𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐒: 𝑺𝑴𝑨𝑼𝑮 | FINISHED

~ch.20: the door under the moon

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A/n

It is morning in Laketown; the people crowd along the sides of the main channel as a boat is loaded with supplies for the company. "You do know we're one short; where's Bofur?" As Tatsuo walks up to him, Bilbo says her supplies are strapped to her back. she nods and starts looking around for the jolly dwarf. "If he's not here, we leave him behind." she hears Thorin say as he walks past her and the hobbit. she rolls her eyes but says nothing. "We have to if we're to find the door before nightfall. We can risk no more delays." Balin says, agreeing with their king. They march along the pier, and the dwarves begin to board the boat. They are fully decked out in armor and regal clothing.

Further away in a house in the town, a sleeping Bofur is woken up by the sound of the music. He is asleep under a table, and as he jolts upright, he smacks his head on the bottom of the table. "By my beard, is that the time? Oh, ugh," he yells and scrambles up unsteadily and runs out the door, grabbing a glass of drink on his way. In the background, the Master is addressing the people. Bofur runs as fast as he can toward the crowd. 

Tatsuo sees him and laughs, and as the master talks, she uses her magic to lift the young dwarf over to them. "Woah!" he yells as he lumps into the boat, startling the other dwarves. "what just happened?" Fili asks and then notices the smug look on their female's face. "what did you do?..." Kili asks as he and his brother smirks. "nothing, young princes," she says as she looks forward, ignoring the look from the dwarves. The Master smiles and waves to the dwarves in the boat as they pull into the canal and begin to paddle away.  The dwarves in the boat smile, wave, and bow at the cheering people. "Goodbye!" Dori calls and waves. 

Tatsuo doesn't glance back but looks forward not bothering to bid goodbye to the people of lake town. But then a confident man comes into her mind, and she sighs. I do hope Bard will be alright. Suddenly stinging pain purses through her, and she falls to her knees In the boat making the dwarves gasp, and bilbo walk over to her. "are you okay, Tatsuo?" he wondered as he lays a hand on her shoulder. The shifter grumbles some curses and sits down by the boat's rail. "Im fine, master Baggins." she shuddered as the poisoned limb her. "why didn't you tell us?" thorin harshly whispered. They can't afford to lose their key to success. not now. Not ever. "I didn't want to bother you. Away when I enter the mountain, I have a feeling the poston will be long gone," Tatsuo says, leaving the dwarves and bilbo confused at her words. They send her occasional worried gales but say noting. 

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Tatsuo

We are in our boat, heading across the lake toward the Lonely Mountain. As the other dwarves row, Thorin stands at the boat's bow, facing ahead. We are all decked out in regal clothes and armor from Laketown. We climb the foothills of the mountain. Thorin, recognizing the landscape, runs atop an embankment overlooking a valley at one point. Then, as the I and the dwarves join him, we look at the other end of the valley and see the ruins of Dale. "What is this place?" Bilbo asks from beside me, and I answer, feeling the solemn air. "It was once the city of Dale. Now it is a ruin. The desolation of Smaug." I quickly look over at Balin to see a shock on his face, but as our eyes meet, he nods, comforting my words. "The sun will soon reach midday; let's find the hidden door into the mountain before it sets. This way!" Thorin says, and we begin to leave the overlook, but I freeze as I remember bilbo saying something in his dreams and Gandalf saying it to me too that he would meet us here .

I look around, making sure I haven't missed anything. But no wizard enters my vision. I sigh, and bibo seems to notice the same as me. "Wait...is this the overlook? Gandalf said to meet him here. On no account were we-" Thorin interrupts him abruptly. "Do you see him? We have no time to wait upon the wizard. We're on our own." Thorin turns and walks away. I sigh and gesture for the young hobbit to come over to me. He does after he looks back at the city, conflicted. We then follow thorin. 

