Chapter 20: What must be done
"Bilbo, get me that stone over there, quick!" Thorin called out to the Halfling. The dwarf had used the key and opened the heavy stone door, at this moment his own powerful frame blocked the door from closing again. Bilbo understood at once what Thorin wanted to do; they needed to put something behind the door to prevent it from closing again. He ran to the stones the dwarf had indicated and swiftly brought them back, putting them firmly into the grass, to form a natural door stopper. Thorin relaxed his shoulders slightly, allowing the door to touch them. The heavy stone wing touched the stone barrier, pressing it deeper into the grass but unable to push it away entirely, keeping the door open. "Good work," Thorin said.
"Thorin, Bilbo!" Balin came up the path; his walk was slow and bowed. Like all the others he had searched for the door for all day and now that night had fallen, things seemed for nothing. When the old dwarf reached them his eyes widened. "The door… you did find it!"
"Aye," Thorin approached Balin. "Our Hobbit spotted the right place." The dwarven leader could see that Balin was exhausted. "Stay here," he ordered. "We will get the others to move camp."
It was two hours after dark that the camp had been moved and the whole company sat around the small fire. Bilbo sat with them, between Fili and Bofur, having received a lot of praise for being the one who had spotted the right path. While it was great to be praised, Bilbo's attention was more on his comrades that evening, they all seemed changed a little, more energetic, more hopeful, and some more tense. "Tomorrow I'll begin to scout the mountain," he said, it was what he had been brought along after all. His old self in Bag-End would be hiding under his bed in fear, and while he was still afraid, Bilbo found he wanted to do this.
"You can't go alone," Kili said, he sat on the other side of the fire, with Dwalin and Thorin, and he most certainly was one of those more tense and energetic this evening. "It is too dangerous, I will come with you."
"No!" Bilbo said firmly. "You brought me along for this exact reason, to do what you can't: scout the mountain. The dragon will smell you, Kili and will hunt us down right away… and Boromir don't even offer, you are far too loud and clumsy. You stay out here and let the company burglar do his job."
He saw Kili smile and Thorin looked at him in a strange way, something that looked akin to respect. "I… I am no warrior," Bilbo added. "So you will have to tell me what kind of things to look for. What it is that you need to know…"
Now all eyes were on Kili, which made Bilbo wonder, when it came to the dragon more than just some of the group seemed to believe Kili was the one who knew what to do. "The first thing is to know where in the mountain Smaug resides," Kili began speaking. "And what his shape is. Dragons, like most lizard-kin undergo changes of skin, which influences their scale armor."
"Do not talk to him," Boromir added after a moment of silence. "Dragons are cunning creatures and twist words with ease. He may learn things from you which you never meant to say."
Several pairs of eyes turned to Boromir and the Gondorian shrugged. "The story of Glaurung says he used his voice to enchant his killer… and his sister too I think." In all honesty Boromir hoped he was not mixing up legends here, whenever Fari had tried to tell him those stories he had not really listened. Who cared for dragons? And the stories about the battles of the first age, told all the wrong things, they focused on sadness and tragedy, instead of telling what kind of tactics the elves had employed. If the Feanorans had fought so long and so well, what kind of strategies had they used? Those were the things he was interested in, and no song would tell him that. Now he could only hope that his vague recollection would serve him well.
"It is a good point," Kili supported Boromir's opinion. "Dragons are indeed dangerous and cunning. Bilbo, do not take anything from the hoard, the dragon will know at once. We need information for now, not treasure."
Thorin had taken first watch that night, and it took the camp longer than usual to settle for sleep. Dwalin relieved him of watch duty a little early, getting up as the moon only just reached full height. "Get some sleep, Thorin," the warrior said in a hush. "I'll stay up until its Glóins turn, provided Boromir doesn't wake before that."
Laying down, Thorin tried not to peer towards the open door into the mountain. He would have to be patient, much as he wanted to go and scout the dragon's lair himself. He closed his eyes, willing himself to relax, to sleep. The dreams came, like a whisper carrying him to the deeps of the mountain.
