The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey/Synopsis

**Synopsis for *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey***

## Prologue

"*My dear Frodo, you asked me once if I had told you everything there was to know about my adventures. Well, I can honestly say I’ve told you the truth, I may not have told you all of it."*"
— Bilbo to Frodo

On September 22, SR 1400 (TA 3000), Bilbo's turning 111. He begins writing his adventures down in a red book for his cousin, Frodo Baggins, intending to tell him "what happened."

Bilbo first describes the Mannish city of Dale and its neighboring, subterranean Dwarven realm of Erebor. This realm, set under The Lonely Mountain, is ruled by king Thrór, father to Thráin and grandfather to Thorin. The Dwarves strike riches under the earth, turning Erebor into a great realm (and benefitting the nearby town of Dale) and they begin to forge a large gold statue in Thror's likeness. In the process of mining, they find a rare gem which they call the Arkenstone and which Thror proclaims to be the King's Jewel. Now consumed by greed, Thror denies his would-be ally, the Elvenking Thranduil, of white gems that belong to him. He hoards gold in the lower halls and spends his days there, much to the distress of Thorin.

Several years later, Thrór began hoarding gold to attract the dragon Smaug, whose approach was detected by Thorin. While the dragon burns down the city of Dale (its lord, Girion, is unable to hinder the beast even while shooting it with Black Arrows) Thorin rescues Balin from the fry and marshals his troops to the front gate, but is bested by Smaug. Surviving the encounter, Thorin rescues his grandfather, who in his greed went into the treasure hoard, holding the Arkenstone, which is now lost to the dragon. Leading an exodus from Erebor, Thorin sees the Elvenking's army approaching. However, still holding a grudge for the withholding of his gems and unwilling to risk the "lives of his kin," Thranduil turns away, leaving Thorin in deep resentment for the Elves; he leads his people across the Wilderland and into Dunland, where he makes a living as a blacksmith in the villages of Men. Thorin leads his people to the Blue Mountains where they build a new life. Thorin never forgave and never forgot what happened in Erebor.

In another corner of the world, a young Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins playfully attacks the wizard Gandalf, who is providing fireworks for a birthday party of Bilbo's grandfather, Old Took. The Hobbit resides in the Shire, where dragons have not been seen for thousands of years, and are now considered to be the stuff of legend.

Bilbo's writing of his true story (as opposed to a version meant for readers other than Frodo, written later) is interrupted by Frodo. The young cousin, who resides with Bilbo, looks at the book and rummages through Bilbo's hope chest, a family heirloom, finding trophies of old adventures such as Orc helmets, a dragon claw, and a bear-shaped chess-piece. He is told off by Bilbo when he references gold being in his possession, and warns him from their estranged relatives, the Sackville-Bagginses, all of which elicits Frodo's suspicion that Bilbo is up to something. Frodo leaves to greet Gandalf, and Bilbo is left to reminisce, puffing smoke rings.

## Very Old Friends

**Gandalf**: "*You’ve changed, and not entirely for the better, Bilbo Baggins.*"
**Bilbo:**: "*I'm sorry, do I know you?*"
**Gandalf**: "*Well, you know my name, although you don’t remember I belong to it. I’m Gandalf! And Gandalf means … me*"
— Gandalf and Bilbo
Sixty years earlier, Bilbo is back to fifty years old, smoking his pipe. There he is approached by Gandalf who says he's looking for someone to share an adventure with. Bilbo is intrigued by the Wizard, whose fireworks he remembers, and by the mention of an adventure, but flatly refuses to undergo an "uncomfortable" journey. Gandalf places a mark on Bilbo's door and leaves. Still shaken, Bilbo hides from Gandalf's likeness (proven to be a gray sack resembling his hat) as he goes to the market in the Bywater.

## An Unexpected Party

Bilbo readies a dinner out of the groceries he bought in Bywater when his doorbell is rung by a gruff-looking Dwarf who presents himself as Dwalin and enters as one invited. Dwalin eats Bilbo's food before another Dwarf, his older brother Balin, arrives. As they rummage through Bilbo's pantry, two younger Dwarves, the brothers Fili and Kili, arrive and make preparations for others. Bilbo opens the door again and eight Dwarves tumble into his house, followed by Gandalf.

While the Dwarves prepare a feast, Bilbo becomes acquainted with Bifur - who doesn't speak the common tongue due to a head injury - and Oin, who has a hearing aid. Gandalf, meanwhile, counts to the Dwarves, noting the absence of one. The Dwarves party before Thorin arrives. He taunts Bilbo for his seemingly inoffensive nature and sits down with the company, telling them of a meeting he held with the other Dwarf Lords, who refused to join the Quest of Erebor. Gandalf produces a map of the Mountain, which speaks of a hidden entrance to the lower halls, and a key to that same door, given to him by Thrain. All the while, the younger Dwarves (especially Ori) boast about going out to slay the dragon. Gandalf uses his magic to light his pipe.

