I know you were all hoping for a chapter with Kili in it but I'm afraid this chapter focuses back on Thorin and the others at the Lonely Mountain. But I still like these scenes so yeah, deal with it! Haha! ;) Later on will include more about Caspian's past as a lot of you were interested to know what he was doing for the past few years on his travels... and let me tell you, it's a shocker !!! ;)

I still hope you like it! Please comment, vote and follow! :)

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*Bilbo's POV*

To tell you the truth I was not happy at the moment and I wasn't particularly calm either. My thoughts were whirling in my head and my heart was thumping nervously in my chest as I made my way down the dark corridor that led from the secret door further down into the mountain halls. Balin trailed along silently beside me, I was glad that the old dwarf decided that he would accompany me as far as he dared to go.

"You want me to find a jewel?" I asked quietly as we walked, sending Balin a short sideways glance. The old dwarf cleared his throat slightly.

"A large white jewel." Balin confirmed. "Yes."

"That's it?" I asked, shooting a small look down the corridor and we stopped as it reached a corner. "I just... I only imagine there's quite a few down there."

"There's only one Arkenstone." Balin said and I couldn't help but frown slightly at the dwarf. "You'll know it when you see it." He added.

And with that, the old dwarf looked at me with a rather conflicted look on his bearded face.

"In truth, lad, I do not know what you will find down there." He paused a moment, looking at me sympathetically before he continued quickly. "You needn't go if you don't want to. There's no dishonour in turning back."

I returned Balin's gaze for a moment before I shook my head slightly. "No, Balin." I replied, with a little determination. I had come this far; so I wouldn't turn back now, even if I dreaded the prospect of going down into the mountain halls. "I promised I would do this. And I think I must try."

I raised my eyebrows at Balin when he began chuckling quietly but amazedly beside me and I shot the old dwarf an inquiring look. Balin smiled broadly, looking at me with almost wonder in his eyes before he explained himself. "It never ceases to amaze me," he said, "the courage of hobbits."

I couldn't help but chuckle quietly in response, for truly, if a year ago someone had told me that I would be going down into a mountain where a dragon may possibly be sleeping to find a lost jewel of a dwarven kingdom, I would have laughed in their face at the ridiculousness of it all. And yet, here I was, and I was determined to finish my adventure.

"Well, perhaps I have changed. Perhaps I have trusted my luck more than anything." I said, making Balin smile warmly.

"Then go now." Balin said, his voice turning more serious again. "With as much luck as you can muster."

I nodded and made to move down the corridor, only stopping upon hearing Balin's voice once more behind me. I turned at looked at the old dwarf.

"Oh, and Bilbo?" Balin muttered. "If there is in fact a... uh, live dragon down there... please don't wake it."

I nodded, although I did it a bit jerkily, and tried to muster up as much courage as I could find within myself. When I turned back to look at Balin, I only just caught sight of the seam of his coat disappearing around the corner. I sighed quietly, bracing myself before I finally turned away and crept silently down the dark corridor, further and further into the mountain.

The air became slowly warmer, or that was what it felt like to me as I moved along the dark corridors and after a while, when I rounded another corner, I suddenly found myself at the end of the corridor on a small platform from which stairs led down on both sides. I didn't take much notice in that because I could only stare straight ahead with wide eyes, for right before me lay an entire ocean of treasure. I had no idea how big the hall must be but I guessed it had to be tremendous to fit the mountains of gold, jewels and gems that reached high up, almost reaching the ceiling in some places. I continued to stare at the gold in an awestruck state and after a moment I shook my head, blinking at the amounts of treasure before me.

During the journey whenever we had talked of the treasure that lay beneath Erebor, I had never imagined something like this. The thought that I couldn't shake from my mind was that I had been promised one fourteenth of the treasure in return for my services as the company's burglar and I couldn't help but let out a small half-amused snort. What was I even supposed to do with so much gold?

It was only a few moments later that I remembered why I was actually here and I shot a quick look around, at the same time fumbling in my pocket for my magic ring. I couldn't see a dragon, at least not yet, but I was not very keen on walking around in a dragon's lair without at least some form of protection. And being invisible, well, that came in quite handy in a situation like this. Quickly, I slipped the gold ring on to my finger and then started to move down the stairs to my left. After a minute I found myself walking on gold coins and other gems and jewels as I made my way forward.

There was quite a few white jewels, each prettier than the one before, but none of them seemed to be this great white jewel that I was supposed to find. After a while, I was becoming quite impatient as I continued to wander over the mountains of gold, picking up gem after gem before putting it back down. The small coins moved and jingled quietly beneath my large feet and it was just when I picked up a large golden goblet that a load of gold coins were set in motion and came tumbling down towards me, revealing a large closed eye that lay underneath it.

I froze, the goblet still held tightly in my hand as I stared at the closed lids of the dragon, unable to move a muscle. It was then that I heard it, and I wondered how I could have been oblivious to the noise before.

There was a deep breathing coming from beneath the gold in front of me, like that of a sleeping animal. Only this wasn't just an animal, it was a tremendous, gigantic dragon. I held my breath, too scared to make a single noise. I only moved when I was ripped out of my numb state as Smaug puffed out some air through his nose, coins and gems falling from his head at the action. I scrambled away from the sleeping beast and quickly hid behind a large pillar, despite still being invisible thanks to my ring, and peered anxiously around the corner.

The dragon was lying buried beneath the mountains of gold like it was a blanket, moving sleepily. I forced myself to keep my breathing even and could only glance over shortly to the other end of the hall where in the distance I could just see Smaug's tail move slightly, setting more of the treasure into motion. Smaug was truly enormous and I had never felt so small in my whole life. I peeked around the corner once more, freezing when, to my horror, I saw that Smaug's eye was now open and staring right through me before it slowly moved over the treasure in the hall. I could only watch as the dragon lifted first its head out of the treasure before it slowly stood from its lying position, sniffing the air with a low growl that echoed through the whole hall. I felt his heart sink and I pressed myself tighter against the large stone pillar when a deep, mighty voice echoed through the throne hall.

