//------------------------------// // Chapter Eleven: On the Doorstep // Story: The Hobbit: Third-Age Generation // by PlymouthFury58 //------------------------------// Chapter Eleven: On the Doorstep The sun could only raise in small chunks as whoever was left of the company rowed their boat up to the ruined harbors of Dale. None of them could deny how splendid the sight of Erebor was in the distance. "It's magnificent," Sunny gaped. "It's a wonder," Bilbo added. "It truly is," Thorin said. "And I am glad you both are a part of this company. To be here beside me, in this moment, it is truly an honor." Both Sunny and Bilbo blushed with flattery, even though Thorin never once kept his gaze off the mountain. Izzy stared the most with the greatest amount of wonder in her eyes, and Bifur and Bombur, who both had grown close to the young unicorn, could not deny the sparkle of wonderous amazement that was the sparkle. "It's so beautiful!" she beamed. "Well, after some years of living inside the halls, the wonder seems to...dry up," Bombur sheepishly smiled. "What was it like, living in Erebor?" she turned to the dwarves. Bifur sighed in smiling reminiscing, before talking away in the dwavish he was stuck speaking, and though Izzy could barely understand a word he was saying she did not speak out of turn until he finished. "What my cousin means to say," Bombur said. "Is that it was nothing like we have ever experienced. Three square meals a day, the markets and streets of Dale to find something or someone new to meet, no less amount of plentiful fortune, and of the course the best part was the vastness of the kitchens." Bifur shot a glance towards Bombur, silencing him in shock, before smiling and lightly chuckling. Beaming at her new friends, Izzy thought back to the flower she fastened to Oin's ear trumpet, and privately choking up remembering his wide smile. "What'cha writing there?" she turned to Gloin, who was scribbling onto a small sheet of paper with a scrap of charcoal. "Is it more of those, 'long-term deposity' thingies?" "No, actually it's a run-down of the share each of us will receive of the treasure," Gloin explained. "I've been putting it off for awhile, but now seems like the...most opportune moment." "I thought myself and the others agreed to...what was it...forfeit?" "Well, my calculations have taken that into account." "What was your job in Erebor?" "I was the personal financial advisor to King Thror under the Mountain, while my brother was a part of the royal apothecaries, in fact he was en route to be the head apothecary...until the dragon came, of course." Though Gloin became saddened and worried about remembering about Smaug, he was lightened at the sight of Izzy not sharing his mood. "You have a son, right?" "Gimli, yes." "Is he proud of you?" "Couldn't be more proud of his old-dwarf, he could." Gloin then smiled back to her. "Thanks," he said reassuringly. "I needed that." Dori, Nori, Ori, and Dwalin helmed the oars, keeping mostly to themselves while silently marveling at the sight and thought of returning home, or in Ori's case, seeing the fabled Lonely Mountain at last, for he had been raised from the tales of his brothers, as Fili and Kili from Thorin. Pipp watched as Sunny and Bilbo sat behind Thorin's staunch posture, very much glad for how they and the others have grown to appreciate each other, and yet she was the only one among them who was less than thrilled about where they were heading. Only Balin seemed to had noticed her plight. "Something on your mind, lass?" he asked. She sighed. "I don't know, Balin." "You're missing them, am I right?" She sighed again. "Yeah. I just always thought that...from the very beginning of this journey, Zipp would be there beside me." "You are close to her?" "When we were younger, but not so much as we grew." "I'm inclined to believe that you two get along." "Oh yeah, we do just...not as much, as we used to." Balin could see that the topic was hurting her something she deeply regretted, and to his good graces that no one else was listening in. "That stallion you traveled," he said smiling. "You fancy him, don't you?" Pipp immediately looked to his gaze, before cracking her own smile catching his humor, which in turn became a light giggle. "I suppose the game's up, as the saying goes," she humored. "He is handsome, I'll grant him that," Balin added. "Yes, yes he is." She sounded like she was in a dream-like state, until it wore off. "Something wrong?" Balin asked, noticing the stark contrast on her face. "It's funny really: how Hitch