The Keyhole Revealed by Moonlight

At dusk, Aaron ( in his Thought Form) returned to Bard's house. As soon as he entered, he almost stumbled and fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Sigrid quickly helped him into a chair.

"Why is your face so pale?" Bofur asked.

"My magic power is severely depleted," the Thought Form explained weakly. He had been continuously outputting Magical Energy for over ten hours, almost exhausting himself.

"What did you do?" Bain asked, puzzled. "You were perfectly fine when I left."

"Keep it a secret." The Thought Form waved its hand. "Please prepare some food and warm water for me now. I'm not as weak as you might normally be."

Bain nodded and quickly took a plate of black bread and cheese sauce from his own pantry.

The corner of the mouth of the Thought Form twitched, and a few black lines even appeared on their forehead.

Don't you have any common sense? You're feeding me this? What if I don't recover by tonight?

However, given Bard's family's financial situation, they could only make do.

"Where are your relatives?"

"He went to the clock tower." Tilda looked at Aaron anxiously. "My dad will be alright, right?"

"Yes." The Thought Form smiled. "You will kill the dragon tonight and become the town's hero, I promise."

The three dwarves looked at each other in bewilderment. If the Prophecy was true and the dragon would come to Long Lake Town, it would mean that Thorin and his companions had failed to resolve the battle at Lonely Mountain.

"Thorin..." Bofur hesitated, "Will the expedition succeed?"

"Of course, Gaius values contracts very much."

I will help Thorin find the Arkenstone, and I will ensure the safety of everyone else.

"But you don't even live on Lonely Mountain, how can you guarantee that?" Kili asked weakly.

"Don't underestimate the power of the Warlock," the Thought Form chuckled. "I've arranged everything."

By the way, haven't you been cured of the poison yet?

"It'll probably be evening before it's ready." Bifur looked at the casserole. "The King's Leaf Grass needs to be simmered for a long time to get the purest medicinal liquid."

On the other side, the expedition team traveled for a day and finally arrived at Lookout City.

Bilbo looked down at the ruins of the town and asked incredulously, "What is this place?"

"It was once the River Ancient City, but now it's just ruins," Balin said. "Smaug brought disaster to the land."

"This is the power of the dragon!" Aaron exclaimed, his desire to activate the Dragon-Slaying Magic Crystal growing stronger.

Once he learns the Dragon-Slaying Magic, he will be able to control this cataclysmic destructive power within three years.

"Before the Sun sets, we must find the secret entrance to the mountain," Thorin said, and started to walk forward.

"Wait!" Bilbo hurriedly stopped him. "This is the outskirts of Lookout. Gandalf said we should meet here. Don't go into Lonely Mountain alone."

"Have you seen him?" Thorin countered. "We don't have time to wait for the Warlock."

We have to rely on ourselves now, let's go!

"Let's go!" Aaron patted Bilbo on the shoulder. "Gandalf has probably already been to the Tomb of the Witch-king of Angmar, but he will be tied up with something more dangerous later, otherwise he wouldn't be so late."

"You know?" Bilbo looked at Aaron in surprise.

"Hmm..." Aaron pondered for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't know, but I can guess roughly."

In Rivendell, Gandalf, the White Wizard, and the two Elf King began a discussion about an enemy they had faced several years ago—an evil necromancer.

All I can tell you is that this is a very complicated situation, and if small fry like us get involved, we could easily drown.

"Then... is he in danger?" Bilbo asked worriedly.

"Definitely, but if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up." Aaron said very frankly. He was more self-aware than anyone else. Rather than dragging others down, he would rather do his own thing.

Bilbo remained silent, knowing he couldn't help, and could only offer his silent blessings.

The expedition team searched for the entrance to the secret gate according to the map, but the search area was too large, and the team scattered and searched for more than an hour without finding it.

Thorin took out a map. "If the map is real, the secret door is directly above us."

"Up there!" Bilbo shouted, pointing to the statue of Thorin Thrain, a massive stone staircase leading up to the statue.

"You have sharp eyes, Lord Bagins!" Thorin exclaimed excitedly, and immediately gathered everyone to start climbing the stairs. They finally arrived at their destination before sunset.

"This must be it, the hidden door." Thorin looked at the stone wall in front of him, the outline of the door was faintly visible, and he could hardly contain his joy.

Thorin took out the key and shouted to the dwarves behind him, "Let those who doubt us dwarves regret it!"

The dwarves cheered immediately. Their long expedition of more than half a year had not been in vain, and the Dwarf Kingdom had hope of being rebuilt.

"We have the key, which means there's a keyhole somewhere." Dwalin began searching the stone wall.

As Thorin gazed at the last rays of the setting sun, he couldn't help but read aloud the words on the map, "The last rays of the sun in Durin will shine upon the keyhole."

