In An Age Before – Part 227
Chapter One Hundred forty-six
Hollin Ridge, Moria, and the Caradhras Pass – The Third Age of the Sun
Author's Note: In this chapter, I had to depart from canon on an issue of mechanics and description. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book 2, Part IV, A Journey in the Dark, JRRT describes the Ennin Durin when Gandalf says, "If you wish to know, I will tell you that these doors open outwards. From the inside you may thrust them open with your hands. From the outside nothing will move them save the spell of command. They cannot be forced inwards."
That is all well and good in a story and could have worked in fact but for one consideration, the hinges. For any swinging door, the hinges must be at the surface of the face that creates a decreasing angle with the doorframe as the door opens. For the Ennin Durin to open outwards, its hinges would have to be on the outside, exposed to view and attack, rather than leaving the seamless door/frame juncture that allows the doors to be hidden when closed. Considering the weight of solid stone doors, the hinges would have been massive. The invisible doors that JRRT describes as, revealed only by lines of ithildin in moonlight and starlight after Gandalf muttered an incantation and passed his hands over the surface of the rock, had no hinges appearing even in Celebrimbor's drawn design.
Overall, I have to consider the hidden nature of the doors more important than that they open outwards. From a defensive and tactical point of view, no one would want hinges exposed to an enemy. Therefore, I have made a practical correction in the mechanics of the Doors of Durin. In this story, they open inwards with the hinges on the inside. Being hidden and enchanted must suffice to keep them from simply being pushed open or pulled closed from outside. Either could be done easily from inside. They would be a practical and effective defense so long as Khazad-dûm was occupied by friendly forces and the enemy was outside. Alas, if the enemy was inside, such doors would have been a disaster.
Lastly, I must point out my disagreement with the first part of the translation of the Elven script on the doors themselves. Gandalf tells Frodo that, 'They say only: The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter.' Celebrimbor and Narvi created the Ennin Durin sometime between the founding of Ost-in-Edhil in S.A. 750 and the start of the War of the Elves and Sauron in S.A. 1695, (LotR, App. B, tTotY, pg 1058). I believe they were begun, (if not completed), prior to S.A. 1200 when Sauron, posing as Annatar, was accepted by the Elven smiths of Eregion.
My point is that the name 'Moria' was originally the name of the nether region spanned by Durin's Bridge. As a name for the whole realm, it would have been considered pejorative by the Gonnhirrim and would not have been acceptable. At that time, Khazad-dûm was anything but a 'Black Pit'. The name 'Moria' could only be truly applied to the whole of Khazad-dûm after its people fled the Balrog and its abandoned halls fell into darkness.
"Ennyn Durin Aran Khazad-dûm.
Pedo Mellon a Minno.
Im Narvi hain echant.
Celebrimbor o Eregion teithant i thiw hin."
Helluin and Red spent the night of 8 Urui camped in the lee of a low rise some seven leagues north of Hollin Ridge. There a small rill ran down, giving rise to lusher plants than grew on the surrounding slopes. The water and forage made Red happy. He drank his fill and cropped a variety of greens ere dozing off on his feet.
The night was clear and warm, and had the Noldo not shot a hapless blackcock, she would not have bothered building a trench fire. Instead, she happily conserved her rations and consumed a large supper of spit-roasted grouse with a hunk of bread torn from a fresh loaf. Afterwards, she spread her ground cloth of oilskin and reclined to view the stars.
Dawn arrived with broken clouds painted in purple, red, and orange. They were heavier than during the past week, but still not ominous. The breeze too had not changed, still pleasant as it teased the stalks of grass. Helluin went to the rill and washed her face and hands whilst Red drank and ate his breakfast. Afterwards, she broke her fast with the drumsticks from the grouse. Her trench fire had burned down to ashes o'ernight, but she doused and buried it so that no trace remained. With Anor still low on the horizon, Helluin and Red set out at a leisurely pace, continuing their ride south towards Hollin Ridge.
