Recaps

Allen coordinated Lake-town’s evacuation and set a trap for Smaug, then helped kill the dragon after his first shot with the Wind Crossbow missed. Smaug died in the Long Lake, Hollimion survived his injuries, and Allen asked Bard whether he wanted to rebuild Dale.

• Mayor Stephen agreed to evacuate Lake-town, while Hollimion secured Thranduil’s help and Allen and Bard prepared to draw Smaug toward the bridge.
• Bard led Lake-town’s guards in the Round Pool Market as Smaug attacked, and the Twilight Knights lured the dragon toward Allen.
• Allen’s Black Arrow shot from the Wind Crossbow missed Smaug’s exposed patch, and Smaug crushed the weapon as Allen retrieved the arrow.
• Hollimion wounded Smaug and distracted him while Allen fired the Black Arrow with his Noldor Rune Bow, striking the dragon’s vulnerable spot.
• Smaug fell into the Long Lake and died, and Allen used Miruvor and his necklace to save the gravely injured Hollimion.
• Allen asked Bard whether he wanted to rebuild Dale as the survivors watched Lake-town burn.

The White Council’s allied army defeated Sauron’s forces at Dol Guldur, and Lady Galadriel drove Sauron east with the Crystal Phial’s light. After the battle, the survivors set out toward the Lonely Mountain, where Sauron’s Half-orcs threatened the Kingdom under the Mountain.

• Glorfindel’s radiance dispersed the nine Nazgûl and weakened the Uruk, allowing Lord Elrond to lead the allied army through their ranks.
• The White Council entered Dol Guldur, where Gandalf’s spell revealed traces of darkness and the nine Nazgûl attacked Lady Galadriel.
• Sauron emerged and immobilized the White Council until Lady Galadriel raised the Crystal Phial, freed her companions, and forced him to flee east.
• Gandalf left for the Lonely Mountain, while Lord Elrond led the remaining allied army north and Glorfindel escorted Lady Galadriel and the dying Thráin II to Lothlórien.
• Saruman returned to Isengard, and Radagast hurried toward the Misty Mountains to seek the Great Eagles’ aid.

Allen warned Thranduil of an approaching Half-orc army, prepared Dale’s defenses, and won Bard’s oath of fealty by promising to rebuild Dale and restore him as its lord. The chapter ended with Gandalf arriving as Allen gained his first vassal.

• Allen reached Dale with his army and told Thranduil that tens of thousands of Half-orcs were gathering to attack the Lonely Mountain.
• Allen asked to accompany Thranduil when he demanded the Starlight Gem from Thorin, then organized repairs to Dale’s damaged defenses.
• Bard asked Thorin for help for Lake-town’s displaced people, but Thorin refused, and Thranduil directed Bard to seek help from Allen.
• Bard accepted Allen’s offer, swore fealty to him, and received Allen’s promise to rebuild Dale and restore his title as its lord.
• Gandalf arrived at Dale and approached Allen and Bard.

Allen learned that Thráin II was alive and persuaded Thranduil to delay his attack while he tried to secure the Starlight Gem and an alliance against the Half-orcs. Thorin briefly agreed to return the gem and hire Thranduil’s army, but his dragon-sickness returned, and Allen escaped with half the gem and the contract as Thranduil waited in Dale.

• Gandalf told Allen, Thranduil, and the others that Thráin II was alive and that an army of Half-orcs was marching toward the Lonely Mountain, and Thranduil gave Allen half a day to try to recover the Starlight Gem.
• Thorin Oakenshield let Allen enter the Lonely Mountain, where Allen revealed that Thráin II was alive and warned that Azog’s Half-orcs were approaching.
• Thorin briefly regained his senses and agreed to return the Starlight Gem, hire Thranduil’s army, and pay the Elves a share of his treasure, then signed a contract.
• Balin gave Allen a box containing half of the Starlight Gem, but Thorin’s dragon-sickness returned and he repudiated the agreement.
• Allen fled the Lonely Mountain with the contract and gem, then reached Dale, where Thranduil was waiting and saw the box in Allen’s arms.

