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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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On the eleventh day Thauron gave her, they reach the edge of the desert. The grass gets taller and crunchier and, eventually, actually green. Macalaurë has a better unnoticeability song.
purposeful_glory
She copies it, she applies it.
And she finds somewhere to park to pretend she's having an attack of conscience. This is not particularly hard. She de-birds everyone except her decoy (so he can be a decoy) and Maitimo (so he can flee as soon as his purpose as bait is served). And then she sits.
And she finds somewhere to park to pretend she's having an attack of conscience. This is not particularly hard. She de-birds everyone except her decoy (so he can be a decoy) and Maitimo (so he can flee as soon as his purpose as bait is served). And then she sits.
The sun sets. Can we have faster perception as well as uninterestingness? Tyelcormo says.
purposeful_glory
Sure. Attaching things while you're invisible and uninteresting is hard; maybe come by and cling to that rock one at a time.
So they do. They then fan back out. You're going to have to cancel the uninteresting on me if you need me to sing, Macalaurë says.
And they wait.
And, in the middle of the night - Here, Huan says sharply.
And, in the middle of the night - Here, Huan says sharply.
purposeful_glory
She already ran a sleep skipper in the hopes this would work; if he couldn't be lured she could have caught a nap before going on. She sits upright like she heard a noise, hand on Lævateinn.
And this time a rock comes flying out of the darkness at her, stops in the air a few feet from her face.
purposeful_glory
She winces like she's just finished having her attack of conscience. She flings her decoy bird into the air.
And something swats it to the ground at her feet. Not with enough force to kill it.
"Mixed feelings, Loki?" he says, sounding vaguely disappointed, his voice coming from nowhere in particular.
"Mixed feelings, Loki?" he says, sounding vaguely disappointed, his voice coming from nowhere in particular.
purposeful_glory
She flings the bird a healing song wrapped in baffle.
"Were you not expecting that?" she asks, getting to her feet.
"Were you not expecting that?" she asks, getting to her feet.
"I was expecting you to have intensely mixed feelings. I was expecting that by the time you reached the point of no return you would have settled them. And presumably he's long since exhausted everything he has to say.
Coming to me and then trying to let him run away seems...the least wise, of all of the courses available to you."
Coming to me and then trying to let him run away seems...the least wise, of all of the courses available to you."
purposeful_glory
He's using illusion. Her illusions will respond to ambient light - real light - and to each other, but possibly not to his own illusions. Huan, do you know where he is or should I try to tag him, might not work? "I could've probably thought of something less wise to do."
He is around a hundred feet away, directly in front of you. I am concerned that he was able to knock down the bird from that distance.
"Well, now that decision is made for you; he is not getting away. Where do we stand on the larger ones? What goals do we share?"
"Well, now that decision is made for you; he is not getting away. Where do we stand on the larger ones? What goals do we share?"
purposeful_glory
Loki continues to look at the rock presented to her as a target, same way he did.
"I'm more concerned about our methodologies than our goals per se."
"I'm more concerned about our methodologies than our goals per se."
"I do see a methodological difference. We hurt people, and you tell yourself that there's nothing you can do about it. Very different approaches to life."
purposeful_glory
"What do you tell yourself about it?" she wonders. Can you broadcast me his location well enough for me to use it to fight or should I try to wrap him up in my illusions?
A mental map of the area, with Thauron identified and a number of creatures prowling around him.
"That Eru wrote everything I've ever done into the song, because tragedy is beautiful. And he will be horrified by what he created as soon as it escapes the confines he created it for."
"That Eru wrote everything I've ever done into the song, because tragedy is beautiful. And he will be horrified by what he created as soon as it escapes the confines he created it for."
"I don't want to kill you, Loki. I will, and if you make it an interesting fight I will even do it cleanly. But I will be so disappointed. What do you want, and do you really think the best way to get it is brandishing a pointy stick at me?"
purposeful_glory
"I like my pointy stick. Only good present my mother ever got me. As for what I want, that seems like a really personal question from someone planning on killing me."
"You brought me Nelyafinwë. Badly, but you did it, and I can be tolerant of mistakes under circumstances like these. Turn him back, and let's think about arrangements that are less of a waste of your potential."
"Is he going to be distracting? I actually don't think he will.... I'm going to be annoyed and disappointed if he's just spent the last week begging you to kill him. I was expecting him to try something more interesting than that."