Stepping outside of the mountain was always a strange sensation, and for a moment Thorin felt disconnected from himself. Above him was a grey sky, and the air smelled of incoming rain.

"Thorin," Dwalin said, "what is wrong?"

Thorin composed himself, putting his hand to the sword strapped to his side. "Nothing," he said. "Now, are we going to find the thief or not? Father could have my head for this."

"Of course." Dwalin looked around, clutching his axes tighter. "Where will we be starting? Whoever stole it could be anywhere."

"If they are smart then they ran. But then again, it has not been long since the Arkenstone was stolen. How far could they have gotten on foot?" Those words were his only comfort. There was no way to deny that this thief was no ordinary one. Not just anyone could steal the Arkenstone, especially not from his father's own treasury. He had inherited it from his father when he died, and from there Thorin would inherit once his father's reign ended. "That is if they have even had the chance to leave the mountain."

The fact was that the thief could have been anywhere and anyone. Whoever had done it had made it past the most guarded part of Erebor without being seen or heard, all the while being able to hide such a large jewel. No one would have noticed a few gold coins vanishing, though if they were caught the king still would have taken their head. To steal the Arkenstone was beyond foolish, and certainly something that would have been noticed.

The timing, Thorin noted, had been perfect as well. Whoever had done it must have known when it would be removed from the throne to be cleaned. An honored treasure such as that was treated as though it were worth more than ten piles of gold. If it lost even the faintest hint of its gleam then his father would surely have gotten angry. He seemed to truly believe that it was a sign of his right to rule.

Well, his father could believe what he liked. Thorin just wished that he did not have to be the one to retrieve it. With his luck, the person who stole it would probably be the dwarf hired to clean it. It was a great honor to enter the king's treasury, even if it was just to clean a rock.

"We should inspect the area, question a few dwarves," Thorin said. "After this, we will meet with Dis and Frerin and see if they have discovered anything."

"Think of all the food that we can buy with this," Pippin said, looking over the stone. "We can finally have second breakfast again!"

Bilbo wrapped the cloth around the Arkenstone once more. The boys' eyes were bright, remembering a time so long ago. He had hardly been older than a baby when he had been able to eat more than two or three scavenged meals a day. How could he even remember that time?

"Uncle," Frodo said, "what can we do with it?" He wrapped his cloak around him tighter. His breath was white in the air, and even from the distance between them Bilbo could see goosebumps all over him.

"A new life," he said. "We can try and buy a new life."

Lobelia chuckled. "That is what you always say. Usually all it gets us is a few coins. Did anyone ever tell you that you could not barter worth a damn?"

"What are you saying? Do you think that you could steal this?"

Her smirk turned into a deep frown. "I have helped you through many of your missions. Tell me, would we have made it out of Rohan with that crown were it not for me? Or how about when you decided to take advantage of Elrond's generosity? Remember when you thought that his salt shakers would actually be worth something? If he saw us now then he surely would not treat you as Belladonna Took's son."

Bilbo tensed. "What in Yavanna's name are you saying?"

"Stop thinking of the past and do do not dare dream of the future. All we have is now, Bilbo. Now, we are just a small band of thieves, and that is all that we will ever be. There is no Shire any more, and we will never be able to make another. This is all that we are." She sighed. "Bilbo, what you need to do is to have someone help you sell the stone. If it truly is as important as you claim it is then we can surely sell it for a fortune."

"And with that money we may start a new life!"

"You need to get over that!" She balled her fists. "Bilbo, once we sell that stone we need to run. In fact, we should be running right now. If you really stole the most famous of all of Erebor's treasures then you have gotten all of us a spot on the execution block. If we want to live then we run. We are hardly outside of Dale. The dwarves could find us at any time!"

Bilbo held the stone closer. He could see just the smallest bit of it under the cloth. Truly, it shone with a great, unnatural light. Whatever it was, it surely was no ordinary gem. "If you want to run, then we may. Perhaps this would fetch a better price further east. What about going to the Iron Hills? Surely some dwarves there would pay a high price for this treasure."

"Have you not heard? Erebor and the Iron Hills are allies, and I believe the kings of both dwarf kingdoms are related."

Bilbo scowled.

"You are not the only smart one, Bilbo." Lobelia sighed. "Just give up on this idea that we can change. There is no respectability now, no Baggins, no Tooks. All that there is now is a group of hungry hobbits."

"And what do you say that we do once this is sold?"

"We take the money and use it to keep us traveling. We go from place to place, stealing as we please and gaining our wealth, then leaving when we must. In the places we visit, we may live the best life that we can with the money we have taken before leaving once more. All we have to do is keep pushing forward."

"That is what we are doing now!"

Lobelia scoffed. "If we lived like that now then these hobbits would not be hungry. No, we would be drinking wine and sleeping in real beds." She sighed, then pulled something from her bag. "While Bilbo was stealing from the dwarves, I snuck through the markets of Dale." She threw everyone a loaf of bread, even one to Bilbo. "I would save a bit if I were any of you."

For a moment, Bilbo could only stare at his food in shock. But then again, what was he expecting? She would not let him starve just because they had a fight. If so, then he would have been dead years before.

The young hobbits dug into their food, eating quickly, as if their food would be taken from them.

They truly did not deserve this life.

"Lobelia, we will discuss your plan together tomorrow in private. Until then, both of us need to plan. I want to hear your ideas."