Hello, beloved readers, here we are back to Erebor, and let the kids show the Earthlings what this kingdom had become since the Retake!
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Thorin "Knee": Firstborn son of Kíli and Ellen; D.A. 26; H.A. 14
Frérin: Second son of Kíli; D.A. 21; H.A. 12
Lyn: Third child of Kíli, his first daughter; D.A. 15; H.A. 10
Fíli: Fourth child of Kíli, his third son; D.A. 10; H.A. 7
Kim: Fifth child of Kíli, his second daughter; D.A. 4; H.A. 3
Ellen explained to Lily and Wolfram how to use and to adjust the carrying sling for Kim if needed, as even if she would be carted behind Frérin's scooter it was well possible that she would get tired, bored and/or sleepy enough to have to be carried instead of carted. Dís provided a small backpack with water and small snacks, even if they would be lunching somewhere – if it were left to Dís, she would have half Erebor as fat as Bombur, and the other half even fatter. It was not a simple kink on feeding her own, it was a result of the many years of hardship her people struggled to overcome.
"Don't forget we have a banquet tonight, I must have all of you bathed and presentable before sunset. Knee, any expense needed you mark with your seal and the Treasure will pay out in due time, don't let people give you things that are they job to sell, it is not fair. I don't know how much you'll be able to see today, but anyway, be careful in the mines and in the forges, always mind the foreman in charge, and we can leave the stables and other outings for another day for sure."
"Aunty, enough!" Iris complained. "I'm almost hearing you telling me to take my umbrella and raincoat just to get to the bakery and back!"
"Yep, and the time I told you this and you didn't hear me, you came home drenched."
Dispatched Frérin got wide eyed at the implications and looked down at his hobbit cousin (still feeling it unnerving to know an adult that was smaller than him, besides his uncle Balin).
"So is it true that she doesn't do it just to us?"
The Earthlings laughed, and his new uncle made it clear.
"Not only it is not just to you, but she does it even to me, Frérin, whenever she is able to."
The youngling looked up at the Green Wizard (who was not minimally at easy with the title, by the way) with his mouth agape and then back at his older brother.
"All right, Knee, I owe you a dozen silver beads."
"I told you, you didn't believe." Was the matter-of-factly answer.
Lily was amused by the brothers' exchange.
"What did you bet?"
"That Ma is this way to anyone in family, not just at us. Fré was sure she is this way just to annoy us."
Wolfram noticed that Lily was laughing more in the last twenty-four hours than she had in the last four years, and he was glad about it.
"So, let us see this mighty kingdom?"
"Aye!"
The dwarflings – or rather, dwelflings – ran out of home as they used to, weaving hands and shouting greetings to the wards at the doors, who made their best to pretend to be serious – but how could they be serious to little Kim shaking her chubby hand and blowing kisses to them from her tow-cart? To be the ward of the king's dwellings was an honorable and envied position, for many reasons.
First, because it was a position filled only by dwarves acknowledged as experienced in warfare and skilled in more than fighting, but also in intelligence – in the current setting, they answered directly both to Dwalin and Nori, even if any regular dwarf in the realm didn't know Nori was responsible for more than to just entertain foreign delegations in order to break them in into Erebor's uses and customs to make it easier to trade and negotiate. The ward applicant's loyalty and astuteness was also put to test more than once and proved true, usually in situations when said applicant didn't have a clue that he was being observed – as a matter of fact, they didn't even know they were considered applicants. So it was that many a weather battered dwarf that some would think fit to be a King's Ward was not chosen for that position.
Then, they work was not exhaustive, albeit crowned with the responsibility over the king's family well-being. So, it was not uncommon for older dwarves to assume that position even if younger ones wished to hold their axes in front of that door. It didn't mean young ones were left behind when any change in the pool of wards was needed, but that no graybeard was counted as out of the business.
At last but not at least, any ward had to be a person before a role, so he could acknowledge the persons inside that dwelling instead of the roles those persons performed. Seemingly stupid, but quite simple. Because the dwellers of that house had to know those wards like they knew their best friends, and the wards had to know their protected ones to the last, most of all the children. Because the children where the future of the kingdom, and being children they where vulnerable, so they had to be known in order to be protected; if anything else, how to know if a dwarfling was being harassed if you didn't know his usual behavior?
