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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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purposeful_glory
Starting from Man form, yes. The ones who are usually wolves I will have to fit in with a batch whenever I can catch them bipedal.
I was more worried they could wolf in midair.
purposeful_glory
I did various werewolf-related experiments when I first moved in and was deciding whether to let them make more werewolves. They do not spontaneously turn into anything when birded over the course of a few days at least.
The rule on making Elves into werewolves in this city is going to be 'no'.
purposeful_glory
I will make that clear. The rule is actually 'no' for Men now, even, since the nightmares, the only exception was the orc I had turned in case that worked.
If Thauron had that kind of power he'd have free will by now himself. Or at least some powerful orc lieutenants with it, and with family members and loved ones who did not have it and who they wouldn't want to chance.
You did the right thing.
And they get the Men settled and show them how running water works and someone brings hundreds of polished stones for Loki's songs to be attached to.
purposeful_glory
And Loki attaches songs. Color-coded. (And mirrors and clocks and one telescope that somebody specifically asks for, he wants to see if the stars are different here.)
It doesn't take too long to situate Men in the apartments, which are all identical but perfectly pleasantly laid out.
purposeful_glory
Loki doesn't stay the night; everything looks pretty well in hand here and she doesn't want to leave those two Quendi birds for too long. She finishes songing rocks and tells Maitimo she'll be back with more people soon.
By a week in, she's got the settlement about half evacuated. She fits the kids who aren't small enough to be going by land route into the second and fourth batches - she doesn't want to leave them till it's more obvious or cluster them in some obvious pattern. Werewolves are last; she tells them why. Land route travelers have an escort secured; Tumunzahar remembers her generous infodump from a while ago (and her transmission of a message across the continent).
She sounds the Quendi helpers out on the committee Maitimo mentioned.
By a week in, she's got the settlement about half evacuated. She fits the kids who aren't small enough to be going by land route into the second and fourth batches - she doesn't want to leave them till it's more obvious or cluster them in some obvious pattern. Werewolves are last; she tells them why. Land route travelers have an escort secured; Tumunzahar remembers her generous infodump from a while ago (and her transmission of a message across the continent).
She sounds the Quendi helpers out on the committee Maitimo mentioned.
There is a fair bit of scowling. "Maitimo runs things by committee," someone explains to her, "only in the sense that he has committees, and also he runs things. If he's decided to do this he will, but he's not offering influence. Also I'm not sure why he's being conciliatory when all the cards are really in their hands. Are they weaker then they look?"
There are nonetheless a few committee volunteers in the end.
And she gets back from one batch to find Thuringwethil pacing irritably outside her settlement. "Your guards shot me," she says, "which would have been unwise if I were in fact here to cause trouble."
There are nonetheless a few committee volunteers in the end.
And she gets back from one batch to find Thuringwethil pacing irritably outside her settlement. "Your guards shot me," she says, "which would have been unwise if I were in fact here to cause trouble."
"Warn you that he knows what's up, has made it known that actually anyone who brings you to him dead or alive has a very generous reward waiting for them, and is still not capable of taking physical form, unless he was tricking me about that."
purposeful_glory
"And are you in the competition for this generous reward?"
"Would I have told you about it first?"
"If I wanted you dead - alive is one fuck of a tall order - I'd hang out in bat form in range to erode some bricks - it'd take days, but you're gone for days at a time sometimes - come in while you're out, take you down when you walk into your tower. I would not hang around the entrance in broad daylight and then tell you there's a price on your head.
It's the same as the price on the Elf-king's head, if that entertains you."
It's the same as the price on the Elf-king's head, if that entertains you."
purposeful_glory
"I didn't realize it was quantifiable. Which Elf-king? Who's 'anyone', besides you?"
"The Elf-king who actually makes them nervous, not Melian's toy one. There are a fair number of Maiar who are, if not in the Enemy's service, at least not vocally against the concept, and I assume he's talking to us. The orcs have been told, but not ordered out here, I assume because even if there were a hundred thousand you'd just kill them all. Though possibly he's ordering them out here while you're on one of the trips."
purposeful_glory
"Thank you for the warning. What would it take to get you to, in some suitably trustworthy fashion, help me keep an eye on the Men and alert me to people trying to take advantage of this deal?"
"Promise not to kill me when you take over the world."