Chapter One- Unexpected Company It was a perfect day.
The sun's warm rays were bounding over the grassy knolls of the shire, shining against the fresh green of the new spring. Birds twittered excitedly as they flew about, gathering twigs and things to make nests for their soon-coming eggs. Young hobbits played along the paths with one another. Their parents tended to their gardens and fields, taking advantage of the beautiful weather.
Yes, it was a perfect day and I was stuck inside. For the day, Uncle had grounded me. It wasn't as if I had done anything on purpose. The previous day, I had been strolling along the worn paths that rolled through the hills of the Shire. The day had been equally as perfect as this one. However, feeling walking forward was a bit boring, I had turned around and begun walking backwards. Even though I received odd looks from those I passed, I found it fun and continued on that way. Unfortunately, I was unable to see Lobelia, a rather prude hobbit if you asked me, who was standing in the path facing away from me. Needless to say, I bumped into her rather hard. This wouldn't have been too bad, except that wasn't all that happened. Losing her balance, Lobelia had fallen face-first into the pie she had been holding.
After that, she had dragged me by the ear back to the smial and ranted to Uncle. Although I could tell that when he first answered the door to Lobelia's pie covered face, he found it amusing, but afterwards was quite the opposite. I had received a long lecture on how childish I was and that I was too old to be acting so silly. I had rolled my eyes several times when he wasn't looking, and listened complacently. I knew that he meant well, but sometimes I thought he might literally have a stick up his arse.
So here I was, confined to the smial and nearly dying of boredom.
"Uhhhh," I let out a heavy sigh as I closed yet another book from the library. In my spare time, I had read almost every book in our collection and found it hard to re-read any of them. I loved to learn about the different cultures and races. Dwarves, elves, goblins, I loved to read about all of them. I had even managed to learn a bit of elvish as most of the books had original and translated texts.
Putting the book back in its place, I made my way to the kitchen. It was only then that I noticed how strangely quiet it seemed. Uncle was a bit of a busy-body, so there was always some kind of noise echoing through the smial. He often cooked, even when it wasn't meal-time, as his pantry was expansive and seemed to never run out. When he didn't cook, he cleaned, tyding the many possessions he had spread along the shelves. But, every so often he did take a brake to smoke his pipe or tend to the garden.
Figuring he had gone out to smoke his pipe, I went to the front door and peeped my head out. Although I did see Uncle smoking his pipe and sitting on the stone bench, he was not the only one I saw. Standing tall beside him was an odd looking man. He had a tall pointed hat, which only added to his stature. He was dressed in gray, raggedy looking robes, a rare site in the Shire as all hobbits like to wear bright clothing. In one hand he held a tall staff made of twisted wood.
What an interesting looking person, I thought, wanting to go out and ask Uncle who he was.
However, I didn't get the chance before they both came closer to the door. Not wanting to be seen, I ducked back inside and waited for him to come back in. After a few minutes, he dove inside looking rather strange and bolting the door shut behind him.
"Who was that, Uncle?" I inquired. He furrowed his eyebrows and frowned.
"No one, strange man. Yes, strange indeed," He barely directed this towards me and stumbled off, muttering to himself. Raising my eyebrows, I looked out the window only to see that no one was there anymore. Dissapointed that the man had dissapeared, I trudged back to the library.
Later that night after Uncle had gone to buy fish for dinner, as fish was only good fresh, I sat at the table as he prepared dinner. I wanted to ask about the man he had been with earlier, but based on his skittishness that had remained since then, I decided it best to leave it alone. "There, finished," He stated as he set down two plates of dinner on the table, a delicious smell wafting into my nose. Joining me at the table, he tucked in a napkin into his shirt. I skipped this and reached for the pepper, sprinkling a generous amount onto the fish. Just as I was about to stab into it with my fork, a ringing echoed through our smial. Both of us paused and looked towards the door.
"Were you expecting company Uncle?"
