Chapter 25: The Third Dragon — Scatha the Worm
Within the residence of Queen Galadriel.
Gandalf had no answer to the question before them.
Nor could he imagine any explanation that even barely made sense of it.
So he remained silent.
A long while passed.
Galadriel paced back and forth without speaking. Gandalf, unable to endure the tension any longer, finally asked,
"My Queen… what should we do?"
"Perhaps," Galadriel said at last, stopping and turning to face him,
"we should have attempted to kill Smaug earlier—at the very least, to subdue him."
"We missed the best opportunity."
"At this moment," she continued calmly,
"I believe we are the ones trapped—by Smaug."
"How so?" Gandalf asked, failing to grasp it immediately.
"Two dragons," Galadriel said, her voice steady and analytical,
"are exceedingly dangerous—but not impossible to deal with."
"However," she went on,
"with Sauron's return looming over us, we cannot afford to move against Smaug—unless we can kill him in a single, decisive strike."
"Otherwise, the moment we act and fail, Smaug will turn without hesitation and ally himself with Sauron."
"Unfortunately," she added,
"we are incapable of killing him outright."
Galadriel's reasoning cut cleanly and without emotion.
"And even if—by some miracle—we succeeded," she continued,
"what then of the Lonely Mountain?"
"Who would stand against Sauron's Orc armies?"
"Until the threat of Sauron is resolved, we cannot act against Smaug."
She paused, then let out a quiet sigh.
"For now, we have no choice but to cooperate with Smaug."
"Only after we find a way to deal with Sauron… can we turn to the matter of Smaug."
Gandalf's heart sank.
For a long moment, he found himself utterly unable to speak.
Cooperating with Smaug the Dragon…
would that truly not lead to even greater disaster?
"Mithrandir," Galadriel spoke again, her tone gentle as she saw the worry on Gandalf's face,
"would you hear my advice?"
"Of course, my Queen," Gandalf replied at once.
"For now, do not burden yourself with too much anxiety," Galadriel said calmly.
"At present, our priority should be to help Thorin Oakenshield obtain the Arkenstone and reunite the Dwarven people."
"Once that is accomplished, we will have choices."
As soon as she finished speaking, Gandalf understood.
If Thorin could truly unite the Dwarves—and given how much Erebor meant to him—then, at that point, there might be a way to deal with Smaug and the other dragon as well. The Dwarves could then serve as the main bulwark against the Orc armies.
Of course, making the Dwarves shoulder that burden would not be easy.
But at the very least, there would be options.
"I understand," Gandalf nodded.
Thus, a preliminary plan was finally set.
After speaking a little longer, Gandalf took his leave and went to find Smaug.
The previous night, Smaug had threatened Thorin and forbidden the Dwarves from leaving Rivendell. Gandalf needed to know when they would be allowed to depart.
---
Gandalf had no reliable way to track a Smaug disguised as a squirrel. All he could do was wander and wait.
When Smaug finally appeared, he answered Gandalf's question bluntly:
"When I feel that Galadriel and Elrond have truly shed their hostility toward me, Thorin's company may leave."
"So you see," Smaug added lightly,
"the decision isn't really mine."
"…."
Gandalf was speechless.
Soon after, Gandalf parted ways with Smaug and sought out Thorin.
As expected, the moment Thorin saw him, his expression darkened, and he nearly demanded,
"So? What did you decide? Are the Elves trying to stop us?"
"Quite the opposite," Gandalf shook his head.
"The Elves have expressed their support for our expedition."
"???" Thorin was briefly surprised, but quickly masked it.
"Then when do we leave?"
"For now, we rest a few more days," Gandalf replied.
"There are still matters that must be resolved."
Thorin disliked that answer.
"You still refuse to tell me what that squirrel really is."
"It's not that I refuse," Gandalf explained patiently.
"It's better for you not to know."
"Heh," Thorin sneered, letting the matter drop.
"Two days. I'll wait two more days—no more."
What choice did Gandalf have?
He could only stall and hope two days would be enough.
---
And so, one day passed. Then another.
During those two days, Smaug was anything but idle.
Whenever he felt like it, he would visit Elrond and Galadriel—chatting, loitering, eating and drinking… or, more accurately, pestering them while freeloading shamelessly.
Curiously, this "harassment" had the opposite of a negative effect.
Elrond and Galadriel had lived for ages beyond counting. From a being's words and behavior, they could usually tell what sort of nature it possessed.
That insight applied to dragons as well.
Over the course of those two days, both Elrond and Galadriel came to realize that this Smaug was vastly different from the Smaug of legend.
This Smaug was extraordinarily knowledgeable, well-spoken, and—surprisingly—polite.
Had they not known what Smaug once did at the Lonely Mountain, neither of them would have found him particularly objectionable.
And so—
Yes.
The two Elven rulers, Elrond and Galadriel, genuinely found their hostility toward Smaug reduced.
Time continued to pass.
The third day. The fourth.
Just as Thorin Oakenshield was on the verge of exploding and leaving Rivendell regardless of consequences—
[Congratulations. Task One has been completed.]
[Would you like to immediately claim your reward?]
[Reminder: Claiming the reward will forfeit Task Two and Task Three.]
Smaug received the system prompt. After a moment's thought, he claimed it.
At his core, Smaug was still human. In his previous life, he'd been nothing more than an overworked office drone—but years of being ground down had taught him how the world worked.
From Elrond and Galadriel's behavior, Smaug could tell that completing Task Two would likely require him to stay here for a very long time.
Even then… success was far from guaranteed.
So he didn't hesitate.
[You have opened a Silver Chest.]
[You have obtained the Forbidden Spell — Ancient Dragon Summoning (One Use).]
[Using this spell, you may summon the Worm Scatha.]
[Strongly recommended: cast this spell in conjunction with a Contract Art.]
[If a contract is not formed immediately after summoning, Scatha the Worm will not obey you.]
…Wait.
Another dragon?!
That meant—if he acquired a Contract Art, summoned Scatha the Worm…
and added the Ice Dragon that would hatch before long—
Three dragons.
The domination of Middle-earth would be only a matter of time.
Smaug was exhilarated.
And amid that excitement, he realized something even more astonishing.
Scatha could be summoned.
Which meant—
What about Glaurung?
What about Ancalagon the Black?
…Just how many dragons could be called back into this world?
---