THE SKIES BEGIN TO DARKEN

Leaving Bree the adventurers move through the Chetwood, then passing Barrow-Downs with it’s megalithic standing stones, before moving on to the boggy lowlands of the Midgewater Marshes, where they notice the weather has begun to change. Dark clouds loom in the distance hinting of likely thundershowers ahead. The going begins to become unpleasant at the end of May and Bilbo bundles his cloak around him feeling a chill in the air as the wind picks up, and dreams of being back home in his favorite armchair near the fireplace. They continue into the barren country of the Weathered Hills as rain begins to pour upon them, and see Amon-Sul (Weathertop) rising before them as an angry outpost.

Bilbo follows the other horses, a bit behind, looking at a country he has never seen before, and is amazed at the varied forests and wastelands. ~ Oin notes the fat drops of rain and pulls his hood closer over his head.

Bilbo feels the rain come, and the going get muddy. “Hardly an auspicious beginning to an adventure.” he grumbles. “What in Middle Earth was I thinking?” he berated himself. “What I wouldn’t give for my nice hobbit hole, a warm fire, and a kettle about to whistle!”

Gandalf: "Humm We can check the watch tower. Who will come with me?"

Oin volunteers "I will make the climb!"

Gandalf: "Ok let us see if it is safe there."

Bilbo is not willing to take any chances and follows behind. ~ Bifur tugs at his cloak over his head to shield from the pouring rain he tries to watch as the others make their way to the top of the tower. ~ Bilbo is worried as the climb steepens.

Gandalf: "IT IS NOT SAFE RUN BACK I WILL KILL THEM"

Bifur sees them turn suddenly and running

back down the tower towards them. ~

Bilbo then hears shouting and horses

rushing down past him, he turns his pony and

follows as fast as he can to keep up.

Bilbo sees others scatter making much noise. He watches as Gandalf moves ahead and points the direction.

Oin follows Gandalf closely to safety shouting, "WHO was that?? "

Gandalf: "It is not safe. We will move pass to before the valley."

NOT ALONE IN THE LONE LANDS

The intrepid group has narrowly escaped a dark menace at high point on Weathertop and continues their journey along the Great East Road deeper into the Lone-Lands, eventually passing the Last Bridge, before coming to the area known as the Trollshaws as night descends upon them.

Gloin: "This looks safe."

Gandalf: "Yes this will do,"

Bilbo feels a sense of foreboding in the strange country they have entered, but others feel a safe has been found for the night.

Bifur looks around eerily and ties up his pony securely to a nearby tree. ~ Dwalin gathers more firewood.

Oin tries to get a spark to star a fire, but all is so wet from the heavy rain. "He curses "Drat!!"

Bilbo dismounts along with the others as attempts are made to light a fire in the miserable rain, and damp weather.

Oin: "So wet!" he exclaims

Bifur feeling a bit weary Bifur yawns and stretches

Dwalin brings a load of fallen wood and dumps it in a pile near the fire. ~ Bifur looking around sees some of the horses missing. ~ Oin sees Bifur hop up and goes to see what is happening. ~ Bilbo munches on a soggy piece of bread and tries to get close to the small fire to warm himself. Looks at the sky, and is pelted with raindrops like water from the faucet, grey, dismal, wet.

Oin makes a count and counts again, there seems to be ponies missing" WHAT the DEVIL??"

Bifur (Dwarven): dem gáldhiem sartos hert mithrim ganaht hefthyn dûnost . frekk (“Aye Oin! The horses! Some are missing! Where they be??”)

Bofur: "Yer right brother." follows Bifur

Oin fishes for his ear horn again so he can hear Bifur. ~ Bilbo overhears the worrisome talk of missing ponies, half hoping the group will turn back now that their supplies have gone missing.

Oin: "Am I counting wrong?"

Bofur: "How many did you count, Oin?"

Oin: "Seems there's a few missing!:

Bofur counts. "Yer right!"

Oin looks about in dismay. The ones laden with food are gone! " I count FOUR!"

Oin searches the area, frantic "How many had we with us??"

Bifur (Dwarven): hefthyn erôth carharûg fanghur edaris belard nal sesti carharûg . ghastgar hefthyn sartosvrenht estvarn (“NAY! I be counting right and we are missing some! They were just here!”)

