[SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to the Lord of the Rings lorecast.

[SPEAKER_01]: The show that explores the background of Tolkien's amazing world, from the very beginning.

[SPEAKER_00]: But not all heroes win fights by force, and not all thieves steal for themselves.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've discussed multiple times on this show, how many times, talking either plays off of previous what we would call today tropes, but patterns in literature, patterns in fantasy, and uses them in his own ways and kind of stands on the shoulders of giants.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can even say, you can use different analogies for this.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he usually plays within the lines of things that already existed if we understand those sources.

[SPEAKER_00]: A simple example of this would be, Smauge the Dragon.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's not the first writer to ever write about a dragon, and when we go back and like we did, look at all the other dragons that inspired Smauge in our bonus episode.

[SPEAKER_00]: We find that, well, Smauge actually has a number of precursors.

[SPEAKER_00]: and talking usually takes those as templates and then gives them a little bit of his own spin, but for the most part you could kind of pick up smug out of the hobbit and stick it back into Beowulf and it wouldn't be too odd.

[SPEAKER_00]: Another trope that would go exactly with that would be the heroic adventure with their sword and their wits fighting a monster and taking out the monster in a very traditional means.

[SPEAKER_00]: And sure, there are lots of stories that buck that trend that something happens with the hero and things play out in a different way where the hero needs to learn a new tact, a new skill, a new approach to a situation because it's not just all about hitting things with your sword.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sure, that's very common.

[SPEAKER_00]: What I find so interesting about chapter 16 is not only that it's [SPEAKER_00]: But it is a chapter solely devoted to Bilbo being a thief.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's called a thief in the night.

[SPEAKER_00]: This chapter defines Bilbo's theory, not in the purpose that we originally assumed, to steal the treasure from the dragon for the benefit of himself and the dwarves.

[SPEAKER_00]: Instead, it turns it on its head.

[SPEAKER_00]: In this chapter, Bilbo takes the Arkonstone, the most valuable item among the entire hoard of treasure, clearly equal to at least his 14th share, if not more than that.

[SPEAKER_00]: and he gives it away.

[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't steal it for himself.

[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't side with the dwarves and their claim of the treasure.

[SPEAKER_00]: He does something very odd.

[SPEAKER_00]: He gives away his share of the treasure to a man and an elf.

[SPEAKER_00]: in order to try to stave off war.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he does this at great danger to himself, not only in sneaking out and leaving the dwarves, but also in approaching the camp of an army outside, seeding them.

[SPEAKER_00]: You could argue that by this point in the story, Bilbo has done a number of different valiant and courageous things, finding off the spiders, approaching the dragon while it was sleeping, [SPEAKER_00]: But in this moment, Bilbo makes up his mind on his own about something that he needs to do, not in the heat of a desperate situation, not while stuck at the bottom of a mountain in a dark cave with a creature named Gaulim who wants to eat him.

[SPEAKER_00]: He makes up his mind in a very sober state.

[SPEAKER_00]: During a situation that is [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, getting worse, but very slowly getting worse.

[SPEAKER_00]: The days are passing slowly.

[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, the very first sentence, and we haven't even gotten past the intro, says, now the day's past slowly and weirdly.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is making a conscious decision to be a different kind of thief, a different kind of hero, and he doesn't grumble for home.

[SPEAKER_00]: He doesn't wish he wasn't there.

[SPEAKER_00]: He simply makes up his mind.

[SPEAKER_00]: He figures out what the right thing to do is, because he's in a rock in a hard place.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's really no, let's call it safe decision here where he isn't in danger in some way to regardless of what he decides to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then he goes and does it.

[SPEAKER_00]: He gets it done and he comes back.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's the simple concept of this chapter.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the fact that he comes back is even more amazing.

[SPEAKER_00]: He puts himself back.

[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, underneath the dwarves' noses, knowing that when Thor and finds out that the Arkonstone is not with them anymore, and that somehow their enemies, as he would see them at this point, have acquired it, he's going to be pissed, he's going to be really upset, and who is he going to blame?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, which of the group is not a dwarf, which of the group could have possibly come [SPEAKER_00]: We're not quite there yet.

[SPEAKER_00]: So let's dig into a thief in the night, Chapter 16.

