Editing Thorin Oakenshield (section)

===''Unfinished Tales''===
''[[Unfinished Tales]]'' elaborates on Thorin's reasons for accepting Bilbo into his company. As depicted in the story "[[The Quest of Erebor]]", Thorin met with Gandalf in [[Bree (Middle-earth)|Bree]] shortly before the quest began.  Gandalf persuaded him that stealth, rather than force, was needed to infiltrate Erebor; they would therefore need a burglar. Gandalf feared that [[Sauron]] could use Smaug as a weapon, and was concerned that Thorin's pride and quick temper would ruin the mission to destroy the [[Dragon (Middle-earth)|dragon]]. He thought that Bilbo would be a calming influence on Thorin, as well as a genuinely valuable addition to the company. Thorin, who did not think much of Hobbits, reluctantly agreed, calculating that Bilbo's presence would be a small price to pay for Gandalf's help.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}}, part 3, ch. 3 "[[The Quest of Erebor]]"</ref>