"Well, thief." Smaug hissed as he moved about the hall, making me shrink in my spot. "I smell you. I hear your breath. Where are you?"

I knew in that moment that I would always remember Smaug's voice. It was deeper than any I had ever heard, a mixture between a growl and a hiss and yet it was strangely compelling, it was almost luring. I silently moved from my spot next to the pillar as Smaug moved past me, trying to creep my way back to the secret corridor without alerting the dragon to it. But my plan failed rather badly when I accidentally slipped on the ground of coins and treasure, falling onto my back and sliding down a pile of gold with no small amount of noise. Smaug was upon me in an instant, its enormous body following me through the hall.

I managed to slow down somehow and quickly scrambled away, hiding behind another pillar, as my breath came out in quick gasps, even though I tried to calm it down. It was a moment later that I could see Smaug's head appearing next to me, peering down into the hall.

"Come now." He said, his voice changing from alluring to a dangerous growl in an instant. "Don't be shy. Step into the light."

There was a short pause in which Smaug watched the hall before he slowly moved backwards and I watched him disappear behind the pillar. I slowly moved forward towards the edge, only to freeze again when I suddenly heard the dragon's voice once more, this time from behind me.

"There is something about you. Something you carry." Smaug breathed, hot air suddenly filling the hall and I quickly turned to see the dragon's head before me once more. He had crept around the pillar and now approached from the other side. I shortly glanced down to the gold ring on my finger. "Something made of gold." Smaug continued and I felt my heart thump nervously as Smaug rounded in on me, stopping me from escaping. "But far more precious."

It was strange, like a foreign force was overcoming me, I felt my breathing speed up as the ring seemed to become warmer on my finger, almost as if it was trying to burn me. My hand acted before my mind had the chance to catch up and within an instant, the ring was off my finger and Smaug stared directly at me before I even truly realised what had happened.

"Ah." Smaug hissed. "There you are, thief. In the shadows."

"I- I d-did not come... to steal from you." I stammered, helplessly as I stared up at the tremendous beast, trying desperately to come up with a plan as fast as my mind would allow. "Oh, Smaug the Tremendous. I merely wished to have a look at you and see if you were truly as great as the tales say. I did not believe them!"

Smaug looked at me for a moment before he moved back around the pillar, leaving me to release a momentary relieved breath. The ground shook slightly beneath my feet as the dragon stepped up to me again from the other side, standing before me now as he stretched almost up to the distant ceiling.

"And do you now?" Smaug asked loudly, almost sounding somewhat flattered even though I was sure that he didn't believe a word that I was telling him. But it was all about gaining time and distracting Smaug as long as possible until I could make a run for it. I cleared my throat slightly, trying to make my voice sound less frightened than before and more complimentary.

"Truly... the songs and tales fall utterly short of your enormity, O Smaug the Stupendous."

"You have nice manners for a thief and a liar." Said Smaug. "You seem familiar with my name, but I don't seem to remember smelling you before. Who are you and where do you come from, may I ask?"

I was just about to answer when I caught sight of something, something laid amongst the gold. A glowing white stone, large and bright, truly mesmerizing... it had to be it, it had to be the Arkenstone.

My heart skipped a beat in fear when Smaug moved closer again, taking a small step backwards causing my gaze to be ripped away from the gem that I had been seeking. "I - I come from under the hill." I quickly stuttered, my mind racing to come up with something without telling too much. "And under the hills and over the hills my path has led. And through the air. I am he that walks unseen."

Smaug huffed quietly, hot breath coming out of his nostrils and enveloping me. "Impressive." Smaug growled as he looked at me. "What else do you claim to be?"

"I am Luckwearer and Riddlemaker." I continued, only to be interrupted by Smaug.

"Lovely titles!" He sneered, almost seeming amused. "Go on."

"Barrelrider." I said quickly, thinking about what I could tell the great dragon next but the beast interrupted once more, this time with a sharp hiss.

"Barrels! Now that is interesting." Smaug drawled, before he growled once more. "Very well, Barrelrider! And what about your little dwarf friends? Where are they hiding?"

"Dwarfs?" I asked feigning surprise. "No, no dwarfs here. You've got that all wrong."

"Don't talk to me!" Smaug rumbled lowly, his voice echoing off the huge stonewalls. "I suppose they are skulking outside and sent you in here to do their task and get what you can when I'm not looking?"

"Truly!" I replied quickly, shaking my head. "You are mistaken, O Smaug the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities!"

"Do you think flattery will keep you alive?" The dragon asked, baring his large teeth at me, causing me to swallow nervously. "I know the taste and smell of dwarf - no one better! It is the gold. They are drawn to treasure like flies to dead flesh."

Smaug now started to walk around in the hall, the treasure moving and falling beneath his feet in large waves and I took this chance and tried to slowly edge in the direction where the stairs were that led to the corridor that I had first come from. But Smaug was angry now and I quickly had to jump out of the way, and run down another pile of treasure when the dragon gripped one large pillar in his tremendous claws, breaking it as he roared.

"Did you think I did not know this day would come?" Smaug growled loudly, the tremor of the breaking pillar making the ground move beneath my feet, causing me to fall and tumble down in the waves of gold. "That a pack of canting dwarves would come crawling back to the mountain?" Another pillar fell as Smaug moved his large body through the hall and this time the whole mountain shook with the dragon's destruction and his deafening roar.

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I hope you liked it! The next chapter will focus on the company in Laketown again!! :)