The Hobbit

Chapter 1 The Unexpected Journey 

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who lives at Bag-End, Under-Hill, where he has a wonderful home, which is a hole in the ground. It has many rooms and is comfortably furnished, as it was during the life-times of his parents. He has no desire to leave his home and the comfort of his neighborhood, but this all changes the day he is visited by Gandalf.

Gandalf is a wizard, a friend of Bilbo's late grandfather Old Took, and he has determined he will send Bilbo on an adventure, whether Bilbo wants to go or not. Bilbo out of a sense of politeness asks Gandalf to tea the next day. He soon comes to regret his invitation.

Gandalf, before he leaves Bilbo's home, makes a mark on Bilbo's door with his staff. Bilbo, whose memory is not so good, has forgotten the invitation and is only reminded of it, when he hears a knock at his door the next day at tea time.

He answers the door expecting to find Gandalf, but instead he sees a dwarf named Dwalin on his doorstep. Dwalin acts as if he is expected and Bilbo goes along with him, but then more dwarves come to his home for tea. In all, thirteen dwarves show up for tea at Bilbo's home, along with Gandalf. It turns out the mark on the door is an advertisement for work as a burglar and was purposely left there by Gandalf. He tries to convince the dwarves, especially Thorin Oakenshield, a very important dwarf, that Bilbo is the burglar they are looking for to help them break into the Mountain.

The Mountain used to belong to the dwarves, it holds all their treasure, as well as being their home. It was taken from them, through force, by a dragon named Old Smaug. He decided the easiest way to have riches is to take them from dwarves, who had worked long and hard to accumulate them. Now Thorin wants to take back what belongs to him and the other dwarves.

They have a map left in the care of Gandalf by Thorin's late father Thrain. The map shows secret entrances and it comes with a key to help them enter the Mountain.

Bilbo's part in this plan is to be the burglar. He is to actually gain entrance to the Mountain and retrieve the lost treasure. He is not at all sure about this adventure, but his mother's family, the Took, were adventurers so he is intrigued by the prospect of going on an adventure.

The next morning Bilbo wakes up to find his home in disarray, because the dwarves made themselves breakfast and left the dirty dishes for Bilbo to clean. He is upset about the mess and the lack of gratitude on the part of the dwarves. He has just sat down to eat his own breakfast, when he is interrupted by Gandalf. It seems the dwarves did leave Bilbo a note on his mantel piece, it thanked him for his accommodations and accepted his offer to accompany them on their adventure. He is told to meet them at the Green Dragon Inn, Bywater at 11 a.m. Gandalf tells him he needs to hurry to meet them since it is 10:45 and he has only 15 minutes to arrive at the meeting place. Not exactly sure why, but Bilbo hurries out the door without a hat, his handkerchief, and money. He does, though, arrive on time to meet the dwarves and is given a hood and cloak to wear on the journey. Gandalf also arrives to accompany the party on their journey.

It starts out nicely and Bilbo is able to get along with the dwarves and Gandalf well enough. This ends as soon as they enter the Lone-lands, which are dark, have no people, and the roads are in bad shape, which makes travel hard and dwarves grumpy. Then it starts to rain to such a degree that the rivers are swollen and it becomes hazardous to dwarves, hobbits, and ponies. One of the ponies falls into the river, which causes the party to lose most of their food supply. This is a great hardship, because they need the food to sustain them on their journey.

They decide to stop for the night after they crossed the river, but the dwarves are unable to start a fire. This means they cannot cook food or dry their clothes, but a fire is spotted in the woods. So Bilbo is sent to find out who has the fire and obtain food and permission to join the people by the fire. He is told to hoot like an owl if he runs into trouble, but Bilbo has no idea of how to hoot like an owl.

He sneaks up on the fire and finds three trolls sitting around it. They are unhappy, because they have not had human meat to eat in days, instead they are eating mutton. Bilbo decides to try to steal the purse out of one of their pockets and he is caught. He begs for his life and as the trolls decide what to do with him, the dwarves show up to rescue him.

