"Luke, you and Smaug stay here for now. Can I talk to Thorin alone?"
Gandalf did not want to see a conflict between Luke and the Dwarves.
The original Luke was already someone the Dwarves could not deal with, and now with a giant dragon, even the Durin Dwarves at their peak might not be a match, let alone only thirteen Dwarves in Erebor now.
Luke didn't care. He had no interest in the treasures of Erebor and had no intention of attacking the Dwarves.
"Suit yourself."
"But I think you, Gandalf, are going to be disappointed. Thorin's dragon sickness should have completely erupted by now. Without reason and in a state of madness, he probably won't accept your goodwill."
Gandalf sighed, "It's always worth a try."
With that, he jumped off the dragon's back and strode to the blocked gate, his voice like thunder:
"Thorin Oakenshield, come out and meet me!"
After a while, there was no response from behind the blocked gate.
Gandalf frowned, his voice stern without anger:
"Thorin Oakenshield, come out and see me!"
This time, there was still no response.
Gandalf's face showed anger, and he raised his staff, about to smash the giant stones blocking the gate.
Just then, a small figure poked his head out from the city wall and quickly waved his hand.
"Gandalf, I'm here!"
Gandalf looked up, surprised, "Bilbo, why is it you? Where are Thorin and the other Dwarves?"
Seeing Gandalf, Bilbo seemed to see hope and quickly explained:
"Thorin has become very mad now. After you left with the dragon, he had Bofur and the others use explosives to collapse the gate, completely blocking it. Now he's also making everyone search the treasury for the arkenstone—oh my goodness, what is that?!"
Bilbo hadn't finished speaking when his eyes caught sight of the giant dragon Smaug in the distance, and he instantly widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.
"Gandalf, how did the dragon come back with you?"
Gandalf smiled and said, "The dragon was subdued by Luke. He is now Luke's mount."
"Is that true?" Bilbo was dumbfounded, rubbing his eyes in disbelief, confirming that he wasn't dreaming.
How could the dragon suddenly become Luke's mount after only half a day out?
"Alright, Bilbo, go call Thorin. I need to talk to him."
Gandalf said.
Bilbo was still immersed in the shock of the dragon being subdued, nodding blankly, then turned to call Thorin.
Time passed bit by bit.
It wasn't until Gandalf's patience was almost gone that Thorin slowly appeared on the city wall.
However, before he could speak arrogantly, his eyes fell upon the giant dragon behind Gandalf, and his pupils immediately contracted, his body instinctively recoiling.
"Gandalf, what is the meaning of this? Why has the dragon returned with you? Have you colluded with the dragon, intending to seize my treasures?!"
Thorin demanded sharply, his eyes filled with a mad obsession and unease for the treasure.
Gandalf rolled his eyes, utterly helpless at Thorin's mad obsession with treasure.
Thorin was clearly in the grip of dragon sickness now, his eyes only showing greed and possessiveness for the treasure.
"Thorin, son of Thráin II, you have reclaimed Erebor, and we rejoice for you." Gandalf asked loudly,
"But why does the King Under the Mountain barricade himself within, like a bandit in a stronghold?"
Thorin scrutinized Gandalf below the wall, and Luke and the dragon in the distance, with wary and suspicious eyes.
"The reason for this, of course, is that I have bandits at my door, intending to seize my treasure!"
"And I am not yet the King Under the Mountain. Our clan's heirloom, the arkenstone, has not yet been found. I will cut off all access until the arkenstone is found!"
Gandalf was so angry at Thorin's words that he felt a heart attack coming on. "My Vala, Thorin Oakenshield, no one here wants your treasure! It is utterly insignificant!"
"What you should be doing now is not guarding your pile of treasure and trapping yourself in a cage, but actively contacting other Dwarven clans and allying with the humans of Lake-town, building defenses, forging weapons, and together resisting the imminent danger!"
"Danger? Besides you bringing the dragon, which makes me feel danger, I haven't seen any other danger!" Thorin said coldly.
"Thorin Oakenshield, wake up! We are not your enemies. The dragon Smaug has been subdued by Luke; he is now on our side!" Gandalf's voice carried a power that shook the soul.
"The threat to Erebor is not over. The Orc army could appear at any time. We must organize more forces to deal with the Orc threat!"
A flicker of struggle appeared in Thorin's eyes, as if he was swayed,
But in the end, the possessiveness of the treasure took over, and his eyes became cold again.
"Gandalf, you are not welcome here. Please leave!"
Gandalf's beard quivered with anger at Thorin's stubbornness.
"What about me, Thorin Oakenshield?" Luke's voice came, as he rode his flying broom to Thorin's front, looking down at him with cold eyes, "You promised me before that once I helped you reclaim Erebor, one-tenth of the Erebor treasure would be mine."
"Now that I have helped you solve the dragon problem and allowed you to reclaim Erebor, when will you fulfill your payment?"
Thorin looked at Luke, who had flown in front of him, his pupils contracted, and his expression became wary and guarded.
And the giant dragon Smaug, still in the distance, let out a deafening roar, its eyes fixed on him.
At this moment, the fear of the dragon instinctively restored a bit of Thorin's reason, allowing him to swallow the words of refusal in time.
He looked at Luke holding the magic wand in front of him, then at the distant dragon, his face extremely grim and ugly, struggling for a long time as if his heart was bleeding and being cut, and then he gritted his teeth and said:
"I promise that after the arkenstone is found, I will give you one-tenth of the treasure!"
