The Quest Of DwarvesA Chapter by Lord of the KingsChapter 1- Quest of
Dwarves In the halls of Erebor, every
dwarf was keenly watching towards the palace under the mountain Thorin
Stonehelm, trying to hear the discussion going on inside. Four hours earlier
king summoned every minister to his palace. The entire
city of Erebor was divided in several floors and instead of houses each dwarf
or a dwarf family had its own chamber. The size of chamber depended on the
number of dwarves who are going to live in it or sometimes on the respectable
status of dwarves. Especially dwarves involved in the reclaiming of Erebor or
the families of dwarves who died in a battle were often given larger chambers.
The upper floors were for warriors or highly respected dwarves and for dwarf
widows and orphans. The lower floors were for those dwarves who worked in
mines, did jewel crafting or weapon making. Further in that too the deepest
floors were for miners whose population was highest in the working class. The
ground floor was for king’s palace and his courtesans chambers. The dwarves had
no distinction of class and every dwarf was equally wealthy. Only the King was
exception who has an exceptional palace of gems as could never be made anywhere
else in Middle Earth. The other ministers even the most important ones had
equal wealth compared to the working class dwarves. The requirement of their
food was fulfilled by the men of city of Dale who had quite good production of
grains they exchanged it with dwarves for gold coins which was actually quite
economical for dwarves for they never fell short of gold coins as their mines
were ever full of gold coins and precious metals. The male and female dwarves
both knew cooking but the female dwarves were expert in it and delicacies were
prepared by them and when delicacies were prepared they were made for an entire
floor on which that female dwarf lived. Although the number of female dwarves
remained less in Erebor just one-third of population as it was in the past in
the race of dwarves. Moreover, the
jewelries of noble class of men was also prepared by dwarves for they carved
the most beautiful jewels like necklaces, bracelets, rings, pendants and
jeweled belts. They were the most skilled crafters of Middle Earth in terms of tools
and weapons also. Their axes, swords, hammers and spears were of unmatched
quality and no craftsmen could match their ability. These weapons were either sold
to men or used by dwarf warriors for protecting this wealth. Dwarves had an
extremely strong army force for they might be short in height but their
strength was no less than the strongest of men and though they had a separate
army but every single one of the dwarf could act as a soldier if it ever comes
to the protection of their home and family. After the urgent calling of King Thorin the
ministers have summoned and since then they have been in the palace for two
hours discussing continuously. It was quite unusual for the dwarves as dwarves
don’t discuss matters for long time not for a single hour unless it is a matter
of utmost importance and that was the reason everyone was gathering around the
palace. The dwarves had a feeling that something is going on inside that is a
significant topic of discourse. The murmur and guessing about the meeting going
on inside was now spreading to the distant corners of Erebor and now the entire
kingdom leaving their work and job was just interested to know about the
matter. Finally after a long interval of 5 hours the doors of the palace opened
and King Thorin Stonehelm came in front with ministers standing behind him in
rows to address the public who looked at him like a kid who finally got candies
after longing for days. Thorin came
in front of his palace entrance and said in a thunderous voice. A proud king he
looked about 4’7” in height with long black hair with some white streaks and
had a long black beard reaching till his knee. “The people of Erebor, I have
been in a long discussion with my ministers and we have made a decision that
everyone should be made aware about.” Then he
shifted his tone into polite manner and said “It has been 30 years since the
siege of Erebor and now I am proud to say that our kingdom has entirely
recovered from that disaster due to the hard work of our stout hearted people.
Our mines have once again started and gold, ruby, diamond and gems are once
again flowing as the blood of Erebor. And now I think it is the right time to
expand our kingdom and let the Middle-Earth know that dwarves of Erebor have
once again regained the spirits and strength to become one of the strongest
kingdoms of Middle-Earth and for that what could be better than our ancient and
true home Mines of Moria, the kingdom of our first ancestor Durin. Vast
beautiful halls with our traditional dwarfish architecture and with the last
remnants of our forgotten dwarf heroes and ancestors. A kingdom that was taken
from us long ago by a terrible evil and since then our forefathers and fathers
always dreamt of going there again. Now that the evil is gone so I have decided
to reclaim our true home Moria.” Then his face became grim and after a brief
pause he spoke again “Moreover about 107 years ago Thorin Oakenshield and his
company reclaimed Erebor from Smaug the terrible and since then our kingdom has
prospered in Erebor. This is our time to reclaim our long forgotten home of
Moria and live in the halls of Durin which were made for us not for the filth
of Orcs to spread their filth on that sacred place so that we could give our
young ones a place to prosper just like our great deceased leaders Thorin
Oakenshield and Dain gave Erebor to us. ” As Thorin
was going to speak ahead a voice came the crowd “Have you forgotten about the
last time we went for Moria? We lost many lives dear to us? Thorin
looked in the crowd for the dwarf who interrupted his speaking. The angry
expressions on his face made clear that he didn’t like the interruption at all
and the speaker hid himself in the crowd fearing his wrath. Thorin was very
quick to resent on anything or anyone who he believed to be disrespecting him
and the dwarves were aware of that. But Thorin
answered quite politely as if the interruption didn’t bother him “Nothing has
been forgotten my people I assure you. I had sent some scouts who are returning
by tomorrow and will tell about circumstances of Moria and only after that a
final decision of recolonizing Moria will be made. That’s all I have to say for
now” and with that he went inside his palace. The
ministers came out and one by one all of them left without saying anything to
people. No one made
any interruption or did any questioning for the answer satisfied them all
although the dwarf public had got a topic hard enough to digest and a lot of
discussions in public began about this decision. This was
