The Cellar

The Mansions of Aulë, TA 3016

The door on the side of the Front Hall led to a long passage way reaching all the way to the back of the house. A door at its end opened onto the kitchens and servants hall. She went in and motioned for them to follow. The servants hall had big, comfortable rooms, furnished simply, with sturdy tables for kitchen work. A long wooden table, where the servants sat to eat, stretched the length of the room against the back window. Plain wooden benches were arranged by either side of the table. There were a few chairs and stools in the room, but Angmar guessed that servants stood most of the time, except at meals. Still, it was a comfortable space. The room was warm, it smelled of cooking, and its rustic appearance was domestic and homey.

Angmar wondered why they were being shown this part of the house. He'd played in the kitchens as a child, but never entered those spaces once he was grown. It wasn't his place, and it upset the servants if a nobleman invaded their space.

Aiweneär lit a lamp, and led them to a door leading to steps down to the cellars. Before descending the steps, she said, "I apologize for the primitive accommodations. We have a great many people who've come from all corners of Ea to attend thisReunion. Half a dozen people came from even further away than you have. We've tried to make due. The boys laid in a huge supply of wood and canvas, and made enough folding cots for everyone, we hope. You'll be sleeping barracks-style in the cellar, boys and girls together. That means be considerate of the others and don't sleep in the nude. Even if you do it at home, don't do it here."

They went downstairs. She set the lamp on a stone ledge, to give them enough light to pick out folded cots from a stack and wool blankets from another stack. Every bit of floor space in the cellar was occupied by cots holding sleeping bodies. There was some snoring, but mostly just the slow breathing of people sleeping. The only available floor space for additional cots was near the foot of the stair, so she had them set up there. Tossing each of them a pillow, she bade them good night and left, ascending the cellar stair to go to her own more comfortable bedroom.

Angmar was appalled by being housed in the cellar among the kitchen servants, although Sauron seemed content with the arrangements. But then, their expectations were different. Sauron often said, "Your idea of luxury is palaces with scores of servants. Mine is sleeping indoors." He wasn't kidding, either. Sauron said that the greatest improvement to his standard of living occurred when they went from Paleolithic to Neolithic, when they gave up following the wild animal herds and learned to farm and, drum roll please, to build permanent dwellings. Angmar, who was close to five thousand years old, had trouble even imagining how old Sauron really was. Angmar imagined asking his Master, "What was it like when you were young?" and being told, "We were very excited about the invention of fire."

Sauron stripped off his outer clothing, leaving on a thin shirt that fell to mid-thigh. He transferred the immunity badge from his tunic to his shirt. Folding his outer clothes carefully, he piled them at the foot of his cot beside his bag. Then he lay down with an arm across his eyes and was almost instantly asleep. Angmar followed suit, stripping down to his shirt and piling his clothes at the foot of his cot. He'd had enough presence of mind to bring along a courier bag with enough clothes for a few days, which stayed with him through all his unauthorized adventures, first stowing away and then jumping onto the beach from the ship.

Angmar thought he'd barely closed his eyes when he heard a woman's voice calling them. He later learned her name was Mircaewen ('Jewel in the Earth'), a Maia of Aulë. "Time to get up, boys, if you want breakfast. Its mid-morning, and we're about to put things away."

No sunlight reached the cellar and Angmar had slept five or six hours without stirring. He must have been tired, because even though he'd always been a light sleeper, he hadn't stirred when the others in the makeshift dormitory got up and dressed, or later when they walked around in the kitchen directly over his head.

Angmar got up and put on his clothes. He sat on the cot and pulled on his boots, dry but stiff from the seawater he'd waded in yesterday. No, earlier today.

Sauron, on the other hand, was a very sound sleeper, so it was no surprise that he didn't stir when the woman came downstairs to wake them. Angmar shook his Master's shoulder to wake him. Sauron opened his eyes, taking a moment to remember where he was. Then he got up and pulled on yesterday's clothes over the shirt he'd slept in, remembering to transfer the immunity badge to his tunic.