There and Back Again 2 Trivia Quiz

The adventure doesn't begin well. The dwarves do not really see Bilbo Baggins as being the burglar that the wizard Gandalf has tried to make him out to be. And then they stumble into a camp of three Trolls - Bert, Tom, and William. Bilbo tries to pick their pockets, and they catch him. Then they capture all the other dwarves and wrap them up in sacks to save for a future meal.

It's Gandalf to the rescue! He tricks the Trolls into staying out past the break of dawn, which turns them into stone. This gives Bilbo's group the opportunity to loot the Trolls' cave, where they find an absolute treasure trove. They help themselves to some cool looking swords and bury the rest for future retrieval.

Next the group encounters elves, traditional enemies of dwarves. Even so, they are invited to stay with Elrond, a good friend of Gandalf's, who feeds them for two weeks. His help turns out to be invaluable for more than one reason. He can translate the map, and finds words and symbols that have previously been unnoticed.

They learn final directions that will be used to uncover the treasure they seek. In addition, Elrond recognizes the swords taken from the Trolls, and translates some of the markings on them.

The Goblins they encounter are especially suspicious of the group, not surprising considering they possess swords that have been used in the past to kill Goblins. The Great Goblin commands that the members of the group must be executed; however, one of the swords seemingly acts on its own accord, and runs through the Great Goblin, killing him.

In the fight with the Goblins, Bilbo is knocked unconscious. He wakes to find himself alone in a passage that leads to an underground lake. This is the domain of Gollum, who is quite the odd fellow. He lives alone in the darkness and talks to himself, "my precious".

During his travels throughout the tunnels, Bilbo finds a ring, but really doesn't take the time to think about it much. As it turns out, the ring is just what he needs in order to become a proper burglar.

Chased from Gollum's caverns by Goblins, Bilbo is reunited with his comrades. Their escape, however, seems impossible when they begin to hear the howling of wolves in the distance. They climb the trees for protection, and Gandalf fights off the wolves by hurling fiery pine cones at them.

The Warg return, however, with Goblin reinforcements, and set fire to the trees. Bilbo's group is in a terrible predicament.

Gandalf thinks his trick with the fiery pine cones is slick, but it backfires. The Wargs set the trees where the group hides on fire, and they are stuck - either be consumed by the flames or surrender to the wolves. There is a great commotion, which is heard by the Lord of the Eagles. He brings the other eagles to rescue them all.

The eagles pull off a nifty rescue, but they really can't take the guys any further. People shoot at them when they fly, and that would endanger everyone. They do, however, find some food for the group to roast and shelter them for the night.

Next the fellows find Beorn, a skin changer who is a bit of a recluse. Gandalf warns Bilbo that they must be very careful not to upset him. Wooed by stories of their adventures up to this point, Beorn slowly takes to the group and invites them to eat supper at his table.

When they leave Beorn's home, he gives them badly needed food and weapons, along with ponies that will make their journey easier. He also gives them valuable advice concerning future obstacles in their path.

Oh, wow! Crossing the enchanted stream proves to be quite a daunting task, and the group loses much of their newly gained provisions. They catch glimpses of elves in the forest, who apparently do not want to make contact with them. After falling asleep, Bilbo wakes up and finds himself taken prisoner by spiders, and is bound by their webs.

He frees himself, puts on the ring, and goes to find the others who have also been bound by webs. He rescues them, and, in the process, reveals his possession of the ring. Now Bilbo can be a proper burglar and earn some respect as well. This is the first time in the story that he's not been the underdog!

By the time the group is out of the forest of Milkwood, Gandalf has left to go on some other mission, and they are left on their own. Luckily, Bilbo slipped on his ring when the group is captured by Wood-elves. The Elvenking, Thranduil, whose name is learned in another Tolkien epic, isn't too happy because the dwarves refuse to tell him what they are doing in his neck of the woods.

This is another instance when Bilbo is able to shine, and gain even more of his comrades' respect. He is able to go from place to place undetected in the Elvenking's cave palace, and is able to hatch out a clever plan that is successful. Their escape takes them smack dab into Lake-town, which means their long journey is over and the really tough work begins.

The purpose of the dwarves' journey is to travel to Lonely Mountain to retrieve the treasure that Smaug has stolen from their kind in the past and re-establish themselves in their homeland. It is a difficult journey, but now they face even a greater challenge. How can they possibly defeat the dragon and keep the treasure for themselves?

Of course, when reading the next chapters of the book, it becomes apparent that the creatures that are met along the way will also play an important role once the real battle begins. Which side will win? Who will survive?