Bilbo is listening in intently before he realizes he has been suggested by Gandalf as a burglar to sneak past the dragon. He is handed a contract, but the description of the Dragon by Bofur frightens him into a faint. Gandalf reprimands him, reminding him of his younger, more outgoing self, and of his great uncle, Bulroarer Took, who held off a Goblin invasion. Simultaneously, Balin tries to dissuade Thorin from the Quest, questioning the nobility of the cause. At Thorin's resolve, he relents and the Dwarves sing in yearning for their homeland, which Bilbo overhears in his bed.

## The World is Ahead

Bilbo wakes up to find his home clean, as though the Dwarves were never there. He is grateful, but also a bit disappointed and lonely when he sees his contract left on the table. He suddenly bursts out his door with a bag, telling his concerned neighbors that he's "going on an adventure". He meets the company leaving and is accepted among them, already begrudging the requirement to ride a pony and bemoaning having forgotten his handkerchief. Together with the company, they cross the Shire and pass Breeland.

## The Battle of Moria

Camping at night in the lone lands, Bilbo is unable to sleep but is tellingly bonding with his pony, when an animal cry alerts him. Fili and Kili who stand guard frighten him with stories of Orcs, but Thorin reprimands them. Balin reveals that, during the Battle of Moria after the Dwarves' exile from Erebor, King Thror led them to their first kingdom, Moria, where they encountered Gundabad Orcs led by Azog. The Orc leader swears to wipe out Thror's line and beheads the King. His son, Thrain, goes missing (later discovered to have been captured by Azog), and Thorin duels Azog. His weapon is thrust away from his grasp, but he uses an oaken branch to shield off his foe's attack and, grabbing a sword, severs the Orc's arm. Thorin leads the Dwarves to victory, but their losses are too great to push the Orcs out of Moria.

Thorin believes Azog to be dead, but Balin and Gandalf seem to question this. From afar, orcish Warg-riders, led by Yazneg, spy the company.

## Radagast the Brown

During the next day's ride, Gandalf tells Bilbo of the other four wizards, naming the head of their order, Saruman the White, the two Blue Wizards, and the animal-loving wizard, Radagast the Brown, who resides in the Greenwood.

Unknown to Gandalf, sometime earlier, Radagast discovers a sickness infecting the woodland around his home of Rhosgobel, infecting trees, and wildlife (such as a hedgehog, Sebastian, which he cures) and attracting giant spiders. He traces the source of the dark magic to the abandoned fortress of Dol Guldur, riding there on his sleigh.

## Trollshaws

Several days later the company arrives at the ruins of a farm on the outskirts of Staddle, which piques Gandalf's suspicion. He bids Thorin to push on to Rivendell, however Thorin refuses. Gandalf becomes infuriated and storms off.

At night, Bilbo Fili and Kili discover two ponies to be missing. Fearing his uncle's reaction, Fili opts not to tell Thorin and sends Bilbo to investigate only to find that three Mountain Trolls are responsible for the destruction of the farm and the stealing of the ponies, now including Bilbo's pony. The Dwarves send Bilbo to sneak around and free the ponies, but he is accidentally caught by the Troll Tom. The Dwarves all come to his rescue. Bilbo frees the ponies but is caught yet again, forcing the Dwarves to surrender.

Later that night, the Trolls (which are vulnerable to sunlight) are preparing to cook the Dwarves. Bilbo manages to distract the half-witted Trolls and buy time by rambling on about the proper way to cook Dwarves, and about how they're infested with parasites. Meanwhile, the sun has nearly risen and Gandalf returns, cracking rock to expose the Trolls to its rays, turning them to stone.

Gandalf explains grave concern about Trolls coming down south from the Ettenmoors and, with Thorin, reasons that they must have been hiding in a nearby cave. Finding it, the company unravels a great treasure, which they bury in a chest, intending to reclaim its time. They also find two swords, one of which Thorin almost denies when Gandalf claims them to be ancient Elvish swords. Gandalf takes one, and finds a small dagger of similar origin which he gives to Bilbo. The Hobbit never used a sword in his life, and Gandalf advises him to be judicious in using it to take a life. Gandalf tells him that the blade will glow below Orcs or Goblins.

## A Hill of Sorcery

At that moment, Radagast arrives looking for Gandalf. He informs him of the sickness that befell the Woodland, turning it into Mirkwood. He relays his exploration of Dol Guldur, where he was nearly stabbed with a dagger by the witch King of Angmar and encountered the mysterious Necromancer. Recalling his flight from the bats, he is reassured by Gandalf, and shows him the dagger, claiming that it is "not from the world of the living."