Bilbo hopes Myrtle is not among them. She has all his supplies and then some. He looks for Gandalf, who always seems to know what to do in a crisis, but he is nowhere to be found in the camp. “This is a fine time for Gandalf to go missing as well!” he says, but no one hears, as they are all focused on finding their missing supplies and ponies.

Oin: "GONE!! Lads! We are in it now! Some of the ponies are MISSING!"

Bifur (Dwarven): ignh vik dome knurlcarathn . otho (“Do ya see any thing amiss??”)

Bofur: "Another one be gone since I last counted."

Oin: "Ponies are not that fast.. I dun think they run off!"

Bofur: "Wait lads! There be huge footprints over here."

Bifur (Dwarven): dûnost estvarn ornthrond hort ingeitum isû derûndân carkna encesti dwerv nithgech ? (“They can't be far! I smell something foul though in the air!”)

Bifur tugs at the ax in his head nervously looking around

Bofur: "Bifur, I think we ought ta look for 'em."

Bifur nods agreeing looking around smelling the air.

Bifur (Dwarven): quan rast nien tronjheim delva rast narho ingeitum ingeitum darm (“We need to look quickly they can't be too far!”)

Oin: "What the DEVIL?! Nae! SEND THE BURGLAR!"

Bilbo sees all the dwarves looking at him, and realizes this is how it is going to be from now on whenever they are in a dangerous pinch realizing that’s why they brought him. He decides to use his hobbit stealth to look a little further over the hill. If there be danger, all the noise the dwarves are making will bring it upon them. At least he can move through the brush without being detected!

Bofur: "Bilbo. Yer hard ta see. Go and scout a bit."

The dwarves tell him to come back quick if all is well, and if he can’t to hoot TWICE like a barn-owl and ONCE like a screech-owl, and they would come look for him.

Oin: "Go on Bilbo!"

Bilbo has no idea how owls actually sound, but crawls quietly over the hill to see a light a little ways off. He moves closer and sees its source, beginning to tremble. It is from a campfire around which sat three enormous trolls, roasting a full grown sheep on a stick, like a simple sausage, and carrying on a conversation far more crass and crude than any drunken dwarf he had heard.

Bilbo: "TROLLS!” he says in hopes it is within earshot of the others.

Bifur eyes widen at the faint sound of the word 'trolls' smelling the stench more.

TOM: Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrow," said one of the trolls.

Bilbo sees they have the ponies, which it seems they plan to cook.

WILLIAM: "Never a blinking bit of manflesh have we had for long enough."

Bilbo thought if he were a really first class burglar, inching closer to the Trolls, he could steal the ponies right out from under their nose!

BERT: "What the 'ell William was a-thinkin' of to bring us into these parts at all, beats me - and the drink runnin' short, what's more," he said jogging the elbow of William, who was taking a pull at his jug.

Bilbo tries to get close enough to a large knife on the back of the Troll with his back against the rock wall to cut the ropes and free the horses. He moves without a sound as only Hobbits can, to within inches of the knife.

WILLIAM: William choked. "Shut yer mouth!" he said as soon as he could. "Yer can't expect folk to stop here for ever just to be et by you and Bert. You've et a village and a half between yer, since we come down from the mountains. How much more d'yer want? And time's been up our way, when yer'd have said 'thank yer Bill' for a nice bit o' fat valley mutton, and these Nags we found will do just fine."

Bilbo reaches for the knife, but as he does, the Troll reaches for a rag on his backside to blow his nose, grabbing a handful of Bilbo instead to blow it with, covering Bilbo in Troll mucus! (Not at all what he meant by stealing something ‘right out from under their nose’)!”

WILLIAM: "Blimey, Bert, look what I've copped!" said William.

TOM: "What is it?" Looking at what it was strangely.

Bilbo now in the clutches of the Troll, realizes this might be a good time to use the signal the Dwarves are waiting for and starts making the only owl noises he knows…

WILLIAM: "Lumme, if I knows! What are yer?" Looking at Bilbo covered in Troll mucous.

Bilbo: ”WHOOOO…WHOOO…WHO….” he says loudly to alert the dwarves, sounding more like the start of an answer to WHO he is.

Bilbo: "Bilbo Baggins, a bur - a hobbit," said poor Bilbo, shaking all over, and wondering how to make the proper owl-noises before they throttled him.

Bifur thinks he heard the sound of some kind of owl, moves towards the hill smelling a foul odor wafting in his direction.

