CHAPTER 10. ONE DAY BEFORE WAR
Gandalf had just arrived to the ruined city of Dale...
...where Bard, with his a new title the Dragon-Slayer and the king of the Dale, and his people of lake-men refugees, who had barely survived from the fiery devastation the Dragon Smaug had laid upon of their currently destroyed Lake-Town until Bard had managed to kill him with the last Black Arrow, were taking the refugee now when there was no any other place for then to go after the burning of the Lake-Town.
And once Gandalf arrived to Dale, he found out that the refugee camp of the lake-men, which had been settled deep within the city, had turned instead into the massive war camp!
The hundreds and hundreds of Lake-men, who were capable to wield the swords, were everywhere in the streets and the market squares of the city preparing for the war by dressing into the old armors of the soldiers of Dale they've found from the old armories of the city and were arming themselves with the old spears, swords, shields and bows from the armories or repairing some slightly rusty and dull blades of swords and spears...
...and in the open market squares they were exercising their archery skills and sword-fighting with each others, while they had also gathered from the armories a lots of weapons, shields, helmets and armors to the squares, so that from Smaug's attack survived weapon smiths could check the condition of arms and armor and decide that whether the weapons and armors were still usable, could they still be repaired or whether they were too rusty and damaged and thus useless for them.
And, among of the for the war preparing and their skills practicing lake-men, there was thousands and thousands into the golden armors and red capes dressed elven soldiers from Mirkwood, who were marching along the streets in the smooth and extremely disciplined patrols or were guarding the walls of Dale with their longbows.
"LET ME THROUGH! MAKE WAY!" Gandalf shouted to the lake-men, who immediately jumped out of incoming wizard's way as he rode through of them along the streets, heading towards the Citadel of the city, the Great Hall, where he believed both the elven-king Thranduil and, whoever was in charge over the lake-town soldiers and citizens, were at the very moment.
He needed to get to them, to find out that what's going on here and to warn them about the great threat that was coming straight towards them from the south.
And once Gandalf reached to there, the Court Yard of the Citadel was full of the lake-men, who were gathering the weapons to there for the weapons smiths to be checked and repaired if needed, while from Smaug's attack survived and war-experienced captains of Lake-Town guard were recruiting and educating newcomers from the lake-men to use the sword, spear and bow and to fight with them, while court yard was surrounded by in the guarding duty standing and in patrols marching elves of Mirkwood.
Gandalf dismounted from the back of his horse and started to walk straight towards the Citadel, that was guarded by some lake-town soldiers, while looking in disbelief at the lake-men in their preparations for war the the large numbers of the elven soldiers.
However, his progress towards the Citadel was halted by the unwelcoming attitude from none but only one person in the presence while the others were busy with their preparations.
"No, no, no, no! Oi! You! Pointy hat!" Into the black dressed Alfrid Lickspittle called with the insulting tone for Gandalf's attention as he emerged out of the gates of the Citadel.
Gandalf turned his attention towards Alfrid, as he started to walk down the stairs, heading towards him and throwing more rudely said words out of his dirty mouth to Gandalf.
"Yes. You there. We don't want no tramps, beggars, traveling merchants, vagabonds nor gaga old gray-bearded men with the pointy hats and walking sticks. We got enough of trouble without the likes of you." Alfrid rudely said as he kept walking towards Gandalf...
...while Gandalf himself, caring less of Alfrid's insults, walked towards the Citadel's gates to ask the speak for the one who's in charge here.
And in Gandalf's eyes, judging from Alfrid's clothes as a secretary of the lake-town, Gandalf believed that he knew that who or where is the one in charge over the Lake-Town refugees... though he felt the great reluctance to ask from this rudely behaving one coming towards him, but the urgency of his message left him with no choice.
"So go on. Off you go. Back on your horse and get out of my sight before I make the guards to throw you out." Alfrid rudely added.
However, Gandalf took a direct action by raising his voice in front of Alfrid, before asking his question.
"BE SILENT!" Keep your with rude words filled tongue behind of your teeth and answer me... who's in charge here?! I demand him to come forth and hear what I have to say!" Gandalf asked strongly, hoping for the one in charge to hear him and come forth to listen to him.
His call was immediately answered, as Bard arrived from the newcomers training area and joined to Gandalf and Alfrid.