[SPEAKER_00]: So at this point in the story, Thorn is absolutely dead set on finding the Arkansas nothing matters more.

[SPEAKER_00]: Nothing means more.

[SPEAKER_00]: He absolutely needs it.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's basically telling all the dwarves and Bilbo how important it is over and over again.

[SPEAKER_00]: For the arc and stone of my father, he said is worth more than a river of gold in itself and to me, it is beyond price.

[SPEAKER_00]: That stone is all the treasure I name unto myself and I will be avenged on anyone who finds it and withholds it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Thorne has been changing.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've been watching this happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is not somebody who would simply discover that Bilbao happened to have it and be like, oh, well, I'm glad you found it.

[SPEAKER_00]: No hard feelings.

[SPEAKER_00]: No, he's willing to go to war with armies much bigger than him because somehow he believes that he's going to make it out of this with all of the treasure and his own life.

[SPEAKER_00]: But Bilbo, he's getting the signs here.

[SPEAKER_00]: He keeps the arc and stone wrapped in an old bundle of tattered oddments that he uses as a pillow.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm sure that's not a very comfortable pillow because it's a stone.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it makes sense.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's hiding it kind of in plain sight among his stuff, just hoping nobody digs around in what appears to be a makeshift.

[SPEAKER_00]: pillow.

[SPEAKER_00]: And the days have been slow, but time is ticking.

[SPEAKER_00]: We're reminded that Dines Army 500 dwarves are two days away.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bilbo's running out of time to make a decision about what to do here.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, how do we know that their two days away?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, Roack has been tracking them.

[SPEAKER_00]: Birds can see very far.

[SPEAKER_00]: They can fly up in the air.

[SPEAKER_00]: They can see what's going on in the distance.

[SPEAKER_00]: They can travel.

[SPEAKER_00]: They can come back and Roack says, but they cannot reach the mountain unmarked.

[SPEAKER_00]: Somebody's going to notice them, mostly the other birds that have been kind of working with the elves, probably know that they're there, but they're not going to be invisible.

[SPEAKER_00]: They are 500 dwarves marching across fast open terrain, but Roach has some other wisdom as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says that they are grim folk, meaning dark of mood, battle worn, that sort of thing, but Roex, like they still aren't enough to fight back against the army's outside.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're still not going to be able to deal with that, and on top of it, winter and snow is hissing behind them.

[SPEAKER_00]: The environment around you is against you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Where will you find food for yourselves and 500 dwarves if you do not have others that you can rely on who happen to be growing food like the elves?

[SPEAKER_00]: And in his wisdom he says the treasure is likely to be your death, though the dragon is no more.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this is exactly what Spowg would want.

[SPEAKER_00]: The Dragon Sickness takes hold, greed becomes the primary motivator, and everything else gets thrown out the window and people die.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not necessarily because of his poison or his fire breath, but due to their own greed.

[SPEAKER_00]: Having studied the story of Turin and Glarrung, this feels very dragony.

[SPEAKER_00]: And yet, amidst all of this, Thorn is not moved.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says Winter and Snow will bite both men and elves, and they may find their dwelling in the waste grievous to bear, with my friends behind them and winter upon them they will perhaps be in softer mood to parlay with.

[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, [SPEAKER_00]: These are pressures, yes, but with this army and with the terrible weather that's coming and the dire straits, they've already been in.

[SPEAKER_00]: The fact that they are already wounded from the attack of the dragon, they're already starving for food because their crops and the food have all been burned up.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, then maybe they're going to negotiate more, too.

[SPEAKER_00]: The same pressure that applies to us is going to apply to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: But that is not necessarily the rational response here.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's just digging his heels in because he's not taking into consideration the fact that [SPEAKER_00]: Well, they have more options, they're not seeded into one location, they can get up and leave.

[SPEAKER_00]: They can go back, especially the elves can go back to their forest and they don't have to worry about food and warmth if they just go home and then come back later.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that's only the most dire prediction of what could possibly happen.

[SPEAKER_00]: Chances are they don't want to let up on the siege because then the dwarves could reinforce some more and they might never get them out.

