Good day, again.
I had no idea the mission would be this dangerous. It has been hectic since the beginning, all starting with the final meeting at Mr. Baggins's home. I arrived first, though Balin was supposed to come, but he ran late. It was a rather awkward meeting, for even though I saw the mark on the door, the little hobbit was surprised just the same. I helped myself to tea and cakes when Mr. Baggins went to the door and in jumped Balin, at last. After a while, all of my friends and some other dwarves came, and it occurred to me that as the time went on we had not talked about the mission as in depth as I had believed we were going to, (Fili and Kili are young, and may have forgotten a few key points,) so I assumed that Mr. Baggins knew about the entire thing. I was surprised that well past midnight he asked Thorin what was going on, even though we had briefly talked and even sung a song about the mission. Gandalf and Thorin refreshed everybody about the Lonely Mountain, even though I had heard the story about a hundred and seventeen times, but it is one of my favorites, so I didn't complain. Well into the wee hours of the morning we finally left. Balin and I joked about Mr. Baggins, for Balin didn't think he would make much of a contribution to the group, but I thought since Gandalf had chosen him, he was as good as any of the dwarves. In the morning we helped ourselves to breakfast because the little hobbit slept in! Balin and I left him a note telling him where to find us, (some of the other dwarves wanted to leave him,) and we left for the Inn, where many ponies awaited us! I have a certain love for ponies. The hobbit finally ran up just as we were about to leave, but he was dreadfully unprepared. Being the kind dwarf I am, I lent him my hood, since he was going on and on about how he didn't have a pocket-handkerchief, hat, or any money. At long last, we started off on our journey. It was all fine and dandy for a few days, until it started to get cold and unpleasant. We made camp in a small ring of trees, and it was so wet that even Oin and Gloin couldn't start a fire! Then, best of all, the pony carrying all of our food got spooked and fell in a river. (The retrieval of the pony was one mission I did not sign up for; poor Fili and Kili.) Even Balin was depressed and quite annoyed by my grumbling. Then we spotted a light in the far distance, and decided to send our good friend, Mr. Baggins, to go make sure they weren't stray goblins. After about an hour, we noticed Gandalf was missing. Just when we needed a wizard to help us. Thorin sent Balin to go check on the hobbit, and after a few minutes when he did not return, I was sent. I feared the worst for Balin, and accidentally walked straight into a ring of trolls, large in size and small in brains. They pulled a sack over my head and put me next to the fire, by what seemed to be Balin. I began to have second thoughts about the hobbit. I tried to warn the other dwarves by thrashing around and yelling, but soon I heard eleven more bags being thrown next to me. We were forced to listen to all the ways the trolls would kill and eat us, and I was beginning to lose hope in ever reaching the Lonely Mountain, when I heard the voice of a fourth troll, obviously an enemy of the main three. Silence followed after a while, and I was released by none other than Gandalf, who had decided to save us, in the nick of time. I thanked him profusely, and changed my mind yet again about the hobbit, who was just trying to give burglary a hand. The trolls had been turned to stone, and we found their lair, which was full of food and gold. Our spirits were lifted once again.
Until Next Time (If I am Still Alive Then, Which I Pray I Am,)
Dwalin.