When he received Allen's letter requesting mithril, Thorin, the King of Durin, was stunned for quite some time. He even forgot the pipe in his hand, leaving the burning Old Toby to send wisps of smoke drifting through the stone chamber.
Durin's Bane, who had brought the Dwarves so much suffering, still lurked there! Could his human friend truly have the courage to face such terrible darkness?
Dáin, who stood nearby discussing important matters with Thorin, grew solemn when he heard the news. After some thought, he said, "Perhaps Allen really does have a way to evade the enemy. In fact, when we first met ten years ago, he mentioned Khazad-dûm. He knew a terrible power dwelled there and called it a Balrog. I think Allen knows exactly what he intends to do."
Only after hearing Dáin's words did Thorin recover from his shock and take a deep pull on his pipe.
It would have been impossible to say Thorin had never dreamed of leading Durin's Folk back to Khazad-dûm within his lifetime.
Neither he, his father, nor his grandfather had abandoned that dream. Indeed, not a single King of Durin in nearly a thousand years had ever given up on it.
But Durin's Bane had left far too deep an impression on the Dwarves. Even among that stalwart people, few dared muster the courage to speak of the monster wreathed in flames, though the creature called a Balrog now survived only in stories passed from one Dwarf to another, and no one living had seen him with their own eyes.
Moreover, after Fili returned to the Lonely Mountain from Fisslet, he had mentioned that the Balrog was still active in Khazad-dûm. He had learned this from the Elves of Lothlórien. Whatever their relationship with the Dwarves, Thorin at least