Bofur leaned back in his seat and spoke "That would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather. Teeth like razors, claws like meat hooks. Extremely fond of precious metals-" "Yes, i know what a dragon is" Bilbo finally cut off Bofur from continuing, fidgeting with his hand's in nervousness.
Ori lifted himself from his seat and leaned forward "I'm not afraid. I'm up to it. I'll give him a taste of Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie!"
Everyone cheered at his words, as Dori pulled him down, telling him to sit down.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us..." Balin started "...but we number just 13. And not 13 of the best...nor brightest"
Just as he finished everyone went into a slight debate, before Fili loudly slapped his hand onto the table "We may be few in number...but we're fighters, all of us, to the last Dwarf"
Kili lightly smiled at his brother's words "And you forget, we have two Wizards in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundred dragons in his time"
Veryan lightly snickered, knowing that Kili's word's were very incorrect, as his mentor tried to get out of the situation "Oh, well, no. I wouldn't say..."
"How many then?" Dori asked, leaning his elbows on the table.
"What?" Gandalf asked back, a bit confused.
"Well, how many dragons have you killed?" Dori re-asked his question to Gandalf.
Thorin glanced at him knowingly, as Gandalf coughed out the smoke still in his mouth. Veryan crossed his arms and leaned back, witnessing as all of the Dwarves went into a loud discussion, that is, before Thorin let out a shout and abruptly stood up, making the Dwarves fall back into their seats, silent.
He looked at each and every one of the Dwarves, before he spoke "If we have read these signs, do you not think the other's will have read them too? Rumors have began to spread. The dragon, Smaug, has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor!?"
Everyone cheered as his little speech ended, Thorin taking his seat back down. Well, at least most of them cheered:
"You forgot, the Front Gate is sealed" Balin spoke, taking in a quick whiff of smoke from his pipe "There is no way to the mountain"
Gandalf perked up "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true" he extended his hand, and flipped the key he had in between his fingers.
Thorin's jaw slightly dropped "How come you by this?"
Gandalf looked at him, and lightly smiled "It was given to me by your father. By Thrain. For safekeeping. It is yours now" the Wizard finished, and stuck out the key to Thorin, who slowly but surely took it from the other's hand.
Thorin clutched the key in his hand "If there is a key..." "...There must be a door" Fili finished Thorin's thought.
Gandalf lightly nodded, and pointed at the red written sentence on the map "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the Lower Halls"
Kili smiled "There's another way in"
Gandalf glanced at him "Well, if we can find it, but Dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map...and neither Veryan nor I have the skill's to find it"
Veryan nodded at the Wizard's words "But there are others in Middle-Earth who can"
Gandalf continued after the boy "The task i have in mind will require a great deal of stealth...and no small amount of courage" he slightly took a glance at Bilbo before continuing "But if we are careful and clever, I believe that it could be done"
"That's why we need a burglar" Ori said as if everything clicked in his head.
Bilbo nodded, taking a look at the map "And a good one too. An expert, I'd imagine"
Veryan raised his eyebrow in amusement as he looked between the oblivious Bilbo and the expectant Gandalf.
Gloin leaned forward "And are you?"
Bilbo looked back, and then at Gloin, finally registering that the question was meant for him "Am I what?"
"He said he's an expert. Hey" Oi said, saying what he heard, which wasn't very true.
Bilbo quickly shot up and pointed to the Dwarf "Me? No, no, no. I'm not a burglar. I've never stolen a thing in my life"
Balin sighed "Well, I'm afraid i have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar materiel" "Nope" Bilbo agreed with the oldest Dwarf.
Dwalin looked at the Hobbit "Aye, the Wild is no place for gentle folk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves"
One by one the Dwarves started to point out everything bad about Bilbo. How he couldn't survive, or fight to save his life.
Veryan glanced at his mentor, and backed up, getting closer to Bilbo as Gandalf shot up "Enough!" Bilbo jumped and moved behind Veryan a little "If i say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is"
Veryan patted the older one's shoulder and sat him down as he himself spoke "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most, if they so choose"
Finally Gandalf breathed in and out, and finished himself "And, while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of Dwarf...the scent of a Hobbit's all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage"
He looked at Thorin "You asked me to find help and a 14th member of this company and I have chosen Mr. Baggins and Veryan. There's a lot to the Hobbit than appearances suggest, and Veryan's one of the most trust worthy Human's I have ever met. They've got a great deal to offer than any of you know, including themselves"
Veryan smiled appreciatively at Gandalf, whilst Bilbo was still stuck in fear in his place.
Thorin was stuck in his own thoughts, just starring at Gandalf, before he finally nodded "Very well. We will do it your way-" "No, no-" "Give them the contract" Bilbo protested through out Thorin's words, but it was like he didn't say anything in the first place.
Balin stood up, two pieces of paper in his hand "It's just the usual. Summary of out-of-pocket expenses...time required, remuneration...funeral arrangements, so forth"
Veryan reached over to grab one as Thorin took the other and shoved it at Bilbo "Funeral arrangements?" he nervously asked.
The two opened up the paper's, and started to read over the long, long list. Veryan could see out of the coner of his eye as Thorin whispered something to Gandalf, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He quickly grabbed a pen from Balin's out stretched hand and wrote down his name on it, handing the pen and contract back to him. Balin looked over it, and smiled at Veryan "Welcome to the group Master Veryan"
The black haired boy smiled and nodded, before turning to look at Bilbo. "-or sustained as a consequence thereof, including, but not limited to lacerations...evisceration...incineration?"
Bofur nodded at Bilbo "Aye. he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye"
Bilbo nodded at the Dwarf and took in a breath, swaying a little "You alright, laddie?" Balin asked as he saw the male stagger.
"Huh? Yeah" Bilbo replied, still a little out of it. he leaned over and dropped him hand's onto his knees, breathing in and out quickly as Bofur continued:
"Think furnace with wings" "Air. I need air" "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof. You're nothing more than a pile of ash"
Bilbo huffed again, seemingly normal, and then looked at Bofur "Nope" and with that he passed out on the floor.
Veryan grimaced as the Hobbit collided with the floor "Ouch" he whispered as he went over to the Hobbit, picking him up and bringing him into the library as someone commented about Bofur's help behind him. He set Bilbo onto one of the chair's, and went over to grab a glass of water. When he walked into the room, Bilbo was just about waking up, so he waited till the Hobbit was conscious enough and handed the water to him, making his way right out of the room as soon as Gandalf walked in.