Inside the Lonely Mountain's Dwarf Hall.
Thorin sat on the throne at the head.
Luke, Gandalf, Dáin, Bilbo, and Bard were seated on either side.
As for Beorn, after the Orcs were defeated, he had hitched a ride on a Great Eagle and already returned to his home.
The purpose of everyone gathering here was for the mountain of treasure piled up in the vault.
Thorin looked at the people below, his eyes glinting slightly, and said, "I have already distributed the treasures these past few days. The purpose of bringing everyone here is so that each of you can receive your share of the treasure."
"The only regrettable thing is that we did not find the arkenstone in the vault. This most precious treasure of my people is probably lost, and I cannot let everyone see its splendor!"
As he spoke, his gaze swept over everyone, inadvertently observing their reactions.
"What? The arkenstone is gone?" The most agitated was Dáin. "How could the arkenstone be lost? Wasn't it hidden in the vault? How could it not be found?"
To the Durin, the arkenstone was like a national seal, a symbol of territorial power. Only by possessing it could one command the seven Dwarf clans, making it of utmost importance.
Now that this treasure was missing, Dáin couldn't help but be anxious.
After all, Thorin, with the arkenstone, was the true King Under the Mountain, the King acknowledged by all Durin.
Otherwise, Thorin could only be the King of the Durin, but unable to command the other Dwarf clans.
The difference between the two was significant:
The seven Dwarf clans were the Longbeards, the Firebeards, the Broadbeams, the Ironfists, the Stiffbeards, the Blacklocks, and the Stonefoots. Among them, the Longbeards were the Durin to which Thorin belonged.
The seven Dwarf clans lived in various parts of Middle-earth, relatively independent yet interconnected.
The seven Dwarf Rings given out by Sauron back then were presented to the leaders of these seven clans.
During the reign of Thorin's ancestor, Thráin I, the arkenstone was unearthed from deep within the Lonely Mountain, and the full might of Dwarf craftsmanship was poured into creating the arkenstone.
This gem was acknowledged by the seven Dwarf clans, and the seven great families had sworn allegiance to the holder of the arkenstone.
Therefore, whoever possessed it was considered the King of the Durin, able to command all Durin.
Hearing the news that the arkenstone could not be found, the others were also very surprised.
Bilbo, besides being surprised, felt a little guilty.
He thought that if he had been more careful back then, he might have already obtained the arkenstone, and it wouldn't be lost.
In Bilbo's opinion, since the arkenstone couldn't be found, it was very likely, as Luke had said before, that it had already been destroyed in Smaug's dragon fire.
Gandalf, upon hearing this, besides being somewhat surprised, also thoughtfully glanced at Bilbo and Luke.
As for Luke, he wore an indifferent expression, as if it had nothing to do with him.
Thorin looked at the reactions of the people below and fixed his gaze on Luke.
"Luke, I want to ask you for a favor."
"Could you lend me the Palantír so I can search for the arkenstone's whereabouts and fulfill a wish of mine?"
Everyone else's gazes fell upon Luke.
Luke's eyelids slightly lifted, his eyes flashed, and he said calmly, "It is possible, but the Palantír has been discovered by Sauron. He once tried to corrupt me through the stone, and I was only spared thanks to the protection of the Lady of Lórien."
"If you use it, be prepared to be discovered by him and corrupted into darkness."
Hearing Luke's words, before Thorin could speak, Gandalf's expression changed, and he shook his head with a very serious look.
"If Sauron can see Luke through the Palantír, it means he also possesses a Palantír. He can see everything here through the stone, and even influence people, causing them to fall into darkness and become his servants!"
"Sauron's dark power is even more dangerous than dragon sickness. You don't know when you might fall victim to his schemes. This is too dangerous! Thorin, you cannot risk using the Palantír!"
But even though Thorin had regained his sanity, he was still that stubborn Dwarf.
"The arkenstone is crucial to my Durin. Gandalf, I am willing to take this risk. You don't need to persuade me; I will bear all the consequences!"
Saying this, he stepped down from the throne and came before Luke, looking him directly in the eyes: "Luke, please grant me this request!"
Luke did not avoid his gaze, and chuckled, "Since you insist, I have no reason to refuse."
With that, he took out the Palantír from his pouch and placed it on the table in front of him.
"Please!"
Thorin looked at Luke, his eyes flickering.
"Thank you!"
Saying this, he cupped the Palantír in both hands, staring intently into it, concentrating on the location of the arkenstone.
The mist within the stone quickly dispersed, revealing a scene from the vault.
Thorin was immediately delighted. Could the arkenstone still be in the vault?
But just as he tried to find the arkenstone in the image, there was only a mountain of treasure in the scene, with no sign of the arkenstone at all.
Thorin searched unwillingly, but after a long search, there was still no result.
He put down the Palantír, very disappointed.
"Could the arkenstone really have been destroyed by dragon fire?"
Thorin muttered, lost and bewildered.
Luke paid no attention to his emotions and put the Palantír away again.
"Alright, Thorin, now that we've investigated, let's get to the main business."
Thorin was somewhat dejected at the moment. He waved his hand, instructing Balin and the others to lead everyone to the vault to retrieve their share of the treasure.
