This work is a sequel to my story, The Sons of Durin, and picks up fairly close to where that tale ended. The short stories found in the collection Children of the Lonely Mountain add a great deal to the canon of this world, but are, perhaps, not as necessary in order to enjoy this piece.

When Mr. Bilbo Baggins, once of Bag End, and now resident on the Lonely Mountain, announced that the Sons of Durin would shortly be celebrating the anniversary of the opening of the mines of Beinn Chuirn with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Tyndrum.

More accurately, there was talk and excitement throughout the length and breadth of Scotland, and anywhere else that the notoriety of his adopted family had spread. Tyndrum, being the closest settlement of any size to their remote location, played host to much of the preparatory activity, and the local inhabitants watched the celebration take shape with great interest.

Summer had come to Beinn Chuirn with special brilliance. The heather on the hillsides was bright and alive with the hum of dancing bees, and the children of the Lonely Mountain splashed in the little burns and climbed the trees with wild abandon at all hours, under a brilliant sun that hardly seemed to set. It had taken a full year of work to bring the mines into full operation - but with the work, prosperity had come to Beinn Chuirn and the whole surrounding area. Tyndrum was full of life, and the people who lived around the mountain looked upon it now with fond gratitude, already forgetting the years of superstitious fear about the place.

Thorin didn't see the point of the party.

"Don't we have enough to worry about, without inviting half the country up here to gawk at us?" he grumbled to Bilbo - but only to Bilbo, and only in restrained tones. It was great progress for him, and Bilbo welcomed it with hidden delight. "The mines are running, yes, and are nearly self-sustaining now - but there's so much more to be done! I do not see why we must waste our time this way."

"You're just annoyed that I've invited Thranduil," Bilbo retorted, turning away to grin down at his invite list, taking care to hide the smile. "You know you want to show it off, Thorin. The work you've done here is remarkable! Why shouldn't the whole country come and marvel?"

"There is that," Thorin admitted after a thoughtful moment. "And it will be good to have everyone together again for a while. When are Fili and Kili coming up?"

"I don't know," Bilbo said, frowning. "I meant to speak to you about that, actually. I've tried to get hold of them to let them know, but I've had no response, and it's been close to a week. Is everything alright with those two?"

"I haven't heard anything from them in a fortnight." Thorin's face darkened with the worry that had once been an inescapable part of his expression, but which Bilbo had seen less and less often as they settled into the comforts of their life on the mountain. "It's not like them to miss check-ins."

"They're civilians now!" Bilbo said. He forced a bit of a chuckle, trying to lighten Thorin's mood, though a shiver of nameless worry went through him as well. "And young men, what's more. They're exploring their freedom - and I'd say they've more than earned it. Do see if you can get them up here for the celebration, but please don't cause a scene!"

"I was young myself, once," Thorin reminded him, sounding darkly amused. "I know precisely how much trouble they could be getting themselves into." But he smiled a little as he began the laborious process of texting the lads, and Bilbo knew their ability to manipulate him would be as well-honed as ever, no matter what they had been getting up to.

Bilbo turned back to his inspection of the party preparations. There were huge tents and banners, and streamers blowing in the warm summer breeze, giving the little mountain clearing the air of a festival. The hill sloped gently in that place, offering plenty of room for the masses of tables and chairs that were yet to be set up.

"No good," a warm voice said conversationally, just behind Bilbo, and he turned to see Bofur grinning cheekily down at him. "You have many admirable talents, it must be said, but I'm afraid you've missed out the most important part of the celebration!"

"I haven't!" Bilbo said, immediately beginning to flip through his alphabetised organisational charts. "Cakes are arriving first thing in the morning, and enough food to feed half of Scotland for a week. Alcohol by the barrel, and more hidden away in case we run out early. We've got mine tours for the media, and I think Bombur is planning to make a speech, if we can't get him distracted in time. Gandalf is even bringing in fireworks - don't ask me how. I've been looking after all the preparations for weeks now! What could possibly be missing?"

Bofur just grinned at him, holding up a finger to indicate he should wait and listen - and then, from away up the mountain, came the unmistakable drone, followed by the first clear notes. Bagpipes - and then there were drums, beating out a rhythm that made his feet twitch, and Bilbo sighed in acknowledgment. "Music, of course. I hadn't even thought! Who've you brought in to play?"

"Us, of course!" Bofur laughed aloud at the surprise on Bilbo's face, and patted him on the shoulder. "It's no good thinking you've got the entire measure of us just yet, lad. I dare say we still have some surprises in store for you for some years yet."