But Luke was not easily fooled. He narrowed his eyes and said:
"But what if the arkenstone isn't found, or if it is found and not revealed, does that mean you won't give it?"
Thorin's face became even uglier, "Of course not, but you promised me to reclaim Erebor. If you want a share of the treasure, you must first help me find the arkenstone!"
Luke chuckled and shook his head, his finger moving slightly, and the contract flew out of his pocket, floating in front of Thorin.
"I think you might be mistaken, Thorin Oakenshield. The contract only requires me to help you reclaim Erebor; it doesn't say I have to help you find the arkenstone. This is an extra-contractual request, and I didn't agree to it."
"Besides, Smaug breathed so much dragon fire in the treasury earlier, who knows if the arkenstone was directly burned to ashes by the dragon fire?"
"I have fulfilled the terms of the contract. Now it's time for you to fulfill your promise!"
Facing Luke's strong attitude, Thorin's grim face seemed to drip ink.
"Give me a month."
"In a month, I will place your share of the treasure, not a single coin less, before you."
Luke looked at him meaningfully: "I hope you keep your word."
He then turned his flying broom around and asked Bilbo, who was not far away:
"Bilbo, do you want to leave with me and Gandalf?"
Bilbo looked at the grim-faced Thorin, then at the smiling Luke, and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded.
Upon hearing this, Luke lowered the broom and reached out to pull Bilbo onto the broom.
"Don't you dare leave!" Thorin's voice suddenly rang out.
Luke's hand paused, and he turned to look at Thorin, his expression turning cold.
"Do you have an objection?"
Bilbo also looked at Thorin in surprise,
"You can leave, but you must prove that you haven't taken anything belonging to Erebor!"
Thorin said, looking at Bilbo with a suspicious expression.
A surge of magic pressure erupted from Luke.
"Thorin Oakenshield, am I being too lenient with you? Making you suspect my friend?"
Thorin felt the surrounding air instantly solidify, and even breathing became suffocating.
But even so, he still gritted his teeth and said, "If he hasn't hidden anything, why is he afraid to let me check? Is the arkenstone hidden on him?"
Luke drew his magic wand, about to teach him a good lesson.
But Bilbo stopped him.
Bilbo held Luke's magic wand, shaking his head slightly with a calm expression.
"Luke, it's alright. Since he suspects me, let him check to prove my innocence."
Seeing Bilbo speak, Luke snorted coldly and released Thorin.
Thorin gasped for breath, relieving the suffocating sensation from earlier, but his gaze towards Luke was filled with even more apprehension, and a hint of fear.
Under Thorin's gaze, Bilbo turned out his pockets one by one, proving he hadn't hidden anything.
"Wait, and that money pouch. I know it's enchanted and can hold a lot of things."
Bilbo was completely disappointed with Thorin now. He nodded expressionlessly, then opened the money pouch and poured its contents onto the ground.
Instantly, various gold and silver treasures clattered out, quickly piling up into a small mountain on the ground.
These were some of the treasures Luke had acquired from the Goblin Cave earlier.
Thorin looked at the treasures before him, a flicker of greed in his eyes. Afflicted with dragon sickness, he wished he could pocket every treasure he saw.
However, with a sliver of rationality left, he looked at Luke in front of him, and the dragon watching menacingly, and still suppressed his greed. Luke naturally noticed the change in Thorin's expression. He sneered, pointing at the pile of treasures on the ground, and said:
"Now you go through these treasures and see if there's anything belonging to your Erebor? If you don't find anything, then please put them back into the money pouch one by one and return them to Bilbo!"
Thorin naturally failed to find the arkenstone he desired among them.
Under Luke's threat, he could only reluctantly and humiliatingly put the treasures back into the money pouch and return them to Bilbo.
Then Luke took Bilbo and left the city wall, flying towards Gandalf's direction.
"Welcome back, Bilbo."
Gandalf said, smiling at Bilbo.
He had seen what happened on the city wall and was very disappointed with Thorin's behavior.
The current Thorin showed no sign of his former rationality and conscience, only stubbornness and an obsession and greed for treasure.
At the same time, he also felt a little guilty. If he hadn't organized this expedition, would Thorin have been alright?
It was a good thing Luke didn't know Gandalf's thoughts at the moment, otherwise, he would only say he was overthinking it.
Reclaiming Erebor was Thorin Oakenshield's obsession. Even without Gandalf, he would probably have gone to Erebor.
And without Gandalf's care, he would either have fallen halfway, like his father Thráin II, dying at the hands of Orcs;
Or, upon reaching Erebor, he would ultimately face the fate of being consumed by dragon fire.
The three left the Erebor gate and headed towards Lake-Town.
During this time, Bilbo experienced riding a giant dragon for the first time, and he was flushed with excitement throughout, completely forgetting the unpleasantness that had occurred on the city wall.
"Oh, by the way, Luke, I searched the entire treasury for the Mandrake you lent me, but I couldn't find it. Could it have been burned by the dragon fire?"
On the dragon's back, Bilbo suddenly remembered something and said to Luke with an apologetic look.
Luke smiled and shook his head.
"I forgot to tell you earlier, but I actually took the Mandrake back a while ago."
"After all, it's something that can be solved with an Accio spell."
Upon hearing this, Bilbo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good. I thought I had lost your Mandrake."