Oin follows getting a waft of the bad air and retches before pinching his nose

Oin: "Ugh!! That smell!! What is it?

BERT: "A burrahobbit?" He said a bit startled. (Trolls are slow in the uptake, and mighty suspicious about anything new to them.)

Oin pulls the cowl of his hood up over his nose to blot the stench

WILLIAM: "What's a burrahobbit, a strange thing it is.

TOM: "And can yer cook 'em?"

BERT: "Yer can try,” picking up a skewer.

WILLIAM: "He wouldn't make above a mouthful, not when he was skinned and boned."

Bifur moves quietly (as only a dwarf can’t) ducking behind the large orange bush hearing the cracking of a fire and grunts from the large troll surrounding it

BERT: "P'raps there are more like him round about, and we might make a pie," he looks at Bilbo. "Are there any more of your sort a-sneakin' in these here woods, yah nasty little rabbit," he said looking at the hobbit's furry feet as he picked him up by the toes and shook him then tossed him down.

Bilbo: "Yes, lots," said Bilbo, before he remembered not to give his friends away. "No, none at all, not one," he said immediately afterwards.

BERT: "What d'yer mean?"

Bilbo: "What I say," said Bilbo gasping. "And please don't cook me, kind sirs! I am a good cook myself, and cook better than I cook, if you see what I mean. I'll cook beautifully for you, a perfectly beautiful breakfast for you, if only you won't have me for supper."

Oin: looks to his kin with concern "I canna think of much that has feet that big and stinks that much but…trolls?"

TOM: "This burburhobbit or what ever it is ,is being tricky. COOK HIM NOW! I AM HUNGRY!"

WILLIAM: "Drop him in the pot! Let's have something better then those nags."

Hearing the Trolls plan to boil the burglar, the Dwarves rush from the shadows, swords out and drawing blood, striking and stabbing the Trolls about the ankles, knees and thighs.

Oin kicks and punches at the trolls. ~ Bifur stabs at William holding Bilbo and trying to distract him to let him go.

BERT: "STOP NOW, OFF WE WILL RIP HIM TO SHREDS!" Bert had Bilbo in a hold preparing to break his bones.

The dwarves begrudgingly throw down their weapons, and are herded together like the ponies and put into sacks to wait the same fate planned for Bilbo; who is first to learn Gandalf has returned, if only from his familiar voice heard somewhere close by.

WILLIAM (Gandalf): A voice was heard by the trolls, "No good roasting 'em now, it'd take all night," They thought William said it.

BERT: "Don't start the argument all over-again. Bill," he said, "or it will take all night."

WILLIAM (Gandalf): "Who's a-arguing?" said William, who thought it was Bert that had spoken.

BERT: "ENOUGH YOU BOOBS!"

WILLIAM: "You're a booby,"

TOM: "Booby yerself!"

TROLLS (Gandalf): "They are riddled with worms and disease, not worth cooking. Not safe." The trolls thought each other said it.

WILLIAM: "What do we do? Get water Cook Boil em. Grill em'? This is driving me crazy! They are riddled? WE CANT EAT RIDDLED BAD MEAT!"

The Troll drops Bilbo on the ground, hearing about the worms as the argument began all over again, and went on hotter than ever, until at last they decided to sit on the sacks one by one and squash them, and boil them next time. But the decision comes too late, as the stone wall behind William begins to crack.

Gandalf: "Dawn take you all, and be stone to you!" A voiced rang out from the Rock face. As it did Gandalf Split the rock in two, allowing the sun light of the rising dawn to pour through and turn the Trolls to stone.

Bilbo sees the bright light and feels the flesh of the Troll harden to rock. ~ Bifur gasps in amazement feeling the warm sunlight drench them in its rays. ~ Oin looked about, aghast! They were saved by the sun! ~ Thorin Looks up to see two great stones fall to either side and the light of daybreak bursting through and there silhouetted against the morning sky, the outline of Gandalf.

Thorin: "The Sun AND Tharkun!"

Gandalf: "Well then. I think that was close enough. But it seems we have rocked this."

Oin grins at Gandalf's pun and makes a fist to knock at Bert's leg to be sure he has indeed been frozen in stone.

Gloin: "Look around for Mr. Hobbit."

Bilbo: cries out hidden behind the calcified leg of one of the Trolls "I’m here! I’ safe!"

