Sunday, 21st of Wedmath, Year 1417 Shire-reckoning
Nar's Peak, Somewhere in the Enedwaith
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| View of Thror's Coomb from the slopes part-way up Nar's Peak |
I literally jumped up from my deep sleep to a standing position, I was so frightened! I blinked furiously, blinded in the broad light of day, while my head swam with drowsiness. Who had uttered that cry?
Slowly, my fatigued brains began piecing things together: it was Nephyn, awake at last. She had risen from where she lay inside our poor excuse for a shelter beneath two leaning stones, dashed outside amid the trees, and was now searching frantically for something. Gaelira, Minasse, and Drodie had all gone after her as well, so I was left alone for the moment. The roar of the nearby falls suddenly came to my ears, which brought back all the awful memories of last night -- the sudden attack by Izarrair and his mercenaries, Nephyn's near-fatal wounding, the battle by the gorge, and my own salvation from the brink of drowning in the river. Poor Nephyn suffered a nasty blow to her shoulder from Izarrair's spear and we had all tended her during the night, but apparently she was still very much alive. She was looking here and there, seemingly oblivious to her injured arm which now hung in the makeshift sling Minasse has crafted for her. I was very happy to hear her speak again, but I must confess I was feeling a bit irritated at having been woken so suddenly, especially since I then realized I had only just missed splitting my skull on the stone roof of our campsite when she aroused me in such a fright.
"Neph, Izarrair was defeated," I called to her. "He was wounded in the fighting and fled westward, although we don't believe he was slain."
"Not him," the huntress called back to me, "The tall Man! Where has he gone? We are trespassing in his land and he is watching us."
"Wait... who?" I replied as I emerged from the cave to follow her. The others exchanged frowns and glances among themselves, seemingly as confused by Nephyn's ravings as I was.
"The tall Man!" she said again. "His eyes were like stars and where he walked tiny lights would follow, as if he moved about in a swarm of fireflies. He does not know what to make of us, but he watches."
There was a silence as we all processed her words. She looked at each of us in turn.
"Didn't you see him?" she asked, a bit uncertainly.
"There has been no one but us here all night," said Drodie. "You must have been dreaming, lassie."
"Minasse and I did patrol the surrounding area a bit in the early hours of the morning," said Gaelira, "And we also took a moment to refill our water-skins down below the falls. We left Drodie on guard during that time. Are you positive you saw nothing?" The Dwarf opened his mouth and shut it again.
"Well, I might have nodded off for the briefest of instants," he admitted, "But I certainly didn't see any tall Man walking around surrounded by glowing insects! Why do you even ask? It's obvious the girl dreamt whatever it was she thought she saw."
"Perhaps, and perhaps not," said Minasse. "This is a peculiar land and it possesses many secrets. What was it this Man said to you, Nephyn?"
"I... He didn't actually speak to me," the huntress replied awkwardly. "He just looked at me and I... understood, if that makes any sense. He was curious about us and our business, but I didn't say anything to him because I was so awe-struck. And I didn't feel any need to call out to any of you -- I wasn't frightened; in fact I felt very calm, seeing him there. He just wished me to know that he would be watching us, then he turned away and, somehow, he vanished." Nephyn made a face indicating she realized just how absurd all of this sounded in her own ears. "After that I was so peaceful and exhausted I must have fallen asleep again. I suppose I really did dream it all, but it just seemed so real at the time." We all looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"Personally, I'd say it sounds less fantastic than some of the other things we've seen already on this adventure," I shrugged. "Whether or no, as long as this Man is willing to let us pass then he's much less of a problem than some others we've met. I do hope your sword-thrust will keep that Izarrair out of commission for a good long while, Minasse."
"Do not forget your own contribution to that cause, Master Pemberton," the Noldo said with a smile. "For the moment, however, I believe we have remained in one place far longer than is wise. I should have urged us to move on from here immediately, had it not been for the injuries we sustained last night."
"Quite," Gaelira agreed, "But we needed to rest in preparation for today's trials. Our path is finally clear, but there remains at least one detour we must take before we set our feet unfailingly upon it."
"Your destination may be clear," countered Minasse, "But the path seems less so, at least to me."
"Are you not resolved, then, to go forward with us?" asked Gaelira.
"I am not yet certain," the High Elf replied. "You speak glibly of assaulting the ancient fastness of Taur-nu-Fuin, that the Sylvan Elves now fittingly call Dol Guldur, but that has long been a very evil place. Moreover, I say again I dislike that the underlying cause of this endeavor appears to be vengeance for your departed friend Luean. Throughout all the Ages of this World has the quest for revenge been the deadliest bane of the Elder Kindred, as you should well know, Gaelira."
