Quote:
Originally Posted by Kath
I always wondered just why the town was built out on a lake. There is mention of a previously ruined town that could only be seen by the shores of the river in time of drought. So was the original town flooded? Is that why they decided to build upon a deck in the middle of a river? It seems a dangerous decision to be pretty much as accessible and visible to attack from the air as you can be when your likeliest enemy can breathe fire from the sky. That said it does mean they can leap into the lake once the town is set on fire.
|
Oh dear, I remember a
terrible thread that dealt with this some years back....
Anyway, it seems the reasoning here is that great amounts of water is the best protection from a fire-dragon. Later on, when Smaug attacks Laketown, the dragon first makes for the great bridge, but the defenders manage to cut it before he gets there, and since he can't pass through the water and get to Laketown without having his inner fires put out, he proceeds with an all aerial attack instead. But it is implied he would've preferred crossing the bridge and entering the town on foot.