Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Come to the door

In two days, they rowed out of the Long Lake and came to the Running River. At this time, they could see the Lonely Mountain looming gloomyly in front of them. The current was very strong, and their speed was quite slow.Towards the end of the third day they landed on the west side of the river to continue their journey, and here the horses joined them with the necessary supplies.They packed the supplies as much as they could and handed them over to the pony for delivery. The rest of the supplies were carefully stored in a tent.In such a place close to the lonely mountain, the humans in the town are unwilling to stay for a long time.

"We don't dare until the song comes true!" they say.In such a desolate place, they still believed in the legend of the evil dragon, while Thorin was relatively less convincing.In fact, their supplies did not need to be guarded at all, since there was no one around.In the end, their entourage left them by land and water, and even the darkening night could not stop them from returning home. The group spent a lonely and cold night, and their morale also dropped.Next day they set off again, with Balin and Bilbo at the rear, each leading a pony that carried the heavy pack.Others are leading the way, because there are no roads in this area.They headed northwest, a little away from the Riverrun, and nearer and nearer one of the spurs of the Lonely Mountain.

The trip was quite tiring, and they did not dare to talk rashly or act rashly.There was no laughter, no song, and in the silence the ambition aroused by the songs of antiquity cooled slowly.They know the end of the journey is near, and it can be a very scary end.The land in front of them became more and more desolate, and Thorin told them that it was once a verdant and vibrant place.There is no vegetation here, neither shrubs nor trees can survive here, the only thing left is the broken and charred tree stumps, telling the beauty of a long time ago.They had come to the wasteland caused by the dragon, and it happened to be the season for all things to wither.

They came unhindered to the foot of the mountain, and there was no trace of the dragon but the dead land it had made.The Lonely Mountain loomed sullenly, larger and more startling than ever.They camped on the west side of the southern branch. At the end of the branch is a place called Wuqiu. There is an ancient watchtower here, but no one dares to venture up to it, because it will reveal their whereabouts. Before they began on the west side of the Lonely Mountain to search for the secret door where all hope lies, Thorin sent out to scout out the south where the main door was. He chose Balin, Kili, and Fili, and Bilbo went with him.They walked all the way to the gray and silent Bird Hill, where the Riverrun made a wide circle, passed through Dale Town, and continued to Long Lake.The river is very fast and noisy, and the banks are bare except for many high and steep rocks overlooking the river.Through this foaming torrent they saw valleys in the shadow of the mountains, in which were many ruins of ancient houses and towers and walls.

"This is the ruins of River Valley Town in the valley," Balin said. "When the alarm bell rang, there was a piece of greenery all over the mountains and plains, and the town was very prosperous." When he described all this, he looked very sad and looked dignified.Back then, he and Thorin witnessed the tragedy of the dragon coming. They dared not continue along the river to the gate, but they came to the edge of the southern spur; at last the party hid behind a rock, and could clearly see the dark entrance of the cave between the two spurs.The water of the River Run flowed out of it, and at the same time, steam and black smoke wafted out.There was nothing moving except steam and water, and the only thing to interrupt the ominous scene was the flight of crows to and fro, and the only thing to break the silence was the sound of water hitting the rocks and the hoarse chirping of birds.Balin shuddered.

"Let's turn back!" he said. "We're of no use here! I don't like these blackbirds. They look like evil spies." "Then, from the black smoke, it seems the dragon is still alive at the bottom of the mountains," said the hobbit. "That's not hard evidence," said Baring, "but I also think you're right; it may have left for a while, or it may have been peeking from the side of the hill. Either way, there must be something inside its door." There will be such black smoke and vapors that I imagine the halls within must be filled with its stench."