and Zipp are out of danger while it's me on the way to face the dragon. Should I be scared?" Balin understood the plight, as he could see it full-forced on the faces of each and every one of the remaining dwarves, even Thorin could not shield it. "Can I tell you something?" he said, softly. "What?" "I'm scared out of my wits as well, and Thorin too." "You know what's also funny? How we have come so far, and only now, at journey's end, do we get to know each other more, you know?" she smiled meekly. Ori, who had been paddling behind her, took notice. "You know," he spoke. "I just wanted to say...thank you." "For what?" Pipp asked. "Well," Ori stammered. "I grew up on tales and songs of the Mountain, from my brothers, and...really, all of the songs they sang to me at nigh', now that I think abou' i', sound all the same." "You were raised by your brothers?" "Dori's the oldest out of the three of us, and really became my father after he passed away, though he doesn' approve of Nori's 'abits." "I heard Hitch called him a thief," Pipp noted. "Well, I won' deny that 'e's done some...unscrupulous actions, or wha'ever you call it, but the money 'e's earned 'as 'elped us a' least keep food on the table. Not tha' I agree with his career choices or anythin'. Wha' I mean to say is...I, really love your singin' voice." Ori laughed nervously as he blushed with embarrassment. "Call it a nice change of pace, I think." "Wha' my brother means to say is that your singin' voice is unlike anythin' us dwarves are accustomed to," Dori said. "And that song, definitely foreign." Pipp could not tell if Dori meant to be critiquing or complimenting, but he was most assuredly the biggest curmudgeon of the company. "Never mind 'im," Ori said. "'E's always been like this. It's 'ard for 'im to warm to somethin' new and improved." "Oi!" The dwarves had a good hearted chuckle from Ori, even Pipp had a partake. Though it was obvious he had a fancy for her, she did not mind his kindness, as she felt it was sorely lacking from most of the other dwarves. Even Bilbo found the humor in the atmosphere. "Everyone," Thorin called from the front. "Belt up! We're here." It took only a few moments for the company to dock there boat on the shore of the Lonely Mountain, more so for some of them to get up and ready. Bilbo, for instance, removed his regal clothing opting to keep only the blue robe Sigrid had given him, for he had left behind his treasured red jacket. The dwarves on the other hand took time to gather their weaponry, while the remaining ponies kept only their cloaks. By midday the company was hiking across the flat-stone laden terrain, with Thorin taking up the front, map and key in hand. The sword he was give was nowhere the elegance of Orchrist, though his pride was at a higher set of standards than the others; Sunny and Izzy were the only ones among them who refused the offer of weaponry from the men. Bilbo walked alongside Balin and Sunny, until he suddenly stopped, and thought in silence. "It's so quiet," he said. Sunny stopped as well, understanding the isolation he discovered about them. "It feels so... empty," she said. "And lifeless." "It wasn't always like this," Balin said, coming up behind them. "Once, these slopes were lined with woodlands," he said, pointing to the ash ridden lands about them, as a gray-colored bird flew right past them. "The trees, were filled with birdsong." Bilbo watched in anxiousness as the small bird landed on a perch atop a fallen and long-perished tree. "To think that after all this time," Sunny wavered in her voice. "Nature continues to thrive, in such ruin." Thorin then approached the pair from behind, taking in their worrying. "Relax you two," he assured, not as haughty as he was prone to b in the past. "We have food, we have tools, and we're making good time." Something then caught his eye in the distance as he ran up to a rock overlooking a deep valley. Sunny came up beside him looking off to what he was staring intently at, and she too stared with the same face, the face of remembrance of fear. Sitting in undisturbed ruin, was the city of Dale. The bridge had remained, though most of the buildings were in rubble, if not from the dragon-fire then from the long decades of silent erosion. The others had come up to the edge as well. "What is this place?" Bilbo asked. "It was once the city of Dale," Balin explained, filled with great remorse. "Now it is a ruin. The Desolation of Smaug." "It hasn't lost its charm, really," Izzy said. "I can still see the people in the market square, and