30
THE HOBBIT - A Musical
Act I
BOMBUR. We'd picketed them by the river-we went to
look for berriesTHORN (in a rage). Can't you get it out of you? What
happened?
BIFUR. There was this awful sound-·
BOMBUR. Tons of rock came hurtling downFILL On the ponies? (BIFUR nods. FILl, to Tl!ORIN, who
is in momentGlY s/;ock.j Sir, we'll dig them out!
BOMBUR. They were swept away. The whole riverbank
crumbled.
THORIN (in desperate hope). You'd offloaded? (The ttA/O
shake their heads negatively.) Imbeciles! Why not?
BIFUR. We were afraid. We saw this campsite-BOMBUR. Some of the ashes were still warl11-THORIN (contemptuousl)). A travelers' fire-BIFUR. The tracks were so big-BOMBUR. There were bones all around-they weren't animal bones. (Limply hands THORIN a few bones.)
THORIN (examining the bones, then ji-owning and speaking gravely). These are the bones of mortal man and his
children. The tracks around were big, you said?
BOMBUR (importantly). Biggest I've ever seen.
THORIN. Balin. (The two confer over the bones, BALIN
nodding agreement to THORIN's conclusions.) It's a
troll camp.
BILBO (dismayed). Trolls!
BALIN. Call Gandalf.
GLOIN. He's not here.
THORIN (harshly). Where is he?
GLOIN. How would I know? I just noticed a while ago he
was gone. (The D WAR VES look at each other, haggard
with dismay.)
Act I
THE HOBBIT - A Musical
31
BILBO (cheel:fully). Things are not so bad.
THORIN (harshl)1. Perhaps our burglar has a suggestion?
We're hundreds of miles from home without ponies or
supplies. Trolls may be near-goblins, too-and Gandalf
is gone.
BILBO (hesitantly). Why-uh-actually, we're better off
than we were five minutes ago. (DWARVES exclaim indignantly from every side.)
DWARVES. How so? Better off? But we're in danger
nowBILBO. We're in no more danger than we were five minutes ago. But were better off now because we know it
and can do something about it.
DW ALIN. Do what?
BALIN (contemptuousZY). Are you suggesting that thirteen
dwarves and- (bows with mock deference) -a burglar
can defeat a party of tro lIs?
BILBO (:;turdily). Yes.
DORI. That's ridiculous!
NORI (contemptuously). Shows how little you know about
trolls!
BILBO (deftantl)1. I do know about trolls. Just lately I
heard something important about them.
NORI. What?
BILBO. I can't remember.
ORI (with contempt). That's a help!
GLOIN. A few trolls could eat us up for appetizers.
BIFUR (loftily). I, for one, intend to die fighting. (The
other DWARVES stand slumped in attitudes 0.[ despair.)
BOMBUR. I vote we quit. Our supplies are gone. Without
food we might as well give up.