Chapter Twenty Six: Molten Gold

Notes: Welcome back for another week! This is also the final chapter of Book Three - hope you're all on board for a few more books!

I jumped up and pulled the lever down, opening up the floodgates. Water flowed down the large statues and collided into Smaug just as he was about to turn Thorin to ash. His fire extinguished around him and the water turned to steam on his hide. The wave pushed him back and knocked him down so Thorin has a shot to get away.

I noticed that the water had set a few hydraulics into motion as well. The mine buckets over our heads started to move. Bombur also stayed busy with the bellows and the furnaces were getting incredibly hot, even despite the water.

Smaug recovered from the water, shaking it off and going back after Thorin and the other dwarves. His footfalls shook the floor as he strode across, his gaze not shifting from the dwarven king. Suddenly a burst of light hit against Smaug's body that made me jump in surprise. It didn't seem to deter him much on his trajectory but as more of the flashing bombs were thrown the more it could blind him for a moment or two.

Before I could look away to see what I could attempt, the mining buckets over our heads were cut down and came down on top of Smaug hard. The chains got tangled up in his wings and he whipped around trying to get set free. Apparently there were a few dwarves in some of those heavy buckets so when Bifur and Gloin hit the ground they quickly had to crawl out and run for it before being stepped on by the dragon.

Thorin had run over and pulled a lever that opened up hatches so the molten gold was released. They followed the trails across the floor, creating a river of gold that flowed through the middle of the forge.

While Smaug thrashed around his tail collided into the wall near the tower I stood on. The entire thing rattled, knocking me off my feet. I could feel the tower start to crumble under my feet, so I knew it was time to get the hell out of there.

Down below I watched as Thorin leapt onto a wheelbarrow and into the river of gold. He shouted, "Lead him to the Gallery of the Kings!" He rode down the current and looked up to me attempting to gain balance. "Come on Lydia! Come with me!"

I took a few steps down the shaky steps but then had to dodge as another flying bucket came overhead. Though that one missed me, there were a few that collided into the tower with full force. The stone crumbled under my feet and I went falling through the air all the way to the ground. I landed on my shoulder and rolled out the impact the best I could but still ended up face-down on the ground, waiting for the pain to ease up. It felt like I had gotten shot in the arm with an arrow the size of a tree branch so I was not quick to bounce back.

"Lydia, hurry!" Thorin shouted to me again. I looked to him and saw that he was already too far for me to try and catch up and jump on. His worried expression went from me to behind me. "Run! Get up and run!"

I followed his eyes and saw that Smaug had turned his attention towards me. I swore loudly and rushed to get up onto my feet. Luckily my legs were fine, so I made it to the edge of the forge without being eaten alive. I did have to avoid fallen debris on the ground and any falling around me, but just imagining Smaug behind me with a mouth full of fire was all the motivation I needed to haul ass like I had never before.

There was a stone slab that was a smooth descent down a level, so I took my chance and slid down it. While sliding, I took a moment to look over my shoulder and saw Smaug was right there at the edge.

We locked eyes and he made a horrible snarling sound at me. "Keep on running, Little Thief. I will certainly catch you."

I knew if he had the chance to rip my body to shreds, he would. "Don't need to tell me twice," I muttered to myself.

I reached the bottom of the stone slope and hit the ground running. I didn't know where I needed to go to get to the 'Gallery of the Kings', but when a dragon is chasing after you, you don't exactly stop to ask for directions.

I don't know how I managed, but I found what I believed to be the gallery that Thorin had told us to go to. I wasn't totally sure since I didn't see any of the others, but as soon as I saw the grand hall from the archway I ran in. It was mostly dumb luck though, since I had Smaug right at my heels and I needed to go in somewhere.

I made it inside the archway but Smaug crashed through the wall, roaring and destroying everything around him while he looked for me. On the wall hung grand tapestries that were ripped from their hanging and fluttered down to the ground. I tried to run out of the way of the heavy fabric, but it came down on me and knocked me off my feet.

I decided to take the hiding spot.