queer for dwarves for the King since the death of his father Dain had been away
from political matters and especially he had given up everything that has
anything related or could in any way lead to a battle. His attitude was rather
same but his decisions were mostly taken by his ministers but this one was
taken solely by him for he has planned it before and had already sent scouts
for the matter and in an unknown manner had just changed the fate of
Middle-Earth. The most
famous discussion spot was made in front of the chamber of Bofur, one of the
oldest dwarves of Erebor about 226 years old and the most trusted minister of
Thorin Stonehelm who once was the member of the company of Thorin Oakenshield
in reclaiming Erebor. Bofur was a highly respected dwarf in the Erebor just
like all the other members of the Thorin’s company for the dwarves always took
them as their heroes who reclaimed their home and even King Thorin [III]
Stonehelm always appreciated their valor, courage and loyalty that they showed
to their king at the time of that quest Thorin [II] Oakenshield and always
considered Erebor a gift from those thirteen dwarves of Thorin and company and
none the less of their hobbit friend Bilbo Baggins. Bofur was the only member
of that company who had any interest in kingdom and its care and therefore he
was the only member of that old company who was in king’s ministry and king too
always had his consent in his decisions. The chamber
was on the easternmost corner of the second floor of Erebor directly two floors
above the king’s palace and some holes were made in the mountain walls of his
chamber so that air and sunlight could easily enter in the chamber as Bofur
liked the feel of fresh air and brightness in his surroundings. On hearing the
noise of crowd outside he came out of his chamber and with his coming the
dwarves began discussing about the king’s decision. Bofur expected this as
whenever people had to know more about discussions inside the king’s palace
they came to him for they knew that he was always present in king’s meetings
and had a significant impact on the decisions taken by him. “So people
you must be here about king’s decision, I suppose” said Bofur. “Yes Bofur” said
a middle aged dwarf with brown beard and quite chubby look coming forward. His
name was Barthrid, a miner he was who was always interested in discussions and
debates whether they concern him or not. He did less mining and instead he
spent most of his time in gossiping and gathering news of any event that could
spice up his confabbing mind. He said “I don’t understand the need of it; we already
have Erebor then why to go into Moria, a place long forsaken, full of perils
and foul creatures where numerous dwarves have lost their lives.” “The reason
for reclaiming Moria is not for our need neither was the reclaiming of Erebor
for that purpose. The purpose is to redeem our honor and to re-establish dwarf
kingdom once again as the strongest realm in middle-earth as it was in time of
King Thror” said Bofur “yes at first I too thought that it was not required and
I would not have agreed if I haven’t heard the voice of our king. It was a
voice that I once heard 107 years ago, a determined voice of a true leader, to
reclaim the honor of dwarves, at that time by reclaiming Erebor and this time
by reclaiming Moria. It wasn’t a weak confused thought of a leader who has been
given much more responsibility than his level as he usually had but a
determined decision and I thought that his name has rightly been kept, the name
of a person that I always followed ‘Thorin’ and I agreed cause I could hear in
his voice that his decision was a true king’s decision taken after a proper
thought and with a firm resolution.” “Yet he
could be wrong” said Bungus a weapon merchant of Erebor. “Besides
even Thorin Oakenshield you talk about was not able to reclaim Moria” said
Barthrid. “He was not even able to defeat Azog and his army in battle of azanulbizar
but it was Dain who beheaded Azog and made sure the victory of Dwarves and even
after the victory he too forbid the dwarves to enter Moria. Then why King
thinks about recolonizing it.” Bofur’s face
turned red on hearing such an insult of Thorin Oakenshield for he always took
Thorin as the greatest dwarf and he was still loyal to him and with rage he
replied in a harsh tone “You know nothing of the Battle of Azanulbizar and the
greatness of Thorin Oakenshield so don’t you dare disrespect him again. He was
wounded in the battle and his shield was broken yet he cut an oaken branch with
his axe and using it as his shield he fought on and his axe continued hewing
orc necks and even with his wounded arm covered just by an oaken shield he had
slayed hundreds of orcs as I was told the tale of the Battle of Azanulbiazar by
Balin who was also present there and saw this with his own eyes.” Then a young
dwarf stood up and spoke “Yes Mr. Bofur is right. I have heard the entire
legend of Battle of Azanulbizar many times by Mr. Dwalin and yes Prince Thorin
II was given the name of Oakenshield for he killed such an amount of orcs with
an oaken shield which even an armed dwarf with a mithril shield could not have
killed and he earned the respect of every dwarf in that war. So you better
think of what you are speaking Barthrid”. “Well you
certainly know better than Barthrid” said Bofur “So tell me your name lad and
how a young stripling of merely thirty years like you knows so much about such
an old battle”. “I am Ayush son of Ayron son of Aymar” said he. “I learned all of this from Mr. Dwalin. I
used to live with him before his death and he took me as his heir. He used to
tell me tales of Battle of Five Armies and Battle of Azanulbizar and of Durin’s
bane.” “Well yes
Dwalin was present in many battles and knew a lot about these things and he was
a good friend of mine. I miss him very much. And he was most loyal to Thorin
and he too had fought bravely in Battle of Azanulbizar not knowing that there
efforts will be considered as defeat by their own kin.” Bofur said. “Pardon me
Mr. Bofur, I didn’t mean that. But still the King’s decision is a perilous
one.” “The only
peril in Moria was the Durin’s bane and it was killed by Gandalf as was told by
Gimli to us” said Bofur. “Therefore his decision is right for the moment.” “And if it is perilous then it will be known tomorrow when scouts return” said Ayush. “Although I wonder how Moria looks like and I would certainly like to visit it
and see it with my own eyes. The beautiful home of our ancestors, a mine full
of stunning wonders and its halls made in the Durin the deathless true panache.” “Aye it was
one of the most striking places of the world although now due to those filthy
creatures the place has turned into a dark, dangerous, mud filled and full of
holes cave which no dwarf would like to dwell until it gets clean and renovated”
said Bungus. “Well Mr.
