Highday, 4th of Forelithe, Year 1417 Shire-reckoning
Somewhere in the Mines of Moria
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| Tomes from the Dwarven Library of Katub-zahar |
"Today we shall continue our search for the word-hoard of Durin," Gaelira told us as we prepared to move on. "Nephyn's excellent idea of seeking records of the gondath is as good a plan as any of us could come up with, and I have no doubt it will prove fruitful if only we can find this library."
"As to that," I said quietly (for our stone surroundings would echo and magnify the slightest sound something terrible), "I'm perfectly happy to let Drodie lead us to wherever he supposes such a place might be -- I'm certain I've no idea myself."
"Neither do I," came Drodie's reply, but his voice was tinged with amusement. "Still, no doubt we'll see many wondrous things along our way as we look."
"Or dangerous things," countered Nephyn. "But I'm sure we'll be alright if we stick together."
We went in single file, same as yesterday, with Drodie out in front and Gaelira bringing up the rear. The others felt buoyant to me (since I couldn't really see them, you know... if that makes any sense), but as for myself I found the task of blundering about in the dark with no clear idea of where we were going to be rather tiresome. We crept up stairs and down stairs, round passages, through tunnels, across bridges (ancient Dwarven architecture is curiously lacking for handrails, I found), and still the caverns stretched on and on into the blackness. Our going was slow, for we would often come suddenly upon sheer drops without warning so that, at first, we were constantly bumping into each others' backs to avoid a fall. Eventually, this became so commonplace that we no longer bothered about it, and Drodie did become quite adept at sniffing out such situations and warning us by signalling with his lantern. It's remarkable, really, how inventive a group of bodies can be when near-certain death might be only one false step away.
Other than that, there really isn't much to say about our journey for hours -- many hours, and I couldn't tell you how many. For some time I had wondered whether perhaps the Sun had gone out and the world had ended but we five had somehow been left behind: doomed to wander forever in darkness until the renewing of the Earth. Your mind can play funny tricks on you when it is deprived of its normal senses. Anyway, I'll spare you the unnecessary details and skip ahead to when things got very interesting indeed.
None of us knew where we were or when we were -- it might be tomorrow by now, for all I know. I remember going down several short flights of stairs, staying level for some time, going back up more stairs, then straight on again for a ways. I distinctly heard water at one point, cascading water, but it was off to our left and then slowly faded into the distance behind us. We continued on a level space for a little while and then we found ourselves standing in an archway. There had been several of these kinds of portals thus far, but none of them had led anywhere useful; mostly small side-chambers, guard-rooms, or storage vaults which were empty and went no-where. This door, however, was the largest one we had seen yet and the grand carvings on the door-posts indicated we had stumbled upon a chamber of some importance. We wanted to explore it as we had the other rooms we found, but Drodie insisted we halt a moment while he examined the entryway.
"Ah!" he exclaimed after several moments. We all crowded around to see what he had discovered. He standing just to the side of the right-hand door-post and pointing at something which lay at his feet. It was a sort of plaque, or sign, written in Dwarvish and broken into a few pieces where it had fallen goodness only knows how many years ago.
"That," said the Dwarf with a victorious air as the lantern-light burned in his eyes, "Is the room-plaque which tells us the purpose of this chamber. All of the important places in Moria had them, but it seems they were not always meant to be permanent fixtures. Makes sense, I suppose: it would be rather difficult to change the carving if you ever had a need to change the chamber's purpose, wouldn't it? Much easier to simply take the plaque down and replace it with a new one."
"Very sensible," I admitted. "But, erm, what does it say?"
"Oh, I do beg your pardons!" said Drodie with a grin. "I forgot that you lot wouldn't be able to read it. It says Katub-zahar, and that was the name of the Word-hoard of Durin, the great Library of Moria! It seems we have found it at last."
"At long last!" said Nephyn with a sigh. She, perhaps more than any of us, found the darkness and closeness of the Mines unsettling; I don't think she was used to such surroundings. I'm not either, of course, but I can see how a hobbit might be a bit more at home in an underground dwelling than a free-roving huntress. Still, a spot of sunlight now and then wouldn't go amiss...
"But this is excellent!" I said, trying hard to keep my voice down. "Now all we have to do is find some record of the gondath in here and we'll be on our way."
"I doubt very much it will be quite so simple, Master Pemberton," said Gaelira, but she said it with a smile. "This library probably contains most of the ancient Dwarves' knowledge and lore from across the thousands of years that this, their mightiest kingdom, stood. Our search is far from over."