"Who's asking?" Bard demanded to know, gaining both Gandalf's and Alfrid's attentions.
Gandalf looked for a while at Bard, before opened his mouth to answer.
"Gandalf. Gandalf the Grey at your service. And who are the one I'm asking to speak with me." Gandalf asked politely, after introducing himself.
"Bard. Bard the Bowman." Bard answered introducing himself, leaving out his a newfound titles, until...
"Bard the Dragon-Slayer... and Bard the King of Dale to you, beggar!" Alfrid added, barking rudely to Gandalf's facesn before turning to Bard with the wide and his usual dirty-teeth baring grin.
"Sire, may I call the guards and throw his beggar out of here?" He asked.
Bard eyed for a while at Gandalf, considering his answer to Alfrid's request.
"No need, Alfrid. I'll hear what he has to say." Bard eventually answered, thus making Alfrid to lose his wide grin from his faces and leaving him dumbfounded.
"My thanks, Bard the Bowman, but I need to speak with you... and the elven-king Thranduil, if the presence of the army of elves means that he is as well in presence... in private meeting. I have an extremely urgent and serious news I want to share only with the leaders of the elves and lake-men." Gandalf said.
"Private meeting granted. Come, we'll keep it in Thranduil's personal tent. He's in the Throne Room of the Citadel. Follow me." Bard said as he gestured Gandalf to follow him to the Citadel, which Gandalf gladly did.
However, Alfrid started to immediately protest.
"A private meeting? What does that beggar means with the private meeting? Is it something what I'm not supposed to hear?" Alfrid said with the protesting tone, gaining both Gandalf's and Bard's annoyed attentions.
"Sire, may I remind you, that that beggar has been in here just a five minutes, and yet you're allowing him to speak with the leaders in private space... and speaking of private meeting, as a secretary of the king of Dale and the ex-master of the Lake-Town, I have a full right to be in presence of the private meeting." Alfrid said.
"Request denied, Alfrid. The private meeting is the matter of between two of us and the elven-king. Besides, there's a lot of work to do, so could you be useful and take our guest's horse to the horse stable." Bard said, as he and Gandalf turned to continue on their way to Thranduil's private tent within the Citadel.
After his request has been denied by Bard and that he was ordered to do some "dirty work in the horse stables," Alfrid frowned out of frustration as he departed from the scene, deliberately ignoring Bard's orders and leaving Gandalf's horse to the concern of the horse keepers.
During of Bard's and Gandalf's walk towards Thranduil's tent, Gandalf turned to Bard.
"While we are walking towards Thranduil's tent, may I ask you, Bard, that what's going on in here? Why the battle-ready army of the elves and all this preparations for the battle?" Gandalf asked, even though he was relieved that the elves of Mirkwood and men of Lake-Town have been allied together and were preparing to battle, but something told him that nothing in their preparations were not for what he had come to warn them about.
...
In a private meeting in Thranduil's tent in the Throne Room of the Dale's citadel, from which opened the wide view over the valley between of the Dale and the Lonely Mountain's gates.
After both Bard and Thranduil have explained to Gandalf the reasons of their peoples preparations of war, which had started after Thranduil had (mostly because of his own personal reasons about the handful of gems, the white gems of the pure starlight) declared the war against the dwarves after Bard's peaceful parley to Thorin, who had barricaded himself into the mountain with the high and strong wall in the place of the gates, to prevent war from coming and reminding Thorin of his promise about the riches as an exchange for helping him and his company of dwarves in their quest had failed.
And after hearing their explonations, Gandalf opened his mouth to speak his message for all of them.
"You must set aside your petty grievances with the Dwarves. War is coming from the south. The cesspits of the fortress of Dol Guldur have been emptied. Our common enemy is on the move from the south and its heading straight towards us. You're all in mortal danger." Gandalf said with the concerned tone of voice.
Both Bard and Thranduil listened what Gandalf just said.
Bard was the first one who openly showed his concern of these news.
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
Gandalf was about to answer to Bard's question, until Thranduil interrupted him.
"I can see you know nothing of wizards." Thranduil said, as he stood up from his chair and began to walk towards the elven-made wooden table that was standing in the middle of his private tent's inside space.
Thranduil had of course listened Gandalf's warnings about the common enemy marching straight towards them from the south and the direction of Dol Guldur, but during of which, the elven-king had immediately took the bored look into his faces...