Bofur don’t you know anything about it?” asked Ayush. “Nay I do
not know anything about Moria and all the knowledge I have gained I learnt it
through the company of Thorin Oakenshield for I am originally from Blue
Mountain and before becoming part of his company I had no business with Erebor
or Moria.” Then Bofur
noticed one thing that Ayush did not have a long beard like rest of dwarves. He
looked different from the dwarves of his kin. He had long black hair and height
of 4’4” which was like dwarves of Erebor but his beard barely reached his
chest. “You don’t
look like a dwarf of Erebor Ayush. So with which kin do you belong?” asked
Bofur. The rest of
the crowd which was till now much busy in listening to the debate began
observing him. A miner
named Oldor said “Yes Mr. Bofur is right. Your beard is too short and you are
not younger than twenty years so it can’t be said that it has not grown yet.” “Well I
belong to the Blacklocks family of dwarves. My grandfather Aymar after the
Battle of Azanulbizar followed Dain Ironfoot instead of returning to the
mountains of the East beyond the Rhun with his kin. He lived in Iron hills
along with the dwarves of Erebor and my father Ayron too came with the
longbeards to the Erebor and fought alongside Thorin Oakenshield in the Battle
of Five Armies at a young age of just twenty four years and after that we
started living in Erebor.” “So that is your story Ayush of being in Erebor.” “Indeed it is Mr. Bofur.” In Erebor
two families of dwarves lived Longbeards and Firebeards. Longbeards was the
original family of Erebor and Moria with which all the kings of these kingdoms
belonged. Just like the name Longbeards were actually identified by their long
beards which reached till their knee. They were extremely valiant and the most
noble family of dwarves. The second family that lived there Firebeards too had
long beard but shorter than longbeards reaching till their abdomen but they
were characterized by their two fork like parts of beards as they usually
divided their beards in two braded parts. Firebeards were actually a minority
for they were mostly the member of Thorin’s company and other dwarves of Blue Mountains
who were closely related to Thorin’s company. Bofur was also a firebeard. The reason for presence of a Blacklock Ayush in Erebor dated back to the Battle of Azanulbizar. Ayush’ grandfather Aymar was actually a great warrior and fought alongside the dwarves of Thrain in the battle of Azanulbizar representing his family Blacklocks. During the battle he was deeply wounded along with Thrain and Thorin Oakenshield but for avenging the death of Thorin’s grandfather Thror or the leader of the eldest family Longbeards he fought on with all his courage and strength. He somehow survived the battle but for healing his wounds the dwarves of Iron hills took him along with themselves. After healing he asked about the war and after hearing the story of the brave deed of just a 32 year old dwarf Dain, a mere stripling in the eyes of dwarves who slayed the leader of legions of orcs Azog the defiler and thus ensured the victory of dwarves by making the orc army leaderless, he decided to live in the company of Dain. Dain too was impressed by his valor and they soon became close friends and remained so until the Battle of Five Armies in which Aymar lost his life as he was slain by a goblin while defending Erebor. While Aymar was elder than Dain yet he married very late at the age of 171 years and thus while Dain’s son Thorin Stonehelm was seventy five during the Battle of Five Armies Aymar’s son Aynor was just twenty four at that time. Though their age difference was much yet Aynor became the closest friend of Thorin Stonehelm and remained so until the seizure of Erebor. During the war of the Ring the dark lord’s forces also tried to win North but their forces were stopped by the valiant alliance of men and dwarves of the Lonely Mountain. Seventy seven years later on the same spot of the Battle of Five Armies another fierce battle took place not extensive as Battle of Five Armies but yet a terrible one. King Dain and Brand rallied their forces to fight off the evil forces of Mordor. Prince Thorin and Ayron too went in the battle to serve Dain and fought alongside. At the time old Dain was surrounded by enemies Thorin and Ayron both jumped in and tried to put their own bodies on the line to save king but it was in vain. Dain couldn’t survive the battle as he was too old and a single blow of orc arrow became his doom and after his death Thorin and Ayron took charge of the battle. Leading the dwarf army the two brave warriors went in front and destroyed the leading lines of the enemy but the damage was not only taken by enemy side and they too faced some orc axes on their skin. Ayron lost his life in the process while Thorin was severely injured. Yet they succeeded and the victory was theirs but Thorin was deeply hurt not from the wounds but due the loss of his father and his best friend in a single day and it had a great impact on his verdicts for a long time. Ayush was just a four years old kid at that time and Dwalin whose