I heard and felt the vibration of his steps as he searched the gallery for me. He bellowed out, "You think you can deceive me, 'River Rider'? You've been from Laketown all along!" He whipped around as I carefully looked out from under the tapestry. He carelessly crashed over statues, his eyes scanning the room. "This is some sordid scheme hatched between these filthy Dwarves and those miserable tub-trading lakemen. Those sniveling cowards with their long bows and black arrows. Hmm…perhaps it is time I paid them a visit. Don't you think so? It had been so, so long since I've seen men flesh boil off their bones."

I ripped the fabric off myself and stood up in plain view as Smaug turned towards the moonlight. "Your fight is with us, Smaug! Those of the lake have nothing to do with this!" I shouted. "Leave those people be!"

He turned his large head back to me and chuckled. "Oh, so you care about those humans, do you?"

"Anyone would care about innocents! I mean it Smaug, leave them alone and keep this between us!"

"Not so polite anymore, are you Little Thief?" He stomped back over to me so quickly that I didn't have time to run. He took a single claw and lodged it into my shoulder, pinning me to the ground so I couldn't keep running from him. I screamed, feeling the hot, searing pain go straight through flesh, narrowly missing bone. "You should have died when I was willing to show you a mercy. Now I think I will have a tough time deciding whether to keep you alive so you can see the death of the dwarves and the lakemen, or to have you die first."

I tried to push against the claw but of course couldn't make it move a centimeter. Even if I had the strength of a hundred hobbits it wouldn't have made the dragon shift, I tried not to thrash around, knowing it would only make it worse, but the pain made me act without thinking. I could feel my blood pooling under my shoulder blade. Smaug grinned, his dagger teeth in rows as he watched me squirm in pain.

"I am here, you witless worm! Your true enemy!"

We both turned our heads to see Thorin standing on top of some molded structure. Smaug growled, "You! Filthy dwarf!"

"I am taking back what you stole!"

He removed his claw from my shoulder and I gasped in both pain and relief, crawling away to the nearest column while Smaug stepped closer and closer to Thorin.

"You will take nothing from me, Dwarf! I laid low the warriors of old, I instill terror in the hearts of men. I am 'King Under the Mountain'!"

"This is not your kingdom. These are Dwarf lands, Dwarf gold! And we will have our revenge!" He then shouted something in dwarvish then pulled a chain, releasing something. The mold came apart and he swung away on the chain, leaving behind a huge golden statue.

Smaug stared at the gold in pure awe, seeing something so large glint and sparkle appealed to his attraction to his precious treasure hoards. He couldn't help but look at the lovely statue, up until it started to collapse.

The gold inside the statue was still far from solidified, so once the weight of it all needed to go somewhere else, it came spewing out of the statue. The incredibly hot material came crashing down on top of Smaug. The rush swept him off his feet and he fell under the surface. Luckily the area he stood in was sunken so the gold didn't spread to where I stood, but I still had to watch out to make sure that any flying molten pieces didn't hit me.

I gripped my aching shoulder and pressed my back against the column, waiting for the noise to settle down.

Once there were a few moments of silence, I looked around to the lake of gold. "Is it done?" I whispered to myself, taking a single step out from hiding.

The surface had just started to calm and my heart started to relax for a moment. I had started to think this was a fitting end to the vile creature. Drowning and burning to death in the thing he loved so dearly seemed like the proper way for Smaug to leave this world. I closed my eyes, thinking that was the end of it.

But with a roar, Smaug erupted out of the molten surface, completely covered in gold. My gut sank down to my feet in complete fear, jumping back into cover as the precious debris flew through the air .

"Revenge?! Revenge?! I will show you revenge!" he thundered, rushing towards the end of the hall. He ran straight through the stone entrance of Erebor with a huge eruption but it didn't even slow him down.

Blood ran through my fingers that clutched my shoulder and down my arm as I ran out of the gallery and the cold night that hit my skin with a violent shock. I watched on in horror as I saw Smaug fly towards Laketown, gold glittering in his path to destruction. His roaring was followed by an eruption of fire.

My vision overflowed and I muttered, "What have we done?"

End of Book Three: The Desolation of Smaug