chsdbacks Chapter 108 The Mad Thorin
Chapter 108 The Mad Thorin
Chapter 108 The Mad Thorin
"Duir, you and Smaug stay here for a bit. Let me speak with Thorin, is that alright?"
Gandalf did not want to see a conflict between Dui and the dwarves to occur.
The original Dui was already beyond the dwarves' ability to deal with, and now with the addition of a dragon, even the Dulin dwarves at their peak might not be a match for them, let alone the fact that there are only thirteen dwarves left on Lonely Mountain.
Dui didn't care; he had no interest in the treasure of Lonely Mountain and had no intention of harming the dwarves.
"Go ahead."
"However, I think you're going to be disappointed, Gandalf. Thorin's dragon disease should have fully manifested by now. Without reason and driven mad, he probably won't accept your kindness at all."
Gandalf sighed, "We should give it a try."
He then leaped off the dragon's back, strode to the massive gate, and his voice boomed like thunder:
"Thorin Oakenshield, come out and meet me!"
After a while, there was no response from behind the blocked door.
Gandalf's brow furrowed, his voice carrying an air of authority without anger:
"Thorin Oakenshield, come out and see me!"
There has been no response yet.
Gandalf's face showed anger, and he raised his staff to smash the boulder blocking the doorway.
Just then, a short figure poked its head out from the city wall and waved quickly.
"Gandalf, I'm here!"
Gandalf looked up, surprised. "Bilbo, is that you? Where are Thorin and the other dwarves?"
Upon seeing Gandalf, Bilbo seemed to see a glimmer of hope and quickly explained:
"Thorin has gone completely mad. After you left with the dragon, he had Bofer and the others blow up the gate with explosives, completely sealing it off. Now he's having everyone search for the Arkenstone in the vault—oh my god, what is that?!"
Before Bilbo could finish speaking, his gaze fell upon the figure of the dragon Smaug in the distance, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
"Gandalf, how come the dragons came back with you?"
Gandalf smiled and said, "The dragon has been tamed by Duir, and he is now Duir's mount."
"Is this real?" Bilbo stared in disbelief, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
How come the dragon suddenly became Duir's mount after only half a day away?
"Alright, Bilbo, go and fetch Thorin. I need to speak with him."
Gandalf said.
Bilbo was still reeling from the shock of the dragon being subdued. He nodded blankly and turned to call Thorin.
Time passed little by little.
By the time Gandalf's patience was almost worn out, Thorin finally appeared leisurely on the city wall.
However, before he could even speak arrogantly, his pupils contracted and he instinctively retreated when he saw the dragon behind Gandalf.
"Gandalf, what does this mean? Why have the dragons followed you back? Have you conspired with the dragons to steal my treasure?!"
Thorin questioned sharply, his eyes filled with a fanatical obsession and unease over the treasure.
Gandalf rolled his eyes, utterly exasperated by Thorin's frantic talk of treasure.
Thorin is now clearly terminally ill, with only greed and possessiveness for treasure in his eyes.
"Thorin, son of Theraine, you have reclaimed Lonely Mountain, and we rejoice for you," Gandalf proclaimed.
"But why would the king of the mountain confine himself within his own walls, like a bandit in a stronghold?"
Thorin looked at Gandalf below the city with wary and suspicious eyes, as well as Dui and the dragon in the distance.
"The reason for this, of course, is that I have bandits at my door, intending to seize my treasure!"
"Furthermore, I am not yet the king of the mountain. My clan's heirloom, the Arkenstone, has not yet been found. I must isolate everyone from entering or leaving."
Until the Arkenstone is found!
Gandalf was so enraged by Thorin's words that he nearly had a heart attack. "My Valar, Thorin Oakenshield, no one here will take your treasure! It's utterly insignificant!"
"What you should be doing now is not guarding your pile of treasure and confining yourself in a cage, but actively contacting other dwarves and forming an alliance with the humans of Lake-town, building defenses, forging weapons, and together resisting the impending danger!"
"Danger? Apart from the fact that you are carrying a dragon, I don't see any other danger!" Thorin said coldly.
"Thorin Oakenshield, wake up! We are not your enemies. Smaug the dragon has been subdued by Duir, and he is on our side!" Gandalf's voice carried a powerful, soul-stirring force.
"The threat from Lonely Mountain is not over yet. The orc army could appear at any moment. We must organize more forces to deal with the orc threat!"
A struggle flickered in Thorin's eyes, as if he had been persuaded.
But in the end, his desire to possess the treasure prevailed, and his eyes turned cold again.
"Gandalf, you are not welcome here. Please leave!"
Gandalf was shaken by Thorin's unyielding beard.
"And what about me, Thorin Oakenshield?" Dui's voice came as he rode his flying broomstick to Thorin's side, looking down at him coldly. "You promised me that once I helped you reclaim Lonely Mountain, one-tenth of its treasure would belong to me."
"Now that I've solved the dragon problem for you and helped you reclaim Lonely Mountain, when are you going to pay me my reward?"
Thorin's pupils contracted as he looked at Dui flying in front of him, and his expression became wary and alert.
Meanwhile, Smaug, the dragon that remained at a distance, let out a deafening roar and stared intently at him.
The fear of the dragon brought Thorin back to his senses, causing him to swallow his words of refusal.
