A Dragon Would Be Hard-Pressed Not to Rob This Place

After turning the key once, Thorin pushed open the secret door.

"Erebor!"

Entering the secret door, Thorin was overcome with emotion at the sight of the scene. "I recognize these walls, these halls, these stones."

Do you remember, Balin? The room was Winky.

"I remember," Balin nodded, tears welling in his eyes.

Gloin looked at the murals on the wall, "This is the seventh kingdom of the Durin people. May the Mountain Heart unite all the dwarves to protect their homeland."

"Is that the Arkenstone?" Aaron noticed an oval-shaped gem on the king's throne in the mural, radiating light in all directions.

"Yes," Thorin said, "That is what you two are after on this trip."

Bilbo and Aaron exchanged a glance, and as the moment approached, both Golden Snitch felt a little flustered.

Unsure whether Smaug was still asleep, and not daring to take the risk, the dwarves had Balin, who knew Erebor best, lead the way for the two.

"I know we're looking for gems. What do gems look like?" Bilbo asked.

"A large and beautiful gem."

"That's it?" Bilbo's eye twitched slightly. "I think there must be a lot of gems down there."

"There is only one Arkenstone, and you will definitely recognize it when you see it."

"Don't worry." Aaron raised the Compass in his hand, full of confidence, and said, "We can find it without even recognizing it."

Balin suddenly stopped and sighed, "To be honest, you two, I don't know what you'll see down there."

"If you don't want to, you can go back. There's nothing shameful about it."

"No, Balin," Bilbo said firmly, "I promised to do it, and I have to try."

"Needless to say, I'm an expert." Aaron grinned, revealing a row of clean teeth. "Our family takes contracts very seriously, and I will find the Arkenstone."

Furthermore, you should also be mentally prepared that as long as Smaug is alive, Thorin is not truly the king of the mountain.

"We understand," Balin nodded. "The Arkenstone can unite the dwarven tribes, and the dwarven army may be able to defeat the dragon and reclaim Erebor."

Aaron shrugged, thinking to himself that they wouldn't have that chance.

The dragon head is his; no one can take it from him.

"Let's go, Bilbo."

"Wait a minute," Balin called out to the two, speaking haltingly, "If there really is a living dragon down there, don't wake it."

Bilbo couldn't help but swallow, wanting to ask something more, but Balin had already left.

The two continued forward, trying to keep their footsteps as quiet as possible.

"Bilbo, isn't your heartbeat a bit too exaggerated?" Aaron said speechlessly.

"Can you honestly say you're not afraid or nervous?"

That's a legendary dragon! I've lived for decades and never seen one, Old Took probably never has either.

"Calm down." Aaron smiled faintly. "With me here, you won't have any trouble. I can guarantee that."

Upon hearing this, Bilbo's heart rate slowed down slightly.

After all, Aaron's combat strength was much higher than his, and he was also a mage, so he felt safer.

As Bilbo stepped through the last door, he began to mentally reassure himself: He's not home, he's not home, he's not home...

The two suddenly stopped and stared in astonishment at the palace below.

This dwarf's grand hall was filled with gold coins, and various gems were everywhere.

"This is absolutely spectacular!" Bilbo rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"I've seen something even more spectacular." Aaron also somewhat shocked; the dwarves' wealth was almost as much as his family's treasury.

No wonder Smaug occupied Erebor; dragons love Winky things. With so much gold openly displayed here, it would be unreasonable not to rob you.

"Can the Compass find the Arkenstone?" Bilbo asked in a low voice.

Aaron glanced at the motionless pointer, then at the golden ocean below, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

"The direction is clear, but there are too many gold coins below. We estimate we'll have to dig them out."

"Phew!" Bilbo took a deep breath. "Let's go down first and talk about it then!"

Aaron didn't object; one always has to take the first step.

But as soon as the two took their first step, the gold coins beneath their feet began to slide down with a whoosh.

"Damn it!" Aaron said speechlessly, "I probably wouldn't even need to dig out the gem to wake it up."

Bilbo immediately made a shushing gesture, pointing to the Compass needle, signaling Aaron to concentrate on digging for treasure and not to speak.

Aaron shrugged and walked forward following the pointer.

The two slowly walked to the center of the main hall, preparing to climb over a mountain of gold coins that was more than ten meters high.

But then, gold coins several meters away began to slide down with a whooshing sound. Seeing this, Aaron immediately grabbed Bilbo and hid behind a pillar.

"What's wrong?"

Aaron bent down gently and picked up a golden mirror, using its reflection to let Bilbo see a huge dragon's eye.

Bilbo's heart was pounding, and a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Smaug, it's at home."