They are caught by the trolls, who want to eat them. Gandalf, by using his voice to trick the trolls into fighting, manages to delay the trolls from acting until the sun comes out. Once the sun hits the trolls it turns them into stone, then the party finds the trolls hideaway and takes their food, gold, and ale. Gandalf warns them all to be more careful from now on during their adventure.

Bilbo Baggins has his quiet life interrupted by a visit from Gandalf. Gandalf wants Bilbo to go on an adventure, but adventures are simply not done by hobbits. Through a bit of trickery Bilbo finds himself on an adventure anyway and he finds he is intrigued by it. He also finds out he has more courage than he thought possible.

Chapter 2  At the Journey 

The going is difficult for the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf as they do not have enough food and the terrain they are passing through is dangerous and difficult to navigate. Gandalf is concerned they will miss the road which leads to the Misty Mountains. They need to pass through the Misty Mountains in order to reach Smaug and the treasure he has taken from the dwarves.

The party is tired and hungry, but Gandalf has made arrangements for them to stay with his elf-friend Elrond, who lives in the Last Homely House. After following a rugged trail marked only by white stones, they come across an elf village. The elves and dwarves do not always get along, because the elves tease the dwarves about their beards and the dwarves think the elves are inferior to them. While the elves do tease the dwarves a bit, they also help them find their way to Elrond's home.

They stay with Elrond for fourteen days, enjoying his hospitality and gaining strength to continue their journey. Elrond is also able to translate the runes on the swords they took from the troll's treasure. He tells them the swords once belonged to the Elves of the West and were made in Gondolin for the Goblin-wars, one of the swords is named Orcrist and is a well know sword, the other belonged to the king of Gondolin.

Elrond then looks at the map the party has brought with them and notices it is written with moon-letters. These are letters written by dwarves that only are legible in the same moonlight in which they were written. The letters tell them to enter the door to the mountain on the dwarf New Year. The next day the band of adventurers leave to continue their journey.

They travel up and around the mountain for days and days and one day encounter a thunder-battle. A thunder-battle is more than a thunderstorm, it is when storms from the East and West battle each other. The stone giants throw rocks down the mountain and the dwarves cannot find a safe dry place to wait out the storm.

Thorin decides to send dwarves, Fili and Kili, to look for a safe dry place to spend the night. They report a cave is located not too far away which will accommodate everyone. The group makes their way into the cave and eventually go to sleep, but Bilbo has nightmares which wake him up. This is a good thing, because he sees a crack opening in the back of the cave and calls out to the others.

Goblins come through the opening at the back of the cave and capture everyone, except Gandalf who uses his wand to kill a few goblins, as he escapes. The goblins take the dwarves and Bilbo to their leader, so he can decide what to do with them. The leader, Great Goblin, doesn't like Thorin, because his people were instrumental in winning the Goblin-war. He is even more incensed after he sees the Orcrist, the Goblin-cleaver, hanging from Thorin's waist.

Just as all seems lost, the lights go out and a sword kills the Great Goblin. The dwarves hear a voice telling them which way to go to escape their captures. They follow the voice, who they find out is Gandalf, and traverse through tunnels in an effort to leave the mountain. The goblins pursue them and by sneaking up on the dwarves, manage to grab Dori. Bilbo who is riding on Dori's shoulders falls off and hits his head rendering him unconscious.

Bilbo awakens in a dark tunnel and is not able to see where to go, to escape to the outside world. As he crawls along the tunnel, his hand feels something cold and metallic; it is a ring. Bilbo puts the ring in his pocket and continues on his way down the tunnel. He eventually walks into an underground lake, which he is unwilling to try to cross, because he doesn't know how to swim and he is afraid of the creatures which may live in the water.

