Home ↠ The Hobbit

II. Burglar

Thorin II Oakenshield stepped inside the hobbit-hole as the Dwarves gathered to greet him along with Gandalf. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way, twice," he stated while Athena sent Kili and Fili a look to say 'I told you so.'

There was no mistaking Thorin for being somebody other than a king. The way that he carried and dressed himself said more than words could, the authority practically dripped from his entire being as he moved further into the residence.

"I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door," he continued as he unclasped his cloak and shrugged it from his shoulders under the watchful eyes of those who had awaited his arrival.

"There's no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago!" Bilbo retaliated confidently, though everybody knew otherwise for if it weren't there they would not have found their way either.

"There is a mark. I've put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf introduced the two of them.

"So this is the Hobbit," Thorin voiced as he stepped towards Bilbo as if sizing him up for their adventure that was yet to come before beginning to circle him. "Tell me, Mr Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked, clearly confused and ever so slightly intimidated by the king's actions and overall presence, his eyes following the Dwarf.

"Axe or sword, what's your weapon of choice?" He asked, coming to a standstill in front of the Hobbit once more.

"Well, I do have some skill at conkers, if you must know. But I fail to see why that's relevant," was the given response. It was obvious to Athena and the others that Bilbo had yet to know even an inkling of why the company had turned up at his home.

"I thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar," He commented before the Dwarves began to laugh. Athena could only bring herself to chuckle lightly at the statement, she didn't want to hurt his feelings and she knew that even the smallest of creatures can make the biggest of changes if their heart is in the right place. Though she wasn't entirely sure if he would have the heart to follow them.

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Wedged at the corner of the table between Kili and Fili she sat and listened as Thorin spoke, eating what little of the food that remained. It took only a few exchanged words for all of them to realise that they were alone in this quest and that nobody would be coming to their aid. The words sunk into each and everyone's hearts as they exchanged glances and disappointed sighs.

"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo asked from where he stood behind Gandalf, Athena raising her head to look at his form hidden within the shadows.

"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light," Gandalf instructed before pulling a piece of parchment from his robe and unravelling the map that he had been carrying, "far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak."

Bilbo returned with a lit candle to see Gandalf pointing at the Lonely Mountain, a drawing of a dragon above the top of the mountain to further show what had happened to the once great realm of Dwarves.

"The Lonely Mountain," Bilbo read from the map, sounding unsure with each of his words. She realised that the Hobbit was more sheltered than she had originally thought, it didn't sound like he had ever heard of Erebor before let alone know what lurks within its very halls.

"Aye, Óin has read the portents and the portents say it is time," Glóin spoke up, the Dwarves around him sighing while she only watched and listened.

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold. When the birds of the old return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end," Óin consolidated in his own words, shedding more light on the portents and its contents.