"I do, indeed," the she-Elf said sadly, "But do not overlook the other reasons we have for this undertaking: the Seekers of the Seven Stars march to oppose Mordor's puppet Gortheron and we have a chance to aid them in that fight."
"With little hope of victory," Minasse parried. "Who among the Free Peoples have ever passed beyond the outer gates of that accursed tower and lived to tell of it? But I shall remain with the Company for now: if your path lies eastward, then you must pass the eaves of Lothlorien, and I greatly desire to see that land again. In any case, I believe we would do well to speak with the Lord Celeborn and the Lady Galadriel concerning these matters and hear what their wisdom may tell us."
"Then you and I are of the same mind on that account, at the very least," said Gaelira. "And it cannot have escaped your attention that the Hill of Sorcery stands not a great distance from the eaves of Lothlorien which you love; only the breadth of the Anduin and the bows of the Galadhrim keep the darkness of Dol Guldur at bay."
"Not those things only," said Minasse cryptically, "And no -- it had not escaped my attention. I will go with you at least to Caras Galadhon; from there I will make my own decision regarding this errand and my part in it."
"We ask nothing more," said Gaelira, "But the road thither is a long one: we will have to turn west and skirt this mountain range by crossing the Araniant for a third time, then head north through Eregion and make for the Redhorn Pass. That high road (assuming it is still accessible) will lead us down into Nanduhirion, and from there it will be another day's march to the edge of the Golden Wood."
"How long will that take us, do you think?" I asked.
"I should say at least ten days from here to the feet of Caradhras," she said, "Then I think two days to cross the mountain-pass and at least one more to traverse the vale. All told, I believe we have a fortnight's journey ahead of us ere we see the golden boughs of the mellyrn shimmering overhead in the starlight."
"A fortnight?!" I cried, "Do we even have enough supplies to carry us for so long?"
"I believe we do, if we are careful with our provisions," Gaelira replied. "We acquired much from Inar's stores, though it is true we shall have no opportunity to replenish until we reach Lothlorien."
"And summer is nearly at an end," I reminded her. "We may find some wild things growing which are good to eat in Eregion, but of course we won't find anything in the mountains. Nor once we come down on the other side, I should think, as autumn will have set in by then."
"So long as you don't go feeding us any wild mushrooms," said Drodie with a wink, "Or else we might all find ourselves dreaming of strange Men with starry eyes and pet firefly-swarms accosting us in the middle of the night."
"That's not funny," said Nephyn, although I don't think she was truly offended. "But what was the detour you mentioned, Gaelira? Do you still mean to find that ancient Dwarf-library in the mountains?"
"Zudrugund, yes," Gaelira answered her. "We need to know more about the gondath and what the Dwarves of Moria learned concerning their properties. The word-hoard of Zudrugund lies close at hand and is the best source for such knowledge I can think we have hope to find, unless we wish to return to Katub-zahar and blunder about in the dark a second time."
"No, thank you!" I exclaimed. "And do we know where Zudrugund is, then?"
"Yes," the she-Elf said hesitantly. "Well, I know the way there -- I found it last night just as Izarrair was launching his attack on our camp. The stone bridge which once marked the road into the mountains seems to have fallen away, but in its place was raised another bridge... of sorts. You had best follow me and see what I mean."
"Yes," Minasse agreed, "We ought to have left this place long ago, but I do not know whether the Woman will be able to manage a climb into the snowy heights."
"I don't think she should try," I said. "Quite apart from the pain, the exertion could very well re-open the wound. And if we're at all concerned about our supplies lasting us a fortnight's journey, then getting trapped with a wounded party member halfway up a mountain would only create more delay and a supply shortage on top of it."
"You are right," said Gaelira. "Nephyn shall not scale Nar's Peak: Minasse, I think you should remain with her while Drodie and Padryc ascend with me. It will be swifter this way."
"Agreed," said Minasse, "Although we should remove ourselves from this spot -- we will make a new camp near to the foot of the mountain and there await your return."
"So be it," said Gaelira, "Let us collect our belongings and go."
We followed Gaelira east along the edge of the river for a few miles, but it was not a great distance. I managed to have a few bites of food along the way, but I was quite conscious about it now that I knew we had a two-week journey ahead of us -- and that would only begin in earnest once we had finished with this mysterious library Gaelira was so keen to see. I looked up at the mountains to our left on the far side of the river and wondered how anyone could ever live up there: they seemed so bleak and desolate.