## Warg Scouts

At this, howls alert the company to the presence of Wargs. Their ponies bolt and they have to run on foot, while Radagast riding his sleigh distracts the Orcs, again led by Yazneg. One of the Orc scouts sniffs the company but is slain by Kili's bow. The sounds of the struggle echo, however, and Yazneg deduces the Dwarves' location.

Running through Rhudaur, the company is surrounded by the Warg riders. They prepare for battle only to find that Gandalf is missing (after he spots a white stone). The wizard reappears, however, showing them a hidden path through a ravine. As they flee down it, Elves appear and slay most of the Orcs. Thorin is troubled by the presence of the Elves but is forced to push on down the ravine. Bilbo senses magic.

## Rivendell

The ravine leads the company to the outskirts of Rivendell, the estate of Elven lord Elrond in the Hidden Valley. Bilbo is enchanted, but the Dwarves are unimpressed, with Thorin claiming Gandalf planned to arrive there all along. At length they do go into Rivendell, where Gandalf is greeted by Lindir and later by the company of Elrond, which returns from hunting the Orcs.

So startled are the Dwarves by the arrival of the Elves on horseback that they nearly come to blows, and even after Elrond dismounts, Thorin is suspicious and acerbic at him before the former invites them to dinner. Sitting with Gandalf and Thorin, Elrond reveals the heritage of the Elvish swords, but not of Bilbo's dagger. He is indeed proving suspicious of Gandalf's companions and of their endeavor, at which Thorin leaves the table. Meanwhile, the other Dwarves make a mess of the dinner: Bombur eats savagely, Nori steals some of Elrond's silverware, Kili exchanges glances with an Elvish maid and Bofur bursts into a song.

Later that night, Gandalf convinces a reluctant Thorin to show the map to Elrond, in the hope that he could decipher the hidden text. The elf-lord reveals it to be moon-runes, which can only be read by the same moon as the day on which they were written. He deems the company's arrival to be an act of fate, being that the same moon shines upon Rivendell that night. In his observatory, the runes are revealed and says that the hidden door will be revealed by the last light of Durin's Day, the start of the Dwarf's new year at the beginning of winter. Elrond now understands the Dwarves' purpose (which Gandalf earlier lied to him about, securing Thorin's trust) and tells Gandalf that he's not the only guardian to stand watch over Middle Earth. Meanwhile, Yazneg reports to his master on Weathertop. He is revealed to be hunting the company for Azog, who kills him for his failure.

The Next day, Bilbo scouts Rivendell, admiring its beauty. Looking around Elrond's chamber, he sees the remains of a broken sword facing murals of an ancient Elvish city and of a man facing a black figure wearing a golden ring. Meanwhile, the Dwarves bathe naked in the Elves' sacred fountains.

## The White Council

That evening, Gandalf is talking to Elrond within earshot of Bilbo (and Thorin), expressing concern about the Dwarf's fate, being that his father and grandfather succumbed to greed. He is also worried that they might wake Smaug into wrath. Gandalf, meanwhile, posits that slaying the dragon will improve their "defenses in the east." Thorin takes Elrond's words as a sign for them to leave.

Elrond takes Gandalf to the Council Chamber, where he meets Galadriel, lady of Lorien, and the head of his order, Saruman the White. Together they sit in council where Saruman sternly critiques Gandalf's actions, but the latter claims that darkness is rising, using the Trolls and Orcs as examples. He also speaks of Thrain's disappearance, which happened while he was bearing the last of the seven Dwarf rings, two of which were "taken by Sauron before he fell in Mordor." Saruman reasons that Sauron is vanquished and cannot control the other rings.

Gandalf speaks of the Necromancer and the sickness of the Greenwood. Being that he cites Radagast, whom Saruman disregards, his claims are brushed aside, with Elrond expressing confidence that the Watchful Peace, maintained for 400 years since the fall of Angmar, will endure. Galadriel, however, senses that Gandalf has an object retrieved by Radagast, at which Gandalf brandishes the Morgul Blade. Elrond recognizes it as belonging to the Witch King of Angmar, who is supposed to be entombed in the High Fells of Rhudaur. Saruman denies this before Lindir brings word that the Dwarves have gone, a fact that Gandalf already knew.

## The High Pass

The company leaves Rivendell (to the regret of Bilbo) towards the Misty Mountains and the edge of the Wild beyond them. Meanwhile, Gandalf has an audience with Galadriel, who seems to see a connection between the quest and the rise of the Necromancer, and asks Gandalf to find an answer to the riddle of the Morgul Blade. She asks Gandalf why he brought Bilbo to the quest, which he cannot quite explain. She tells him that, if he needs her help, she will come. Gandalf leaves to rejoin the others.

