Chapter 4

"Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I lost my way. Twice," Thorin said as he walked into the Hobbit-hole, taking off his coat. "I wouldn't have found it at all if it hadn't been for that mark on the door."

"Mark. There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago," Bilbo exclaimed as Gandalf shut the door.

"There is a mark. I put it there myself," Gandalf said to Bilbo. Then he turned and introduced Bilbo to Thorin.

"Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce you to the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

"You are Annelise's father," Bilbo said a bit stunned.

"Yes I am. Speaking of Annelise, where is she?" Thorin asked looking around the group gathered around them.

"I am right here, Father," Annelise said ducking through a door way behind him.

Thorin hugged her before looking up at her. "How was your journey?"

"We faired rather well. Fili and Kili kept me in good company."

"Very good. Now," Thorin paused, turning back to Bilbo, "this is the hobbit. Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting? Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"

"Well I do have some skill at conkers, if you must know. But I fail to see why that's relevant," Bilbo replied shortly.

"Thought as much. He looks more like a grocer than a burglar," Thorin said looking around at the company. Everyone laughed at his comment before settling once more into the dining room.

Annelise sat outside the doorway once again, behind her father listening to the dwarves discuss their plans.

"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin?" asked Balin, as Thorin sat and began eating. "Did they all come?"

"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms," replied Thorin with a smile on his face. This information was met with a joyful outburst from all the dwarves, and Annelise smiled to herself at seeing them all so happy.

"And what did the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked after everyone settled down.

This question caused Thorin to set down his spoon and look at Dwalin sadly. "They will not come," he replied solemnly, looking to Balin. "They say this quest is ours and ours alone." Annelise watched as all the dwarves around the table looked around in disbelief and sadness.

"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo spoke up from behind Gandalf.

"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light, hmm?" Gandalf said before pulling something out of his robes.

"Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak," Gandalf began, unfolding a map as he spoke. The map showed the Lonely Mountain and the lands surrounding it.

"The Lonely Mountain," Bilbo read over Thorin's shoulder. Annelise got up to stand behind her father so she could see the land that her father spoke of often but she had never seen.

"Aye! Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time," Gloin said looking around the table.

"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain, as it was foretold," Dori replied. "'When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end.'"

"Uh...what beast?" Bilbo asked uncertainly.

"Now that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible. Chiefest and greatest calamity of our age," Bofur replied, taking his pipe out of his mouth. "Airborne fire breather. Teeth like razors. Claws like meat hooks. Extremely fond of precious metals."

'Goodness, Bofur. I don't think you scared him enough,' Annelise thought to herself sarcastically. If his words scared her so much, what could they do to a hobbit that wasn't used to hearing about the terrors of dragons?

"Yeah, I know what a dragon is," Bilbo replied curtly, to hide his fear.

"I'm not afraid. I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of Dwarvish iron right up his jacksie," Ori said boldly, standing up from his seat.

"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us," Balin said, sobering everyone in the room, "and we number just thirteen dwarves. And not thirteen of the best, nor brightest."

"'Ere! Who're you calling dim?" Nori protested.

Suddenly Fili hit the table with his hand softly. "We may be few in number but we're fighters. All of us! To the last dwarf!" he said looking around at each dwarf at the table while Annelise smiled at him proudly. 'He will make a great king someday,' she thought to herself.

"And do you forget we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time," Kili said after his brother.

After that statement, everyone turned to look at Gandalf. "Oh well, no. I-I-I wouldn't say hundreds," he replied nervously.

"How many then?" Dori asked.

"What?"

"How many dragons have you killed?"

Gandalf began coughing on the smoke from his pipe. Annelise decided he was trying to get out of answering the question without causing a stir among the dwarves. It didn't work.

"Go on. Give us a number,' Dori said impatiently, before all the dwarves around the table stood up and started shouting. Annelise shook her head and went back to sit in her chair while they continued to argue.

Suddenly her father stood up and shouted, "No more!" and everyone sat down.

"If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumours have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east toward 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?!" Thorin finished and everyone began cheering. Upon hearing his words, Annelise could not help but feel hope that one day soon she would see the kingdom her father came from.

"You forget: the front gate is sealed," Balin pointed out. "There is no way into the mountain."

"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true," Gandalf said mischievously while messing with something in his hand. Suddenly a key appeared.

"How came you by this?" Thorin asked in quiet astonishment.