He doesn't know it, but he is being watched by a creature named Gollum. Gollum lives on an island in the lake, he is mean and talks to himself all the time. He calls himself preciousss and hunts fish, goblins and any other type of meat he can find to eat. He approaches Bilbo, because he is curious as to what he is and why he is in the tunnel. The two of them play a riddle game, which comes with high stakes. If Gollum wins the game, he can eat Bilbo, but if Bilbo wins then Gollum must show him the way out of the tunnel.

Bilbo wins by asking Gollum to tell him what is in his pocket. The answer is the ring, which unbeknownst to Bilbo is magical and belongs to Gollum. The ring makes the wearer invisible, this comes in handy for Bilbo, because Gollum is intent on eating him, instead of keeping his end of the bargain.

Gollum realizes his ring is missing and then he realizes Bilbo must have it. This turn of events greatly distresses Gollum, which causes him to reason that Bilbo must know how to enter the part of the tunnel the goblins live in. Bilbo follows Gollum to this area, but must hurdle over Gollum to enter the goblin area.

Once there the goblins see Bilbo, because the ring has slipped off his finger. He puts it on and through stealth and sheer determination manages to escape to the outside world.

Bilbo and the rest of the party are captured by goblins, but they are rescued by Gandalf. Bilbo finds himself alone in a dark tunnel and he discovers a magic ring. Bilbo once again surprises himself with his resourcefulness and courage, when faced with trying circumstances.

Chapter 3  Facing the Goblins 

Bilbo has escaped from the goblins and Gollum by using the magic ring. He wanders the mountain side looking for the dwarves and Gandalf, at last he hears some voices and walks towards the sound; he is still wearing the ring, so he is invisible. He hears Gandalf and the dwarves arguing about rescuing him from the goblins. The dwarves want to leave him behind, but Gandalf is staunch in his desire to rescue his friend.

Bilbo walks past the look-out dwarf and takes off the ring. The others are astonished by his sudden appearance and wonder how he got past the look-out dwarf. Bilbo does not mention the ring, instead he tells them he snuck past the look-out. The dwarves have a new appreciation for this stealth hobbit, because until now they thought he was more of a hindrance than a help. Bilbo tells them of his adventures in the tunnels with Gollum and the goblins, but he does not mention the ring. He likes the new way the dwarves are treating him and does not want to end it.

Gandalf tells them they must move quickly, so they can finish walking out of the Misty Mountains before the goblins catch up with them that night. As they walk, they begin to hear wolves howling and soon they are surrounded by wolves called Wargs.

The Wargs sometimes work with the goblins to kill and capture humans. Gandalf along with the dwarves and Bilbo climb tall pine trees to escape the Wargs. This works for a little while, but soon they are surrounded by hundreds of Wargs, so Gandalf uses his wand to send fire raining down upon the Wargs, catching some on fire and causing pain to others. The Wargs are soon joined by goblins, who can climb trees, but they decide to try to burn down the trees in order to reach the adventurers.

Everything seems about to be lost, Gandalf is about to throw himself on to the goblins, which would have killed him, as he kills them. Instead, the Lord of the Eagles flies down and swoops up Gandalf. Then the Lord of the Eagles guards swoop down and rescue the dwarves and Bilbo, who is hanging on to the legs of Dori. They fly them to their nest, called an eyrie, and then take them to the Great Shelf, which is where Gandalf and the Lord of the Eagles are discussing plans to help the party. They agree to take them as far as they comfortably can, to help them on their trip.

The eagles land them on the rock called Carrock, which leads them to a home of someone Gandalf knows. He will not tell them his acquaintance's name, but does tell them he has a bad temper, is large, and is a skin-changer. This means he can change his form from human to animal; he likes to change to a black bear. Gandalf also explains they must be very polite to him and arrive in twos at his door. The dwarves and Bilbo are very confused and curious about this stranger.

