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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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He's fast enough and I don't think he's been there for a few hundred years because at least recently he was spending most of his time in Angband.
purposeful_glory
Okay. So it's his turf but it's not longstandingly his turf. He didn't indicate if he could or couldn't tell where I was standing; he was willing enough to address the rock I flung and didn't make meaningful eye contact or anything, but I have to assume that could be fake and he might be able to see right through anything I can fling up...
We could try to lure him off of it.
purposeful_glory
With what? I mean, I could not show up to the meeting and he'll probably chase me down elsewhere but if he's not really dug in there I'm not sure it's advantageous to give up the chance to pick my time and know who's on hand as collateral damage.
Show up to the meeting, let me fly away? I expect he can keep pace with a swift but we're off his territory at that point.
purposeful_glory
You don't think he could stop you? Swat you out of the air?
He could certainly kill me. This is a lot of effort to go to if he wants that.
purposeful_glory
He might rather it than you getting away, though, especially if he can stroll into your family's camp and tell elegantly chosen truths about it.
And we don't want to pick a fight near the Men anyway. What was he doing with them, exactly?
purposeful_glory
Werewolves and possibly other things I heard descriptions of but didn't get a look at attack them sometimes, and then a friendly Thauron walks up and suggests building a temple to Melkor and singing a mediocre hymn and these things are effective wards against werewolves et al. I got the song and stuck it in a werewolf's ear, didn't actually drive it away, so they're doing something more sophisticated than what it could have been.
You'll probably have to ask Macalaurë to look at the particular song, and I don't even know if Men can sing well enough to do magic, but in general hymns to the Valar strengthen that Vala and their home domain.
He'll have told the werewolves to avoid the people who've built temples, probably, and the ones singing.
He'll have told the werewolves to avoid the people who've built temples, probably, and the ones singing.
purposeful_glory
It didn't seem magic, although I'm storing it in pieces anyway as a matter of habit.
Fine mess.
If you take me to Thauron and I've been poisoned in some way we're reasonably sure he can't reverse, does that count as meeting the conditions of the agreement?
If you take me to Thauron and I've been poisoned in some way we're reasonably sure he can't reverse, does that count as meeting the conditions of the agreement?
purposeful_glory
The ostensible spirit of it, not the letter; costs me something, doesn't get him back 'what I stole'. I have no idea how good he is at reversing poisons but my wyvern tail should still be good.
Spirit not the letter is not what we're going for.
He buries his head in his hands. He is trembling. Do we need to make this decision tonight? I'm - I think I need a break, but if it'll be too late in the morning then we can start moving, turn back if we later change our minds...
He buries his head in his hands. He is trembling. Do we need to make this decision tonight? I'm - I think I need a break, but if it'll be too late in the morning then we can start moving, turn back if we later change our minds...
purposeful_glory
I have twelve days and it would be that to walk but not to fly. I don't know how often he's going to check on your whereabouts or the resolution of his information. I think you can take overnight. He probably knows I sleep every night by default. She stands up. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.
I'm not worse off than if you'd done nothing.
You should go.
You should go.
purposeful_glory
She goes, collecting transcript pages into a bundle as she steps from his room.
He walks over to the precipice and sits there and -
would you dismiss your illusions that I'm outside and there are stars?
would you dismiss your illusions that I'm outside and there are stars?
- and sits there and does not stop shaking.
purposeful_glory
She goes to her hotel room. She screams silently a little more. She writes, cipher pacing across the air of the space until she feels like she's breathing it, and it doesn't help as much as it should. She wanted to hug Maitimo and it would be a terrible idea. She wants Sigyn. Sigyn's not here. She wants Thor. Thor might hate her forever but she might take it out on a target that looks less like her little sister who she taught to dance and hold a sword, miraculous prodigy Thor with her hammer that calls her worthy -
Well, now she's crying, but she never took the silence off so she doesn't have to stop for the sake of her neighbors.
She clears the cipher away. She works sleeplessly on teleporting, perception sped to drag out her stalling until she thinks she might be able to get a few winks.
She does.
Well, now she's crying, but she never took the silence off so she doesn't have to stop for the sake of her neighbors.
She clears the cipher away. She works sleeplessly on teleporting, perception sped to drag out her stalling until she thinks she might be able to get a few winks.
She does.
He doesn't.
purposeful_glory
And she wakes up and has no stomach for room service thank you and is not the first to bring up the topic in the morning.
I think we should start walking.