"There is a raven right now for the Iron Hills, go write the letter and say you also might need to show off in front of Thranduil. Smaug's capture might have already spread towards the lands, he'll be bringing an army soon to reclaim his wives items." Paul said to also remind Thorin about the gems of Lasgalen.
"That is simple…thank you Iron Lord. I do not know what came of me the past few days, is there anything you might need help on?" Thorin said feeling that he had indeed been not himself recently.
"There is not much your highness, take your nephews and take them to your ancestral halls. I know you need to give closure to the news I have told you recently." Paul did not tell him he had saved Thrain yet.
"What news?" Fili asked curious as well as his brother.
"Your Grandfather, Thrain my father. Was prisoner for decades in the enemy's hands, Iron Lord here said in his letter that his sources told of my Father's passing in Dol Guldur while Gandalf was trying to save him." Thorin looked sad along with Balin and the older dwarves.
"Grandfather?" Kili and Fili looked at each other and walked towards Thorin following him to their ancestral halls.
"What about Gandalf, has there been news yet?" Bilbo asked what the other dwarves were also concerned about.
"Last I heard, Radagast the Brown has called for aid from the guardians of Middle Earth. I have no news yet if they had agreed to but they will most likely prevent Sauron from ever getting his hands on one of the three rings of the elves." Paul answered giving the others a bit of solace.
"Anyways back to planning. You Dwalin, take Gloin and Bifur with you to Dale and teach those fishermen how to fight like their lives depended on it. Because it will, they have no time to find other places for shelter as will you. Leave the archers to Legolas Greenleaf, the son of Thranduil." Paul's words made the dwarf warrior smile hearing him being assigned for training.
"Bilbo, take the Bombur, Ori and Dori with you to help in settling the other people in Dale. I'll stay here to repair and reinforce the front gates, Balin and the others will help me with this." Paul then dispersed the company as they went on their assigned task.
It was then the other dwarves were able to witness the massive strength of Paul as he carried boulders upon boulders to strengthen the front Gate and even bent the broken gates from before to straighten it to be used again.
Paul was helped by Balin and Thorin as the front gates of Erebor is being repaired. Meanwhile, Dwalin was having a time of his life giving spars to the men of Dale as to prepare them for fighting orcs.
Bard also helped in training the archers alongside Legolas who came back down from Raven Hill. Paul then showed them the food stores which made the people glad and even the women helped in cleaning up the city of Dale.
Alfrid was spared but he was grumbling about how the dwarves were hoarding all the gold in Erebor which earned him a punch from Dwalin. He was then dragged to be trained as well and was treated harshly by the dwarves when they heard his actions towards Kili when he was sick.
It was then on the Fourth day a host of elves arrived in Dale, 3,500 strong, led by Thranduil but this time Thorin was there to meet him in front of the repaired gates of Dale.
[Dale]
"Why have you come with such a large host of elves in my doorstep Thranduil, King of the Woodland realm?" Thorin said sarcastically as he looked at Thranduil who is now riding a woodland Elk towards the city of dale that is being repaired.
"As I have always said, I have come to reclaim what is rightfully mine Thorin Oakenshield." Thranduil smirked as he looked at Thorin who stood in the parapets of the walls of Dale.
"It's King Thorin now your majesty, need I remind you that?" Dwalin spoke up on the sides making Thranduil raise his brow a bit.
"King you say? Yet somehow I do not see the thing that should have crowned you as King and leader of the seven dwarf kingdoms, the Arkenstone. Perchance you and your company has not yet found the one that should have crowned all?" Thranduil smiled smugly as he looked at the reactions of the dwarves.
'Do not take it out yet Master Baggins.' Paul's voice sounded out in Bilbo's mind as he seemed to be thinking of taking the stone out yet.
"King Thranduil, this is not yet the time for petty squabbles amongst ourselves. If you have received the message I have sent you then you know the real gravity of our situation do you not?" Paul spoke up and this time Thranduil looked a bit serious as he stared at the tall figure of Paul.
"Then you must be the famous Iron Lord of Ettenmoors, yes indeed I have received the message you sent and frankly I do not care much of the situation you are in as it is of no matter to the elves of the woodland realm." Thranduil said as he still showed that he does not want to take part in the matters at hand.
"But this is not something you can avoid by hiding in the woods your Majesty, this is much more than that. It is a darkness that aims to engulf all of life within middle Earth and it will start here in Erebor…" Paul's words made the Elven King frown.
"Then let it try, my kingdom is not something someone could easily plunge into the murky waters of war." The elven King still stubborn.
"You're Majesty! Are you not listening? It is something that has slept for long enough and we cannot ignore it this time! Even the darkness in Gundabad has awakened!" this time it was Bard who spoke up with Legolas nearby.
"And who are you to speak up? I assume you are from the refuges that came from the burned Laketown down Esgaroth." Thranduil raised his brows as he looked at Bard and his eyes sharpened a bit seeing the sword strapped by the human's side.
"You are talking to Lord Bard, Warden of Esgaroth and Lord of Dale, descendant of Girion. He has every right to speak up in this matter you're majesty." Thorin spoke up as he nodded towards Bard, he had heard what Bard did to help his nephews when they were in need of medicine.
