Based on the story ''Merlins's Unexpected Journey'' by ''Brightfire15''. I don't own the Hobbit or Merlin.

At nightfall. the Dwarves began to arrive. Maddie had gotten a lot of food and that was a good thing too, because the first Dwarf that arrived, Dwalin, immediately started to eat.

Dwalin was a big Dwarf. The top of his head was bold, but there grew long black hair at the sides of his head, and he had a black beard. He also carried a huge axe. Maddie realized she wouldn't like to be this person's enemy. He also had a liking for muffins, she discovered.

Gandalf hadn't arrived yet, but Maddie hoped hoped he would arrive soon.

A few minutes after Dwalin, Maddie heard another knock on the door.

'That'll be the door,' Dwalin said helpfully.

Behind the door stood another Dwarf. This one looked older than Dwalin. He had white hear and a white beard. He looked like a kind and merry chap. He had a nice twinkle in his eyes.

´Balin, at your service,´ the Dwarf said whilst making a bow.

´Good evening,´ Maddie said polite.

´Yes. Yes it is,´ Balin said looking out of the window. ´Though I think it might rain later.´

Balin stepped inside and noticed Dwalin, who was trying to stuff his mouth with all the muffins within his reach.

´Oh! Ha ha! Evening, brother,´ Balin said. walking towards Dwalin.

´By my beard,´ Dwalin replied with a smirk on his face. ´You´re shorter and wider than last time we met.´

´Wider, not shorter,´ Balin contradicted him. ´But sharp enough for both of us.´

They both grinned. Apparently it was an old joke between the two. They smashed their heads together in a way of greeting.

After that, the two brothers Kili and Fili arrived. Fili was the oldest and had blond hair and a blond beard with breads in it. He also carried a big sword and lots of knifes.

Kili, the younger of the two, had brown hear and no beard, just some stubble on his chin. He too had a sword, but also carried a bow and a quiver full of arrows.

They both went over to Balin and Dwalin to talk. Maddie didn't understand much of their conversation, because they were talking in a language unknown to her. It was Dwarvish, she presumed.

After five minutes another knock was heard, and when Maddie opened the door, Gandalf stumbled in with what seemed like a dozen other Dwarves, but turned out to be no more than eight.

Now there were, besides Maddie and Gandalf: Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bombur, Dori, Nori and Ori.

Maddie wondered what the bartenderwould thnk of all the Dwarves entering his tavern.

Maddie counted the Dwarves. ´Gandalf, I only count twelve Dwarves. I thought you said that there would be thirteen. Where is the last one?´ she asked.

Dwalin answered her question. ´He´s late, that´s all. He travelled north to a meeting of our kin. He will come.´

One of the Dwarves, Bofur, then asked: 'And who is this young girl?'

All the Dwarves looked expectantly at Maddie.

'I'm Maddie,' she answered.

'Maddie's going to be the fourteenth mamber of our company,'Gandalf explained.

All the Dwarves stared at Maddie. She could easily read their faces: A girl? Going on an adventure? Maddie began to feel uncomfortable under their gazes.

Luckily, Balin draw their attention away from her by saying: 'Well, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry, and I would like to eat.'

The other Dwarves mumbled in agreement, sat down at the table and started to eat.

Gandalf had invited Maddie to sit beside him. She looked how Bofur and Dwalin took a wager about whether Bombur, who sat at the other end of the table would catch a piece of food that Bofur would trow at him. Bombur did catch it, with his mouth no less, and all the Dwarves cheered.

The Dwarves had the worst eating manners imaginable, but it was a merry gathering, as Gandalf had said before.

Gandalf, Maddie and the Dwarves ate, drank and feasted but all fell to silence when they heard a knock on the door.

Gandalf looked at Maddie and said: ´He is here.´

Gandalf walked towards the door, followed by Maddie and the Dwarves.

Once Gandalf had opened the door, Maddie saw a tall Dwarf. He had black hear and a black beard. His eyes were bright blue. He wore a coat with fur and a big sword.

'Gandalf,' he said as a greeting before walking inside.

Gandalf nodded in return and turned his attention towards Maddie. 'Maddie, allow me to introduce you to the leader of our company: Thorin Oakenshield.'

