Gandalf led the way into the dining room, where thirteen dwarves were sitting around a long table and drinking.
"Bilbo, it's almost like you were expecting company! You have exactly the right amount of chairs and the right amount of table." One of the dwarves called.
Bilbo ignored the dwarf. Gandalf pushed us into the dining room, which got quieter than it had been before. I hadn't ever thought of dwarves as quiet, but these dwarves were acting like there was a monster that would eat them if they talked. I figured the monster was the dwarf at the head of the table.
"Ra, Dakota, Beth, meet Thorin's company.
The monster stood up. "Who are they?" He asked.
"They are you new members! Now, if one of you dies, you won't get numbered back to thirteen." Gandalf answered happily. "Now you have eighteen in your company."
None of the dwarves looked happy at this. The monster kept asking Gandalf questions. "Why are they joining the company?"
"They need to."
"What's the reason?"
"Thorin, get out of my face before I blow yours up."
"WHAT'S THE REASON!"
Gandalf then lost his temper. "THE REASON IS THAT I SAID SO!" He screamed. "NOW, THE MAP!"
Thorin pulled out a map. "Would you like me to sing the song again?" He muttered.
One of the dwarves grinned. "I knew you liked to sing, Thorin!" He yelled.
Thorin glared and pulled out a map. "Now we need to find a way into the mountain. The front gate is closed-"
"You don't have a front door?" I interrupted.
"The front gate IS the front door. And sadly, that is sealed-"
"What about a back door?" Dakota asked.
"There is also no back door!" Thorin growled.
Gandalf cleared his throat. "Actually, there IS a back door. Here is the key."
Thorin looked murderous. "HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THIS KEY?" He yelled. "AND STOP INTERRUPTING ME!"
"I got it from your father." Gandalf explained. "And do NOT yell at me again, or I will eat your face."
"Alright. Now, we all know that there is a dragon guarding the gold there, and I know that there are rumors going around about the dragon Smaug being dead, so it's now or never." Thorin explained. "However, we are NOT stupid" (he glared at everyone) "and we ALL know how long this dragon can live."
"Well, you DO need a burglar." Bilbo commented. "Too bad I'm not one."
Then Gandalf stood up. "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a thief he is."
"Wow, Gandalf, I didn't know you thought you were a god." Beth said.
"What? I don't think I'm a god!" Gandalf stammered. "I just know everything."
I shook my head. "Arrogant, too."
The dwarves glared at us. "Who ARE these people?" One asked.
"I already introduced you." Gandalf growled. "Now, Bilbo, will you come? You don't really have a choice."
Bilbo hesitated.
"Hey, he's hesitating!" One of the dwarves called. "We'll HAVE to sing the song again!"
"Oh, fine." Thorin growled, and started to sing along with everyone else.
"FAR OVER THE MISTY MOUNTAINS
THERE IS A MOUNTAIN
THAT'S ALL ALONE
IT IS CALLED THE LONELY MOUNTAIN
BECAUSE IT'S IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.
WE WILL GO THERE
BY THE BREAK OF DAY
WE WILL LEAVE TO RECLAIM
OUR LOST GOLD AND JEWELS
IN THERE IS THE STONE OF ALL JEWELS
THAT WE CANNOT NAME
WE WILL PASS THROUGH
GOBLIN CAVES AND ORC CAMPS
AND ELVISH PLACES AND DRAGONY MOUNTAINS
TO REACH OUR LOST GOLD
WE MUST AWAY ERE BREAK OF DAY
TO SEEK OUR LONG FORGOTTEN GOLD
THAT HAS BEEN ON EVERY SINGLE DWARF'S MIND
AND HUMAN AND ELF'S MIND SINCE BEFORE WE LEFT!"
Bilbo stood there with his mouth open. Finally, he said, "I'M GOING!"
The dwarves immediately stood up and went to bed, as did Bilbo and the three of us. Somehow, even though there were only two guest bedrooms, the eighteen of us all got to sleep on a bed or the couch.
The next morning we were woken up by Gandalf. It was still dark outside, and I felt like someone had hit me over the head with a sledgehammer.
"What?" I mumbled.
"We're leaving now." Gandalf explained. "Everyone else is awake, except Ori."
"Why couldn't you have woken him up first?" I growled as I sat up.
"He drank too much." Gandalf explained.
"So? That's his fault!" I argued. I walked out of the room and looked at everyone who was up. "Where's Bilbo?"
"Asleep." Gandalf answered.
"Then go wake him up!" I said.
"I'll let him get up himself." Gandalf asked.
"WHY COULDN'T YOU LET ME DO THAT?" I yelled. "I WAS HAVING A GOOD DREAM AND IT IS NOT EVEN LIGHT OUTSIDE!"
"We're leaving at daybreak." Another dwarf explained.
"It isn't daybreak." I argued.
"We're packing." The dwarf explained.
"I don't have anything to pack." I growled. "There was NO reason to wake me up, unless you wanted me to kill someone."
The dwarf gulped, and ran off. I decided that if I had to wake up early, Bilbo would, too. I got water from the pantry and dumped it on Bilbo's face.
Bilbo rolled over. That was it.
"NOOOO!" I yelled.
About an hour later, we got ready to leave. Gandalf announced that he would stay behind, and the rest of us bought extra ponies from hobbits who gave us the pony if we would leave them alone at 4:30 in the morning. Then we went down to the ferry to wait on Bilbo.
"WHY are we doing this?" One of the dwarves complained.
"Because Gandalf wanted to make this harder than it had to be." Another one answered. Then Bilbo came running down a hill to us, with Gandalf galloping on behind him.
"Gandalf, you couldn't share your horse?" Beth asked.
"You're also SELFISH!" Dakota screeched.
"THAT'S IT!" Gandalf roared. "GO RIDE WITH FILI AND KILI AWAY FROM ALL OF US ALREADY SANE PEOPLE!"
"You never introduced us to the dwarves. Who are Fili and Kili?" Beth asked.
"The two dwarves at the very back." Thorin answered.
We led our ponies to the back of the company, and rode behind Fili and Kili.
Fili was the blonde dwarf and Kili was the beardless dwarf. They told us who every other dwarf was.
"Thorin is the one in blue, with a chunk of oak that mysteriously appeared in battle when he was almost killed." Fili began. "Dwalin had that big bald spot on his head. Balin, his brother, is the old one in red."
"And then the fat one is Bombur. I don't know how his pony can support him, he so FAT!" Kili explained loudly.
"Bombur is also our cook, so Kili's dinner will most likely be ruined." Fili added. "There's Nori, Ori, and Bofur, they're talking to each other..."
"Gloin actually has a wife and a kid named Gimli..."
"And Oin is there, too..."
"And here's Bifur!" Kili finished.
Bifur looked back at us and then looked ahead again.
We went on all day, and eventually we stopped for a camp. The next day it rained, and the rain was freezing.
"Can't you do something about the rain?" Balin asked Gandalf.
"No, I cannot. If you wanted a wizard that could change the weather, you should have gone to Saruman. He can make it snow on a snowy mountain." Gandalf replied.
"Can you at least make the rain warm?" I asked.
"Again, the weather..."
"Gandalf, you are a fire expert. Making the rain warmer has something to do with fire!" I argued.
"I WILL NOT CHANGE THE WEATHER!" Gandalf yelled.
That night we camped on a hill. Balin went over how Thorin became known as Blockhead Oakenshield, and we didn't fall asleep until the morning because we heard goblins and unicorns.