Bilbo hastily put on his warm clothes and stepped out of Bag End.
The flagstone path outside his fence was crowded with ponies, and the dwarves were seated in their saddles.
Hobbiton was very quiet at this time; over ninety percent of the hobbits were still sound asleep in their dreams.
They would not open their eyes until nine in the morning, and only after enjoying a hearty breakfast would a hobbit's day begin.
As for the remaining ten percent, they were the patrolmen carrying lanterns, and a certain big fool who had been woken up by the dwarves.
The dwarves spoke in hushed tones among themselves, worried that their voices might be too loud and disturb the still-sleeping hobbits.
"Actually, I think we really could have had breakfast before we left," Bilbo said, looking at Thorin, who was riding on his horse, seemingly lost in thought.
He noticed that Thorin had a pendant around his neck, more than he had the night before. It was an old, somewhat aged black iron key, about the size of his own palm.
That was the Lonely Mountain side-door key that Gandalf had given Thorin privately after the dwarves had rested last night, and he had also discussed news about Thorin's father with him.
Clearly, Gandalf had not brought good news, so Thorin's mood this morning was slightly subdued.
Thorin noticed Bilbo's gaze, tucked the key inside his collar, and replied, "We need to depart quickly, and I think you should get used to it. This isn't a trip, it's an expedition, Master Burglar."
Then he looked at Fili and Kili and said, "Get our hobbit a pony."
"No, no, there's no need. I still need to lock the door, thank you, I can certainly keep up with you on foot. I actually always enjoy hiking, I tell you, one time I walked all the way to Frogmorton…"
Bilbo still wanted to refuse, feeling that he could keep up with Thorin and the others just by walking.
The truth was that he had never ridden a horse before and didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of everyone.
Then he was grabbed by Fili and Kili, one on each shoulder, and lifted up.
Bilbo let out a startled cry as he was placed onto a pony's saddle.
Just moments ago, Bofur had hung all of Bilbo's luggage on this pony.
Fili smiled and patted Bilbo's shoulder: "Relax, she's a good girl, she won't throw you to the ground."
Kili added from the other side: "Provided you don't hurt her, mind your reins, don't pull too hard."
Arthur rode Torrent over at this moment; even with Bilbo sitting on the pony, Torrent was still half a body taller than it.
This sensible Spirit Horse snorted at Bilbo; it clearly remembered this hobbit and the sweet apple he had fed Torrent last time.
"Oh, Arthur. Mor-morning?" Bilbo had never ridden a horse before, so his voice trembled slightly.
Arthur smiled: "Good morning, my dear Bilbo. You don't need to be nervous, just relax your body. If you're so tense, you'll quickly feel sore in your hips. Trust your horse, and if all else fails, you can bribe it with another apple."
Bilbo felt the uneven, moving sensation beneath his bottom and said, "I'd like to use an apple, but I left in such a hurry, I haven't even locked the door! Right, I still haven't locked the door!"
Bofur passed by at this moment and tossed over a set of keys. Bilbo caught them and found they were indeed his own house keys.
Bilbo looked at Bofur and asked, "How did you get my house keys?"
Bofur said matter-of-factly, "Found them by your bedside this morning, just before I woke you up. Don't worry, Master Burglar, I carefully checked your door, and I locked it securely for you."
Then he rode off, humming a tune, on a pony about the same size as Bilbo's.
Bilbo wanted to speak but hesitated, attempting to raise his hand but immediately realizing he was on a horse, so he lowered it again, gripping the reins tightly.
Finally, he looked at Arthur and complained, "I think he's more suited to be a burglar than I am. Sometimes I really don't know what dwarves are thinking."
Arthur nodded in agreement: "That's true, but once you get familiar with the way these dwarves operate, I think you'll come to love them."
"Me? Love these dwarves? That's really not a funny joke," Bilbo said in surprise.
He took one last look back at Bag End, which was gradually receding behind him, and sighed: "But no matter what, the journey has begun."
