Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1083 1065. The Prophecy of Lonely Mountain
"This area was once the most prosperous commercial hub in the north of Middle-earth. The dwarves dug out countless gold and gems in the Lonely Mountain, and then these gold and gems flowed into Riverdale and Long Lake Town through trade."

“It was a really good year.”

Balin had tears in his eyes as he looked at the dwarven crossbow on the tower outside, as if he was looking back at a bygone era.

"Gold and gems are not only money, they also bring markets and orders, and hone our dwarven craftsmanship. At that time, there were all kinds of large markets between the foot of the Lonely Mountain and Dale City. Even the toy market was the largest in the North."

"In order to protect his city and the prosperity of commerce, Girion, Lord of Riverdale, came to Lonely Mountain and placed an order with us. He asked us to build weapons that can protect his city from any danger."

"So we studied day and night, immersed in ancient texts and new ideas, and finally... we gave him the wind crossbow and the black arrow."

"That weapon is imbued with our dwarven magic, enough to kill even a dragon!"

At this point, Bahrain's emotions were first excited, then dejected and helpless.

"But unfortunately, when the dragon really came, Girion bravely stood on a high place and shot three arrows at Smaug, but none of them hit him."

"The few remaining black arrows were lost, and the wind crossbow was brought here by the refugees as a souvenir of the tragedy. If Girion had shot the dragon that day, everything would have been different."

Lan sat next to Balin and spoke with his hands on his knees.

"You talk like you were there."

"All dwarves know this saying, so don't interrupt me."

Balin grumbled in dissatisfaction and waved his hand in disdain at Lan En.

But Bud's son also came over when Balin was telling the story. He clasped his hands together nervously and interrupted with a bit of dissatisfaction.

"But if you all know this story, you should also know that Girion actually shot the dragon with an arrow. The black arrow hit a scale on the left side of the dragon's chest, and the force was so great that it almost knocked the scale off!"

"Just fire another arrow at the same spot and pierce the dragon's hide directly! The magic on the black arrow will not be hindered by the dragon's scales and will be enough to kill the dragon!"

"That's just a legend, kid." Balin shook his head helplessly, thinking that the boy was just trying to save some face for their human hero. "It's just a legend."

After all, he was still a child, and he didn't have the courage to argue in the face of the old man's perfunctory attitude.

Moreover, Bahrain’s statement is actually a widely recognized statement.

"I am very old, Lan. I can no longer ride on a goat flexibly, swing a hammer and axe and easily chop off the heads of orcs. But even so, I will never forget the scenery of Lonely Mountain. And what it means to the Durin clan."

After sending Bader's son away, Balin continued speaking to Lan.

"We were once prosperous, but we fell apart before the dragon fire that day. Our people fled in all directions and lost their homes. I still remember that day."

"Thorin and I stood on the wall of the Lonely Mountain. Dragonfire fell from the sky and swept past us. It was Thorin who pulled me behind a stone pillar to hide. When we came out, there were only hundreds of charred bodies of dwarf warriors."

The dragon's flames swept past and killed hundreds of dwarf warriors. This was the first time Lan heard exactly about Smaug's destructive power.

Even if it's just a small aspect.

Lan had seen the dwarves' resistance to damage during this period.

These dwarves are similar to the dwarves of the magical Middle Ages only in appearance and customs. Their creator is the Valar, the god of craftsmen - Aulë.

That is, the creator of the Sword of the Lady of the Lake in Lan's hand.

The power and ability to create life originally belonged only to Ilúvatar. At that time, Aulë's creation of the dwarves was just like making seven intelligent puppets out of stone.

But Ilúvatar forgave Aule's usurpation out of curiosity and loneliness, and gave the power of the secret fire that could truly create life to the original seven dwarves.

Make them real life.

So the dwarves of Arda are truly lives born from the rocks.

When he was chatting with the dwarves before, Lan En clearly heard that even if Thorin was hit in the head by an orc riding a wolf with a sledgehammer, he was only unconscious for half an hour! After he woke up, he was fine!

Not to mention the combination of orcs and wargs, even if it was just mortals and inferior horses, the momentum after charging with weapons would be enough to chop an unprotected human body in half or hammer it into minced meat!

But the Dwarves of Arda can really catch a swung warhammer with their faces!

Perhaps this is because the dwarves' bones and body structure are better able to withstand blunt force blows, but this ability to withstand damage is real.

On the day when the dragon attacked, hundreds of fully armed dwarf warriors were burned to death in one encounter.