The rain from last night had washed everything clean in the valley, and that strong scent you always get just following a storm was heavy in the air that morning. There was still a heavy cloud cover as well, but it was light and puffy, not dark and threatening like it had been. Still, the head of Nar's Peak -- the mountain we meant to climb -- was hidden in a light grey mist, as if there might be snow coming. I recalled that autumn was nearly upon us and, indeed, the weather was already starting to take a slight turn.
"How are you feeling, Nephyn?" I asked the huntress as we marched along. I had suddenly become aware that, due to her bizarre manner of waking, none of us had thought to ask about her welfare.
"I'm in a great deal of pain," she replied, "But I will live. I fear I will be of no use in fight for quite some time. And I can't say I'm upset at not having to climb this mountain -- even this simple exercise is winding me right now. But how are you, Padryc? Last night was little kinder to you than it was me, yet you seem to have recovered from your ordeal very swiftly."
"Oh, I'm doing well enough, thank you for asking," I said. "I have a rather sore back where I hit the water, but other than that I am fine. I'm more worried about you, Neph. How much longer must we make her walk, Gaelira?"
"It is not much farther," said Gaelira. "Then you and Minasse will turn aside and make camp so Nephyn can rest while Drodie, you, and I tackle Nar's Peak."
"Will it take us long to get up the mountain?" I asked her. "I don't like the idea of leaving Minasse and Nephyn down here for a week all on their own."
"No, it will be nothing like that," she answered me. "It is not more than a few hours' march up the southern face, perhaps a bit less. The path (assuming it is still there) does wind somewhat and I remember it was difficult in spots, but overall it was not a dangerous climb."
"And what are we hoping to find there?"
"I have already said: some record of the gondath and, hopefully, what the ancient Dwarves learned about them and their properties. The stones are used to hold the essences of foul spirits and other dark things which are then used to conjure up fell evils like the Gaunt-lords. If we can learn of some way to weaken their power, then we must do so in order to give Inar and his warriors the best chance of defeating Gortheron."
"Oh, right," I demurred. "Well, I certainly hope you have some sort of plan -- the last time we stumbled into a massive Dwarven-library it took us quite a while to find anything."
"I do not, to be honest," she said to my dismay. "Once old Nar, the caretaker, lived there and he knew every inch of the place, but I doubt very much he would still be alive after all these years, so we shall simply have to make do. Ah! Here we are."
I looked and gasped. Just ahead, laying across the rushing waters of the gorge, was the bole of a large tree which acted as a bridge to the other side.
"Gaelira!" I exclaimed, "You expect me to cross the river on that?! You must be out of your mind!"
"I admit it is not ideal," she said, nonplussed, "But at least there is still a bridge -- of sorts."
"That is not a bridge," I countered heatedly. "That is an over-sized matchstick without guard or railing of any kind and a fifty-foot plunge into a raging river beneath it! Look! The blasted thing hasn't even been leveled or smoothed to provide a proper way!"
"Oh, stop whimpering," she scolded me with a grin, "Here, I will lead both you and Drodie across while we all hold onto my staff for balance. Nothing will go wrong."
It turned out nothing did go wrong, to make a long story short. I forced myself to keep my eyes up the whole way across and our feet touched solid earth on the far side without incident. In truth, the whole situation wasn't nearly as bad as it had first appeared: the fallen tree was, in fact, much thicker in the middle than was first apparent (for we had been looking at it from the side), and it was quite solidly in place. I remarked upon this to Gaelira, for it seemed to me that the tree might have been placed there on purpose by a skilled woodsman, and she nodded at this, but said nothing aloud. We waved our farewells to Nephyn and Minasse back on the other side, then we turned our faces toward the mountain.
Nar's Peak was, as it happened, not as challenging to ascend as it looked to be at a distance. The path up it wound back and forth several times, but it was clear and easy enough to follow. There were one or two spots which made my head turn a bit queer as we climbed higher and got a good view of the valley below us, but I soldiered on. After a while, I noticed there was a very light, fluffy snow falling and the air gradually became colder. Finally, following about two and a half hours of hiking (this would have been at roughly two in the afternoon, I think), we reached a wide, level space. I looked back out over Thror's Coomb and marveled at the view.
"Well!" I said as I rubbed my hands together, "We hobbits aren't much for heights, but I think I can say now that we've been missing out on some right wonderful vistas. This was worth the effort, and no mistake!"