"Yes, Bilbo. The world is at hand, home is behind. The legendary journey of a hobbit has just hastily begun," Gandalf said with a chuckle, riding up on his white horse.
Bilbo merely offered an awkward but polite smile to this wizard who was always spouting grand philosophies, and then suddenly sneezed.
Arthur asked with concern, "What's wrong, Bilbo? Are you feeling a bit cold? I have some small cold-weather items I could lend you."
Bilbo's nose seemed to be running; he rummaged in his pockets and said, "No, it's horsehair… I need to find my handkerchief."
But Bilbo couldn't find his handkerchief in his pocket.
Oh, I didn't leave it at home, did I?
Bilbo's eyes widened, and he turned sharply, about to shout loudly for the company to stop and give him time to go home for his handkerchief.
Bofur then slowed down, just as Bilbo came alongside him.
He looked at Bilbo's actions and said with an "I knew it" expression, "I put your handkerchief in the pocket by the right side of the horse's belly. I saw your handkerchief fall out of your pocket onto the floor when I was locking your door just now."
Bilbo looked at Bofur, and at the same time, reached into the pocket by the horse's belly that he had mentioned, and indeed felt a soft, clean handkerchief that smelled faintly fresh.
"Oh, uh, thank you," Bilbo nodded.
Bofur also nodded: "You're welcome."
Then, just as before, he rode his horse merrily, humming a tune, back to his brothers Bifur and Bombur.
As an aside, because Bombur's weight was far greater than that of a normal dwarf, a dwarf pony could not bear it. Therefore, the horse he rode was a normal-sized horse, which he shared with his brother Bifur.
Arthur then said, "There shouldn't be any more problems now, should there?"
Bilbo pouted: "Honestly, there still are. I woke up so early, and I haven't had breakfast yet, so my stomach is rumbling. Not only that, I haven't put on my hat, nor did I have time to bring my wallet. I'm completely penniless right now, not a single penny."
Gandalf walked over with a chuckle, somehow holding many hats in his hand: "There are many kinds of hats here, my dear Bilbo, which one do you want to choose?"
Bilbo asked loudly in surprise: "Where did you get so many hats, Gandalf?"
"Such a question is merely a trick for a wizard, Bilbo Baggins." Gandalf flicked his hand, finally changing it to the light brown flat-brimmed hat that Bilbo usually liked to wear, and handed it over.
Bilbo took it, put it on, and then asked: "The hat problem is solved, and I don't think you need me to pay for money... So how should we solve the problem of our breakfast? Let me say first, we hobbits only feel full after eating two breakfasts."
Just then, Millison rode her normal horse to Arthur's side, and after hearing this sentence, she subconsciously asked: "Why do you have to eat two meals to not be hungry?"
Bilbo smiled: "Because by the time the second meal is over, it will be almost noon, and it will soon be time to enjoy lunch."
Millison was surprised by the hobbits' appetite. She looked at Arthur, who shrugged.
Thorin, at the very front, rode his horse and turned onto a downhill path.
Following closely behind him were his two nephews—Fili and Kili, followed by Balin and Dwalin.
After them were Oin and Gloin, who were distant relatives of Balin and Dwalin.
Next were Dori, Nori, and Ori. Although they seemed inconspicuous, they were actually also members of the Durin royal family, though not direct blood relatives.
Finally, there were Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. Their status was not as noble as their companions before them; they were simply descendants of the Khazad-dûm dwarves.
And after that, there were Arthur and Bilbo.
Gandalf rode his white horse behind Bofur, Bilbo's pony walked beside Gandalf, and Torrent was on his right.
Gandalf and Arthur tacitly protected Bilbo in the center.
Lastly, there was the combination of Bernal, Millison, and Igon.
Bernal deliberately stayed at the very back, responsible for the safety of the rear of the team.
His knight's greatsword was unsheathed, its blade resting on his shoulder guard, and he rode like that, carrying it.
Due to the large number of people, the expedition team was very long, which also attracted the attention of a few early-rising hobbits.
