Bilbo Baggins gasped for air as he fled from the goblin caves, his heart pounding in his chest. Each step was a struggle as he stumbled over gnarled branches and twisted roots, disoriented and cut off from the rest of the company. The night was oppressive, the sky shrouded in darkness with no guiding moonlight to illuminate his path. Amid this impenetrable blackness, a faint glimmer of light seized his attention... and then, without warning, he collided headlong into the ground, coming face to face with an unknown person.