"No..." He removed his tucked in napkin and went for the door. Curious as to who would visit at such a late hour, I followed behind. When Uncle opened the door, a intimidating person was revealed. His head was bald as a boulder, and looked just as hard, but hair covered his face and the back of his neck. His clothes were strange and I could only be sure that he was wearing many layers. His body looked thick and stocky, but I couldn't tell if it was because of the clothes. I immediately recognized him as a Dwarf and I couldn't help but smile.
"Dwalin, at your service," His voice was just as intimidating and had a slight grit to it.
"Um, ah," I could see the red that rose to Uncle's face as he realized he was only in his night clothes and went to tie his robe. Not one to be discurtious even to strangers, he returned the greeting. "Bilbo Baggins, at yours." As the Dwarf, now known as Dwalin, moved to enter our home Uncle simply moved to the side confused. "Um, do we know each other?"
Dwalin looked at Uncle strangely and replied with a gruff, "No." I almost had to laugh at the perplexed look Uncle wore. "Which way laddy, is it down here." He didn't say it much as a question, but more of a statement.
"Excuse me, is what where?"
"Supper, he said there'd be food and plenty of it," I stayed by the door and watched Uncle hurry behind the Dwarf, still confused as ever. Before shutting the door and following, something caught my eye. Kneeling down, I noticed a small marking scratched into the door. Rubbing my neck, I frowned.
"Funny, I thought Uncle just painted the door," Figuring Uncle had enough trouble with the unsuspected visitor, I shut the door and went back to the kitchen. I was met with the sight of the Dwarf scarfing down biscuits as if he hadn't eaten for weeks.
"I wasn't um, expecting anyone this evening," Uncle said, just as the door rang yet again. The Dwarf looked glaringly at Uncle.
"That'll be the door," Uncle stood there still rather shocked looking so I offered to get the door and ran to it before any protests could be made. I opened the door and, surprise, another stranger stood on the porch. It was another Dwarf who, luckily, was much less intimidating than the previous. His head and face were full with white hair and his clothes were just as strange. He looked rather cheery though and held a smile.
"Balin, at your service," He said and gave a whimsical bow.
"Um...Milo Tooks." I returned.
"Am I late?"
"Um...no, I don't believe you are," I answered, unsure of what exactly he was worried about being late for. He went to talk again, but stopped mid-sentence and looked behind me. Following his gaze, I saw that Uncle and the first Dwarf had wandered into the entryway. The two yelled loudly at each other in greeting and I winced at the sudden barrage on my eardrums. Then I winced again when they suddenly slammed their heads to together.
Dwarves are indeed very strange, I concluded.
"Um, I'm sorry, but I'm not entirely sure you're in the right place. It's not that I don't like visitors, but-" The two Dwarves went right on ignoring Uncle and proceeded to get mugs and fill them. Figuring that they were doing no harm, I also grabbed a drink and sat off to the side to laugh as I watched Uncle try to politely tell them they were being a bother. Not that they were listening, of course. The three of them had moved to the pantry when the door bell rang for a third time.
"Humph," Uncle humphed, "Milo, would you get the door?" Nodding, I set down my drink and went to the door. Low and behold, two more Dwarves stood before me! These two looked much younger than the others, perhaps around my age. Their beards were much shorter but the clothes were just the same.
"Fili"
"Kili"
"At your service" They bowed and repeated the same words just as the other two had. "You must be Master Baggins!"
"Although, I did imagine you quite a bit older," One of them said and I gave a small chuckle.
"Ah, no. Uncle is inside, with the other two," I corrected them, pointing inside and moving the door open wider to let them in. Who was I to push out guests? They clearly were at the right home.
"Only two? We're early then," Only two? How many more could there be? "Careful, they've just been sharpened" My eyes widened as one handed me an armful of sheathed weapons, which I placed carefully by the other things the previous Dwarves' things. I then looked over as the other was wiping the mud off his shoes on one of Uncle's many boxes. He was going to have plenty to clean later.
Soon enough they walked off and I could hear the greetings that echoed from the dining room. Uncle's protests could also be heard, but were drowned out by the sound of a table being dragged across the floor. Yet again the doorbell rang. I made no waste in opening it again. Although a smial full of Dwarves would be rather stressful for Uncle, it would be entirely fun for me. However, this time instead of just one or two Dwarves, a whole pile toppled inside and I had to hop back quickly to avoid being fallen on. It was only when a head popped in from the top of the doorway did I see a recognizable face. It was the man in gray from earlier that day.
