Dori, Nori and Ori

A few days later they found themselves on a road leading to the southmost village of the mountains. The sun was low on the sky and the outlines of houses were beginning to appear further down the road. Dori, Nori and Ori had made their way down the mountains without so much as an incident, spending their days walking and talking and singing, their nights at inns or simply peacefully asleep under the stars. ”This is most likely the end of our comfortable traveling,” Ori said. ”You are right,” Dori said, ”we’ll get a good night’s sleep and pack ourselves a big supply of food for the road.” When they reached the inn, the sun had set completely and they were met by a welcoming fire in a crowded common room. They found a table in the far corner of the room, near a window, and ordered themselves some food. A few minutes later their conversation was interrupted by their food arriving. Not by the pretty tavern girl who had taken their order, but by a tall, big nosed man in a grey cloak, a pointy hat and long, grey beard. He set the tray of food and wine down in front of them and gestured to Nori that he should make room. ”Good evening gentlemen! My name is Gandalf.”

Dori, Nori and Ori

Dawn came and the brothers set out immediately. Everything had been packed the day before, they even broke their fast on foot as they were determined to make good time on their first day of the journey. They were munching on bread fresh out of the kitchens, and some chunks of cheese, while passing a skin of mead between them. ”The Blue Mountains will be the easiest and safest part of our journey,” Dori said. ”There will be villages and inns along the way, warm beds and good food.” Dori was always happy about food. Not that his younger brothers were not, they just had other things on their minds. Nori never bothered himself much with anything, as long as he had his flute he would tag along. Or tended to be the smart one with the maps and the books and the plans. ”There will, Ori responded.” Though we should not linger for too long in one place. This is indeed the safest part of the journey, which is why I say we make it fast. We know these lands and the people who live here, but we have no way of knowing what kind of trouble we can get into once we cross the river.” Nori took out his flute, just as he nearly always did when his brothers were talking about these things. ”Aye, you are the witty one,” Dori said. ”And you are the strong one, big brother,” said Ori. 

Fili and Kili 3

Without saying so much as a word, Fili and Kili started knocking the hobbits in the head. They did not want to injure them, so they hit just as much was needed for the hobbits to be unconscious.  Some hobbits saw what happened to their friends and ran away in fear, others tried to hit back at the dwarves. Fili and Kili were fast and effective and never got so much as a scratch before all hobbits laid on the ground, except for the ones that had run away. Before the unconscious hobbits had woken up, Fili and Kili left the tavern. They felt bad that they had had to knock out the hobbits, so they left some money outside to pay for the mead and to say sorry.
                 They heard some rumbling from inside and saw the bartender come out of the tavern. He was furious. Fili and Kili ran as fast as they could, they did not want to knock him out more than once. The bartender started to follow, but it was not long before he couldn't catch up anymore. 

Fili and Kili 2

When they felt hydrated and their meeting was getting nearer, Fili and Kili thought it would be best to start moving. As they were about to leave, Fili remembered that they had not payed for their mead yet and he offered to go outside and fetch the money while Kili stayed inside. Fili was just about to leave when the bartender turned to him.
"Where do you think you are going?" he said, "You have not paid for your drinks yet."
"I was just about to get my money from outside, Kili here can vouch for me." Fili answered. The bartender looked at Kili who confirmed what Fili had said with a nod.
"I know your type, Dwarf. All you want is gold! You have no intention of paying for anything." the bartender stepped out from the bar so he stood in front of Fili.
"You have to pay for the mead now, or else." he said. Fili couldn't help but laugh, what could a little hobbit do to him?
"Oh, you think this is funny, do you?" said the bartender, who was very upset at this point.
"No, of course not. But I can't pay for the mead without my money, and my money is just outside." Fili said, pointing at the door, trying to show that he was an honest man. The bartender would not have it, he took a step towards Fili as if to threaten him. The height difference did not seem to bother him, and he was certain that Fili was going to run away.
"You will not leave my tavern if you have not paid. Otherwise I will have to fight you." the bartender said. As he said this, some hobbits nearby walked over and stood beside the bartender. Even though they were small, they could probably bring down Fili. They could not fight both Fili and Kili, though. They were far too few and they were too small to be an obstacle for the two dwarves.
"We do not want any trouble, little man" said Kili. He stood beside Fili and together they must have looked terrifying for the hobbits, however they did not give up their thought  of beating the dwarves. On the contrary, they seemed almost more certain that they could take them in a fight. More hobbits had now noticed the dwarves and they joined their fellow hobbits. All of them were fairly intoxicated, so they were bolder than usual. Both Fili and Kili saw that there were too many hobbits for them to handle if they did not take them by surprise, and even if they did not want to they would have to fight them.