the kids flying their kites up high." "The sun will soon reach midday," Thorin immediately spoke up. "Let's find the hidden door before it sets. "Wait," Bilbo said to Thorin. "Isn't this the overlook? Gandalf said to meet him here. On no account were we-" "Do you see him?" Thorin abruptly interrupted. "We have no time to wait upon the wizard. We're on our own. Come on!" Thorin's voice was not as sounding commanding as before, but the dwarves did follow in his stead. Bilbo however, was more conflicted than before, even after he followed behind the excitable Izzy. "Hey, Balin," Pipp said. "Could I talk to you for a moment, alone?" Balin begrudgingly agreed to remain at the rear, only after seeing yet another plight about her. "Sure. What's the matter, lass?" he asked. "I...wanted to tell you earlier, only," she paused. "Only you didn't trust me before, I understand." Pipp breathed in and sighed, relaxing herself before she began explaining their coming. She left not a single detail out of the mix, taking her time between pauses, while Balin listened intently, not daring to speak up until she finished. "Have you told Bilbo about this?" he asked. "The moment we met. Or, became acquainted actually," she lightly giggled. "But, how did you all and Gandalf know about us?" "How Gandalf knew about your world I do not know. The important thing is that he did, and that now you and your friends are here." Balin's fatherly poise and smile warmed to Pipp's heart. He was indeed like the father-figure to the company, especially as a mentor to Thorin. He always listened to every aspect of the conversation at hand, and only spoke his input when he felt like it was necessary, at least for others. "Pipp! Balin!" Sunny called. "Don't lag behind now, not when we're so close!" "The last time she that very same spring in her galop, the outcome was unfavorable." Pipp consoled. "What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" "Well, we brought together these ancient jewels expecting them to bring back the magic to our world, but it didn't work." With that, the two hurried back up to the company. The dwarves, ponies, and Bilbo had reached the mountainside, as indicated on Thorin's map, but so far no sign of the hidden door could be found just yet. "Anything?!" Thorin called. "Nothing!" Dwalin called back. "No luck here!" Izzy called from Bifur's side. "If the map is true," Thorin pondered aloud. "The hidden door lies directly above us." "I mean, it is a mountain after all," Pipp grumbled. "For all we know it's right at the tiptop." "Up here!" Bilbo called in the distance. Thorin, Sunny, and Pipp rushed to his side to find a dwarven warrior carved right into the mountainside, but also beside a set of makeshift but unconventional stairs leading right up to a flattened overlook. "You have keen eyes, Master Baggins!" Thorin beamed with pride. "This is it! It's right up there!" Sunny stared, wide-eyed. Once the company regrouped they all painstakingly hoisted one another right up the more than treacherous staircase, Sunny right behind Thorin and Bilbo, Izzy clinging tightly to Bifur's neck, and Bombur constantly losing his balance on the steps, but with help from Pipp, who had to unfortunately ditch the Laketown cloak, they made it just in time at the rear of the gathered company. Thorin stood on his own, out front, clutching the key like it might have been the most precious to him. Pipp looked back, seeing the sun setting above the distant mountaintops. "This must be it," Sunny gasped. "The hidden door!" "Indeed it is," Thorin smiled. "Let all those who doubted us RUE THIS DAY!" The company could not help but cheer at their impending victory, even Bilbo was excitable at their journey's coming. Once Thorin regained himself, he began searching up and down the wall, for something, anything that remotely looked like a keyhole. His ecstatic smile was immediately dampened, more so once he turned to see the setting sun just about reach the mountain range's tip. "'The last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole'," he recited. The panic on his face was becoming more and more evident by the minute, pacing back and forth, reciting the poem constantly in his mind trying to find the meaning in what the last line meant about "shining upon the keyhole". Nothing seemed to add. How come the sun's not revealing the keyhole? Sunny thought to herself, very much beginning to share the frantic in Thorin's manner. "Nori," Thorin ordered. As Nori was the company's designated thief, he approached the wall, tapping at