Gandalf appears at Bilbo Baggins's door and convinces the reluctant hobbit to host a gathering of dwarves seeking a burglar.

Thirteen dwarves arrive at Bilbo's home and reveal their plan to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug.

Gandalf rushes Bilbo out the door and the hobbit runs to join the waiting dwarves at the Green Dragon Inn.

Three trolls capture the entire company until Gandalf tricks them into arguing until sunrise turns them all to stone.

Elrond of Rivendell reads moon-runes on Thorin's map, revealing the secret mountain entrance can only be found on Durin's Day.

Goblins kidnap the company through a hidden cave door; Gandalf reappears and kills the Great Goblin with his sword.

Bilbo beats Gollum in an underground riddle contest, forcing the creature to unknowingly lead him out of the goblin tunnels.

Wargs and goblins trap the company in burning trees until the Eagles arrive and carry everyone to safety.

Bilbo kills giant spiders with his sword and rescues all the dwarves from their webbed cocoons in Mirkwood forest.

Bilbo steals the elf guard's keys, hides each dwarf inside a wine barrel, and floats them down the river to Lake-town.

Bilbo sneaks invisibly into Smaug's sleeping chamber and steals a golden cup, awakening the dragon's rage.

Smaug attacks Lake-town with fire; Bard kills the dragon with a black arrow through the bare patch on his chest.

Bilbo sneaks out of the mountain at night to give the Arkenstone to Bard and the Elvenking as leverage against Thorin.

The three armies are forced to unite against a goblin and Warg invasion; Thorin charges out of the gate and is mortally wounded.

Thorin dies from his wounds, Dain is crowned king under the mountain, and Bilbo returns home to find his belongings being auctioned.

Bilbo Baggins is recruited by Gandalf and thirteen dwarves to help reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. Along the way, the company survives trolls, is kidnapped by goblins, and is rescued by Eagles before navigating the dangers of Mirkwood forest. Bilbo proves himself indispensable by escaping Gollum with a magic ring, freeing the dwarves from wood elves, and infiltrating Smaug's treasure hoard. The dragon's attack on Lake-town ends with Bard killing Smaug using a black arrow through his one vulnerable spot. Conflict erupts when Bilbo secretly gives the prized Arkenstone to Bard as a bargaining chip against Thorin's greed, but a goblin invasion forces all parties into a desperate alliance. The Battle of Five Armies claims Thorin's life, leaving Dain as king under the mountain while Bilbo makes his long way home.

The quest's most pivotal milestones, from Bag End to the Lonely Mountain.

The dwarves feast, play music, and discuss their plans to share treasure from the Lonely Mountain late into the night at Bilbo's home.

Gandalf presents Thorin with a map of the Lonely Mountain and a small silver key that belonged to Thorin's grandfather.

Bilbo attempts to pick a troll's pocket to prove himself useful as a burglar and is immediately caught and captured.

Elrond identifies the two fine swords taken from the trolls' cave as ancient elvish blades forged in Gondolin for the goblin wars.

A violent thunderstorm and stone-giants hurling boulders force the company to shelter inside a cave in the Misty Mountains.

After escaping the goblin tunnels, Bilbo reunites with the dwarves and recounts his escape story while deliberately omitting any mention of the ring.

Gandalf introduces the company to Beorn, a bear-shaped skin-changer, who provides ponies and supplies and warns of Mirkwood's dangers.

Gandalf parts from the company at the edge of Mirkwood, warning them with great seriousness never to leave the forest path.

Bombur falls into Mirkwood's enchanted black stream while crossing and sinks into a deep, unbreakable magical sleep.

Bilbo climbs the tallest oak in Mirkwood to see above the canopy but discovers the dark forest stretches endlessly in every direction.

Thorin becomes separated from the company in the dark forest and is captured by wood elves who throw him into their dungeon.

Thorin announces himself as King under the Mountain at Lake-town and the entire town celebrates the company as legendary returning champions.