Dáin Ironfoot arrived at the Lonely Mountain with an army from the Iron Hills, and Thranduil signed the contract for the Starlight Gem after the Dwarves entered. As Allen continued preparing Dale’s defenses, Dáin confronted him about Thorin’s accusations and asked what was wrong with his cousin.

• Dáin Ironfoot led seven hundred Iron Hills soldiers to the Lonely Mountain, expecting to find it under siege, and ordered his forces to advance when he saw no battle underway.
• The Company cleared the barricade at the gate, and the Iron Hills army entered the Lonely Mountain while Thranduil’s Elves did not intervene.
• Thranduil signed the contract, hoping Thorin Oakenshield would honor his promise and return the other half of the Starlight Gem.
• Allen organized Dale’s defenses, ordering workers to damage the bridge, repair the walls, and prepare additional defensive positions against the Half-orcs.
• Dáin confronted Allen over Thorin’s claim that Allen had tricked him, but Allen showed him the properly signed contract and pointed out Thorin’s unusual behavior.
• Dáin asked Allen what was happening to Thorin, and Allen began explaining the situation.

Allen explained to Dáin that the Ring of Thrór had intensified Thorin's greed, then helped prepare Dale's defenses as Azog's forces gathered at the Lonely Mountain. The chapter ended with Azog poised to attack and Warg Riders appearing near Wilderness Town.

• Allen told Dáin that the Rings of Power had corrupted the nine human bearers and that the Ring of Thrór had awakened Thorin's greed.
• Dáin accepted Allen's warning about the coming Orc army and left Dwarf cavalrymen to help repair Dale's defenses.
• Allen and the Dwarves repaired Dale's walls and made two trebuchets usable before the Dwarves returned to the Kingdom under the Mountain.
• Azog established his command post on Ravenhill and planned to destroy Durin's Folk and later attack Allen's town.
• Allen worried about Azog's arrival but chose not to attempt an ambush, while Warg Riders began appearing near Wilderness Town.

Ymira prepared Wilderness Town to withstand the Warg Riders’ siege while the enemy waited for an opportunity to attack. The chapter ended as Azog’s deputy marched enslaved humans and reluctant Half-orcs toward the town as cannon fodder, while Azog watched from the forest.

• Azog’s Warg Riders found Horse-herding Village abandoned, burned its houses, and surrounded Wilderness Town instead.
• Ymira organized Wilderness Town’s defenses, sheltered the migrants and livestock, stockpiled supplies, and kept residents under military administration.
• Deshavi investigated smoke at Horse-herding Village, learned that more than a thousand Warg Riders were approaching, and returned to warn Ymira.
• After days of standoff, Ymira spotted hundreds of Warg Riders driving nearly a thousand Half-orcs and human slaves across the shallows toward the west gate.
• Azog sent the unarmed slaves and unwilling Half-orcs forward to distract the defenders while he watched from the forest.

Ymira defended Wilderness Town from Azog's Warg Riders, using the Half-orc assault on the southern wall to draw the attackers into a trap at the west gate. The Warg Riders fled, and Ymira turned to rescue the abandoned human captives as she looked toward the Lonely Mountain.

• Ymira held fire on the human captives as Fimbul's Half-orcs approached the southern wall, then allowed archers to target the Half-orcs hiding behind them.
• The Half-orcs climbed the southern wall's ladders, and Wilderness Town's guards fought them while Azog led more than eight hundred Warg Riders toward the west gate.
• Klethi and Deshavi's archers doused the Half-orcs in the west gate barbican with fire oil and flaming arrows, trapping Azog and his followers inside.
• Grim killed Azog, and his roar sent the Wargs fleeing; Fimbul also retreated, leaving the surviving Snaga to escape down the ladders.
• Ymira arranged to clear the battlefield and take in the abandoned captives, then looked toward the Lonely Mountain.

