The Golden Mountain

There weren’t always dragons in the valley.

Before them lived the dwarves. Dwarves had mined the mountain for gold and precious stones. The dwarves took pride in their mountain, and in their work, were very successful in their mining.

The dwarves entrance in the mountain was outlined in gold, they had enormous statues made from pure gold, a golden staircase leading to this grand entrance.

Although not many entered, there were tales told that the walls and floors were made of the purest of gold, that you can see a caramel reflection of yourself.

If you stood anywhere in the valley you would be able to see the entrance as it reflected off of the sun.

It was known as The Golden Mountain.

They gifted other kingdoms with large gold statues. To prove they were the best at mining and the richest in the land.

The kingdoms were jealous but they knew the dwarves fortified their kingdom well, and any attempt to over take it would be a epic battle and they would be sure to die.

Word quickly spread throughout the land of their success. Tales were told of how much gold probably lay in the mountain were the dwarves lived. These tales eventually reached the ears of the dragons. These dragons prided themselves on the mountain of gold they harbour. Once they heard about the mountain of gold, they needed to see it for themselves, and if it was as large as the tales say then they will keep it for themselves.

One mid day when the dwarves were busy mining, the dragons came. As they approached, their thunderous roars shook the mountain.

The dwarves sounded the emergency bells, for they knew what was coming. Quickly, they ran to get their armour on them, then manned their battle stations. They were not going to let this mountain fall into the clutches of the dragons. The dwarf king Elron. Stood at the highest peak of the mountain and watched as the dragons flew toward them. He turned to his son, “ this will be a battle for the history pages. If the kingdom should fall, you must bring our people to safety.” His took off his golden crown adorned with the most precious stones and handed it to his son, Dori. Dori took the crown, knowing that there was no time to argue with his father. “ we must ready the men” his father spoke as he turned and went to the dumbwaiter. Dori stood next to him, then his father pressed a lever and they quickly descended.

They gathered some the men just outside the castle. Swords were drawn, they where ready to defend their home.Dori stood next to his father in front of them. His father took a few steps forward then turned to face his fellow men. He looked at their faces knowing it would be the last time he saw many of them alive.

“Today we defend not only our home, wives and children but we defend our hard work and our honour!” The men cheered. The king got back in line just as the dragons came. The dragons breathed fire that was so hot it melted the golden stairs and statues outside the mountain. But the men lifted their sword and charged at them. Other men lifted their bows and arrows and tried to aim for the dragons’ underbelly.

The dragons remained in the air making it impossible for the men on the ground to kill them.

Their arrows were too weak to pierce their scales, and the dragons were smart to protect themselves by covering their underbellies: either with their wings or by the angles the flew at.

Dori rolled on the ground just missing the blaze of the dragons’ fire. He looked to his archers who were being taken out one by one by the dragons. Dori knew that the dragons wouldn’t land until all the men were dead. This was an unfair fight.

He ran to the archers grabbed a bow and some arrows from one of the dead dwarves. He aimed and began firing. His shots were missing as well.

Dori looked around helplessly, and frustrated, watching his fellow men fight till the death. He heard men scream and watched as they were set on fire running around aimlessly. Their armour burning them as it melted to their skin. Dori, scanned the ground looking for his father, he found him just as a dragon swooped down, picking up his father with its great claws and took him up into the sky. Dori watched in horror as the dragon let go of his father a few hundred feet in the air. His fathers scrambled helplessly as he fell to the ground and landed with a large crack. Dori looked away blinking the tears from his eyes. He didn’t have time to grieve. He looked around and saw that most men had perished by either being dropped from the sky or burned to death. He looked to the sky and saw two dragons flying around with much more stamina than he had to offer.

He was king now, he made the call. “retreat!!” He screamed, “ we have lost, save yourselves!!” The men that were alive began to run down the mountain. Some lost their footing and began to roll down. Dori could hear the clanging of their armour as it hit the rocks. As he ran himself he saw some men roll right off a cliff falling to their death. There was nothing he could do, he needed to escape, to be able to lead who had survived along with the women and children who had evacuated just before the fight.

Dori ran down the mountain quickly but also tried to be careful where he stepped. The mountain was steep, and the rocks under his feet could easily give way. Despite his attempts at being careful his foot slipped and he began sliding down the mountain. He tried to stop himself but the pebbles under him were as slick as sand. In front of him was a cliff and he was fast approaching it. He tried to brace his feet or dig his hands in the ground but nothing worked. He felt a hand on his shoulder, followed by a tight grip. He immediately stopped sliding. He watched the pebbles fall off the cliff. He turned to see one of the soldiers smiling, “can’t have you falling now.” Gamon said as he pulled Dori to his feet.