chamber was just beside Ayron’s chamber took care of him like a grandson and
his mother Ciriline like his own daughter for he had grown old and needed
something to live for and as he was a highly respected dwarf so he was given a
large chamber at northern side of first floor upward and Ayron’s chamber was
soon taken by the other survived dwarf warriors for very few knew about his
family and even Thorin was himself unaware of that. Dwalin had grown attached
to Ayush and told him tales of old times and thus Ayush was aware of the
stories of every single war for he keenly heard Dwalin’s every story and was
fond of his tales. Although Dwalin too died on 22nd year of fourth
age about five years before the time of this tale. Since then Ayush just
memorized his stories and was extremely keen to find an opportunity to go on an
adventure himself and to serve his people through some valiant act just like
his father and grandfather. Though he never felt alone for his mother loved him
the most and tried to give him everything he desired but what he desired was to
become a part of a legend himself. Well soon his dream was going to get
accomplished but on a very high cost. The
discussion still continued taking things from long ago in the past to the
recent tidings. Though most of the dwarves criticized the decision yet there
was a spark ignited in their hearts to behold the beauty of Mines of Moria by
their own eyes that they had only heard in stories of their elders, their true
home which they had never seen with their own eyes in their entire lifetime.
The entire day and night was restless for them and even after their discussions
have ended they wished to be in Moria again and dreamed of its beauty as
expounded in the tales of their ancestors. Most of them were very excited and
the few dwarf kids were curious and interested about the Moria and its tales.
They had numerous questions like what was mithril, who was Durin and why did
the dwarves left Moria. The entire Erebor was bursting with an excitement of
unexpected events. During the dinner time, delicacies were being made at every
floor and entire Erebor was filled with the loud sounds of laughter and merry
gathering. Feast was set on every floor and even King’s ministers and
courtesans were preparing a banquet. The dinner was the gayest time of the
dwarves and they always ate it along with some food games, light-hearted gags
and songs and etiquettes while eating was never ever taught or followed by them
and on that night the Erebor was just bursting with all this. Songs were being
sung on their return to their ancient home. It went something like this The time has
come, the time has come, the flying
birds shall return to their nest, after
hundreds of years of soaring in the wilderness, they shall
return again to their nest, yore in the
deeps laid their home of silvery twigs, there they lived with joy and bliss, it was full of exquisite jewels, rang in
their ears the mithril bells, but it had a
great price, and took
them towards the devil’s eyes, the evil
arms came out, destroyed
their home and above it sprout, the birds
found their home gone, and there
only the fire shone, away from
their burnt dwellings they flew, and the
darkness in their nest grew, but now the
devil has met his doom, the grey
wizard demolished that goon, and the
birds have their priceless nest again, for the home
is precious than any gem, hence they
will return with no doubt and the
trespassers will be shown the way out, the King has
announced the going, for the time
has come for the birds’ homecoming. The entire
night hither and thither songs like this echoed in Erebor and in the joy of
dwarves the nature too joined them. Soft breeze with sweet aroma surged
throughout the night and the nightingales joined the dwarves in their songs
with their syrupy chirping. Ravens filled the sky of Lonely Mountain and the
joy in Erebor attracted them too for they were the dwarves’ favorite messengers
although they never went farther than Dale since the reign of the dwarves was
re-established in Erebor. Only extremely tired dwarves slept that night for
most of the dwarves couldn’t wait to hear from the scouts till the next day.
Although they were unaware that their joy was momentary and between their homecomings
there still lies a tale of ferocious bravery, vicious battles and agonizing
deaths. The next
morning was bright one, full of sunshine and the weather looked warm and pleasant.
It was an autumn morning at September’s end. There was an extravagant verve in
the ambiances of Erebor. The birds were singing beautiful, sweet songs and a
swift fresh wind was blowing and all the dwarves were roused even the little
kids and they looked with ardent eyes towards the foot of the mountain
assessing the approaching of the scouts. Then
suddenly like forest fire news began to spread that the dwarf scouts have
returned. All the dwarves of Erebor began gathering towards the mountain gate.
