The room has three guards, and he is chained to the wall. There's a conversation going on when she arrives and he waves her in and smiles broadly and introduces her to the guards, who have all left their weapons leaning against the door and are sitting on the floor to talk.

Artanis had a talk with Lúthien. "Hi. We heard a very loud noise recently; is the continent holding up?"

"Gigantic rock was attempting to land on a city, I put it on the Ice instead. It made a dent." Doesn't bode well for the possibility that they'll give me leave to take you out for an airing.

"Oh, no. I'm not sure how Doriath would deflect that. The Enemy seems - inspired to new heights of creativity." I think I can be functional for a while longer like this.

If that status changes I can pop you right out, it's just - complicated, as you know. "Yes. It's annoying. I'm working as fast as I can tolerate."

"Can you tolerate a break? They were teaching me some Iathrim music."

"Yeah, I need a break about now." I've been stacking accelerations, only popped out to move the rock.

I might get out of this dimension sooner than that but I can't guarantee it. I am planning to complain about the chaining you to the wall thing.

They don't understand and probably wouldn't have done it if they did.

Tips on precisely how to complain besides 'why pray tell is he chained to a fucking wall'?

I don't much care for him either and I am angry with her, although I don't know if 'disconcerted' is her most cooperative mood. You would not believe how tempted I am to smile my way through walking them through one of the more civilized paths for galactic treaty negotiations on the grounds that if you rule an entire continent that is the sort of thing you do, isn't it, and then inform them that on page six hundred and seventeen of the thing they just signed they're liable to have an entire Nova Inquisition turn them upside down on accusations of prisoner abuse. I mean, this is probably a terrible idea, but still.

I know where the Silmaril is. You could just take me, take it, and go. With it gone we'd have no reason ever to bother them again, and there are better fallbacks of last resort at this point.

I am not sufficiently angry at Lúthien to want Doriath in general to lose its ability to fend off the Enemy. Although if his tactic is now 'giant rocks' I might decide I'm not above a protection racket.

He won't drop them on here. He wants to force our hand on the Silmaril, it's why he told us in the first place, he's not going to do anything to make the Silmaril not the operative constraint on their safety. We could steal it and then offer it back, on conditions more favorable to us.

Did you already try convincing Celebrimbor to do that?

Was going to wait until I couldn't handle this any longer. It's too much pressure to put a kid under, and I expect you'd have disapproved if we'd done it without you.

I disapprove of things all the time. Sometimes I even intervene. I will see about arranging for you not to be chained to a wall if at all possible. The Silmaril's another matter.

I would much rather have the Silmaril than not be chained to the wall.

Yes, I know you would.

So don't pick a fight over my conditions if it's going to make my objectives harder to achieve. Or at least don't do so as a favor to me.

Is it going to make your objectives hard to achieve if I tell Lúthien off about you being chained to the wall?

Possibly. Right now she doesn't think I'm mad at her; maybe she'd avoid me if she did, or get defensive, or replace this with a guard situation that I can't make even ostensibly friendly.