So, the wards' almost imperceptible nod was the acknowledgement that those children and younglings were perfectly in order, behaving exactly the way it was expected: Knee leading the troop, Lyn being nice to the visitors, Fíli making his best to keep up with the grown-up ones and Frérin bestowing his care in carting his confident little sister. When those were out of the ostensive wards' sight, here and there, someone's else eyes would check on them, in the shadows, allowing them room to breath and to have their share of independence, but they were too precious a treasure for Kíli to allow to risk of any harm to come upon them.
ooo000ooo
They had walked about half an hour, the visitors delighted to see the city clean and ringing with life, even if they were still in the same level and had seen not much more than dwellings and some commerce, mostly of food. The younglings had a story to fulfil every corner they turned, and the Earthlings' curiosity was willingly satisfied. It was recurrent for them to be greeted by the citizens, in varied degrees of formality and cheerfulness.
First stop was at what could only be called a dainty shop and Wolfram suspected the kids' lunch was about to be spoiled, but then Ellen had spoiled his daughters times enough for him to really feel sorry for it. He was also curious to see how his eldest nephew would manage the multiple wishes of his siblings, as he deemed Knee was not much more than just reaching his adolescence.
"No, Fee, you can't take all these caramels, the ants will trail you home and the Mountain will become an anthill, take something that's not pure sugar too; Fré, will you take some liquorice drops for me while I get Kim's raven feathers? Just a handful, please. Uncle, what do you like? Mother likes sweetmeat, mostly raisins and cider, but I don't know if wizards like the same things elves do."
"I like them too, but I'm still amazed to all the options to choose. What are the raven feathers you mentioned?"
"It is a chewable sweet that is coloured dark blue because of the myrtle, and Mister Revin molds them like feathers to make it funny; Kim loves them."
The girls were enthralled by the candies, and Iris made a choice on something molded like tiny apples. Lyn helped her to reach the pot on the high shelf and to scoop some into a pack, even if she was not much taller than her little cousin. Mister Revin weighted them and marked it on the growing list.
"Do you want one of these, Fíli?"
Iris was positively favoring the namesake of her deceased Little Brother since they arrived, but this time she missed the target.
"Ugh! I don't do apples!"
Fíli's disgust was evident in his scowl, and Iris felt confused. Lyn came to her aid.
"Fee doesn't stand apples, never did. First time Ma tried to give him apple pap he retched all over her, and never after was it possible to give him anything with apples. Sometimes he gets sick jut on its smell."
Iris thought it interesting in a medical point of view; was it an allergy? A kind of intolerance? She stored it inside her head for future reference while taking Fíli's hand in hers and showing him the other fruit candies.
"And another kind of fruit, dear? I see little oranges, and pears, and…"
"And minty!"
"Mint?"
"Aye, minty!"
The hobbit lass looked at a pot with green candies delicately molded like mint leaves.
"Are these the ones you like?"
"Aye, beside the caramels Knee begrudges me!"
Iris laughed and bent down to whisper in the dwelfling's ear.
"I'll take some caramels for you beside the candies I took for me, ok?"
The dwelfling shook his head in merry agreement, liking the idea of being helped to trick his brother.
When the shopping was over, Mister Revin handled Knee a small piece of parchment with all items and weights and a sum at the end, or at least that was what Wolfram thought, as he was not completely fluent in Anghertas writing. The boy checked the bill, rubricated it and pressed a signet he had in one of his rings to a translucent wax dropped on the sum. Bill paid, on they went.
ooo000ooo
Not far ahead they reached a place where a wide chasm let them look at other levels, reachable by stairs all around the vertical tunnel. In its very middle a rough stone pillar was left, showing rivulets of gold and studded with many coloured gems, still encrusted in the stone they were born, only the outcropped part of them having being lapidated or polished. Both gold and gems reflected every single light they captured, and torches were attached to the sides of the shaft in each level, making it glitter like stars. Lily leant on the handrail to take a better look, completely enthralled, unable to keep her eyes away from it.
"I didn't see this last time I was here; how could I have missed this… this marvel?"
