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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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"Cylindrical? Isn't it flat?"
"What's on the other side?"
"I'm going to check that out."
purposeful_glory
"Please wait until some opportune time. There is a system set up to rescue people who investigate the irregular gravity in a hazardous fashion and activating it seems like a bad time all around. Also during the conversation when I learned this it did not occur to me to ask whether the rest of the planet has atmosphere."
"I'd take Huan and, yeah, not do it while the Enemy is still around. 'responsible' is a thing I can fake for centuries on end, really."
"Congratulations. By the way."
"Hella impressive, must be super fun."
purposeful_glory
"It's kind of hacked together compared to my others but I am pleased."
"Desperate times call for some aesthetic compromises. Though try convincing an Elf of that."
purposeful_glory
"Does it count as an aesthetic compromise that the city's less attractive under the illusions?"
"Is it? I was wondering how the Halls Maitimo'd pulled all this off in three years. Well, there's my answer. He cheated. I should go scowl at him or something but I promised him I'd leave tonight with a boy so anyone wondering where a bunch of Feanorian girls got the idea they should hit on you would have an obvious candidate."
purposeful_glory
"I was wondering how thoroughly orchestrated the flock of them were."
"Maitimo is very methodical. I promise he didn't tell anyone to hit on you, just that if they tried it it might work."
purposeful_glory
"Anybody going to have hard feelings if I invite somebody who is not her to stargaze first?"
"Have you met Nelyo?"
purposeful_glory
"...Yes? This is last-minute enough that I'm not sure he devoted the full force of his personality to making sure exactly the most unjealous amenable girls appeared to giggle fetchingly at me."
"He was on something of a tear. I was actually a bit worried about him for a little bit, he had this look in his eyes and when he said he was just arranging you a party I wasn't sure that was what was up."
purposeful_glory
"But now you think that what was up was that I don't have to worry that if I pick up the brunette the blonde won't take me up on an offer later."
"No. I do think that they'll be fine, and expect the sentiment was communicated, but I think whatever was going on in his head was something else that only incidentally made him more exacting about party-throwing."