The battle of the Lonely Mountain began as Azog’s Uruk army attacked Dale and the Dwarves at the mountain gates. Allen led efforts to destroy the enemy’s Trebuchets while Dáin’s forces fought a desperate battle, and the chapter ended with Thorin Oakenshield torn between joining his kin and his dragon-sickness.

• Four Were-worms emerged near the Lonely Mountain, then withdrew as Azog sent his Uruk army to attack Dale and the mountain gates.
• Allen and his troops defended Dale, killing a Trebuchet-bearing Troll before Uruk broke through part of the wall; Elven reinforcements helped them hold the breach.
• Allen led his Personal Guard across the battlefield and destroyed one Troll Trebuchet squad with help from Thranduil’s archers.
• Dáin Ironfoot led the Dwarves out to meet the Uruk, using Dwarves Axes, Goat Riders, and Heavy Infantry to attack and defend the shield wall.
• Trolls smashed through the Dwarven shield wall, letting Uruk divide the Dwarves into surrounded groups.
• Thorin Oakenshield watched from the Lonely Mountain’s walls, then withdrew to Thrór’s Hall and struggled against his dragon-sickness.

The Dwarves, Elves, and humans fought to hold the battlefield as Thorin Oakenshield recovered from Dragon-sickness and returned to lead his people. With Azog assembling his forces for a decisive clash, the allied armies gathered to face him and sought a chance to kill him.

• Trolls shattered the Dwarven infantry’s shield wall and destroyed two chariots, but Thranduil led the Woodland Elves in rescuing the surrounded Dwarves.
• Allen returned to Dale’s walls, rallied Firentis and the cavalry, and learned that Thorin Oakenshield had come out of the Lonely Mountain with his Company.
• Thorin Oakenshield led the Dwarven infantry into battle, while Allen and Dáin cleared the center of the battlefield as Azog gathered the Uruks before the Tunnel.
• Allen, Thranduil, and Thorin agreed that Azog had to die and prepared to draw his attention during a decisive clash.
• The Dwarves and Elves advanced toward the Half-orc host, and Gandalf urged the defenders to leave the walls and join the final battle.
• Alayen raised Allen’s Crown Three-Star Banner and called the soldiers still able to fight to march beneath it and support their lord.

Lord Elrond’s elven reinforcements struck Azog’s half-orcs from behind, turning the battle at the Lonely Mountain and prompting Azog to order a breakout toward Ravenhill. Allen and the allied forces seized the opening, launching attacks that shattered the Uruk formations as Azog remained unaware of the danger approaching his position.

• Allen steadied his wavering soldiers while Azog formed his Uruks into dense blocks and prepared to attack.
• Lord Elrond and Legolas arrived behind the half-orcs, and their archers killed over a thousand Uruks and most of the trolls with several volleys.
• Azog panicked at the reinforcements and ordered his troops to break out toward Ravenhill, while Allen and Thorin Oakenshield raced toward Azog’s position.
• Alayen led the human and elven soldiers into the fleeing Uruks, and Thranduil’s forces charged the half-orc formations from the north.
• Dáin and Firentis led the dwarven and human cavalry into the Uruk ranks, and the allied attacks broke the half-orc formations into fleeing remnants.

Allen and Thorin Oakenshield attacked Ravenhill from different routes to reach Azog, who had withdrawn into the ruins and prepared an ambush. Allen’s party fought through Uruk Soldiers and Trolls with the help of Beorn and Wulf, while Thorin’s Dwarves searched the deserted command post for Azog.

• Azog ordered his forces to stop the attackers, then hid in Ravenhill’s ruined watchpost to ambush Thorin Oakenshield.
• Thorin reached the deserted headquarters, saw the Northern Half-orcs arriving, and split his Dwarves into groups to search the ruins for Azog.
• Allen encountered hundreds of Uruk Soldiers blocking the mountain path, and Beorn and Wulf transformed into bears and charged through them.
• Four Trolls attacked Allen’s party, but Beorn and Wulf killed two and drove another over a cliff while the Twilight Knights shot the remaining pair with arrows.
• Uruk Soldiers regrouped and charged down the path, but Wulf’s return stopped them; Hollimion led six Twilight Knights after the enemy as Allen took Beorn and the others toward the other side of Ravenhill.

