Chapter 3
Meeting Thorin
Nori dropped his arm and we all head to the door where Gandalf opens the door. An important looking dwarf stood in the doorway, looking at us.
"Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find." The dwarf said. He stepped into the house as Gandalf moved out of the way so he could come in. He took off his cloak. "I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for the mark on the door." Bilbo pushes his way to the front.
"Mark There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago." Bilbo said.
"Father." I whisper. Gandalf closes the door.
"There is a mark. I put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins and Lily Baggins. Allow me to introduce the leader of our company. Thorin Oakenshield.
"I don't understand with the girl." Thorin said.
"Because Bilbo will not leave her home alone." Gandalf said. Thorin eyes me and I shrink back.
"Tell me. Mr. Baggins and Miss Baggins. Have you done much fighting?" Thorin asked.
"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked.
"Axe or sword? Whats your weapon of choice?" Thorin asked.
"Well, I have some skills at Conkers. If you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant." Bilbo said.
"What about you, lass?" Thorin asked.
"I'm good at cooking and sewing holes." I said.
"The girl might be good compared to her father. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar." Thorin said. The dwarves all laugh and walk back to the dining table. I follow with interest. I brought a bowl of soup towards Thorin with a mug of ale and set it in front of him. "Thank you, lass." I give a small smile. I head to sit down and Nori stopped me.
"You can sit by me, lass." Nori said. I saw his brother shoot him a glare, but Nori ignored it as I sat down between him and another dwarf that I think was Gloin. Thorin starts to eat the food that I brought him.
"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked.
"Aye. Enboys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin said. The dwarves murmur in joy as some smoked their pipes. Nori was among the few that were smoking. I had no issue with it, because my father smoked.
"What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" A dwarf that I think was Dwalin asked.
"They will not come." Thorin said. Murmurs of disappointment were heard through the dwarves. "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone." Bilbo came over to the table after hearing the word quest.
"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo asked.
"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little light." Gandalf said. He pulled out a map as Bilbo went to get a candle and brings it to the table as Gandalf spreads the map across the table. "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak." I looked at the map and saw a mountain with the dragon over it. Bilbo bent over it a bit to get a closer look.
"The Lonely Mountain." Bilbo said.
"Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time." Gloin said.
"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end." Oin, the one with the ear trumpet said. I saw the look of concern on my father's face. I bit my lip. I read about dragons in my books and knew they weren't good creatures.
"Uh, what beast?" Bilbo asked.
"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals..." Bofur, who I knew because I liked his hat said.
"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo said, interrupting Bofur. Nori's brother, Ori, stood up. We all look at him.
"I'm not afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie." Ori said. There were a few shouts from the dwarfs.
"That a boy." Nori said. Dori pulled Ori down.
"Sit down!" Dori said.
"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.
"Hey who are you calling dim." Kili said.
"Watch it!" Dwalin growled.
"No!" Kili said.
"What did he say?" Oin asked.
"We may be a few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!" Fili said, pounding his fist on the table.
"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons." Kili said.
"Oh, well, now, uh, I-I-I wouldn't say that I..." Gandalf began.
"How many, then?" Dori asked. Gandalf looked at Dori.
"Uh, what?" Gandalf asked.
"Well, how many dragons have you killed?" Dori asked. Gandalf starts coughing on his pipe smoke in embarrassment. "Go on, give us a number." The dwarves jump to their feet and start arguing about the number of dragons. I listen, keeping quiet as Thorin jumps to his feet in anger.
"Shazara!" Thorin yelled. The dwarves sat back in their seats in silenced. "If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for sixty years. 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" Du Bekar! Du Bekar!" All the dwarves cheer and Thorin sits down.
"You forget: the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." Balin said.
"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf said. He twiddles his fingers and a key that looked like it might be dwarvish appeared in his hand. Thorin looks at it in wonder.
"How came you by this?" Thorin asked.
"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now." Gandalf said. Gandalf gives Thorin the key as everyone looks at it in wonder.
"If there is a key, there must be a door." Fili said. Gandalf points at the runes on the map with his pipe.