The gate of the Erebor was instantly opened and in came seven dwarves clad in
Elven cloaks with worried faces and their expressions made clear that
everything was not good at Moria. At their head walked Larneth, the head of the
company and also an important dwarf army member. The scouts
looked at the fervent crowd and then bowed their head as if to show the crowd
that their hopes and energy are in vain and useless. Then they straightly went
into King’s palace and the significant dwarf ministers followed them. As Bofur
was going to follow them Ayush asked him “May I also join you Mr. Bofur.” “Well come
on Ayush after all Dwalin chose you as his heir and he was one of the most
prominent minister of Dain. So join us on his behalf.” All of them
entered the palace and public with keen eyes desperately waited for hearing the
news. Ayush
followed them into the hall. As he moved in, the magnificence of the hall of
King left him in awe for he had never been inside the King’s palace. The entire hall was glistening as all the
walls were covered with silver tiles. It had marble flooring painted with
molten gold and its bright reflection looked marvelous. There were carvings on
the walls depicting the figures of all the deceased Kings under the Mountain
and they were clearly visible for they were studded with rubies and there were small
sapphire decorative items too hung there. The entire hall was sparking and its
beauty was mind-boggling even for the dwarves. Ayush was incredulous at that
view and he felt as if he had entered into a world of gems. There at the other
end of the hall lied the throne of the king made entirely of gold and small
diamonds were studded on its borders and it lied on a raised platform that was
built with platinum. Its splendor outstripped every other that lied in Middle
Earth. On the left and right side there were series of chairs for the
ministers. Although these were less in height and grandeur yet these too looked
stunning as they too were decorated with gems. Thorin went straight ahead and
sat on his throne while the other dwarf ministers took their seats. The closest
seats were taken by Larneth and his company and the other ministers sat in
their accustomed manner while Ayush followed Bofur and sat next to him on the
left side. Thorin began
the discussion “So Larneth what news have you brought?” “My King the
news is not good. We don’t know clearly what lies in Moria but the evil we saw
was exceptionally dreadful. The orcs have abandoned it and a lot of them were
seen running away towards the Lorien. We met with some of them and expected a
conflict but they did not heed us and continued to run towards East and South.
We caught one of them but all he could speak was death and fire.” “Have a
dragon entered the Mines of Moria?” said Mardith an old minister. “No it is
not a dragon but something far more terrible” and a dread came over his face
and his voice became like a frightened whisper. “It is something that equals
the terror as that of the Sauron.” The face of
the other six of his company also looked horrified like that of a mouse escaped
from the venomous adventure of snake made to remember it again. “What is it
that fills you all with fright?” asked Thorin anxiously. “Balrogs”
and as he spoke the entire chamber filled with the thoughts of darkness as if
the glistening gems of the hall has lost all its effect. Ayush held Bofur’s
hand strongly as everyone’s thoughts went back into the dreams of darkness of
Durin’s bane and trepidation took them. At that time none of them had the
courage to speak anything. All hopes of reclaiming Moria died in their minds
for the entire planning was only done on the fact of the fierce Balrog’s death
but more than the melancholy of losing Moria, the horror of Balrog’s return was
the cause of their silence. “So Gandalf
was not successful in killing him” after a while Thorin spoke breaking the
silence but his voice was not much strong and it looked as if even though these
words were in a low voice he spoke them with quite an effort. “No my King
he might have been efficacious for there is much more” after hearing Thorin’s
voice Larneth too gathered courage to tell his entire tale. “After the
encounter with the orcs we continued our journey towards the Moria through the
beautiful enchanted forests of Lorien. It gave our troubled hearts some hope
and made our way less tiresome. Its beauty was as glorious as was told by
Gimli. Our hopes were raised and we found courage to go forward overcoming the
fear that we had since our meeting with the orcs. We continued to walk forward
towards Moria and after a week we had passed through the forest of Lorien and a
day later we finally reached towards our destination. On the entrance of Misty
Mountains the very air was warm as if the mountain peaks were hot instead of
being cold. And very soon we found that it was so. The first look of the
south-central misty mountains filled us with astonishment and shudder. There
ubiquitous heat was present and all the mountains were bare. There were neither
any winter trees nor any bush in the valleys and the mountain tops had no snow.