The funeral was a splendid one, albeit less traditional than could be expected. Thrór was laid to rest in the deeps, in a crypt of his own. The dark stone tomb may seem simple now, but in weeks to come the finest artists of Erebor would come here and transform the entire crypt into one monument to their demised king and Thorin was determined to see this crypt as one of the most splendid amongst all the kingly tombs.
Tradition had also been followed in regards of the pyre. Everything in Thorin's entire being had screamed for them not to do this, to simply decree there would be no pyre, no one to follow Thrór into the next life. But he could not do this, his people would not understand, no one would accept it. And so the pyre had been prepared, a huge stone ring holding the great blazing flame to the left of the King's grave. It had taken all his strength of will for Thorin to watch Daroin approach it. The Captain of the Guard wore his armor, along with the dark blue cloak, his hair was unbraided, falling open around his shoulders, signifying all ties severed, all goodbyes said. He wore nor arms, except for his sword, the very blade he had received when being raised to his task. It was the only weapon tradition permitted, the only mercy in this cruel departure.
Daroin was permitted to use that blade on himself; he did not have to wait for the fire to kill him. But when he approached the pyre, step steady, no hesitation or glances for those who watched, Thorin's heart clenched, he wanted to stop this, but was powerless all the same. Daroin stepped into the fire, the flame engulfing him at once, the dwarven affinity to fire making this even harder than it had to be. He stood, a beautiful and horrible figure engulfed by flame, his body entirely eaten up by the fire, for a moment Thorin thought the warrior would become a figure of flame, as the fires took him. There were no screams from Daroin, no signs of pain, he went the way a Captain of the Guard should, following his king gladly and willingly.
Glancing to the side, Thorin looked for Dwalin who's eyes were fixed on the pyre, what did his friend feel now, as he watched his brother walk to an unnecessary death? The fires burned out and there would be no body, only ashes. The ash would be gathered and buried at the feet of the King's tomb. Thorin followed his grandfather wishes in not having many speeches at the funeral. He had not invited anyone to share it either, no emissaries from the Iron Hills, no poor relations from the Ered Luin, the King under the Mountain was buried by his people and his people alone. All of Erebor had come to watch and when Thorin spoke to them it did not need many words, they knew their loss. Thrór's reign had not been one of peace but certainly one of plenty, the Mountain had become wealthy under his rule. He had been a beloved King.
When the ceremonies were over, Thorin was approached by the seven councilors, which was also part of tradition. He now was to be led through the Mountain and the palace to see the legacy his grandfather had passed on to him. Most of what he was led through he knew of course, but he kept to the forms, asking each of the councilors at least five different questions, listening to their answers earnestly. At least Balin was there, that made things much easier. When they reached the treasury, Thorin could not help but stare, he knew parts of this as well, but he had not been aware how much the old treasury had been expanded, how many riches had been amassed. "I was not aware the treasury had been expanded," he said to Narvi, the Treasurer.
"We ran out of room years ago already, your Highness," Narvi explained. "King Thrór had us expand the treasury but four years ago we were again at the limit. So we dug all the caverns below and to the sides. An extra chamber was created for all the raw jewels, to be stored on barrel. Much more efficient but of course not half as nice to look at."
Thorin had to agree, this hoard was immense, more than even he had known. If anyone ever learned how many riches were stored under this Mountain, Erebor would come under siege from armies of men and other dwarves quickly. The dragon had been a warning already. They would have to keep the extent of the hoard secret.
"The Master of the Pit reported this morning that they found a lode," Vragi spoke up. "I told him that I would pass it on to you of course. He says looks like a gold lode again, but thinks there might be a possibility it could be mithrál." He spoke in a hush of the latter. It was of course known that true Mithril was only found in Moria, and the dwarves new that the process that had caused Mithril to come into existence was a rare one. It took a volcano to rise under an ancient age old mountain, the hot lava pressing into rock, melting and changing the old stone. Once it cooled, millennia later, the material would be rich and diverse. And if there had been the right things, the right materials involved and pressure high enough, Mithril might be found. Mithrál was a close relation to the material, a rare and strange gold. It had been found in Moria only in the scarcest quantities, but Thrór had always said Erebor may be the right type of ancient fire mount to look for it.
