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Before long, the great eagles descended upon an ancient watchtower, its stone blackened by age and weather, setting the dwarves down one by one.
The final eagle lowered Jimmy to the ground, but did not take off.
"Thank you, Thorondor," Gandalf said warmly. "I did not expect you to come in person."
"There is no need for thanks, Gandalf," Thorondor replied calmly. "Young human, bring out the scroll."
Jimmy hesitated.
"What is this about?" Gandalf asked, turning toward Thorondor. "If the boy has shown any disrespect, I ask your forgiveness."
"It is nothing of the sort," Thorondor said. "It is the object he carries. A scroll, discovered in ancient ruins, meant for binding."
Jimmy unrolled the scroll.
Thorondor studied it closely, then nodded.
"I can give you an eagle egg," he said. "Whether it hatches or not will depend on you."
"Deal," Jimmy answered without hesitation.
Gandalf fell silent.
Others might not know, but Gandalf did.
Not every eagle egg was meant to hatch. Most were returned to the Valley of Eagles, never seeing life. Only a rare few were placed into the sacred pools where hatchlings were raised.
They were not meant to multiply freely.
Watching Jimmy look like he had just gained a priceless treasure, Gandalf debated whether to say anything at all.
"We will meet again." Thorondor continued. "When that time comes, I will bring the egg. Whether you can awaken it will be your test."
"I will do everything I can," Jimmy said seriously.
With that, the eagles took to the sky once more.
Jimmy watched them go, reluctant, eyes following until they vanished into the clouds.
"They are beautiful, aren't they?"
"Look." Ori pointed ahead.
Through the drifting mist rose a jagged peak, sharp as a spear against the sky.
"That is the Lonely Mountain," Thorin said, voice thick. "Our home."
"If we cross Mirkwood, we reach Lake-town." Thorin continued, a rare smile breaking across his face. "From there, the mountain lies just beyond."
"Good," Gandalf said. "And on the road through Mirkwood, we will train our burglar properly."
He turned to Bilbo.
"Bilbo, your role is vital. Charging Smaug head-on would be foolish. The best plan is infiltration. You enter through the secret passage, retrieve the Arkenstone, and return it to Thorin."
Thorin nodded.
"With the Arkenstone, I can rally the Seven Houses of the Dwarves. With overwhelming force, Smaug can be destroyed."
Gandalf's tone hardened.
"The task is dangerous, and the burden is heavy. You must prepare yourself."
Even with Jimmy's strength, Smaug was no ordinary foe, a being without divine blessing, yet close enough to a god that mortals feared to name him lightly.
"Understood," Bilbo said firmly. "I will not fail."
"Then we move."
"Move out."
The eagles had flown through the night, leaving the orcs far behind, and now the company could finally travel without immediate pursuit.
As for why the Eagles did not carry them all the way to Lake-town, the reason was simple.
Smaug was no fool.
A creature that ruled the skies could hear another sky lord long before it came into sight, even in sleep. Stir the dragon too early, and no one would ever reach the Arkenstone.
Being carried this far was already the limit of what the eagles would risk.
From here, the old forest road would lead them onward.
They were eating when Bilbo suddenly slid down a slope, appearing from nowhere, something only Jimmy seemed to notice in time.
"The orcs are catching up," Bilbo said urgently.
"Did they see you," Thorin asked.
"No," Bilbo replied. "But that is not the point."
"How far behind?"
"Roughly ten miles back," Bilbo said quickly. "I spotted them when I was about five hundred meters away."
"Five hundred meters and they still did not catch your scent." someone said in disbelief. "Bilbo, you were born to be a burglar."
"That is impressive." another dwarf agreed.
There was no denying it.
After days of travel and Gandalf's relentless guidance, Bilbo had changed completely, his awareness sharper, his movements lighter, his presence easier to overlook.
If not for Jimmy's heightened instincts, he might not have found Bilbo at all.
There was something unusual about him, wherever he stood, eyes tended to slide past him without realizing it.
With the road calm and the Old Forest Road close ahead, Bilbo's progress put Thorin in a rare good mood.
"Everyone, listen," Bilbo called out, raising his voice.
"What is it?"
"The orcs behind us are not the biggest problem," he said carefully. "There is something ahead. A massive beast."
"How massive?" the dwarves asked.
"One head," Bilbo said. "About four Bomburs wide."
Silence fell.
"A bear," Gandalf said, his expression darkening.
"Yes."
"That complicates things."
"Friend or foe," Thorin asked.
"Neither," Gandalf replied slowly. "Not an enemy, but not a friend. He can help us, or he can kill us."
That explanation raised more questions than answers.
"What do we do?" Jimmy asked, though it was clear Gandalf and Thorin already understood.
"There should be a cabin not far from here," Gandalf said. "We go there. Once inside, we can rest safely for the night. Move. Now."
"You go ahead," Jimmy said suddenly. "We meet at the cabin in the morning. Being chased by dogs for nearly a week has put me in a very bad mood."
Before anyone could stop him, he turned and sprinted back down the slope.
"Jimmy."
"Let him go," Gandalf said, gripping Thorin's arm. "He can take care of himself. Trust him."
Thorin hesitated, then nodded, turning to follow the others.
---
"Azog." Jimmy's voice carried across the hills. "I am done being patient."
A blur of blue armor streaked across the ridgeline, blades flashing like lightning as Jimmy tore into the pursuing force.
This should have been the domain of warg riders.
Instead, they were the ones being hunted.
"Surround him." Azog snarled. "Do not let him build momentum. Throw axes. Archers. Now."
As if that would work.
Jimmy bounded from rise to rise, every landing ending in blood and broken bodies, wargs collapsing, orcs falling before they could even scream.
Axes struck his armor and bounced away, arrows scraped across him without leaving so much as a mark.
This was not an encirclement.
It was a massacre.
Jimmy was not surrounded.
He was surrounding them.
Then a roar thundered from the forest.
A shape burst through the trees, massive, unstoppable, a bear so enormous its head alone was wider than four Bomburs put together, splintering trunks as it crashed into the flank of the orc host.
Bilbo had not exaggerated.
"Retreat." Azog roared.
That charge broke the army's spine.
Wargs screamed. Orcs scattered. Panic took hold.
The bear's assault became the final blow.
Jimmy leapt onto a fleeing warg and drove it forward, giving chase as the remnants of Azog's force fled into the dark.
The hunt was on.
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