“I can’t thank you enough” Dori said. Gamon raised his hand as if to say don’t even thank me. The two men walked down the mountain, quickly but carefully.

When they made it to the valley, they met up with the rest of the men who had fought, many where wounded. They all turned to Dori for guidance.

His father never prepared a safe haven that many of the other kingdoms had. They were too confident that they could ward of any attempts at a take over. None of them foresaw dragons coming to the valley. Dori felt lost. He knew of dwarves that lived in a different mountain. But the trek was long and treacherous even if they were all healthy. If they were to come across goblins or trolls they would not be able to defend themselves, but what other options did they have? There was no one they could depend on. Suddenly, Dori remembered the centaur king. They had recently gifted him a large golden statue of himself for his birthday. That would be a great place to rest, and it wasn’t too far.

“We are headed to the kingdom of the centaurs” Dori said trying to sound like a king.

“That’s quite a ways” Gamon said worried. “It is the closest kingdom to us. We shall rest there.” Dori said.

“Let’s carry the wounded and meet the women. They can assist with tending to the wounds.” Dori grabbed a man who was almost passed out, lifted him up and put him on his back. The dragons roared shaking the ground they stood on. They turned to the mountain and Dori’s anger burned inside of him as he was reminded of all that he lost.

“We will come back and claim what was yours” Gamon said with a mans arm wrapped over his neck.

They met the women and children who waited at the other end of the valley. That small journey took out most of the energy Dori had left, and he couldn’t imagine how the others must feel. Dori sat down on a large rock and looked at his men, he knew they wouldn’t be able to make the travel. He sighed putting his head in his hands. He tried to think of what else he could do for his remaining people.

Dori stood up and walked over to Gamon who was speaking with his wife while his young son sat on his lap. Dori put a hand on his shoulder then motioned with his head to follow him. Gamon handed his son to his wife, stood then followed his king. They stood a little ways away so no one could hear them. Dori

Spoke, “we must find shelter for a few days.”

Gomon nodded, “I think this is the best decision”

“Will you come with me to look for a place”

“Of course”

Dori looked to his people, took a step forward, “ we will be resting for a few days so the wounded has time to heal. Gamon and I will search for a place.”

No one said anything, Dori turned to Gamon and they both began to walk.

At first neither of them said anything, their thoughts were busy with what had happened that day, and all they had lost. They entered the nearby forest in search for shelter. It was hours before they had found anything.

It was Gamon who found the cave. Dori peered inside. It looked like it went deep, but if they stayed close to the opening they should be fine.

“We shall get the others” Dori said once satisfied with the cave.

By the time everyone had settled in the cave, it was almost completely dark. Dori started a small fire. He sat by himself and watched the flames dance. He was exhausted, but knew he couldn’t show it, he needed to be strong for his people. He leaned his head back against the cave wall. His eyes got heavy, and they slowly began to close.

He heard a loud bang.

His eyes shot opened and he quickly got to his feet. At first he wasn’t sure if it was from a distant dream or not. Looking at the faces of others who looked into the darkness of the cave. He knew it wasn’t just him who heard the noise. Dori heart pounded taking away any sleepiness he once felt. He pulled his sword from its sheath and the other men followed his lead.

There came a loud growl. Dori walked passed the women and children toward it, the men stood behind him. The growl got louder, as it was coming closer to them. Dori had little light from the fire and was squinting to see what was there.

Finally a tall troll came out from the darkness. He was triple the size of Dori, and probably weighed hundred times more than him. The growling stop and a deep voice asked, “dwarves? What do you want”

Dori responded,” we just need a place to rest. We mean no harm. Our kingdom was taken by dragons.”

The troll turned to him growling showing his large crooked teeth.

“Dragons? I hate dragons!”

“That is something we have in common. We used to live on the mountain, just in that valley over there” Dori pointed in the direction they came from. The troll looked passed him to the wounded, the woman and children.

Rain outside the cave began to fall, and the wind picked up making it cold. The troll looked back to Dori, “this is no place to stay and rest. You may come to my home, but you must leave your weapons here.”

The troll turned around and walked into the darkness of the cave. Dori turned back and said, “we shall trust the troll, leave your weapons here.” Despite the little light he could see everyone look at each other with concern. A gust of wind blew into the cave, along with some rain making it very unpleasant. “Unless you’d like to stay here getting wet and shivering. I am your king now, I ask you to trust my instincts.”

Gamon walked to Dori then dropped his sword, “I trust you, my king.” It was followed by the clatter of the others dropping their weapons. Dori put out the fire, picked up a wounded man, the other men carried wounded who were unable to walk on their own. Everyone followed Dori, they all headed into the darkness toward the back of the cave.