He himself remained silent, looking at the empty space on the throne where the arkenstone should have been embedded.
Upon entering the vault, everyone was once again awestruck by the treasures within.
The vault was enormous, and all the wealth was divided into several portions, each a mountain of riches.
"Luke, this is your treasure, occupying one-tenth."
Balin led Luke to the tallest mountain of gold and explained to him.
"And these few nearby mountains belong to Lord Dáin, Master Bard, and you, Bilbo."
He then pointed to several shorter mountains of gold nearby, speaking to Dáin, Bard, and Bilbo.
Dáin's eyes lit up when he saw his own mountain of gold.
After all, no Dwarf could refuse so much treasure.
Bard was also extremely happy; with so much treasure, it was enough for him to rebuild Lake-Town and restore his ancestors' glory.
However, Bilbo felt very uneasy facing the mountain of gold allotted to him.
He felt that he had not completed his mission, failing to help Thorin obtain the arkenstone, and thus did not deserve so much treasure.
So he shook his head and stepped back a few paces, feeling utterly unworthy.
"No, I didn't complete the mission, I shouldn't get any treasure, I can't take it!"
Fili and Bofur pushed Bilbo back, laughing heartily:
"Alright, Bilbo, don't be polite. Even if you didn't find the arkenstone, you are still a member of our expedition.
Don't forget that in Mirkwood, you rescued us from the mouths of the Giant Spiders and released us from the Elven dungeon. You deserve all of this."
Even so, Bilbo still felt he didn't deserve so much.
Everyone was seeing a hobbit who cared so little for wealth for the first time.
In the end, Bilbo still only intended to take a small amount, deeming it enough.
Thorin had recovered his composure and came into the vault. Seeing Bilbo refuse the mountain of gold, his good impression of him deepened.
He immediately took out a Mithril mail shirt from the vault and put it on Bilbo.
The Mithril mail shirt was priceless. It felt weightless when worn, yet it was impervious to blades and arrows; even the sharpest Elven sword could not pierce it.
It was perfect for protecting Bilbo.
He then prepared to stuff Bilbo's pockets with as many gold coins and jewels as he could carry.
Luke didn't want Bilbo to lose out, so he immediately cast an Undetectable Extension Charm on a coin pouch, then stuffed almost half of the gold mountain into it.
He only reluctantly stopped the spell when Bilbo loudly shouted, "Enough, enough!"
Thorin also twitched his mouth at this sight, his expression almost cracking.
He had forgotten about the unreasonable existence of Luke!
Luke didn't care what Thorin thought. He took out a leather coin pouch and continuously expanded its space with his wand until the space inside reached the size of half a football field before stopping.
Then, like a whale swallowing, the pouch automatically jumped onto his mountain of gold, continuously sucking the treasures into it.
Thus, his one-tenth share of the treasure fell into his hands.
These treasures were enough to make him the wealthiest person in all of Middle-earth, second only to the Lonely Mountain itself.
Bard and Dáin, who witnessed this scene, were dumbfounded, then filled with envy and longing.
They also wished they had such a money bag that could hold an entire gold mountain.
Luke also cast spells on their money bags, though the space in theirs was not as large as his own.
Nevertheless, both regarded them as priceless treasures, for such money bags capable of holding vast spaces were, in themselves, no less valuable than the treasures before them.
After taking his share of the treasure, Luke did not linger there.
He, along with Gandalf, Bilbo, and Bard, left the Lonely Mountain and first returned to Lake-Town.
After staying in Lake-Town for a few days, Luke, Gandalf, and Bilbo set off again, amidst the reluctant farewells of Bard and the residents.
As for the fireplace in Lake-Town, Luke still kept it, and even gave Bard a small bottle of Floo Powder, welcoming him to visit Weathertop in the future.
The house where Luke and his companions stayed was later renovated by Bard to be magnificent, becoming the second most important building after the Lord's mansion.
Bard also permanently retained Luke's ownership of the house, declaring him a permanent member of Lake-Town, welcome to reside there at any time.
However, Luke was unaware of these things for now.
He was currently riding on Smaug's back with Gandalf and Bilbo, heading towards Mirkwood.
Since he had promised Thranduil to visit the Woodland Realm, he naturally wouldn't break his word.
More importantly, he also had to take Smaug to Rivendell to have Elrond, the master healer, heal Smaug's wings.
The Undetectable Extension Charm Luke currently cast was not yet capable of fitting Smaug, this giant dragon, into a confined space.
After all, Smaug was over 140 meters long, his head alone was 12 meters high without counting his horns, and his wingspan was an astonishing 120 meters!
To fully contain such a colossal body, allowing it to move freely within, perhaps only Newt Scamander's suitcase would be capable of such a feat.
But clearly, the current Luke did not possess that ability.
So they could only choose the most cumbersome method: taking Smaug over the Misty Mountains to Rivendell on the other side for treatment.
Of course, Luke had also tried to persuade Gandalf and Bilbo to simply Floo from the Lake-Town fireplace directly to Rivendell and wait for him.
However, the two clearly preferred the cooler activity of riding a dragon,
rather than arriving at their destination in the blink of an eye, completely lacking any sense of the journey.
This statement came only from a certain grey-robed Wizard who wished to remain anonymous.