Now the seven leagues to Hollin Ridge passed in five hours so that by noon, they approached the valley that cut its way through the eight miles of abrupt highlands. Helluin rode Red at a walk towards the gap at the valley's mouth whence issued a small stream, making her approach easily visible and minimally threatening to any who lingered there. None hailed her and she was neither challenged nor stayed. She had expected at least a welcome from some sentry posted amongst the slopes o'erlooking the entrance, but the land appeared deserted.
Yet when does it not? She asked herself. The whole of Hollin has appeared deserted for so long that amongst many 'tis rumored to be haunted. The Laiquendi are here; I can feel them.
Indeed, since the fall of Ost-in-Edhil in an Age before, no towns had sprung up, no herds had been grazed, and no roads had been cut through the whole of Eregion. It seemed that in the wake of the destruction wrought by Sauron's Glamhoth, none had returned to dwell in that land, and yet 'naught could have been further from the truth.
After the flight of the Noldor to Imladris, the Green Elves had returned to continue their occupation and defense of the buffer lands 'twixt the Hithaeglir and Bruinen/Mitheithel, all the way south to the marshy Nîn-in-Eilph and the north bank of the Glanduin. The lands of Eregion they reckoned the east frontier of Eriador and defending them, they deemed a strategic necessity. That necessity, along with the words of Lind, made Helluin sure that many archers now kept watch at the foot of the Caradhras Pass and the closed Ennin Durin. She would not have been surprised to find the general, Tórferedir and his lieutenant, Gwilolrán leading a company of several hundreds.
Helluin had come three furlongs into the valley when at last a company of a half-dozen Green Elves appeared from cover and hailed her.
"Mae govannen, Helluin, it hath been some years since last we met," an elleth called out from her post behind a boulder a dozen fathoms upslope. "We are glad, seeing thy return. I mark that thou still bear the black bow."
"Suilaid nín, Calenvír," Helluin replied, whilst offering the scout a smile, "'tis good to see thee well after taking thy leave of Amon Sûl. Aye, the bow has served me well through many battles in the east."
"Thy shooting shall be welcome to the south," she said. "We have taken some 'strays' on the trail leading down from the pass, but I wager there are questions more pressing that beg thy counsel. Pray continue on thy way and a league hence thou shalt come to our encampment."
"I shall do so, meldis nín," the Noldo said. "Does Tórferedir command?"
"He does, on behalf of the king, but Dálindir has visited oft and he hath tarried at the camp for a fortnight now, so great does he deem the threat."
"The threat of a few Yrch slain in the pass?"
"Nay, the threat of the black maw of the doors. They stand open and a hundred arrows have been pointed at them day and night for the past score years," Calenvír said, and Helluin could see her shiver at the mention of it.
"The Ennin Durin stand open?" Helluin asked in shock.
"Aye. The doors have no knob or handle. The last of the Gonnhirrim to flee could not close them behind themselves from without and none would remain to close them from within. For sooth, I blame them not."
The Noldo could but stare at her in shock, and yet her rede made sense. She had passed those doors aforetime, more than once and in both directions. Yet always, friends had held the inner halls and ne'er had the current situation even been considered.
Narvi and Celebrimbor had designed the West Gate to be impregnable against threats from without. Save by moonlight after reciting an evocation, the closed doors were invisible in the cliff face at the head of the Gate Stream. Using the password would open them far enough to be pushed open fully from without, whilst from within, they could be thrust closed by one alone. Yet on the outside, there was no knob or handhold, no purchase with which to draw them fast. And from the outside, their full weight would have been felt when pulled. Helluin sighed. The massive tonnage of the Doors of Durin was balanced on cunning hinges on their interior faces that allowed them to feel 'nigh weightless from within. Yet with cunning magick, their crushing weight was preserved in one direction from without. They could be pushed from either side, but only from within could they be pulled.