Aaron nodded, intending to go around in another direction, since moving under the dragon's nose could easily give him a heart attack.

But as soon as he turned around, the gold coins on the other side started to slide down with a clatter.

Aaron gasped and quickly hid back inside.

Bilbo stared blankly as he spread his arms wide, silently comparing his size to Smaug's, before humbly crouching down.

"At least fifty meters," Aaron said with a smile. "It's bigger than any dragon I've ever seen. I would be no match for it in a head-on confrontation."

The sound of gold coins sliding down rang out, and a pile of gold coins slowly slid down from above to the feet of the two people.

His cold, vertical pupils suddenly snapped open, scanning everything within his field of vision.

Bilbo was so startled he almost fell over, but Aaron caught him in time to prevent him from being exposed.

The enormous dragon head slowly rose from the gold coin, followed by heavy breathing. Smaug seemed to have caught the scent of a living person, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

Aaron and Bilbo exchanged a glance. One cast Disillusionment Charm on himself, while the other decisively put on Magic Ring and became invisible.

"Alright, thief." Smaug looked at the pillar, his nostrils twitching slightly. "I can smell you, I can hear your breathing, I can feel your presence."

Where are you? Where are you?

As the enormous dragon head approached, Bilbo became extremely nervous and took off running.

Aaron didn't hesitate and ran in a different direction.

Although Smaug couldn't see the two men, he could determine their approximate location by their footsteps.

"Come out! Don't be shy, show yourself!" Smaug teased as he moved toward Bilbo. "You're a bit strange, it's something you're carrying."

It is made of gold, but it is even more precious.

Bilbo was drenched in cold sweat. Smaug's words had left him dazed, and the terrifying Mystic Eye flashed through his mind. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had taken off his ring and was now staring at the dragon's head, which was right in front of him.

"You're here! Thief in the shadows."

"And the other one? Aren't they going to show their face?"

Aaron inwardly scoffed upon hearing this.

You think I'll just leave because you tell me to? Wouldn't that be incredibly disrespectful?

"Aren't you coming out?" Smaug sneered, sniffing Aaron's scent as he chased after him. "I'm familiar with the scent of humans. Do you think you can escape?"

However, you are special; you can hide your tracks even without the One Ring.

Smaug's pupils were fixed on the top of a pile of gold coins, as if to confirm that Aaron was there.

It took a deep breath, a hint of surprise flashing in its dragon eyes, "Who are you? Why do you have the aura of one of our own?"

"Unbelievable, there are other dragons in Middle-earth besides me."

similar?

Aaron was stunned for a moment, then he was shocked by Smaug's sense of smell.

He and Abei had been separated for most of the time, but he could still smell the stench.

"Answer the questions."

Smaug slammed down with his claw, and a shower of gold coins and gems fell like raindrops.

Aaron could no longer remain invisible, so he reluctantly dispelled the Disillusionment Charm.

"Still a child?" Smaug was even more surprised, staring at Aaron meaningfully. "How old are you?"

"Let's say fourteen!" Aaron said neither humbly nor arrogantly, then slowly moved to Bilbo's side. "I'm more curious about how old you are."

"I don't remember anything from the First Age until now," Smaug coldly. "Tell me about the other dragons now, and I might spare your life."

"Oh, this..."

"Speak," Smaug's voice rose a few decibels, "Who is it? Where is it?"

Aaron scratched his head sheepishly. "Abei should still be at my house. I've been raising it since it was born, so it should be almost three years old now!"

However, I'm not as big as you; I'm only about five meters tall now.

Upon hearing this, Smaug was so shocked that he was stunned for a moment and couldn't recover.

Bilbo was also dumbfounded, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Raising dragons? There's a limit to how much you can joke around!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Smaug roared furiously. "How could a noble dragon submit to mere humans?"

Aaron:...

If we're really talking about bloodlines, even a god might not be as noble as me.

"Who knows?" Aaron said, feigning nonchalance. "Perhaps it has something to do with personal charisma."

A sinister smile crept across Smaug's lips. "Charisma, huh?"

It doesn't matter; dead people don't have any appeal.

"Hey? You promised to spare my life!"

"Naive child." Smaug opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of fangs.

"Naive child, you're not here!" Aaron's deep voice rang out, and Smaug, who had been about to devour him alive, abruptly stopped.

"Dragon Speaker?"

"Dragon Language, the language of dragons." Bilbo stared at Aaron in astonishment. "You know the language of dragons?"

"Otherwise, how can we raise dragons?" Aaron said confidently.

"Hmph!" Smaug sneered. "Leave this place before I change my mind. That's the only mercy I can show you."

Aaron yawned. "Sorry, I won't proceed until I achieve my goal."