"Oh," was all I managed to say. The prospect of digging through a mountain of books in the dark wasn't at all to my liking.
"To make matters worse," said Drodie, "You can be sure that most of the records in here are likely written in Khuzdul. Still, the Dwarves of Moria are said to have had dealings with the Elves and Men of lands both near and far, so there's a chance you may find items you can read. And these gondath, these 'shadow-stones,' they're supposed to be bits of Elven-craft, yes? Well then -- perhaps we'll get lucky and find something written about them in Elvish. Not an insignificant number of my folk are known to write well using the Elvish characters, though you may be surprised to learn it."
"That is certainly well," said Gaelira. "All the same, time is of the essence. I think, Drodie, that you should write down for us any key-words which might identify a tome of interest. That way, if we see those words written somewhere, we can bring the book to you for further examination." We all agreed this was a capital idea, and Drodie was happy to oblige. Next, we all lit our own torches, the better to see by as we prepared to scour the depths of the Word-hoard of Durin.
Thus armed, we entered Katub-zahar. We couldn't see it properly in the darkness, of course, but it soon became clear that Gaelira's concern was well-founded: it was a massive collection of books, scrolls, parchments, tablets, and other writings which stretched from floor to ceiling on multiple levels. We got on well at first, but soon we all started finding Drodie's key-words in several places, and after a while the Dwarf became positively buried in books that held potential interest. It must have been hours later when there was finally a development.
Drodie had his nose buried in a particularly fat book and Gaelira was reading a scroll while the rest of us were taking a breather. Suddenly, the she-Elf laughed aloud and waved us to her. We all quickly converged to see her eyes shimmering in triumph.
"Here at last we find something useful," she said. As we crowded around her, I could see the scroll she held was written in the Common Tongue. "It is an account of an ancient Dwarf-hero named Uthi."
"Uthi?" asked Drodie with an obvious sarcasm he made no effort to hide. "Uthi the Destroyer? That is nothing more than a bedside fantasy -- a fairy-tale told to our children from time out of memory. If what you found is a copy of that absurd story then you've found nothing of any interest to us."
"It is not merely a re-telling of the story," said Gaelira. "It is a recorded copy, yes, but there are many notes in the margins as well. It looks to me as if some Dwarf-scholar was fascinated by the origins of that tale and was conducting research into it."
"So?" Drodie countered. "What do the idle fancies of some pointy-headed historian have to do with us and our quest?"
"What can you tell us about the legend of this Uthi the Destroyer?" Gaelira asked him.
"Oh, bah!" spat the Dwarf. "Very well: if you promise to tell me the point of this ridiculous line of enquiry! Uthi was always said to be the mightiest Dwarf-champion who ever lived. Most of the tellings put his life somewhere in the early Second Age, but naturally no one really knows when he lived nor have there ever been any records of him among our fallen, conveniently enough. Anyway, Uthi was a warrior whose shouts could split stone and who routinely bested Dragons in single combat; you know -- the usual sort of adolescent rubbish. No doubt the legend grew a bit with each re-telling over the centuries, but surely it's all nonsense! What is the point of this, Gaelira?"
"What else did your people say about Uthi?" the she-Elf asked with patience. Drodie rolled his eyes and thought for a moment.
"Well, it's been quite a while since I've paid any attention to such drivel myself," he said, "But I seem to recall he acquired the most magnificent set of armour from some Dragon-hoard that rendered him invincible. Oh, and he wielded two axes: Sharok and Karkh -- Hate and Fear -- and those were said to be the source of his incredible strength. Supposedly, they drank the blood of his enemies and fed on their souls so that each triumph made Uthi stronger. But what has any of this to do with..."
Drodie's eyes widened as the realization hit us all at the same time.
"No!" said the Dwarf, his mouth hanging open. "It can't be! You mean to say --"
"Remember what Elrond told us about the gondath?" Gaelira interrupted. "That they had the power to bind things unseen? And what if the Noldor of Eregion had discovered the secret of their forging, or had some of these things in their possession from days long past? If word of such relics were to reach the ears of other races, then perhaps it would not take much for a fertile imagination to conjure up the image of an Uthi with his soul-stealing axes. It certainly appears the writer of this scroll believed there was some measure of truth to your ancient bedtime-story, Master Drodie, or at least that it was based upon some measure of truth. Listen to what he has written into the margins of this scroll."
