The Hobbit Lost in the goblin tunnels, he stumbles across a mysterious ring and then encounters Gollum, who engages him in a game of riddles. As a reward for solving all riddles Gollum will show him the path out of the tunnels, but if Bilbo fails, his life will be forfeit. With the help of the ring, which confers invisibility, Bilbo escapes and rejoins the dwarves, improving his reputation with them. The goblins and wargs give chase, but the company are saved by eagles before resting in the house of Beorn. The company enters the black forest of Mirkwood without Gandalf. In
The Fellowship of the Ring the decision to publish "The Lord of the Rings" in three volumes was made, Tolkien had hoped to publish the novel in one volume, possibly also combined with "The Silmarillion". However, he had proposed titles for the individual six sections. Of the two books that comprise what became "The Fellowship of the Ring" the first was to be called "The First Journey" or "The Ring Sets Out". The name of the second was "The Journey of the Nine Companions" or "The Ring Goes South". The titles "The Ring Sets Out" and "The Ring Goes South" were used in the "Millennium