Bear School Astartes

Lann’s voice grew cold.

He went up and grabbed Sorlin by the collar, who was restless and panicked under his words just moments before.

The loyal dwarves wanted to intervene, but halfway through, they stopped, looking at their former leader.

Sorlin, who led the dwarves to establish a new homeland, overcoming numerous difficulties, was now so lost, confused, and obviously not in his right mind, that they couldn’t move a step.

Lann, with those beast-like eyes, stared directly into Sorlin’s.

Instinctively, Sorlin drew back his neck, his eyes shifting as if trying to escape those beast-like eyes.

In the amber irises were vertical pupils... this feeling...

Made Sorlin feel as if he had returned to that night when he faced the dragon.

But clearly, it was only a few days ago, yet it felt like a long time had passed for him.

So long that Sorlin, who once dared to curse at the corners of the dragon’s flaming mouth, now felt... himself shrinking back.

”You spent one night erecting temporary walls, but so what?”

”Even during the peak period of the Lonely Mountain Kingdom, the original walls succumbed to Smaug’s claws and flames, this gate was rammed open by it!”

”And what about me?”

Lann’s tone gradually calmed from anger, but everyone present couldn’t feel any easier, instead, they almost simultaneously sensed an indescribable chill in their hearts.

”I tore Smaug’s wings apart, letting its blood pour from the night sky into the sea of fire! I shattered its mouth, so it couldn’t even speak! I thrust my sword into its chest, extinguishing the blazing dragon flame!”

”These walls can’t stop Smaug...”

Lann continued softly.

”So can they stop me?!”

”Can you fourteen stop me? If I wanted the gold, you wouldn’t be standing here now, but should be lying on the ground!”

The Demon Hunter, with resentment and frustration, pushed Sorlin away.

The King Under the Mountain stumbled backward, finally supported by Dwalin behind him.

But even this most loyal and seasoned warrior among the dwarves, as he held Sorlin, pursed his lips, unwilling to look at Sorlin’s pale face and heavy dark circles.

”What exactly has turned you into this? Weak, suspicious, and fearful while also being greedy to the point of oblivion, Sorlin? Until a few days ago when you left Long Lake Town, this wasn’t how you were!”

Lann looked disappointedly at the King Under the Mountain.

His left hand emanated a faint white light, like light refracting.

[Yakxi Rune].

”King Under the Mountain, is your promise, your honor, the honor of your lineage all worth less than gold?”

With the assistance of the Magic Seal, Lann’s voice resonated like a whisper from the depths of one’s heart.

Yet Sorlin’s gaze remained wavering and vacant.

He pushed away Dwalin to stand on his own, clutching his forehead as he wobbled, appearing as if his head was splitting in pain.

Sorlin then frantically pushed away all the concerned dwarves who surrounded him, as if escaping, stumbling farther into the darkness of the Lonely Mountain.

”No... I will not share, even if...” In the midst, he stumbled over scattered stones but crawled back up to continue running, ”even if a piece of gold, gold!”

”Sorlin!”

”Quick, follow him! Don’t let anything happen!”

The dwarves scrambled after him into the darkness, leaving only Balin and Bilbo behind, sighing in distress.

”We can all feel it; Sorlin isn’t normal now. But...” The Hobbit scratched his head in pain, ”but he’s still Sorlin, after all. He led us tirelessly for a year, always leading by example, brave and fearless.”

”So now everyone knows he’s not normal, but habitually doesn’t want to contradict him?”

Lann, with a furrowed brow, looked into the depth of the Lonely Mountain, speaking out the words that Bilbo couldn’t say.

Balin, being older, seemed calm.

But only calm on the surface, for seeing Sorlin like this, the old dwarf, who once assisted Sorlin’s father and grandfather during the Kingdom of the Lonely Mountain era, now spoke with a touch of sobbing.

As an aged dwarf embarking on a quest with Sorlin to reclaim the kingdom, he hadn’t furrowed his brow even once while battling Beastmen and negotiating with Ogres along the way.

Yet the sadness he struggled to hold back, but couldn’t help revealing, was painful even for onlookers.

”This is, it’s dragon sickness.”

Balin took a strong breath, pressing down the sob in his throat.

”I thought Sorlin wouldn’t follow in his grandfather and father’s footsteps, as he is better than both of them, possessing a more noble soul.”

”He is resilient, leading us to seek livelihood in hardship after losing the Lonely Mountain, and faced Azog bravely during the Battle of Moria with just a piece of oak for a shield.”

”Look at Sorlin’s expression just now, such intense desire, a pathological pursuit and possessiveness towards treasure... this mindset once drove Thror insane!”

”This is dragon sickness, a mental illness, incurable.”

The few present fell silent for a moment.

Lann looked down at his left hand, which had just wielded the Magic Seal, shaking his head.

This isn’t a ’sickness’; it’s practically a curse.