In this sullen condition, they were pursued by the crow's voice all the way, and wearily returned to the camp.In June they were guests at Elrond's house, but in late autumn it seemed as if it were years ago.They were alone and helpless in the wilderness. Although this was their last journey, but the distance to the end seemed so far away, everyone's morale suddenly fell to the bottom. Quite surprisingly, Mr. Baggins was in a much better mood than the others.He would often borrow a map from Thorin, thinking about the mysteries recorded in the runes on it and the words of the moon that Elrond said.It was at his insistence that the dwarves ventured to search the western slopes for the secret door.At that time, they had moved their camp to a long and narrow valley, which was much narrower than the river valleys in the south. The whole area was deeply surrounded by mountains, and two branches protruded from here, extending westward into the plain. middle.Dragon tracks are even rarer here, and there's even some grass for ponies to chew on.This camp was all day long in the shadow of the cliffs, and lit only when the sun went down;If the map is correct, the cliff at the exit of the valley must be the location of the secret door.Day after day, they still return empty-handed, with no progress.

In the end, they discovered the target by accident.Fili, Kili, and Bilbo were returning from the other side of the valley one day, and were trying to get over a pile of rubble on the south side; about noon, when Bilbo was rounding a huge rock that looked like a solitary column, he found a Rough stairs going up.He and the dwarves went up excitedly, and found traces of a narrow path again; due to disrepair, they searched and stopped along the way, and finally came to the edge of the southern branch, and turned onto another narrower path. ridge.Looking down, they found themselves on the top of the cliff at the mouth of the valley, just overlooking their camp.They cautiously leaned against the mountain wall on the right, and walked forward one by one. Finally, the mountain wall disappeared, and they came to a silent mountain depression covered with green grass.Since the entrance to the col was so high above, it could not be seen at all from below, and from a distance it only appeared as a dark chasm.This is not a cave, but an open-air space, but on the other side of it is a mountain wall, which looks very flat and smooth near the ground, as if it has been crafted by a skilled craftsman, but there are no traces of other carvings on it.There were no doorposts or hinges or keyholes or knobs, either, but they were pretty sure they had found the entrance this time.

They banged on the wall, pushed and pulled, tried to make it move, chanted snippets of opening spells; nothing changed.Finally, they sat on the grass to rest exhausted, and had to go home when the sky was getting dark. Everyone was very excited that night, and in the morning, everyone was ready to move again. Only Bofur and Bombur were left in the camp to look after the supplies brought by the pony and the others.Others made their way up the valley, following newfound trails to the narrow ridge.Due to the extremely steep terrain here, with a 150-foot cliff on one side, they could not carry any backpacks on this ridge; however, they brought a considerable length of safety rope tied around their waists, and finally came to the col safely .

There they pitched a third camp, using ropes to pull up needed supplies from below.They can use the same method to send stronger dwarves (such as Kili) down to understand the situation below, or to share the guard work below, and Bofur is pulled to the camp above.Whether it was by rope or climbing, Bomber was unwilling to climb up. "I'm too fat for this kind of wall-to-wall work," he said. "I'll get a haircut, and then I'll stumble over my own beard, and then you're going to be thirteen again. It's a lot of work. The knotted rope is too thin for me to use." Luckily for him, as you'll see later, it still held his weight.

