After hearing Thorin's words, Balin nodded and pulled out five thick stacks of paper contracts from within his wide, date-red clothing.
Balin smiled and then said, "These are standard procedures, mainly including cash expenses, contract duration, due remuneration, and funeral arrangements, among other things."
Bilbo's previously relaxed expression immediately tensed up again when he heard the last word.
After handing one stack of contracts to Bilbo, Balin stood up and handed the remaining four to Arthur and his companions.
Arthur quickly scanned the contract Balin handed him, confirmed there were no issues, and swiftly signed his name.
Millison and Igon both signed their names without even looking at the contract after Arthur had signed his.
Bernal looked at it briefly but was quickly dazzled by the dense regulations and explanations in the Dwarven contract, then signed his name as well.
Our hobbit, however, began to read word for word after hearing Balin mention "funeral arrangements," and coupled with the fact that hobbits are naturally sensitive to contractual documents, he read with extreme care.
Bilbo opened all the contracts in his hand; the long contract was almost as tall as a hobbit.
"Oh..." Bilbo mused, looking at the Common Tongue written in Dwarven artistic script.
[Terms as follows: Remuneration paid upon success, if there is profit, no less than and no more than one-seventeenth of the total profit.]
Bilbo nodded to himself: "Hmm, that's quite fair."
[We are temporarily not responsible for injuries caused by the following reasons, or sustained injuries resulting from these reasons, including but not limited to: dismemberment...]
?
Bilbo confirmed he hadn't misread and glanced at Balin.
And Balin, the amiable dwarf, smiled politely at Bilbo.
Bilbo lowered his head to the contract again and continued reading.
[Evisceration, incineration to ash.]
Bilbo abruptly snapped the contract shut, clutching it in his hand.
His hard-won adventurous spirit and the bloodline of the Took family were frightened by these few words.
Bofur found it amusing and deliberately asked, "What's wrong, our Baggins?"
Bilbo took a deep breath and exhaled, patting his chest and saying, "Nothing, I just think there are too many dwarves in the house, and they've taken all my fresh air."
Gandalf glared at Bofur again, his straight eyebrows almost standing on end, and he said, "Don't scare away the courage Bilbo has finally mustered, otherwise, without him to sneak into the Lonely Mountain and steal the arkenstone, I'll send you to confront that Dragon who is familiar with the smell of dwarves."
Bofur immediately fell silent.
Balin looked at Bilbo, who was breathing heavily, and asked with concern, "Are you alright, old friend?"
Bilbo patted his chest again and said, "Yes, I'm much better, at least I won't faint."
Balin nodded and asked again, "So, is our Burglar going to sign his name on this contract?"
Bilbo pursed his lips: "Uh, actually I can sign, it's just..."
As he had said before, he was indeed very timid; just some descriptive words in the contract made the highly imaginative Bilbo think of himself dying tragically under Smaug's claws.
Bilbo looked at Gandalf and Arthur separately and asked, "It's just, can you guarantee that I can return safely?"
Gandalf was about to answer, but Arthur replied before him: "I cannot fully guarantee your return, Bilbo. But I can assure you one hundred percent that you will not be in any danger before I die. If an enemy wishes to harm you, then he must step over my fallen body."
Bilbo looked at Arthur; from the other's eyes, he saw no fear of the unknown dangers of adventure.
Gandalf then said kindly, "Bilbo, I remember when you were little, you always left home and went into the woods to find Elves. You would stay out very late, only coming home after dark, with mud, twigs, and fireflies on your feet. What that little hobbit wanted to know most back then was what lay beyond the Shire."
Bilbo sighed and said, "Yes, yes, Gandalf, I know what you want to say. The world is not in my books, my maps; it is outside my window."
Then he smiled and looked at Arthur: "Arthur, do you remember the first time we parted, I asked you if I should go out and see the world?"
Arthur nodded: "Of course, I remember how I answered you. Do you have an answer to that question in your heart now?"
Bilbo held up the thick stack of contracts in his hand, walked to the table, picked up a pen, and signed his name: "Yes, I think besides reading your adventure stories from books, I also want to write an adventure story about myself. If I can return, perhaps I will be different from how I am now."
Upon hearing Bilbo's words, Gandalf looked at this timid yet brave hobbit with gentle eyes.
After signing his name, Bilbo looked up at the people around the dining table and asked, "So what should we do next? Do we need to hold another dinner for my friends and Arthur to successfully join the expedition?"
Bombur, who was caressing his big belly, immediately nodded excitedly upon hearing Bilbo's words: "That would be excellent!"
Kili rolled his eyes at Bombur: "We're not like you; Bilbo has already filled us up with the dinner just now!"
Bilbo scratched his head: "Although I'm not sure how much you ate, I think there should still be leftover food in the kitchen, enough for a midnight snack."
Fili quickly said, "Thank you for your generosity, Sir Bilbo, but we really can't eat any more."
Bilbo saw that even Balin and Dwalin, two dwarves, were shaking their heads, and then said somewhat unenthusiastically, "Alright then."
Arthur let out a kind laugh: "I forgot the hobbits' habit of eating several meals a day. You see, Bilbo, just in terms of eating, you are already stronger than dwarves."
However, a dwarf immediately objected, Gloin bellowing, "dwarves' strength is not in eating, but in drinking! Baggins, do you want to compete with us to see who can drink the most?"
Bilbo looked around, seeing all the dwarves who became energized at the mention of "wine," and quickly said, "If there are no further activities, I think we can disperse and rest! When does this adventure start, tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?"
Then he muttered to himself, "Oh, I should lock my door tightly after I leave, lest the Lobelia family covet my Bag End and steal all my silver cutlery while I'm away."
