Compared to Garrett's amazement, Thorin was completely accustomed to the sight.
"Buildings above ground are only a small part of our living space. This mountain is vast."
At this moment, the two of them stood on a platform that was slowly descending, with a magnificent sea of lights before them.
The taller one looked around in wonder, while the slightly shorter one stood calmly, as composed as ever.
After a moment of silence, as the lift was about to reach the lowest level, he leaned a little closer to Garrett, coughed lightly, and said, "By the way, one more thing... I noticed ever since you arrived, did you change your armor? Mind if I examine it?"
Garrett's mouth twitched.
"Go ahead."
These Dwarves really were all the same.
"The feel, the material... It seems you've mastered some forging methods that no one else possesses."
Before the armor, Thorin spared no praise.
"Truly perfect."
Clang.
With that exclamation, the lift reached the ground.
Thorin withdrew his gaze and instantly returned to his usual air of authority.
The two of them continued deeper underground, walking along fenced roads and bridges, passing by dwarven miners hard at work, until the lights grew sparse and the sound of digging disappeared.
Thorin stopped, turned, and looked at Garrett.
"Do you feel it?"
"Feel what?"
Garrett was somewhat confused. Everything seemed normal to him. He glanced at his status bar, no notifications either.
Thorin sighed and turned back around, leading Garrett further down as he explained, "The pounding of the heart, that's the feeling. It's plagued us for many years. The deeper I go, the more I feel as if some great danger lurks below. My very bloodline warns me not to go forward."
After walking a little farther, he stopped again.
"Now? Do you feel a heat?"
Garrett focused carefully.
"If you mean temperature, then yes, it does feel a bit warmer. But oppressive heat? Not at all. If anything, I'd say it's pleasantly warm."
"..."
Hearing this, Thorin fell silent.
"Seems you can't sense it. What I speak of isn't temperature, but an inner restlessness. My sweat runs cold, my skin doesn't feel hot, yet there's always this suffocating unease that won't leave."
Here, the two of them seemed to inhabit different worlds, their perceptions divided.
"Unfortunately, I only find the temperature comfortable."
Garrett asked, "Is it the same for all of you?"
Thorin firmly replied, "Yes, every single one. It's definitely not an illusion."
"How strange."
Garrett suggested, "Perhaps we should go deeper and investigate."
"Very well."
Their steps didn't falter. The light grew dimmer, forcing Thorin to grab a lantern from the roadside to illuminate the way.
But after a while, Thorin suddenly halted.
"This is the end."
He raised the lantern forward.
Before them lay a massive chasm, unfathomably deep, the two of them standing right at the edge of the cavern that opened into it.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, an arrow shot from behind, making Thorin whirl around in shock.
"Garrett?"
He called out in confusion, puzzled by Garrett's action.
"Bat," Garrett answered briefly.
Thorin looked at the target, the bat that had already fallen into the depths of the chasm.
"Bats? Here?"
Garrett didn't answer immediately. He put away his bow, stepped slowly forward, and stared into the endless abyss, his expression turning grave.
"This feels familiar. There really might be something down there."
"What?"
Thorin grew alert.
Garrett kept his gaze fixed on the darkness below. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Perhaps something you and I both know well, but only I have seen. Step back. Leave this place, Thorin. Take all your people and seek refuge in Dale. Something may happen here soon. But don't worry, leave it to me."
"What exactly have you discovered?" Thorin asked, more bewildered than ever.
But when he raised his head again, he suddenly saw Garrett drawing out a pitch-black greatsword as tall as himself, hefting it onto his shoulder.
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. But even if there's the slightest chance it is what I suspect, I don't recommend you staying here."
"Balrog," Garrett uttered a single word.
Thorin's heart trembled, his eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.
"Why is it that these things always come after us?"
Though he complained aloud, he never once doubted the truth of Garrett's words.
"Be careful."
Leaving only that warning, Thorin immediately ran back the way they had come, to begin urgent evacuation and preparations for war.
The great bell of Erebor tolled.
Every Dwarf instantly dropped their tools and rushed to don their armor.
The commotion even reached Dale, where Bard hurried out of the storeroom, turning his gaze toward the Lonely Mountain.
"Father."
Bain ran over to him, confusion written on his face.
Seeing him, Bard shoved two great bows into Bain's hands. "Hold these for me, I'll go see what's happening."
But before Bard even reached Erebor's gate, Thorin was already leading a large host of Dwarves out.
"Bard!"
Thorin spotted him from afar.
"What's going on?"
Bard was bewildered.
Why were the Dwarves marching toward Dale in full battle gear?
Even if he believed they meant no harm, the sheer sight of it made the townsfolk uneasy.
Bard himself could not help but worry, one can never be too careful.
As soon as Bard approached, Thorin caught his breath and quickly said, "Forgive me for not warning you earlier, there wasn't enough time. Garrett and I discovered a powerful monster deep underground."
"Then what do we do? Are we to raise an allied army and strike it down?" Bard asked.
"No."
Thorin shook his head.
"We've come to seek refuge."
---
After the bat was shot down and Thorin departed, Garrett continued his descent.
He poured a barrel of water over the edge of the chasm, watching it stream downward, then followed along the flow.
After descending for a long time, he finally reached the bottom.
Landing at last, Garrett stowed the lantern into his inventory, plunging his surroundings into darkness.
In the pitch black, he opened his eyes wide, carefully scanning left and right.
At last, after feeling his way along the stone for some distance, a faint, eerie light appeared at the edge of his vision.
A glowing stone?
No, something was off.
He pulled the lantern out again, revealing the object in full.
Not a stone, but a small box, etched with unsettling characters on its surface.
Wait, that script...
The Black Speech.
"Flame of Udûn, Fire of Darkness."
"Sleeping Doom, Return to the World."
Vmmm.
As Garrett read the lines aloud, something stirred.
The air froze. Evil power erupted from within, sweeping through the chasm and swallowing even the light of his lantern.
His vision dimmed as a sinister black mist, woven of shadowy particles, rose around him, shrouding everything in obscurity.
[Darkness: 10s]
A status effect appeared in his indicator bar. Each time the counter neared zero, it instantly refreshed back to ten seconds.
He gripped his Dragonflame Steel sword tightly, waiting in silence.
At length, when the dreadful darkness finally receded, a wave of searing heat surged forth.
Now he could share in Thorin's feeling.
Because it had truly arrived.