Comes Around Again (Gigolas & Bagginshield)

Dragon Fire, in Twisted Wire, Meshed the Light of Moon and Sun

"Bilbo!" Thorin cried, and ran headlong down the tunnel. Gimli was fast at his heels and it was quickly nearly too dark to see. The others raced with them, Gimli could hear them all around them, could feel their running steps. If I can feel them, so can Smaug, Gimli thought. The dragon roared again, a great crash sounding. Though, I doubt he's paying much attention at the moment.

They rounded a corner; Bilbo cried out once more, a sound of surprise as if he had fallen. There was a steady roaring in Gimli's ears, but it had a strange tinkling quality to it. Gold. The Hoard of Thror, he thought suddenly. That's the sound of coin flowing like water.

Smaug's growling crashed into words as the light before them grew steadily brighter; it was the light of torches reflected off gold. "The King Under the Mountain is dead. I took his throne. I ate his people like a wolf among sheep. I kill where I wish, when I wish. My armor is iron. No blade can pierce me!"

"Unless it's a sodding black arrow," Gimli huffed to himself, getting him an odd look from Dori.

"Save your breath, lad," Dwalin grunted as he passed; he had steadily made his way to the front of the company. "You'll need your strength."

There was no time to reply, for then they burst through to the dragon's lair. Gimli was momentarily staggered, though long training kept his feet moving one in front of the other. There was so much Gold; he had never realized just how large the hoard had been. By the time Gimli had made it to the mountain, large portions had already been paid as reparations, and more still had been hidden away in the royal coffers.

But there was no time to stand there, dazzled. Smaug bellowed once more and stomped into view, crouched low, as if chasing something on the ground.

Smaug was massive, and behind him, Gimli heard Ori whimper. Or maybe that was Bombur. Either way, Gimli felt like whimpering himself. No wonder this dragon had taken the mountain.

And he wasn't even the biggest, Gimli thought, surprisingly distant. A mere baby in comparison.

"That's not a comfort," he muttered under his breath, and forced himself to look away. "There!" he cried, spotting it; a shifting patch of gold, like the coins were scattered by slipping, running feet, though no one could be seen. "Bilbo's over there!"

"Where?" Thorin cried. "I don't see him!"

"Smaug's nearly on him!" Gimli cried. "We have to distract him."

Smug taunted Bilbo as he hunted, his voice rumbling through the cavern. "You were only ever a means to an end. The coward Oakenshield has weighed the value of your life and found it worth nothing," he hissed. "What did he promise you? A share of the treasure?" He tisked, and it set Gimli's teeth on edge. "As if it was his to give. I will not part with a single coin. Not one piece of it!"

"Right," Thorin said, and clambered to the top of a teetering pile of gold. He stood tall, feet braced, and raised his sword high.

"It is not yours to keep!" Thorin cried, in a voice that echoed through the room like a sounding drum. Smaug's head swung towards Thorin, and he slowed. "I did not look to see you so easily outwitted. You have grown slow and fat in your dotage," Thorin taunted. Smug rumbled and smoke billowed towards the dark shadows of the ceiling. He took a step towards Thorin, and Thorin sneered. "Slug!"

Smaug roared and belched fire. Thorin jumped, and slid down the pile back towards them.

"Scatter! Take cover. Go!"

Gimli wasted no time, and was off like a shot towards where he had last seen Bilbo. Smaug continued to snarl, clearly unhappy to see so many dwarves appear. The others were not silent, either, no. They all seemed to take a page from Thorin's book, shouting their defiant taunts to the already enraged dragon.