-General-
"There's a lot of noise; they seem to be having a party, don't you think so, Gandalf?" Aldril remarked, standing before Bilbo's door. He let out a small laugh, imagining Bilbo's likely anger. It would certainly be amusing to see an agitated hobbit, especially one as normally composed as Bilbo.
"Perhaps so; dwarves love a good party," Gandalf replied, then rang the doorbell, a small bell that chimed loudly.
Standing near the door, Aldril noticed the faint glow of the mark Gandalf had left earlier that day. His attention, however, was quickly drawn by an angry shout from inside the house.
"No more visitors! Go away and bother someone else! There are already too many dwarves in my dining room at this hour! And if some git made this joke – ha! – let me tell you, it's in very bad taste!"
The door swung open quickly, and Bilbo paused, taken aback for a moment as he faced the two figures outside. Bilbo felt as if he'd kicked a dwarven beehive, expecting only more dwarves to pour in. He hadn't anticipated that his morning visitors would be the ones to arrive.
Bilbo already had an inkling of what was happening. The dwarves inside kept chattering about a meeting arranged by a wizard named Gandalf, and seeing these two only fueled his suspicions. "Is the old man in the gray robes the one the dwarves are referring to?" he wondered.
His thoughts were interrupted by a deep but kindly-sounding voice. "Good evening, Mr. Baggins. My name is Aldril, pleased to meet you and sorry to have startled you this morning."
The speaker was the man with those very strange eyes that had unnerved him earlier. But seeing the polite way he introduced himself and offered an apology, Bilbo realized he wasn't so scary after all. In contrast to the grimy and boorish dwarves, this person seemed far more courteous and clean.
With the positive impression Aldril left, Bilbo's fear lessened, and with a smile, he said, "Oh, don't worry, please, come in, be my guest." Aldril nodded towards Bilbo and entered, with Gandalf following behind him.
...
Stepping into Bilbo's house, Aldril took in the chaotic scene. The group of dwarves, roughly the same height as hobbits but distinguished by their stout physiques, braided hair, and characteristic long beards, were scattered throughout the living space. Aldril noticed they were carrying large quantities of food, likely plundered from Bilbo's pantry, and piling it onto a long table.
Noticing the movement at the door, one of the dwarves spotted Gandalf and greeted him cheerfully. "Oh, Gandalf! Finally, you're here!" Hearing their companion call Gandalf's name, the others peered into the doorway and joyfully echoed the greeting.
"Gandalf! You took so long!" "Hello, Gandalf." "Good evening, Gandalf."
One by one, they greeted Gandalf. Aldril raised an eyebrow at the repetitive shouts of Gandalf's name. They sounded like a broken record, stuck on a single refrain.
Shaking his head in exasperation, Aldril looked at little Bilbo, whose face was a mask of anger as he surveyed his mud-streaked carpet. Aldril could easily understand Bilbo's despair. The once clean and quiet refuge of Bag End was now a disheveled mess. Seeing Bilbo's distress, Aldril sympathetically patted him on the shoulder.
Having finished greeting Gandalf, the dwarves then turned their attention to Aldril, speaking in unison:
"Who is he?" "Who is he?" "Who are you?"
Hearing several dwarves ask questions in chorus, Aldril imagined a group of bearded kindergarteners demanding to know his identity. The image nearly made him burst out laughing.
Watching Aldril suppress his amusement, Gandalf shook his head in exasperation. He was getting an idea of what Aldril might be imagining.
"This is the adventurer I met on the way." As soon as Gandalf finished speaking, there was a sharp knock at the door. Hearing it, all the dwarves fell silent.
Gandalf, who was standing near the door, turned and opened it. On the other side stood a dwarf taller than the others, with a meticulously groomed beard, a coat of mail, a cloak, and a luxurious fur coat.
"Gandalf, you said the house where we would meet would be easy to find. I got lost twice. If it weren't for the mark on the door, I wouldn't have found it."
The tall dwarf stepped gracefully into Bag End. As he entered, he removed his cloak, and Aldril watched as the other dwarves bowed their heads in respect.
Ignoring the newly arrived dwarf, Bilbo focused his attention on what the dwarf had just said. "Mark? There is no mark on that door! I painted it a week ago!"
Closing the door, Gandalf replied, "Yes, there is a mark. I drew it this morning."