This realization birthed another line of thought. Helluin deemed that even were the doors somehow closed now, 'aught that came from within could pull them open with ease. Closing the Ennin Durin would provide no security for Eriador. Finally, she shook her head at the conundrum, for t'would not be solved easily or in a day.
"Calenvír, I thank thee for thy welcome and thy tidings," Helluin said. "I shall go and take counsel with the king and his general. Pray be well 'til next we meet, meldis nín."
"And thou as well, Helluin. May Elbereth's stars shine upon thee 'til we meet again."
Helluin and Red continued through the valley at a canter and the Noldo sensed an increasing count of hidden sentries and watchers who marked them but let them pass. After the half part of an hour, they came to the encampment of the Laiquendi where they were again hailed with welcome by sentries.
"Mae govannen, Mórgolodh," an unfamiliar ellon said. He offered a bow and added, "Pray go forward. The king would take counsel with thee. The post of our command lies three furlongs further south."
"My thanks, noble sentry. I shall be glad to greet my old friends there."
They came 'round a bend and thereafter they saw many of the Laiquendi. For once, they were not even trying to remain hidden. The companies attended their mess, sat waiting for their watches, or went about other duties just as would the soldiers in any forward deployment. At the end of the third furlong, they came upon a copse of trees growing beside a pool in the stream, and there they found Dálindir, Tórferedir, and others of the king's company that Helluin had not seen in centuries. She dismounted immediately and walked o'er to join them. Once there, she offered the group a bow.
"Suilaid nín, Dálindir, Gérorn and Celegaras," she said, greeting the king's company with a smile, "mae govannen, Tórferedir, I hope ye have wandered in peace since last we met, yet I mark that those years have included great conflict."
"Suilaid, Helluin," Dálindir said, returning her smile. "'Tis good to see thee again, meldis nín. Recent years have brought peace, but no end to threats. I wager thou hast heard of our concerns here."
"Aye. I have shared speech with Calenvír and learnt of the doors. I shall be glad to share what I know of them, and perhaps together we can divine a solution. I too consider Moria a threat that is not to be ignored."
"Pray share the noon meal with us then, my old friend, and we can take counsel together. I wager there is much thou know that would be of profit in our current plight," the king said, shaking his head at the situation.
He was clearly beyond 'aught that his experience included. As a free-living wanderer of the fields and forests, enchanted gates and kingdoms 'neath the ground were so far from his experience as to be wholly foreign. 'Twas an even greater departure from 'aught that he knew than Fornost had been. Helluin nodded her agreement to his suggestion and left Red to forage and drink from the stream.
"T'would be my pleasure to share a meal with you, my friends," the Noldo said, "and I shall be glad to tell you what I know of the gate, for I saw it abuilding and knew its creators long ago."
The five of them went to take seats 'neath the shade of the trees and pooled their rations to make a meal. As was their custom, each offered what they had. Soon they were breaking pieces off the loaf that Helluin had brought from Celenhár, slicing sausage and cheese, and sipping from a skin of wine. The fare was not o'erabundant, but 'twas appropriate for a noon meal, if not a dinner or banquet. With their first pangs of hunger sated, they commenced their council.
"Thou had dealings with the craftsmen of Hadhodrond and Ost-in-Edhil long ago, or so Beinvír told us upon a time," Dálindir said.
"Just so, and indeed I brokered the treaty of friendship and trade 'twixt those realms. From the collaborations of their artificers came many great works, the Doors of Durin not the least," she said. Nor the greatest, she thought, for those would surely be the Rings of Power that brought about their downfall, alas. "Celebrimbor son of Curufinwë and Narvi of the Guild of Craftsmen collaborated on many commissions, but I deem the gates their best known achievement."
"Celebrimbor and Narvi…'twas they who fabricated thy Ring as well," Tórferedir said, looking at the Sarchram upon her belt.
Helluin nodded 'aye' to the old general and said, "Indeed they did, after many trials."
