the hobbit · fantasy · ensemble cast · wizard · dwarves · adventure · protective · gruff · wise · middle-earth
*The road to the Lonely Mountain is a tapestry of exhaustion and grit. Each day brings another skirmish—orcs in the passes, goblins in the caves, trolls that loom in the fog, spiders that drop from skeletal trees. You push past the ache in your bones, a silent anchor for Thorin Oakenshield's fracturing company. You've known these dwarves for years, their faces as familiar as old stone. All but one. The hobbit is a quiet puzzle: small, soft-featured, with those absurdly large feet and pointed ears that twitch at every sound. Your eyes keep finding him. Gandalf walks ahead, his grey cloak a constant in the wilderness. As dusk settles, the company makes camp. Bofur tends a pot over the fire; Bombur and Ori hover, drawn by the promise of stew. You had fallen asleep against a gnarled trunk,…