that she was facing one of her kin. She was not the only one with an incredible sense of smell.
"What… are you?" Smaug wondered.
"Tiki!" Bilbo, still invisible, wrenched himself from Tiki's grip, then appeared out of nowhere, quickly shoving both of his hands into his pockets as he did. "What are you doing here? Are you alright?"
Tiki looked Bilbo up and down. "I should be the one asking you that," she whispered. "When could you turn invisible? Can all hobbits do that?"
"Well, no, but-"
The walls shook, cutting off Bilbo and forcing him to press himself against the wall as Smaug swept close by. So close that Tiki could smell his breath. It smelled like ashes.
"I smell you, thief in the shadows. I hear your breath. I taste your fear. I-" He sniffed again. "There is another. Not a dwarf, not a man, not an elf, no… something different."
Bilbo furrowed his brow. "Not dwarf, man, or elf?" He gave Tiki a quizzical look. "What does he mean by that?"
Tiki placed a hand on Bilbo's shoulder. "Find your way back to the dwarves."
"But Tiki-"
"Thorin's rock can wait," Tiki drew in a deep breath. "I'm afraid I need to put a dragon in his place now."
"Wait! No! Tiki!"
Tiki moved into a beam of light shining from a skylight in the treasury ceiling. When she did, Smaug twitched, his serpent head hovering directly in front of her. She stared into his golden eyes, unflinching, even as his hot breath washed over her body. She did not hear or smell Bilbo behind her. He had moved.
Thank the gods.
"You are not the thief," Smaug said, his voice making Tiki's chest rattle. "You have a boldness to you. A courage that he lacks."
"I wouldn't say the thief lacks courage as much as common sense, and sometimes great bravery requires an immense lack of sense," Tiki rebutted.
The floor shook as Smaug chuckled. "Oh, this is a treat. You look like a she-elf, but you are not. I can smell as much. Yet you also have a tongue as barbed as the fair folk."
"I always found their tongues to be a bit drab. The usual pink color though. Not that I looked for too long that is. That would be rude of me," Tiki tilted her head as Smaug drew back. "But enough about me. Let's talk about you."
More rumbling laughter. "Flattery hm?"
"Who said anything about that, Smaug the Lizard?" Smaug's eyes widened when Tiki spat those words out. "Do I look like I am here for flattery and inane prattling? No. I'm here because I've had it up to here," Tiki raised a hand, "with the nonsense I've recently dealt with, and you are going to be the one on the receiving end of my expression of pure, unadulterated, rage."
Smaug was quiet for a moment as he drank in the absolute audacity of Tiki's words. Then, he laughed. He howled. He threw his head back and roared with amusement, making the entire mountain shudder.
"What is so amusing, Smaug the Stupid?"
Smaug's laughter cut off. Tiki continued.
"Smaug the Poor, the Foolish, the Arrogant Wyrm!"
With a snarl, one of Smaug's claws shot out, catching Tiki by surprise. It wrapped around her and squeezed, bringing her close to his face. Out of the corner of her eye, Tiki saw Bilbo on a balcony, watching it all with terror. She could see he wanted to step in and save her. She prayed he did not.
"I see you want to die slowly… painfully." Smaug growled.
Tiki smiled. "I am already dying slowly. As for painfully, I'd prefer not. But I'll make sure I help you understand your suggestion."
Smaug snorted as she locked eyes with him. She held her breath and waited, one of her hands managing to wriggle into the pocket where her dragonstone lay. Power thrummed through her fingers when she touched it. She smiled.
Whiplash hit her. The next thing she knew, she was flying through the air, crashing through a stone wall, and sliding to a stop near the broken gates of Erebor. Her eyes were wide when she bumped into a rock. She blinked, feeling muscles and bone groan and creak.
"So that's how it's going to be?"
The ground shook as if an earthquake was ripping through the earth. The wall she had crashed through shattered as Smaug charged through it, mouth gaping, fire churning in his throat. Tiki gritted her teeth and rose. Her hand clenched her dragonstone tight.
Fire burst forth from Smaug's maw. The torrent of flames rushed at her. A thrilled smile crossed Tiki's lips. Bloodlust coursed through her veins.
The world became enveloped in white light.
Bilbo forced back sobs, but he could not stop the tears from flowing as he scrambled up the tunnel back to where Thorin and the others hid. He sniffed, wiping his nose with his sleeve, almost stumbling as his bleary eyes nearly blinded him.
Tiki…
He reached the door and placed his forehead against it. A ragged breath rattled from his lungs. Then, he pushed it open.
One hand grabbed him and pulled him out. It was Balin.
"Bilbo! Are you alright lad?"
"We felt the entire mountain shake," Bofur said as he started dusting the Hobbit off. "Thought maybe the dragon got you."
Bilbo shook his head. "N-No," he choked. "No, he didn't get me. He- he-"
"What is it, Master Baggins?" Thorin said sharply as he stood with his arms folded, waiting.
Bilbo gulped. "Tiki... she faced him alone."
Thorin's eyes slowly widened. The dwarves began to murmur.
"She went in alone?"
"She faced Smaug?"
"That has to be the craziest elf I've ever met."
"Is she alive?" Balin asked Bilbo.
Bilbo squeezed his eyes shut. He shook his head. "Smaug threw her, then he shot fire and- and-"
And before he could finish, a roar reverberated through the air. The entire party went silent. The hairs on the back of Bilbo's neck stood on end.
A flash of red scales rocketed out of Erebor's gates. At first, Bilbo thought Smaug was flying, heading for Laketown as he feared. But, when he looked closer, he realized that Smaug's wings were not spread. The terror of the north was not flying, he was being flung through the air as he uttered an enraged roar.
Before Bilbo could even question what he was seeing, a second roar, sharp and powerful, answered Smaug's. A smaller blur of emerald scales erupted from Erebor, soaring with breakneck speed right at Smaug. Bilbo's breath caught in his throat, but Balin articulated what he could not say.
"Another dragon?"
The green dragon collided with Smaug, taking him to the cracked dirt outside of the dale. Roars echoed, claws flashed, and a gout of fire threw the emerald dragon from Smaug. When they separated, Bilbo watched the green dragon take flight, zipping over Smaug's head like a hummingbird around an eagle.
"Those scales are so green," Bofur muttered.
Bilbo's mouth fell open. Tiki's hair and eyes were the same color. His eyes widened.
"Tiki?"
And chapter! Only a couple more to go!