Bilbo smiled at that, the familiar warmth rising in his chest at the easy certainty of that statement - the assumption that he would be with them for years to come. It was something he could not yet take for granted, and the part of his head that was still partially a lonely grocer from Linlithgow never ceased to be surprised. "I never knew you lot played," he said quickly, to cover up his flutter of joy.

"We didn't often get the chance on the road." Bofur stretched languidly, turning his face up to the sun with a contented smile. "Here, we are free."

Bilbo nodded, and felt yet another swell of gratitude toward the mountain that had made such peace a possibility for his weary friends. "So, music, then," he said after a moment. "Anything else that I've forgotten, oh planner of parties?"

Bofur gestured at the open space in front of them. "Not so long as you've accounted for the dancing!"

"Dancing?"

"Goes with the music, of course! And what sort of party could it be without dancing?" Away up on the mountain, someone's pipe gave a sudden and terrible squawk, and a roar of good-natured laughter drifted down on the breeze. It was good.

Bilbo sat up late that night - far later than was wise, but there were always more details to be looked after, and the stars were very bright and welcoming in the clear night's sky, if one sat up late enough to see them. He was sitting by the embers of a dying fire, smoking a pipe that was a lasting piece of evidence that the Sons of Durin had corrupted him, when Gandalf arrived.

"Gandalf! I didn't expect to see you here tonight!" Bilbo said cheerfully, waving him over, but not bothering to get up to greet the man. "I thought to see you tomorrow morning. I don't suppose I shall ever get used to the way you just turn up."

Gandalf raised one bushy eyebrow at him, and lowered himself into the soft grass with a groan. "Yes, well. And you, Bilbo Baggins! I don't believe I shall ever cease to be surprised by your capacity to adapt to your situation! The fussy young grocer I knew for so many years would never have thought of sitting alone at night on a mountain, surrounded by hardened criminals." Bilbo laughed aloud at that, since the last of those hardened criminals he had talked to had been Ori, who was coming to show him the truly horrible mittens he had just finished knitting for Frodo. It was hard, sometimes, to remember that there had ever been a time when he had been afraid of them. "You seem to grow younger with the years, Bilbo," Gandalf mused. "I knew all along that your little adventure would do you good."

"Little adventure?" Bilbo scoffed. "Is that what you call it? I still wake up shocked to find that we're all still alive, thanks to that little adventure of yours! Next time, I'll thank you to leave me out!"

"Really?" Gandalf peered at him with eyes made sharp by the glowing embers. "Are you truly content to sit here in quiet the rest of your days?"

Bilbo shifted uncomfortably, the quick, easy answer dying on his lips. Of course he enjoyed the peace! It was what he had longed for all throughout his adventure, and he knew it was what Thorin and the rest had been searching for more than two decades to regain. And he did love the mountain, and the contentment on the faces of his family…

"No more adventures," he said certainly, and pushed back the wave of disappointment at his own words. Just because he got itchy feet, or found himself dreaming of the wild thrills and dangers of their adventures at the worst possible times, was not reason enough to risk what they had. "We'll thank you to keep those to yourself from now on."

Gandalf shrugged, and looked away into the dying fire for a long moment. "I wish that I could promise you I would," he said eventually. His voice was very low. "But I am afraid, Bilbo, that more excitement than you wish to see may be coming."

Bilbo's heart gave a leap - of fear or excitement, he was not sure - and he sat up, leaning toward Gandalf. "What's wrong? Is it Smaug? I thought he was still locked up!"

"He is," Gandalf assured him with a calming wave of his hand. "And we will speak of it at length soon enough." He was quiet another moment, and then seemed to shake himself awake, smiling at Bilbo. "After all - it would not do to interfere with your long-expected party, now would it?"

Well, I'm back.

I've been threatening - ahem, promising - that this sequel would be in the works for far too long now. I'll be totally honest and tell you folks that I have no idea how often I'll be able to update. I'll do my best, but my life is sort of a disastrous hellscape on a few fronts right now, and I cannot predict from one day to the next what it might look like. I swear I'll do my best, and ask you to bear with me!

This work is going to dive fairly deep into the Lord of the Rings material. Some aspects of the story will be very familiar, and others will hopefully be quite unexpected. Expect to see an overwhelming number of characters, all in due time!

On a really selfish note, I'm writing this again (instead of my original novels) because I need to be part of the community and offer something of some value. I very much hope you all enjoy, and look forward to going back to this wonderfully bizarre world. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. ~ Kivrin.