Thrór would have gone himself to meet Uldur, the Master of the Pit, First of the Miners, he had always taken interest in the underground works and listened to his miners. "I shall meet him tomorrow," Thorin said. "Tell him to be at Faldir's Crossing at first rise, I wish to see the new find myself." Thorin was no miner, but he would continue his grandfather's example. And the treasure under the mountain would grow.
ADL
Bilbo slipped the ring on once he was inside the tunnel, he had chosen the wee hours of the morning for his first foray into the mountain. To imagine that he would actually have come to finding things that were important enough to forgo breakfast. He smiled; adventures obviously did not only make you late for dinner. Not that he could have touched a bite this morning anyway. He peered back to the door, knowing Kili and Thorin were both close, ready to come for him should anything go awry. He did not intend to call for them, but knowing they were there, knowing they would come for him without any hesitation made him feel warm, he had never felt so keenly what it meant to know that your friends had your back.
He tiptoed down the long hallway and into the mountain, it was not as dark as he had expected, the dwarves had made use of long shafts to allow natural light into their halls, enhanced and spread through crystals the light illuminated the vast halls and wide reaches of the dwarven realm. The first time Bilbo stepped out of a tunnel and into a hall he had to catch his breath, this fortress city was so beautiful, he had never believed that any place hewn into the rock could be so gorgeous. How many generations had labored to craft these halls?
He found a stairwell leading down from his vantage point and towards the main halls. Carefully he advanced down and along the side of the hall, following the descriptions Thorin had given him he headed towards the main gate first. For there he would find a way up to the heart of the city. The silence of the mountain was eerie, like a dark, heavy sleep had fallen on the lost kingdom of Erebor.
The closer he came to the passage of the main gate, the harder it became to walk noiselessly, because there were more and more armored skeletons littering the ground. The dwarven army had tried to fight the dragon, and the beast had left their armor and bones lie, Bilbo tried not to look at the torn remains, knowing that many had been spat out by the dragon after he chewed off their flesh. He was grateful when he discovered a narrow tunnel that lead in the right direction and allowed him to avoid the hall of the main gate. He followed the stairs up and found himself standing on a narrow ledge high above the gate hall. Beside him were five gigantic levers of steel, the ropes holding them up had been cut, swinging frayed and rotten from above. Bilbo nearly jumped off the ledge when he believed to having seen someone sitting beside the levers.
On a second glance he recognized that it was another skeleton, one untouched by the dragon. The body was long gone, but the armor sat still upright against the wall, a mighty black battleaxe on his knees. Bilbo choked, realizing that dwarf had died sitting as he was now. Had he been the one to hack away the ropes? Or had he simply realised that the gate was shut and resigned himself to dying here? Who had he been? Had he had family?
Bilbo put his hand over his mouth, he must not let this get to him, he had to go on and find out about the dragon. Still, he could not resist touching the heavy gauntlet of the dead dwarf. "Your people are coming home," he said softly. "Your King is returning." He did not know why, but he wanted the dead warrior to know it had not been in vain.
"I can hear you sneak around dwarves…" A deep voice echoed through the halls. "Are you finally daring to come down here instead of scurrying about like rats in rafters?"
The Halfling nearly froze, had the dragon just spoken? Had he heard him? He hurried along the ledge and deeper into the mountain, whence the voice had come.
"Cowards…" the voice continued. "Hiding in the dark, I can smell you dwarves, did the Ice get too cold for you?"
Bilbo wondered what the dragon was talking about. Could he have gone mad in the long time alone in these halls? Or did he try to lure him out? Remembering the warning not to speak, he moved ahead, towards the voice, careful to not make any noise. It was getting harder again because of the gold lying in the main halls. There were coins and goblets strewn along the ways and piling up all around the great halls. How much gold could one hoard hold, Bilbo wondered. He had known the dwarven treasure must have been considerable but this… this was ridiculous.