"And who might you be?"
"Oh, Milo Tooks," As soon as I said it, a grin spread across his lips and glint appeared in his eyes.
"A Tooks, excellent. Where would Bilbo Baggins be?"
"Uncle is this way," I shut the door behind the large group after the man in gray got in with a little difficulty and led them to the dining room. I was rather surprised when all of the Dwarves started bringing food in from the pantry and moving chairs and furniture. At one point one of them had handed me a whole wheel of cheese to bring to the table and I had simply shrugged and done so.
"Milo, what on earth are you doing?!" By now Uncle was a mess, telling everyone who passed to "put that back" or "set that down" and such things.
"If you can't beat them, join them," I said with a shrug of the shoulders and he just looked on, flabbergasted. After setting down the cheese, I made my way away from the bustling group of Dwarves and into the hall, watching as they continued their task. It was then I noticed the gray man stumbling around everyone as he bumped his head on a small chandelier. "Are you all right Mister...?"
"Gandalf, and yes, I'm quite fine."
"Um, would you happen to be a wizard?" Although his staff and pointed hat had been a big tip-off, I had read that sometimes men dressed this way as well.
"Indeed I am," He said in a prideful way, almost proud that someone had realized he was such.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are you all doing here?"
"Preparing for an adventure," The mention of an adventure made my eyes go big and my heart swell. Uncle had always said it was the rebellious Took side of me that made me love adventures. Never had I gone on one, but I loved to read about them. I loved to go adventuring across the Shire and sometimes would even go outside of the bounds of the Shire, but never did I tell Uncle that. I found being stuck inside to be boring and monotonous and always stayed out as long as I could. Something told me that the wizard recognized this as he smiled and that glint returned in his eyes. However, it soon disappeared when he again stumbled due to the multitude of Dwarves crowding the way.
"Now let's see, Oin, Gloin...," He quietly began to mutter to himself, appearing to be counting the Dwarves. Figuring Uncle would be needing some assistance in cooping with our new company, I made my way to the pantry. I was speechless as I saw it was now almost completely barren. Uncle stood just as shocked.
"Well, seems we'll need to go to the market tomorrow," I laughed nervously, attempting to lighten the air, but Uncle only harrumphed in reply. I looked to the side in the dining room as the Dwarves sat at the table, tossing food about and passing out mugs. The only silence made was when they all chugged down their drinks, which was broken by the resulting belches and cheers. Soon they were done and walking about when one of the younger Dwarves walked up to Uncle, who had been raving to Gandalf about the mess being made in his home, and asked, "What do we do with the dishes?"
That's when it began, the dishes were tossed about, going from Dwarf to Dwarf until they reached the sink. Soon enough the were stomping their feet and swiping the silverware, creating a rhythm.
"Stop, you'll blunt the knives!" Uncle said in protest.
"Oh, Uncle, they're only doing the dishes!" I laughed, a pleasant sense of joy overcoming me. It wasn't often we had parties, but when we did they were dull and boring. This, this was free and fun. There were no rules, no etiquette, just enjoyment.
"Blunt the knives, Bend the forks" I laughed as I heard them begin to sing, their lyrics making fun of Uncle's worrying.
"Smash the bottles and burn the corks, Chip the glasses and crack the plates, That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" By now Uncle had given up and stood there grumpy, but I was having a great time and was soon stomping to the tune. Dishes were flying with surprising speed and the Dwarves flung and caught them with ease, creating neat stacks. At the end of their song, Uncle pushed through their crowd only to have his jaw drop when he realized everything was in perfect condition.
"Told you Uncle, they were only doing the dishes," Suddenly, there was someone at the door. This time though, there was no doorbell, but a heavy knock which sounded as if it shook the door. Everyone fell silent. What had been a jovial atmosphere suddenly turned quiet and tense and I got the impression that everyone except Uncle and myself knew who it was.