Meanwhile, some had begun to grope the clearing, and found a footpath leading to higher mountains; but they dared not go any higher, and it would be of little use to go there.Everything is silent on this high ground, and the birds are also silent, only the sound of the wind blowing through the mountain gap.They kept their voices down and did not dare to speak loudly because a crisis seemed to be lurking around every corner.Others who were busy checking the secret door made no progress at all.They were so anxious that they completely forgot the records of the runes or the characters of the moon, and just kept deliberating on the smooth mountain wall.They brought all kinds of tools from Long Lake Town. At first they tried to use these tools, but either the handles were broken, or the steel tips were twisted and deformed like lead.Obviously, mining tools are not enough to deal with the magic that seals the secret door, and they are also beginning to be very worried about the echo here. Bilbo sat in the door feeling very lonely and tired.Of course, there are no steps or thresholds here, but they are used to calling the grassland between the mountain wall and the entrance of the col a "gateway".When they first visited Bilbo, they remembered that he told them to sit at the door before they had a good idea, so they changed the name of the place as a joke.They did meditate here for a long time, or ran around aimlessly, and everyone's mood became more and more depressed. Morale did go up when they found the trail, but now it's hit rock bottom.However, they still refused to give up easily.The hobbit was no longer in high spirits, he would often do nothing but lean against the mountain wall, overlooking the Mirkwood, and look at the distant sky.At times, he thought he could see distant Misty Mountains.If the dwarves asked him what he was doing, he would answer: "You say it's my job to sit at the door and figure out how to go into the cave, so I'm sitting here to figure out a way!" However, I'm afraid what is in his mind is not the work in front of him, but the Western Continent on the other side of the horizon , and the hill and the cave beneath it. There was a big black rock right in the middle of the grass, and he would just keep staring at it sullenly, or watch big snails crawl around.These big snails seem to like the three-sided enclosed mountain and the cold rock, and there are many big snails crawling around slowly in this place alone. "Tomorrow is the last week of autumn," Thorin said one day. "After autumn comes winter," Biffer said. "And then next year," said Dwalin, "our beards will grow longer, and probably go down the hill before anything changes here. Did our Snitch do anything? Now that he has There is the invisibility ring on it, it should come in handy now. I think he should go in through the main entrance and check the situation for us!" Bilbo heard it, and the dwarf was discussing it right by the rock above him. "Oh my God!" he thought: "So what do these people think in their hearts? Ever since the wizard left, I have to rely on me to solve the problem every time. Saddest ending ever. I don't think I can bear to see this old Dale town ever again, let alone that steaming gate gnat." That night, he felt very upset, tossing and turning but couldn't sleep.Next day the dwarves all dispersed to pass the time; some went down to walk their horses, and others wandered about.All day long Bilbo sat looking morosely at the stones in the lawn, or at the western entrance. "Perhaps the wizard will suddenly appear today," he thought. If he looked up, he would see the forest in the distance, and when the sun went down, there was a golden light on the top of the forest, as if the sun was shining on the golden leaves in the forest.Soon, he could see orange fireballs falling towards the horizon.As he walked to the entrance of the col, he could see a crescent moon appear on the horizon. At that moment, he heard a click behind him.A huge black bird stood on a boulder in the meadow, its yellow breast dotted with black spots.Kata!It has caught a snail and is trying to crack its shell on a rock.Kata!Kata! Suddenly Bilbo understood.Forgetful of all danger, he stood on the ridge shouting and waving furiously to tell the dwarves to come back.Those closest came sprinting warily up the narrow ridge, suspicious of something important, while the others yelled for the ropes above to hoist them up. (The only exception is Bomber: he is asleep.) Bilbo explained quickly to the crowd, and they watched without saying a word.The hobbit stood silently beside the gray rock, and the dwarves continued to watch impatiently, their beards dangling.As the sun sank lower and lower, so did their flame of hope, and at last it turned into a fiery glow and disappeared.The dwarf began to complain, but Bilbo stood still.The new moon was just above the horizon, night was about to fall, and suddenly, just when they were most discouraged, the last rays of sunlight pierced the clouds and fell like fingers on the limestone.The black bird, which had been perched on the side with its head tilted to observe, also let out a shrill cry.Everyone heard a very clear clicking sound—a thin rock fell from the mountain wall, and a small hole suddenly appeared three feet from the ground. The dwarves, fearing that their chance would pass, rushed forward and pushed at the gate, but it was of no avail. "Key! Key!" cried Bilbo. "Where is Thorin?" Thorin came running hastily. "The key!" bellowed Bilbo. "The key that came with that map! Take your chance and try it!" Thorin stepped forward, took the key from around his neck, and inserted it into the hole.The key fit perfectly, and it started to turn!Kata!The light disappeared, the sun went down, the moon disappeared, and night fell over the land. At this time, everyone pushed the gate with all their strength, and a part of the rock wall became loose, and a long and narrow gap appeared, which was gradually expanding.It can be seen that there is a five-foot-high and three-foot-wide gate, which slowly and silently opens inward.It seemed that the darkness was flowing out from the black hole on the mountain wall like steam, and in front of their eyes was a pitch-black cave that could not be reached, leading straight into the depths of the lonely mountain.