Tomorrow (or later today, for some of us), Hall of Fire returns to The Hobbit as we delve into the events of Chapter 12 — “Inside Information”.

“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.”

The party has found a way into the mountain, yet one insuperable obstacle remains — Smaug. Yet the seem dwarves reluctant to approach, leaving Bilbo to do all the work. What does it say about Thorin’s character that he pushes Bilbo to go into the darkness alone? And what does say about Balin that he chooses to accompany Bilbo part of the way when the others find it beyond them?

“Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did.” What do you think passed through Bilbo’s mind, standing there all alone, in a dark tunnel with Smaug ahead? How is his subsequent riddling session different from his one with Gollum?

How do you think he fares considering the doubts Smaug raises about his companions motives? Are those doubts justified, or is it just Smaug’s spell? And just what all does this chapter tell us about Dragons?

Join us this Saturday (September 10) at 6pm EDT in #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net when we’ll discuss these questions and many others as we look at Chapter 12 of ‘The Hobbit’ — Inside Information.

Time zone conversions

Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help.

America:
6.00pm EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)

Europe:
11.00pm GMT (London)
Midnight CDT (Europe)

Asia-Pacific
8.00am (Sunday) Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
11.00am (Sunday) Wellington

Our chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!

Where — connection details

Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.

Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.

Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire