In these chapters, Bilbo and company keep traveling, and are in sight of the Misty Mountains. They travil through the Mountains, finally arriving at a valley, where the last safe house is, controlled by Elrond, an elf. They hear elves singing and stay at Elrond's for quite a while. They replenish their supplies, and find out about the two swords they carry and the runes that can only be read in a certain moonlight. They continue traveling up the mountains, having less and less food supplies, when two storms collide, creating a huge battle of the elements. They send the youngest dwarves out to search for shelter, and they find a cave that seems to be uninhabited. They sleep in the cave, except for Bilbo, who is wide awake because of various nightmares and the storm. A hole in the back wall opens, and goblins capture everyone but Gandalf, leading them deep inside the earth. They meet the Great Goblin, and just when the goblins are about to kill everyone, the light go out and Gandalf appears, killing goblins with his magic. They run in the dark, but the goblins get closer and closer, until they fight briefly, killing many goblins, and run farther into the tunnels, pursued by the fastest, most stealthy goblins. Dori is grabbed, and Bilbo falls, hits his head, and faints.
Does everything seem a bit to convenient to you readers? They just happened to ask Elrond about the map, and he just happened to know about the moo runes, and it just happened to be the same night it was made, making it readable, and giving them one more clue to use in order to find the secret entrance to Smaug the dragon's lair, filled with treasure. When they were searching for a cave, they just happened to come across a convenient cave that seems harmless enough, but is secretely the entrance to the goblin tunnels. Who would have guessed? It happens in every movie or book that is fantasy, and as a faithful audience, we undergo suspension of disbelief, but this is just a little bit to convenient. Something needs to go wrong, and stay wrong for a while; however, these lucky events allow the story to progress and for Bilbo to become more of a hero, so we must accept it, whether we like it or not.
These scenes is important because without them, Thorin and company would not have enough information to find the secret entrance, but more importantly, Bilbo would not have been able to show a little bit of improvement in his Hero's Journey. He is kept awake by nightmares, and is the only one alert (or awake) enough to sound the alarm (verbally) when the goblins open a crack in the wall, take the ponies (most likely to get eaten) and are about the capture the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf. Although Gandalf is the only one who is able to use the seconds warning, it ends up saving them as Gandalf kills some goblins and frees them by turning off the lights and killing even more trolls. Had it not been for Bilbo, the story would have had a very different outcome, most likely ending soon with the goblins eating our heroes. So even in the early chapters, we know that Bilbo was destined to go on this journey, and it wasn't a mistake after all, however much he grumbles ("and nor for the last time did he wish he was back in his hobbit hole,").
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