Chapter 3 : Grim Greetings
"What in Aulë's name have you brought with you, Gridel son of Grimet?"
Gridel and Balder looked to each other, and then looked up at the venerable dwarf towering before them. Although his voice was calm and moderate, the Lord of Moria's lips were drawn in a thin line. His ash-white brows were furrowed, and they almost shadowed his eyes, which gazed upon them with a hint of anger, a hint of sorrow, and (this, Gridel noted with doubt) perhaps even a hint of foreboding doom.
"What, indeed, can you expect from this bumbling, twittering pair, Lord Balin?" A dwarf belonging to the Council of Balin, who sat a few chairs away from said Lord, bellowed with not a little sarcasm. "Haven't they proven their foolishness enough times for us to expect them to achieve the least of expectations?"
"And to think, with all the other problems we have to deal with!" Another Council member voiced out. "Oho! But, say, these two dunderheads are as blunt as can be!"
Balder visibly cringed, but Gridel was able to note Lord Balin's reaction to this. The dwarf lord sat up and glared at his ill-tongued advisor (and Gridel was silently rejoicing at this) before sitting down with a loud grunt.
"You had better watch your tongue, Blini son of Undi. Council member or not, you shall be dismissed if you don't keep that slippery tongue of yours in your mouth by the time the man-child arrives."
At that moment, the ornate double doors opened to receive a she-dwarf and a human girl. Ghilda motioned for her companion, Kate, to step forward, and then she announced with a clear voice, "Our great Lord Balin son of Fundin, Lord of Moria, I humbly present to you the man-child."
Kate stepped into the light. Before her was a raised platform, whereupon sat seven dwarf men, all wearing very fine—if a bit stuffy-looking—clothes and jewelry. At the head of this gathering was a dwarf with a long white beard and a crown atop his snow-white curls. She presumed this was Balin, and promptly bowed to the group.
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Balin. My name is Kate Bel Ana, and I am eternally at your service."
It was the best introduction she could come up with in such short notice, but the dwarves didn't seem to mind. They were busy muttering under their breath, even after Kate relieved herself from the uncomfortable bend and started looking around.
To her far left, she found two sullen-looking dwarves sitting on chairs backed to a wall. She assumed one of them was Gridel, whom Ghilda said had saved her from whatever. The room wasn't that big, she noticed, and there was only one window in which the light shown in. It had four slender pillars and even ledges, much like those medieval castles (or were they actually dungeons?) Kate saw in the games she played. It looked particularly dreary all in all, especially because of all the grim dwarves in it.
"Man-child," a dwarf spoke out from the group, although it wasn't Lord Balin. "Are you aware of the circumstances that brought you here?" Kate winced inwardly at that dreadful title. She was beginning to think that being human wasn't very nice in this place. (Since when did she have inferiority complex in dreams?) She forced an answer out of her lips, though the words sounded clipped and uncouth. "I am not sure myself, sirs."
More mutterings from the dwarves followed her reply, and Kate waited a long while before she was made to answer another question. "Then explain to us what you think."
Kate was surprised at the coldness of these words. So much for hospitality! Ghilda had left a while ago, so she had lost her only support, however superficial it was. With much effort, she summoned her memory and told the dwarves as much as she could.
"Before all this, all I remember was going to bed. Then, I had the strangest dream. I was looking up at a ceiling made of water, and on its rippling surface first appeared a face, and then an arm. I grabbed the arm, I recall, and then it pulled me up. The next thing I remember was waking up in one of your rooms."
This caused a heated discussion among the dwarves, and from the corner of her vision, Kate saw the two other dwarves shaking their heads in disbelief.
The conference was only short, and finally Lord Balin spoke to Kate. "Man-child, we have discerned honesty in your words, though the tongues of Men have yet to be proven trustworthy. In the dealings of the dwarves, it is not seldom that we encounter such strange tales of your like. And, if what we suspect has truth in it, it would be the doings of the Fair Folk who have gotten you into this predicament.
"Now, you must be grateful that our kind has chanced upon you in such opportune time! There is no telling what one of those elves might have done to you, had you been discovered in their borders and not found by Gridel son of Grimet and Balder son of Dash, here."
Lord Balin gestured to the two dwarves, who promptly stood up and bowed to Kate. She returned the courtesy before looking back at the dwarf lord.
Lord Balin continued, "They had found you floating on the Mirrormere, and brought you into our walls. It was Balder who told me of this, and Ghilda, sister to Gridel, took care of you for two days now."
Kate looked once more to her so-called saviors, and Balder (she assumed it was him, because Ghilda and the dwarf beside him had the same wavy orange hair…and beards) smiled at her. Not all dwarves were so dismal, Kate surmised, relieved that Balder at least was being positively supportive.
"Now, do you know where you are, man-child?"
The question drew her like a moth to a flame. Kate's head shot up and Lord Balin stared at her with hooded eyes. His voice contained the slightest hint of pity, and by tone alone it was clear that it was no opportune time at all she was brought into this dreary dwarf home. "You are in Moria, man-child. It is a dwarf mine under the Misty Mountains."
"And…and I believe this doll belongs to you."
A passing cloud cast the room in poor light, but when the shadows receded, Gridel stepped up to her and handed her a brown teddy bear with the unmistakable striped red-and-white shirt.
SMEE! Kate was overjoyed. But…but what was Smee doing here? Isn't this supposed to be a dream?
"You have been brought into Moria, man-child," a stern voice uttered from the gathering of dwarves around Lord Balin, "but do not mistake your brief stay as welcome. Do not think our hospitality would extend beyond meals and accommodations. For if you think civility would grant you freedom to wander these halls, may Aulë prove you wrong."
Moria…Smee…the mines? What the hell am I doing in Lord of the Rings!?
Kate's voice faltered, though she wanted badly to wipe away the smug looks on those dwarves' faces. Only Lord Balin's countenance remained grim, and even sad. Before she could find her voice, the Council of Balin followed the Lord of Moria out the back door.