[SPEAKER_00]: So what's more likely is that they would lay into them, and war would happen, and the negotiation would go nowhere.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Bilbo's plan is that he's going to do something that most people would never consider.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to risk the anger of Thorin.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to take the stone, which he has not revealed to anybody, and he's going to take it and give it to the armies outside so that they might have something to negotiate with.

[SPEAKER_00]: so that they can break this stalemate so that people don't starve and freeze in the winter so that the armies don't have to fight with each other and Bilbo's willing to give up everything that he has earned monetarily from this adventure so far.

[SPEAKER_00]: Notice.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's just the monetary things he's earned.

[SPEAKER_00]: The fact that he's brave enough at this point shows that he has already leveled up in video game terms.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's already gained something from this journey that makes him different than when he began.

[SPEAKER_00]: And that is invaluable.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can't buy that with gold.

[SPEAKER_00]: So he comes up with this plan.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to leave after dark and bombers guarding the entrance and he decides, okay, I'm going to pack up some things, I've got a rope, I've got the arc and stone wrapped up, he's not going to be able to see it.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm just going to go to the front and talk to him and we get this wonderful conversation.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is mighty cold said Bomber, I wish we could have a fire up here as they have in the camp.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why don't they have a fire up there?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it would provide light to the front of this location, and they would be able to see how many people were guarding the wall, and that's sort of things.

[SPEAKER_00]: So they'd probably do it for security reasons.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bilba says, it is warm enough inside.

[SPEAKER_00]: I dare say, but I am bound here till midnight, grumbled the fat dwarf.

[SPEAKER_00]: A sorry business altogether.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not that I venture to disagree with Thorin, may his beard grow ever longer yet.

[SPEAKER_00]: He was ever adorfe with a stiff neck.

[SPEAKER_00]: You can tell that not all the dwarves are on the same side, but they're not as enthusiastic about these decisions, and they're doing what they need to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: They need to follow their king, they need to be together in this, so they're doing what they have to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now some of them, as mentioned earlier, have succumbed a bit to some amount of greed and drag and sickness, but they're not all the way in on this.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bilbas says, not as stiff as my legs, I am tired of stairs and stone passages.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would give a good deal for the feel of grass on my toes.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would give a good deal for the feel of a strong drink in my throat, and for a soft bed after a good supper.

[SPEAKER_00]: Feels very bummer, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: I can't give you those while the siege is going on, but it is long since I watched and I'll take your turn for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you like, there is no sleep for me tonight.

[SPEAKER_00]: You are a good fellow Mr.

Baggins, and I will take your offer kindly.

[SPEAKER_00]: If there should be anything to note, rouse me first, mind you.

[SPEAKER_00]: I will lie in the inner chamber to the left, not far away.

[SPEAKER_00]: Off you go, said Bilbo.

[SPEAKER_00]: I will wake you at midnight, and you can wake the next watchman.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, this little conversation does a lot.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bilbo kind of opens up the conversation with [SPEAKER_00]: the things that he's not happy about.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, my legs are stiff.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm tired.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if anybody's had a average conversation with other people, they know that if one person airs their grievances, then the other person probably will air some grievances as well to which Bilbo then can utilize that for his own benefit.

[SPEAKER_00]: He can be like, oh, well, I can't give you a strong drink, but you know what?

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll watch the wall for you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why don't you get some extra sleep?

[SPEAKER_00]: And of course, [SPEAKER_00]: who's gonna want more sleep than Bomber, who's constantly still feeling the remnants, I guess you could say, of the falling and the rivers magic and all of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's always a little bit sleepy.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Bill Buckham predicts the fact that he doesn't wanna be there.

[SPEAKER_00]: He'd rather be sleeping, and he's able to give him what he wants.

[SPEAKER_00]: And sure, he sacrifices somebody watching for a few hours out the front, but it works.

[SPEAKER_00]: He goes to sleep and Bilbo puts on his ring then and he works his way down the wall and begins leaving.

[SPEAKER_00]: So this is Risky Behavior, first of all for Bilbo, if they found that he was just all the sudden gone with no explanation, they would be very upset with him if he showed back up later, which he plans to do.

