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Smaug - Evil - Middle Earth Caches Traditional Geocache

This cache has been archived.

firennice: I went to replace this.
There is way to much trash now, and my cool container is long gone.
Sadly it is time to let it go.

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Hidden : 8/15/2008
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

I dont think seeing this one will be the problem because of the thorns. It will be getting to it, becuase of the thorns. Good luck, because of the thorns. Did I mention the thorns?.As time goes on if you have found these caches and did not record the numbers, or if some have been stolen feel free to contact me and I will get you the numbers so you can go after the master caches

I was thinking of placing it in the middle of these trees and tried a number of times to find an entrace before I realized that I was absolutly crazy and I gave up, and found a nice place. These trees are evil and have claws, like the dragon, so watch yourself, be carefull and enjoy.

Evil is allways central in the telling of tales. In Middle Earth it is no difference. Evil caches will be located in dark, disturbing, places that may represent the caches they fall into.

Smaug is the main antagonist in The Hobbit who had previously laid waste to the town of Dale and captured the Lonely Mountain (Erebor) with all its treasure. He was already centuries old during this and over 200 years more passed before the events of The Hobbit. The book recounts the tale of a party of dwarves (a few of the original residents of the Lonely Mountain and their descendants) and a hobbit to recapture the mountain and kill the dragon. Smaug is described as reddish-gold and was said in accounts of the Red Book that he was of great size. In the book he is sometimes named Smaug the Golden or Smaug the Magnificent.

Smaug was intimately familiar with every last item within his hoard, and instantly noticed the theft of a relatively inconsequential cup by Bilbo Baggins. According to Tolkien, his rage was that kind which "is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy lose something they have long had but never before used or wanted." This theft of a cup, Smaug's knowledge of every item in the hoard, and the dragon's ensuing rampage all echo the story of Beowulf, on which Tolkien was a noted expert and which he described as one of his "most valued sources" for The Hobbit.[1] Among the items in Smaug's possession were the Arkenstone, and a number of mithril mail shirts, one of which was given as a gift to Bilbo by Thorin Oakenshield, the company's leader. In The Lord of the Rings, set years later, the shirt saved Bilbo's relative Frodo from injury multiple times.

Smaug's belly was crusted in gems and gold, which rendered him almost invulnerable. However, when Bilbo met him in his lair, he discovered a bare patch on his left breast. When Bilbo told his Dwarf companions about Smaug's weakness, he was overheard by the thrush that roosted by the mountain's secret door. The thrush in turn told Bard the Bowman of Esgaroth. When Smaug attacked the town, Bard shot his Black Arrow into Smaug's left breast, the armour's weak spot, killing him.

Smaug has the fiery breath generally associated with dragons, but is just as dangerous behind as before: his tail is described as having the power of a battering-ram wielded by giants, and when Bilbo foolishly gives him too many clues as to where his and the Dwarves campsite is, Smaug uses this powerful tail to bring rubble down upon them to try to bury them all.

Smaug has exceptional eyesight, and also an acute sense of smell, which he is able to use asleep or awake. He is even able to put an exact figure on the number of people and ponies that arrive near his lair, and his appetite (he eats ten out of the fourteen ponies before he even has his conversation with Bilbo) is monstrous. He can also sleep with one eye open to keep watch over his treasure, which is how he manages to speak with Bilbo when he returns for more although he has to admit to himself that he cannot decide what species Bilbo is by scent alone, the smell of a hobbit being unknown to him.

Smaug's weakness which we are told by Tolkien is common among dragons is that he enjoys riddles and cannot resist the urge to uncover them although he has further strength in his abilities to give very accurate guesses and to keep what information he does uncover to himself. In common with Tolkien's other dragons Smaug's has power of hypnosis using his eyes; every time he looks towards the unseen Bilbo, he puts him "in mortal danger of falling under the dragon's spell", and makes him suddenly want to tell him everything. The eyes "rove" from side to side in search of him, however Bilbo is invisible with the help of the One Ring at the time and the impact of their power does not consume his mind completely. Smaug does, however, possess what is described as "quite an overwhelming personality", as well as a dry, if cruel, sense of humour, so that aside from coming close to making Bilbo betray his friends, he also causes him to temporarily believe that the dwarves are trying to swindle him out of his share of the treasure and that it would be impossible for them to remove it all even if they allowed him some.

A further weakness lies with Smaug's own pride: he believes himself to be invulnerable, and is unaware of the unarmoured patch of bare skin on his breast when he goes to Esgaroth to set the town alight and hunt its people. This arrogance eventually proves fatal to him in his battle with the town's defenders.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ybbx ba gur tebhaq. Abegu fvqr bs gur fgnaq bs gerrf.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)