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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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Do you trust her? Also, I'm not sure what combination of dangerous-to-kill and the-Enemy-is-scared-of puts the two of you on the same - I guess your assassin would be likelier to survive the attempt, maybe that's it.
purposeful_glory
She's the one who warned me. I traded her a promise that after I take over the world I won't kill her for the help past that. She could be playing around with wording, but she did swear to having been truthful about relevant things.
So you're in the clear to kill her now?
purposeful_glory
If that seemed wise, it would not technically violate my promise, which is the regular breakable kind anyway.
She can help you with birds outside the city gates. Verify everyone after she's gone.
You've got him wrapped around your finger, she says. Anyway, fair enough. I'll debird and then skip town, if you don't need anything else.
purposeful_glory
Personally I'd find it really handy to have a full time Maiar detector but I think you'd upset Maitimo.
He's got one anyway, doesn't he, his little brother?
I'm surprised the Valar didn't whistle for their dog back when they cursed the family to high hell.
Sauron's been working up an extremely large, extremely lethal werewolf form to shapeshift into the next time they cross paths.
You lot seem to be under the cute impression you're the only side of this fight doing any work in their downtime.
purposeful_glory
I do not assume that, but that doesn't mean I'm ecstatic to hear how well it's coming along.
She sends a mental image of a terrifying and powerful werewolf taking a step forward and cracking like a glass sculpture. Not too well.
He's probably learned his lesson about not just squishing mortals he can't afford to have on the other side.
In the fated version of history, he becomes a prisoner of a King of Men, talks his way to his side and into his bed, persuades him to invade Valinor so Men can be immortal like the Elves.
In very broad strokes - we don't know which King, for instance, just that it happens eventually, and we only know that much because it's the last great cataclysmic event of history, the attempted invasion of Valinor and the response of the Valar.
purposeful_glory
Well, I suppose I could warn all the Men, but I'm not sure the story would survive usefully and I hope to have the necessity obviated by then.
Yeah, I think at minimum this is three thousand years out.