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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.
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The desert is fairly unbearable in the midday sun.
purposeful_glory
Well, she doesn't want to go all frosty when Thauron likely doesn't even know she can do that, let alone that she's got the hang of it. And an illusion sunshade wouldn't even work. She heals away the symptoms of sunburn and heat exhaustion every now and then. Tromp. Tromp.
In the evening Macalaurë announces I think I can make people uninteresting, if you try making them visible quickly. I don't know if it's worth testing.
Should work on anything. I suppose I can try making this desert uninteresting but it already is.
purposeful_glory
You could try making my spellwork uninteresting, I have a perfectly good excuse to have that out.
And suddenly her spellwork is - still there, but like a dust speck she's grown accustomed to overlooking.
Done. And he sings it for her.
purposeful_glory
And presently she adds it to her entourage of songs. Want this on everyone in the party besides me and decoy bird?
Yes, please.
purposeful_glory
She spins off copies, attaches them where they need to be.
The sun sets.
purposeful_glory
This makes it pleasanter to hike; she doesn't stop for the night right away. If she has even a few second's warning that Thauron is coming she can do a sleep-skipper then.
Huan says something checked on us, Tyelcormo says, A little while ago, from a great distance, and not carefully.
No.
Yeah, probably.
Why are you expecting him to come out here? If we're heading where he asked, and there's a trap there - or even if there isn't - he'll just wait.
You should have orcs so you can check whether he thinks we've violated the agreement.
You should have orcs so you can check whether he thinks we've violated the agreement.
purposeful_glory
Well, I don't have any. It might seem in character for me to just stop and stall partway there, then he might come out.
All right.
purposeful_glory
She bounces this exchange to the others when she remembers they exist.
And they keep walking.