Elrond held the scroll in his hand and nodded to Thorin, Gandalf, and the assembled dwarves. "Then I shall take my leave and place this important contract in a secret chamber."
With that, he turned and exited the side corridor to carry out this unexpected duty of safekeeping.
After the contract was concluded, Thorin led his companions to Karl's temporary dwelling in Rivendell. The room was simple yet elegant, in the manner of Elves, but contained almost no personal belongings. The most notable item was in the corner — a bundle wrapped in sturdy leather. The dwarves opened the leather bundles, inside which were neatly arranged rows of small, exquisitely crafted crystal bottles and delicious food.
After carefully counting, Thorin distributed the Life Potions among the backpacks of the other dwarves. The items were carried separately by Balin, Dwalin, and others to reduce risk and prevent accidental total loss.
Karl's two steel swords and the enemy's fencing sword lay nearby. Thorin glanced at the weapons but did not take them; Karl would need them. He took only the potions and the delicious food, hoping that Karl would finish his "important business" and catch up with the group with his weapons.
Once everything was prepared, the expedition assembled once more in Rivendell, at the archway. Thorin cast one last look at the pavilion nestled in the distance, hidden among the greenery and the mist of the waterfall. He averted his gaze, regaining his resolve, and waved his hand, giving the order: "Let's go!"
---
The journey away from Rivendell quickly returned them to the harsh realities of the wilderness. They made an arduous crossing along the eastern foothills of the Misty Mountains, enduring unpredictable weather and treacherous terrain. They had lost the convenience that Karl had sometimes provided with his extraordinary methods for transporting supplies or forging paths.
The group's pace noticeably slowed; each carried heavy backpacks and breathed heavily among the rocks and steep slopes. After countless days of exhausting work and nights spent in the open, they finally struggled across the vast mountain pass. This place was full of sharp rocks and fierce winds, a dangerous route that had to be crossed to reach the East.
But then the sky revealed its most terrible aspect. Thick, dark clouds gathered from all sides, swallowing the last rays of the setting sun. Only occasional flashes of pale lightning within the clouds outlined the jagged silhouettes of distant mountain peaks.
"BOOM!!!" Suddenly, a deafening clap of thunder rang out, as if splitting the sky directly above their heads. Immediately after, a blinding bolt of lightning zigzagged across the sky. It struck the upper part of the group, located nearby on the mountain slope, and exploded, illuminating everything with a blinding flash of fire and scattered debris.
"Hold steady! Find something to hold onto!" Thorin's roar came during a lull in the thunder, but was immediately drowned out by an even louder sound. Torrential rain poured down on everyone, nearly suffocating them. Visibility was completely blurred, and only a white curtain of water was visible a few metres away. The already slippery and treacherous mountain path quickly became a rushing stream. Mixed with mud, sand, and gravel, the rainwater made every step dangerous, as there was a risk of slipping and falling off the cliff.
"Hold on! We need to take shelter from the rain! Immediately!" Gloin shouted at the top of his lungs. His red beard was plastered to his face, water constantly dripping from it. He turned to look at the grey figure in the group who remained calm even under the downpour. "Gandalf! Please! Can't you do anything about this rain and storm?!"
Gandalf held tightly to the cold, slippery cliff behind him, moving cautiously sideways. His grey cloak was soaked through, clinging to his body, and water streamed from his wide-brimmed hat like a waterfall. Hearing Gloin's cry, he responded just as loudly: "Change the heavens?! You're looking for other wizards, not me! That power... is beyond my reach. Quick, everyone follow me, keep close to the mountain slope!"
At that moment, a low, continuous humming sound came from the air. Like a mournful groan from the depths of the earth, it pierced the raging thunder and rain, reaching everyone's ears. The sound was deep and powerful, growing louder and louder, at times even drowning out the thunder overhead.
"What was that sound?" Kili wiped the rain from his face and looked around anxiously. Everyone turned their heads, trying to find the source of the sound in the fleeting light of the rain and lightning. In the next moment, their eyes widened, and a terrifying sight was reflected in their pupils.
A huge, indistinct shadow broke through the rain and flew toward the ridge where they stood. A flash of lightning illuminated the shadow, revealing it to be a massive boulder, over ten metres high, hurtling toward them. Their gazes followed the flying boulder and stopped in the distance at a massive throwing device that, in the lightning flash, appeared to them as a giant. The rain and darkness blurred the details, but the outline... It was a huge humanoid silhouette, its body almost reaching the height of the nearby low mountain peaks.
"Giant... a Giant!" Bofur's voice trembled. "Stone Giant! The legend... the legend is true!"
The thrown boulder missed the company, striking the cliff dozens of metres above their heads. "Boom! Crash!!!" The boulder shattered against the cliff, breaking into countless fragments of varying sizes. Stones rained down on the expedition members on the narrow path.
"Hold fast! Cling tightly to the mountain slope!" Thorin growled hoarsely. The dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf desperately pressed together, clinging to the wet, cold, hard rock as if trying to merge with it. Countless stones whistled past their heads, shoulders, and backpacks, falling onto the path beneath their feet. Multiple impacts damaged the structure of the path itself, which was already narrow. Under the assault of the boulders and countless falling stones, large sections collapsed and shattered.
When the rain of gravel temporarily ceased, the group, still shaken, looked down and discovered that most of the "path" beneath their feet had disappeared. In some places, only slippery, protruding rock ridges less than a foot wide remained. Some were even completely broken, requiring a risky jump to cross.
"Careful! Stand still! Watch your feet!" Thorin's voice rang out again. However, this disaster was only the beginning.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!" Heavy footsteps echoed, making hearts pound. From the other side of the mountain, an even larger Stone Giant "rose." More precisely, part of that "mountain" formed its body. It moved steadily forward, each step shaking the earth, heading straight for another of its kind that had just risen and seemed to be in a rage.
The two massive beings collided with a deafening roar in the valley near the expedition group. One of the Stone Giants swung its huge, house-sized stone fist and struck the other giant's "face" with force. "BOOM!!!" A deafening roar, as if two mountains had collided head-on.