"I say, Sir Bilbo, where are you going?" A hobbit stood by the roadside and asked loudly when he saw Bilbo.
Bilbo returned a smile to the other party and said proudly: "Me? I'm going on an adventure!"
"Adventure? Oh... You must be crazy, poor Bilbo." This hobbit chewed on the word, and after immediately understanding its meaning, he instantly lost interest in this team.
He shook his head, ready to return to his orchard to pick vegetables and fruits for breakfast later, then sit outside his door, pipe in mouth, and spend the entire day.
This was what a normal hobbit should do.
Bilbo was a little disappointed; he thought he would receive others' blessings.
But he quickly cast the hobbit's words out of his mind and began to look forward.
"Grrr—"
But the rumbling of his stomach made Bilbo realize what he should be looking forward to most at the moment: when today's breakfast would begin.
After the expedition team left Hobbiton, passed a pond and grassland, and another hour passed, Bilbo finally couldn't help but ask the question loudly.
Thorin, who was walking at the very front, heard Bilbo's shout, stopped his horse, and turned back to say: "We need to reach the Old Forest tonight, so there's no way for you to stop and leisurely light a fire to cook, Master Burglar."
Bilbo frowned and shouted: "But people always have to eat, I'm already very hungry! Aren't you hungry too?"
He looked at Arthur and asked: "Arthur, don't you think we should eat breakfast?"
Arthur blinked. He wasn't hungry yet, but he didn't want to refuse Bilbo, so he could only blink.
Then Bilbo looked at Gandalf again: "Aren't you hungry either, Gandalf?"
"Well, oh ho ho ho ho... This Shire tobacco is really good." Gandalf naturally wasn't hungry either, so he could only hold his pipe and talk about other things.
Just as Bilbo was about to continue asking, Bombur's stomach suddenly rumbled with a "grumble."
Then this sound spread like an infection, from Bofur to Bifur, then to Gloin, Dwalin, and also Fili and Kili, every dwarf's stomach successively made this sound.
"Grr..."
Even Thorin was the same.
Bilbo looked at Thorin with a smug expression, raising an eyebrow, causing the dwarf leader to look away.
Thorin said in a deep voice: "Then we'll take twenty minutes to quickly finish breakfast."
The expedition team thus temporarily stopped. In fact, the dwarves had long wanted to eat breakfast, but they didn't dare to make this request due to Thorin's authority.
Bilbo was the most diligent because he was truly starving.
He took out a frying pan and a tinderbox from his luggage, then skillfully piled small stones from the mud to build a fire.
The dwarves gathered dry weeds and branches, put them inside, and then Bilbo lit the fire.
Then he put on a solemn expression, put a small piece of butter in the frying pan and spread it evenly, then added sausages and bacon.
The dwarves immediately felt that the dry, cold hardtack in their hands had lost its taste, and their eyes were all fixed on Bilbo's frying pan.
Bilbo kept shaking the frying pan to prevent the food from sticking to the bottom, and asked: "I didn't hear clearly just now, where are we staying tonight?"
Thorin silently put his hardtack back into his bag, looked up at Bilbo, and slowly said: "The Old Forest."
Bilbo smiled and nodded: "Very good, the Old Forest... The Old Forest?"
His smile stiffened, and the frying pan he was shaking also stopped.
Bombur stared eagerly at the bacon he had fixed his eyes on, which was gradually giving off a fragrant smell, and said: "What's wrong, Bilbo? That pork bacon is about to burn."
Then Bilbo let out a mouse-like squeal: "What! We're staying in the Old Forest tonight? No, no, no, this won't do, absolutely not!"
Thorin frowned and asked seriously: "Why? What's the reason?"
Bilbo said loudly, not forgetting to give the bacon from the frying pan to Bombur: "Because the Old Forest is mysterious and dangerous! Everyone in Hobbiton says this: the trees in the Old Forest will eat you while you sleep!"
Coincidentally, at this moment, Bombur put that piece of bacon into his mouth, and grease covered his lips.