- Eregion first settled by Noldor around S.A. 750
- Much trade and traffic between Moria and Eregion; kings exchanged gifts of goodwill
- Oldest records of Shadow-stones found date to S.A. 1228
- First records found for the Legend of Uthi date to S.A. 1903
- Likely handed down by song prior to being recorded
"And these notes are signed by the author," Gaelira continued. "He writes here his name, Saxolf, and the year as being 1979 of the Third Age -- more than a thousand years ago, now."
"Ah! Then this scroll dates to the last days of King Durin VI," said Drodie with sadness in his voice. "It was the following year that we awoke Durin's Bane in the depths of Moria and sorrow befell my people."
"Durin's Bane?" asked Nephyn.
"Some creature of terrible power which slew Durin VI as well as his son Nain before driving the Dwarves from Khazad-dum forever," Drodie answered her. "Whatever it is, it probably still walks these halls." I gulped and looked around nervously.
"The same thought had occurred to me," said Lagodir grimly. "And so, all the more important that we continue our search without delay."
"But continue where?" I said, trying to follow Gaelira's line of thought. "I still don't understand what this scroll tells us. It mentions the 'shadow-stones,' right enough, but how does that help?"
"It tells us this particular scholar believed there to be a link between the coming of the Elves to Eregion, the trading between them and the Dwarves, and the rise of Uthi's incredible legend," Gaelira replied. "Saxolf seemed to think that the legend was inspired by something that happened after the Elves founded their realm just outside the West-gate of Moria; he believed it no coincidence that Drodie's fairy-tale began cropping up only after there was traffic and trade established between the two peoples. Unfortunately, I don't see anything else here that might indicate where the gondath might be, although he does mention there are records of them somewhere. I suppose we have yet more digging ahead of us." I cast my eyes downward in weariness.
"Half a moment," I said as I cocked my head sideways. "What are these?"
My eyes had fallen by chance on the lower portion of the reverse of Gaelira's scroll. There, at the bottom corner, I saw strange markings:
Near the marks were written the words: I have found the way! Begin near Durin's Vault -- The Four Points show the way. Twisttongue has the Key. Saxolf -- S.A. Year 1979.
"Twisttongue?" asked Drodie, obviously excited. "Falgeirr Twisttongue? He was a Dwarf-scholar of great renown! It is very exciting that we should be involved in anything that also bears his name. Although..." Drodie faltered and his voice ceased.
"Yes?" I pressed him.
"He was named Twisttongue for good reason, from what I've always heard," Drodie replied. "He liked to speak in riddles, and it was said took pleasure in driving those who tried to solve them mad. This may not be such a good thing for us after all."
"Especially if time is not our ally," huffed Nephyn.
"Still, it is a start, and we shall do what we may," said Gaelira. "What and where is Durin's Vault?"
"It was the largest of the king's guarded keeps for jewels, relics, things of that nature," said Drodie. "Like as not it has been plundered many times over by Orcs -- I doubt we will find anything there."
"But if this Falgeirr liked to speak in riddles," I mused, "And if Saxolf thinks he found a way to unearth the gondath, then perhaps this is only the first step in a series of puzzles that might lead us to what we seek!"
"You may be right!" said Drodie, becoming excited once more. "Why, did I not say it was the very next year that Durin's Bane brought about the Fall of Moria? Perhaps Saxolf never finished his task -- perhaps the stones are still there, just waiting for us to find them!"
"Just so!" I cheered. "But what about these signs, to start with? Do they mean anything to you?"
"Well," said Drodie as he peered at them, "They are faded with time, but I would say that is an E rune, followed by an S, followed by a W. I have no idea what that might signify, and that last symbol is no rune that I've ever seen: it looks to me like a four-pointed star. Gaelira, does it mean anything to you?"
"No," she said with a frown. "I am not aware that this sign is used in any language with which I am familiar. But see how it is slightly set apart from the others? Perhaps it is not a letter at all and is meant to convey something very different."
"Like what?" I asked, dazzled by all the intrigue.
"I have no idea," said Gaelira, "But it may be that things will become clearer when we are standing in the proper spot. We shall have to find the Vault of Durin to begin with, but first I think we could all use a meal and a good rest."
The proposition was welcomed by all and we spent a good while chatting quietly in the dark. We pondered several other theories as to the meaning of the symbols, but we never discovered anything else of much value. Over time, we all began dropping off to sleep, but my head was in a whirl of amazement. The thrill of the chase and the ecstasy of triumph awaited us, if only we could solve the riddle!
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