Fili and Kili 1

Fili and Kili came to Hobbiton earlier than expected, and since they didn't want to be rude and come to the meeting too early, they decided to make use of their time. First of all they walked through Hobbiton, visited the small market, and then examined where their burglar lived. When they were done with all of this, they still had much time left before the meeting so they went to the tavern in the outskirts of Hobbiton. The tavern was quite small for dwarves, so Fili and Kili left their bags outside so that they did not take up too much space. Inside they ordered one mead each and sat down to relax. Time did not move fast and they were hungry and thirsty after their journey. The mead was gone after a few minutes so they ordered more, but they did not order any food because the burglar surely had some at home. All they could do for now was wait and quench their thirst.

Dori, Nori and Ori

Dori, Nori and Ori were dwarves, three brothers who once lived in Thorin’s Halls, a city in the north of the Blue Mountains. When this story begins it was a chilly April evening in the Blue Mountains, but in the Great Hall of Thorin it was warm and toasty, the fires roaring in the six hearths around the hall. The dwarves had just finished a delicious feast, for it was the eve of their long journey. A feast of roast quail and mushrooms, onions and mashed turnip was being washed down with a flagon of fine red shared between the brothers while they were discussing the last details of their plan. Everything was packed and ready, all that remained was to decide what road they would take. Dori and Ori were examining the map whilst Nori took out his flute. Nori never spoke much. He started playing a soft, joyful tune to accompany his brothers’ heated discussion of north or south, river or mountains. By the time that flute had left Nori’s lips, the other two brothers had decided that it would be the southern road they would be traveling, along the Blue Mountains. ”Alright, little brothers,” Dori said, ”we leave at first light.”

Balin 2

When the hobbit again tried to get some information on who he was visiting and in what matter, Balin simply said that it was none of his business. This was not appreciated by the little hobbit, as Balin had expected.
"I suggest you go to your hole again and stop bothering me", Balin tried, but this only upset the hobbit. His face turned bright red and he looked as if he wanted to punch Balin in the face, but if he wanted to he would not have been tall enough to do so. As he realised this, he turned to go back into his hole but changed his mind just as Balin thought he had succeeded with his plan. When the hobbit spoke his voice was not as calm and happy as it had been before.
"You obviously do not belong here and you are no longer welcome in Hobbiton. I will let everyone know your true colours." he said as he waved his finger at Balin. The hobbit now turned and slammed his door, leaving Balin speechless. Though he did not care about what the hobbit would tell the village, he felt uneasy. It was not like hobbits to act as this hobbit had done, he must have been very offended. Balin did not like to behave as he just had and he felt ashamed. Remembering his real mission in Hobbiton, he hurried off to meet the burglar.

Balin 1

Balin found himself alone with the nosy little hobbit. He was getting old and did not have as fast reactions than when he was young, and had therefore not started running yet when the hobbit turned to him and wondered why Dwalin had run away. Although his body did not respond as fast as when he was young, his mind was still quick and sharp.
"Never mind my friend, he gets nervous around new people", he answered. The hobbit looked suspiciously at him, and then he asked again about his hobbit friend that he was visiting.
"We are here on a private matter", Balin said, smiling at the hobbit. He did not want to scare him and cause unnecessary trouble, but the hobbit did not seem to be the scared type. Instead, he tried to learn what the private matter was. Balin, who was getting old and wise, knew that hobbits did not like when people were not polite, so he quickly came up with a plan to get rid of him.

Dwalin

Dwalin was no coward, he had fought in many battles, but when it came to lying he was not a champion. After a moment of silence, Dwalin decided that nothing could be done about this situation. He knew that the hobbit would tell his friends about the peculiar dwarves in Hobbiton, but he did not really care. The most important thing at the moment was to find their burglar. When he had made this conclusion, he decided that it was time for him to run away. He left the hobbit standing outside the door and ran past him up the hill. He did not have to run very far before he saw the symbol he was looking for on a green door. When he slowed down to catch his breath, he realised that Balin was not with him. He must have stayed with the hobbit! Not wanting to draw more attention to himself than what he already had done, he thought it would be better to knock on the burglar's door and be let in.

