Walking In Starlight

26

The dwarves in the clearing on the mountain see an orange glow coming through the door,

"What about Bilbo?" Ori asked

"Give him more time" Thorin said

"Trying to do what?" Balin asked "to be killed?"

"You're afraid" Thorin noted

Balin pauses for a moment, then steps up to Thorin,

"Yes, I'm afraid" Balin replied "I fear for you. A sickness lies upon that treasure hoard, a sickness that drove your grandfather mad"

"I am not my grandfather" Thorin replied sternly

"You're not yourself" he replied "the Thorin I know would not hesitate to go in there-"

"I will not risk this quest for the life of one burglar" he said, earning a disgusted look from Balin

"Bilbo" Balin said sternly "his name is Bilbo"

Thorin looks contemplatively out into the night.

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Smaug is searching for Bilbo, who is hiding under the stone structure,

"It's Oakenshield" Smaug hissed "that filthy dwarvish usurper! He sent you in here for the Arkenstone, didn't he?"

Smaug circles around the structure, Bilbo, hiding beneath it, sees the Arkenstone at the other end of the structure,

"No, no, no" Bilbo replied "I don't know what you're talking about"

Bilbo starts to sneak over to the Arkenstone, but is forced to hide behind a pillar as Smaug looks beneath the structure,

"Don't bother denying it" Smaug said "I guessed his foul purpose some time ago. But it matters not. Oakenshield's quest will fail. The darkness is coming, it will spread to every corner of the land"

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In Laketown, Blog and his Orcs sneak around on the rooftops, looking for the dwarves,

"Shugi Khozd-shrakhun hum. Nuzdidiz." He said to the other Orcs
The filthy dwarf rats are somewhere here. I can smell them.

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Bilbo is still hiding behind a pillar,

"You have been used, thief in the shadows" Smaug said "you were only ever a means to an end. The coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing"

"No. No" Bilbo said "no, you're lying!"

"What did he promise you?" The large dragon asked "a share of the treasure? As if it was his to give. I will not part with a single coin. Not one piece of it"

Bilbo, hearing that Smaug is on top of the structure, seeks the Arkenstone lying a few feet away from the structure and makes a run for it. Smaug sees him and whips his tail, sending Bilbo, the Arkenstone, and gold flying. Bilbo tumbles and lands against a pillar,

"My teeth are swords!" Smaug shouted "my claws are spears! My wings are a hurricane!"

As Smaug displays his wings, Bilbo notices a scale missing on the left side of Smaug's chest,

"So it is true" Bilbo whispered to himself "the black arrow found its mark"

"What did you say?" Smaug demanded

"Uh, uh, I was just saying your reputation precedes you, O Smaug the Tyrannical" Bilbo lied easily "truly, you have no equal on this earth"

As Bilbo speaks, he slowly backs up, standing in a bare, open spot, and Smaug faces him. As he finishes speaking, Bilbo looks down and sees the Arkenstone lying just a few feet from him, and he gazes at it,