The great evil Caradharas ever snow filled, the one we all dared to go any
closer, whom we thought as invincible. The peak whom not even the greatest of
wizards had ever been able to conquer now lay there defeated. First time in the
history snow filled evil peak of Caradhras was seen bare by a dwarf. It was
burning from inside, met with its match, a greater evil more vicious and
hazardous than Caradhras, which dwells inside it and is consuming it like a
disease in its body. Now we knew that the orcs had indeed seen something that
made them leave Moria for which they were ready to fight any battle. Walking a
little farther we reached the Moria’s entrance. The ground at the Moria’s
entrance felt burning from inside. We took each step with much caution and
attention and with every step towards the Moria we felt the heat increasing. We
were drained and full of sweat when we finally reached the Eastern opening of
Moria. On reaching the entrance we found the bridge that was destroyed but it
seemed as it had been rebuilt by orcs for there once again laid a narrow bridge
there. On entering Moria a hot breeze came from inside and our faces just felt
burning and we drew our hoods over our faces. The whole surrounding felt like a
frying pan on which we were standing. On moving just a little inside we saw
burnt orc bodies lying all around. It was a horrible and disgusting scene and
there whole body was burnt like a roasted chicken. We were just recovering from
what we had seen when suddenly a sound came and anguish took over us. It was
one of those evi….l creatures” and he was shivering with fear as he said that. Thorin stood
up and went to Larneth and kept his hand on Larneth’s shoulders and said loudly
in his accustomed proud manner “Fear not my plucky friend; you are now in the
hall of your king not in that glum mine. You have survived that evil and now
you need not be afraid of it. Speak what you want for you are miles away from
it and your people need to know about what you faced.” Larneth
looked up and rubbed his eyes as if he was still having difficulty to remove the
murderous view of that creature. Even in Thorin’s bright hall he was finding it
hard to recover from that darkness. Somehow he conquered his fear and saying
that “I belong to the doughty dwarves of Erebor and I fear talking about no
creature” he began rest of his tale “A fiery creature it was and at least
thirty feet tall. It had fire all around his body and dark smoke came from his
monstrous nostrils. It held a bright whiplash but the brightness was not of its
material but of fire in it. We stood there like a stone although it was about a
league between it and us yet the brightness of its fire was clearly visible in
those dark mines. But it was not all and we saw around twelve more fiery
creatures coming out from the other tunnels and we beholding it stood
flabbergasted. Then suddenly one of them threw a whiplash and a stream of fire
came from its whiplash towards and we suddenly remembering our peril used our
shields to defend ourselves. Yet we got blisters on our skin and then we
started trotting away from Moria without looking behind. We covered around
twenty leagues without taking a single rest and then only the horror of the
creature lessen enough to allow us to rest. Yet we walked on and all seemed
dark to our eyes and we had forgotten where we were going or where we were, we
just wanted to get away from that terrible creature when a wood Elf of Eryn Lasgalen
met with us and took us to the hall of King Thranduil. There some Elf healers
healed our blisters and the darkness of our mind. Our wounds were healed; we
were provided food and clean elven attires were given to us for our clothes
were tattered and burnt. King Thranduil had supper with us and talked with us
about our trouble and after hearing it he too looked threatened as if our doom
was upon us. He sent his most swift riders to carry us to Lonely mountain and
they left us in the city of Dale and from their we came as hastily as we could
to Erebor for we were also told to inform you that Elven king is going to
Rivendell to take advice of Celeborn of his kin and has sent hastiest of his
riders to call for all the great kings of middle earth or someone from their
halls to represent them and he told us to apprise you that King Under The
Mountain is also called.” “Aye I will certainly
go for this indeed is a great evil more than any known in my life. And Bofur I
guess you would also like to visit Rivendell again.” “Of course
my lord, it would bring the memories of my old journey back.” “And I will
also come” cried Ayush. The voice of the young dwarf roared in the hall and
everyone except Bofur noticed for the first time that an unfamiliar dwarf was
sitting between them and in their worries and terrorizing thoughts they had given
no heed to their surroundings not even to an outsider present among them. “Who are you
and what are you doing here? It is an assembly of ministers and no outsider is
allowed. Tell me your name and a reason why you shouldn’t be punished” screamed
Thorin angrily coming suddenly to his senses as if he had thoughts of Ayush
being related to something horrific. His yell made the entire ministry silent. But Ayush too
was a robust dwarf and he didn’t look afraid at all. He replied in a proud
voice “I am Ayush son of Ayron son of Aymar. I am also the heir of Mr. Dwalin
chosen by Dwalin himself and I came here on his behalf as elder ministers with
the permission of Mr. Bofur. I don’t think I have committed any crime.” In dwarves
the heir was not given the property and the system of providing chambers
depended on one’s job not on the inheritance but instead an heir inherited the
job and the wealth of that dwarf. In this way a dwarf usually granted his job
to a younger dwarf for there was no higher authority to look out for a young
dwarf for replacing the older dwarf. Moreover a lot of dwarf had no kid and
many of them did not find their offspring to be worthy of that job or their
young ones did not like their job. The wealth was granted to the heir only if
he or she is the descendant of that dwarf or the dwarf had no offspring of his
own. Therefore Ayush was inherited Dwalin’s position in the ministry and he was
granted his wealth also for Dwalin had no son. “Well here
is a proud young lad. No you haven’t done anything off beam. You are Ayron’s
son and he was a good friend of mine and a trustworthy and audacious warrior.