every bit while listening through a cup for any hollow spaces. As the work not only required patience but time, which was draining fast, Dwalin rushed forward and began pounding and kicking at the wall. "We're losing the light," Thorin rushed. "Come on!" Dwalin growled. "Be quiet! I can't hear when you're thumping!" Nori snapped. "I can't find it...it's not here! It's not here!" The sun was now setting more deeper into the horizon, the deeply red-shaded sunlight fading fast. Sunny could only pant in desperate gasps as Thorin's frantic anger was manifesting once more. "Not now," she whimpered. "Not again, not when we're so close." "Break it down!" he cried to the dwarves. Dori, Nori, Ori, and Bombur stood back with the others as Dwalin, Gloin, and Bifur brought their weapons and began smashing against the stone-firm wall. "Come on!" Thorin roared. All they succeeded in doing was damaging their Laketown leased weapons beyond and hope of repair, while leaving not even a scratch or a divot in the stone. "It's no good!" Balin spoke up from the rear. "What?!" Sunny gasped. "The door's sealed. It can't be opened by force. There's powerful magic on it." He muttered the last bit under his breath. At last, Dwalin, Gloin, and Bifur dropped their blunted weapons in exhaustion, never the less unfortunate for their fortune's turn. Sunny could only watch in desperation as the last of the sunlight disappeared behind the distant mountain range on the horizon. "No!" Thorin cried. His desperation was met with nothing else but defeated looks from the company, some more worse for where, especially Sunny. All he could do was look at any glance he could on the map, praying beyond hope that something would jump out and scream "you missed me!", yet nothing did. "'The last of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole'. That's what it says!" He held out his arms in disbelief to the others, but none returned his gaze. There was not a shred of hope amongst them, at least for those who were not dwarves, or Sunny. They had come so far, so close to achieving some kind of end to the journey, exhausting every ounce of hope she had left. But in the end, once again, they had to just trip over the last hurdle, and by some magic that was out of their control. It was hopeless. "What did we miss?" Sunny held her head in shame, praying that none of the others had noticed the tears swelling in her eyes. "What did we miss, Balin?" The wise dwarf looked upon the rightful heir to Erebor, with defeat in his posture, and sighed heavily in guilt. "We've lost the light," he spoke, no one else missing his words or their meaning. "There's no more work to be done. We had but one chance." The dwarves in turn hung in despair as one by one they turned and trudged back to the stairs. "Come away," Balin sighed. "It's...it's over." "Wait a minute!" Bilbo squeaked. "You wait," Gloin grumbled. Bilbo then turned back to Thorin, who kept his back to Bilbo's face. "Where are they going? You can't give up now!" "He's right!" Izzy called, desperation also filling her worried voice. "Perhaps there's another secret entrance..." "Izzy," Sunny mumbled. "A secret-secret entrance just around the back, or on the other side..." "Izzy!" "Or better yet, no wait, we could dig under the mountain! Yes, that's it! We'll dig under and emerge right inside the mountain...!" "IZZY!" Aside from Thorin, only the ponies and Bilbo remained at the wall-side, silent as the night after Sunny angrily snapped at her friend, leaving them quiet and terrified. "It's done! It's over!" Sunny turned away from the others, head hanging low and trotting in the slowest pace possible, her mind becoming overrun with nothing else but sadness; it was a familiar situation, though the stakes were more ungrateful than before. "Sunny," Pipp called. "Sunny, wait!" Sunny stopped, just only at the slope which lead to the first step away. "Sunny, it's not over yet. We can still finish this-" "How?!" "What?" "How, how can this journey be finished if we missed the chance to even open the door?! Don't you get it?! We're now stuck in this godforsaken book, with no hope of going home, and to make matters worse your sister is completely out of action!" Pipp could only look into the saddened eyes of her friend with horror in her breath, even as Izzy's smile finally drooped. Thorin had heard all, though he smartly chose not to intervene. With defeat finally overtaking his senses, he gazed upon his grandfather's key, before letting it drop right from his grip onto the stone at his feet with a loud