The company scouts the barren, scorched desolation surrounding the Lonely Mountain and Bilbo discovers the stairs leading up to the secret door.

Bard and the Elvenking's combined army approaches the mountain gate to negotiate peacefully but Thorin refuses all discussion and drives them away.

Gandalf reveals to Bilbo at Rivendell on their return journey that his long absences were spent helping drive the Necromancer out of Mirkwood.

The adventure truly begins at Bilbo's home, where dwarves feast and sing before Gandalf provides Thorin with his grandfather's map and a silver key pointing to the mountain's secret entrance. The company's stay in Rivendell yields crucial knowledge about their weapons and moon-rune inscriptions, while violent storms and stone-giants make the Misty Mountains treacherous before goblins strike. Encounters with Beorn, who provides provisions and grave warnings, and Gandalf's solemn departure at Mirkwood's edge mark the last moments of relative safety before the forest's trials begin. Mirkwood's enchanted stream claims Bombur and exhausts the company, while Thorin's solo capture by wood elves and the remaining dwarves' surrender leave Bilbo as the only free member of the party. Lake-town grants the company a triumphant welcome before Bard and the Elvenking's failed parley sets the stage for conflict at the mountain, and Bilbo finally learns on the journey home that Gandalf's long absences were spent driving the Necromancer from Mirkwood.

The supporting scenes and encounters that shaped the journey's outcome.

Bilbo hears the dwarves' plan and feels the unexpected stirring of an adventurous desire rising against his hobbit instincts.

Separated from the dwarves during the chaos of their goblin escape, Bilbo falls into complete darkness and loses consciousness.

Bilbo's hand touches a cold metal ring on the tunnel floor and he slips it into his pocket without knowing its significance.

Gollum rows to his island to fetch his ring, discovers it is missing, and screams in fury as Bilbo realizes his murderous intent.

Bilbo slips the ring on and discovers its power of invisibility, sneaking unseen past Gollum and a host of goblins into sunlight.

Beorn returns from the forest to warn the company that goblins are still actively hunting them and are furious over their chief's death.

The starving company abandons the Mirkwood path to chase mysterious lights in the dark and becomes completely scattered in the forest.

Bilbo awakens wrapped in a giant spider's web, cuts himself free, kills the spider with his blade, and names the weapon Sting.

Bilbo is forced to use the ring openly during the spider battle, revealing its existence to the astonished dwarves for the first time.

Fading twilight strikes the rock face at the exact moment needed to reveal the keyhole; Thorin uses the silver key to open the door.

Bilbo flatters Smaug into rolling over to boast about his armored scales, inadvertently exposing a bare unprotected patch on his left breast.

The old thrush that overheard Bilbo's report of the weak spot whispers the secret to Bard just as he draws his very last arrow.

After secretly delivering the Arkenstone to Bard's camp, Bilbo unexpectedly encounters Gandalf, who praises the hobbit's shrewd and courageous strategy.

Gandalf throws off his disguise as a bent old man at the mountain gate, demanding Bilbo's safe return to the company.

Dying from battle wounds, Thorin summons Bilbo to his side to beg forgiveness, praise his worth, and part as true friends.

Bilbo's journey is defined by a chain of inner and outer turning points that gradually reveal his true character and capability. Finding the ring in the goblin tunnels sets in motion events that will define not only this story but Tolkien's broader mythology, and Bilbo discovers its power of invisibility during his desperate escape from Gollum's reach. In Mirkwood, he awakens alone in a spider's web, names his blade Sting after killing his captor, and is later forced to reveal the ring to the dwarves during the rescue battle against the spiders. The secret door's moonlit keyhole and Smaug's boastful revelation of his one bare chest patch mark the quest's crucial turning points, shifting the balance of power toward the company. When rising greed threatens to destroy everything they have achieved, Bilbo's decision to secretly surrender the Arkenstone stands as his greatest act of courage, and Thorin's dying reconciliation with Bilbo delivers the story's deepest emotional resolution.