[ Thorin gives Bilbo a slight nod in response to the greeting - which is more or less his usual reaction to such pleasantries, if he acknowledges them at all, especially when his mind is on other things, and there is definitely a familiar sort of gleam in his eye. It's the sort of look he has when he has grasped a means to a particularly important end, which Bilbo has seen at least a couple of times before. He does, however, reach to slide that plate of food across the bar to the hobbit as he settles into that chair. It seems likely that he wasn't planning on eating any of it at all, and was perhaps even waiting for Bilbo's inevitable arrival. ]

According to the locals, there is a way back. [ He leans in to explain abruptly without preamble as the barkeep turns to put away a stack of clean dishes. As untrusting as Thorin is of this place, he can't deny the sense of hope that this has given him. For the first time since he woke up in this strange, yet oddly familiar, land, he has a heading. ] They call it a portal, it's some sort of gate between this world and ours. He's not sure of the distance, but he says if we follow the road to the east, we'll find it. We are not the first to come this way.

[ It's nothing like anything he's ever heard of, but it's the only lead he has, and from what he can tell, this man seems honest enough, and probably has no reason to lie about it. It's enough. He has to see this for himself. What choice does he have? He can't just sit here and wait. He does not know precisely what might be waiting for him back there, but it's home, and he wants to return to it with as much fierce desire as ever.

And Bilbo... He has an even longer way to go before he gets back to the Shire. Thorin is going to do everything he can to make certain he returns to Bag End. ]