Dawn (A Hobbit Fanfic)

Chapter 24 - The very effective diplomatic tactic known as the awkward slide.

We were sat at the small clearing in front of the hidden door again.
Laketown was burning. Smaug had flown across a few times while spitting flames downward. A couple more times and he would be done. Laketown would be gone.
"Poor souls," said Balin.
We made our murmurs of agreement and looked at each other with a mixture of sadness and fear in our eyes.
I tried to lock eyes with Thorin, he was looking back at the halls of Erebor, instead of the obvious eye magnet across the lake.
I turned my head back at the Dragon and the burning lake. He landed suddenly, turning his head in the direction of a narrow tower that was relatively untouched by the blaze.
I heard the low rumble of his voice and could just barely make out what he was saying. The sound carried over the water.

"Who are you that would stand against me?"
It was only logical that I didn't catch what his conversation partner replied. Smaug's response made me have some idea of who it was though.
"Now that is a pity. What will you do now, Bowman? You are forsaken. No help will come."
It was Bard. Or Legolas, but I doubted that he was there, so my best bet was Bard. There were other archers in the world, but only a few that would be stupid enough to stand against a Dragon armed with only a bow.
"Is that your child? You can not save him from the fire. He will burn." Definitely Bard. Legolas didn't have children that I knew of. Then again, I had been gone for seventy years. He could have had a child that is all grown up now.
I doubt it, because if he did, he would have come to find me and show his kid to me.

"Tell me, wretch, how now shall you challenge me?" The Dragon was creeping forward. "You have nothing left, but your death," Smaug tormented as he lunged forward at the tower.
Smaug hit the tower, but screamed in pain shortly before he reached it. Smaug rolled and slid around the town, destroying everything in his path.
Had Bard done it? Had he killed the Dragon?

Smaug struggled into the skies. The wind created from his wings made the fire bend. He managed a few beats up before he fell down. He didn't get up again as the town burned on.
The sound of Smaug hitting the ground was loud enough for even the Dwarves to hear. They jumped up, not having been as mortifyingly curious as me and Bilbo. They hadn't watched, which was understandable.
"What was that? What happened?" Oin asked.
"It fell. I saw it." Bilbo was baffled. I was too shocked to speak. "It's dead. Smaug is dead!" Bilbo still sounded baffled as the Dwarves rose to see the burning town, now without a Dragon.
Thorin was still staring into the mountain. He seemed untouched by the whole situation, which made me a bit uncomfortable.
I absentmindedly twirled the braid he had put in my hair a few days ago.

"By my beard! I think he's right! Look, the ravens of Erebor are returning to the mountain," Gloin exclaimed as he pointed up.
I saw that, indeed, a large quantity of ravens was flying up to the mountain.
"Aye, word will spread. Soon every soul in middle earth will know; the Dragon is dead," Oin said.
The Dwarves laughed in glee, I joined them, but I silenced myself as I saw Thorin heading back into mountain.
After a while, the rest of us went inside too. Thorin waxed poetic about the treasure and put us all to work finding the Arkenstone. I went to the place where I last saw it, but it wasn't there anymore. I looked around a bit more, but I couldn't find it.

I decided to go and find Kili and Fili. A triumph as big as this be celebrated with some roasted meat, I would say. The boys and I would venture down to the valley for a few days to hunt, and then we would return with our spoils. "Thorin? I'm taking the boys on a hunt down the mountain," I called into the hall. I didn't get an answer. "Thorin?" Fili and Kili appeared behind me, having packed their bows.
"Ah, c'mon. The lads know where we're going and for how long, they'll tell Thorin," said an impatient Fili.
"Hurry up! I'm itching to get a breather. This Dragon air is suffocating," complained an equally impatient Kili.
"Alright, fine, you restless lot." I gave one call back into the golden hoard. "We'll be back soon! With a feast!"
At that, the boys and I jogged down the mountain. There was a small wooded area down the lake bed about half a days walk from here. There we would set up camp and rest a bit. Probably catch some sleep in the open air too. I was looking forward to that. It had been too long since I had counted the stars to fall asleep and I must say that despite having slept more comfortably in the past, I was missing it.
The next day we would spend gathering up a sixteen man's feast. Gandalf would be bound to show up while we were gone, and a victory like retaking the mountain needed to be celebrated with a luxury feast. As luxurious as we could make it, at least. The next full day would be carrying our spoils up the mountain back into Erebor again.