CHAPTER 1: BALIN'S STORY

After Thorin had scolded both Fili and Kili for making fun of Bilbo about the possibility of the midnight goblin raid and withdrew aside of their night camp, Balin came to Fili and Kili and Bilbo.

"Don't mind him, laddies. Thorin has more cause than most to hate goblins," The old white-bearded dwarf said gently to the dwarf brothers, who briefly turned their worried and sympathetic looks on their faces to Thorin, as he stopped in the edge of their camp and looked quietly over to the wilderness.

Though Fili and Kili knew the reason, or kind of, Bilbo was curious to know that what was the "cause" for Thorin to hate these things called "goblins".

However, Balin seemingly sensed his curiosity and decided to explain to Bilbo Thorin's cause, even though a bit reluctantly in Thorin's presence, knowing that Thorin already knew it all too well, and a burden of it was mentally heavy to bear.

Then, Balin started to tell the story.

Balin: "Not long after the dragon took over the Lonely Mountain, King Thror gathered small band of dwarf refugees and traveled to the Misty Mountains in attempt to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria..."

"...but our enemy had got there first."

(The scene turns into flashback) In the rocky hillock area called Azanulbizar, King Thror, the prince Thrain and his son Thorin and the bunch of dwarf refugees mentioned by Balin were surrounded and captured by the huge group of different-sized, skinny, sickly- and even deformed looking and at them mockingly laughing goblins, and they are forced with the long goblin-spears and whips on their knees in front of the Eastern-Gate of the ancient and a long ago abandoned dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-Dûm, A.K.A Moria.

All the dwarf women refugees with their in fear crying dwarf babies and young dwarf children are placed in middle of the group and all the male dwarfs had surrounded them to protect them from the goblin spears with their own lives and bodies.

At the Eastern-Gate of Moria, surrounded by the group of heavily armored goblins as a bodyguard, was standing the roughly over human-sized, pale-skinned, scarred and the most monstrous goblin any dwarf had ever seen.

Balin: "Moria had been taken by the massive legions of goblins of the Misty Mountains..."

"...and they were led by the most vile of all their race, Azog."

(Flashback) Mumbling in growling tone in Black Speech, Azog raises his long goblin-made sword and points with it from all the dwarf captives at the king Thror and orders in the Black Speech several goblins to bring Thror to him.

And while some goblins roughly held the resisting Thrain and Thror back, the goblins grabs from Thror and roughly dragged him from the group of prisoners and up of the stairs of the Eastern-Gate of Moria and throw him in front of Azog.

As Thror slowly stands up and looked up at the monstrous goblin, Azog maliciously laughing snarled at the dwarven king.

Bilbo (confused): "Azog? Who is Azog?"

Balin: "Azog... the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Goblin, also called the Pale-Goblin, who had falsely proclaimed himself as the king of Moria in front of Thror's group of dwarf refugees."

"After having found us and captured us, king Thror, along with his bunch of refugees, was accused for attempt of 'trespassing' and 'thieving.' And with the threat of unspeakable torturing and the threat of making him to watch his fellow dwarves being executed before his very own eyes, and with the pleasure to humiliate the dwarf king even more, Azog 'promised' to spare him, both of his son and his grandson and the rest of the dwarf refugees he had brought with him to Moria, only if Thror personally bows down before him to show respect for the new king of Moria and personally declares him as the king of Moria in front of his own people. However, not willing to betray his own people by, Thror defied Azog with the declaring words "These are the Halls of Durin and that he will not bow to the desecrators of Durin's halls!"

(In the present) Balin kept the small break in his story, allowing Bilbo to think about everything he had heard so far, during of which the hobbit took a brief look to Thorin's direction.

Balin then continued his story.

Balin (with heavy heart): "Enraged of this, Azog... personally beheaded our King in front of our very own eyes."

(Flashback) Azog angrily orders two of his heavily armored bodyguard goblin to bring Thror back on his knees for the execution for 'insolently' defying him. The goblins with the pleasure roughly bring the resisting dwarf king down on his knees and roughly press his head down.

Thorin and Thrain, witnessing Thror's commit execution in the hands of Azog, started to hardly struggle back against their captors to get to Thror and save him from his upcoming fate, even outnumbered and unarmed in middle of the hordes of goblins, but with no avail.

Both Thorin and Thráin helplessly watch from aside as Azog raises his sword and beheads Thror with a one swung!