[SPEAKER_00]: Secondly, it leaves the front gate kind of unguarded.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now sure, if an army was to march up there, they would probably hear something, [SPEAKER_00]: Somebody would be a woken and then they would have reacted, but somebody could sneak in and they wouldn't necessarily notice.

[SPEAKER_00]: Just like Bill Bo's able to sneak in and out.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he does use his ring, which raises another question.

[SPEAKER_00]: Why didn't he put his ring on to begin with and just sneak past Bomber?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, that would be suspicious, and he could be caught.

[SPEAKER_00]: He still has to climb down.

[SPEAKER_00]: He still needs to use a rope.

[SPEAKER_00]: And although the ring makes him invisible, it doesn't make him silent.

[SPEAKER_00]: He may have been caught if he used the ring earlier.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so he does it using his own abilities to convince Bomber to go back to sleep and to use some simple tools like a rope to escape and his wits to convince Bomber.

[SPEAKER_00]: It shows that he doesn't need the ring in order to accomplish great and meaningful things.

[SPEAKER_00]: In fact, he doesn't wear the ring very long at all.

[SPEAKER_00]: He makes his way down the paths and then eventually to the river and he has to cross the river.

[SPEAKER_00]: He even slips and falls in at one point and splashes around and [SPEAKER_00]: One of the elves' notices him.

[SPEAKER_00]: That was no fish said one, there's a spy about hydrolites.

[SPEAKER_00]: They will help him more than us, if it is that queer little creature that is said to be their servant.

[SPEAKER_00]: But this gives us some insight.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is a little odd that elves wouldn't necessarily know what a hobbit is, but I guess you could say that the elves of Merquid haven't really traveled over to Hobbiton.

[SPEAKER_00]: at any point.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so maybe they're not super familiar with Hobbits, but they also call him a queer little creature.

[SPEAKER_00]: They're treating him as if he's something strange and odd, and even maybe not a person of some sort, something like that.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you can tell from what happens next that Bilbo was wanting to be found and captured in order to be brought to the important people that he wants to talk to.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, Servant indeed, standing up for himself, just like anybody would, [SPEAKER_00]: And then he sneezes because he fell on the cold water was cold and I guess that's a thing that happens.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not 100% sure that just changing your body temperature quickly leads to getting a cold because germs have to be present and it takes several days for them to, anyway.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's biology about that, but this feels like a cartoony moment, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: He falls in the cold water.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's chivering and then he sneezes and then he's, you know, speaking up and then, of course, they capture him, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: Because he wants them to.

[SPEAKER_00]: He slips the ring off his finger and then the elves interrogate him.

[SPEAKER_00]: Who are you?

[SPEAKER_00]: Are you the Dwarves Hobbit?

[SPEAKER_00]: What are you doing?

[SPEAKER_00]: How did you get so far past our sentinels?

[SPEAKER_00]: And that Bilbo's response is so measured in calm.

[SPEAKER_00]: I am Mr.

Bilbo backends.

[SPEAKER_00]: Companion of Thorin, if you want to know, not servant companion.

[SPEAKER_00]: I know you're king well by sight, though perhaps he doesn't know me to look at.

[SPEAKER_00]: Because he was invisible the whole time, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: But Bard will remember me, and it is Bard I particularly want to see.

[SPEAKER_00]: Indeed, and what may be your business.

[SPEAKER_00]: Notice things have kind of turned around here.

[SPEAKER_00]: Immediately, he's not a threat.

[SPEAKER_00]: That he's not pulling a sword, he's not defending himself.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is simply approaching them, talking about why he's there.

[SPEAKER_00]: As if this was a business opportunity.

[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever it is, it is my own my good elves, but if you wish ever to get back to your own woods from this cold, cheerless place, you will take me along quick to a fire where I can dry, and then you will let me speak to your chiefs as quick as maybe, I have only an hour or two to spare.

[SPEAKER_00]: He sets up exactly what he wants, but then he also gives them something that they would want.

[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, hey!

[SPEAKER_00]: Do what I want, and maybe you guys can go home sooner, because we probably don't want to be here, nobody wants to be here, which works.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bilbo is an amazing salesman.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a very simple thing, find out what the other person wants, and then try to give them that thing, right, in order to get them to go along with what you want.

[SPEAKER_00]: But he's constantly aware of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's constantly aware of the intentions of other people.