That also explains my fear of your strange looks. You are a Blacklock or
shortbeard as I called your father yet you are one of our folk and not a mole
for you are his son and Dwalin’s heir. You also had Bofur’s permission so you
became a legal member of this ministry” replied Thorin in a polite manner. Thorin
actually looked glad and blissful on knowing him. For Ayron was very close to
him and knowing that Ayush was his son elated his mood for one moment he had
forgotten the peril at hand. He could memorize the esteemed voice of Ayron who
spoke in the same flair as that of Ayush. Ayush’ action of blindly entering
into a perilous matter without having any knowledge about it too resembled his
father for Ayron too entered the War of the Ring on Lonely Mountain with no
fear of death or any threatening evil. Ayron found honorable death more worthy
than a life of cowardly disgrace and the same thing he could see in the eye of
his young son Ayush. “And what
about taking me with you to Rivendell?” just as Thorin ended speaking Ayush jumped
up with another question in an agitated manner. “You seem
pretty excited about it. Of course you are allowed for I don’t see anyone else
here who is willing to go anywhere near Misty Mountains.” “So it is
decided then that I will go with Ayush and Bofur to Rivendell. We will start
tomorrow morning and Mardith go with some lads and inform King Dain of this,
Bofur get the comestibles packed as much are required for our journey and for
you Ayush if you wish to come with us, go and get four eminent ponies ready for
our journey” and after this decision the meeting ended. Thorin once
again in his fashion walked with his ministers to the front of his palace.
While all the ministers followed Thorin walking behind him, Ayush went beside
him walking equally and this was disliked by all ministers but Thorin didn’t
bother it and on his palace’s front he once again made his loud speech over his
decision and the peril that lay on Middle Earth. After
listening to his speech the people Erebor looked dismayed “But fear not the
stout dwarves of Erebor no evil has proved to be greater than the strength of
Durin’s race” added Thorin to his speech so that his people don’t lose their
mettle after hearing about the most spine-chilling evil in their life. For
dwarves were afraid of Sauron too but his fear has no power in front of the
terror of the Balrog who once became the doom of the Longbeards of Moria and
even his thought filled them with
darkness and fear that Sauron’s presence could only give to Men. The entire
Erebor was quiet that entire day and night was even more horrifying with the
dreams of Durin’s bane and no discussion on King’s words was to be seen
anywhere. Where a day before the Erebor was full of joy and liveliness with
celebrations and feast all over the realm, tonight it seemed mute and comatose.
All chambers were shut and no dwarf was to be seen outside his chamber. The
kids were being hushed for they did not know anything about these evils and
were snooping to know even about it. Barthrid the most gossiping dwarf had no
words to speak that night, the discussion crowd, Oldor, Bungus no one could be
seen in the deep silence of Erebor as if it was a mountain abandoned long ago.
A single sound echoed like thunder in Erebor. The feast areas lay there
deserted and not a single laughter was there about it. The mines lay there in
the deep with no miners in them; no sound came of beating of hammers or of
carving of gems. The city of Erebor and the ever running daily life of dwarves were
immobile that night. That night gloom has conquered not only the atmosphere but
also the dwarves’ minds. No raven entered the city that night and the
nightingales as if they were aware of fear of dwarves sat on the mountain dead
silent. Although
there were some sounds of argument from the house of Ayush for his decision was
not liked by her at all but what could be done against a sturdy, stubborn dwarf
thriftie [a dwarf in his thirties which was also the most aggressive age of a
dwarf’s life] who was not ready to listen anything against his going to
Rivendell. “You do not
know anything about this evil and you are not aware of what terrible power it
has. You are not safe anywhere from it and you have decided right in the perils
mouth. No you must not go near Misty Mountains” said Ciriline. “Nay mother
I won’t sit back here while others go on fighting for us in this time. I will
certainly go for I too want to help our people by becoming one of those folk
who become a part of its destruction. I wish to become a hero in this time of
peril.” “You speak
just like your father but what happened to him, he died in the battle. He would
also not listen and now you too behave like that. It is too early for you
to………….” and she stopped with a sob. “What he had
was an honorable death and he will be remembered forever. But you need not fear
for we are just going for a meeting in Rivendell not for a war against those
evil creatures.” “Nonetheless
you are still going near Misty Mountains which is the home of that evil. You
don’t stand a chance against those fiends if you ever came to face one.” “I might not
have a chance against them but I am not afraid of them. I will fight with all I
have and certainly I won’t sit here hiding from its fear only. Anyways now I am
going to Dale now to get the ponies arranged for our journey.” “So you won’t listen to me. Go then but do
remember this you are going without my acquiescence.” Ayush looked
back with a little sad and confused face thinking whether to go against his
mother’s wish or stay back at Erebor but soon his hunger for honor overcame his
mother’s counsel and he departed for Dale. While Thorin
began thought of whom to make the caretaker of his kingdom in his absence for
he was unmarried and had no heir and he felt himself concerned for the first
time that who would become the next king. But soon his thoughts returned to the
present for there needs to be Middle Earth and Erebor in it for the next king
to rule and both are in danger now. On the other side there were only two
dwarves active in Erebor, Bofur and a sixty year old dwarf Grindori who was
also a member of Larneth’s company. Grindori came to Thorin at around 8 o’clock
of evening but it appeared as if he has come at midnight for all the Erebor
seemed quiescence. He said “My lord I was in a daze at the time of meeting but