Allen and the allied forces defeated Azog’s army after the Great Eagles arrived, and Thorin killed Azog on Ravenhill. The survivors returned to the Lonely Mountain and Dale, while Allen advised Thorin to visit his ailing father in Lothlórien.

• Fili was wounded in Azog’s ambush, and Thorin Oakenshield led the Dwarves in a fierce battle against Azog’s forces on Ravenhill.
• Azog’s pale Half-orcs and bats overwhelmed the Dwarves until Beorn arrived, followed by Allen and the Twilight Knights.
• Great Eagles arrived as reinforcements, scattered the bats, and helped the allied army rout the Half-orc forces.
• Allen shot Azog in the thigh, Beorn battered him and threw him before Thorin, who killed him with a sword strike.
• After Azog’s death, the Half-orc army panicked and fled; the allied forces pursued them before returning to the Lonely Mountain after sunset.
• Thorin asked Allen about Thráin II, and Allen suggested that Thorin visit his father in Lothlórien; Thorin returned to the Lonely Mountain while Allen went to Dale.

After the battle, Allen faced the heavy losses among his troops, visited the wounded, and considered how to support the fallen soldiers’ families and survivors. At the postwar meeting in the Lonely Mountain, Thorin thanked his allies and awarded Allen a substantial share of the treasure before announcing plans to bring back Thráin II.

• Allen reviewed Firentis’s casualty report, then visited the wounded and promised medical care, rewards, and support for soldiers left disabled.
• Allen spent the night considering compensation for the fallen and rewards for the survivors.
• Kili escorted Allen to the meeting in Thráin Hall, where Thorin gave Thranduil the remaining Starlight Gems and promised shares of the treasure to Thranduil and Elrond.
• Thorin declared Gandalf a friend of Durin’s Folk and recognized Allen as King of the City-state of Rhovanion, promising him one-fifteenth of the treasure.
• Bilbo offered Thranduil a Pearl Necklace, and Thranduil accepted it while declaring Bilbo a Friend of the Elves.
• Thorin announced that the Company would give Allen one-fifth of each of their shares, then invited everyone to a future feast when he returned with Thráin II.

Allen arranged for the fallen soldiers to be returned to Wilderness Town and planned a cemetery and support for their families. He sought a three-way alliance with Thranduil and the Dwarves, and left with Orcrist to deliver to Thorin.

• Allen assigned Alayen to escort two hundred soldiers and the fallen warriors to Wilderness Town, with instructions for compensating their families and plans for a Heroes' Cemetery.
• Alayen departed Dale with the dead and part of the wealth, while Allen met Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins and agreed they would travel to Wilderness Town together after he finished his business.
• Allen visited Thranduil and proposed an alliance among Men, Elves, and Dwarves to prepare for Sauron's return.
• Thranduil told Allen to approach the Dwarves first and offered to discuss the alliance if they agreed.
• Thranduil gave Orcrist to Allen to return to Thorin, and Allen accepted it before leaving the tent.

Allen arranged Dale’s reconstruction and settled the fates of Stephen and Alfred before preparing to return to his territory. He also negotiated a major armor order with Thorin and left with plans for a future cavalry force.

• Allen gave Bard Bilbo Baggins’s share of the treasure to fund Dale’s reconstruction, while Bard thanked Thranduil with the Necklace of Girion for the Woodland Elves’ aid to Lake-town’s people.
• Allen rejected Stephen’s request to become mayor of the rebuilt Lake-town and instead offered him a financial adviser position; he planned to appoint Firentis as governor.
• Allen considered hanging Alfred but asked Bard to take him into his service, and Bard accepted Alfred after Allen gave permission.
• Allen arranged for Bunduk to remain in Dale and oversee the seriously wounded while Bard provided supplies and medical materials.
• Allen returned Orcrist to Thorin and ordered a thousand suits of human full plate armor and a thousand sets of steel horse armor, to be delivered over twenty years.
• Allen planned to develop a heavily armored cavalry force using descendants of Elves Horses, summoned soldiers, and training adapted from the Twilight Knights.

