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Tumunzahar makes Menegroth look like a contract project. Which, the Dwarves assure her, it was. The stonework is astonishingly careful and beautiful, silky to the touch up close while from a distance it gives the impression of stretching on forever above, a sky of stone with crystals for stars. Vast natural cave systems are connected by dozens of perfectly smooth, gently sloped broad stone pathways from which the fall, if she fell, would be several miles down. There are handrails. "We use those to move materials carts," someone explains to her, "we're not going to be reckless."
There's an amphitheater, a place where a hundred of the stone walkways twine around to create space for a hundred thousand people to sit in close proximity, and someone is giving a lecture or a demonstration at the base of it, the seats closest to him filled with eager, tiny, bearded Dwarf-children.
And they spiral down, and down, and down, past waterfalls and egg-sized gemstones left half in the rock and halls of crystal. Everything grows gradually more ornate and more perfectly maintained and the clang of hammers fades behind them. "People say," her guide says, "that we only have a council instead of a single King because there were nine winners of the competition to design the throne so we couldn't just select one person to sit it." And they push open the doors to reveal, indeed, nine thrones so elaborate it would be hard to choose between them, and nine squat bearded people sitting them.
purposeful_glory
"They've sworn no oaths. I'm sure their parenting situation will be astonishingly awkward either way, but killing them is uncalled for."
And she goes out. And she heals all of the orcs - paying close attention to whether the babies react to this treatment or not. And she has them hand over the babies to any Men who want to practice holding babies and if that's not enough to go around she enlists Elves.
And then she inquires of the orcs under lie detection if their current orders allow them to change tactics, and if their current communication situation allows them to receive order updates.
And she goes out. And she heals all of the orcs - paying close attention to whether the babies react to this treatment or not. And she has them hand over the babies to any Men who want to practice holding babies and if that's not enough to go around she enlists Elves.
And then she inquires of the orcs under lie detection if their current orders allow them to change tactics, and if their current communication situation allows them to receive order updates.
There are lots of Men who want to practice holding babies. The orcs are cheered to learn that the babies will be spared. They want to personally advise the Men on holding babies better, this is really important, and also teach them nursery rhymes to sing the babies.
Their orders do allow them to change tactics, except their specific current orders include 'don't fight back or hurt anyone even if you think it's the best way to achieve your goals' so they can't change that tactic. They can be communicated new orders via osanwë.
Their orders do allow them to change tactics, except their specific current orders include 'don't fight back or hurt anyone even if you think it's the best way to achieve your goals' so they can't change that tactic. They can be communicated new orders via osanwë.
purposeful_glory
All right. She does not want them to be communicated any new orders. So all the orc adults are going to go over there in that circle, see, and they're going to confirm that none of them are Balrogs please, and then she is going to turn Lævateinn into a ladder and stab it into the ground and climb up it and make an ice wall around them. It is too slippery and tall to climb but they can sing nursery rhymes over it if so inclined.
Need an Elf's eyes up in the sky with me.
Need an Elf's eyes up in the sky with me.
purposeful_glory
She turns one into a bird. She turns them invisible.
Can you see a hundred miles or is this going to take a while?
Can you see a hundred miles or is this going to take a while?
purposeful_glory
Right, but none of the time will have to be search-transit time. Here's the deal. I'm sure whoever Thauron's got out there mindreading the orcs is invisible. Only makes sense. I have an idea that might work to find them. Then I can go increment my Balrog tally and as long as somebody's always up in flight to notice and give a warning if something else enters the vicinity we can leave the orcs alive in some hacked-together social disaster. My illusions have no range limit. They react to real light; and they react to each other; my guess is they will completely ignore whether or not someone is differently invisible. I'm going to flood the entire radius and then some with color and you're going to tell me if you spot a shadow.
Your commitment to not killing orcs is admirable, but at that point why not just send them back? At some point he communicates an order to them and then we have a lot of hostiles in our camp.
purposeful_glory
I'm considering it. But then he can just keep sending them at no cost and they loiter around, maybe surround us. I don't think he can afford to lose Balrogs the way he can afford to lose orcs, either.
purposeful_glory
I bet it is. Is it moving fast enough to get away? Zoom song zoom. She dismisses blue that is not in the place the Elf indicated.