Thank you all for the support! You have no idea how much I appreciate it! I apologize for the choppiness of this chapter.
Please enjoy!
Thorin lowered Emi's sleeping form onto the borrowed cot. His eyes gazed down upon her peaceful face. The hobbit looked weary and broken. Her clothes and skin torn and dirtied. Her brown ringlets still damp from the trip down river. She was very different from the naïve hobbit he had first laid eyes on back in Hobbiton. An innocent, scared woman who had no interest in adventure and danger. Why had she decided to come? It would have been safer for her back at home.
Thorin gently stroked a strand of hair out of her face. She had been incredibly helpful. Getting the company out of countless perils. She deserved better. They all did. The company had gone through so much for his own ambition and honor.
She should be repaid somehow. Thorin thought. She has done so much already. Emi stirred slightly in her sleep. But there's still the dragon. The dwarf lord looked away momentarily out through the window at the moon shining high in the night sky. If there were any hope to reclaim the mountain, they would need the Arkenstone. It was the only way to unite the dwarf clans and have a chance against the dragon. And to get the Arkenstone out from under Smaug's nose, he would need Emilie.
Thorin looked back down at the hobbit's sleeping face. There was no other choice.
He left as silently as he came.
The morning was a celebration all on it's own. The men of Laketown deemed it necessary to turn the whole thing into a huge ceremony, but the only thing Thorin could think about was how little time they had to reach the mountain and find the hidden door. At last they made their way to the small boat, the crowd pressing in on all sides.
Emi climbed into the boat, stabilizing herself on the sides. It was a cold, misty morning. The kind that would have been perfect for curling up with a book by the hearth. Instead, she was heading out once again into the wild to, hopefully, face a dragon. That's what Thorin hoped would happen anyway. Emi didn't know what she hoped. Well, what she really hoped was for Smaug to be dead. Decomposing away in the mountain, maybe even a skeleton already. But she knew it would be too good to be true.
The hobbit glanced at Balin to see him watching something forlornly. Emi followed his gaze to rest on Thorin and Kili. They seemed to be arguing about something. It ended with Kili walking off; looking pale and very put out, Oin soon joined him.
"Is he alright?" Emi asked anyone who knew the answer. Balin just shook his head and sighed before turning back to loading the supplies. Emi turned back to the dock to see Thorin and Fili in heated conversation. It ended with Fili joining his brother most determinedly.
"It would appear we are down to ten." Balin grumbled from next to her.
"Bofur still might show up." Emi said hopefully.
"I doubt it lass." The white bearded dwarf sighed again. He seemed in very poor spirits. Most of the dwarves were. Though it was hard to tell which were feeling the same foreboding as the others and which just had a hangover. Dori seemed to be enjoying the attention though. At least someone was.
The little vessel waited for Thorin to join them before heading off at last. Emi wanted to ask Thorin about why his nephews and Oin had stayed behind, but she still seemed unable to address the dwarf lord directly after the previous night. It was hard enough to keep her face turning red just thinking about it.
The journey by boat was slow a quiet. The journey on land was even slower and quieter. Maybe it was the silence of the world around them. No trees grew, or other plants. Birds and creatures were few and far between. And they were quiet, fearing that their movement might mean waking the dragon.
"It's so quiet." Emi whispered as they approached another peak.
"It wasn't always like this. Once these slopes were lined with woodlands. The trees, filled with birdsong." Balin remembered.
"But what is this place?" The hobbit puzzled.
"It was once the city of Dale." The white haired dwarf replied. "Now it is a ruin. The desolation of Smaug."
"The sun will soon reach midday." Thorin estimated, urgency in his voice. "Let's find the hidden door into the mountain before it sets. This way!" He began to lead the company down the mountain slope.
"What about Gandalf?" Emi stopped him. Thorin turned around to look at her. "He told us to wait for him before we-"
"Do you see him?" Thorin interrupted her.
"No." Emi glared.
"We have no time to wait upon the wizard. We're on our own." He turned away to lead again, but paused for a moment as Emi brushed past him.
"No. I'm on my own." She mumbled under her breath. He did not know if she meant for him to hear. But he did. And the words stung. But they had no time to worry about trivial things. Sunset was fast approaching.
And the sunset was close upon them as they searched the foot of the mountain.
"Anything?" Thorin called.
"Nothing!" Dwalin replied. The dwarf lord looked down at the map again anxiously.
"If this map is true, the hidden door lies directly above us." He examined the map again before looking up again at the mass of rock before them. So where is it?
"Up here! Thorin! It's up here!" The dwarves rushed over quickly as Emi pointed out the zigzag pattern in the axe of the statue.
"You have keen eyes, Lady Brandybuck." Thorin grinned, patting the hobbit on the back briefly before hurrying towards the stairs.
Emi huffed as she finally reached the top behind all the others. She and Bifur had been in charge of helping Bombur up. Very tiring work.
"This must be it. The hidden door." She heard Thorin say from ahead. At last, everyone filed in. "Let all those who doubted us, rue this day!" The dwarves cheered with their leader. Emi just rolled her eyes. The door was just the first step.
"Right." Dwalin approached the stonewall. "We have our key, which means that somewhere, there is a keyhole." He began examining and feeling the wall. Emi rolled her eyes again. There was a riddle for a reason.
"The last light of Durin's day will shine upon the keyhole." The sun was quickly disappearing. "Nori." Thorin motioned for Nori to start searching as well. He looked a little frantic.