Allen returned to Wilderness Town with a portion of the Lonely Mountain’s treasure and arranged for its safekeeping while Tyr planned a treasury. He explained why he had sent Artimenner to observe Dale’s reconstruction and reflected on his subordinates’ loyalty, ambitions, and future roles.

• Allen arrived at Wilderness Town on December 3 with less than a third of the treasure Thorin had given him, and Ymira arranged to store it in the warehouse under Alayen’s guard.
• Ymira had Tyr begin designing a treasury, while Artimenner traveled to Dale to observe Bard’s reconstruction work and report to Allen without interfering.
• Allen explained that he wanted Artimenner to make Bard and his subordinates aware of the king’s oversight, even though he trusted Bard’s loyalty.
• Allen considered how the Simulator influenced the loyalty and morale of his followers and how he could keep their affinity high by understanding their needs.
• Allen planned to make Alayen his deputy after Firentis became governor of Lake-town, and reviewed the strengths and ambitions of his other principal subordinates.

After returning to Wilderness Town, Allen arranged a feast for his companions and appointed Alice as his new maid, offering to have Hollimion train her as a warrior. He left Alice to help Bilbo prepare the feast and planned to visit the cemetery east of town.

• Allen settled Gandalf and Bilbo into guest rooms and arranged lodging for Stephen and his family.
• Allen decided to host a feast for his subordinates and companions while Thorin postponed his own celebration.
• Ymira assigned Alice to serve as Allen's maid, and Allen asked whether she had graduated from school.
• Allen arranged for Hollimion to train Alice as a warrior because serving him could be dangerous, and Alice agreed.
• Allen assigned Alice to help Bilbo cook for the feast and set out to visit the cemetery east of Wilderness Town.

Allen visited the Martyrs' Cemetery and arranged medals and a memorial statue for the soldiers who died at the Battle of Lonely Mountain. He returned to Wilderness Town for a banquet, where he settled plans with Firentis and Alayen and learned from Ymira how the town had endured the war.

• Allen walked among the 185 soldiers' graves and planned gold medals to honor the battle's participants and fallen soldiers.
• Allen asked Tyr to design and carve a statue commemorating the human, Dwarf, and Elf alliance's battle against the Half-orcs, and tasked Kent with finding and transporting stone.
• Bilbo Baggins told Allen that Alice had learned to cook Hobbit dishes, and Allen thanked Bilbo for his care and friendship.
• Allen welcomed the guests, announced the banquet, and discussed medals and troop replenishment with Firentis and Alayen.
• Allen learned from Ymira what Wilderness Town had experienced during the war, then drank with his friends until the banquet ended.

After the Battle of Five Armies, Allen turned his attention to expanding Wilderness Town’s population and influence. He approved Ymira’s plan to establish new farming settlements and encouraged her to keep developing as mayor.

• Allen reviewed how his diplomacy and wartime efforts had helped secure victory and protect the residents of Wilderness Town.
• Allen ordered Ymira to encourage larger families with material rewards and tax reductions, and proposed building a school to educate and train children.
• Ymira suggested helping larger families establish farms and villages with draft cattle, mills, roads, and local administrators.
• Allen approved Ymira’s settlement plan, requiring that it remain voluntary and that pregnant women receive safe medical care.
• Allen praised Ymira’s growth as mayor, and she blushed while reflecting on how much easier he had become to approach.

Allen addressed Wilderness Town’s food shortage by planning to reopen trade routes, buy surplus grain, and expand local production. He then announced his coming kingship and established a Cabinet, appointing its first ministers, Warriors, and Scholars.