"This site was badly damaged when of the Retake, cousin Lily, Father told me it was not even accessible then; Fíli here was a newborn when the reconstruction was finished." Young Thorin was obviously proud. "The handrails were added to the original project for safety, but they can be dropped with a passworded command only the security staff know, so we can have the realm ready to receive any invasion in less than half an hour." They rounded the shaft and headed to a staircase leading up. Fíli, Lyn and Frérin took their scooters to carry them up and Wolfram settled Kim in his lap with the sling for them to win over the steps. "The same handrail system has been made everywhere, it is very important because we have so many children in the realm."
"And because we receive visitors of other peoples who ain't used or able to walk on narrow ledges like we are, and it would be improper to put visitors at risk of falling." Lyn added her contribution. "Uncle Balin always says we must treat allies and commerce partners right, because if one of them falls in the deeps, our reputation will fall with them."
"Don't heed her, Uncle, Lyn is Uncle Balin's green raven."
Wolfram eyes Frérin strangely for the definition whilst said Lyn slapped her brother where she reached.
"What do you mean by 'green raven'?"
"Oh, I thought you would know; Mother told that in your world there is a green bird that repeats what people say; as the only bird who speaks here are the ravens, we assumed they should be some kind of green ravens, then."
"We, who, birdbrain?"
Knee complained and Lily facepalmed.
"Durin's beard, Frérin, the birds you are talking about are parrots!"
"Aye, that was the name!"
"I'm not a parrot, you birdbrain!"
"If you weren't, you wouldn't repeat the insult Knee just threw at me!"
"This is because I avoid insult wars."
"This is because you don't know many insults."
"Anyway, I'm not Uncle Balin's parrot!"
"If you weren't you wouldn't repeat everything he says."
"I don't repeat, I just pay attention to what he says, unlike certain Durin's heirs who like to forget they will have duties to the realm in the future!"
"Hey, can you two stop this before you start a civil war?" Knee fumed. "Think of what a good impression you are making on our relatives, will you?"
Said relatives laughed at their bickering, Lily thinking it just too cute for the oldest boy to try to act that mature. In a way, he reminded her of how Thorin Oakenshield would scold his nephews, with a bit of Dori. Having had her times with her own sister, she knew siblings can really be annoying sometimes, and she guessed rightly that what they saw was just a sample of their daily business.
Scooters on the level floor again, Kim refused to get down of the comfortable sling and merrily talked to her new 'unca' while stuffing a sweet into her mouth, of which she left a bit showing out of her lips.
"Look, Unca, Kee eated birdie!"
"Yummy, your bird looks delicious! Will you give me some of it to taste?"
The toddler eyes the wizard warily, frowning, and then back at her 'raven feathers' candies.
"No birdie, just candy. Kee eated candy."
She seriously tried to explain as to talk him out of the idea of having one of her myrtle sweets. He chuckled and joked on.
"All right, dear I don't want your candy, but if you ever find true raven feathers, save one for me to eat it, dealt?"
The little one nodded, happy, and stuffed her mouth with more sweets. They headed for a very large hall where several couples or groups trained every kind of fighting skill one could imagine. There were archers stuffing dummies with arrows like pincushions, swordsmen parrying so their weapons sent sparkles all around them, axe-wielders and hammer-wielders training their aim and building their muscles, while others directed those training ones, some with shouts and some, amazingly, in complete silence. Lily noticed them and asked their guide.
"Why are those coachers not speaking to their apprentices, Thorin? Are they supposed to know what they have to do only with a wry look?"
The youngling smiled.
"No! The coach is telling them exactly what he wants from them, and, if you don't know what they're doing, then it means its working."
"Ok, I realize I'm 'clueless mode' on. Now you explain it to me, please?"
He bowed his head slightly, and answered, proud to be the one his parents confided to guide the visitors in the realm.
"They are a special army branch developed by Mister Bifur. Not all of them have hearing or talking disabilities, albeit some of them do, but all of them lined themselves up to be the Silent Army of Erebor."
"And what does it mean?"