"Relax Thorin." Emi spoke softly from his side. "There is something more here than it would seem."
"We're loosing the light." Thorin stressed.
"Come on!" Dwalin kicked the wall.
"Be quiet!" Nori berated him. "I can't hear with your thumping."
"I can't find it! It's not here… it's not here!"
"Break it down!" Thorin instructed the others who rushed forward with their weapons. Emi watched the sun become a sliver over the horizon. Metal splintered against stone. "Come on!"
"It's no good!" Balin silenced them. "The door's sealed. It can't be opened by force. There's powerful magic on it." The last rays of light disappeared.
"No!" Thorin rushed with the map as the rest of the dwarves stepped back. "The last light of Durin's day… will shine upon the key hole." Silence covered the ledge. "That's what it says." The dwarves shook in grief and anger. Thorin turned to Balin. "What did we miss? Balin…"
"We've lost the light. There's no more to be done. We had but one chance." The dwarves hung their heads. They had been defeated. "Come away. It's… it's over-"
"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP FOR A MOMENT?" Emi shouted over the silence. All turned to stare at her wide-eyed. "Now if you're all quite done being melodramatic sods, maybe be we can put our brains to it and figure out what we've missed."
Thorin shook his head sadly. "We've lost the light."
"And nothing happened. So obviously, that's not it." Emi gritted her teeth. "Read the inscription aloud. All of it." Thorin gave her a warning look, but turned to the map again.
"Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks. And the setting sun, with the last light of Durin's Day, will shine upon the keyhole."
"Now let's examine it." Emi started, ignoring the expressions of the others. "Stand by the gray stone. The wall. Obviously. When the thrush knocks…" Emi looked around. "When the thrush knocks…"
"This is pointless." Dwalin grumbled.
"Shush." Emi glared at him. "All of you sit down. Now."
"Don't tell me what to do." Dwalin growled. The hobbit stared at him for a moment before stomping over to stop inches from him.
"Fine. You want to be in charge? Any of you?" she looked around at the dwarves. "You all wanted to give up! You gave up so easily! You've been defeated. So now, it's my turn. Now you will do as I say. Sit down." Slowly and disgruntled, the dwarves complied, one by one. Even Thorin. "Now all of you be as still and silent as possible."
"Why?"
"Shh…"
They sat in silence as Emi stood stalk still eyes turned to the air. She looked almost frozen in time, but her mind was still whirring away.
And the settings sun… with the last light… WITH the last light of Durin's day. The last light. With the last light. So it's not the setting sun. What would be the last light… of Durin's Day…
Eye's turned to the sky, Emi watched as the clouds moved away slowly; a thrush flitted across the sky, heading for dinner. Ah, there are some snails. But what are those big things? Well, they aren't moving. It should be fine.
Emi was almost entranced as the grey clouds drifted across the sky, revealing a bright pale moon.
"The last light…" she whispered. Knock knock knock as the thrush snapped his head, hitting a snail against the stone again and again. Emi turned suddenly to the rock wall. The moonlight hit it, sending water like patterns across its rough surface. The dwarves all leaped up at once, causing the thrush to flee as quickly as it had come. The light shone, lighting up a deep crevice. In the crevice was a tiny keyhole.
"It's the light of the moon!" Emi cried louder as the dwarves continued to stare. "Thorin, quick, the key!" The dwarf lord stumbled over the wall, the ornate key in one hand. Emi stepped back as the key slid in and was turned. The sound of clicks and whirrs sounded through the stone, as slowly, Thorin placed his hands on the stone and pushed.
Nothing happened.
He pushed harder. This time, the stone shifted, pushing away to form a small little door. It was simple and practical, leading into the darkness of the mountain. Thorin took a tentative step forward.
"Erebor."
The dwarves slowly approached as well. "Thorin…" Balin choked up, tears in his eyes. Thorin turned and patted Balin comfortingly on the shoulder before turning back to the mountain. And slowly, he entered, as if in a daydream.
"I know these halls." He spoke softly. "These walls." He pressed his hands against the cool rocks. "This stone." Emi could not see his face, but his voice told enough. The raw emotion from which he used to speak those words, they were from the heart. She had never heard him talk like that before. It sent shivers down her spine.
"You remember it, Balin…" he looked back at the old dwarf. "Chambers filled with golden light."
Balin took a slow step into the threshold. "I remember." Everyone followed in after, marveling in awe at their surroundings.
Gloin read the inscription above the door. "Herein lies the seventh kingdom of Durin's Folk. May the heart of the mountain unite all dwarves in defense of this home." The heart of the mountain. I wonder what that is. Emi wondered to herself.
"The throne of the king." Balin said from her side, indicating the carving above the door. Emi nodded in polite interest.
"What's that above it?" she inquired. Balin gave her a indescribable look before answering.
"The Arkenstone."
"Arkenstone." Emi nodded, mildly impressed. "What's that?"
This time, it was Thorin who answered. "That Lady Burglar," Emi turned in slight surprise as the title. It had been quite awhile since Thorin had last referred to her as 'burglar'. She didn't like it.
"…Is why you are here."
Oh dear oh dear. Poor Emi, what have you gotten yourself into this time?
Please review if you have a moment. Thoughts and opinions and whatnot are always appreciated. Random screams are fine too. I've been known to do that on occasion.
Next chapter, the Dragon?