"Well then Lord Bard, I still find it amusing you are helping the one responsible for the destruction of your home. But nevertheless I care not much for your short lived lives, Legolas come down from there and come with me. Your consorting with the exiled elf and these dwarves are to come to an end." Thranduil looked at his son in a stern expression.
"I'm afraid I cannot you're majesty, as Bard just said. Orcs of Gundabad march to this place and I intend to fight as revenge…" Legolas words made Thranduil silent for a bit as his thought wandered.
"I see… give me the heirlooms of my people Oakenshield or I wou…" Thranduil was about to speak but then a rider appeared looking panicked and in a hurry.
"My lords! My lords! Orcs my lords, on the other side of the mountains they are on their way!" the rider was the scout they had sent ahead to find where the orcs were going to pass.
Paul had given him the best and fastest horse in the area as well as helped the animal last longer and escape the warg scouts. He also gave him a simple telescope that could help see farther that most tools used for scouting.
"How many?" Paul asked.
"About… 30 thousand strong My Lord!" The messenger said as he felt fear when he saw the numbers.
"If they are behind the mountain then they will have about three days until they pass through the pass… I'll give you two days to give me what is mine or I will march my soldiers in the mountain and pry the ones I demand from your hands through force." Thranduil did not speak more as he left to where his army is settling camp.
"Three days, that is all we have to strengthen our defenses and we must…" Thorin was about to give more orders but Paul spoke up.
"We only have one day until the orcs arrive…" Paul said making the ones others look him asking why, they had been used to the fact Paul knew more than they could.
Paul did not answer as he walked down making the others follow and when they arrived in the ground Paul went to kneel on the ground and placed his ear on it. Making the others look at each other confusedly but some followed which was Nori and Bilbo.
"What is it?" whispered Dwalin to Nori.
"Shh… I think it is… I don't know yet." Nori said as he seemed not sure what to listen to but then it was there he heard something on the ground making him flinch back a bit, he then looked at the fattest dwarf nearby.
"Bombur did your stomach just grumble?" Nori asked but Bilbo was still listening.
"No, it's not that. There is something else… it's like the ground, the-the mountains they are…" Bilbo said as he kept listening not sure what to say.
"The Mountains are crying, they are in pain…" Paul said cryptically making the others also confused but Bilbo looked at Paul frowning.
"Ye-yeah…yeah they seem to be crying." Bilbo felt that the analogy was close enough to what he felt.
"Crying? How could the mountains cry?" Legolas frowned as he listened to Bilbo's words.
"They are hurt, in pain and are crying as a great force bores through them with teeth that render the rocks like rotten woods. An ancient species that were thought to have been forgotten, they live in the deep, they eat through the mountains, they are…" Paul said as he slowly stood up but the first to remember something was Thorin.
"Were-worms, the great Mountain Eaters." The dwarf widened his eyes as he said this making the other people become thoughtful at first then also realizing what the Were-worms were.
"Impossible…" Legolas frowned.
"Are they all but fairy tales to scare dwarf children?" Nori asked but a bit scared.
"E-excuse me but were-worms?" Bilbo asked as he looked around trying to see if they too agree at Paul's deduction.
"Yes, Master Baggins. If it is indeed these creatures then they can bore through the mountain faster than anticipated." Thorin said frowning but this time Legolas seemed to understand something.
"You…" Legolas looked at Paul. "…so this is why you do not seem to resolve the feud between my father and the dwarves."
"I am sorry your highness, but this is a battle that needs the elves present." Paul said as he looked at blonde Orlando Bloom.
"But many elves will die and the other force we have is a couple hundred of fishermen and a dozen dwarves, that is not enough to fight the force that is about to arrive Iron Lord." As Legolas talked a crow arrived near Thorin making Paul smile.
"Add about 1,500 Iron foot dwarves…" Paul said as he looked in the horizon where Dain could be seen riding his large Boar making the dwarves in Erebor and Dale shout in excitement.
"Haha!!" Thorin laughed as he went out of the gates, there he looked to the side and saw the bulging eyes of Thranduil staring at the dwarven host that arrive.
"Hah! Cousin! Long time no see, it seems you have kept true in your words eh!" Dain arrived then to greet Thorin in a large hug.
"I am glad you are here cousin." Thorin smiled as he looked at Dain.
"Hey, did that pretty twidley widdley bother you cousin?" Dain's voice was not silent at all as he asked that making a corner Thranduil's mouth twitch but he retreated to his army nonetheless.
"It was not much Cousin, come follow me and let's go to Erebor!" Thorin then grabbed Dain as he walked back with the others to the repaired gates of their Home.
"Ahh…It's good to be back." Dain said.
"It is good indeed." Thorin smiled as he walked shoulder to shoulder with Dain.
(A/N: Took me a long time to write this chapter down as I had to watch the movies again and again to get the essence of the character as much as I could. Since the MC's actions change many things I tried to imagine what would the difference be with the interaction of the characters between each other depending on their behaviors and mannerisms.
I tried as much as I could and thought in many perspectives to see if how I would react in the shoes of the character if this is how it would happen.
I did try to stick as close to the story as possible but it is inevitable things will change with the amount of interference of the MC did in the different worlds. So things will not be the same as it was in the movies but there will be elements there that are constant and are cannon events.
But the MC already prepared many things in advance for the battle not to go as disastrous as it was in the movies. Hope you enjoy this chapter and please tell me if there is anything that I might have forgotten or needs improving in the story, thanks for reading.)