clink. "Thorin," Bilbo spoke, right as Thorin shoved the map right at his chest. "You can't give up now." His pleas were all in vain, no thanks to the unruly dwarven stubbornness, for Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, heir to the kingdom of the Lonely Mountain simply strolled past the remainders to the slope and out of sight around the corner. Sunny began trotting behind him, when Pipp stopped her again, this time tears swelling in her eyes as well. "Sunny, please," she choked. "Don't do this to me, not again." "I should've learnt from the first time around," was all Sunny could reply. "I cannot believe I was stupid enough to have even bought that...damn book." That was all she mustered to reply, before she too left the hobbit and pegasus behind, beyond emotionally hurt. Izzy glanced back at both of them, before rushing after Sunny in her stead. Now, truly, Pipp was left behind. Alone, scared, and sad. Bilbo was left standing, at the threshold of Erebor, far from warm and comforts of Bag End, and despaired not at the departure of the dwarves, but at the sobbing of the only friend who remained behind with him. He had no idea what words to say that would even amount to comfort on her mind, for he was not Balin, Elrond, Beorn, or even...Gandalf. Wherever the Gray Wizard had faired himself, he hoped it was more fortunate than the situation at the moment. Trying his absolute dandiest to keep concentrated, he paced back and forth, reciting the poem again and again, multiple times out loud. "'Stand by the gray stone...'" He stood right at the wall's face. "'When the thrush knocks...'" He looked about him but there was no sign of anything to amount to a thrush. "'Setting sun'...'and the last light of Durin's Day will shine.' Hmm. The last light, the last light." The evening was becoming the longest yet of his life, and at first he tried thinking back to his delicious food and comfy arm chair. Despair won him over at the sounds of the seemingly never-ending sobs from Pipp; on the flat hard stone, the gleam from Anvil almost nonexistent. His mind was cluttered with anxious worry for his friend, choking up himself in his throat. Instead, sudden but meaningful in no other way he could think of, he began to sing; softly, like to a child being tucked into bed. "Bilbo: Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea; Over snow by winter sown, And through the merry flowers of June, Over grass and over stone, And under mountains in the moon. "Roads go ever ever on Under cloud and under star, Yet feet that wandering have gone Turn at last to home afar. Eyes that fire and sword have seen And horror in the halls of stone Look at last on meadows green And trees and hills they long have known." Once Bilbo finished the final verse, he strolled over to sit beside Pipp, allowing his hobbit-feet to limply dangle over the stoned edge. Pipp straightened up, still despaired but comforted by the hobbit. He too was despaired, so she smiled meekly to meet his eyes. "That was lovely, Bilbo," she complimented. "Where did you learn it?" "I-uh, actually made it up on the spot," he stammered. "Though I have heard bits and pieces from...from when my mother and father were still alive." Bilbo's face then drooped, hanging as his neck dropped with his spine. Pipp then shifted closer to him, wrapping her wing around him in comfort. "You know, you would make a great father." Bilbo blushed, but took the words in deeply. "Would I really?" Pipp smiled, no longer tearful. "Yes, yes I do believe so." "I am glad you're with me. Even here, at the end of all things." "Bilbo, don't take what Sunny said to heart. So many great things have happened since our coming to this...wonderous world." "Like what?" "Well, meeting you, Gandalf, Thorin and the others. Then, finding the weapons, and Anvil in the troll-hoard. It was a pleasure to stay in Rivendell as guests of Elrond. Uh..." "Then you being knighted by Thorin?" "Yeah...yeah, then being knighted by Thorin. Staying over at Beorn's house, with all those lovely flowers planted about his place." "And then of course you got together with Hitch," Bilbo smirked. Pipp immediately shot a look to Bilbo, before catching his chuckle as the two laughed long and proud into the night. "I-I mean, no, no disrespect," Bilbo stammered, catching his breath. "No-no it's, it's quite alright." Pipp calmed herself greatly, careful not to either drop Anvil or to drop herself or Bilbo. "In fact, I'd say that was the highlight of the journey." "You two make an amazing duet." "I know right? We