A movement caught his eye and he hid behind one of the large pillars, peering into the throne hall. The first he saw was a wing, raised to not collide with the pillars, and a huge paw tromping the ground by a large door. The dragon! Awed Bilbo watched the huge golden wyrm glide into the hall, he must be patrolling the mountain searching for the dwarves he had smelt. He was huge, gold encrusting his skin, pressed into his scales from the long time he had lain in the it. But there was also a huge scar on his chest and throat, an exceedingly long, if healed, gash that was not scaled nor covered by gold. The scar was thick and roped, the wound must have nearly reached the heart, Bilbo thought, awed. Had one of the dwarves gotten so close? No… Thorin had said he never had a chance to land a decent hit against the beast and he had been in the front rank of that fight.
"I can hear you breathe… what are you?" The dragon whispered. "Are you one of my crazed children coming crawling to me? Do you feel my blood burn in your veins?"
He had to be crazy, Bilbo concluded, there was no other reasonable explanation. None at all. Rolling in so much gold could not be healthy for anyone's mind. Careful to avoid the dragon's path Bilbo moved through the throne hall, seeing the former throne piled with treasures, many of them the ornate and valuable armor of dead dwarves, more than a few skulls rested there as well. And on the throne itself… Bilbo could see a sparkling jewel shine softly. Before throne he saw several dead in armor, like they had been placed there… the dragon had made a gruesome display of his victory. Bilbo felt sick, how could this beast do this? Even to those who had fallen defending their home?
"You are not him… you smell wrong…" The dragon went on, his dark bronze voice was mellifluous and Bilbo found he liked hearing him speak. "And you are not the dwarf I smelled before. Did you come to find Smaug the Magnificent?"
The dragon had smelled him, Bilbo realized, panic rising inside him. He had to get away before the dragon found him. He dashed across the room and towards the other stairwell that would lead him back towards the escape tunnel. Thorin had told him how he could reach it again from the inside. Still, when he raced across the coins on the floor, his own sounds made the dragon aware of where he was and a puff of flame shot searing after him. Bilbo jumped ahead, the fire missed him and he reached the ledge Thorin had described, jumping for the balcony below, where he had originally entered the mountain. He landed hard and heard the dragon roar behind him, the beast was diving into the chasm! He ran into the tunnel leading outside, he knew it was too small for the dragon to enter or even peer into it. He removed the ring as he ran towards the way out.
Behind him the dragon's voice rose into a shout he could not understand and he felt the wind the wings whirled up in the chasm he had just jumped across. Heat… searing, burning heat came behind him, the dragon may not be able to look into the tunnel but he could fill it with fire. Bilbo ran faster, towards the light but the heat caught up with him too quickly. He peered over his shoulder and saw the lance of flame shooting towards him.
Suddenly a hard hand grabbed his shoulder and he was pulled into a niche in the wall, his body crushed against the stone, shielded by someone taller than himself. The fire soared past them and finally died. Coughing Bilbo turned around once he was released, to find himself face to face with Thorin. The dwarven king pointed towards the door that was only fifty paces away and they hurried to get out of the scorched tunnel.
Outside, in the light of a bright autumn day Bilbo's hands began to shake. "Thank you…" he stumbled over the words. "You saved my life…"
To his surprise Thorin clapped his shoulder. "You would have done the same for me." He replied.
"So much for the question what became of the 'Smaug the Terrible'," Bofur said, sniffing the tunnel entrance. "still hot and unsociable, with a peppery disposition."
"Get away from the door," Bilbo said sharply. "He smelled dwarves in these… but nothing he was saying made much sense. Can dragons go mad when they are alone too long?"
"Dragons are always alone," Thorin said, leading Bilbo to their camp, so he could sit down. "You said he spoke?"