"They are trained to fight in silence, using Iglishmêk and some codes only they know. Using Iglishmêk allows them to communicate even to other dwarven armies in silence, and their secret codes make them fight in a… special way I'm not able to explain. Mister Bifur says that, as they forego usual words when fighting, it allows them to hear unspoken words too. I don't understand it, I just know it works."
"And when they fight in the dark? At night, it would not be so easy to see each others' signs in Iglishmêk."
"As I said, I don't understand. Only the members of the Silent Army know."
Fíli tugged Knee's tunic brim, and the youngling turned down to assist his brother.
"Knee, Uncle Dwalin's not here, can we go somewhere else?"
"We must ask our visitors, Fee, if they want to see something else right now."
The blond one immediately turned to Lily.
"Can we go, Aunty? It is boring here without Uncle Dwalin, just looking!"
The dwarven woman eyed them with big eyes.
"What? Dwalin allows you little one to do anything more than just to look?"
Fíli eyed Knee, who pretended to examine a schedule on the wall, twisting his fingers behind his back.
"Aah, when Ma is not close, then…"
"Fee!" Lyn cried.
"What?"
"Just keep your little mouth to drink your milk, will you?"
"Hey, may we all get a little calmer, may we?" The tall man tried to coax the younger ones with a smile. "No one here wants a fight on what you are doing or not, and I suppose anything different from what your parents determined must be settled with them, not with us. All right?"
"Aye, Uncle!"
The unison answer was enough for the visitors to know that kind of conversation had taken place before, probably more than once, And, sure, it was not reasonable to hold the weight of having the younger kids training this or that way without knowing their parents' decisions, and the 'whys' and 'becauses' of everyone involved.
ooo000ooo
Next stop, after innumerable twists and turns and stairs that made the visitors lose their notion of place completely, was at the forge level main dining hall, as they were already close to noon time. The older boys explained each level had its own main kitchen and dinning hall, where the workers could have their meal, or they could chose to lunch at any restaurant nearby, or to bring their lunch from home. Being in the phase of growth spurt, or its equivalent in dwarven development, the boys loved the meaty and consistent lunch served at the forgers' level, where they could have all the meat and carb they could dream to have, and large jars of fruit juice meant to quench the thirst of the one who worked hard close to the fires. Some vegetables were also available, and fruits for dessert, but more as a reminder that one could have them if wished instead of cakes and puddings, being seldom consumed if not out of medical orders. The need of fibber and vitamins was almost inexistent in dwarven metabolism, who could obtain everything they needed from a good amount of meat and potatoes, for example.
The dwelflings, nevertheless, seemed to be fine with every kind of food, and ate both the roast with risotto and the vegetables pie, finishing their lunch with a tasty slice of apple dumpling (except for Fíli, who settled for a pudding) and a pear to go. Wolfram wondered where all that food placed itself inside those kids. Said kids began to dispute where they should go next, to the point he couldn't figure out who said what.
"Now, we can see the forges, and then the mines and the market, what do you think?"
"No, we see the forges, then the lapidary, and then the market."
"We can see the market, and the fountains, and the armory."
"Aye, a'mory! A'mory has Bifur!"
Even Kim had her say in the matter, clapping her hands in anticipation.
"But we are close to the forges, why should we miss the trip?"
"Then the forges, the mines, and the armory."
"The mines are too far, we would not come back in time for the banquet if we make everything."
"The forges, the old main shaft, and the armory."
"Aye, the old main shaft, they will love it!"
"But what about the market and the fountains and the lapidary?"
"We can make it tomorrow, can't we?"
"Can we, Unca?"
The tall man scratched his head, in doubt.
"I suppose, but I don't know what your mother has planned. And we must see what your parents will allow, anyway."
A little deaf by the cheerful kids' cries of excitement, they headed to one of the forges, seemingly one the older ones were already acquainted. In the first chamber they were given large glasses that fenced most of their faces, small stumps of cork wrapped in cotton fabric and Iris was urged to put on heavy boots.
"But shoes hurt my feet!"
"Any spark that lands on your hairy feet will hurt you even more, Milady Halfling." Fláfir, the foreman, was firm in his position. "And any weapon or tool that may fall on them will do much more damage than a spark."
Cursing under her breath, the hobbit girl agreed to put on the boots, but looked at the cork stumps curiously.