Soon they find themselves just outside the person's living area, this time Gandalf takes Bilbo with him to find the gate which leads to the person's house. They find him, but he has never heard of Gandalf or Bilbo Baggins, so Gandalf talks about a cousin of his, who the man knows. He then allows Gandalf and Bilbo to explain why they are on his property and what they want from him. Gandalf explains he and Bilbo have been attacked by goblins and have become lost and are in need of food.

The man's name is Beorn and though he doesn't usually like strangers, he is intrigued by the tale Gandalf tells him of the trouble they had with the goblins and Wargs. As he tells the story, Gandalf has the dwarves appear in twos at Beorn's door, which has the effect of keeping Beorn's interest and not overwhelming him all at once with 15 visitors. He declares he will allow them to stay the night and also feed them supper. He warns them not to step outside after dark, because it is very dangerous.

The next day, both Beorn and Gandalf are missing for the entire day. Gandalf finally returns the to tell them he has been tracking bear tracks, which led towards the goblins' home. Beorn returns the next morning with the news that the goblins and Wargs are hunting the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf for their actions against them. He vows to help them in any way he can. He allows them to rest, provides them with food, and ponies and gives them advice on the best way to travel though the Mirkwood. The Mirkwood is the greatest forest of the Northern world and is very dangerous to cross.

Beorn has been tracking the party in the form of a bear as they traveled towards the gate of the Mirkwood. Once they reach it then they have to release their ponies and travel by foot through the Mirkwood.

Also, Gandalf is leaving the dwarves and Bilbo at the gate to Mirkwood, to attend to some business in the South. The dwarves and Bilbo are sad he is leaving them and afraid to be on their own, for the first time in this adventure. Gandalf leaves them, warning them to remember to stay on the path through the Mirkwood.

Bilbo, the dwarves, and Gandalf are almost killed by the goblins and Wargs, but the Lord of the Eagles and his guards help them escape. They are also helped by Beorn to cross to the Mirkwood and given provisions and directions to make their crossing easier. They must now learn to survive on their own without Gandalf. They will need to summon up their courage to make this crossing. They need to learn to rely on each other, to be successful in their quest.

Chapter 4  Forests Of Mirkwood is ill

The group of adventurers begin to walk the path through the forest, Mirkwood. It is a dark dense forest in which few fragments of light manage to shine through. There is nothing to eat besides the food they carry on their backs and water is just as scarce. They feel very alone and depressed from the darkness and unending pathway, it seems as if they will never leave the forest.

They come upon a stream of black water running across the path, but they have been warned by Beorn not to drink or touch the water, because it is enchanted. Bilbo spots a boat on the other side of the water, about twelve feet away from them; it is their only chance to cross the water. Thorin has Fili use a rope with an iron hook to grab the boat and haul it back to their side of the water. It takes him a few tries, but he manages to grab it, then he throws another rope to the other side and anchors it in some branches. This way they can use the rope to pull the boat back and forth to ferry them to safety. Everything goes well until it is Bombur's turn, a deer jumps across the water just as he is boarding the boat, which causes him to fall into the water. He is under the spell of the water, which puts him to sleep for days, so he has to be carried by the others in the party.

The food has run out and the dwarves and Bilbo are very hungry. One night Balin sees some lights in the forest, which makes them think that maybe the beings under the lights have food. To go to the lights means they will have to leave the path, which is what Beorn and Gandalf told them never to do, but their hunger wins out and they leave the path. As soon as they show themselves to the elves under the lights, the lights go out leaving them alone in the pitch dark forest.

This happens every time they approach the lights, but the last time Bilbo becomes separated from the group and is put to sleep by a spider. The giant spider tries to spin a web around him and keep him for his supper, but Bilbo awakens in time to use his sword to free himself and kill the spider. This act gives Bilbo self-confidence, because he did it all on his own. He eventually finds the others, as they are all bound in webs built by giant spiders. He uses the ring to help him attack the spiders and free the dwarves.