"Yes, he said he smelled dwarves and asked them if they had come down from somewhere… scurrying like rats in rafters he called it and he asked if the Ice had gotten too cold for them. It didn't make a lot of sense."
Bilbo had never seen such a smile rise on Thorin's face. "The Reach," the dwarven leader said awed. "Dari said that his people had survived in the Ice… They are truly there."
"If this is true, then they have been stuck on the mountain since the dragon came," Balin said sagely. "Bringing down the siege doors would have collapsed the stairs of the sky and cut off their only surface route down. And Smaug is aware of them, who knows what he did to them?"
The siege doors, Bilbo shuddered, recalling the dead warrior beside the levers and the many dead all around. "The mountain… it's gruesome, Thorin," he whispered. "Your dead… he ate them, spitting their bones and armor all over the place, if he did not place them around the throne as a monument to his victory…"
A heavy hand grabbed Bilbo's shoulders. "We knew that, laddie," Dwalin said gruffly. "They are dead and Mahal will remake their forms better and stronger than before, the bodies they left behind were but clay forms to be broken."
Surprised Bilbo looked at the bald warrior. Poetry out of Dwalin? What would be next? "So… the dragon was not mad when he spoke of the dwarves in the ice. I wonder if he was as truthful about his children then too."
"Children?! Did he breed?" Glóin exclaimed. "That wyrm had the audacity to procreate in our halls?"
"If he did then Smaug is no he at all," Kili said calmly. "Legend has it that female dragons find themselves a hoard when their time comes to hatch eggs." He managed to actually smile at Thorin. "We got our ass handed to us by a girl."
Thorin shot him a half-hearted glare. "If this is true, we need to search the mountain top to bottom once Smaug is dealt with." He said. "Dragon eggs are dangerous… but their gold is legendary as well."
"Which brings us back to Smaug," Kili said quickly, turning to Bilbo. "Did you see him?"
"I did and got nearly roasted," Bilbo replied. "Thorin, the day you fought him, did you by chance manage to land a hit? He has a long scar going from his throat across his chest."
"No," Thorin replied honestly. His only serious hit had been lower and not done much. He frowned, recalling the dreams… he had done something like that in his dreams. What was happening here? "I never landed any meaningful attack. But maybe Smaug injured himself at one of the traps inside the mountain?"
"Possibly," Bilbo said, continuing to describe Smaug's exact shape and all he had seen. Kili kept asking more and more questions until Bilbo ran out of answers.
"I think that seals it," the dwarven prince stated in the end. "Fighting him inside is not going to work. His fire has too great a reach and I will never get a clear line of sight for shooting him."
"If we do that, we risk the dragon striking at the long lake, or even Mirkwood," Boromir pointed out. "Once he is airborn we do not have any chance of stopping his attacks on others."
"Not if we can make him come for us," Thorin said thoughtfully. "He already smelled dwarves that could help us. Maybe if I were to lure him out…"
"Contrary to one Orc we both know and hate, Smaug does not give an Orc's droppings about Durin's Line, father," Kili pointed out. "You could go in there and shout your name and he would only smell dinner. No… we have to do this smartly."
"You warned me not to steal from him," Bilbo spoke up. "What if… what would happen if I did? Would that bring him to us?"
"Most likely, especially if he can see us…" Boromir looked at the Halfling, a sudden idea coming to the warrior. "Bilbo – we would need a bright and shiny object from the hoard, something that shines in the darkness. And we need it two hours before sundown."
"Do we?" Kili asked, not quite following.
"If the dragon can truly sense theft from the hoard, he will be vexed and with a little luck fly up." Boromir explained. "If it is evening, and the object is shining bright he will spot it. We take position in the ruins of Dale, and all we need to do is making sure the dragon knows where the treasure is."
"And he will have to dive down on us…" Kili whispered. "It is our best chance."
"I… I think I know what I could get," Bilbo said, in spite of being still frightened by his first stint down below. "only… it is in throne hall." He drew a slow breath, trying not to shake at the idea of going down there again.