"What are these meant for?"
"These are hearing protectors. Since we begun to use them, the rate of workers with hearing disabilities has dropped astoundingly." Fláfir was obviously proud. "As have the rates of eye injuries since we began to use the protective glasses."
As they entered the work place, the heat of the fires hit them like a punch in the face. They didn't get very close to the fires, but to see the dwarves at work with hammer on anvil it was impossible not to get to the hotter part of the hall. Wolfram was impressed.
"This is fantastic! I never dreamt of seeing a real dwarven forge at work, and completely had no idea that one day I would see dwarven workers using PPEs *." He turned to the foreman. "What do you make the goggles, though? If you have no plastic, they must be out of glass, and, thus, breakable."
"I don't know what is this 'plastic' you mentioned, Mister Wolfram, but I don't know if you know to what fine film gold can be made. The glass is coated with this gold film, thin enough for the person to look through, but strong enough to keep glass shards from trespassing it if the glass breaks. We had to work hard to find the right way to make them, but our development team is great."
"I had an idea, space suits' helmets have a gold coat to prevent the sun's harmful rays."
"What are space suits?"
"Ahmm, a suit an astronaut uses to get out of his spaceship and..."
"No, no, I don't want to know what a space suit is anymore!"
The human wizard laughed at Fláfir's flinch to his explanation; the dwarf had gone some of it already, as Ellen tried to explain some thingsabout her former world; he just didn't quit the habit of asking what things were, but quickly reminded himself that it could be confusing enough for him to give up.
As they continued their tour in the forges, Kim stuck a thumb in her mouth and quickly fell asleep in her uncle's lap, held by the sling she was used to be carried in and put to sleep. Fíli was getting grumpy for not being allowed to touch nothing, and Lyn was getting bored. So, they concluded the ramble when the foreigners glimpsed the concept that that was only one of the many forges that overspread in that level of the mountain.
When at last they were at the antechamber getting rid of the PPEs, Lily suggested them to shorten the tour for the day, as they still had to go back home and prepare themselves for the banquet. There was a general complain amongst the three older children.
"But you have seen nothing yet, cousin!"
"Maybe, Lyn, but I think we won't be able to see enough even if we spend the whole moon walking around."
"But, but you must see, you must see, from the old main shaft you can see the whole vault of the entrance of the kingdom, and the market is over there to be seen, you have never seen so many beautiful things in just one single place, and then the fountains, they…"
"…they spring into the air like they had life, and they sparkle with the light that the mirrors send them, and the very air around them seems to have a light of its own, and the new Temple was carved just behind it, and it is amazingly large and finely carved and many pillared and truly gold-roofed, and the mines, the mines…"
"… and then the mines, the mines bring forth every kind of ore and of stone and of precious gems you can imagine, and the goldsmiths, they are able to make anything you can wish for, and…"
"And I am sure we won't be able to see all of this in half an afternoon!"
The three ones stopped their listing of marvels at the rational observation from their uncle. Swallowing hard, Knee was the one to settle things.
"Right. One cannot expect to show the mightiest dwarven kingdom of Middle-Earth in just one day." He slumped his shoulders in defeat, trying not to pout. "But you got the idea."
The outsiders laughed lightly at their enthusiasm, agreeing. Iris conceded.
"Maybe we have time to see just one more place before heading home? Preferably a place that is already in the same direction?"
Knee swept his fingers along the place where a moustache would be in the future, sorting his options.
"Aye. The armoury, then. It is in the same level as the training halls, just a little west of it, and we can get down to our dwelling level by the spiral staircase that leads to the main healing house." He exchanged glances with Frérin and the younger one took Fíli's scooter, leaving his own larger one for his brother. "Come, Fíli, lets go turtles."
"Aye, turtles!"
Finally the little blond smiled again after getting tired from the forge trip, clambering to Knee's back and making himself comfortable gripping tightly on his shoulders and crossing his legs around his brother's hips. Now the earthlings understood why that one had chosen not to get a scooter for himself when they started the tour. Brothers take care of each other.
* PPE - Personal Protective Equipment
Why you should not skip next chapter: Because an angry elf is something to be cautious about. Is there awakening to an endless nightmare?