Azog then picks Thror's beheaded head from the ground and shows Thror's head, with his name carved in runes of the Black Speech onto Thror's forehead, to both of his son, his grandson and to the other shocked and horrified dwarf refugees, triumphantly and maliciously laughing at the downfall of the former great dwarf king of the Lonely Mountain, before Azog threw the head in front of shocked and horrified Thrain and Thorin.

Thorin: "NOOOOOOOOOO...!"

Balin: "Azog, however, spared the rest of us, but he ordered us to deliver a message back to our people of Thror's demise, proclaiming himself as the bane of Thror and the ultimate king of Moria, warning that all beggars who dared to enter Moria and attempt thievery would meet a similar fate. He allowed us to retrieve Thror's head, with his name carved onto his forehead as the proof of his demise and gave us a small pouch of coins of little worth as a final gesture of scorn."

"Once we left, we turned to look back and we saw that Azog had allowed his goblins to hack our king's body apart and fed the pieces of him to the ravens."

"For this, Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven into vengeful rage by grief and disgust for not being able to do anything at that moment, that he nearly tore his beard off."

"For seven days he sat in silence with little food or drink at hand deeply under of his grief."

"Until on the seventh day, he finally stood up and declared, "This cannot be borne!"

"For three years, with the help of his son, Thrain spread the word of Thror's cruel demise and his desecration in the hands of Azog in the ears of all dwarves of the world. and once the dishonor to the heir of the eldest of their race had filled all dwarves with pure wrath, Thrain was able to rally all dwarven houses in every corner of the world; Longbeards, Firebeards, Broadbeams, Ironfists, Stonefoots, Blacklocks, and Stiffbeards together into the massive dwarf army ever seen... for the one common goal..."

"...completely wipe out the all goblins of Misty Mountains into the extinction... and kill Azog."

"And once everything was ready... then began the great War of the Dwarves and Goblins."

(Flashback, shows the several goblin settlements on the mountain side and on the feet of the mountain being burned down... and the shot ends up to the Mount Gundabad under the siege of the massive dwarf army.)

Balin: "For the six years, we mercilessly hunted down thousands and thousands of goblins and destroyed the every goblin settlements of the Misty Mountains one by one from Mount Gundabad in the north (the mountain fortress and the capital of the goblins of the Misty Mountains, which we also laid under siege at some point during the war) to the peak of Methedras in the south. Most of the war was fought underground, in the great mines and tunnels of the Misty Mountains, but we also went through the bloody ambush-battles with the goblins on the surface of the ground. Both sides were pitiless to each others, and there was death and cruel deeds by dark and by light. This stage of the war was said to be so grim and bitter that few dwarf veterans many years afterwards, ever recounted what took place beneath the mountains.

"Even though we were unaided by the other peoples, we dwarves, with the advantage through our unmatched weapons, with our unmatched and disciplined battle strategies and the burning fire of our vengeful anger towards Azog, managed to conquer the most of the Misty Mountains and push the goblins far to the south."

"It was then, when we eventually met Azog the Defiler and his remaining armies of goblins in the battle in front of the Eastern Gate of Moria... known as, the Battle of Azanulbizar."

(Flashback) The rocky and hilly fields of Azanulbizar in front of the Eastern Gate of Moria is covered by the legions of thousands and thousands heavily armored and armed dwarves and the hordes of tens of thousands goblins, and the huge troll-like goblins, of Misty Mountains, Fiercely and bloodily fighting against each other, killing hundreds of dwarves and thousands of goblins.

The royal dwarves, Thráin, Thorin, his younger brother Frerin and their fellow dwarf leader, their family member and the lord of the Iron Hills, Náin and his son Dáin II and all of their royal bodyguards were fiercely fighting against the pouring goblins on the top of the small hillock.

Thràin smashed the goblin skulls one by one into mush with his large war-hammer...

Náin cut down the goblins with his large royal red battle-axe with the wild boar carvings...

His son Dáin delivered the lethal strikes with his red war-hammer against the goblins in the side of his father...

Thorin (with his little brother Frerin) slayed dozens and dozens of goblins one by one with his royal dwarf sword and hammered the goblins skulls with his royal dwarf shield...

His childhood friends, younger Balin and Dwalin, sons of Fundin, were fighting at the side of Thorin. Balin beheaded the goblins with his star-headed sword, while Dwalin brutally sliced the goblins with his one-handed and twin-bladed axes called Grasper and Keeper and gave to the goblins highly dizzying head-butts.