"Vexed as the dragon was…" Kili said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should wait a day or two, give you a chance to recover. Maybe the dragon will take a nap."
Bilbo could see that Kili was saying this for his sake; his friend could see he was scared. He pulled it together. "No, Kili," he said. "Who knows what the dragon gets up to once he has time to think. He is startled now, and if he finds a theft has happened he will be all the more enraged. He won't act sanely… we have the momentum, we mustn't lose it."
"Gandalf was right – there is a lot more about you than meets the eye," Kili said with honest respect.
Bilbo shrugged. "I am not the one who will have to actually kill the beast," he pointed out. "Are you sure… are you sure you can face that?" He saw Kili's grim nod, but was not sure how much of this was a brave façade Kili put on for the other's sake.
Bilbo got to his feet. "I will sneak back in, it is a few hours until afternoon, but I may need more time to get to throne hall again."
Thorin rose as well. "I will be near the door, Bilbo. If necessary we will come for you and fight inside the mountain."
ADL
Kili had saddled Dawnrunner, checking his bow a second time. The quiver with the black arrows was at his side, two more arrow packs strapped to the saddle. "Kili, come here," he heard Thorin's soft call. His father was still by the door, ready to go to Bilbo's aid if necessary. The younger dwarf hurried over to him, their eyes meeting. "I do not like you going without me," Thorin stated. "I should be there."
They had been over this before, but Thorin still disliked the situation. "Father," Kili said, knowing that his use of the word usually calmed Thorin. "If we fail… if I fail… we will need someone to think of another plan. I don't want to go down in history as the dwarf who unleashed Smaug on the world again. If that happens… you are our only chance to destroy the beast."
Thorin sighed, still tense and unhappy, "I should be the one to take this risk." He insisted. All the more he hated the seal of the dragonsbane that had put Kili into the path of danger.
"You are our King," Kili said firmly. "This is the one risk you must not take. Not when chances of failure are so high. You and Fili… you are our backup plan." He knew that leaving his brother with Thorin would work, it always did. If Thorin had to choose between them he would always choose Fili, and Kili was fine with that, because he would make the very same choice. "Boromir will be with me, to cover my back."
"So will I, laddie." Dwalin grumbled from behind him.
Surprised Kili turned to see the bald warrior stand behind him. "But… Thorin is going to need you, Dwalin."
"We already talked about that and he agrees that you will need me more." Dwalin told him, crossing his arms in front of his broad chest.
"You take him with you, or me," Thorin told Kili. "Take it or leave it."
Kili nodded. "Very well then, Dwalin, have your horse ready as well, once Bilbo comes out, we race for the ruins of Dale. That's where we will make our stand."
"The ruins… will force him to come down close. Good plan." Dwalin said. "My horse is already there." Boromir joined them; he too was ready to go.
Thorin looked at Kili, standing before him, ready to go to battle. Beside him stood Dwalin… his old friend, comrade of so many fights and friend of even more years, and Boromir. He knew he must not look at Kili as his son in this moment, nor as the boy he wanted to protect or at Dwalin as the friend he would give his life for, now they were soldiers, he had to send to battle. Still, the words he was expected to say burned in his throat. He heard a soft footfall in the tunnel and knew time was running out. He wished the dragon would pay attention again, forcing him to race to Bilbo so he would not have to say it… but this time Smaug had not spotted the Hobbit.
"Fight fierce and stand strong, may your blades draw blood and your arrows rain death upon your foes. May your death bring victory. Die proud." Thorin had never found it harder to say the ancient battle blessing.
Bilbo exited the tunnel, unaware of what just had transpired. He carried a shining jewel in his hands, panting from running hard. "There it is, Kili, you better hurry, I had to ruin the dragon's monument."
"The Arkenstone…" Thorin could not believe it but… what better way to dare the dragon?
Kili took the stone. "Good work, Bilbo, look out for the others." He said with a smile for the Halfling, before the three hurried to their horses.
