Ambitions of a Mountain King (The Hobbit Fanfiction)

Chapter 16: Battle Part 2

  A rumbling is heard in the distance, and the armies look up to see the ridge being covered by troops of heavily armored dwarves, lead by a huge dwarf riding a battle-pig.

"Ironfoot." Gandalf sighed.

The Erebor dwarves begin cheering and screaming as they see their backup arriving.

"Rush the shield-fence!" Thranduil rides through his army as his Elves and the Lakepeople turn away from the gates of Erebor and begin marching quickly toward the oncoming Iron Hills dwarves. Gandalf strides along with them, Bilbo rushing to keep up.

"Who is that? He doesn't look very happy." Bilbo questioned.

"It is Dain, lord of the Iron Hills - Thorin's cousin." Gandalf sighed.

"Are they alike?" Bilbo asked.

"I always found Thorin the more reasonable of the two." Gandalf raised his eye brow and looked up at the mountain.

The two armies halt a short distance from one another, and Dain rides his pig onto a rocky overlook to address the Elves and Men. "Good morning! How are we all? I have a wee proposition, if you wouldn't mind giving me a few moments of your time. Would you consider...just sodding off!" The townspeople, clutching their weapons, step back in fear, while the Elves pull out their swords and step forward. "All of you - right now!"

"Stand fest!" Bard urged.

Gandalf strides forward. "Come now, lord Dain!"

"Gandalf the Grey. Tell this rabble to leave, or I'll water the ground with their blood!" Dain exclaimed.

"There is no need for war between dwarves, men and elves! A legion of orcs march on the mountain. Stand your army down!" Gandalf urged.

"I will not stand down before any elf! Not least this faithless woodland sprite!" Dain gestures toward Thranduil, who looks angry. "He wishes nothing but ill upon my people! If he chooses to stand between me and my kin - I'll split his pretty head open! See if he's still smirking then!"

Thranduil smiles furiously, and the Erebor dwarves cheer. "He's clearly mad, like his cousin!"

"You hear that, lads?!" Dain turns and rejoins his army. "Come on! Let's give these ***** a good hammering!"

A dwarf yells out a command, and the Iron Hills dwarves raise their weapons and cheer. The Elves perform a complicated maneuver to put their shield-and-spear bearers at the front of the army, while the arches stand behind them. As both armies prepare to fight, a rumbling is heard at the base of a spur of the mountain. The armies grow silent as they turn to look. Gandalf whispers to himself. "Were-worms!"

At the spur of the mountain where the rumbling is coming from, massive worms, hundreds of feet long and dozens of feet thick, break through the rocks. Their mouths are essentially giant drilling machines, strong enough to crush the toughest rocks in their jaws. The human, Elf, and dwarf armies look on in shock.

"Oh, come on!" Dain exclaimed.

The worms suddenly retreat into the tunnels they'd made through the mountains approaching the Lonely Mountain. As the mist clears, we see Azog and a few other Orcs standing atop a hill. Behind them are several massive contraptions made of wood, rope, and cloth, meant as signalling devices.

"Come forth my Armies!" As Azog gives a sign, one of the wooden structures opens up in a particular position, and a horn sounds. Immediately, legions of Orcs begin pouring out of the were-worm tunnels.