Thorin said, "I think you should go prepare your luggage for the journey, Burglar. We will depart early tomorrow morning; there isn't that much time for you to pack slowly."
dwarves never procrastinate; once they decide on a goal, they set off immediately.
Arthur was accustomed to the dwarves' way, but Bilbo evidently hadn't expected them to depart so early.
This left him momentarily conflicted, unsure what to bring.
A sleeping bag for the night, a light and convenient blanket, and clean clothes for changing; perhaps I should also bring some soap for bathing or washing clothes by the river.
Bilbo gradually became excited; this was his first time deciding to travel far, and to go on an adventure with a wizard and dwarves, making his heart pound.
It seemed Bilbo would have trouble sleeping tonight.
Arthur then said, "In that case, why don't I take this opportunity to introduce the helpers I brought with me on this journey!"
Thorin, hearing this, laughed happily, "Alright, let's quiet down and listen to what powerful helpers the great wizard, Lord of the Erdtree, Arthur, has brought us!"
Bilbo, still excited, quickly pulled up a stool and sat by the dining table, pricking up his ears and widening his eyes, intently waiting for Arthur's words.
The dwarves quieted down, and except for Fili and Kili, the other dwarves looked expectantly at Arthur.
Thorin mainly wanted his compatriots, excluding Fili and Kili, to know how powerful the three humans who came with Arthur were, hoping to boost morale.
After all, they were facing the Dragon that destroyed their homeland; Thorin knew that although these brave dwarf compatriots had answered his call, they surely still feared Smaug deep down.
He had sent many letters to Arthur, and Arthur had replied to each one seriously, introducing the three humans who came with him to Thorin.
Bernal, there was no need to say more about him; Thorin knew he was Fili and Kili's teacher, and he had seen it with his own eyes.
The growth of Fili and Kili was evident to him and the other dwarves; although their personalities hadn't changed much, their strength was already far greater than last year.
The dwarves had actually heard about Bernal from Fili and Kili, so when Arthur introduced him, they all clapped enthusiastically.
Although Bernal had never taught the other dwarves, they, who also regarded Fili and Kili as their crown princes, already considered Bernal the dwarves' esteemed teacher, hence their enthusiasm.
Bilbo, on the other hand, was secretly surprised, because he knew Bernal was a human of similar strength to Arthur; Arthur himself had told him this.
"The Quasi-King" Bernal, he remembered Arthur calling him that.
Wait, could it be that these three humans Arthur brought were all legends from his stories?
So Bilbo looked closely; he first looked at the silent, beautiful woman sitting next to Arthur.
Crimson hair and that striking golden metal prosthetic arm, she must be Miss Millison, whom Sir Arthur spoke of! She is a swordsman of noble character!
And the other old man, whose armor seemed patched together, with pupils like a dragon's, must be Sir Igon, the dragon Warrior who faced the "Mad dragon" Beller with Sir Arthur!
Bilbo was so excited he almost cried out.
He hadn't expected to go on an adventure with three legends from stories.
Oh my goodness, I'm actually meeting living legends.
As Bilbo's heart stirred, Arthur finished introducing Millison and Igon.
However, compared to Millison, the dwarves paid more attention to Igon, after all, his title was "dragon Warrior."
And their ultimate enemy on this journey was Smaug, a dragon.
"That's great! We have a powerful dragon Slayer with us this time; Smaug will surely die by his hand!" Bofur said happily.
Igonlaughed loudly, "This old man promised Arthur that even if it costs me my life, I will plunge my harpoon deep into that Dragon's body!"
Harpoon?
The dwarves, like Millison at first, showed confused expressions when they heard Igon mention a harpoon.
Arthur promptly added, "The harpoon Igon mentioned is actually an arrow he made from a rock similar to Dragon scales."
Only then did the dwarves' confused expressions disappear, and they started loudly chattering among themselves again, disparaging Smaug with many voices.
Thorin clapped the table again, saying loudly, "Alright, Sir Arthur has finished introducing his powerful allies; now it's time to rest! Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur, you three brothers help our Master Burglar clean the kitchen, and everyone else can go find a room to rest."
Hearing Thorin's words, Bilbo snapped out of his excitement and quickly stood up from his seat: "Bag End has many rooms, but some are a bit winding, I'll lead the way for everyone."
The night passed, and as expected, Bilbo couldn't sleep due to overexcitement, so he started checking his luggage again to make sure everything was ready for the next day.
It wasn't until dawn that he finally closed his bright eyes from exhaustion and collapsed onto the bed.
But poor Bilbo felt as though he hadn't slept long before he was shaken awake.
"Hey, hey, Master Burglar, wake up." Bofur came to Bilbo's bedside and shook his shoulder.
Bilbo groaned wearily, his eyes still heavy with sleep, and he yawned as he half-sat up from his warm covers: "Is it time to leave?"
Bofur smiled at the sleepy hobbit, nodded, and said, "Yes, Thorin and the others are already ready outside, they're just waiting for you."
Then Bofur looked down at a leather case and two bulging cloth bags by the bed and asked, "Is this all the luggage you're taking?"
Bilbo hadn't fully woken up; he nodded: "Yes, these are them... Hey, where are you taking them?"
Bofur slung the leather case over his shoulder, then easily picked up the hobbit's large cloth bags, one in each hand, and was about to turn and leave.
He turned his head after hearing Bilbo's cry and said, puzzled, "To help you carry them out, of course."
Bilbo's sleepiness vanished, and he became alert, asking quickly, "Wait, out? Don't you need to eat breakfast? Shouldn't we eat our fill and then depart in the warm morning sun?"
Bofur suddenly understood and shook his head with a smile: "No, breakfast can just be a quick bite while riding on the road. Hurry up, Bilbo, don't keep Thorin and the others waiting."
Then the dwarf walked out of Bag End with the hobbit's luggage without looking back.