Thank all of you who reviewed. To Asilynn Crowdaughter: I got the idea from an earlier review. Plus, I didn't want to gross people out too badly. Sorry the last chapter was so short. I promise that this one will be longer. Well, here you go. This chapter takes place about a month after the last one. I am writing in book-verse, and in the books, what has become universally known as the Batle of Helm's Deep is called the Battle of the Hornburg. If it is shorter, tell me. This will probably be really bad. Note: I do not own Tolkien and probably never will.
"We are but a league away from our destination," a voice thundered. Hlin looked up. There was a fortress looming near. "What is that, Lord Gimli?" she asked quietly, awestruck by how powerful the structure looked. "That is the Hornburg, the fortress of Rohan that guards Helm's Deep and the Glittering Caves. It is where the Battle of the Hornburg took place," Gimli replied. "Lord, I implore, what was the battle like?"
"It was long and hopeless, but in the end, Rohan triumphed," Gimli said, remembering the event. "There were Uruk-Hai beyond count, and Rohan had but two thousand, at the beginning. Later, we might have had twice that amount," Gimli said. Hlin paused.
"It must have been a terrible event."
"Yes, terrible but great."
The company of dwarves passed through the Great Gates and into the Hornburg. There were men there, some Gimli loosely knew, but being the secretive and stubborn race they were, the dwarves kept on going. They passed through the Rear-gate, and passed into Helm's Deep. They followed a stream that was about a fathom and a half across. As they got further upstream, the gorge got narrower.
"We are close, no more than a furlong away," said Gimli.
The gorge was now so narrow that the dwarves in the front had to walk in single file. Eventually, they came to the opening to the caves. The dwarves passed through the entrance. Hlin gasped.
The Glittering Caves were exactly the way she pictured them, only even more beautiful. The trickles of endless drops of water and the echo of her footsteps on the sandy ground made the most beautiful, yet simple music she had ever heard. Countless gems glittered in the walls, and light seemed to glow through them. The walls were of every pale color she could imagine, twisted into works of art by nature itself. There were lakes sprawling out as far as she could see, mirroring all that she saw on the walls; it was an everlasting loveliness that Mahal himself could have fashioned just for his folk.
Hlin touched the wall that was the nearest to her. It was smooth to the touch. Hlin suddenly took her hand away. It felt as if it was almost a sin to touch such a work of beauty. She looked up. The gems had weaved themselves to make a tapestry. It put her into a trance. For a moment, she thought she could see a picture , but when she blinked, it disappeared.
"Lady?" a voice asked. Hlin jumped, startled. She was facing a dwarf she knew, named Bundin.
"Yes?" she asked, trying to sound as if she had not been scared out of her wits.
"Lord Gimli wishes to make a brief speech," Bundin replied. Hlin knew that this was a sign to be silent, so she turned to face the dwarf.
"Fellow Dwarves, we have reached our destination. The journey was long and hard, but we managed to complete it to find our new home. Tonight, we shall find where we shall sleep and enjoy our first night in our new settlement. We shall go far into the caves, but not so far tonight. Sleep well under the glitter of Aglarond!"
The dwarves heartily applauded what Gimli had said, and drank to the health and prosperity of the Glittering Caves. The roof looked as if it were on fire, the walls glowing with the lights of red and orange. Then the roof turned a rich dark color, with many jewels embedded in the domes and ceiling like the glittering stars.
Hlin briskly walked into a small chamber, about one fathom wide, two fathoms long, and three fathoms tall. She found a small rock on one side of the room. It was too short for her, but she was too overtaken by the bliss and beauty of the caves to care. She fell asleep under the the spectacle of the ceiling of star-jewels.
"We are but a league away from our destination," a voice thundered. Hlin looked up. There was a fortress looming near. "What is that, Lord Gimli?" she asked quietly, awestruck by how powerful the structure looked. "That is the Hornburg, the fortress of Rohan that guards Helm's Deep and the Glittering Caves. It is where the Battle of the Hornburg took place," Gimli replied. "Lord, I implore, what was the battle like?"
"It was long and hopeless, but in the end, Rohan triumphed," Gimli said, remembering the event. "There were Uruk-Hai beyond count, and Rohan had but two thousand, at the beginning. Later, we might have had twice that amount," Gimli said. Hlin paused.
"It must have been a terrible event."
"Yes, terrible but great."
The company of dwarves passed through the Great Gates and into the Hornburg. There were men there, some Gimli loosely knew, but being the secretive and stubborn race they were, the dwarves kept on going. They passed through the Rear-gate, and passed into Helm's Deep. They followed a stream that was about a fathom and a half across. As they got further upstream, the gorge got narrower.
"We are close, no more than a furlong away," said Gimli.
The gorge was now so narrow that the dwarves in the front had to walk in single file. Eventually, they came to the opening to the caves. The dwarves passed through the entrance. Hlin gasped.
The Glittering Caves were exactly the way she pictured them, only even more beautiful. The trickles of endless drops of water and the echo of her footsteps on the sandy ground made the most beautiful, yet simple music she had ever heard. Countless gems glittered in the walls, and light seemed to glow through them. The walls were of every pale color she could imagine, twisted into works of art by nature itself. There were lakes sprawling out as far as she could see, mirroring all that she saw on the walls; it was an everlasting loveliness that Mahal himself could have fashioned just for his folk.
Hlin touched the wall that was the nearest to her. It was smooth to the touch. Hlin suddenly took her hand away. It felt as if it was almost a sin to touch such a work of beauty. She looked up. The gems had weaved themselves to make a tapestry. It put her into a trance. For a moment, she thought she could see a picture , but when she blinked, it disappeared.
"Lady?" a voice asked. Hlin jumped, startled. She was facing a dwarf she knew, named Bundin.
"Yes?" she asked, trying to sound as if she had not been scared out of her wits.
"Lord Gimli wishes to make a brief speech," Bundin replied. Hlin knew that this was a sign to be silent, so she turned to face the dwarf.
"Fellow Dwarves, we have reached our destination. The journey was long and hard, but we managed to complete it to find our new home. Tonight, we shall find where we shall sleep and enjoy our first night in our new settlement. We shall go far into the caves, but not so far tonight. Sleep well under the glitter of Aglarond!"
The dwarves heartily applauded what Gimli had said, and drank to the health and prosperity of the Glittering Caves. The roof looked as if it were on fire, the walls glowing with the lights of red and orange. Then the roof turned a rich dark color, with many jewels embedded in the domes and ceiling like the glittering stars.
Hlin briskly walked into a small chamber, about one fathom wide, two fathoms long, and three fathoms tall. She found a small rock on one side of the room. It was too short for her, but she was too overtaken by the bliss and beauty of the caves to care. She fell asleep under the the spectacle of the ceiling of star-jewels.
