This week I now name; "What happened?" week. Basically there are just some things I noticed in the movies that I don't quite understand. So the next seven chapters will be about those moments

The first day for this week; Why did Thorin go looking for his father alone?

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After decades of wondering around they had found a new home. The Blue Mountains needed to build, needed to be created in a way that all that was left of Durin's folk could live here. Maybe even create a new life.

Thorin's father had gone missing. Not dead, missing.

As the new king of his wandering people there came new responsibilities. Ones that he couldn't easily push aside to continue his search for his father.

Every now and then he would find the time to follow up on new whispers. He was seen here, there, everywhere. Nothing made sense anymore. So he followed the voice inside his heart.

The one that told him to keep looking for Thrain because he was still alive. 

He wouldn't give up on him. Not yet.

Early on in his life he learned that no one was left behind as long as the leader was sane. Dwarves looked after each other. Even in death you were taken somewhere for a proper burial. You wouldn't be left out on the battle field.

When Thrain had first gone missing many soldiers had gone out together to look for their lost king. However, it soon became clear to them that he would never be found again.

His son needed to take over so that there was a ruler over the kingdom. 

Thorin never understood why other dwarves gave up on his father that quickly. Why didn't they felt the same in their hearts as he did? So he never gave up. And he never forgot.

Now that he was older and many responsibilities hang over his head, he went looking for his father once more. There were rumours that his father had been seen somewhere in the forests of Dunland. 

He traveled there himself since no one thought it was possible Thrain was still alive. They had better things to do, they said. 

Even his own cousin didn't see the point in going there with him. So Thorin traveled alone once more. If Dwalin would have been there around that time of year he would have come, the king had no doubt about it.

But the warrior was off traveling with merchants. Just like his nephews had done a few times already now that they were older. He didn't have to look after them as much as he used to. 

Fili would helped by the council in his absence, there shouldn't be any problem there.

So on his way he went again. He only took a pony with him as a traveling companion. Someone to talk to about their hair if the king got bored. He would swing his hair and the pony would do the same. They understood one another.

During his trip he was mostly left alone. No one bothered to talk to a dwarf. They were greedy, and would take your stuff. That was what legend told them.

Only a handful of people who had worked with the dwarves knew that they were a proud folk, brought down to their knees and in need of help. They would never voice this out loud. 

And in turn the people they came to didn't ask.

Thorin never talked much about his worries to anyone. He was sure that his old friend and his sister could see when something troubled him. But they were smart enough to not ask him about it. He wouldn't say anything.

Just shake it off and keep going. You have enough time to rest when you are dead.

Sometimes he figured it would be nice to talk to someone. However, he knew that it was not his place to share his feelings with anyone.

He was the king. He was supposed to be strong, undefeatable. Or his power would be questioned. Especially in these hard times where people needed someone to look up to, he would keep his worries to himself.

Traveling alone allowed him some time to think. 

Maybe some would say it was more risky because you had to think of everything yourself. You had to find a place to sleep, stay on guard as you rested, find food while you were weakened. 

But he prefered it at times. 

There was no one to hold him back or tell him that his search wouldn't pay off. 

By the time he had searched all of Dunland he knew that these whispers were nothing more than that, just whispers. At least he had made sure that his father wasn't there, he kept reminding himself. 

Now he would never feel regret if it had turned out to be him. Nothing could be blamed on him. Besides the fact that he let his father face the pale orc.

He still felt guilty about that. It was something else he didn't share with anyone.

Thorin traveled back North towards the Shire. In Bree he would make another stop before returning to his people. He needed to gather his thoughts before he could face anyone he knew.

Luckily, or unluckily, enough for him he met with Gandalf in The Prancing Pony. 

The wizard wasn't surprised to find him there alone after a long trip. But for anyone who didn't know the dwarf and found out that he was a king, it could seem a little strange that the dwarf traveled alone.

Didn't he have a kingdom to look after?

Wasn't he valuable enough to his people to be guarded? He could easily get hurt on his searching trips.

But the wizard didn't question his motives. He knew that everyone around him was tired to the dwarves' persistence. The old king was dead. They needed to move on.