When in doubt, jump in head first

21. A good host a dragon does not make

The majesty of the entrance only lasted until a putrid stench rolled from the open door. Laelynn ducked away, wrinkling her nose and contemplating whether or not to cast a bubblehead charm. The rest of the dwarves seemed to be unaffected by the smell, but Laelynn could see Bilbo covering his lower face with a handkerchief. She wanted to cast a spell to clear the air, but hesitated, unsure if dragons on Middle Earth were as sensitive to magic as their counterparts on her own world. Also, after doing elemental magic on such a scale as she had, it was probably better for her to conserve her strength, no matter how fine she felt.

"Master Baggins, it is time," said Thorin into the awed silence. Bilbo visibly steeled himself to enter the mountain, his small shoulders tensing underneath his bedraggled red jacket. Laelynn walked up to him as Balin began to speak in a low tone with Thorin, Dwalin standing beside them.

"You alright?" she asked him, resting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing it gently. Bilbo shuddered gently, but Laelynn could feel him settling himself under her hand, squaring his shoulders.

"I will be fine," he told her. "It can't be worse than Elevenses with the Sackville-Bagginses, after all." Laelynn laughed, the sound startled out of her at Bilbo's dry humour, and he smiled gently at her before removing her hand from his shoulder. Laelynn sniffed, and angrily wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'll be alright," he told her again, awkwardly patting her elbow.

"Just come back safe," Laelynn said, watching with wet eyes as he nodded, then walked down the passage with Thorin and Balin, until he was out of sight. Kíli tapped her arm after a moment, and she wiped her eyes a second time as she turned to him.

"He'll be fine," he said, gripping her shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Laelynn smiled at him weakly, but let him drag her away from the tunnel entrance. Kíli pulled a pair of dice from a pocket. "Why don't I teach you a game?" he said, holding them up, and Laelynn's smile widened as she settled on the floor next to him. Fíli turned up soon after, dragging Ori with him, which in turn had Dwalin and Dori following. Nori had showed up when Kíli pulled out the dice, and was trying to get the rest of the Company to get on their game with varying degrees of success.

It was a simple enough game, once she got the hang of it: the aim was to bump off all your opponent's counters, while protecting your own at the same time. The grid could be drawn in the dirt, and a Colour-Changing charm made the pieces easier to keep track of. The dice gave you the number of spaces you could move, and often Kíli used a move he had 'conveniently' forgotten to mention until then. She pouted whenever he did, but Fíli had laughed and bumped her shoulder, and Nori had a grin playing at his lips when she looked at him. Even Thorin was watching out of the corner of his eye, smiling softly at Kíli whenever he took a piece of hers.

A roar echoed from the passage, accompanied by the scent of smoke, and the jovial atmosphere vanished in an instant. The only sound was the heavy breathing of the dwarves. There was a cry from someone — it might have been her — before everyone sprinted down the passage. Laelynn was barely aware of Bombur and Dori and Balin lagging behind before they were out of sight. Laelynn only thought of the dwarves ahead of her, the low roof of the passage making her have to crouch as she ran, the feel of her bow in her hand, an arrow notched and ready to draw in an instant.

Then suddenly she could stand straight; she was teetering over the edge of a platform, saved from falling only by a hand catching her shirt and yanking her back. Laelynn breathed out heavily, drawing back her arrow and aiming at the dragon.

But there was no dragon in sight, only a scaled, spiked tail slinking out a large doorway. A chilling laugh was echoing through the room, reverberating in her very bones and making her shake. Laelynn quickly righted herself and aimed at the tail, but it was too late: Smaug had vanished.