...apparently telling that unlike Bard, Thranduil wasn't impressed neither concerned of Gandalf's news of towards them incoming common enemy, probably because he was certain, probably even a bit overconfident, about the fact that the incoming common enemy had not even a single match for his own elven army's superior soldiery skills...
...or probably he didn't believe Gandalf's warnings, due to his mind being set upon of the gems within the Lonely Mountain he so firmly desires, as well as getting rid of the dwarves who stands between of him and the gems.
Once Thranduil had reached to the table, he picked from the table the elven-made bottle, from which he dropped the wine down into two elven-made wooden cups and handed one of them for Bard and kept another with himself.
"The wizards... they are like winter thunder on a wild wind, rolling in from a distance breaking hard in alarm." Thranduil said as the elven-king calmly walked next to Bard to his left side, before he turned to Gandalf.
"But sometimes a storm... is just a storm." Thranduil claimed.
"Well, not this time, Thranduil. Even though I wish too that this is just a simply storm but it is not." Gandalf said seriously.
"The armies of Goblins of Moria and the Misty Mountains are on the move, and this is not just about the band of goblin marauders like usually. These ones are in the cruelly disciplined legions marching brutal, vicious and bloodthirsty fighters, that have been bred only for war and mindless killing, and with their numbers bigger than what we've ever seen in our lives since the wars between of them and the dwarves. Nearly every goblin from the Misty Mountain has taken part in this army. Along of them is marching the huge packs of savage wargs and the gigantic swarn of bloodthirsty bats, blocking by their numbers the sunlight from reaching to the ground, thus allowing them to march in the bright daylight. They're led under the command of Bolg of the North, the son of the Azog the Defiler himself."
"But despite his fierceness and ominous fame among his own kind, Bolg is not the true reason to triggering the vast numbers of goblins of Moria into mobilization. The far more greater and ancient Evil that has dwelt in the fortress of Dol Guldur all these years, is true reason behind of the whole existence of such of army. Our true common enemy has summoned his full strength together, and which he has now unleashed upon us." Gandalf said.
Gandalf's mentions about the Dol Guldur and the one he calls "True Common Enemy" reminded Thranduil about the information he had received from goblin, whom the elves had captured during of the ambush the band of goblins launched against his guards in the eastern border of his kingdom, when captured Thorin Oakenshield and his company of dwarves somehow escaped from his dungeons.
The captured goblin had during the interrogation mockingly warned and sadistically revealed in front of him about the destruction coming upon of his kingdom and the Time of the Goblins which the goblin prisoner revealed to be coming soon... including the last information about the soon coming flames of war and the ONE he served... reminding him about the ONE, against of whom he had fought nearly three thousands years ago alongside his own father, who perished on that day on his side.
Knowing fully well that of whom Gandalf was speaking of, Thranduil turned back to Gandalf.
"This enemy could have put this so-called mobilization in the motion a long time ago. Why show his hand now?" Thranduil asked.
"Well, because we forced him." Gandalf simply answered.
Both Gandalf and Bard took the look on their faces, which told to Gandalf that both of them demanded more detailed explanation to his answer.
"Yes, indeed. Our enemy could have done it already a long time ago, but found it unnecessary because of Smaug's own presence, which already kept the area around of Erebor under the fear of the dragon's wrath without his iron grip... and he instead remained to lurking in the shadows, recovering back into his full strength after his long lasted return."
"However, we forced him to act when the company of Thorin Oakenshield was formed and set out to reclaim their homeland back from Smaug." Gandalf revealed.
Gandalf then turned around and walked out of the tent and headed next to the King of Dale's long abandoned Throne to look towards the Lonely Mountain standing with its mightiness in front of them... and was followed by Thranduil and Bard.
"According to the vision I saw in one of the long-lost Palantírs, that I found hidden in Dol Guldur, the dwarves of Thorin's company were never meant to reach Erebor. That's why the enemy formed the alliance with Bolg by using his bitterness and the lust for vengeance he held towards Thorin from the death of his father back in the Battle of Azanulbizar as his advantage, and sent him off to hunt them down and kill them before they'll reach to Erebor." Gandalf said as he shared with Thranduil and Bard everything he had found from the vision he saw from Palantír, that had showed him the whole truth of all of this.