"I am glad for you, Padryc," said Gaelira, who was facing the mountain-wall, "But at the moment my interest lies ahead, not behind. We must find the entrance to the library which, if my memory serves, was somewhere in this vicinity."
"Look!" called Drodie, who had gone a little ways on ahead. "There is a Dwarf-door here."
It was screened by a row of boulders, but door it was. With some effort, we managed to pull it open and passed inside. It was incredibly dim, but once our eyes adjusted we could tell there was some form of light coming from within. Gaelira froze.
"That is fire-light," she whispered. "We are not alone here."
We crept forward. The delving was a long, straight corridor which was very wide and lined with shelves and shelves of books. The racks rose high into the vaulted ceiling and ladders were positioned in many places to provide access to the more distant collections, but it was the sheer number of volumes that astounded me. How on earth were we ever going to find anything useful in there?
"Who's that?" a rough voice demanded from somewhere up ahead. The three of us came to a dead stop.
"We are chance travellers who mean you no harm," Gaelira called back. "This is Drodie, Dwarf of the highest repute, as well as Padryc from the land of the Halflings in the West. And I am --"
"An Elf," the voice growled. "I've no patience for your kind, but if you know the way here (as you must, for no one ever just stumbles into Zudrugund) then I suppose you are no enemy." A Dwarf stepped out from the shadows. He bore an axe, but it was not at the ready.
"I am Gaelira of Lindon," the she-Elf said with a slight bow of her head. "You assume rightly that I know of this place for I have been here twice before when Nar still lived and was the Keeper of Books in Zudrugund."
"When Nar still lived, you say?" asked the Dwarf, with a queer gleam in his eye. "I think you should come with me, Elf. You and your friends."
"We will do as you ask," said Gaelira. "You need have no fear of us."
"Yes, I can see that," the Dwarf replied gruffly. "The fear is the Dunlendings might one day come wandering up here, but they've never done so yet. I doubt very much they'd find anything of interest to them anyhow. I am Frithgeir, by the way."
"We are please to make your acquaintance, Frithgeir," said Gaelira politely. "It must be a great honour to serve Durin's Folk as Keeper of the Books in the largest library of Dwarven-lore outside of Khazad-dum."
"I suppose it is," said Frithgeir, "Only I wouldn't know because I'm not him." Here, we turned a corner and found another Dwarf seated at a table with a bowl of gruel sitting untouched in front of him. His hair was wild and white as the snow outside, and he did not acknowledge us in any way.
"Nar!" Gaelira exclaimed. "I cannot believe it! Do you remember me? It is I, Gaelira!" The old Dwarf turned his head toward us, but immediately I could tell there was something not right about his eyes.
"He cannot hear you," said Frithgeir sadly. "Well, I suppose he can hear you, but your words will not reach his mind, if you understand me. It started a few months back and has been slowly getting worse over time." Nar muttered something incoherent and turned back to his porridge.
"What a pity!" I exclaimed. "You mean to say it is just the two of you, alone in this darksome hall?"
"Aye, that's about the shape of it," said Frithgeir. "I manage to get what we require in the way of foodstuffs from the Algraig in trade twice a month. There is no shortage of valuable relics piled up in this place, so we do alright for ourselves. Mostly I spend my time trying to find some remedy in these dusty old tomes that might help Nar regain control of his faculties, but so far I've found nothing that's worked."
"But why don't you -- I mean, couldn't you just leave?" I asked.
"You don't understand, Padryc," Drodie admonished me, "This hoard was commissioned by Thror, who was once king of our people, and Nar's family was appointed as its Keeper. When the Heir of Durin gives a command, every Dwarf obeys or perishes in the attempt."
"He's got the right of it, laddie," said Frithgeir with a nod. "I was sent with a caravan by King Dain some years ago to check up on Nar and begin the process of removing the contents of the library back to the Lonely Mountain. Unfortunately, Dain rather underestimated the enormity of this place, so the caravan took what they could and I was left here to see to Nar and await their return for the next portion of the shipment. Only they never came back. Whether Dain called off the expedition or the caravan was waylaid and destroyed somewhere on the road back to Erebor I never found out. I thought many times about trying to make the homeward journey myself, but even before his mind began to go Nar was a very old Dwarf and not really fit for such a trek without more extensive precautions, and of course now..." Frithgeir trailed off as he looked at the aged Keeper with great pity.