[SPEAKER_00]: So then we get like a cut, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: They gave this was filmed and it was, but if we were doing our own new film, there would be a cut here and it would go, this is how it came about that some two hours after his escape from the gate.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bilbo was sitting beside a warm fire in front of a large tent and there's two that would just go on with that stuff.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I love the little bit here about a hobbit in Elvish armor partly wrapped in an old blanket with something new to them.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's this weird, hodgepodge of stuff, which visually represents the fact that he's unexpected in a way that also is meaningful to him as a person and his motivations and what he's about to do all of that stuff.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is not just visually odd to look at.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is unexpected in every way.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then he treats it like a business meeting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, he's like, all right, here's where I'm at.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm tired of everything.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is what's going on.

[SPEAKER_00]: I have an agreement for a share of the profits, a 14th, one 14th.

[SPEAKER_00]: And because of that, I can make decisions about what to do with my share of the profit.

[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, [SPEAKER_00]: I have the right to negotiate and to basically set terms with you on my own without the need of the dwarves because this agreement allows me to claim my share of the the treasure.

[SPEAKER_00]: We already have the treasure.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm claiming my share and now I'm going to do something with it and the contract doesn't say I can't do something with it.

[SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't say I can't give it away to whoever I want.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then there's some justification for why he's doing what he's doing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I assure you, he is quite speaking of Thor and quite ready to sit on a heap of gold and starve as long as you sit here.

[SPEAKER_00]: He will not budge.

[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, I know what will happen unless somebody does something to alleviate this stalemate.

[SPEAKER_00]: Everybody will starve, everybody will die.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so I've decided to do something because nobody else can, it seems.

[SPEAKER_00]: And you can see this in Bards' response, we'll let him such a fool deserves to starve.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's not wrong, but that would mean that other people will starve too, like we're not following all the steps in that thought process.

[SPEAKER_00]: If everyone's going to dig their heels in, then nobody's going to benefit from anything that happens from this part forward.

[SPEAKER_00]: If nobody's willing to give, then everyone will die because everyone wants for themselves.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Bilbo lays out the details details that we know they're eventually going to learn about very soon.

[SPEAKER_00]: The army of other dwarves is only two days march.

[SPEAKER_00]: Winter is coming.

[SPEAKER_00]: All of the details have been stacked and set up.

[SPEAKER_00]: And Bilbo's laying the pieces together, kind of like a board, like a chest table.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's going, okay, this is where the pieces are on the table.

[SPEAKER_00]: Can you figure out where both sides are going to move?

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, look, they're all just, they're hooked and die.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's no good way out of this, and everyone loses unless something changes.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think this conversation is kind of the final straw on the camel's back, that sort of thing, for Bilbo, he is now 100% sure based on this conversation that something has to be done, because what is confirmed here is that Bard is as stubborn as Thorin is.

[SPEAKER_00]: Not because he's under the dragon sickness and he's greedy, but that he has good reason.

[SPEAKER_00]: Good reason to demand recompense.

[SPEAKER_00]: Good reason to say that they at least should be given something for their efforts, and because they killed the dragon and because it destroyed their town.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, Bard's not going to move, as much as Thorin's not going to move.

[SPEAKER_00]: And so, something has to be done.

[SPEAKER_00]: So he does it.

[SPEAKER_00]: He brings out the Arkansas.

[SPEAKER_00]: You may say it, said he, it is this and he drew forth the Arkansas and threw away the wrapping.

[SPEAKER_00]: The Elvin King himself whose eyes were used to things of wonder and beauty stood up in amazement, even barred gazed marveling at it in silence.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was as if a globe had been filled with moonlight and hung before them in a net woven of the [SPEAKER_00]: This is the Arkonstone of Thrain, the Heart of the Mountain, it is also the Heart of Thorn.

[SPEAKER_00]: He values it above a river of gold, I give it to you, it will aid you in your bargaining.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bilbo gives away a rivers worth of gold in order to make sure that people survive.

[SPEAKER_00]: And sure, fighting a dragon with a sword is heroic, it takes courage, it takes strength, it takes learning how to deal with a dragon, takes a lot of willingness to even be there.