"But the truth to all of this is, that Bolg's master seeks the full control of the Mountain, not just for the treasure within, but for where it lies, its strategic position." Gandalf said, as he nodded his head towards the Mountain.
"If the Mountain falls in the hands of the enemy, along with its neighbor kingdoms of men, elves and dwarves, this will become his gateway to reclaiming the lands of the ancient and long abandoned Witch-Realm of Angmar far in the North." Gandalf continued.
"And if that foul Kingdom should rise again, one by one, the free lands of Middle-Earth from the north to south, Rivendell, Lórien, Shire, Grey Havens, dwarven realm of the Blue Mountains... and even Gondor itself will fall in between of two evil realms." Gandalf said, as he finished everything he had to say to them.
Bard was even more concerned about the news Gandalf just said...
...however, Thranduil still kept his calm and unimpressed expression on his faces.
"One thing about these Goblin armies you speak of, Mithrandir. If everything what did you just said about this is true, then where are they?" Thranduil asked.
Gandalf went speechless after this question.
Bolg and his armies had of course gained the huge head start, after he had got imprisoned into the fortress of Dol Guldur, and in fact, Gandalf was quite surprised that he had reached to the Mountain to warn Thranduil and Bard about the incoming mortal threat from the south a long before the Bolg and his armies.
But he could not say where they were at the moment, if not here already.
...
The answer to Thranduil's question was right behind of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, where was dug into the solid ground about seven large and wide tunnels that led to beneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain. And a wide plateau behind of the ridge was filled with the tens of thousands of heavily armored and armed goblin soldiers in the disciplined units, whom were marching in the lines one by one into the underground tunnels.
The only units who didn't entered into the tunnels, were those goblins who had mounted in the backs of the wargs and the giant wolves and the bats, because the bats' main purpose was to block the sunlight from reaching into the valley, so that the light will not bother the goblins eyes during of the fight and that the warg-riders and wolf-riders served as the cavalry when the attack will be launched.
Ragash was at the moment riding through of one of the tunnels in the back of the grayish-brown warg, as he headed to the entrance of the tunnel, where he met Bolg, who was waiting for Ragash's report about the progress of their preparations with his nine other heavily armored goblin captains, The elite unit of over eighty Bolg's personal heavily armored bodyguard, one hundred of goblin mercenaries from Goblin Town, who were carrying the large horn and banners, plus thirty wargs and fifteen warg-riders.
Other six goblin generals and the unit of seventy sitting on the backs of their still standing wargs, along with Bolg, who was waiting for his last captain's report in the outside of the tunnels entrance.
"Everything is settled, my lord! Our armies will be in positions by dawn! Our attack will be sudden and swift once the command is given." Ragash reported in the Black Speech, as Bolg gave to his white-furred warg the piece of meat to be eaten.
And then, they were then visited by couple armored goblin scouts from the Goblin Town, who rode in the backs of the giant wolves from behind of the ridge to meet Bolg and give their own reports.
"Men and elves are all assembled within the city. Heavy defense and a large number of battle-ready lake-men and elves elite troops." One of the goblins reported to Bolg in the Black Speech.
"And yet there is coming the third army; the army of dwarves, from the eastern hills towards the Mountain, with large and heavy legions, cavalry and war machines." Another goblin said, finishing their reports.
The wide grin appeared in Bolg's faces... this information was too good to be true. Not only leading his armies into the war against the elves and men hiding like cowards within the walls of the city in the Valley, this offered him and his armies the golden opportunity the wipe out another great number of dwarves in Durin's line within one day... which will be the huge progress in his father's life-goal in wiping out the whole blood-line of Durin.
However, while eyeing his goblin scouts, Bolg sensed the strong scent of their nervousness.
"Are they aware of our presence? Do they expect or suspect our attack." Bolg asked, disgusted of the goblin scouts cowardly nervousness.
"No, master. None in the city seems to be aware of our presence, least about our attack." One of the goblins answered.
"The incoming army of dwarf-rats is big, but not as big as the army of filthy elves within the city." Another goblin answered.
"But its the facing of the dwarves and elves united their superior soldiery skills against us. They will take a lot of us down." Another one of the goblins said, openly revealing the reason of their nervousness.
Bolg snorted loudly out of disgust and frustration of their nervousness.