now I wish to come with you to Rivendell.” “What suddenly
came to you of coming with me Grindori?” “My King I
am Ori’s son as you know and you also know that he died in the mines of Moria
along with Balin and others. I came to Larnith’s company and now I wish to go
with you for he was killed by that creature whose folks still lurk in Moria and
I wish to be a part of their even if it takes my life for it. He wished to see
our folk in our ancient kingdom of Moria and I wish to complete his dream.” “All right
then come with us but go and inform Bofur and Ayush for extra food and another
pony for you.” Grindori was
the son of Ori who was one of the members of Thorin’s company and was also
Balin’s companion when Balin travelled to Moria about fifteen years before the war
of the Ring. There he was slain along with Balin’s entire company by the orcs
that dwelt there. Grindori was thirty one year old at that time and the same
figure later at the end of war of the Ring at the return of the Elf-friend
Gimli he learned the news of his father’s death. He was taken as a scout by
King Thorin III Stonehelm for bravely fighting by his side on Lonely Mountain
in the battle against the Mordor and someway inherited him his father’s job who
was also a scout before his death. Since his initial planning King chose him for
the quest of Moria and he too was eager to go there for he wished to complete
Ori’s dream of dwarves residing in Moria and along with it he intended to take
revenge on the orcs of Moria for his father’s death. Though his findings in
Moria had left him hopeless of dwelling in Moria yet he wanted to put every
single effort he could to see his father’s dream completed. Grindori
hurried to search for Bofur and Ayush as ordered by King but he didn’t need to
work hard as finding Bofur was a piece of cake for he was the only dwarf who
was outside his chamber in the entire Erebor. Bofur was engaged in packing food
and other provisions like cooking vessels, ropes and drinking bottles when Grindori
came to him. “Mr. Bofur
King has asked you to pack supplies for one more dwarf.” “Anyone else
is coming” said Bofur in an astonished manner for he did not expect any other
dwarf after having perceived the fear and silence of dwarves of Erebor. “Aye I am coming with you all.” “Okay then I
will do it and I will also send the message to Ayush for one more pony by my
raven friend Aroc. It will fly quickly to Dale and give him this message for he
has gone there to bring ponies.” The next
morning five ponies were set on the Erebor’s entrance by Ayush at their side.
The ponies he had brought looked marvelous, all healthy and white with golden
mane and all of them were standing full of pride as they belonged to the noble
race of ponies bought at a high price by Ayush from Dale as was ordered by king.
Dwarf public
too came out to send them off in their customary manner as the darkness that
has taken over their minds has been pierced by the bright sunlight. Ciriline
stood ahead of the crowd and as Ayush saw her she gave an adoring smile to him.
Ayush quickly went to say cheerio to her before his journey. “I can’t
remain angry on you not when you are leaving. It is no use warning you because
you will do what you want. So I thought I should give you a hearty farewell so
that you go without any sorrow. But promise me that you will return.” I will come
back I promise. I will come back and eat my favorite delicious sweets, pastries
and critanias. [A famous delicacy among dwarves made from the roots of rentinol
plant that grew above lonely mountain and its long roots reached inside the walls
of Erebor. A special area of wall was kept for that purpose for it was the only
food item that grew on Lonely Mountain. The part of root inside Erebor was used
by them and in this way the plant also remained alive for the plant lived hundreds
of years and had already been replaced by another younger plant before. It was
an ancient plant for it was present on the Lonely Mountain before even the
dwarves had discovered it and it had survived the worst situations including
the desolation of Smaug.] “We will
have feast and parties in our sweet home on my return and there will be no
sinful creature remaining to haunt us.” “Live long
my son and I wish your journey to be full of pleasing memories.” “Farewell
Mother. We will meet soon and with your blessings I can defeat any dark thing
that lay in my path” and with that he went back to his pony. Tears covered
Ciriline’s eyes as she watched her son walking away towards the company. She loved
her son more than anything in the world and the view of her son going into
danger’s mouth was just piercing her heart. The only thing that held her hopes
was her son’s promise of his return. A promise that he made with resolute and truthful
eyes. All was set
and as Ayush went, the King and his company mounted on the ponies and one of
them was loaded with their luggage. As they were
going to begin their journey Mardith came with a man on a handsome white horse.
It was Dreuf the royal horse of Dale and the favorite one of King Bard II. On
it came the Prince Renefald, son of King Bard II of Dale with Mardith riding
with him. He was a mid-aged prince around forty who was sent by his father King
Bard II for this meeting as he wanted his son to start taking charge of his
kingdom and thought to send him to Rivendell so that he could learn handling
some tremendously vital matters. Behind him came another rider on a brown
horse. He was Mohnoir son of Prandrin the chief of Lake-town. He was a young
and bold man of about twenty one with an honorable tanned face. Mardith dismounted
himself and came to Thorin. “My king I
have informed King Bard II as you said.” “Yes he had
and troublesome news it is. So I shall also ride with you and so shall this
young man from Lake Town to represent our people” said Renefald.
“Fine then
let’s ride on towards Rivendell” said Thorin and hence began their journey to
Rivendell. © 2015 Lord of the KingsAuthor's Note
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Lord of the KingsAboutI am a teenager and a huge fan of Tolkien's novels one of the greatest fiction novelist. Now I am writing a bit of my own imagination but to know whether its worth or not I wish to share it with you a.. more..Writing
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