Climbing the Misty Mountains, the Dwarves arrive at the High Pass, where they encounter rainfall and Stone Giants which hurtle stones at one another, nearly killing the company in the process. They are revealed to be standing on the knees of such a giant and when they are struck by the others, some members of the company including Bilbo and Fili seemingly fall to their deaths before they are revealed to have survived. Bilbo however, is hanging on the side of the cliff when Thorin helps him up, nearly falling in the process. He expresses concern over the Hobbit's competence, claiming he should never have come.

Meanwhile, Azog chases their trail. Unaware the company finds shelter in a seemingly deserted cave. Gloin aims to make a fire, but Thorin stops him and orders that they leave at first light, which would mean abandoning Gandalf. After they fall asleep, Bilbo tries to leave for Rivendell, but Bofur, who is standing watch, confronts him. Aggravated, Bilbo chastises Bofur for not having sympathy for his homesickness, being that the Dwarves "don't belong anywhere". Realizing his harsh words, he apologizes, and Bofur lets him leave.

## Goblin Town

However, Bilbo's sword glows blue - a sign of nearby Goblins - and at this the floor cracks open and the cavern is revealed to a trap by the Goblins rising underneath in Goblin Town. The Dwarves are taken to the Great Goblin, while Bilbo sneaks out. He is detected by a Goblin Imp and as they grapple, they fall into a chasm below the town. The Dwarves try to conceal their purpose from the Goblin King, with Bofur claiming that they are en route to Dunland. They discover Nori's stash of Elvish silverware and when the Great Goblin threatens young Ori, Thorin comes to the front and confronts the Goblin who taunts him. He tells him that Azog (who Thorin still denies is alive) will pay a price for his head, and orders that word be sent to him.

## Riddles in the Dark

Bilbo awakes in the tunnels underneath Goblin-town, where his foe the Goblin imp is assaulted by the creature Gollum. In their struggle, in which Gollum prevails, he unwittingly loses a golden ring. After he drags his prey away, Bilbo rises from his hideout and takes the Ring. He follows Gollum's trail to an underground pond, where Gollum devours the Goblin before noticing Bilbo. He rows from his isle to Bilbo but is intrigued by the Hobbit and daunted by his Elvish blade. Bilbo interacts with Gollum's playful side and they enter a game of Riddles which, should Bilbo win, would force Gollum to show him the way out. If Gollum should win, he would eat Bilbo (who declares his name and homeland to the creature) whole.

After several riddles, Bilbo is at a loss before he asks "What have I got in my pocket?" (referring to his newfound ring) which Gollum cannot guess. Having plotted to kill Bilbo anyway, he reaches for his ring, but finds it missing, entering a frenzy before deducing that Bilbo stole it. Bilbo flees and accidentally puts on the Ring, which makes him invisible. He follows Gollum who is heading towards the exit to ambush Bilbo there.

## Beater and Biter

Thorin's sword startles the Goblin King who orders the Dwarves to be whipped and killed, just as Gandalf arrives. The Dwarves take up arms, fight off the Goblins, and flee through Goblin town. However, the Great Goblin reappears but is dispatched by Gandalf. His weight causes the causeway to fall and the company rises from the rubble to flee. Their flight to the exit frightens Gollum, and they completely forget about Bilbo, who is nearby but invisible to them. He contemplates killing Gollum who is in his way, but at the sight of the creature's sadness for the loss of his ring, he spares his life and leaps over him and out of the cavern, regrouping with the company.

Before he reveals himself to the company, he overhears Gandalf looking for him and Thorin claiming that he fled back towards his home. Bilbo reappears to prove Thorin wrong and says that he empathizes with the Dwarf's lack of a home and will help them recover their homeland.

## Out of the Frying-Pan

Just then, Azog and his pack arrive, chasing the company down the eastern slopes of the Misty Mountains to a pine forest over a precipice. They climb trees to avoid the Wargs, and it is here that Thorin witnesses Azog. The Orc taunts the memory of his father Thrain and his Wargs almost reach the company, making the trees collapse so that all the Dwarves end up on one pine on the edge of the abyss.

Gandalf uses his magic to light up pine cones which the Dwarves throw to keep the Wargs at bay, which succeeds until the pine sags under the weight and teeters over the valley. Thorin makes a rash decision to charge Azog and is beaten and almost killed before Bilbo rescues him. Throin faints, leaving Bilbo to fend himself before Thorin's best fighters - Dwalin, Fili, and Kili - come to his aid. Meanwhile, Ori and Dori hang off of Gandalf's staff, falling just as the Great Eagles arrive to help them and the rest of the company, whisking them off to safety.

## Good Omen

Bearing the company to safety, including an incapacitated Thorin (who lost his oaken shield) but unable to carry them for a large distance, the Eagles drop the company on the nearby carrock, a crag with its head fashioned after the shape of Bear's head, where Gandalf awakes Thorin. The Dwarf lord reconciles with Bilbo and, across the wilderland, they behold the Lonely Mountain, where Smaug awaits.