Tomorrow, Hall of Fire returns to The Hobbit as we delve into the events of Chapter 14 — “Fire and Water”.

“The dragon is coming or I am a fool!” he cried. “Cut the bridges! To arms! To arms!”

Thus the people of the lake-town, Esgaroth, are warned of their approaching doom. As Smaug vents his fury on these innocent villagers, it seems that nothing can save them from the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities. But things are never quite as bad as they seem…

Tolkien’s children’s tale finally grows up. Gone are the foolish trolls, goblin songs and doggie waiters. Now the themes of life and death, honor and courage, trust and revenge get full sway.

Was Bilbo responsible for the tragedy at Esgaroth? Is the mysterious thrush just an ordinary bird, or is there more to it than meets the eye? And what of Bard? Was this grim-faced man an early version of the warrior heroes later met more fully in Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion?

These questions may be asked and answered, but what we have here is one of the most exciting parts of a most exciting tale!

So if, like the dwarves, you wish to hear news of Smaug, join us this Saturday October 22 at 6pm EDT in #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net as we look at “The Hobbit: Chapter 14: Fire and Water”.

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