"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls." Gandalf said.
"There's another way in!" Kili said.
"Well, if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle-Earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and cleaver, I believe that it can be done." Gandalf said.
"That's why we need a burglar." Ori said.
"Hmm. A good one too. An expert, I'd imagine." Bilbo said.
"And are you?" Gloin asked.
"Am I what?" Bilbo asked. I hid back a laugh.
"HE said he's an expert! Hey hey!" Oin said. Some of the dwarves laugh.
"Me? No, no, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar, I've never stolen a thing in my life." Bilbo said.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material." Balin said. Bilbo nods in agreement.
"Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin said. The dwarves start arguing. I rub my temple. This was starting to annoy me. Gandalf rises to his full height and casts darkness over the group speaking in a powerful voice making everyone stop and sit down.
"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is." Gandalf said. His voice goes back to normal and the shadows disappear. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company, and I have chosen fifteen with Mr. Baggins and his daughter, Miss Baggins, because Bilbo won't leave his daughter here alone. There's a lot more to both of them than appearances suggest, and they both got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including themselves. You must trust me on this."
"Then who wants to be in charge of making sure the girl is protected and knows how to fight." Thorin said.
"I will." Nori said.
"Nori." Dori said.
"No. I'll take full responsibility in protecting Lily during the quest and make sure she knows how to fight." Nori said. Thorin nodded.
"Very well. We will do it your way." Thorin said.
"No, no, no." Bilbo said and Thorin held up his hand to silence him.
"Give him the contract along with the girl." Thorin said.
"You didn't have to do that." I said to Nori.
"I want you to come. I'll make sure you know how to fight." Nori said as Balin handed me along with Bilbo the contract.
"It's just the usual summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remureation, funeral arrangements, so forth." Balin said as Thorin grabs Bilbo's contract and shoves it against Bilbo's chest.
"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo asked. I saw Thorin whisper something to Gandalf and got to reading the contract.
"Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth of total profit, if any. Seems fair. Eh. Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to lacerations." Bilbo read. I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "Evisceration... Incineration?" Bilbo looks at the company as I signed my contract and hand it to Balin, who smiled at me.
"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur said. Bilbo looks away, looking a little breathless.
"Huh." Bilbo said.
"You all right, laddie?" Balin asked. Bilbo bends over and I quickly get up and head his way. He looked nauseous and pained. I stopped by the door.
"Uh, yeah. Feel a bit faint." Bilbo said.
"Think furnace with wings." Bofur said, standing up and coming by the door as well.
"Bofur stop." I said
"Air. I need air." Bilbo said.
"Flash of light, searing pain, then Poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash." Bofur said. I glared at him as I hear Nori appear behind me. I watch as Bilbo breathes heavily, trying to compose himself as we stare at him.
"Nope." Bilbo said. He falls to the floor in a faint.
"Father." I said, running over to him.
"Ah, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf said. Nori came over and helped me get Bilbo into a chair. I got him a cup of tea. He smiled at me and started talking to Gandalf. I head into the kitchen to put away the clean dishes.
"I'm surprised you didn't take a second look at the contract." Nori's voice came. I turned and saw him leaning against the door.
"I always wanted an adventure. This is my chance." I said.
"I think this quest will hold a surprise for all of us." Nori said.
"I'm sure it will." I said.
"Nori. We're heading into the parlor room. You can join us, lass." Dori said. I nod and finish putting the last of the dishes away. I follow Nori and the others to the parlor and I heard humming. I sat down on the couch with Nori on the other side of me, smoking his pipe. Thorin and Fili stood at the fireplace with their pipes. I sat with my hands in my lap as THorin began to sing.
"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." Thorin sang. The other dwarves soon joined in on the singing.
"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 dwarves sang. The dwarves mingled for awhile.
"Everyone to bed. We leave at dawn." Thorin said. I head to my room and packed my backpack for the trip, taking a few books and my bedroll with me. I laid in bed and fell asleep. My dreams were filled with a certain dwarf.
AN: LONG chapter, but I love that part of the movie. Hope you enjoyed.