[SPEAKER_00]: But how many people have you seen give away more money than they would ever, ever need?

[SPEAKER_00]: In order to make sure that people they don't know survive.

[SPEAKER_00]: And themselves, I mean, there is some self-survival going on here for Billba, [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he kind of could just leave if he wanted, he'd have to wander around in the wilderness, but well, I mean, it wouldn't be very safe.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it probably wouldn't leave if he just wanted to, unless Gandalf happens to come back, but that is an interesting thing to bring up, because Gandalf is about to come back, and Bilbo doesn't go to him and say, let's get out of here, he does something very different.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm getting ahead of myself.

[SPEAKER_00]: The elven king here says something very interesting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Bilbo Baggins he says, you are more worthy to wear the armor of elf princes than many that have looked more humbly in it.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a wonderful backhanded compliment from a king, right?

[SPEAKER_00]: And an elven king who's used to young elven boys in this type of armor, not that there's many young elven boys.

[SPEAKER_00]: But as seen them and would think them much more beautiful than a hobbit because that's kind of odd.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's still a compliment nonetheless.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then the Elven King is like, well, Thorns not to be happy, so I advise you to remain with us.

[SPEAKER_00]: And here you shall be honored and thrice welcome.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this just reinforces Bilbo's character.

[SPEAKER_00]: He could stay here.

[SPEAKER_00]: He would probably be safer with them.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he doesn't leave.

[SPEAKER_00]: He says, thank you very much, I am sure, he bows and says, but I don't think I ought to leave my friends like this after all we've gone through together.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I promise to wake Old Bomber at midnight too, really I must be going and quickly.

[SPEAKER_00]: He is still a man who are hobbit of his word.

[SPEAKER_00]: his friendship's matter.

[SPEAKER_00]: He might have taken the Arkonstone from Thorin, who's claiming it, but he's arguing that it's his 14th share, so it's his right to have something of the treasure to bargain with.

[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, that's a little sticky, but it's a dire situation.

[SPEAKER_00]: And yet, there's no reason he shouldn't keep his simple promise to go wake up bomber.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even though, if Thorin finds out, well, when Thorin finds out, it's not like he's not going to know.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to be pissed, but yet, [SPEAKER_00]: Bilbo goes right back, right back there, knowing that he's going to be angry with him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if that wasn't enough to get him to stay, while he's leaving, he finds Gandalf.

[SPEAKER_00]: As they passed through the camp in Old Man wrapped in a dark cloak, rose from a tent door where he was sitting and came towards them.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well done, Mr.

Baggins, he said, clapping Bilbo on the back.

[SPEAKER_00]: There is always more about you than anyone expects.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was Gandalf.

[SPEAKER_00]: And yet Bilbo does not stay.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's been longing for Gand off to return for a very long time.

[SPEAKER_00]: and he goes anyway.

[SPEAKER_00]: Back to Thorin, back to the Dwarves.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he wants to ask Gandalf questions, but of course, Gandalf is cryptic as always.

[SPEAKER_00]: All in good times said Gandalf.

[SPEAKER_00]: Things are drawing towards the end now, unless I am mistaken.

[SPEAKER_00]: There is an unpleasant time just in front of you.

[SPEAKER_00]: But keep your heart up.

[SPEAKER_00]: You may come through all right.

[SPEAKER_00]: There is news brewing that even the Ravens have not heard.

[SPEAKER_00]: Good night.

[SPEAKER_00]: Gandalf always [SPEAKER_00]: Puzzled but cheered, Bilbo hurried on.

[SPEAKER_00]: He was guided to a safe Ford and set across dry, and then he said farewell to the elves and climb carefully back towards the gate.

[SPEAKER_00]: Great weirdness began to come over him, but it was well before midnight when he clambered up the rope again.

[SPEAKER_00]: It was still where he had left it, he untied it, and hit it, and then he sat down on the wall and wondered anxiously what would happen next.

[SPEAKER_00]: At midnight he woke up bomber and then in turn rolled himself up in his corner, without listening to the old dwarf's thanks, which he felt he had hardly earned.

[SPEAKER_00]: He was soon fast to sleep for getting all his worries till the morning.

[SPEAKER_00]: As a matter of fact, he was dreaming, Viggs, and Bacon.

