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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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Without a warning from Loki, who is the only person present who's dealt with suns and seasons, they'd have been caught rather flat-footed. As it is, they've filled up the basement of the tower with food, which Thauron had told them to do.
The Elves are Not Happy about the existence of winter, and gather food a little obsessively.
The Elves are Not Happy about the existence of winter, and gather food a little obsessively.
purposeful_glory
Even in winter they should be able to fish the lake and hunt (though they'll want to wrap up warm or carry singing rocks) and get some roots and certain berries.
Hey, Nandor, do you need any help with this unfamiliar phenomenon?
Hey, Nandor, do you need any help with this unfamiliar phenomenon?
They do not, thank you. If it's still going on in a few years they may need to migrate, but until then they are fine.
purposeful_glory
It should take about a quarter of a year, assuming that people have not been wrong about how long years are and the sun was installed with that calendar in mind.
Loki likes her igloo. And building it is nice fine control practice.
Loki likes her igloo. And building it is nice fine control practice.
Everyone is suitably awed by her abilities. The Elves ask if they can live in the tower and panel every inch of it with heating songs.
purposeful_glory
Fine by her. And the Men get all the warm rocks they need too.
Some orcs arrive around midwinter. They seem unbothered by the snow - they're walking atop it - and find the nearest Men and ask for Loki.
purposeful_glory
She goes.
But she goes invisible, frozen to ambient temperature, masking her footprints, and sends an illusion of herself, blue-skinned and red-eyed, tromping through the snow to meet them.
Orcs see heat. They don't see ultraviolet.
And who's to say she ought to have any heat to see?
But she goes invisible, frozen to ambient temperature, masking her footprints, and sends an illusion of herself, blue-skinned and red-eyed, tromping through the snow to meet them.
Orcs see heat. They don't see ultraviolet.
And who's to say she ought to have any heat to see?
They look appropriately terrified at the blue-skinned red-eyed thing. They look terrified in general; they are trembling violently. If they can see the real Loki, they give no indication.
"We have a message for you. If you're Loki. We have orders to deliver the message, we can't not, please -"
The spokesperson nods, still trembling. "Okay. The message is that someone's asking for you. The actual specific message is 'she doesn't remember her own name, anymore, but she remembers yours. She thinks you'll come for her. I'd be delighted if you would.'"
purposeful_glory
this could easily be a lie this could totally be a lie even if the orcs swore they wouldn't necessarily know liar liar liar LIAR -
The illusion doesn't flinch.
"What are your other instructions?"
The illusion doesn't flinch.
"What are your other instructions?"
"To go home, once we've told you."
"We have orders. Can't disobey orders."
purposeful_glory
"Okay, so that's what you want to try to do. Is that what you want to succeed at doing?"
"I expect that you're going to kill us. I said that when they told us to do this. They didn't care."
purposeful_glory
"I haven't decided yet." She spins up a lie detector. "What do you know about the person who has reportedly forgotten her name?"
The orc looks around, bewildered, for the source of the sound. Then controls its movements, looks at the ground. "One of the prisoners. She's an orc, not an Elf. I don't know when they brought her in. I know Sauron hates her particularly."
"No."
All of this rings true, as far as the song can tell.
All of this rings true, as far as the song can tell.
purposeful_glory
"Do you remember a while back, a while when the hurting stopped?"
They all nod.