Bifur rubs his nose from the smell of burned troll flesh but smiles thanking the gods he is still alive and well with his brothers and the little fellow.

Thorin: "Tharkun, It seems you saved us."

Bilbo: "If I ever doubted Gandalf’s timing, I don't now. Just in the nick of it no less!" who hadn’t relished being on the Troll’s menu this evening, and watches as Gandalf finds a cave hidden close by.

TREASURES FOUND

Gandalf: "Well well. A Troll Hoard."

Bilbo follows others into the Troll’s cave and sees much filth, stench and… TREASURE!

Gandalf: "Look around"

Oin gags on the foul odor inside the cave. Once again he pulls his cowl over his nose and mouth

Gloin: "Look at this brothers. GOLD!"

Bifur astonished at the sight before them he is bewildered by all surrounding them with treasure and bones. ~ Dwalin looks around at all sorts of things the trolls had plundered noticing the Gold Gloin had discovered. He sees lots of bones, mostly human, some dwarven. ~ Bilbo sees various coins, bones, food and swords of various makes and sizes lying around, and watches as Gandalf and Thorin each find an elaborate scabbard and hilt that catch their eye. A glint on the ground catches Bilbo’s eye and he reaches down to find a small sword half buried under the dirt and debris. More a big knife than a sword” he must admit, but just right for hobbit size.

Gandalf: "Thorin come here. This sword. Take it. It is suited for one such as you. This is the Elven sword from Gondolin, the mate of Glamdring, You could not wish for a finer blade. This sword is named Orcrist. Take it Thorin. It is the Goblin Cleaver."

Thorin: “I will bear it with honor." Thorin says receiving the famous weapon. "The elves of Gondolin are known even among my people for their great honor and valor.” He says smiling as he holds up the famous sword in his hand.

Gandalf: "What did you find Bilbo?"

Bilbo: looks at Gandalf holding a much smaller blade in his hands, “I found it over there in the Troll’s cave. Is this a good blade?” he asks sliding it out of its sheath to show Gandalf. “It’s not as big as the ones you found. But it seems to flicker on and off with a faint blue light.”

Gandalf: "May I see it?"

Bilbo shows Gandalf the shining blade.

Gandalf: "Impressive" he pauses "This is no simple blade. A short sword made in Gondolin by Elves during the First Age. Imbued with great magic. It will glow blue in the presence of Orc and Goblin. Like blades of it's kind, it never dulls, and it is the perfect size for you. You were meant to find it, as if it called out to you."

Bilbo: "I feel a little safer now!" feeling like a great treasure has been bestowed on him from the trolls after all, before putting the sword back in its sheath and attaching it to his belt.

Oin watches Thorin and Bilbo receive such kingly treasures and smiles at their good fortune ~ Bifur smiles seeing Bilbo so proud.

Gandalf: "Now this other blade. I will keep. It is perfect for an Istari. This is the other blade to Thorin's, Glamdring, The Foe Hammer, More slim and good for myself." He turns to the Dwarves. You will have to return for your prize, it is to heavy to take with us. Cover it well."

Bofur noticed a skeleton with wrists still in manacles against a wall. "Well that there chap sure were nah lucky."

Gloin: "No he was not. But let us hide this treasure for sure. Come back for it once Erebor is home again."

Oin digs holes for them to leave the treasure behind in secret

Gloin: "Buried it good didn't we?”

Thorin: "We are most fortunate to have encountered these trolls, and that Gandalf's and Bilbo's shrewdness is so keen. These blades were worth the risk."

Oin hears his brother's voice and his heart lifts a bit to know that, after such losses, they have finally accomplished a win "Hear hear! To the burglar and the Wizard!!"

A SHORT REST

Gandalf: "Let us return to camp and sleep. Then we head out for the Valley ahead".

Bifur leaves the cave heading towards the camp. Once all have arrived, the fire is restoked and mats and blankets unrolled to sleep near its warmth. And dry, now that the rain appears to have abated.

Gandalf: "Sleep my friends, we will set out again after you have rested well."

THE JOURNEY AHEAD

Thorin: "Gather and load the horses, and saddle up. It is but morning and we have a long way to go." He turns to Gandalf to speak with him in private.

Thorin speaks in a hushed voice. "I would not go to Rivendell, not for any ill feeling toward Elrond or his people, but that they may not learn our intent and seek to prevent us."

THE JOURNEY THUS FAR