Later today (at 6pm EDT New York time) Hall of Fire will be discussing the next chapter of The Hobbit as Thorin and Co. venture deep into the heart of The Lonely Mountain.
Little they ate and little they spoke. They could not count the passing of time; and they scarcely dared to move, for the whisper of their voices echoed and rustled in the tunnel.
Hobbit: Chapter 13: Not At Home
It is hardly a pleasant thing to be trapped in a dragon’s back hallway, and Thorin and Company are soon compelled to find a way of escape, right through Smaug’s treasure chamber. Due to Bilbo’s quick action, the dwarves were saved from Smaug’s first onslaught, but what now is to become of them?
Again it is Bilbo who takes the lead, offering to spy out the Dragon’s lair a third time. But Smaug is nowhere to be found. When the dragon’s away the dwarves will play, and there is much joy at the first sight of the tremendous hoard.
Thorin rewards Bilbo with a dazzling mithril coat, and Bilbo himself finds a treasure worth all the rest combined, the great Arkenstone, Heart of the Mountain.
Escape is finally made and comparative safety found, but larger questions loom. Will the Dwarves lust for wealth overcome their good sense? Even if they could get out the treasure, how would they get it home? Has Bilbo been seduced by the lust for riches? How will they survive the oncoming winter? Most of all, where, oh where, is that Dragon?
Join us in The Hall of Fire (in #thehalloffire live on our chat server irc.theonering.net) this Saturday at 6pm EDT as as we discuss The Hobbit: Chapter 13: Not At Home.
Upcoming discussions
Saturday August 1: Morgoth
Saturday August 8: The Hobbit: Chapter 14: Fire and Water
Saturday August 15: Orcs and goblins
Saturday August 22: The Hobbit: Chapter 15: The Gathering of the Clouds
The Front Gate by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Time zone conversions
Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, check our handy Event Announcer over on Time and Date for the correct time in your area.
America:
6.00pm EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)
Europe:
11.00pm BST (London)
Midnight CST (Paris)
1am EEST (Helsinki)
Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
10.00am NZST (Sunday) Wellington
How long do your topic chats go for?
Our chats usually last about an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!
Where — connection details
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. It is based on internet relay chat technology (that means it’s hella old skool). It’s a text-only, moderated chat room full of eccentric Tolkien fans. We’re open 24/7 (although some times are busier and more active than others).
There are many ways to connect to the chat server. However, the easiest is generally to use a browser-based client. We usually direct folks to Mibbit:
* TORn Mibbit Widget
* Mibbit direct (as opposed to the widget above, this allows you to see others joining and leaving)
If you’re more oldschool or technically adept, you can install one of the scores of standalone chat clients that available for desktop and mobile devices. Just plug in our server details (see bottom) into the client and connect.
* Xchat: http://xchat.org/ (Windoze PC and Linux. Free)
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* AndChat: http://www.andchat.net/ (Android app for mobile. Free)
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Our server details:
IRC server name: irc.theonering.net
Channel/room name: #theonering.net
Port: 6667 (6697 for SSL connections)
