Chapter 35
In the forest outside Beorn's house, the bear ambles toward the house. At the edge of the forest, the bear stands on its hind legs, and its form melts into that of a tall man. The man looks toward the house. St. Anel saw him and ran to him holding his clothes. Once close she handed them to him. He gladly took them as the 2 walked back. Bilbo was sleeping in the house; hearing a noise, he wakes up and quietly peeks out of his blankets. He sees Beorn, in human form and St. Anel, enter.
The next morning, Beorn's ponies prance through the fields for their morning exercise. Inside the house, very large bumblebee lands on Bilbo's nose, waking him with a start. Putting on his jacket, he walks toward the kitchen, where all the dwarves, St. Anel, and Gandalf are already seated. Beorn pours milk from a pitcher into Fili's cup. He is much taller than any human, even taller than Gandalf. Beorn addresses Thorin. "So you are the one they call Oakenshield. Tell me, why is Azog the Defiler hunting you?"
Thorin asked, "You know of Azog? How?"
Beorn replied, "My people were the first to live in the mountains, before the Orcs came down from the north. The Defiler killed most of my family, but some he enslaved." Bilbo sees the remnants of manacles on Beorn's wrist. "Not for work, you understand, but for sport. Caging skin-changers and torturing them seemed to amuse him."
Bilbo asked, "There are others like you?"
Beorn said, "Once, there were many."
Bilbo asked, "And now?"
Beorn replied grimly, "Now, there is only one." The dwarves, Bilbo, St. Anel and Gandalf look on in silence. "You need to reach the mountain before the last days of autumn?"
St. Anel said, "Before Durin's Day falls, yes."
Beorn said, "You are running out of time."
Gandalf said, "Which is why we must go through Mirkwood."
Beorn said, "A darkness lies upon that forest. Fell things creep beneath those trees. There is an alliance between the Orcs of Moria and the Necromancer in Dol Guldur. I would not venture there except in great need."
Gandalf said, "We will take the Elven Road. That path is still safe."
Beorn asked, "Safe? The Wood-Elves of Mirkwood are not like their kin. They're less wise, more dangerous," Then he looked at St. Anel. "And they have no mercy. But it matters not."
Thorin asked, "What do you mean?"
Beorn said, "These lands are crawling with Orcs. Their numbers are growing, and you are on foot. You will never reach the forest alive." Thorin looks shocked. Beorn stands up from the table and faces Thorin. "I don't like dwarves. They're greedy and blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own." Beorn picks up a mouse that had been scampering on the table and holds it, all the while approaching Thorin. who is standing with his arms crossed. "But Orcs I hate more. What do you need?"
St. Anel asked, "How many Clydesdale ponies do you have?"