Siege of the Mountain
The Siege of the Mountain is the tense military standoff that follows Smaug's death, in which Thorin Oakenshield and his twelve dwarves barricade themselves inside the Lonely Mountain's Front Gate while a combined army of Lake-men and Wood-elves encamps in Dale, demanding a share of the treasure. The siege escalates through failed parleys, a defiant arrow shot, and Thorin's secret summons to his cousin Dain, before being violently overtaken by the far greater threat of a goblin-Warg invasion, which triggers the Battle of Five Armies.
Causes and Background
The siege was set in motion by the death of Smaug at the hands of Bard the Bowman, which left the vast treasure of Thror unguarded. News of the dragon's fall spread swiftly: the old thrush who had overheard Bilbo's conversation with Smaug carried word to Bard, and from there tidings reached the Elvenking and the scattered peoples of the North. The Elvenking, who had already been marching toward the Mountain with a host of spearmen and bowmen, turned aside to aid the homeless survivors of Lake-town before hastening north. Within eleven days of the town's destruction, the combined forces of the Lake-men and the Wood-elves arrived in the valley of Dale and made camp between the arms of the Mountain. The dwarves, who had been exploring the caverns and fortifying the main entrance, watched from behind their newly built wall of squared stones as the camp's fires and torches lit the night.
The Fortification and the Parley
Thorin and his company had not been idle. They labored to block the Front Gate with a high, thick wall of dry-laid stone, leaving only small holes for watching or shooting. They altered the river's course to create a wide pool before the gate, making approach possible only along a narrow ledge of cliff. Using ropes, they hauled supplies up to their camp on the mountain-side, and sent Fili and Kili to recover three escaped ponies and the remaining stores. When the army arrived, Thorin hailed them from the wall, demanding to know who they were and what they desired. The next morning, Bard and the Elvenking sent a company bearing the green banner of the Forest and the blue banner of the Lake. Bard declared himself the heir of Girion of Dale, claimed that much of the treasure had been stolen from his ancestors, and asked for recompense for the destruction Smaug had brought upon Esgaroth. He also reminded Thorin that the Lake-men had aided the dwarves in their need. Thorin, however, was already under the spell of the dragon-hoard; long hours spent in the treasury had kindled the lust of gold in his heart. He refused to parley with armed men, dismissed the Elvenking's claims, and offered only to pay a fair price for the goods and assistance received—nothing more. When the messengers returned with a formal demand for one twelfth of the treasure, Thorin seized a horn bow and shot an arrow into the speaker's shield. The besiegers declared the Mountain besieged, vowing to let the dwarves starve on their gold.
The Dwarves' Response and the Coming of Dain
Inside the Mountain, the dwarves spent their days piling and ordering the treasure, while Thorin became obsessed with finding the Arkenstone of Thrain, which he valued above a river of gold. Bilbo Baggins, who had secretly taken the gem, grew increasingly uneasy with the turn of events. The raven Roäc son of Carc brought news that Dain, Thorin's cousin, was marching from the Iron Hills with more than five hundred heavily armed dwarves, now only two days away. Roäc counseled peace, warning that winter was coming and that the treasure might prove the dwarves' death. Thorin, however, was unmoved, believing that winter would weaken the besiegers and that Dain's arrival would force them to parley. That night, Bilbo made his fateful decision to steal out of the Mountain and deliver the Arkenstone to Bard and the Elvenking, hoping to avert bloodshed.
The Siege's Climax and Transformation
The siege itself never culminated in a direct assault on the gate. Instead, the arrival of Dain's dwarves from the North-East shifted the confrontation to the open valley. Bard refused to let them pass until the treasure was delivered, and the dwarves of Dain advanced along the eastern bank, ready to fight. Just as battle was about to be joined, a vast darkness descended: goblins and Wargs, led by Bolg of the North, poured into the valley from the mountains. The siege was instantly transformed into the Battle of Five Armies, as Elves, Men, and Dwarves united against their common foe. Thorin himself led a sortie from the Gate, wielding his axe with mighty strokes, but he was mortally wounded. The siege ended not with a negotiated settlement but with the goblin defeat, Thorin's death, and the subsequent division of the treasure under Dain's kingship.
