Philophobia - Thorin Oakenshield - English version

Part 21

Arriving at the entrance, some scouts went to investigate; it all looked a bit deserted. Perhaps the rumours about the orcs taking Moria were not true after all? While the scouts were investigating various passages, Thror, Thrain and Thorin went over the method of attack one last time in case some orcs were still present. Just as two scouts returned with the news that they could detect no sign of life, the ground began to tremble. Loud roars echoed across the fields and it felt like hundreds of elephants were coming. Before the dwarves even realised it, orcs came storming onto the field through several outcrops from the mountains.

"Start the attack!" Shouted Thrain.

"Fight! Fight for your home! For Durin!" Shouted Thror too before they too shot into action. Thorin himself no longer had time to think logically or even take in the situation. The orcs reached him so fast that he started swinging his sword around wildly. For a moment, it looked like this fight was not going to last long. The dwarves were surrounded in record time. Everyone seemed to be fighting for their lives. Just when Thorin saw hope turning into despair, the situation got worse.

From the distance, the prince saw a huge white orc approaching with some kind of giant axe in its hand. In his fury, with 1 simple blow, he knocked out everything and everyone who walked in front of him. Thrain too had already noticed the pale orc and came running towards his son. Just when both dwarves had gathered their courage and wanted to tackle the orc, they saw Thror already fighting him. Although it was an incredibly brave act, Thorin already saw this going all wrong.

"I will exterminate you and your entire line!" Shouted the orc.

"These mountains are mine, Moria is my kingdom. I will paint the walls with your blood and that of your army added to it!" He shouted as Thror struggled to fend off his blows. Just when Thorin and Thrain were almost at his side, Thror lost his sword. Without any mercy or hesitation, the orc slashed his axe at him, removing his head from his body in the process.

"I am Azog and Durin's line will end here, no one enters Moria as long as I rule it!" He shouted before throwing Thror's head just in the direction of Thorin and Thrain.

"No!" Throrin screamed and wanted to go for the attack, but his father stopped him.

"No Thorin! Stay here!" He shouted but Thorin shook his head wildly.
"I want to fight you father!"

Thrain pushed him back "He may want to end Durin's line but he won't get my only remaining son! Stay here!" Said Thrain then sternly after which he launched the attack on Azog with several good fighters. Azog kept pounding around mercilessly with his axe. Thorin himself had turned his back and gone back into battle.

He could no longer watch his people being defeated.

Should he have listened to Terwyn after all? Could he have prevented this by speaking his mind, or would they have just laughed at him anyway? He had so many questions in his head that he occasionally lost concentration, giving orcs opportunities to hit him. A deep wound in his arm was already softening his blows slightly, a stone against his helmet caused it to fall off his head, but he did not have time to pick it up.

In a haze of rage, he fought on and on. Until he reached the path leading to Moria's front doors and heard only loud roars ahead of him. This could only mean one thing, Azog was still alive. In vain, Thorin looked around in search of his father or the dwarves who fought him, but there was no sign of them. By then, Azog had already caught Thorin's eye and knocked Thorin's shield away with his axe. Thorin who had fallen tried to raise his sword but it too was knocked away, causing Thorin to roll off the ledge he was standing on. Azog was obviously not satisfied yet and continued. Battle after battle Thorin managed to escape. He grabbed an oak branch to fend himself off a bit until he got to where his sword was.

He felt his heart beating in his throat. His hands were clammy and he could barely breathe because his lungs hurt so much from the blows he was already catching in the fight.

Nevertheless, he persevered, raising his sword and in the process hitting the pale orc's arm which, to Thorin's great surprise, also fell off completely with weapon and all. Thorin watched as Azog took a few steps back and pinched the stump of his arm with his other hand. Loud roars echoed. Just as Thorin realised that he might have to deal another blow, orcs were already storming towards him and Azog from all sides. The orcs dragged their leader back into Moria while another section launched its attack on Thorin. Without being able to think any further about what just happened, he frantically knocked down some more orcs.

Here and there were already gaps in the orcs' army, causing Thorin to suddenly see certain dwarves seize their chance to leave the fight behind and flee. With one last blow, Thorin took down an orc and then ran back up the hill until he had a better overview of what remained of his army. Possibly he would have retreated better at that point but the anger raging through him was so great that he decided to encourage the dwarves again to bring this battle to an end. "Baruk Khazâd!" He shouted two or even three times at which all the dwarves then gathered their courage and came running towards their prince, even some dwarves who seemed to have turned their backs on the fight returned. "Du Bekar!" They shouted across the field until they formed one line again, launching a new attack against the orcs. This time with Thorin in the lead.

Thorin had no idea how long the attack lasted, he kept striking with his sword and the oak shield he still carried until the last orc collapsed. After this, he dropped to his knees himself and looked around, feeling as if he was in a trans. Of the entire army, only about 20 dwarves had survived. After a few seconds, Thorin came to the decision that this was not the time to sit down, he had now become a leader figure. Dwarves looked to him as an example, seeking support or advice on what to do next. Shoots of pain pulled through Thorin's entire body when he pushed himself upright again, he did not allow himself to groan and quickly walked towards where his grandfather was knocked down.

When he recovered his grandfather's body and saw the head lying a little further away, he felt the tears coming up, he tried to swallow his tears, but a soft sob escaped.

Startled by himself, Thorin looked around him to make sure no one had heard this.

A prince was not supposed to cry; the last time he had cried had been at his mother's funeral. Even for Frerin, he had not shed a tear, Frerin wouldn't have wanted to see his brother cry. He would still want his brother to be his strong example.

Now Thorin also had to stay strong, even more so than when Frerin died. Thorin was the last in line apart from his sister and her children, but these were still too young to lead a people so this heavy task now fell on his shoulders. After taking one last look at his grandfather, Thorin looked up at the survivors.

"I want three dwarves to wrap my grandfather's body in cloths, his entire body!' The others look for Farin, my sister's husband!" Commanded Thorin to the survivors. Many of them also crouched down and cried. It was not that Thorin had no pity, but one had no time to mourn now.

Fortunately, the other dwarves also understood this and did what their prince asked of them. Thorin himself walked across the field looking for his father. He looked at every dwarf from the first to the last and in doing so, came to the conclusion that his father was nowhere among them. This could only mean one thing - he was not dead! For a moment, Thorin thought about going into the mountain in search of his father, possibly he had been captured. But even before he could work out the idea, the realisation came that it would be a suicide mission. The mountains could still be full of orcs. They were probably just keeping a low profile waiting for another attack. They had to get out of here, when they died Thrain would certainly never be able to be saved. When the dwarves had packed Farin's body and Thror's, Thorin gave the order to return to the women and children. There, Thror and Farin would be given another dignified farewell.