[SPEAKER_00]: Now, normally I just leave it off right there, but just wanted to point out before I go to the end of the show.

[SPEAKER_00]: This is the first time he's thinking about eggs and bacon this entire time.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's not longing for home.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's doing the right thing.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's found his voice, his meaning, his purpose.

[SPEAKER_00]: And it's not until after he gets rid of the Arkansas and gives it to [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks again for tuning in.

[SPEAKER_00]: Sorry I missed last week.

[SPEAKER_00]: Some things have kind of compounded and kept me away from being able to do the episode.

[SPEAKER_00]: I did a lot of prep.

[SPEAKER_00]: I was getting ready to record and I just never quite got there because of other things going on.

[SPEAKER_00]: Personal stuff sometimes gets in the way.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I'm back.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm glad that that week is over.

[SPEAKER_00]: This week is a lot better.

[SPEAKER_00]: Things are going well and I'm excited to get into the story again and we keep getting closer to the end.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's exciting.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I did see some comments.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't always go read all the comments on Spotify because I'll just be frank, sometimes if most of the people I'm one out of like 50 is negative, if ever, but it's still I've done content creation full time now for almost six years and [SPEAKER_00]: It's still kind of hurts, you know, sometimes I've just not in the mental space to deal with criticism, especially when they don't, they aren't accurate.

[SPEAKER_00]: But, unfortunately, all of you have been very, very kind and said some very nice things.

[SPEAKER_00]: Even saying things like, oh, this Hobbit series has been great.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm looking forward to the Lord of the Rings, can't wait to dig into that, and because there's so much more there to uncover.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, thank you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you for all the kind words, and I think that's really what I'm saying here is sometimes [SPEAKER_00]: it really does matter.

[SPEAKER_00]: It really does make a difference and your kindness is noted.

[SPEAKER_00]: Also, thank you for signing up on Patreon and supporting this show.

[SPEAKER_00]: Patreon.com slash LOTR lorecast.

[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to Adam C and Jeremy C, who signed up recently.

[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you're enjoying your ad free episodes or your bonus content.

[SPEAKER_00]: There are tons of bonus episodes.

[SPEAKER_00]: I haven't decided exactly what to do with the bonus episode this week.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I will figure it out, and we'll have some fun conversation on the other side if you're one of those patron members.

[SPEAKER_00]: Also, have to shout out our VIP patrons, Fulcrum, David S.

Daniel Knightweaver, Kepenna, Richard J.

TJT, A.K.

[SPEAKER_00]: Music Lover, Barney D.

Asle Razzle, Lori B.

Mason, Weathertop.

[SPEAKER_00]: Jezor Gimli-Abrake, Divine Madman, Rosie Rosé, Ginger Fury, who on is my hero Al-Darion was right.

[SPEAKER_00]: Avarial, Matt, Party Snacks, single-ent looking for antwives, Maltau, I'm totally butcher that every time.

[SPEAKER_00]: Nor are we Genius, Balrogius, Hunteris.

[SPEAKER_00]: Chris K and Bruce W.

Thank you for your continued support and thank you for leaving reviews and ratings on Apple podcasts and nice comments on whatever place you want to put them.

[SPEAKER_00]: All of that stuff is so very kind and I really do appreciate it and [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm having a rough day.

[SPEAKER_00]: It does cheer me up.

[SPEAKER_00]: So thank you for taking the time to do that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and if you're hanging out for the bonus episode because you're patron, I'll see you on the other side.

[SPEAKER_00]: If not, I'll see you next week.

[SPEAKER_00]: Have a good one.

[SPEAKER_00]: Stay safe out there.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for listening to the Lord of the Rings lorecast.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you'd like to learn more about other fantasy worlds, check out my other podcasts.

[SPEAKER_00]: The Elder Scrolls lorecast, the Witcher lorecast, and more, at robotsradio.net.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you'd like to reach out, I'd love to hear from you.

[SPEAKER_00]: Send me a note on Twitter at robots underscore radio, or join our amazing community on the robots radio discord.

[SPEAKER_00]: There are links in the show notes, or just search robots radio discord, or find the link on robotsradio.net.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll see you next time.