Bolg was still well aware of the old and still fiercely burning old grudges between of elves and dwarves for many centuries, so he was convinced that it was impossible if those two people would willingly unite with each others... except if they're forced to face together the common enemy of all peoples of Middle-Earth.
Bolg turned from the goblin scouts to the large entrances to the underground tunnels in the wall of the ridge, and watched the goblin legions entering in the underground, where the goblin army had settled to rest after the long march to gather their strength and wait for the good opportunity and attack command to launch their full attack upon the valley and everybody who stands in there at tomorrow's dawn.
"You fools! They might have the superior soldiery skills, but we have superior numbers and the biggest advantage for the surprise attack from their unawareness. Because those fools have forgotten what lives beneath these lands." Bolg said, as he climbed onto the back of his warg and rode with his captains and other minions a bit further away from the ridge to show his scouts of his massive armies marching into the underground tunnels one large unit after another.
"THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN... THE GREAT EARTH-EATERS!" Bolg declared, as to his declaration was answered by the loud and deep thunder-sounding and devouring-like voice coming from the darkness of the underground tunnels.
The Dark Lord that dwelt in the darkness of Dol Guldur had summoned from the Eastern Deserts to his armies aid about seven gigantic and massive creatures of the ancient world, what Bolg called Earth-Eaters... the Were-worms, large worm-like creatures, which had not seen for the thousands years and were labelled as a mere myth in the many stories.
The Were-worms, by the orders of the Dark Lord, had with their massive strength dug the six large tunnels deep into the solid ground, forming the large underground cavern beneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, where the legions of goblins had then afterwards marched to make their war camp and wait for their opportunity to attack to the Valley... as well as waiting for Brutish and his war-beast reinforcements from Gundabad to join them.
However, Brutish had managed to arrive to their camp a day earlier than expected.
As the troops were moved into the caverns beneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, Bolg and Brutish were speaking with each others, during of which Brutish confirmed in his report that the word Bolg had received about the massive goblin legions of Gundabad - along with the savage herd of goblin berserkers and the regular eagle-sized and more vicious for the war bred bats of Gundabad - having been assembled, battle-ready and right on their way towards the Mountain under of his command.
(As early said) Since the chaos the company of dwarves had caused in the Goblin Tunnels in the High Pass, including the death of the Goblin King, the goblins of every goblin-populated huge underground caverns beneath of the Misty Mountains from the High Pass to the north, at least all those whom had not joined as mercenaries to the army of the Guldur Moria goblins, had been gathering with the large numbers within and around of the Mount Gundabad after the word of the death Great Goblin had spread like the wild fire or plague among of the numerous underground goblin-populated caverns and colonies... and the re-triggered the deep hatred towards the dwarves in the goblins evil hearts - as well as their lust for vengeance against them for the death of Azog the Defiler in the past - had drawn even more goblins to travel from the Hills of Ettenmoors, Mountains of Angmar and Grey Mountains to Gundabad, where they have forged weapons and armor, made the unholy alliances with the monsters and prepared their war machines for days, until there was standing the Third Age's most greatest ever seen army of goblins and other monsters such as has not been seen since the Great War between the dwarves and goblins, and that the army was twice larger than what the army from Dol Guldur was... battle-ready and within their all minds the only one goal; to claim the domination of the North for themselves by destroying the kingdoms of the men, elves and dwarves... and yet their motivation had got even more fire after the news of the dragon Smaug's death, which they saw as an good opportunity to launch their full-scale attack upon the Mountain.
After arrival to the Gundabad, Brutish had immediately taken the full leadership over of these armies and led them off from the Mount Gundabad.
However, Brutish had separated from Gundabad's head army nearly all war-beasts and ordered the higher goblin captains to lead the main army towards the West Ridge of the Mountain, while he himself leads nearly all the war-beasts his brother-in-arms ordered from Gundabad through the shortcut.
Brutish had then arrived to the enters of Bolg's underground war-camp after the nightfall, through of underground tunnel leading from the northern border of the Mirkwood to the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, dug by the seventh gigantic were-worm, through of which Brutish had brought the Gundabad's war-beast reinforcements to join Bolg's army.
