Chapter 13 · Smaug and Bilbo—Making a Friend
Gandalf turned and walked away, his stride firm, as though he had made up his mind.
No—
Gandalf had made up his mind.
Whether the fool Thorin Oakenshield liked it or not, they had to go to Rivendell and ask Lord Elrond to decipher the map.
Without the map properly interpreted, pressing on would be pointless.
Even if they somehow reached the Lonely Mountain, entering Erebor would be nearly impossible—let alone stealing the Arkenstone.
So Gandalf decided to scout ahead first, then find a way to bring Thorin and the others to Rivendell the next day.
He walked quickly.
Before long, he was gone.
Just then, Smaug—still in the form of a crow—arrived and spotted Gandalf in the distance.
After a moment's thought, Smaug chose not to follow him and instead flew onward.
It didn't take long.
Quite naturally, Smaug soon saw Thorin Oakenshield and his company. He landed lightly on a nearby tree, completely unnoticed.
Smaug knew the events of the film by heart. One glance at the situation—and at the expressions on Thorin's group—was enough for him to piece together what had just happened.
Heh. So much for "principle."
Once they're surrounded by Orcs and staring death in the face, won't they still obediently crawl their way to Rivendell?
Smaug chuckled inwardly, decided there was no rush, and waited quietly.
Before he realized it, night had fallen.
Thorin's company gathered around a campfire, eating dinner and drinking ale.
Dwarves had to drink—without alcohol, life simply lost its flavor.
Smaug, who had been resting in the tree the whole time, judged that the moment was right. He fluttered down lightly and landed on Bilbo Baggins' shoulder.
Since Gandalf's departure, Bilbo had felt deeply uncomfortable.
Which was only natural.
In truth, ever since leaving Bag End, Bilbo had never really fit into this company.
And that had a lot to do with Thorin Oakenshield's belief that a Hobbit was useless—and would never amount to anything on this journey.
The other twelve Dwarves treated Bilbo fairly well—but because of Thorin Oakenshield, that goodwill was always limited.
Already uncomfortable, Bilbo suddenly felt a raven land on his shoulder and couldn't help but be surprised.
"Huh? Where did this raven come from?"
"Ravens are very perceptive creatures," said Balin, smiling kindly. "They usually don't approach people so easily. Looks like it likes you."
"Is that so?" Bilbo replied, tilting his head slightly to look at Smaug. "Are you hungry?"
Smaug was hungry—he hadn't eaten properly in days—so he nodded.
"It understands me?!" Bilbo exclaimed in amazement. He quickly tore off a piece of bread and held it out.
Bilbo didn't doubt it for a second.
After all, who would ever suspect a raven?
And so, Smaug and Bilbo got along surprisingly well.
---
After a while, at Thorin's command, the brothers Kíli and Fíli were assigned to stand watch.
The remaining Dwarves sprawled on the ground and soon fell asleep.
Gandalf still hadn't returned. Worrying that Orcs might be hunting them, Bilbo held on for as long as he could—but eventually sleep claimed him as well, curled up beside the fire.
Smaug had already moved to a nearby tree.
Looking down at the fool Thorin Oakenshield…
Right here.
Right now.
He could turn that idiot into ashes.
It wouldn't end the whole story—but it would at least wipe out half of it.
But where was the fun in that?
Tomorrow, he still planned to turn into a warg and scare the life out of Thorin.
Smaug chuckled silently, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.
---
At the same time—
Under the moonlight, Dol Guldur welcomed an uninvited guest.
The Brown Wizard Radagast, gripping his staff tightly, stepped inside with visible unease.
At present, Dol Guldur held few Orcs and felt eerily empty.
But its history alone made it terrifying.
Radagast walked slowly, taking a long time to cross the old bridge.
Then—
One of the statues beside him moved.
Radagast froze, breaking out in a cold sweat, and slowly turned around.
A wraith burst out from the stone, dagger in hand, slashing toward him.
Radagast, more druid than battle mage, hurriedly defended himself.
Fortunately, a wraith was still only a wraith. It was quickly defeated, its dagger clattering to the ground.
The dagger did not belong to this age.
Radagast recognized it instantly. His heart sank—things were far worse than he'd imagined. Steeling himself, he picked it up.
At that moment, black mist surged forth not far away.
It was only mist—Sauron himself did not appear.
Even so, the mere presence of it terrified Radagast.
Thinking fast, he turned and ran—fast.
The black mist did not pursue him.
It was thinking.
More precisely, Sauron—far away in Mordor—was thinking.
Was Radagast's appearance a coincidence?
Or had Smaug already revealed the secret of Dol Guldur?
After only a few seconds, Sauron decided it was coincidence.
If Smaug had exposed Dol Guldur, more than a single, limited wizard would have come.
"Still… I must accelerate my plans."
Even so, given Radagast's status as a wizard, Sauron knew the secret of Dol Guldur could not remain hidden for long.
---
The night deepened into the small hours.
While standing watch, Kíli and Fíli suddenly heard movement. They exchanged a glance, rose together, and moved toward the sound.
Smaug heard it too and opened his eyes, taking flight at once.
In the blink of an eye, he found them—
Three trolls sat around a campfire, sharing a horse, their intelligence clearly… limited.
They were so focused on eating that they never noticed Smaug.
After a quick look, Smaug returned and landed once more on Bilbo's shoulder, gently pecking his neck.
Bilbo woke at once.
"What is it? Hungry again?"
Smaug didn't speak—he simply kept turning his head, indicating the trolls' direction.
Bilbo didn't understand at first, but after repeated gestures, he finally guessed.
"There's something over there?"
Smaug nodded.
Bilbo was instantly wide awake. "What is it? Orcs?"
Smaug shook his head.
"Not Orcs?" Bilbo tried again. "Gandalf?"
As a raven, Smaug couldn't speak—and describing trolls without words was a challenge.
So he stopped gesturing, took off, and flew toward the trolls.
Bilbo didn't dare delay. He jumped up, hesitated briefly, then hurried over to wake Balin.
Why Balin?
Because Balin was the wisest—and the easiest to talk to.
A few minutes later, eleven Dwarves—including Thorin—were awake.
"The raven told me there's something over there," Bilbo whispered nervously, pointing toward the trolls.
The foolish Thorin Oakenshield burst out laughing.
"Oh? The raven told you?" he mocked. "Did it speak? And how exactly did it tell you?"