"You have our sympathy," said Gaelira, sounding genuinely concerned. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
"Not unless you can tell me what ails Nar and cure him of it," Frithgeir sighed. "Barring that, I'm afraid he is stuck here and I with him, for it would be dishononurable of me to leave on my own. At least we're in no danger of starving so long as I still have the use of my own hands, legs, and wits. Ah, but surely you didn't come all the way out here to listen to the grumblings of a lonely Dwarf and his doddering charge -- is there something I can help you find?"
"Well, as a matter of fact there is," said Gaelira. "We need to learn whatever there is to know about the gondath -- the Shadow-stones. They were ancient Noldorin relics acquired by the Dwarves of Moria --"
"In the Second Age through traffic and gifts with the Elves of Hollin," said Frithgeir with a broad grin. "You're in luck! I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about the contents of this library as Nar is (or was), but it just so happens I know what you're talking about. I came across a book which mentions those stones a while back -- it does get rather dull here as you can no doubt imagine -- and it was a very obscure bit of Dwarf-lore I'd never heard about, so I read all I could find. Not that there's much to find, mark you, as the subject seems to have been one that was not discussed openly. But just follow me and I'll show you what I was able to discover."
Frithgeir led us into a old and crumbling wing of the library, then picked out a musty tome and handed it to us. He would not allow us to leave the library with it (he explained he would be "failing in his duty" if he did so and we were not about to take advantage of him), so we decided to copy down the relevant portions which would allow us to review them at our leisure. This was a rather laborious task as all the information was recorded in Khuzdul, but between Frithgeir and Drodie we were able to make a passable copy after about three hours' work. This done, we said our farewells to Frithgeir and Nar (who still did not so much as acknowledge our presence), and made to depart.
"You're sure you can't stay a bit longer?" asked Frithgeir, somewhat pitifully.
"We really cannot," said Gaelira. "Quite apart from our own errand, we have a wounded companion waiting for us in the valley, and we must return to her and see that she is safe."
"Ah, well, you be on your way then," said Frithgeir. "But I would ask: if you should ever have the chance to send word to Dain in Erebor or to come there yourself, you will tell him about us, won't you? Dain is a good king and I'm sure he has not simply forgotten about us; I can only suppose some misfortune befell my comrades or perhaps there are worse evils are afoot. If you could somehow inform him of our plight, I would be eternally grateful."
We promised we would do so then departed Zudrugund. The way back down the mountain-side was considerably easier than the climb (as is usually the case), but we had already been gone for five hours or so when we started the return journey, so it was sometime after seven o'clock in the evening when we finally reached the log-bridge and crossed back to the far side. The Sun was setting and the evening was turning fine as we hunted among the rocks and copses for Minasse and Nephyn. Suddenly, I caught a whiff of something delicious on the air.
"Wait," I said, and I sniffed again. "Do you smell that? It's mushrooms frying! And it's coming from just over there!"
I bounded away while Gaelira and Drodie followed. Only a short distance on, nestled snugly in the midst of a thicket of elder trees, I found Minasse and Nephyn labouring over a small cooking fire.
"Padryc!" she called to me happily, "You're just in time!"
"Just in time for mushrooms, eh?" I said, eyeing the frying fungi greedily.
"Just in time for a celebration!" she replied. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
"Wha...? Why, so it is!" I said as I clapped my hand to my forehead. "Or was, I should say: my birthday was yesterday, but I had completely forgotten it!"
"Well, yes, that's true," Nephyn said, "And I was planning this little feast for you then, naturally, but there was that bit of trouble with the ambush -- both you and I nearly being killed and all -- so I decided I'd spring my surprise for you today. Of course, I'm not quite feeling myself, so in truth Minasse did nearly all the work of hunting down, picking, and preparing the mushrooms."
"And a very curious business I found it, too," said the High Elf as he examined his handiwork which lay sizzling in my frying pan. "The culinary tastes of your kind mystify me, Padryc, to say nothing of your odd ritual of celebrating your own birth at such brief and repetitive intervals. But I hope that, between Nephyn and myself, we have managed to provide you with a suitable birthday meal."
"I'm sure you have done splendidly," I said, grinning ear-to-ear. "It is a joy just to be remembered at all, you know."
"Hurrah! Many Happy Returns of the Day!" cheered Drodie as he strode into the campsite. "This calls for an ale! Padryc, pass me my water-skin!"
"Half a moment," I said, "Shouldn't there be water in your water-skin, Drodie?"
"Why, so there should," he replied as he un-stoppered the skin and took a long draught. "So there should!" Drodie's "water-skin" was passed around while our laughter echoed loudly off the sides of Nar's Peak as night fell.
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