During of the bloody fight, Azog cleared his way through of the dwarves' ranks, beheading dozens of dwarves with his long sword and deadly knocking numerous dwarves out of his way with his massive mace, aiming with it to the larger groups of the dwarves and killing with it five-eight dwarves with the every swung and knocking several others over to the ground, until he was standing in front of the royal dwarfs and their army's leaders.

Balin: "During the battle, Thráin, filled by the vengeful rage towards Azog for killing Thror, led a charge towards the Dimrill Gate against Azog the Defiler and his own goblin bodyguards, slaying dozens of goblins on their way. But he suddenly went missing. He was either taken prisoner or killed; but we did not know nor never found out the truth."

"Enraged for the dwarves ignoring his earlier warnings for them, eventually swore to wipe out the entire Line of Durin out of revenge and proclaimed that he and all his own foul relatives are life-tasked to his oath and none of then will not rest until the head of each member of the line of Durin is on his grasp."

"He began in his task... by probably starting from Thráin... And then he moved on to rest of us."

(Flashback) Azog charges at first Náin.

Balin: "Náin, Thorin's grand-cousin, attacked towards Azog after the Pale Goblin finished off his bodyguards, calling his name to come and face him. They two fought, long and hard. Náin withstood long Azog's brutal assaults until, blinded by his great rage, he swung a great stroke with all his strength at Azog. However, the Pale Goblin dodged the blow and kicked Náin hard, causing him to fall backwards. The monstrous goblin charged at him when he tried get back on his feet, and Azog finished him off, with the brutal swung of his mace, breaking Náin's neck and killing him."

"And after his death, we were leaderless."

"And once our leaders were dead, the goblins charged with the fresh but roughly ten times larger and stronger counter-attack into our ranks like the massive wave hits with the devastating force to the shore cliffs. It felt like all the goblins from the entire area and from every corner the Misty Mountains were swarming against us like the endless black sea of goblins."

(Flashback) The endless sea and the massive swarming wave of goblins destroys the dwarf army's strongest ranks one by one and slaughters thousands and thousands of the finest dwarf soldiers with the swarming and overwhelming numbers, corners some of the dwarf soldiers in great numbers to the edges of the cliffs and threw us over the edges to our deaths and eventually forces the dwarf army with the brutal force to retreat to the lower hills, killing more and more dwarves during of their retreat.

Balin: "The certain defeat and death were upon us."

Balin kept the brief break again.

(Back in the present) Bilbo, who had with concentration listened Balin's story so far from the very beginning, looked at the old white-bearded dwarf in amazement of his story.

Then Balin continued, with the proud smile on his face as he turned to look at Thorin.

Balin: "And when the hope was lost... that was when I saw him."

"The young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Goblin."

"After losing his bodyguards, he bravely stood alone against this terrible foe..."

(Flashback) Enraged Thorin challenges Azog to the in single combat with him, which the Pale Goblin accepts with the pleasure and attacks Thorin by hammering him with the heavy blows with his mace, knocking first his shield and then his sword out of his hands, sending the dwarf prince to roll downhill to the small pit full of the both goblins and dwarf bodies.

The gigantic Pale Goblin laughs at Thorin before he charges towards him.

Azog jumps from the edge of the small pit Thorin had fallen towards him, raising his massive mace over of his head and preparing to crush Thorin with it.

Thorin, thinking quickly, grabbed to the nearby oaken branch and quickly rolled away as Azog's massive mace landed with the thunderous CLANK against the ground.

Balin: "...his armor was rent..."

Thorin starts to use oaken branch as a shield to desperately defend himself against the monstrous goblin's heavy blows with his mace.

Balin: "...wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield..."

Azog's heavy attacks eventually overpowers, sending him off the balance and the dwarf prince falls to the ground near-beaten.

Balin: "And it was then, when..."

As Azog prepares to swing his massive weapon down with his left arm to execute the final blow and finish off Thorin once and for all, Dáin suddenly arrives Thorin's aid, catching the Pale Goblin off guard and sliced with his father's red battle-ax the Pale Goblin's left hand off, thus saving Thorin's life.

As Dáin rushed to Thorin and helped him back his feet, the Pale Goblin lets out the loud roar of pain and he slightly retreats from the dwarf, holding with his remaining arm his bleeding arm and falls on his knees before of the two dwarf princes, uniting together against the Pale Goblin.

Balin: "Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. That mistake cost him his left hand... in the hands of two dwarven princes."