Thorin stepped in front of Maddie and looked at her from head to toe, as if he was judging her. 'So this is the one who Gandalf choose to be our burglar,' he remarked.

Then he walked around her and asked : 'Tell me, miss Maddie, have you done much fighting? Axe or sword, what's your weapon of choice?'

'I have a few skills in sword fighting. But mostly I use my magic,' Maddie replied.

Thorin raised his eyebrows. 'Magic?' he asked.

Maddie nodded. 'I'm a warlock.'

Thorin turned his attention towards Gandalf and the others and said: 'She looks more like a maid then a burglar.' Most of the Dwarves laughed at their leaders comment.

Maddie didn't think that was fair. How could she help that she wasn't an expert on sword fighting? Back in Camelot girls weren't allowed to fight. Gwaine had thought her a few tricks but still, it wasn't that much.

Hower, no matter how she thought about the matter, it seemed better to her not to say anything about it. But that didn't count for Gandalf.

'Maddie has accidentally teleported to this world and she's coming with us,' he said, angry at the Dwarves laughter.

Thorin rolled his eyes. Probably he now thought that she was coming with them because she didn't have another choice, and not because she had chosen to.

But the other Dwarves looked at her with big eyes. 'You're from another world?' one of them asked.

Maddie nodded. 'Yes, I'm from a place called Camelot.'

The Dwarves asked Maddie a few more questions about Camelot which Maddie tried to answer the best she could.

After that, the group returned to their seats and Maddie gave Thorin a bowl of soup, so that he would at least have something to eat.

'What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?' Balin asked Thorin.

Thorin nodded. 'Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms.'

A hubbub went among the Dwarves. Apparently they had many expectations of that meeting.

'And what did the Dwarves of the Iron Hills say?' Dwalin asked. 'Is Dain with us?'

'They will not come,' Thorin answered. Dwalin and the other Dwarves seemed dissapointed.

'They say this quest is ours...' Thorin continued, '... and ours alone.'

Then Maddie asked Gandalf: 'What quest exactly, Gandalf? You haven't told me that yet.'

Gandalf had invited her to join the adventure, but had not yet enlightened her about the contents of it.

'These Dwarves are about to undertake a journey to reclaim their homeland,' Gandalf expained.

'That's right,' Balin continued, and he told Maddie the story about Erebor and the dragon Smaug.

Maddie listened carefully. She was quite taken back by the story. The Dwarves around her had lost their home by dragon fire. She felt sorry for them and decided that she would do anything she could to help them.

After Balin had finished his story, Gandalf retrieved something out of his pocket.

'Maddie, my dear girl, let us have a little more light,' he requested.

Maddie nodded, mumbled a few words and a small, glowing blue ball appeared above the table. All the Dwarves looked fascinated at her small performance of magic.

'Far to the east,' Gandalf said whilst unfolding a map, 'over ranges and river, beyond woodlands and wastelands lays a single, solitary peak.' Gandalf pointed at a mountain drawn on the piece of paper. ''The Lonely Mountain'' was written next to it.

'Oin has read the portents and the portents say it is time,' Gloin said. The other Dwarves nodded in agreement.

'Ravens have been seeing flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold,' Oin continued. ' ''When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end.'' '

A shiver went through Maddie's back. She had once met the Great Dragon of Camelot, Kilgarrah, and if this dragon was the same size or even bigger and was indeed as horrible as Balin had described, she had the right to be afraid. She wasn't a Dragonlord like Merlin. She wouldn't be able to command Smaug.

'The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us, but we number just thirteen. And not thirteen of the best, nor brightest,' Balin said. An indignant mumbling rose up from the other Dwarves. 'Hey, who are you calling dim?' Nori asked angrily.

'We may be few in number,' Fili said while watching the rest of the group, 'but we're fighters, all of us, to the last Dwarf. And you forget, we have a Wizard and a warlock in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time.'

Gandalf looked at his feet. He hadn't killed a single dragon in his time and he didn't want to admit that.

Then a discussion rose about how many dragons Gandalf would or would not have killed. 'I've once seen a dragon,' Maddie said, who understood Gandalf was in a difficult position.

Now all eyes were fixed at Maddie. 'And that dragon didn't kill you?' Kili asked.

'No, because this dragon wasn't wicked and obsessed by gold. This dragon had devoted its life to knowledge and helping people.'