"That bears not upon the troubles at hand," Dálindir said to forestall distractions. "Pray tell us what thou recall of the gates, Helluin, we doubt not that thou knows more concerning them than any others here."
The Noldo dipped her head to the king and gave thought for how to explain to those who had no experience with building or mechanics, the structure of the West Gate. 'Twas a marvelous feat of engineering, that tens of tons of solid rock could be moved with ease by a single pair of hands, and that those movements were also limited by magick. Finally, she sighed and began her rede, expecting many questions.
"As ye have seen, the gates are a pair of great doors, opening inward, and wrought of solid stone. From the same rock as the cliff face into which they are set were they made, and great care was taken to match the striations and inclusions in their stone with the cliff so that they would be undetectable from without when closed."
"I know of none of our folk who have seen it thus," said the scout, Celegaras, "for e'er has that place made our people ill at ease. Those of us who e'er came thither did so in the company of the Gonnhirrim, our allies, and so saw it only when open."
To this, Helluin nodded in understanding, recalling how uncomfortable the notion of venturing so far 'neath the ground had made Beinvír on their first visit. Like most of her people, she had had little to do with the Naugrim at all, the Sacking of Menegroth and the Battle of Rathlóriel being their historical precedents. Indeed, her beloved had been half-convinced that the Naugrim roasted and ate Elves. That belief was later abandoned by all but the most provincial of the Laiquendi, for they had allied with the Dwarves in opposition to the Glamhoth, and in later years, Angmar.
"I have seen them closed long ago," Helluin said. "'Neath the light of day, one would walk past them unknowing, so well are they hid. By night, they can be discerned from the glow of a design wrought upon them in ithildin by Celebrimbor, but only after an incantation is spoken to quicken them. Even then, they remain impregnable unless one speaks a password in Sindarin, which the Dwarves learnt in Beleriand ere the sun and moon. They would not have used any word in their own tongue for the opening command, for friends of other races might have needed to use it."
The Noldo looked 'round the circle of faces and saw them regarding her with rapt attention. Her lore was wholly unknown to the Green Elves, and she deemed that they would not have spoken the password even had they known it, for entering Khazad-dûm would have been a cause for fear. None of their kindred would have chosen to pass from 'neath the sky and stars, to walk in the deep places of the mountains.
"After speaking the password, the seams 'round the doors and the designs upon them would become visible and they could then be pushed inward with little effort despite their mass. That was the reward of being perfectly balanced on their hinges, and an enchantment governing their movement. For friends standing outside, they can only be pushed open. They cannot be pulled closed by any means. From within, they may be pushed closed, but also pulled open quite easily."
"But, the Gonnhirrim are gone," Gérorn observed, "and now there are none to pull closed those doors, for they would then be trapped within."
"'Tis worse than that, meldir nín," Helluin told him.
At first the gathered Laiquendi looked at her, not understanding what could be worse. 'Twas Tórferedir who first groaned and shook his head at the realization of her words.
"Whether now or in an Age, any foe within those halls could easily open and close those doors, issuing from them to invade our lands, or taking refuge within from pursuit."
They looked to Helluin for confirmation and she nodded in agreement. Dálindir threw up his hands in frustration whilst the rest gaped, astonished that there was 'naught that they could do. Only the general sat still, gritting his teeth and taking no pride at all in having been correct. Closing those doors now would accomplish little enough at all.
"What options have we to seal Moria as a source of attack? Canst thou see any solution?" The king finally asked.
"I deem we have but two choices, neither of them practical," Helluin said. "Either we bring down the cliff face and bury the doors fore'er, or collapse the tunnel that leads to the hall behind the gates so that none may come thither to the doors from deeper within."
"But how are we to do either?" Celegaras asked. "We are not Dwarves. We know 'naught of mining or of working stone."
The notion of scaling the five hundred foot cliffs above the gates and then causing an avalanche seemed impossible to him. The alternative, to work inside those dark halls long enough to cause a collapse was simply terrifying. Anyone doing so would then be sealed within Moria, having already made sufficient noise to summon e'ery Torog and Orch for a hundred miles.
