Well, but I was paying attention when we were up in your country, and I’m sure I heard one of the gnarly-browed elders telling a stripling, “Son, sometimes you may be offered a draft animal or some other piece of livestock for nothing, and when you are, it is well to remember that, although it usually pays in the long run to inspect an animal’s teeth if you’re paying for it, you can afford to relax this principle when you’re getting the animal for nothing, because, after all, it’s free and there’s sure to be a way to make a profit out of the situation, even if in the worst case it has to go for dogsmeat”. 
Confused by the proverbial argument, Deor will go ahead and keep muscling the ballista into place. It’ll be good to have something helpful to do in those awkward moments in fights when you’re trying to conserve spells.
Ghân is impressed by Gil-Gandel’s memory. This is a word-for-word quote. 
Ghân looks nervously at Deor:
- this ballista could injure or kill one of us, which is not ‘helpful’
- ‘conserving spells’ is not a policy - if the party need the spell, the caster should use it
- bandaging wounds or protecting Gilraen (who is casting) avoids awkwardness
Ok, situation as is.
The South Door, barred and locked, still holding. Corridor outside smoke filled. The East Door, locked, but currently being hacked apart from outside.
When you are all ready, I will unlock the East Door and we can let carnage commence. Anyone have any last words or actions or shall we get on with it?
For some reason, I have this nervous feeling. 
Bitur is ready whenever everyone else is. He does mention that we should try to maintain the East Door as a choke point as long as possible. And he plans to stay clear of the path of the ballista.
Thoroncir is ready. Let them come!
Deor is loaded and moving the ballista into position. The rest stand ready. The door is nearly ready to break anyway.
Gwaelur and Bitur look grim, Thoroncir ready and Hraedsig eager to do battle once again. A plank breaks out. A large scaly hand reaches in to find the knob and Gwaelur’s ax falls hard enough to nearly severe the hand. A huge howl is heard as the hand pulls back fast. A crossbow bolt fires through the hole and sticks in Gwaelur’s armor but does no damage.
Mulligan throws back the bolt and swings open the door and leaps and rolls backwards out of the way. A surprised looking goblin with a crossbow is greeted by two angry Dwarves. A pair of axes chop into him and the party sees blood everywhere, an angry troll of about 8’ who in his pain has apparently injured 2-3 goblins and now is rushing forward.
The Dwarves step back in unison and pull up their shields. This lets Thoroncir and Hraedsig in on the fun from the side. The troll comes so fast that he actually bangs his head on the stone lintel. He looks slightly stunned. He backs up just a step; Deor shouts “duck” and sends a ballista bolt directly into the troll’s belly. Gil-Gandel and Brin follow this with a pair of arrows. The troll ducks and charges in swinging. He thrusts his bleeding arm into Hraedsig face but Hraedsig ducks out of the way and bashes the arm up with his shield and slips his sword into the troll’s side. Bitur fends off the troll’s main blow with his shield and still manages a hard chop on the troll’s knee. Gwaelur’s axe hews into the troll’s chest as Thoroncir thrusts Cirist into his thigh. The archers have no further shots and a happy Deor begins to rewind the ballista. Brin hears pounding on the south door.
The troll is looking bad but he drops down on Bitur wrestling him to the ground with his great weight and trying to rip Bitur’s head or helm off. Bitur has no chance in this match but Gwaelur’s ax chops into the troll’s neck as Hraedsig and Thoroncir run him through. Bitur’s helm is off and he takes 3 points of actual damage and 8 points of temporary concussion damage and he is pinned by the troll’s body. The first goblin that tries to get Thoroncir is swiftly dispatched by Elfstan and Sting. There are 6 more goblins in the hall. Three have crossbows. Brin yells duck and he and Gil-Gandel send a wave of arrows into the hallway as the bolts come flying back. After the exchange 4 goblins are dead and Elfstan took a single bolt that his chainmail reduced to only 1 points of damage. The south door is beginning to be broken up but it is still holding.
Gwaelur helps heave the troll off of Bitur as the archers fire and kill the last two goblins and Elfstan quickly darts into the hall to look around the corner and finish off any injured ones. Hraedsig ensures they are all dead in his wake. Elfstan peaks around the corner and shouts out, “four more on the stairs coming up quick.” He ducks back and nearly trips on Hraedsig. Elfstan shoes Hraedsig back to the Dwarves.
Four more what Elfstan? Goblins?
I really think it is time to leave the area once those four whatevers are dead.
Gwaelur will drop to one side of the choke point waiting for the goblins that are coming from the stairs. He will leave enough room that the archers can get a first strike at the opening, but not so much room that he can’t step in with a finishing blow from his axe.
Elfstan shouts back to Mulligan, “Big goblins with heavy spears and chain mail.” He passes by the Dwarves and heads to the left.
Hraedsig remembers one of the party mentioning something about trolls having to be burned to be really dead. So just in case he will light up one of his torches and set the troll body on fire.
Elated at his success with the ballista, Deor will start reloading it, ready to cast Web if need be.
Hraedsig, wait until the battle is good and over to start lighting things on fire please. I dislike fighting in the smoke and stench of a burning troll body.
Ghân explains to Hraedsig that there are stories about this, but they are not true here in Middle Earth.
Ghân still has Summon Insects and Heat Metal ready.
Thoroncir will make sure that Bitur is all right, and then will return to his position near the door, ready to welcome the approaching large goblins.
Bitur graciously accepts Throncir’s and Gwaellur’s aid in getting up and then replaces his helm.
“You know the worst thing about being tackled by a troll? The smell. And it doesn’t wash off easily.”
With that said, he wipes the troll blood from his axe and prepares for the next battle.
The goblins come charging around but the party is ready. Gil-Gandel and Brin both shoot the lead goblin but Brin misses. As the goblin closes Gil-Gandel misses with his second shot. The goblin angles at the last minute striking for bloodied Bitur but is hit by Gwaelur’s ax and war shield and drops. The next goblin strikes Gwaelur while his shield is occupied and hits for 8 for 11 total. Thoroncir stabs him as does Hraedsig. The goblin goes down. The next misses Thoroncir and is hit by Thoroncir and Bitur. The final one misses Thoroncir and slips on the blood and gore on the floor. Elfstan triumphantly exclaims, “For the Shire!” as he stabs downwards with Sting and ends the goblin’s career.
The south door is breaking up but the blockage is solid. Deor has nearly wound the ballista now.
So, what now? Do we simply retreat, or can we blockcade our new exposed flank (the former choke of the east door) and take on the enemies from the south?
I think its time to leave, so I’ll take point. Time to see what is around.
A 2 man/dwarf/elf rearguard as we leave the room might be a good idea, just in case they do break through.
Is there any hint of what’s breaking down the door? If it’s another troll, we’d do well to deal with it now.