"This should be the place."
Gandalf said with certainty, looking at the stone platform.
Luke nodded, bringing his broom down to land on the stone platform.
As soon as they landed, Luke also untied the Dwarves and released them from the magic spells.
The Dwarves' beards and hair were disheveled, blown into various styles by the wind.
Thorin, the wolf-fox, looked a bit displeased, vowing that he would rather walk himself, no matter how hard, than ever ride Luke's flying broom again.
Bilbo, on the other hand, though somewhat disheveled, was full of excited thrill, truly living up to the adventurous blood of the Took family flowing within him, which was now fully awakened.
"Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole."
Thorin took out the map of the Lonely Mountain and, following Elrond's translated information, began to search for corresponding objects.
"The grey stone, it should be this one."
Thorin immediately saw a huge grey stone in front of the mountain wall, his eyes lit up, and he immediately walked to the stone.
"Standing by the stone should allow me to see the back door, but where is the door? And where is the key-hole?"
Thorin stood by the stone as indicated on the map, but after carefully searching the surrounding stone wall, he found no sign of a door or a key-hole.
The other Dwarves also searched continuously, trying to find any clue.
Thorin, finding nothing, grew more and more agitated, even beginning to suspect that Elrond had lied.
"Calm down, Thorin," Gandalf said. "The closer we get to the final moment, the calmer you must remain!"
"Don't overlook the details. The map says that the last ray of the setting sun will shine upon the key-hole, so we just need to wait, after all, it's still very early before sunset."
Hearing Gandalf's words, Thorin calmed down a little, but his expression remained grim.
"Then I will wait, but if we still find nothing in the end, I swear, I will make the Elves of Rivendell pay for his lies!"
Gandalf frowned, speaking up for Elrond: "Elrond's credibility is beyond doubt; he has no need to lie about this matter.
Thorin, you cannot suspect him due to prejudice."
"Hmph, I hope so," Thorin said coldly, noncommittally.
Gandalf shook his head, walked over to Luke, sighed, and whispered, "The closer we get to the Lonely Mountain, the more Thorin loses his calm. I'm afraid we must prepare for the worst!"
"The madness inherited in the bloodline of their Durin royal family is uncontrollable; once it erupts, it will not only kill him but also implicate others!"
Gandalf's tone was heavy, his expression full of worry. Luke, however, was not as worried as Gandalf; he shook his head and comforted him: "There will always be a solution when the time comes, Gandalf, you don't need to worry too much."
"I hope so," Gandalf sighed.
Seeing Gandalf still worried, Luke changed the subject: "However, if you want to find the back door of the Lonely Mountain, I do have a way, perhaps without having to wait until sunset."
Hearing Luke's words, Gandalf was somewhat surprised.
"Do you have some magic that can find a hidden secret door?"
Luke shook his head and took out the Palantír.
"Besides being able to see distant scenes, the Palantír can also see past events, perhaps it can be used to find the location of the back door of the Lonely Mountain."
Luke's voice was not deliberately lowered, so others also heard him and immediately looked over.
Thorin even walked directly over, staring intently at the crystal in Luke's hand with burning eyes.
"Luke, quickly use it to see!"
If he hadn't known this was Luke's possession, Thorin looked as if he wished he could just snatch it and use it himself.
Luke frowned and gave Thorin a cold, warning look.
Is the effect of this dragon sickness so great? The current Thorin is like a different person from before; he has become completely agitated. Although not yet insane, he doesn't have much composure left.
Gandalf was a bit worried and reminded him: "The dragon is currently inside the mountain. When using the Palantír, be careful not to look at it, otherwise it can easily detect you, and it will be troublesome if it alerts the dragon."
Luke knew the seriousness of the matter, so he naturally avoided the dragon's location when viewing.
How far back in time the Palantír can see is determined by the user's mental will.
With Luke's current strength, it would be unrealistic to view events from ancient First and Second Ages, or even the era of the two trees.
However, viewing events from a few hundred years ago was not a problem.
A scene quickly appeared within the Palantír: a stout Dwarf wearing an iron crown appeared at the exact location where Luke and the others were now.
He walked to the grey stone, waiting for the twilight of the setting sun and the rising moonlight to converge, finally focusing the light on a single spot on the stone wall.
The Dwarf with the iron crown came to the stone wall, inserted a golden key into the small hole at the illuminated spot, and with a gentle twist, a stone door immediately appeared on the stone wall.
The stone door opened, and the Dwarf with the iron crown walked in. "That's my grandfather!" Thorin looked at the Dwarf displayed in the crystal ball, his expression somewhat excited and complex.
Then, he immediately located the secret door and the key-hole based on the images displayed in the Palantír.
"Where is the key-hole? The location is clearly here, so why is there no key-hole?" Thorin kept searching and feeling for the key-hole's location,
but there was only a bare stone wall, with no hole to insert a key.
Gandalf stepped forward and gently tapped the stone wall with his staff, explaining to the anxious Thorin and the others:
"I think the key-hole must be hidden, requiring a specific time and specific conditions to appear, such as when the last rays of the setting sun on Durin's Day and the moonlight intersect at one point, then the key-hole will appear."
"So, you mean we still need to wait until sunset?" Everyone suddenly realized.
Although Thorin was anxious, hearing Gandalf's explanation, he could only wait for the arrival of sunset.
Luke, however, was somewhat interested in the hidden key-hole. Although the Dwarves did not use magic, they could imbue their forged items with extraordinary properties through their incredibly high forging skills.
He wanted to see if his magic could have an effect on it.
"Let me try," Luke said.
Since the key-hole's location had been confirmed, Luke raised his wand, pointed it at the key-hole, and chanted: "Alohomora!"
A spell shot into the key-hole's location. The next second, a faint sound of gears turning echoed, and the mountain subtly trembled.
To the astonished expressions of the Dwarves, a rectangular stone door appeared from the stone wall and then opened automatically.
"Alright, it seems we don't need to wait until sunset," Luke said with a smile.
Clearly, the Dwarf craftsmen who built the secret door had considered various situations and had set specific times, specific conditions, and even required a key to successfully open the secret door.
But they had completely underestimated Luke's magic, which simply ignored these requirements and opened the door directly.