They are very happy to be free, until they realize Thorin is missing. He has been taken prisoner by the Wood-elves and thrown in the dungeon by the Wood-elf king. The king thinks Thorin is there to attack him and he does not believe Thorin, when he tells him all he and the others want is some food.

The rest of the dwarves are caught by the Wood-elves and taken to the Elvenking. The dwarves do not answer his question, instead they are angry and rude to him. He puts them all into the dungeon. Bilbo, who put on his ring before being caught, is in the castle with the dwarves trying to find a way to help them escape.

One day he hears the guards talking about another dwarf, who is being held in a deep dark cell. Bilbo understands they are talking about Thorin, so he finds the cell and talks to Thorin. He tells him the other dwarves are being held prisoner and he is free because of his special ring. This gives Thorin hope that they might escape from their prison.

Bilbo discovers there is a river that runs under the castle, which is used to move barrels of wine and other goods to the castle. The empty barrels are thrown through trap doors in the king's cellars and floated down the river to where Forest River merges with Long Lake. This will be a way to free the dwarves not only from the castle, but from the forest also.

Bilbo is lucky one night, because the king's chief guard, after drinking some potent wine, falls asleep. Bilbo is able to steel the keys to the dwarfs' cells and lead them to where the empty barrels are stored. The dwarves are grateful to be freed from their cells, but they are not happy about the thought of floating in a barrel down a river. Bilbo convinces them this is their only chance to escape, so they do as he says. He manages to slip through the trapdoor by hanging onto the last barrel as it is being thrown down into the water.

As they all travel down the river, Bilbo is having a hard time holding onto the barrel he used to escape. The next day, after Bilbo spends the evening in the forest trying to dry off and have a bit of food to eat, the barrels are tied together for the journey to Long Lake. The dwarves are free from the castle, but Bilbo does not know if they are dead or alive in the barrels.

The troupe endures having no food, being caught by giant spiders and Wood-elves only to find themselves floating down a river in barrels. They have a new respect for Bilbo, after he saves them from the spiders and develops the castle escape plan. Bilbo begins to have new respect for himself, because he realizes he can help himself and others without being dependent on outside help.

Chapter 5  Bilbo is becoming Leader 

At long last Bilbo sees the trees end and the wide expanse of river as the land opens before him and there in front of his eyes is the Lonely Mountain. He is frightened by it and is very happy as the river turns and he no longer sees the Mountain.

The elves guide the rafts of barrels to the town built on Long Lake, which is where men are waiting for the barrels. The barrels are guided towards the village, that is built on long piles driven into the bed of the river and reached by a long bridge from the shore.

Once the barrels are moored at Lake-town, the elves and the men go into the town to enjoy a feast together. While they are feasting, Bilbo begins the tedious job of finding the dwarves in the barrels and releasing them. The dwarves are famished, bruised, and some are ill, but Thorin takes two along with Bilbo to the town. There he announces himself as "Thorin son of Thrain son of Thror King under the Mountain!" to the guards standing watch over the bridge. He demands to see the Master of the town.

The guards, after some confusion, obey his demand and bring him before the Master of the town. The Master does not really believe Thorin's claim and the elves tell the Master the dwarves are their escaped prisoners. But, before the Master can make a decision, the townspeople come together to rejoice in the return of the Dwarf King's grandson. The Master agrees to go along with the will of the people and for two weeks they host Thorin and the rest of the party.

After two weeks, Thorin decides it is time for them to continue their adventure and asks the Master for supplies and some men to aid in their quest.

Unknown to the party, Gandalf has heard of their problems and is making plans to come to their aid.

Thorin and the dwarves, along with Bilbo, row up the Long Lake and into the River Running. The Lonely Mountain looms over them making the trip a trepidatious one for all of them. They meet up with the men, who have gone on by land with the ponies and horses on the third day of the trip. They invite the men of Lake-town to stay the night with them, but they refuse to stay in an area so near the Mountain. They will not feel safe until Thorin has regained his lost treasure and home.