The Dwarves looked at her in disbelieve and mumbled to each other. probably, all the dragons in Middle-earth were obsessed by gold, and it was hard for the Dwarves to believe not all dragons were like that.

Suddenly, Thorin stood up and turned them all to silence. 'If Oin has read the signs,' he said, 'do you not think others will have read them too? Rumours have begun to spread. The dragon, Smaug, has not been seen for sixty years.'

Thorin looked at the other Dwarves before continuing: 'Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor?'

All the Dwarves cheered at Thorins words until Balin pointed out: 'You forget, the Front Gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain.'

'That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true,' Gandalf said with a twinkle in his eyes. He presented a big key.

Thorin looked astounded at the key. 'How came you by this?' he asked.

'It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for savekeeping. It is yours now,' Gandalf answered before handing over the key to Thorin.

Thorin looked at the key before putting it on a chain around his neck.

Gandalf pointed at a few runes on the map. 'These runes speak of a hidden passage to the Lower Halls.'

'There's another way in,' Kili said with an exited expression on his face. Like the rest of the Dwarves, he felt a spark of hope in his chest. This could be exactly what they needed for their quest.

'Well, if we can find it, but Dwarf doors are invisible when closed,' Gandalf observed.

He sighed and said: 'The answer lies somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle-earth who can.'

Thorin looked questioning at Gandalf but Gandalf wouldn't clarify his statement. So Thorin didn't press the matter.

Gandalf continued after a few seconds. 'The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth and no small amount of courage.' Gandalf looked at Maddie, his eyes sparkling. 'But if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done. That's why we need a burglar.'

Now all eyes were fixed on Maddie. Slowly an argument rose about whether she was suited to the job or not, after all, she was only a girl!

Gandalf stood up and he spoke angrily: 'Enough! If I say Maddie is a burglar, then a burglar she is.' All the Dwarves looked up at Gandalf.

'Maddie has magic and has a bit knowledge about dragons. She's probably light on her feet, and while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of Dwarf, the scent of a warlock is all but unknown to him which gives us a distinct advantage,' Gandalf explained.

Gandalf turned his attention towards Thorin. 'You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company and I have chosen miss Maddie. There's a lot more to her then appearances suggest. And she's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know.' Gandalf glanced at Maddie. 'Including herself.'

Gandalf looked back at Thorin with piercing eyes. 'You must trust me on this.'

Thorin sighed. He didn't like the girl and he didn't want her on her quest, but nonetheless he agreed.

'Very well,' he said. 'We will do it your way. Give her the contract.'

Balin nodded and stood up. He walked towards Maddie and gave her a big piece of folded paper.

While Maddie was reading the contract, Thorin said to Gandalf: 'I can't guarantee her safety.'

Gandalf nodded.

'Nor will i be responsible for her fate,' Thorin continued.

Gandalf hesitated for a moment. Then he replied: 'Agreed.'

Maddie had finished reading the contract. They promised her a fourteenth share of the treasure, but weren't responsible for injuries or her death.

'Well, it seems in order,' she said and she signed the contract with a quill Balin gave her.

All the Dwarves stood up, glad that the business part was over.

Balin walked towards Thorin. 'I hope this time the odds aren't against us,' he said. 'After all, what are we? Merchants, miners... tinkers, toymakers. Hardly the stuff of legend.'

'There are a few warriors amongst us,' Thorin said.

'Old warriors,' Balin contradicted him.

'I would take each and every one of these Dwarves over over an army of the Iron Hills. For when I called upon them, they answered. Loyalty... honour... a willing heart, I can ask no more than that,' Thorin replied.

Balin sighed. 'You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You've done honourably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains. A life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor.'

Thorin shook his head and held up the key that Gandalf had given to him. 'From my grandfather to my father,' he said, 'this has come to me. They dreamed of the day the Dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me.'

All the Dwarves gathered around the fire and started to sing. Maddie didn't know the song, so she just listened. First only Thorin was singing, but gradually, the other Dwarves joined in.

'Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep and caverns old

We must away, 'ere break of day

To find our long-forgotten gold

The pines were roaring on the height

The winds were moaning in the night

The fire was red, it flaming spread

The trees like torches blazed with light'

The singing continued for another half-hour. Then, everyone turned to sleep, dreaming about the adventure awaiting them.