An Unexpected Journey

For Bilbo, even though the adventure is complete, life's journey carries on. His wandering feet have led him home for now, but the roads that go ever on foreshadow the adventurous trilogy to follow.

The Last Stage - The final stop before Bilbo Baggins reaches home is Rivendell, where the elves greet him with a song to celebrate the dragon's death. Gandalf also tells Elrond of his activities when he left the hobbit and the dwarves to continue their quest alone. The wizard has traveled to the North to vanquish the evil Necromancer and restore normalcy to the region.

Feeling rested, the hobbit continues recalling some of their adventures. Following Gandalf's advice, Bilbo recovers the buried gold from the trolls' storeroom. When the duo arrives at Bag End, they discover a crowd of hobbits rapidly auctioning off Bilbo's possessions, as he was assumed dead.

The troll gold is used to buy back as many items as possible, but his silver spoons have disappeared. The hobbit burglar finds he is now treated with suspicion by most of the community except for some younger nieces and nephews on the Took side. Years later, as Bilbo is writing his memoirs, Gandalf and Balin stop to visit and report that peace and prosperity have been restored to the lands and people once oppressed and destroyed by Smaug.

The Return Journey - Bilbo Baggins is knocked out shortly after spotting the eagles and misses the end of the conflict. A soldier finds the unconscious hobbit and carries him to the winning camp. Gandalf congratulates the hobbit for his luck in surviving the battle, and Bilbo is quickly taken to Thorin, who is dying from battle wounds. Thorin sincerely apologizes to Bilbo and recognizes he cannot take the treasure with him into death.

The hobbit grieves for Thorin, and Bilbo is now ready to return home. Thorin is buried with the Arkenstone, which was destined to be his, and Dain, the new dwarf king, proves wise in distributing the treasure. A large group including Gandalf and Beorn travels with the elves and the Elvenking, and they all sing Bilbo's praises. After spending the winter with Beorn, Bilbo stays for a while in Rivendell

The Clouds Burst - The following morning, negotiators approach the gates and reveal the Arkenstone, hoping it will move Thorin to make a deal. Thorin, still fixated on the treasure, relents and accepts the plan, but he has no intention of fulfilling his end of the bargain.

Thorin plans to wait for Dain and his troops, keep the gold, and fight for the Arkenstone. In anger he turns on Bilbo Baggins and threatens to kill him. Some of the dwarves are secretly dismayed at Thorin's treatment of the hobbit. Dain and his troops finally appear. Bard will not let Dain in to see Thorin, and both sides prepare to do battle.

Suddenly the skies darken as thousands of bats block out the sun. Their arrival signals the threat of attack by a huge force of goblins and wargs. The danger forces the elves, men, and dwarves to unite to defeat their common enemy. At first the strategy appears to work, but the numbers of evil fighters are too great. Thorin, finally coming to his senses, breaches his wall and emerges to rally the weary allies. Just when it appears the goblins will prevail, the eagles arrive, and the forces for good gain the upper hand. Bilbo, who has been with the elves, puts on his invisibility ring and is struck by a rock and knocked unconscious before the final victory.

A Thief in the Night - Several days pass in a standoff; the dwarves are trapped inside Lonely Mountain, and the armed men and elves block the exit.

Roäc, the raven, reappears and reports that Dain and his troop of 500 are near but predicts that is not enough force to defeat the opposing troops. He again encourages Thorin to settle the affair peacefully. Thorin rejects this advice, and in despair Bilbo Baggins decides to take action, trying to force Thorin's hand.

Still in possession of the Arkenstone, Bilbo takes a turn at guard duty and heads to the elves' camp. When he is taken to the leaders, Bard and the Elvenking, Bilbo reports the movement of Dain's warriors and gives the Arkenstone to them, hoping they can use it to bargain with Thorin. Bilbo meets Gandalf in the camp, but he returns to the dwarves in the fortress.

The Gathering of the Clouds - Back at the stronghold the group notes the unusual activity of the birds. Roäc, an ancient raven, arrives and delivers both good and bad news. The dwarves learn of Smaug's death, but they are warned that a large force of elves and men is approaching. When the bird advises Thorin to work with Bard toward a peaceful solution, Thorin angrily vows to protect the gold and enlists the bird to take a message to Dain, a cousin, to come to the aid of his group. The dwarves block the main entrance and sing a song praising their achievement and vowing to defend their treasure. When the men and elves arrive, they request a parley (negotiation), but Thorin refuses and fires an arrow at them in defiance.

Fire And Water - As the dwarves and Bilbo Baggins explore the vast caverns, the narrator reports Smaug's wrathful attack on Lake-town. Bard tells the citizens the dragon will attack the community. Many people get in boats to escape the fire and destruction, but Bard and other archers try to slay the beast.

The old thrush—who overheard the mention of Smaug's weakness—carries that information to Bard. With information on Smaug's unprotected spot, the defender uses a last black arrow and kills Smaug. Survivors of Lake-town arrive on shore where they face desperate conditions; winter is coming, and they are without food or shelter. Fortunately the Elvenking and his warriors arrive. An agreement is reached by which some men and elves will remain to build shelters and find provisions while a party will set out for Lonely Mountain to verify the fate of Thorin and of the treasure in Smaug's lair.

Not At Home - The expedition is trapped in the secret passage for several days. The group realizes Smaug has disappeared from his lair and sends Bilbo Baggins out to explore the situation. Bilbo finds the fabled Arkenstone and conceals it as his share of the treasure. Thorin also gives Bilbo a chain mail coat created by the elves. The dwarves explore the treasure and finally occupy an old watchman's tower to detect Smaug's return.

Inside Information - At this point in the adventure, Bilbo Baggins undertakes the most dangerous feat he has been asked to perform. Assuming his burglar role, he creeps down the tunnel and into the dragon's lair. Fortunately Smaug is sleeping, and Bilbo grabs a magnificent goblet to take to the dwarves.

When the dragon senses that some treasure has been taken, he goes on a rampage searching for the thief. After Smaug returns to his hoard Bilbo again approaches to identify himself. The overconfident monster casually exposes his belly, and Bilbo identifies a weakness in a bare patch of skin. As the hobbit exits the den Smaug shoots flames up the tunnel; Bilbo barely escapes. Unfortunately, in Bilbo's banter with the dragon, he exposes Lake-town and its people and accidentally reveals that they helped him. In a rage the dragon destroys the secret entrance and flies off to Lake-town to punish the citizens for aiding the treasure seekers.

On The Doorstep - As Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves travel through the desolation of Smaug, their mood changes. While they are geographically closer to their goal, achieving it seems as far away as ever. Bilbo, however, continues to study the map and contemplates the runes. After the group discovers the secret door, the attempts to open it fail. Only Bilbo continues to consider options. When the old thrush (bird) appears, the hobbit realizes the events described on the map are occurring, and he encourages Thorin to use the key to open the entrance.