• Allen told Ymira he would buy surplus grain and reopen the Old Forest Road and High Pass to bring merchants to Wilderness Town.
• Allen assigned Stephen to assist Ymira with trade and directed her to discuss producing honey, cheese, and mead with Beorn.
• Allen announced that Bard had become his vassal and that he would become king of the Rhovanion City-state, then proposed forming a Cabinet.
• Allen appointed Firentis Minister of War and Ymira King's Hand, named several companions Warriors and Scholars, and left the Minister of Finance position vacant.
• Allen signed the Cabinet decree and handed it to Ymira to proclaim before ending the meeting.

Allen traveled along the Old Forest Road and discovered a pack of fewer than two hundred Wargs preparing to ambush his company. When he heard Northern Men fighting the pack, he led Deshavi and thirty horse archers to the battlefield, where he wounded the Warg leader and the fighting intensified.

• Allen rode into Mirkwood with Tyr, Deshavi, and nearly fifty horse archers to inspect the Old Forest Road.
• Deshavi tracked fresh Warg signs and determined that fewer than two hundred Wargs had been living nearby for months.
• Allen ordered Tyr to defend their camp while he and Deshavi took thirty men toward the sounds of battle.
• Allen found more than a hundred Northern Men fighting the Wargs and spotted the pack leader on a rock.
• Allen shot the Warg leader with his rune bow, prompting it and several Wargs to flee as the remaining fighters continued the battle.

Allen and his men helped the Northmen defeat a pack of nearly two hundred Wargs, then he offered to bring their wounded to Wilderness Town for treatment. Gael welcomed the offer, and Caroline learned that the man who had rescued them was the renowned Lord Allen.

• Allen and his men killed the Wargs attacking them, then joined the Northmen and turned the battle against the pack.
• Other Northmen arrived, and together they killed or drove off the remaining Wargs as the survivors tended to their dead and wounded.
• Gael introduced himself as the leader of Pine Tree Village and recognized Allen as the Dragonslayer and lord of Wilderness Town.
• Allen offered to take Gael's wounded people to Wilderness Town for treatment, and Gael asked to consult his friends Caroline and Baren.
• Caroline arrived carrying the Warg leader's head, and Gael excitedly told her how Allen had rescued them.

After returning to Wilderness Town, Allen learned that the Simulator had unlocked Calradia and reset its cooldown, then arranged medical care for the wounded. He agreed to hire workers from Caroline, Gael, and Baren’s villages to reopen the Old Forest Road and build a fortress, leaving Caroline’s people with food and lodging while work was delayed until Tyr returned.

• Allen’s Simulator unlocked Calradia, granted him veteran-player privileges, and announced that its cooldown had reset.
• Allen returned to Wilderness Town with Caroline, Gael, and the wounded, and Jeremus rushed to arrange supplies for training women as birth attendants before taking charge of the injured.
• Allen discussed hiring workers with Caroline and Gael, proposing road repairs and a fortress near the Running River.
• Caroline accepted Allen’s offer of food for workers’ families and meals for women, children, and elderly people who would not receive extra pay.
• Allen said work would begin after Tyr returned in about a week and offered the visitors food and lodging; Caroline sealed their agreement with a handshake.

After Caroline returned to her villages, Gael stayed in Wilderness Town as Allen’s guard and messenger. Allen used the Simulator to experience life as a Calradian bounty hunter, gained a Two-handed Sword and a lead on qi, then decided to postpone further simulations while he handled preparations in Middle-earth.

• Caroline left Wilderness Town with most of her tribespeople, leaving Gael and several dozen wounded behind, and instructed Gael to observe the town and build ties with Allen.
• Gael accepted Allen’s offer to serve as his guard and handle messages between Wilderness Town and the three villages, while Allen considered him as a possible attendant.
• Allen waited until morning to use the Simulator, where his character killed the bandits who had murdered his father and later recovered in Zendar under Marnid’s care.
• Allen’s simulated character became a bounty hunter with Rolf, and the simulation awarded Allen a Two-handed Sword, renown, denars, and a lead on qi.
• Allen considered bringing Marnid into his administration but planned to make him earn a position, then postponed another simulation to oversee road repairs, training, horse breeding, and plans for an intelligence team.