Lake-town: Human and Thorin Company's Mutual Assistance and Conflict

The relationship between the Lake-men of Esgaroth and Thorin and Company is a story of swift, dramatic reversal, moving from jubilant welcome and generous assistance to a bitter siege and near-war over the dragon's treasure, before the arrival of a common enemy forces a temporary, uneasy alliance. This arc encapsulates the central tension of the latter part of the quest: the power of gold to corrupt friendship and the necessity of unity against a greater evil.

Welcome and Generous Aid

When Thorin Oakenshield, Fili, Kili, and Bilbo Baggins first arrive in Lake-town, they are met with astonishment and then tremendous excitement. Thorin announces himself as the heir of the King under the Mountain, and the townspeople, stirred by old songs and prophecies, erupt in celebration. The Master of Lake-town, though initially hesitant and skeptical, is swept along by the popular clamor. The dwarves are given a large house, boats and rowers are put at their service, and crowds sing songs all day, some of which speak confidently of the dragon's sudden death and of rich presents coming down the river. Within a week, the dwarves are fully recovered, fitted out in fine cloth of their proper colors, with their beards combed and trimmed. Thorin looks and walks as if his kingdom is already regained. The dwarves' good feeling towards Bilbo grows stronger every day, and they make a great fuss of him. The Master, though privately believing the dwarves to be frauds, provides them with three large boats laden with rowers, dwarves, Bilbo, and many provisions, along with horses and ponies sent by circuitous paths to meet them at their appointed landing-place. The people sing on the quays and out of windows as the company departs north up the lake on the last stage of their long journey.

The Siege and the Breaking of Faith

The initial goodwill evaporates after Smaug's death. The dragon's attack on Lake-town has left the people homeless and many dead, and they look to the dwarves' treasure for recompense. Bard, the dragon-slayer and heir of Girion, leads a host of Lake-men and Wood-elves to the Mountain and demands a share of the treasure, citing the destruction of Dale and Esgaroth and the aid the Lake-men had given. Thorin, now in the grip of the dragon-sickness and the lust for gold, refuses. He declares that the treasure was stolen from his people by Smaug, and that he will pay a fair price for the goods and assistance received from the Lake-men only in due time, but nothing under threat of force. He shoots an arrow at Bard's messenger, and the Mountain is declared besieged. The dwarves are left to consider their case, with Thorin grown so grim that even if they wished, the others would not dare to find fault with him. Bilbo, of course, disapproves of the whole turn of affairs, grumbling that the whole place still stinks of dragon and that cram is beginning to stick in his throat.

The Turning Point and the Battle of Five Armies

The siege is broken not by negotiation but by the sudden, unforeseen arrival of a vast goblin and Warg army. Gandalf appears and declares that a new, greater danger has come upon them all. At his call, the old quarrels are forgotten. The Elvenking, Bard, and Dain, who had arrived with his own host of dwarves from the Iron Hills, form a council of war. Their only hope is to lure the goblins into the valley between the arms of the Mountain and man the great spurs. In the ensuing Battle of Five Armies, the Lake-men fight alongside the Elves and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. The conflict is terrible, but the tide is turned by the arrival of the Great Eagles and, finally, by Beorn himself, who crushes the goblin leader Bolg. Victory is achieved, but at a great cost: Thorin Oakenshield is mortally wounded, and his nephews Fili and Kili fall defending him.

Aftermath and Reconciliation

In the aftermath, the relationship is restored, though transformed. Thorin, on his deathbed, repents his words and deeds at the Gate and parts in friendship from Bilbo. Dain, now King under the Mountain, honors the agreement of the dead and gives up a fourteenth share of the treasure to Bard. Bard, in turn, sends much gold to the Master of Lake-town and rewards his followers. The old Master, however, falls under the dragon-sickness, takes most of the gold, and dies of starvation in the Waste. A new, wiser Master is chosen, and Lake-town is refounded, becoming more prosperous than ever. The valley of Dale is rebuilt and becomes rich, and a lasting friendship grows between elves, dwarves, and men in those parts. The initial conflict over the treasure gives way to a new peace, forged in the shared struggle against a common foe.