"It was given to me by your father. By Thrain. For safe keeping. It is yours now." Gandalf said handing the key to Thorin. A silence fell over the room, as everyone felt the importance of the moment.

Fili soon interrupted the silence. "If there is a key, there must be a door."

"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls," Gandalf said pointing to the runes on the map with his pipe.

"There's another way in," Kili said excitedly to his brother.

"Well if we can find it, but dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gandalf said looking toward the brothers. "The answer to finding it lies 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," Gandalf said looking directly at Bilbo and then shifting his gaze to Annelise. "But if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done."

"That's why we need a burglar," Ori said suddenly, looking at Bilbo.

"Hmm, and a good one too. An expert, I'd imagine," Bilbo said looking over the map, not realising they were talking about him.

"And are you?" Gloin asked leaning forward.

Bilbo turned and looked behind himself at Annelise. She shook her head at him. "Am I what?" he asked when he turned back around.

"He's said he's an expert!" Oin said excitedly.

"Me? No, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life," Bilbo said backing away from the table.

"Well I'm afraid I'll have to agree with Mr. Baggins," Balin said disappointedly. "He's hardly burglar material."

"Aye, the world's no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves," Dwalin said agreeing with his brother.

Soon all the dwarves began arguing about whether or not Bilbo was burglar material. Annelise was not sure where she stood, but she believed there was something in the hobbit that would benefit them greatly on this journey.

Suddenly the room grew darker as Gandalf stood from his seat. Annelise unconsciously leaned back away from the imposing image that was Gandalf at the moment.

"Enough! If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is. 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 a hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage." The entire time that Gandalf was speaking Annelise could see Bilbo trying to protest to what the wizard was saying.

"You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company, other than Annelise, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest. And he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know," Gandalf said looking at each dwarf before finally resting on Bilbo, "including himself."

Bilbo looked at Gandalf shocked for a moment before Gandalf turned to Thorin. "You must trust me on this."

"Very well. We will do it your way," Thorin said to Gandalf before looking to Balin.

"No, no," Bilbo tried protesting but he was all but ignored.

"Give him the contract."

"We're in. We're on," Balin said before handing Bilbo the contract. "It's just the usual. Summary of out of pocket expenses. Time required. Remuneration. Funeral arrangements. So forth."

"Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo asked as Thorin handed him the contract rather roughly. Annelise could tell that her father was getting tired of the hobbit's worrying but she could understand why Bilbo was making such a big deal of it all.

While Bilbo went into the hallway to read the contract, Annelise noticed her father stand and approach Gandalf. "I cannot guarantee his safety."

"Understood."

"Nor will I be responsible for his fate," she heard her father say.

"Agreed," Gandalf said with a moment of hesitation. Annelise could see that the wizard cared greatly for the small creature and decided then and there that she would be there to help the hobbit if her father or Gandalf would not.

Bilbo was standing in the hall near Annelise reading the contract that Balin had handed him. "'Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding 1/14th of total profit, if any.' Seems fair. 'Present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to, lacerations…,' read Bilbo, this last line causing Gandalf to look over at him, alarmed. "'…evisceration, incineration?'" Bilbo read this last part and looked over to the dwarves sitting at the table with disbelief and alarm.

"Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye," Bofur said to Bilbo, quickly.

At these words, Bilbo looked down at the ground and Annelise could see that he had gone a bit pale. 'The poor hobbit is going to faint if Bofur goes on,' she thought to herself, shooting a disapproving glance toward Bofur.

"Are you alright, Bilbo?" Annelise asked quietly.

"Yeah," he replied, while bending over and taking a few deep breathes. "Feel a bit faint." At this, Annelise sent another glare at Bofur for upsetting their host.

Bofur, of course, decided to ignore Annelise's glares and continued. "Think furnace with wings."

"Air. I-I-I need air," Bilbo said after hearing this.

"Flash of light, searing pain, then Poof! you're nothing more than a pile of ash."

"Bofur!" Annelise whispered loudly, while keeping an eye on Bilbo. The room seemed to go quiet as everyone watched to see how the hobbit would react. For a moment, Annelise thought that he might be fine, but suddenly he took a deep breath and looked toward her, and with a quick 'Nope', he fell to the ground.

"Oh very helpful, Bofur," Gandalf said sarcastically, while he and Annelise stood to help Bilbo to a chair.

"I'll go and make him some tea to calm his nerves," Annelise said under her breathe to Gandalf.

"A very wise idea, my dear,'' he replied simply, once they got him settled in a chair near his fireplace.