At this moment, Bilbo shuffled his feet and pulled Balin, Lann, and Rong Buqiu closer together.

The hobbit hesitated, speaking in a probing tone.

”Balin, I mean... you see Sorlin is frantically searching for the Aken Gemstone now. If—I’m saying if!”

”He suddenly ’found’ the gemstone, wouldn’t that be better?”

When he said ’found,’ Bilbo emphasized heavily, and instantly, Lann and Balin looked at Bilbo thoughtfully but not quite confidently.

Only Rong Buqiu remained calm.

”Is that possible?”

Lann leaned down, seriously meeting the gaze of the old dwarf Balin.

Although the words weren’t spelled out, everyone present actually understood each other without speaking.

”Would acquiring the Aken Gemstone calm Sorlin down? From your experience, Balin.”

Balin’s white beard quivered before he finally sighed dejectedly.

”The Aken Gemstone is extraordinary, not just a unique and precious gem. Among dwarves, it also symbolizes the king’s power!”

The old dwarf’s eyes held a calm despair.

”What do you say, to someone pathologically obsessed with treasure, would gaining power make things better? Whether for the situation or for himself?”

Everyone was speechless, only Balin sighed softly.

”Perhaps the Aken Gemstone... it’s better it remains hidden.”

”But there must be a way,” Lann said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

”When you were just driven out of the Lonely Mountain by Smaug, didn’t Thror and Serafine escape too? And after escaping, that ’dragon disease-driven mad’ Thror organized a campaign to attack Moria.”

”That doesn’t sound like something a madman could do.”

Balin was momentarily taken aback by Lann’s detailed questioning approach but then the old dwarf’s eyes lit up with realization, as though he remembered something.

”Wait... indeed it is!”

”Ever since Thror was forced to leave the Lonely Mountain and gold, he suddenly returned to normal! We all thought it was excessive grief at that time that let him draw strength from hate to support his spirit! But now thinking about it...”

”Perhaps leaving the treasure, losing wealth, is what restored him to normal?”

Lann began attempting to summarize Thror’s case features and identify the key points.

In the Magic Middle Ages, when demon hunters received tasks to lift curses, they often used this approach.

”Or perhaps, strong enough emotions like the grief of losing one’s home can also support a spirit corrupted by treasure?”

Balin earnestly grabbed Lann’s arm, his lips trembling under his white beard.

”Then let him lose the wealth, Lann! Even if it’s just part of it, to ease the symptoms... save him! Save the kingdom we’ve reclaimed!”

”In this situation, perhaps only you can accomplish this!”

The demon hunter patted the old dwarf’s shoulder: ”I’ll try my best, but you have to understand, Balin... resisting the urge to punch Sorlin just now really took all my patience.”

The almost teary-eyed old dwarf bitterly smiled: ”Made a fool of you, the character and honor of the King Under the Mountain have been shamed... but if you need to hit him, go ahead! Sorlin’s head can even withstand a Hundred-page Hammer!”

Lann continued speaking while motioning Bilbo and Rong Buqiu to move aside, simultaneously nodding towards Balin.

”What we’re going to talk about next... you should go, Balin. This matter shouldn’t involve you, otherwise, it won’t be clear later.”

Bilbo and Rong Buqiu practically indicated earlier that they hid the Aken Gemstone, but hadn’t spelled it out.

If Balin were still present at this time, even if Sorlin recovered in the future, his actions would be hard to explain, creating unwarranted tension between them.

Sometimes not knowing, or even pretending not to know, has its benefits.

Balin pursed his lips and nodded, walking towards the shadows deep in the Lonely Mountain.

Having served as an aide to the king since the Lonely Mountain days, he understood what was necessary.

And as only Elu Cat and the two people remained at the temporary gate, Bilbo carefully looked around and reached into his coat.

The Aken Gemstone wrapped in tattered cloth was finally seen by Lann for the first time.

As the legendary gemstone appeared, the shimmering colors within almost made Lann feel he had seen a miniature galaxy!

Such beauty, no wonder it became the king’s gem.

”You’re truly a master of flying thieves, Master Baggins.”

Lann chuckled softly, teasing the small hobbit.

Bilbo blushed: ”No, I don’t steal, and I consider myself an honest person, but this time...”

”I was the one who stole it, meow, right under the dragon’s nose!” Rong Buqiu proudly remarked, hands on hips. ”But it was Bilbo who saw Sorlin wasn’t right, told me to keep it, meow.”

”And looking back now, my judgment was correct.” Bilbo shook his head solemnly, ”If I had given the Aken Gemstone to Sorlin at that time, he would be done for.”

”Balin said Sorlin’s current condition is only the beginning of dragon sickness; heaven knows how mad Thror was back then. So I can only entrust it to you, Lann.”

Without hesitation, the hobbit slapped the rare gemstone into the demon hunter’s hand.

”Please save Sorlin, Lann! I beg you!”