More Than a Stunted Race 3 Online Trivia | J. R. R. Tolkien

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Unfortunately for the Dwarves, their colonization of the Ered Mithrin was not peaceful. Around the year 2570 of the Third Age, a particular type of dragons started to harass them. Which type?

Answer: Cold-drakes

Cold-drakes were dragons unable to produce fire, and thus they were less destructive than Fire-drakes. They may have been used by the Dark Lord Morgoth in his wars during the First Age, but no mention of them occurs before they made war on the Dwarves. Even after that war, they disappear into obscurity.

When Gandalf mentions the perils of the Grey Mountains to Thorin and Company in "The Hobbit", which describes events taking place in TA 2941, he makes no mention of them, It is possible that the Orcs who occupied the Grey Mountains after they had been abandoned by Durin's Folk drove the Dragons back to the cold wastes of the Forodwaith.

2. Nineteen years after it started, the War of the Dwarves and Dragons reached its end, with the death of King Dain I and his second son, Fror. Where did the majority of Durin's Folk relocate after that defeat?

Answer: Iron Hlls

It was the Dwarf Gror, third son of Dain I, who led his people to the Iron Hills. There they prospered and became the strongest realm in the north of Middle-Earth. As Gandalf later remarked, the Iron Hills stood between Sauron and his plans for a revival of the Kingdom of Angmar and the eventual downfall of Rivendell and Lothlorien.

3. During that period after the relocation from Ered Mithrin, the old Kingdom Under the Mountain was reestablished by the oldest son of Dain I. What was his name?

Answer: Thror I

Thror brought the Arkenstone of Thrain back to the Lonely Mountain. His people gained the friendship of the Men of Dale and much trading took place between the two realms. When his kingdom was sacked by the dragon Smaug, Thror followed his people into exile. The circumstances of his death were the reason for a bloody and bitter war between the Dwarves and the Orcs.

4. In the year 2770 of the Third Age, the dragon Smaug destroyed the city of Dale and the Lonely Mountain. The Dwarf king was forced to flee in exile. Where did the Dwarves try to settle initially?

Answer: Dunland

Dunland was not originally settled by the Dwarves. Wandering Hobbits passed through it, while its main inhabitants were the Men known as Dunlendings. They were a secretive, isolated race who were bitter enemies of the Numenorians-in-Exile, and served Saruman in his war against Rohan. The Dwarves' residence in Dunland was brief and soon they relocated to the Blue Mountains.

5. When he was old, twenty years after Smaug had sacked Erebor, the King left his dwelling place, tired of poverty and the scorn of Men. He took one single companion, Nar, and journeyed to the old realm of Khazad-dum. What was the name of the Orc chieftain who beheaded him there?

Answer: Azog

Azog not only decapitated King Thror, he also branded his name on the severed head using Dwarf-runes, and proclaimed himself Lord of Khazad-dum. Nar was spared only because Azog needed a messenger to warn the Dwarves never to approach his so-called "domain". Nar was not allowed to take Thror's remains to his dwelling place. Under his command, the Orcs fed the body of the dead King to the crows. Azog's action provoked such wrath among the Dwarves that his name was forever accursed to them.

6. The King's son, Thrain II, was flled with righteous rage for what had been done. He summoned the other Dwarvish Clans and thus began the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. What was the name of the culminating battle of this war?

Answer: Battle of Azanulbizar

The Battle of Azanulbizar was fought in the year 2799 of the Third Age. The Dwarves won the day and Dain of the Iron Hills beheaded Azog, gaining the much sought after revenge. However, the cost was steep. King Thrain II lost one eye and his son, Thorin Oakenshield, was injured. Nain of the Iron Hills was killed and almost half of the Dwarvish host were dead or wounded. Furthermore, they could not enter Khazad-dum, since Dain glimpsed Durin's Bane still lurking in the depths of the city.

The Dwarves scattered again after their victory.

7. Following the end of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, Thrain II and hs people settled in the Blue Mountains. After some decades, Thrain grew restless and, with a small company, he journeyed towards the Lonely Mountain. Unfortunately, he was captured by agents of the Necromancer, who was in fact Sauron in disguise, and was taken to the latter's fortress. Where was it located?

Answer: Dol Guldur

Dol Guldur, "Hill of Dark Sorcery" in Sindarin, was built on the hill of Amon Lanc, which had been the capital of Oropher's silvan realm during the Second Age. Sauron occupied it around the year 1000 of the Third Age, when he began again to throw a shadow over Middle-Earth. After the War of the Ring, Galadriel threw down its walls.

8. Thrain II was tortured excessively in the dungeons of the Necromancer. Sauron managed to recover something Thrain had and Sauron lusted after. What was it?

Answer: The Ring of Durin

The Ring of Durin was the greatest of the seven Dwarven rings and the only one that had not been recovered by Sauron or lost until TA 2850. After taking the Ring, Sauron left Thrain in the dungeons to die, not caring to seize the Map of the Lonely Mountain or the Key to its entrance.

This proved to be a fatal mistake, since they came into the hands of Thrain's son, who was able to reclaim Erebor.

9. In TA 2850, Thrain II was alone and helpless in Sauron's dungeons. Before dying, he surrendered the Key and Map to the Lonely Mountain to somebody, telling him they were for his son. Who was the one to whom Thrain gave these possessions?

Answer: Gandalf the Grey

Gandalf had not come into Dol Guldur to free Thrain. In fact, he did not know who the Dwarf was. He had entered the fortress in order to surmise who the Necromancer really was and found proof that he was indeed Sauron. Unfortunately for him, Saruman the White opposed him in the White Council and Dol Guldur remained unassailed for nine decades.

10. In TA 2941, Thorin II Oakenshield met Gandalf the Grey in Bree and Gandalf urged him to take back his homeland, Erebor. Gandalf insisted that a Hobbit would be included in Thorin's Company as a burglar. Despite Thorin's initial reaction, the Hobbit was finally included. What was the Hobbit's name?

Answer: Bilbo Baggins

Bilbo proved to be a tougher fighter that anybody, including himself, anticipated. The Company's efforts were successful, but Thorin perished at the Battle of Five Armies, which pitted Dwarves, Elves and Men of Dale against Orcs and Wargs. Dain Ironfoot of the Iron Hills became King Under the Mountain as Dain II.

Source: Author DeepHistory

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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More Than a Stunted Race 3 Trivia Quiz

The third and final installment in the "More than a Stunted Race" series, which explores the history of the dwarves in JRR Tolkien's works. What follows the events described here is well known, I think. Enjoy!

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