When Gandalf spoke, Bilbo was stunned for a few seconds. No wonder all these dwarves had come to his house. This whole mess was Gandalf's fault. Quickly, Bilbo moved to Gandalf's side and shot him an angry look. Looking at Bilbo's furious face, Aldril patted him and spoke in a low voice. "I told him not to vandalize your door, but I think you made him angry by not letting him come in."
In surprise, Bilbo looked even more angrily at Gandalf and demanded, "Is that true?"
Ignoring Bilbo's indignant glare, Gandalf said, "Bilbo Baggins, Aldril," then waved his hand and gestured chivalrously at the dwarf. "Let me introduce you to the leader of the company, Thorin Oakenshield."
After Gandalf's introduction, Thorin Oakenshield immediately walked over and looked at Bilbo, whom Gandalf had recommended. "So, this is the hobbit?"
Circling him, Thorin began to question, "Mr. Baggins, do you have any combat experience?"
"Excuse me?" Bilbo asked, puzzled.
"Axe or sword, which weapon do you prefer?" Thorin continued, though his tone was calm, Aldril could detect a hint of derision. The dwarf prince of Durin, now also the King Under the Mountain, could easily distinguish someone with no combat experience at all, hence his mockery towards Bilbo.
"Well, I have a lot of chess experience, but I don't understand why you're asking me this?" Bilbo asked sincerely, though he had some guesses, he still couldn't fully comprehend the situation.
"What I figured." Mockingly, Thorin turned to look at the other dwarves and said, "He looks more like a shopkeeper than a looter." Crossing his arms, Thorin laughed, and the other dwarves joined in his amusement.
After the laughter died down, Thorin focused his attention on Aldril, scrutinizing him from head to toe, noting his attire, longsword, and bow. Thorin said, "This one does look like a warrior, but Gandalf, I remember you saying that my team only needed one raider, didn't you?" Thorin looked at Gandalf with a calm expression, but a slight annoyance could be heard in his tone.
"Yes, I did say so, but my intuition told me that if I didn't bring him, I might regret it later, and you, better than anyone, know not to underestimate a wizard's intuition," Gandalf spoke, taking a puff on his pipe.
Remaining silent for a few seconds, Thorin asked, "So, Mr. Aldril, what can you do?" As Thorin spoke, all the other dwarves focused their attention on Aldril.
In a relaxed manner, Aldril replied, "I am easily one of the best archers in Middle-earth. I doubt that even the elves compare to me. As well as being an excellent tracker, and very efficient at killing monsters such as trolls, orcs, and such."
Upon hearing Aldril's self-proclaimed abilities, some of the dwarves nodded approvingly, while others looked skeptical. Thorin frowned slightly.
"Don't you think it sounds very arrogant to say that you are one of the best archers, Mr. Aldril? Besides, we already have an archer with us," Thorin said, looking at Kili.
"I don't doubt he's good, but he can't compare to me," Aldril spoke calmly. And it was true; the original Aldril was easily one of the best archers, hence his bow skill was level 2. If at that level he could outperform an elf, he couldn't imagine how good he would be at having the skill at 3.
Listening to Aldril's words, the dwarves looked annoyed, except for one with a long white beard. This dwarf was giving Aldril a calm, assessing look.
Hearing how confident Aldril sounded, Thorin was a bit annoyed, but he didn't show it. "Is that so? Then, Mister Aldril can give us a demonstration."
With a smile, Aldril spoke. "Of course, I can demonstrate. How about this? I show you how good I am, and if I live up to your expectations, you'll take me on your team."
Hearing Aldril's proposal, Thorin looked at the group of dwarves, seeing how excited they were at the prospect of a wager. Thorin said, "Kili, come." Hearing his name, Kili quickly approached Thorin.
"Kili is the best archer we have. Compete with him, and if you manage to beat him, I will gladly welcome you to the team."
At Thorin's words, Aldril smiled and looked at Gandalf, who was also giving him a knowing smile, as they had both planned this. Gandalf had told him that dwarves were stubborn and distrustful of outsiders. Therefore, the easiest way to approach a dwarf was to demonstrate strength, beat them in a competition, or win a bet, as dwarves love to compete and gamble. This was demonstrated both in The Hobbit movie and in the competitive relationship Gimli had with Legolas.
With that said, Aldril and the others left Bag End, heading to the nearby forest, where Aldril and Kili would compete. Even the angry Bilbo set off with the others, as Gandalf pulled him along to follow them.
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