Bofur grinned, "Oh, and a wonderful game it is too, if you got the balls for it." The other dwarves roared with laughter.

Bilbo clenched his fists and stomped away, "Bebother and confusticate these dwarves!"

Suddenly, Gandalf appeared through the door, a warmhearted look plastered on his face, "My dear Bilbo, what on earth is the matter?"

"What's the matter? I'm surrounded by dwarves. What are they doing here?" he retorted, angrily.

Gandalf smiled at his frustration, finding it very amusing, "Oh, they're quite a merry gathering, once you get used to them."

Bilbo had visibly reached his wits end, "I don't want to get used to them. The state of my kitchen! There's mud trod into the carpet, they've pi…pillaged the pantry. I'm not even going to tell you what they've done in the bathroom; they've all but destroyed the plumbing. I don't understand what they're doing in my house!"

Rather unexpectedly, Kattrin could be seen walking up to the hobbit and Gandalf, the robe no longer on and instead within her grasp. She said something very softly and Bilbo sighed heavy with frustration, "What did she say now, Gandalf?" Though not meaning to be rude, he didn't wait for a translation before he looked right at her and said, "What do you want now? The last thing I need is to hear you've destroyed my robe! You already destroyed my garden!"

The calm look on Kattrin's face turned into one of insult and she again spoke in her tongue. Though, this time, whatever she said was shouted with a snarl and resulted in her throwing the robe at him. After she stormed off, Gandalf looked to Bilbo in disappointment, "She only wished to thank you for the robe, Bilbo."

Quite suddenly a wave of guilt overtook Bilbo as he sighed and took the robe in his hands. "What did she say after?"

"Hmm, I'd rather not repeat it." Gandalf answered.

"I thought as much," Bilbo took a heavy sigh inward, gently placing his robe over the arm of a chair that had not yet been stolen. "Gandalf, when do you plan on telling me why my house is in complete disarray?"

The wizard very suddenly displayed an expression that made it seem as though he had utterly forgotten his purpose altogether. The gentle, elder-of-a-man smiled through his long, gray beard and said, "What a novel idea, Bilbo. I almost entirely overlooked the matter."

Gandalf allowed himself to be the one to fetch the dwarves and lead them, once again, to the dining hall. The wizard thought it not wise to rile Bilbo's spirits any further; the poor hobbit nearly lost his senses completely. Furthermore, Gandalf knew very well what lie ahead and to push the hobbit prematurely would ensure his decline. The dining hall was no longer filled with the boisterous laughter of dwarves, but instead was replaced by sentiments so somber that it felt as though a heavy fog now blanketed the room.

While everyone already found their spots, Kattrin wondered in at a hauntingly slow pace, taking a seat on Gandalf's left side. Bilbo, however, continued to linger in the hallway, part of him curious and the other sincerely wanting no involvement in their affairs. While he seemed to preoccupy himself with his own personal thoughts, in truth Bilbo was eavesdropping. Gandalf began to speak, "Now that we've had our fun, I imagine we're all waiting to know why we are really here." His eyes circled the table at every single dwarf, all of them silent and taking heed to the wizard's words. His attention turned to Balin, "The map?"

Balin nodded firmly; he reached into a sack below and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. Upon taking it from the dwarf, Gandalf unfolded it before himself. Kattrin's eyes gazed heavily upon the map, studying its contents. To the normal eye, this map would be deemed impossible to decipher, for while there was indeed a map to something, the language around it was all but unknown. "Now that we're all here, can she read the text or not?" Dwalin spoke out.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: Apr 06, 2014 ⏰

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