"The contract is about to be completed," Aaron thought happily. As long as the door opens, he can use Captain Jack's Compass to find the legendary Arkenstone and complete the System Mission.

However, as the Sun slowly set, Dwalin failed to find the keyhole.

Thorin couldn't remain calm either, and immediately sent Nori to help, as Nori had the best observation skills among the dwarves.

Nori pressed his ear against the stone wall and tapped it repeatedly with a spoon, but the feedback he received only filled him with unease.

"Quiet, I can't hear you anymore with all your punches and kicks."

"I can't find it!" Dwalin pounded on the door angrily. "It's not here, it's not here at all."

As Thorin watched the Sun set and the light fade, he could no longer bear it. "Break down the door!"

Several dwarves took out their weapons, but the stone wall was exceptionally sturdy. Even with axes and chisels, they could only chip away at the fire, and the weapons wouldn't even leave a trace when broken.

"It's no use, the door is sealed, you can't open it by force," Balin said.

"I'll give it a try." Aaron walked up to the stone wall and chanted the unlocking spell, "Alohomora."

A pale yellow light appeared on the stone wall, blasting Aaron back several steps.

"Damn it!" Aaron cursed under his breath, but quickly calmed down. If the secret gate didn't exist, there would be no need to set up such a powerful spell.

The Sun had set, the last rays of sunlight had disappeared, and the dwarves still hadn't broken down the gate.

"Impossible!" Thorin walked up to the stone wall with the map and murmured in disappointment, "The last ray of light of the Durin's Day will shine on the keyhole."

That's what we said above. What did we miss?

The dwarves remained silent; the fact that they could hold back their tears at this moment showed their inner strength.

"What have we overlooked, Balin?" Thorin asked, his voice trembling.

"The light has vanished, and there's nothing we can do about it." Balin said heavily. "We only have one chance. Let's go, everyone."

"Wait a moment." Aaron immediately stopped everyone.

We can't leave! We absolutely can't leave!

I can't fulfill the contract by myself if you leave!

He was just one step away from completing the first task of the system, and he would never be willing to give up now!

"Lumos".

Aaron snapped his fingers, and a bright light appeared in his hand, illuminating the stone wall and the dwarves' disappointed faces.

"Child, I know you're unwilling to accept this, but we are even more unwilling than you," Balin comforted. "But sometimes you have to learn to accept Reality Stone."

"Bullshit Reality Stone," Aaron said angrily. "All I see is you giving up hope of rebuilding the Dwarf Kingdom so easily."

"Thorin," Aaron said, looking at the dwarf prince with his lifeless eyes, "There is a powerful spell on the rock wall, saying that we haven't come to the wrong place. You have the key, so we know how to open the secret door."

"You're leaving just because you can't find the keyhole? That's so disappointing."

"That's right," Bilbo couldn't help but say. "We can't give up, at least not now."

Thorin sighed and slowly raised his head. "But we're already too late."

"Who told you you're late? Isn't today Durin's Day?" Aaron rolled his eyes speechlessly. "Your dwarf ancestors drew this map, and it has ciphers that can only be deciphered in Moon-letters. There's also a riddle in the ciphers. Are you sure your understanding of it is correct?"

Thorin opened his mouth, looking thoughtfully at the key in his hand, a glimmer of hope igniting in his heart.

"Can you solve the riddle?" Thorin looked at Aaron expectantly, and the others also turned their attention to him.

"I can't." Aaron's words were like a bucket of cold water poured on everyone's hearts.

"Then why are you talking about it?"

"But it can." Aaron reluctantly took out Captain Jack's Compass. "This thing is more cost-effective than the Magic Carpet. I spent a lot of money to get it."

It can point to what people desire most deep within their hearts; it is a true treasure.

"You mean it can find the keyhole?" Dwalin asked with some skepticism.

"Of course." Aaron opened the Compass and placed it in Thorin's hand. "Give it a try!"

Thorin swallowed hard, staring at the swaying pointer on the Compass, and thought he might be crazy to have pinned his hopes on a toy.

But for now, let's try anything, even if it seems hopeless!

The keyhole of the secret door, the keyhole of the secret door...

Thorin was completely focused on the location of the keyhole. The pointer on the Compass spun rapidly before finally stopping and pointing to the lower left of the stone wall.

At the same time, the bright moonlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the stone wall.

The light slowly moved downwards, also pointing towards the keyhole.

"A keyhole." Balin stared at the black keyhole that appeared in the moonlight, and tears almost welled up in his eyes.

"The light of the Moon," Bilbo murmured thoughtfully. "So the riddle meant the last moonlight of autumn."

Thorin stared at the keyhole for a long time, unable to come to his senses. When he finally realized what was happening, he found that his hand had loosened and Aaron had taken the Compass back.

"What are you standing there for? Open the door!"

Thorin nodded slightly and, under the expectant gazes of all the dwarves, inserted the key into the lock.