The little band continues on till they are at the base of the Mountain. They make a camp and look for first the Front Gate and then the secret door. The Front Gate is found easily, but the secret door takes much more time.

They search for days until one day Fili, Kili and Bilbo find a path which winds up the mountain to a small high bay, in which they can discern an area that does not look natural. This is the secret door. The dwarves, except for Bofur and Bombur, who stay to guard the camp, all climb the path and try to open the door. They are unsuccessful until Bilbo, after watching a bird crack open a snail, realizes the moon is right that night for the door to open. As the last vestiges of the sun hits the door it begins to crack and a key hole is revealed. Thorin uses the key, which came along with the map, to open the door. They all push the door open and reveal a large dark opening into the Mountain.

It is decided that Bilbo will enter the tunnel first, because he is the burglar. Bilbo using his ring to cloak him finds his way to the dragon and his treasure. He sneaks in and steals a cup and escapes to the waiting dwarves. He is received with great admiration by the dwarves, but the celebration is cut short, after they hear the bellowing and trampling of the dragon. He is enraged by the theft of the cup and is trying to find the thief. The group hides in the tunnels, leaving the door open just a crack.

Smaug flies over the Mountain looking for them, but he has to settle for eating their ponies. The next day they move back outside of the tunnels to discuss what they should do about Smaug. Bilbo offers to use the ring to see what the dragon is doing and they decide to accept his offer of help.

Bilbo doesn't realize the power of Smaug's sense of smell and is unprepared when Smaug addresses him, while he is invisible. He doesn't give the dragon his name, instead Bilbo talks in riddles about himself. Smaug tells Bilbo to stay away from the dwarves and questions how they will bring the treasure back home.

Bilbo is able to get Smaug to reveal his vulnerable spot on his underside of his chest. As Bilbo leaves Smaug he taunts him, which leads to the dragon breathing fire on him.

After returning to the men, Bilbo notices a thrush who seems to be listening to every word he says and this irritates him, he wants the bird to leave.

Bilbo feels unsafe on the bay in front of the secret door and convinces the others to shut the door and take refuge in the tunnel. This is good because a few minutes after they shut the door, Smaug attacks the bay and collapses it. He also lets Bilbo know he will attack the people living in Lake-town.

Bilbo and the others finally escape the elves and with the help of the people of Lake-town find their way to the Mountain. There they find the way into the Mountain and Bilbo has an encounter with Smaug. Bilbo is becoming the leader of the group, as the others look to him for answers and to give them courage to face the dragon.

Chapter 6 Desolation of Smaug 

The dwarves and Bilbo are sealed in a tunnel in the Mountain, with no hope of escaping through the secret door. Time passes slowly for them, because they are in complete darkness with little air. Thorin declares they must try to find a way out of the Mountain.

Smaug has not been heard from since he declared he was going to make the people of Lake-town pay, for helping Bilbo and the dwarves. Bilbo decides he will lead the dwarves through the tunnels to the cellar where Smaug lives. He leads them in the dark to the cellar and then stumbles into it, because he cannot see where he is going. He notices the red light, which usually emanates from this area is gone, this is because Smaug is not in residence. Bilbo asks for a light from the dwarves and is given a torch to illuminate his way around the cellar.

The dwarves will not accompany him in the cellar, because they are afraid of Smaug returning and capturing them. Bilbo, meanwhile, explores the treasure stacked high in Smaug's lair. He finds the Arkenstone, the Heart of the Mountain, which is the most cherished jewel of the dwarves. Instead of giving it to Thorin, he puts it into his pocket and decides to keep the discovery to himself.

A bat comes near Bilbo, causing him to drop his torch leaving him in complete darkness again. He convinces the dwarves to bring him another light and to enter the cellar. There they explore the treasure, taking what their pockets could hold, wearing armor, and seizing weapons. Then they decide it is best to leave the Mountain and Thorin leads them out through the Front gate. Balin takes them to an unused look-out post to rest.