Brutish had brought with him through the underground tunnel, the cavalry of the goblin archers, who were riding in the backs of the huge and monstrous black dire-birds of Gundabad and the massive swarm of smaller but still various-sized were-worms with the snake-like bodies, monstrous mouths with the monstrous fangs and four lizard-like clawed limbs...
...the massive group of several dozens of 9-12 ft tall pale-gray-skinned Gundabad Ogres, along with the several much larger individuals, which were about 25 feet tall. Neither of the ogres wore the heavy metal armor but the smaller ones of them wielded the large wooden clubs fitted with iron spikes and the bigger ones the gigantic steel iron maces with the spikes. One of the ogres, more muscular one, was equipped with a stone headpiece upon his head and who was supposed to serve as the living battering ram, while some ogres were carrying the tall and wide ladders in their backs. And among of the largest ogres was also some, who were truncated at the limbs, and whose arms were replaced with the chained hideous-looking flails, and their legs were replaced with the wrecking ball-like maces. They were blinded by piercing their eyes and there was chains fixed from these ogres eye sockets to a chair on their backs, enabling them to be controlled by a goblin driver.
...and finally, the massive white-furred and 25 feet tall mountain apes, who were carrying the large wooden catapult mechanisms on their backs and having the small armored crew of Misty Mountains goblins operating it.
And when the war-beasts entered into the caverns beneath of the southeastern ridge of the Mountain, Brutish had finally finished his report.
Bolg was even more than just satisfied of the arrangement of the troops, because even though the goblin army coming from Dol Guldur could suffer the huge casualties in front of the heavy defense of the city of men and in front of the elves superior soldiery skills when it's time to launch the attack, despite the fact that the allied men and elves in the valley are still greatly outnumbered, besieging the city would cut from the elves and men any chances to escape from the Valley and with the massive reinforcements from Gundabad when they arrive to join the battle - let it be the open battle or siege of the city - the goblin legions would be able to surround all what's left from their enemies from every corner and eventually crush them down between of two fronts!
And even then if the battle is already over and the Mountain is conquered when the reinforcements arrive, with the armies of Gundabad they would be able to conquer afterwards the elven realm of woodland... and especially, the dwarf kingdom in the eastern Iron Hills, due to the fact the those Hills are ruled by the another dwarf, whose head was also as Bolg's target for his part in the permanent downfall of his father.
"The reinforcements will be here tomorrow, ready to drink the dwarf blood, taste the man flesh and slaughter the filthy elves!" Brutish added.
"Excellent!" Bolg snarled with the sadistic pleasure.
"Go back to the legions of Gundabad and keep them behind of the hill in the West Ridge of the Mountain, on which lies the old ruined fort and tower, on the top of which I'll place my his command post and the garrison to protect it. Meet me there once you've arrived. Now, go!" Bolg ordered.
And with the command, Brutish squeezed his hand into the fist and hit with it against his chest, before he climbed back onto his warg and disappeared back into the tunnel the gigantic were-worm had dug from Gundabad to here for the war-beasts of Gundabad.
And after Brutish was gone, Bolg then turned his warg around and gestured his captains, bodyguards, goblin mercenaries and pack of wargs and warg-riding soldiers to follow him.
"Come, we're gonna rotate the Mountain to behind of its west ridge undetected by the enemy, and we shall then settle our command post on the top of the fort's ruined tower. We must be ready before the dawn. On the move!" Bolg ordered, as he departed with his personal garrison for the hill in the West Ridge called... the Ravenhill.
Small trivia.
- While watching the BotFA movie the first time, including the extended edition, I clearly saw the overweening pride in Thranduil's voice during of his, Gandalf's and Bard's private talking, and I also wanted to give the reasons to it, which were either the unmatched superior soldiery skills of the elves or those gems Thranduil fiercely desired.
- I also wanted to add into this chapter that Bolg will be aware of incoming dwarf army and gets prepared to the dwarves war-tricks during the battle. The armies of evil being aware of the incoming dwarves presence wasn't part of the main role in the book and film, because the goblins/orcs just came and attacked everybody in the Valley.
- I also wanted to add the goblins original reason/motivations and the goblins original mobilization to go to war against the free peoples of Eriador from the book... which in my opinion should have been the reason for Gundabad armies being involved to the war in the film.
- I also admit that I may have done a bit excessive adaptations to Gandalf's movie lines when he tells about the incoming threat to Thranduil and Bard.