Balin and Dwalin 2

To not reveal their intentions to anyone except the chosen hobbit, Dwalin and Balin had agreed on not being seen by other hobbits as they are not used to dwarves in their small village. Even though hobbits are polite, they did not like unusual visitors in their village. They wanted peace and quiet. Therefore, Dwalin and Balin set off to the chosen hobbit's hole by lurking in the shadows and running along walls of other hobbits' holes. They had come perhaps halfway when a hobbit suddenly stepped out of his hole. Dwalin nearly bumped into him as he was not ready for anyone to appear in his way. The moment the hobbit had come out of his home, he had seen the dwarves and he was surprised to see such tall creatures in Hobbiton. Even though he had never seen a real dwarf before, he could see that they were dwarves because he had read about them and been told tales about them since he was a little boy.
"Good day to you, sirs" he said, "might I ask what dwarves like you are doing in Hobbiton?"
Dwalin did not know what to say, but he could obviously not mention the real reason.
"Good day to you, hobbit. We have come to visit an old friend." he said and was pleased that he had not revealed anything.
"I did not know that you had friends in Hobbiton, surely I would have known if dwarves had been here before! Who is the chap? Perhaps it is someone I know." said the hobbit.
Dwalin had never been especially good at lying and now he found that he had no good answer. What could he say that would make the hobbit believe him and leave them? Thinking as fast as he could, he imagined it would be better if he answered than not saying anything at all.
"He is old and does not have many friends. I don't believe you would know who it was."
Dwalin must have sounded doubtful because the hobbit looked him up and down and said in a tone almost threatful, "I know most people around here, and since this is a small village I know what everyone looks like. There are some elderly hobbits here, yes, but none that have no friends."

Balin and Dwalin 1

"So this is Hobbiton!" said Dwalin as they reached the outskirts of the small village. "I had imagined it bigger."
"Do not let the size fool you, Dwalin. Hobbits may be small, but remember that we are here to find our burglar. Imagine what fierce little creature would face a dragon." answered Balin.
                      Dwalin and Balin had marched for days and were sick of it already, yet they knew that longer marches were still to come. The Lonely Mountain was far off and it would take months to get there even with horses, but their first goal was to find their burglar. Without a burglar, their gold would be lost forever. This was the reason that they had ventured to Hobbiton, for a wizard named Gandalf had pointed out a possible burglar there. The dwarves knew that this was the most important part of their journey, apart from slaying the dragon, and they could not fail.

Story Outline(s):

“The story of Bilbo Baggins, as we all know it, has its beginning at Bags End. However, with the Company of dwarves, they did not imagine that they would be faced with a road full of peril and danger, just to make it to Hobbiton. In this most unexpected and rather peculiar prologue, we will accompany some of the dwarves, as they try to make their way to Bilbo Baggins’ green hobbit-door.

Dwalin and Balin enter Hobbiton in hopes of not drawing attention on their way, by making their way through the shadows. However, it seems that there is one curious hobbit that spots them and decides to bombard the two dwarves with questions. Balin, the older, wiser brother of the two, knows the importance of the mission and tries to avoid the hobbit. Dwalin, however, decides to make a quick exit, and leave Balin behind to deal with the nosy hobbit. Aware of how the hobbit culture works, Balin proceeds to intentionally offend him in order to be left alone, but this does not end as planned as the hobbit is quite unusual, and engage in an argument. In the end, Balin finally manages to escape from the nosy hobbit and make his way to Bilbo’s cosy hobbit-hole.

Fili and Kili are in Hobbiton a bit earlier than they’d planned. However, the two brothers, always merry and full of adventure, decide to take a moment of respite in one of the taverns to enjoy a smaller feast before proceeding to Bilbo’s hobbit-hole, where they’d seen the mark on his door. They proceed to drink a few jugs of mead, but as they are ready to leave, they realize that they’d left their penny outside of the tavern. Fili decides to go and grab their money-pouch, but is abruptly stopped by the host of the inn, believing the dwarf is trying to leave without paying. The hobbit host, angered by this outrageous attempt, decides to try and engage the two dwarves in a fight. Fili and Kili, however, believe that due to the hobbit’s small size, it would be unfair, yet the hobbit persists in his attempt. Without much of a choice, they knock him out and flee through Hobbiton to Bilbo’s hobbit-hole.

The story of Dori, Nori and Ori starts at the city of Thorin’s Halls in the Blue Mountains and tells the tale of their journey from their home, to Bilbo’s hobbit hole in The Shire. They travel through mountains and across river and meadow, and along the way they encounter hospitable villages and homely taverns and inns, but also perilous paths, home to much less hospitable creatures.

Bofur, his brother Bombur, his cousin Bifur and Thorin Oakenshield himself join forces as they traverse down the southern range of the Blue Mountains in order to meet in Hobbiton. However, the journey towards The Shire, which has always been of peace and delight previously, surrounded by its green, lush hills and small forest meadows, was now attempting to take the lives of the dwarves. The company of four now have to make their way through a peculiar, ruined castle that seems to have “appeared out of the fog”, unable to make their way around the castle. But how did the ruins come to appear there, in the middle of nowhere? And what could possibly be inside? 

On a much more perilous journey than any might’ve expected, what could possibly have happened to them before they all reached the Gathering at Bag End?”