Thorin stands his sword on the ground and pants. He calls up to the other dwarves, all scouring the sides of the Mountain, trying to find the secret entrance. I am too with the search, but I do not answer upon the call of the Moutain king. "Anything? he calls, and Dwalin answers him. "Nothing!" 

"If the map is true, the hidden door lies directly above us."

I then see Bilbo walking around and see a massive statue of a dwarf carved into the side of the mountain. Looking closely, he notices a set of stairs built into the sculpture. I follow his eyes and walk over to him. It then dawns on me, and I nod to bilbo, seeing him already looking up at me for confirmation. he smiles and calls the dwarves, "Up here!" Thorin and the other dwarves ruse up to us, and thorin smile at the hobbit, then at me. "You have keen eyes, Master Baggins." he stays. We then painstakingly make our way up the steep and treacherous steps and find a little rock-walled clearing on the side of the mountain. Thorin runs to the clearing."This must be it. The hidden door." I bilbo and the remaining dwarves come into the clearing as well. the smile I bear shines a little, and I cross my arms. "Let all those who doubted us rue this day!" thorin calls, and as he holds up his key, the others cheer. I do not only smile warmly. 

"Right. We have our key, which means that somewhere, there is a keyhole." dwalin says and begins exploring the walls of the clearing with his fingers, looking for a keyhole. Thorin walks to the edge of the clearing and looks out at the setting sun. My smile fades with the sun. I start now to understand that it is in the sun's rays, but what can it be? "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole." Torin recites the words upon the map and looks up at the mountain's face. He tries to figure out what the light hitting the wall means. As the sun gets lower and lower on the horizon and nothing changes on the wall, Thorin gets frantic.

"Nori."  he gestures for the said dwarf, and he understands and runs to the wall and begins tapping it in different places with a spoon while holding his ear to a cup held against the wall. Meanwhile, Dwalin strains and pushes against the wall. The sun gets lower. "We're losing the light," Thorin mutters, and Diwali calls out in pain. "Come on!" he begins kicking at the wall. I grow tired of this and snarl loudly, "It's no good! The door's sealed. It can't be opened by force. Powerful magic on it." The dwarves hit the door and drop their weapons in tiredness and disapointedness. The sun disappears behind distant mountains.

my heartbreak as thorin calls out brokenly. "No!" he stumbles forward and re-examines the old map, reading aloud. "The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole. That's what it says." In disbelief, he holds his arms open; the other dwarves mutter in disappointment and anger. "What did we miss?" Thorin walks up to Balin and repeats his question earnestly and tearfully. "What did we miss, Balin?" then I and I answered the question in the tone of comfort. "We've lost the light. There's no more to be done." The dwarves bow their heads in despair and turn back toward the stairs. Balin then speaks up, sad as the others, "Come away; it's over." Bilbo looks beseechingly at Thorin, but Thorin turns away. He holds up his key and looks at it, then drops it to the ground, where it clatters. "Thorin...you can't give up now," he says, and I watch, sad and broken. But I know that maybe bilbo understands more than us. 

I want to give the halfing a chance. The dwarves begin descending the stairs, but Bilbo and I stay in the clearing. He recites the riddle from the map to himself while gesturing with his hands. "Stand by the grey stone..." He goes and stands by the grey wall. "When the thrush knocks..."He looks around but doesn't see a thrush anywhere. "The setting sun...and the last light of Durin's Day will shine. Hmm. The last light. Last light..." He turns away from the wall, thinking hard and muttering to himself. With a thought, he looks up and sees the clouds move aside to reveal the moon. He looks at it wonderingly and sees that it illuminates the clearing. Hearing a noise, we turn back and sees a thrush hitting a snail against the grey wall. Just then, the moonlight hits the wall. I smile as it tarts to warn me. It's the last light on the moon—the last moon of Durin' day. Bilbo laughs with relief and delight as the thrush flies away and points at the wall. I nod, smiling now at him but stay quiet. 

"The last light!" he calls. 

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