(Back in the present) Balin takes a third brief break more, before he continued to the end of his story.

(Flashback) The remaining dwarf forces were then able to recover and regroups together, and one of them raised their war-flag above of their troops, the top of which was hanging the beheaded head of Azog the Defiler, with his pouch of coins stuffed into his mouth, as the trophy of the dwarves and as visible proof for all the remaining hordes of goblins to know that Azog the Defiler had fallen.

Thorin stands in the front of the dwarf army with Dáin. Dáin holding his father's red battle-axe and Thorin holding the royal dwarf sword and the oaken branch as they shouts intimidating war cries upon the hordes of goblins and rallying and encouraging war cries upon their own armies.

Dáin: "BARUK KHAZÂD! KHAZÂD AI-MÊNU!"

Thorin: "DU BEKAR, KHAZÂD! DU BEKAR!"

With shouting the same war cries, the entire army of remaining dwarves, rallied and led forward by Thorin and Dáin and Dwalin and Balin on their side, charges to the final and massive counter-attack against the still massive hordes of the goblins.

Dwarven pikes lowered down, dwarf shields raised up, the dwarf war-hammers and battle-axes raised above of their heads, the dwarf swords drawn back ready for the deadly stabbing strikes and giving all strength they still had left, the dwarf ranks collided with the goblin ranks... which was followed the massive massacre of the goblins.

Dáin slaughtered dozens and dozens of goblins with his father's red ax, beheading them one by one or delivering the deadly strikes to their upper bodies, while Thorin cut down dozens of them with his sword and hammered some of them with his oaken branch, using it as the shield and the club at the same time.

Balin: "Our remaining forces rallied to the massive counterattack and drove the goblins back with the brutal force!"

"We kept slaughtering the goblins... until the ground was fully covered by the blood and mutilated bodies of the tens of thousands of goblins..."

"...until our enemy, had finally been defeated!"

Balin: (with the heavy heart) "The battle, as well as the entire war, ended to our victory... but there was no feast nor songs that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. Too many friends, brothers, fathers, cousins and other relatives, including Fundin, the father of mine and Dwalin, had fallen that day. Too many to be taken back home for funerals. From the massive dwarf army, which had arrived to the battlefield of Azanulbizar, only we few had survived."

(Flashback) The battle is over and the few hundred dwarves, who had barely survived from the massive massacre, walked amidst the heaps of their slain kin and the goblins, finishing off the wounded goblins and checking their own thousands and thousands fallen dwarves, finding many of them already dead or dying.

Many dwarves are sitting all over the place under of the great grief, mourning their the countless number of their fallen kinsmen.

Balin, sits close of the body of fallen Fundin (who had been killed by smashing with the mace his head inside of his helmet) holding from his arm and mourning his father's death, until Dwalin comes to his brothers side and gives to him comforting hug before departing.

Grieving Balin then looks above of the hill covered by the slain dwarfs and goblins and noticed Thorin walking over there.

Balin: (Proudly smiling at Thorin's direction) "And when I saw him again, I thought to myself then 'There is one I could follow. There is one I could one day call King."

Thorin then turns back to the camp after Balin had finished his story, and finds out that all the sleeping dwarves of his humble company had get up and were gathered around of him, showing the deep respect for their leader and possibly upcoming king of the Lonely Mountain.

Thorin answered to them with the humble and grateful nod, before he started to walk back to the camp.

Bilbo also showed his respect for so much mentally and physically experienced dwarf lord... but one question was still bothering him about Balin's story.

"And the Pale Goblin? What happened to him?" Bildo asked from Balin.

Balin had no time to answer before Thorin answered to Bilbo's question for him.

"For what that filth did to us, we returned him the favor. We beheaded him and hung his head on the tip of the stake, with the pouch of coins he had thrown to us, stuffed into his mouth. We left him to the battlefield as the warning for the survived goblins," Thorin answered with the disgust in his voice towards Azog's name.

"I hope that you're satisfied to that answer, Mr. Baggins, because I don't want hear that filth's name ever again," Thorin added, as he passed the hobbit.

On the site, Gandalf gave to Balin a bit scolding look for telling this story at Thorin's presence. It was not good to remind him for what he had experienced and what he had lost because of the goblins in the past.

Small trivia.
My version of Balin's story may be a bit long with the detailed details than what it was in the movie, but I wanted to write Balin to tell the entire history of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs a bit from Tolkien's point of view.