He glanced at Dui, who held the magic wand, then at the dragon in the distance. His face was extremely grim, and he struggled internally for a long time, feeling as if his heart was bleeding and his flesh was being torn apart. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said:
"I promise I'll give you one-tenth of the Arkenstone after I find it!"
But Dui wasn't easily fooled; he squinted and said:
"But if the Arkenbroker isn't found, or if it is found but no one says so, does that mean we're not going to give it to them?"
Thorin's expression darkened further. "Of course not, but you promised to reclaim Lonely Mountain. If you want a share of the treasure, you must first help me find the Arkenstone!"
Dui chuckled and shook his head. With a flick of his fingers, the contract flew out of his pocket and floated in front of Thorin.
"I think you've misremembered, Thorin Oakenshield. The contract only required me to help you reclaim Lonely Mountain, not to find the Arkenstone. That's an extra requirement outside the contract, and I didn't agree to it."
"Besides, Smaug spewed out so much dragonfire in the vault before, who knows if the Arkenstone was burned to ashes by the dragonfire?"
"I've completed the terms of the contract; now it's time for you to fulfill your promise!"
Faced with Dui's assertive attitude, Thorin's gloomy face seemed to drip ink.
Give me a month.
"One month from now, I will place your share of the treasure before you, not a single penny less."
Dui gave him a meaningful look: "I hope you'll keep your word."
He then turned his flying broom around and asked Bilbo, who was not far away:
"Bilbo, are you coming with me and Gandalf?"
Bilbo glanced at Thorin, whose face was grim, then at Dui, who was all smiles, and nodded after a moment's hesitation.
Upon hearing this, Dui lowered the broom and reached out to pull Bilbo onto it.
"Don't leave!" Thorin's voice suddenly rang out.
Dui paused, turned to look at Thorin, and his expression turned cold.
"Do you have a problem with that?"
Bilbo also looked at Thorin in surprise.
"You can leave, but you must prove you haven't taken anything that belongs to Lonely Mountain!"
Thorin looked at Bilbo with a suspicious expression.
A surge of demonic pressure erupted from Dui's body.
"Thorin Oakenshield, have I been too lenient with you? Making you suspect my friend?"
Thorin felt the air around him freeze instantly, and even breathing became difficult.
Even so, he gritted his teeth and said, "If he didn't hide it, why wouldn't he let me check? Is the Arkenstone hidden on his person?"
Dui drew his wand, ready to teach him a lesson.
Bilbo stopped them.
Bilbo stopped Duy's wand, shaking his head slightly with a calm expression.
"Duir, it's alright. Since he suspects me, let him check to prove my innocence."
When Bilbo spoke, Dui snorted and released Thorin.
Thorin took a few deep breaths to relieve the suffocation he had just experienced, but his gaze towards Dui was filled with even more apprehension and a hint of fear.
Under Thorin's watchful eye, Bilbo turned over each of his pockets to prove that he had nothing hidden.
"Wait, there's also that money pouch. I know it's been enchanted and can hold a lot of things."
Bilbo was now completely disappointed in Thorin. He nodded expressionlessly, then opened the money bag and dumped it on the ground.
Instantly, all sorts of gold and silver jewelry fell out and quickly piled up on the ground into a small mountain.
These were among the treasures Dui had previously acquired from the goblin cave.
Thorin looked at the treasure before him, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes. Suffering from dragon disease, he wished he could take all the treasure he saw.
However, retaining a sliver of reason, he looked at Dui before him and the dragon eyeing them menacingly, and suppressed his greed. Dui, of course, noticed the change in Thorin's gaze. He sneered, pointed to the pile of treasure on the ground, and said:
"Now go and search through this treasure to see if anything belongs to your Lonely Mountain. If you don't find it, please put it all back into your purse and return it to Bilbo!"
Thorin naturally failed to find the Arkenbroker he wanted among them.
Under Dui's threat, he had no choice but to reluctantly put the treasure back into the purse and return it to Bilbo.
Duy then took Bilbo away from the city walls and flew towards Gandalf.
Welcome back, Bilbo.
Gandalf smiled at Bilbo and said this.
He had also seen what happened on the city wall, and he was very disappointed with Thorin's performance.
The Thorin of today has lost all his former rationality and conscience, leaving only fanaticism and a thirst for treasure.
At the same time, he felt a little guilty. If he hadn't organized this expedition, would Thorin have been alright?
It's fortunate that Dui doesn't know Gandalf's thoughts, otherwise he would just say that he's overthinking it.
Reclaiming Lonely Mountain was Thorin Oakenshield's obsession; even without Gandalf, he would probably have gone there anyway.
Moreover, without Gandalf's protection, he would either have met his end like his father, Therain II, dying at the hands of orcs.
Even if they reach the Lonely Mountain, they will ultimately be consumed by the dragon's flames.
The three left the gate of Lonely Mountain and headed towards River Valley City.
During this time, Bilbo experienced riding a dragon for the first time, and he was so excited that his face turned red, completely forgetting the unpleasant experience that had just happened on the city wall.
"By the way, Duir, I've searched the entire treasure vault for that mandrake you lent me, but I can't find it. Could it have been burned by dragonfire?"
On the dragon's back, Bilbo suddenly remembered something and said apologetically to Dui.
Dui smiled and shook his head.
"I forgot to tell you before, but I actually took back the mandrake a long time ago."
"After all, it's something that can be solved with a simple summoning spell."
Bilbo finally breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"That's good. I thought I had lost your mandrake."