Once they reached the ledge where the secret door was meant to be, the company spread out along the stone wall, searching desperately.
Thorin pressed his hands against the cold rock, running his fingers along every crack and seam as if he could force the mountain itself to answer him.
"There must be a keyhole," he muttered under his breath. "It has to be here."
The others joined in, scraping away dust and moss, knocking on the stone, feeling along every edge.
Fingers ran over rough stone again and again until the skin grew raw, but the mountain remained silent. To anyone looking at it, the wall was nothing more than solid grey rock.
Bilbo searched beside them, brushing the stone carefully with his hands.
"Maybe it's higher up," he suggested, though even he sounded unsure.
Dwalin shook his head, frustration creeping into his voice.
"We've searched every inch of this cursed wall."
The sun was already sinking behind the peaks. The light grew weaker with every passing moment, the shadows stretching longer across the ledge.
Balin glanced toward the sky, unease in his eyes.
"Durin's Day is nearly over," he said quietly.
Thorin did not stop.
"It is here," he insisted, his voice tight with stubborn certainty. "I know it."
He pressed harder against the stone as if refusing to accept anything else.
But the last rays of the sun slipped behind the mountain.
The light vanished.
Darkness slowly crept across the wall.
One by one, the Dwarves stopped searching.
Kili leaned back from the stone, breathing heavily, his hands still resting against the cold rock.
"That's it then," he said bitterly. "All this way… for nothing."
Bofur rubbed his face and let out a long breath.
"We crossed half the world," he said quietly. "Fought trolls, spiders… and now the mountain just closes its door on us."
Bombur sank down onto the ledge, exhaustion in his shoulders.
"Maybe the mountain doesn't want us back."
Even Balin lowered his head slightly, the old dwarf's eyes lingering on the stone wall that had once been the gateway to his home.
For a hundred years they had dreamed of this moment.
And now the mountain stood silent before them.
Thorin remained in front of the wall longer than anyone else. His hand rested against the stone, unmoving.
The others waited, hoping he would find something.
Anything.
But after a long moment, even he slowly lowered his hand.
His jaw tightened as he turned away.
"Pack your things," he said quietly. "We leave at dawn."
The words fell heavily over the Company.
The excitement that had carried them across forests, mountains, and rivers slowly drained away. They began gathering their gear in silence, each of them avoiding the stone wall that had just shattered the dream they had followed for so long.
"Even this thing is useless now," Thorin said bitterly, looking at the key in his hand.
His fingers loosened, and the small key slipped from his grasp, clinking softly against the stone before falling to the ground.
The Dwarves had already begun to turn away.
Only Bilbo remained by the rock.
He stared at the wall, refusing to move.
"No," he murmured softly. "There must be something."
He ran his fingers across the stone again, slowly and carefully, feeling every inch of it.
Then a small movement caught his eye.
A thrush had landed on the wall.
The little bird hopped along the rock and began tapping against the stone with its beak.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Bilbo watched it curiously.
Then something changed.
A pale silver glow slowly spread across the mountain.
Bilbo lifted his head.
The moon had risen.
Its light fell directly across the stone wall.
And suddenly—lines began to appear.
Fine key markings slowly revealed themselves in the rock.
Bilbo's eyes widened.
"The last light of Durin's Day…" he whispered.
Then the realization struck him.
"It's not the sun…"
"It's the moon," he said aloud. "The last moon of autumn!"
The Dwarves turned back at once.
Moonlight shone clearly across the hidden door, revealing its shape in silver lines across the rock.
Bilbo quickly bent down, searching the ground until he found the small key Thorin had dropped.
But before he could pick it up, Thorin stepped forward and lifted the key himself.
For the first time since sunset, a smile appeared on Thorin's face.
Without a word, he placed the key into the tiny keyhole revealed by the moonlight.
The key turned.
A deep sound echoed through the mountain as the hidden door slowly began to open.
Cold air breathed out from the darkness within.
The Company of Thorin Oakenshield had finally returned to Erebor.
One by one, they stepped inside the narrow passage.
Bilbo followed last.
Behind them, the secret door slowly closed once more, sealing the entrance to the mountain.
The ledge outside fell silent again.
For a moment, nothing moved.
Then a figure appeared on the empty ledge.
Luke.
He stood where the Company had been moments earlier, looking at the now closed stone door.
"These guys really have courageous hearts," he muttered. "Or they're just foolish."
He folded his arms as he looked toward the mountain.
"Walking straight in to wake a dragon that could swallow them in one gulp."
That was exactly what had happened before.
In the original story, they woke the dragon… and instead of killing them, Smaug had flown out in rage and turned his fire toward Lake-town.
Luke stretched his shoulders slightly.
"Good thing I'm here," he said.
It had already been three days since he had done anything interesting.
A fight would finally help loosen his bones.
*****
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