ADL
They reached the ruins of Dale with the sinking sun and let their horses run free; it would spare the animals a gruesome death in the dragon's fire. "Kili, put the jewel on that statue there," Boromir pointed at a broken figurine in a narrow square. "If he wants to grab it, he will have fly low."
The young dwarf followed the instruction. Dwalin and Boromir were quick to assess the field and he knew better than to contradict them, the two lifelong warriors worked together like they had always done so. "Lad, try to scale that broken wall, it should give you a better position." Dwalin pointed him to the spot.
A roar ripped through the evening skies, one angry dark voice rising from the mountain, there was no doubt that Smaug had discovered the theft. Quickly Kili climbed the wall, finding a good position behind a shattered battlement. The darkening northern horizon was filled by Erebor's glistening peak until… until a shadow rose above the mountain, a shadow on mighty wings. Fear rose inside Kili when he saw the beast. How could he even think of defeating that thing? The first gust of wind, whirled up by the mighty wings hit him and he steadied himself against the wall.
No fate, nor destiny charts the path of us, but the storm will find us and we must ride it. It will either carry us to the heights or plunge us into a pit. If you don't dare the storm, you are not of Durin's blood.
He remembered the words; Thorin usually had added that those who were not fighting for themselves were no dwarves but garbage. Kili grabbed the bow more firmly, this was the storm, and the raven would have to fly with it, or die in the fire.
The dragon dove down on them, his angry voice echoing above the ruins. Kili could see the gold encrusted chest and the scar. He bent this bow, the arrow flew but was knocked out of the way by the storm of the mighty wings. A lance of fire shot down at him and he ducked behind the scorched stones.
Smaug had seen the Arkenstone, his second dive was preceded by another lance of fire but this time his mighty claws found hold on two broken buildings, the dragon perching on the ruins. Kili saw the tail swing around and jumped just in time to evade the hit. The horny tail smashed the wall, splinters raining everywhere. Kili scrambled to his feet, trying to find another shooting position.
Down in the broken yard he saw Dwalin storm at the dragon, bringing his hammer down on the claw perched on a wall. The hammer may not be able to break through the scales but it must have hurt some bones below, because Smaug screamed angrily and kicked the dwarf through the air, before his tail made impact with a sword. Boromir had hacked into the dragon's less well armored tail and injured him. Now the Gondorian raced around the statue, evading Smaug's fangs.
Kili saw what Boromir was doing, he was making the dragon turn. Hastily he climbed up on the damaged wall again, understanding what his friend was doing. When the dragon came about Dwalin's hammer again found his claws and the dragon roared, throwing his head back. Kili fired two arrows at the scar, both hit true, injuring the dragon's neck, blood was beginning to run from the wounds, but all it did was make Smaug even more furious. In his rampage he smashed several buildings; Kili lost his stand and landed hard on a pile of rubble.
Getting up he saw the dragon's head hover above Dwalin, the jaws open, ready to eat the dwarf. "Oh no, you don't." Kili bend his bow with all his strength and fired one arrow at the large eye of the dragon. The black feathered shaft hissed through the air and impaled the glowing orange orb.
A shudder went through the dragon's body, the entire length of the beast shaking before he collapsed, the massive corpse smashing into the ruins. The paws clawed at the grounds for a moment before the dragon stilled and the end came.
"Dwalin!" Kili raced across the yard, jumping over one of the dragon's claws to reach the older warrior. "Are you all right?"
The bald fighter sat up. "I am well, Kili…" he was pale, but relieved. Wordlessly he pulled Kili into a hug. "That was damn close."
"And he did not even have sage to ingest dwarf." Boromir had pushed away the stones that had landed on him and joined them. The joke broke the tension and all three laughed. Before them still and lifeless lay the body of the greatest calamity of this age, finally fallen and above them rose the first full winter moon. The first day after Durin's Day, the first proper day of the new dwarven year had seen the end of Smaug's reign.
Author's Notes
Harrylee94 was her marvelous self again, helping and inspiring me. I suggest you check out her profile for her own amazing stories :D