The group is still wondering where Smaug is, but two days before they made their escape he told them he would take revenge on the people of the Lake-town or Esgaroth, as he calls it.

The townspeople had seen Smaug approaching and through the urging of a man named Bard, took actions to prepare for Smaug's attack. They cut the bridges, gathered arms and watered down the village. Smaug is greatly annoyed with them, because he has not been challenged like this by anyone for an age. His anger grew as the men used their bows and arrows to defend themselves. He managed to set the town on fire, causing the people to take to their boats or jump into the water. The Master of the town was one of the people taking to boats to escape from the dragon.

Bard stood his ground and fought, a thrush, the same one which irritated Bilbo, told Bard where to aim his bow and arrow, so he can hit the vulnerable spot on Smaug's chest. Bard shot his arrow toward the spot and killed Smaug.

The townspeople wanted to make Bard their king, but the Master would not allow it. Bard in the end, decided to help the Master until he could gather enough men to help him retrieve the treasure in the Mountain.

The Wood-elves come to help the townspeople and also to join some of the men on a journey to the Mountain, in an effort to retrieve the treasure. Others had also heard of the death of Smaug, such as the goblins and Beorn, so they all had notions of taking the treasure, because they think the dwarves are dead.

Meanwhile, Bilbo and the dwarves are noticing the birds are gathering in greater numbers than before. Thorin thinks this means something is happening, but he doesn't know what is occuring. The thrush returns to talk to them, but none of the party can understand what he is saying. He brings a raven to them named Roäc, who can talk to them. He tells them of the death of Smaug, and about the elves and Lake-men, who are coming to take the treasure. He advices them to deal with Bard, because he is a man who can be trusted and is fair.

Thorin is angry at the thought of others trying to take his treasure and tells the raven they will defend it against anyone. He asks the raven to bring him news of what is happening. He also requests that the raven find and ask Thorin's cousin Dain for his help in defending the Mountain.

The dwarves and Bilbo secure the Front Gate of the Mountain and send Fili and Kili to retrieve the ponies and provisions which escaped Smaug. The elves approach the Front Gate, but leave after finding out that Thorin and the dwarves are guarding the treasure. Then Bard approaches the Front Gate, he asks for a share of the treasure, as compensation for the ruin of his town and the aid they provided Thorin and the others. Thorin refuses to give them the treasure they seek, so Bard tells him they are under siege. He will not fight them, but instead he will not allow provisions to enter the Mountain.

Bilbo and the dwarves are able to secure the treasure after Smaug has been killed by Bard, but they are in a state of siege by the Lake-men. They are being given information by the raven Roäc, who is called to duty by the thrush, who has been listening to what Bilbo and the dwarves have been talking about. Bilbo is upset, because he thought once Smaug was dead and the treasure was found then the adventure would be over, but instead he finds himself in a new predicament.

Chapter 7  The After Life 

The dwarves are barricaded inside the Mountain and they are becoming bored waiting for something to happen. Thorin is ordering the dwarves to look for the Arkenstone of Thrain, because it is more valuable to him than anything else. He doesn't know Bilbo has hid it in a bundle of old cloths, that he uses as a pillow.

Roäc, the raven, delivers the news Dain and five hundred dwarves are a few days away from the Mountain. They will help Thorin's men, but Roäc also warns the coming winter may bring starvation to the group trapped inside the Mountain. Thorin retorts the same winter may cause similar hardship for the elves and men camped outside the Mountain.

Bilbo has a plan and implements it the night of Roäc's visit. He takes the Arkenstone and sneaks off the Mountain. He is discovered as he crosses towards the elf camp and is taken to the Elvenking and Bard. There he presents them with the Arkenstone to use as bargaining tool to aid them in negotiating with Thorin. They are very pleased with him and offer to let him stay with them, but he insists on returning to the Mountain.