just match so perfectly! It's like magic!" "It might actually be magic." She smiled. It was genuine of her, as most times she smiled it for publicity, and all for show, which hurt after a while. "You're all welcome to stay with me, you know." "Really?" "Yes," Bilbo nodded. "You're all my friends, and I wish only the best for you all in life." "Bilbo, it would be an honor for us to stay with you in Bag End. Truly it would. It means so much to me." The smile faded from her face, looking down to the Desolation below in the valley. "Could you, if it's not a bother, recite the poem again? The one from the map, I mean." "Sure thing. 'Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole'." "Who knew dwarves could be such masters of poetry." Up above, the clouds parted ways revealing the eventide rays of the moonlight that shone brightly upon the clearing. Suddenly, from behind them, came the knocking of something against stone. They stood and watched as a small thrush rapped the shell of a snail against a small stone, then it flew off as the moonlight manifested against the stone wall. "The last light. The last light!" Pipp gaped. "Bilbo that's it! It was a riddle!" "'The last light of Durin's Day!' Of course!" Bilbo cried in excitement. Pipp ran up the wall right as a particular ray shone brightly a small shape carved into the rock; the shape of a keyhole. "Yes! YES! COME BACK!" "Stay here, Bilbo! I'll get them!" Without waiting a second's pause, she leapt into the air soaring down the mountainside, catching the others who were camped just behind the corner. "SUNNY! IZZY! EVERYONE!" They all looked up to the her figure gleefully crying and dancing in the air. "THE KEYHOLE! COME BACK! IT'S THE LIGHT OF THE MOON, THE LAST MOON OF AUTUMN! IT'S THERE! THE SECRET ENTRANCE IS THERE! HA, HA!" She did not stop to see the looks of absolute triumph on their faces, instead she zoomed out of sight back to the mountainside clearing. Fortunately, she was in time to see the very key be accidentally kicked off the edge, catching right as she flew up to land blissfully beside the hobbit. Presently enough, Thorin and the others had come up the path all standing proud and in a row; Izzy smiled the greatest. Pipp proudly approached the king, and bowing in respect, presented him the key, to which he beamed with the pride of his ancestors. Once Thorin waltzed to the keyhole, Pipp went beside Sunny, more guilty about her actions than before. Neither said a word to the other, instead Bilbo watched as she wrapped the same comforting wing he was privy too, but to Sunny instead. The dwarves could not have been more proud of the hobbit if they tried, Balin and Thorin especially. Thorin took great care when handling the key in the keyhole. Once inserted and twisted, a mechanism was heard working from behind the stone. Using all his might, he heaved at the stone wall, pushing a large slab inward to reveal a darkened corridor. "We're in," Sunny beamed. "Erebor..." The delight within Thorin could not be mustered into the proper words to be spoken. "Thorin," Balin too choked up. Thorin placed his hand upon the old dwarf's shoulder as one by one the company of Thorin Oakenshield finally entered into the very halls of Erebor, the Kingdom under the Mountain. "I know these walls...these walls, this stone. You remember it, Balin. Chambers filled with golden light." "I remember." Thorin remained lost in reminisced thought as he pawned his hands over the smooth stone lining the walls encasing them. "Leave him to himself, Izzy," Pipp advised. "They're all still going through the motions, Thorin especially." "We're finally here, Pipp," Sunny beamed. "And, I just wanted to-" "No apologies necessary, I understand. We're still friends, aren't we?" "Yes, yes we are." Nori then pointed the company to a carving on the wall. Encased in the carving, was the image of stone sending rays of light to all directions, and floating above a dwarf sitting in his throne, and beside were six other dwarvish royalties. Below the carving was a transcription in ancient dwarvish. "'Herein lies the seventh kingdom of Durin's Folk,'" Gloin read aloud. "'May the heart of the mountain unite all dwarves in defense of this home.'" Bilbo and the ponies were entranced by the carving, though confused about its meaning. "The throne of the king," Balin explained. "Oh," Bilbo said. "And what's that above it?" "The Arkenstone." Balin winked to Pipp, who returned the gesture. "Arkenstone…And what's that?" "That, Master Burglar," Thorin spoke at last. "Is why you are here."