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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeNotCharles" data-source="post: 5748533" data-attributes="member: 79945">The elder smiles toothlessly at Kurin. "Who would work the fields here if all our men went away to far lands?  We may be poor, but our fathers farmed and fished here, and their fathers did, all the way back to Girion who built the Stair.  It would be a sad day indeed for the sons of Girion to abandon their home and become just more faceless laborers in a crowded city."A young woman nearby chirps, "I've been to Lake-town!  My brother Reinald and I paddled up to see it when we heard the Dragon was dead.  Everything was all black and burned, and most of the people had gone on to Dale.  I heard a lot of them have come back to rebuild since then - I'd like to back and see it again, but now I've got little Frida to take care of, I don't see how."  The baby on her lap coos.As the elder rebuffed his talk of work, Kurin turns to his own background: "In the times of Smaug, Dain, lord of the Iron Hills, had heard of the devastation the dragon brought to the Lonley Mountain, and decided to erect huge stone walls on the entrances of the Mines, to protect us from the dragon."  The young lady with the baby leans in, eyes shining, as he mentions the dragon, and around the fire villagers shush their neighbours and hearken to the tale.  You hear whispers of, "The dragon - listen!  He's talking about the dragon!""By the time the crows arrived with the news, we have crafted many armors and weapons, and marched to what was later known as the Battle of the Fiver armies. Initially, we thought we were going to fight the elves and the men of lake town, but as the or chords appeared from the right flank of the mountain, old rivalries died quickly, and we all fought bravely against the orcs. My son was lost to me, as were many brave souls that day, at the hands of those dark creatures. Not even the King Under the Mountain was safe."  A chorus of condolences arises as Kurin reaches this part."But after the grief and the healing, time for growth came, and my father and I moved to the Lonley Mountain, as Dain was proclaimed new King Under the Mountain, and wanted us to work on the newly formed Artisan’s Guild.  Years later, I was sent to the embassy to meet lord Gloin, to establish trade quotas. That’s where my tale ends, and our tale begins.” A polite splattering of applause greets his words.  "Tell us more about the battle!" calls someone in the back, but his neighbour shushes his rudeness."A fine tale," the elder intones politely.  He turns to Kurin's companions. "And what of the rest of you?  What is your story?"</blockquote>

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