Very interesting start. I'm rather curious as to see what's next. Actually, I'm also a little confused. Gandalf of all people described a hobbit as "bad". And Dale turning on Erebor is a bit of a surprise when it could've just barred its gates and waited out the desperate morons that decided to march all the way across Middle Earth (that would be the dwarves of Ered Luin). The elves getting involved isn't much of a surprise assuming there's anything in the mountain Thranduil wants, though given every other incident involving Thorin and Thranduil encountering each other I've ever read I'm uncertain how the two haven't literally killed each other over personality conflicts (so congratulations to Thorin for controlling his temper, I guess).
Looking forward to more. I'm especially interested in how this is supposed to work out politically post-war, even if that isn't the focus. Thranduil definitely isn't doing this altruistically. Bard's reluctant as it is and will be using every bit of leverage he has in Dale's favor. I'm starting to think Thorin is going to win himself quite the headache, and that's not even counting whatever is supposed to happen with Billa according to the summary.
Thank you! Well, every group has its good people and its bad people. Gandalf is just recognizing that not every Hobbit in Middle Earth is good, particularly some of those ruling Erebor. The Shire hobbits are all pretty much as in the book/film but, in this verse, quite a few of the Erebor hobbits are different. They've come up in a different part of the world, a far harsher part, where they've had to struggle to survive and quite a few of them are much harsher/harder than those found in the Shire. Kind of like how Gollum/Smeagol is descended from a different branch of Hobbits that lived near a river, these can be considered a different branch of Hobbit as well. Or at least that's how I'm envisioning it! :) Dale joined because it was a freaking huge army WITH Gandalf and Mirkwood in two and Bard could see the writing on the wall. He didn't want to piss off the new rulers of Erebor, even if they haven't officially taken it yet, AND the current ruler of Erebor (as briefly mentioned) is a tyrant so he's not sad to see him go.
In this verse Erebor was lost a VERY long time ago. Thorin is the rightful heir and ruler, but he's never set foot in Erebor in this verse. He was born and raised in Ered Luin, which means he never had a chance to have a falling out with Thranduil (which only happens in the movie because Thorin saw Thranduil as having abandoned them during Smaug's attack, before that there didn't seem to be a problem). SO, he basically hasn't had a chance to develop any animosity, whether or not he WILL remains to be seen!
Thank you! You are quite right on Thranduil, Bard AND Thorin winning himself quite the headache! I hope you continue to enjoy it! :)
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Historian1912 on Chapter 1 Mon 16 Sep 2019 04:03AM UTC
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ISeeFire on Chapter 1 Mon 16 Sep 2019 04:21AM UTC
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