Perhaps the evil dragons on the planet Arda are indeed extraordinary creatures.

"But even if you face Smaug like this, you still want to go? What can you use to fight him? There are still Black Arrows in the Lonely Mountain?"

Lan En shook his head and continued to persuade Balin.

"Black Arrow? No." Balin said nonchalantly.

"We only made a few dozen of them experimentally at the time. After completing Girion's order, there weren't many left. But do you think the dragon has been entrenched in Elbor for so long that it would turn a blind eye to weapons that could threaten its safety?"

After he finished speaking, the casual expression on Balin's face gradually disappeared, replaced by extreme seriousness and solemnity.

"But regardless of whether there is a Black Arrow or not, we must go to Lonely Mountain. That is the last chance. The Day of Durin is just around the corner. This is the only chance in the prophecy. In order to take back our homeland, we must not let it go!"

"Prophecy," Lan En murmured the word.

If it were the magical Middle Ages, the prophecy would not carry much weight in his eyes.

Although there are genuine prophet masters like the prophetess Islinni, most prophecies are made up and spread out for political needs or simply to confuse the waters.

There are so many such prophecies that the truly powerful ones are hard to distinguish, just like sand in the sand.

As a result, the authority of the prophecy suffered an irreparable blow.

But in this world called Arda.
"Let me guess, your prophecy is a poem?"

Lan En asked Balin, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The old dwarf cleared his throat and spoke rhythmically: "When the birds of old return to the Lonely Mountain, the reign of the dragon will end. Then."

"Stop. Got it."

Lan raised a hand, signaling Balin to stop.

"So, just because of the prophecy, you're going to break into the Lonely Mountain?"

"No, you're wrong, Lan."

Balin chuckled and looked at the witcher.

There was a sense of relief in that smile.

"Even without the prophecy, we would still go to the Lonely Mountain."

"We are a group of poor dwarves who have lost their homes. Facing the last chance to take back our homes, we don't care even if we have to face the most terrible fate, the dragon or the orc army."

"The prophecy has brought us here. It has taken almost ten months from the beginning of the journey to now. If we give up in the end, each of us will regret it for the rest of our lives. It would be better to just die."

Lan En nodded first, then looked back.

The remaining dwarves in Bard's house had just heard the conversation between Balin and Lan, and they were all looking here.

The fearlessness on his face, showing his willingness to accept the difficult road ahead, is exactly the same as that of the old dwarf Balin.

The injured Kili, Fili and Oin who took care of him, Bofur, and the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
This is the case for all those who were not called out by Thorin to receive weapons.

'The so-called sense of responsibility, the so-called persistence. These things mixed together become the so-called destiny.'

This was what Gandalf had said to Lan before he entered Dol Guldur alone.

If you know that there are dangers and twists and turns ahead, but you still want to go forward because of your emotions, impulses, and persistence, and you cannot and do not want to change.

If this isn’t fate, then what is?

Destiny is not a predetermined trajectory, but the accumulation of previous life, which leads people to make decisions naturally in key choices, and the sum of these decisions influencing each other.

Looking at the expressions of these dwarves, Lan En seemed to have a better understanding of this topic.

"And what about you, Bilbo? The dwarves are fearless in their quest to reclaim their homeland, but why are the hobbits?"

"Me? Are you asking me?"

Bilbo opened his mouth in surprise, then looked around.

Finally he spoke haltingly and a little panicky.

"I am a hobbit, of course I am afraid of accidents, and I miss my Bag End and seven meals a day, but, but."

"I miss my home, but the dwarves, my friends, they have no home anymore."

"I want to help them get it back. That's it. Hehe."

Bilbo laughed dryly. He was at a loss as to what to do, his hands repeatedly changing from putting them in his pockets to pulling them out and then putting them in his pockets again.

Clumsy, and occasionally showing a deliberately awkward smile because of lack of confidence.

But there is no more sincere emotion than this clumsiness.

A group of dwarves who could fight with orcs without batting an eyelid now looked at the hobbits with tears in their eyes and smiles.

The fluff ball squatted beside Bilbo, looking up at his smaller friend with his mouth open.

Lan En also pursed his lips and shook his head helplessly.

"They are all a bunch of stubborn people who can't be persuaded. Damn dwarves, damn hobbits."

"I'm so sorry, Master Lann." Bofur took off his tattered leather hat and bowed comically to the witcher.

"Dwarves are always such a nuisance. Oh, and our hobbits!"

(End of this chapter)