"You wretched human!" Smaug roared.
He lunged forward, his massive claws tearing through the treasure hoard as he struck toward Luke. Coins and jewels flew through the air as his talons carved deep into the gold.
Luke was no longer there.
He had vanished from the spot.
A moment later he appeared several steps away, standing casually on another mound of treasure.
"You're too slow," Luke said, brushing a coin off his sleeve. "Maybe it's because you're too fat. You should lose some weight."
The insult echoed through the cavern.
Smaug's entire body tensed.
His wings shifted beneath the hoard as anger rippled through him. His enormous head rose higher, eyes blazing with fury.
"Burn!" Smaug thundered.
He opened his jaws and unleashed a torrent of fire.
Flames exploded from his mouth, sweeping across the chamber in a roaring wave. The fire swallowed Luke completely, flooding the treasure hall with blinding heat. Gold began to soften and run beneath the dragonfire, coins melting together as the flames poured over the spot where Luke had stood.
The cavern glowed with the light of the inferno.
Smaug watched the blaze with satisfaction and slowly closed his jaws.
No creature of flesh could survive that fire.
The flames faded.
And Luke was still standing there.
He stretched his arms slightly and yawned.
"That was weak as hell," he said.
The fire had done nothing to him.
"You are a strange human," Smaug growled, his voice echoing through the vast chamber. "But do not grow smug. That was nothing of my true power."
Before Luke could reply, Smaug lashed out.
His massive tail smashed through one of the great stone pillars of the hall. The column cracked with a thunderous sound and toppled toward Luke, stone blocks crashing down across the treasure.
Smaug moved at the same time.
He lunged forward through the falling debris, claws tearing through the hoard as he surged toward the human. His jaws opened wide, rows of enormous teeth glinting in the firelight.
The plan was simple.
Crush him beneath the falling stone.
Then seize him and swallow him whole.
The broken pillar slammed into the treasure with a deafening crash.
Coins and gold plates burst into the air.
Smaug's jaws snapped shut where Luke had been standing.
But his teeth closed on nothing.
Luke had already moved.
He stood a short distance away on another mound of gold, watching Smaug with mild interest as the broken pillar settled behind him.
"You know," Luke said casually, "that trick works better when your opponent is actually standing still."
Smaug's massive head swung toward him again, rage burning in his eyes as the fight inside Erebor truly began.
He lunged again, his claws tearing through the treasure as he charged across the great hall. Gold scattered in every direction as Smaug's enormous body pushed through the hoard.
Luke disappeared from where he stood.
A heartbeat later he appeared several steps away, standing on a mound of coins as the dragon's claws smashed into the spot he had just left.
Smaug roared in fury.
His tail swept across the chamber, smashing through another stone column. The pillar cracked and collapsed, sending chunks of stone crashing across the treasure.
Luke moved again.
He darted across the hall, slipping between the falling debris while Smaug chased him through the mountain.
"Hahaha—this is fun!" Luke laughed as he ran across the treasure piles, dodging another blast of fire that roared past him and melted a trail through the gold.
Smaug chased him through the vast halls of Erebor, smashing pillars, tearing through walls, and flooding the chambers with fire as he tried again and again to crush the human.
But Luke kept moving.
Every time Smaug lunged, Luke was already somewhere else.
At one moment he stood on a golden statue, the next he was running across the hoard, then leaping over a river of molten gold where Smaug's fire had struck.
"Careful," Luke called back mockingly as another blast of fire roared past him. "If you keep burning everything like that, there won't be any treasure left."
"You dare mock me in my own mountain!"
Meanwhile, far above in the tunnel entrance, the Dwarves heard it.
The mountain shook beneath their feet.
A deep roar echoed through the stone, followed by the thunder of collapsing pillars and the distant sound of treasure crashing across the halls.
The Dwarves exchanged alarmed looks.
"What in Durin's name is happening down there?" Bofur said.
Another roar shook the tunnel.
Dwalin grabbed his axe.
"The dragon is awake!"
Thorin frowned, staring down the dark passage.
"But Bilbo…"
Another explosion of fire lit the tunnel for a moment, and the entire mountain trembled again.
Balin slowly shook his head in disbelief.
"That… does not sound like a hobbit sneaking quietly."
The Dwarves stood there listening to the chaos deep inside Erebor, completely confused about what was happening below.
*****
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