Chapter 7: Meeting of the Company
The Dwarves all sat back in the dining room. Thorin just had a bowl of soup and Tharia ate a bagel. "What news from the meeting at Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked. "Aye. Envoys from all 7 kingdoms." Thorin said. The Dwarves were pleased by this news. "And what do the Dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked. Tharia looked at Thorin sadly, who sighed. "They will not come." Thorin said. "They say this quest is ours and ours alone."
"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo asked. "To where?" Belinda asked. "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a bit more light." Gandalf said. Bilbo went and got a candle. "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak." Gandalf explained, setting down a map of Erebor. "The Lonely Mountain." Bilbo read. "That's where you're going?" Belinda asked.
"Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time." Gloin said. Gandalf used his magic to light a tiny fire to light his pipeweed. "Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold. When the birds of Yor return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end." Oin explained.
The word 'beast' got Bilbo and Belinda's attention. "What beast?" Bilbo asked. "Oh, that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age." Bofur explained. "Airborne fire-breather. Teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks. Extremely fond of precious metals." "Yes, we know what a dragon is." Belinda said. Ori stood up. "I'm not afraid. I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of Dwarvish iron right up his jacksey!" He said with confidence. The Dwarves cheered at his spirit. "Good lad, Ori." Gloin said. "Sit down!" Dori said, playfully sitting his younger brother back down.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just 18. Not 18 of the best. Or brightest." Balin said. The Dwarves started talking like they were insulted. "Here! Who're you calling dim?" Nori asked. "I'm sorry. What did he say?" Oin asked, not hearing Balin. "We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last Dwarf!" Fili said. "That's right! We're all natural born fighters, trained from birth!" Qili said. "And you forget, we have a wizard in our company! Gandalf would've killed hundreds of dragons in his time!" Kili said. "Oh. Well, no, I wouldn't say-" Gandalf started to say. "How many then?" Dori asked. "What?" Gandalf asked. "How many dragons have you killed?" Dori asked. Bilbo and Belinda looked at Gandalf, who just started coughing up smoke while mumbling. "Gandalf?" Selindra asked in concern. "Go on! Give us a number!" Dori said. Then all the Dwarves started shouting at each other. "Uh. Please. Please." Bilbo said, trying to break up the fighting.
Thorin shouted something in Dwarvish. The Dwarves then shut up and sat back down. "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 60 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?!" The Dwarves cheered. "Du Bekar!" Tharia smiled at her brother's speech.
"You forget, the front gate is sealed." Balin said. "There is no way into the mountain." "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf said, holding up a key. Thorin and Tharia recognized the key. "How came you by this?" Thorin asked. "It was given to us by your father. By Thrain. For safe-keeping." Selindra said. "It is yours now." Gandalf said, giving the key to Thorin. "If there's a key, there must be a door." Fili said. Gandalf nodded. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls." He said, gesturing to ancient Dwarvish runes on the map. "There's another way in." Kili said with joy.
"Well, if we can find it, but Dwarf doors are invisible when closed." Selindra said. "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." Gandalf said. Thorin looked at the wizard with uncertainty. "So, what's your plan?" Tharia asked. "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 clever, it can be done." Gandalf said. "That's why we need burglars." Ori guessed.
"Hmm. Good ones too. Experts I might imagine." Bilbo spoke up. "Really talented experts." Belinda added. "And are you?" Gloin asked. Bilbo looked behind him and Belinda, then back. "Are we what?" He asked in confusion. "He said they're experts." Oin said. "Wait. Us?!" Belinda asked in shock. "No! No, no, no, no. We're not burglars. We've never stolen a thing in our lives." Bilbo said. "Not a single thing." Belinda said. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. and Mrs. Baggins. They're hardly burglar material." Balin said. "Aye, the Wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin agreed. The Dwarves started arguing again.
"Enough!" Gandalf shouted, his voice going dark and his shadow spreading through the room, scaring Selindra, Varder, the Dwarves and the Hobbits. "If I say Bilbo and Belinda Baggins are burglars, then burglars they are." His darkness slowly died down as he returned to normal. "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." Bilbo tried to speak up, but Selindra blocked him, shaking her head. "You ask us to find the 19th and 20th members of this company, and we have chosen Mr. and Mrs. Baggins." Gandalf continued. "There's a lot more to them than appears to suggest. And they've got a lot more to offer than any of you know. Including themselves."
Tharia looked at the Hobbits, wondering if Gandalf was right. Selindra looked at an unsure Thorin. "You must trust Gandalf on this." She said. Tharia put her hand on her brother's shoulder and nodded. "Alright. We'll do it your way." Thorin said reluctantly. "Balin, give them the contract." Tharia said. Balin held out a folded piece of parchment. "It's just the usual. Summary of out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth." Thorin took the contract and shoved it to Bilbo. "Funeral arrangements?" Bilbo asked in shock. The Baggins siblings unfolded the contract and looked at it from afar. Thorin brought Gandalf to a whispering stage. "I cannot guarantee their safety." Thorin whispered. "Understood." Gandalf agreed. "Nor will I be responsible for their fate." Thorin whispered. Gandalf was taken aback by this. "Agreed." He said either way.
Selindra heard this and looked at the Hobbits with worry as they read the contract. 'Total's cash on delivery up to, but not exceeding one 14th of total profit if any.' "Seems fair." Bilbo said. 'The present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to…lacerations.' Gandalf looked back at the Hobbits. 'Evisceration.' Bilbo unfolded a piece of the contract, unveiling a certain word. "Incineration?" "Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur said.
Bilbo and Belinda felt their hearts stop for a moment. "You and your sister alright, laddie?" Balin asked. "Huh? Yeah." Bilbo did his best to keep breathing. "I feel a bit faint." He said. "Yeah, I feel a bit too." Belinda said, backing against the wall. "Think furnace with wings." Bofur continued. "Bofur!" Selindra snapped. "Air. I-I-I need air." Bilbo said. "Flash of light, searing pain and poof! You're nothing more than a plate of ash." Bofur finished. Bilbo and Belinda started to try and think of something else. Gandalf and Selindra watched them with concern. "No." Bilbo fainted on the spot. Belinda followed instantly. "Oh, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf said sarcastically.