Bilbo sees Gandalf on his way out of the camp. Gandalf congratulates him on what he has done and informs him he has news, which is not known to even the ravens. Bilbo makes his way back to the Mountain with no one discovering his absence.

The next day Bard and the Elvenking visit Thorin demanding a share of the treasure in return for the Arkenstone. Bilbo confesses he gave the stone to them, which enrages Thorin. He is stopped from throwing Bilbo on the rocks, by the appearance of Gandalf. Thorin agrees to give Bilbo his share of the fortune the next day, which is to be divided among the elves and men.

The next day Dain and the dwarves arrive at the elf camp and tell them to let them pass, but they are refused passage by Bard. While Bard is checking to see if the treasure has been delivered as promised, Dain seizes this opportunity to attack the elves and men. During the attack a great black cloud comes upon them and Gandalf calls a halt to the fighting. He points out the cloud is a cloud of bats, who are flying over an army of goblins, wolves, and Wargs. He demands the combatants come together to face this new threat.

The battle which ensued is called the Battle of Five Armies, because on one side are the Goblins and Wild Wolves and on the other are the Elves, Men, and Dwarves. The battle is fierce and the advantage swings first from the Elves, Men and Dwarves, then to the Goblins and Wild Wolves. Even with Thorin and his men helping, all seems to be lost, then Bilbo sees the Eagles winging their way to the scene of the battle. Bilbo is knocked unconscious by a rock as he points out the Eagles to his fellow combatants.

Bilbo wakes up on the rocks feeling shaky, but not hurt badly. He is found and taken to Thorin, who lays dying from his wounds. He tells Bilbo he wants to leave this world as a friend of Bilbo's, which the hobbit agrees to. Thorin is buried with the Arkenstone on his chest and the sword, Orcrist, on his grave.

Bilbo learns the Eagles fought valiantly, but eventually they were also outnumbered. Then Beorn appeared in the shape of a giant bear and killed many of the goblins, whose survivors ran away, but they were hunted down and killed.

Dain becomes the King under the Mountain and the rest of the dwarves who followed Thorin, except Kili and Fili, who died in battle, stay with him. Dain keeps Thorin's promise and gives a fourteenth share of the treasure to the Lake-men and Wood-elves. Bilbo accepts two small chests of gold and silver to take home with him.

Bilbo, Gandalf, and Beorn travel together to Beorn's home, where Bilbo and Gandalf stay for a while, before traveling back towards Bilbo's home. Bilbo is glad the dragon is dead and he is finally heading home after his adventure.

Bilbo and Gandalf reach Rivendale and the home of Elrond on May the First. They tell him and the elves the stories of their adventure. Bilbo also learns Gandalf attended a council of the white wizards, who drove the Necromancer from his home in the south Mirkwood.

After resting with Elrond for a week, Bilbo and Gandalf start the final leg of their journey to Bilbo's home. It has been a year since he left on his adventure and he is anxious to return to his hobbit-hole.

Upon arrival Bilbo is surprised to see his home's contents are being auctioned off, because he has been declared dead. He also finds his cousins, the Sacville-Bagginses, measuring his home to be fitted with their furniture. They are not all happy to find Bilbo alive and well, in fact it takes a few years for people to recognize he is alive. He also has to buy back many of his belongings.

Bilbo is considered 'queer' by most people, because he is no longer respectable, but he does not mind. One day as he is writing his memoir titled "There and Back Again, A Hobbit's Holiday", Gandalf and Balin visit him. They are both doing well and he finds out Bard has rebuilt the town in Dale.

Bilbo realizes the prophecies of long ago were right and his part in fulfilling them is a small part, which is what he wanted.

Bilbo, the dwarves and the elves fight amongst themselves and then together to protect the Mountain from the goblins. He returns home and tries to make a quiet life for himself again. He is happy to have his solitude and a few visits from friends, so he can live out his life just as he always wanted to.