His people had neither the tools, nor the knowledge to do either. Helluin realized that even were hundreds of the Gonnhirrim available to accomplish the task, t'would still require weeks or perhaps months of labor that they would be loath to do. She deemed that she could not ask her friends to desecrate their lost home and their greatest kingdom. Finally, she sighed. Sometimes there was 'naught that anyone could do.
"If I can discern a way for the one closing the doors from within to escape without traversing all of Moria in a four day journey to the East Gate in Nanduhirion, then perhaps for now t'will be enough to just push shut the doors," she said. "We must depend on Durin's Bane to defend Moria, and trust in hope that the lore of the West Gate is forgotten. So little as a century may suffice."
But one further detail troubled her. The High Road from the tumbled ruins of Ost-in-Edhil ran beside Sirannon and still led straight to the West Gate at the feet of Celebdil. There was no hiding it, even after thirty-seven centuries of neglect. Yet if the gate could just be closed, any who followed that road would be confronted with only a bare cliff face and no clue revealing the doors. T'would be the best they could achieve for now.
If I but had E-ngúrglaw, I could bury this gate once and for all time, and achieve that end in moments, Helluin thought. I could seal the East Gate and protect Lórinand as well. Alas.
Dismissing that fruitless train of thought, Helluin said, "'Naught shall come to pass save that we come to the doors, yet I deem little haste is required for they have stood open all these past twenty-two years. As I will bring my horse, I can ride and if ye shall come after, then I shall meet you there. If ye would set out now, then I shall walk with you. I reckon the door lies three score and ten from here as the crow flies. We could arrive afoot three days hence."
"Helluin, as we have had so few notions of how to face this crisis for the last score and three, I reckon 'tis of less consequence for us to arrive than thee," Dálindir said. "Pray ride ahead at thine own pace and we shall set out afoot shortly in thy wake. We shall rejoin thee thither."
"Thou shalt find Gwilolrán commanding the companies at the foot of Caradhras and the Gates of Moria," Tórferedir said. "Day to day, I know not at which deployment he may be, but t'will be one or the other. Pray inform him of our coming, meldis nín."
Helluin offered a dip of her head to the king and his general, thinking how some things had changed and others had remained the same. Having e'er preferred the stealth that being afoot afforded, the Laiquendi had ne'er favored riding. Indeed, in all her years knowing them, she had seen none save Beinvír astride a horse. Yet times had changed much else, for Tórferedir had called her, my (f.) friend, whilst at their first meeting, he had offered accusations and she had replied with threats. Had things escalated further, she probably would have slain him then and there. Only a few years later, they had combined forces to worst Sauron's northern army on the west bank of the Lhûn. As she turned and made her way back to Red, a smile shaped her lips as she appreciated the irony.
Are we away then? Red asked as she approached.
Aye, we go south to Moria.
Moria?
The great realm of the Dwarves, now fallen into darkness, its people slain or fled.
I believe I saw Dwarves at the inn just off the East Road, he said, to which Helluin nodded 'aye'. They seemed not so small as I had imagined…as their name suggests.
'Tis all relative, I deem, for they were called thus by Elves and Men who are all taller.
Was it my imagination, or did thou also refer to 'Halflings'? Are they of similar stature?
Aye. The Periannath. And nay, they are shorter still, she said, holding a hand out at waist level to demonstrate.
I see, said Red, so then could Dwarves not also be called Three-Quarterlings? The ones at the inn seemed so to my eye.
Helluin stood gaping at him for several moments in amazement. That thought had ne'er actually occurred to her. Each race had their God-given stature and who amongst the One's Children was fit to offer judgment? Yet she knew that centuries of enmity had come of just that impulse. Finally, she blinked and shook her head to clear it.
They are the Khazad, the Gonnhirrim. Come, let us go.
Now they covered the three score and ten miles to the West Gate of Moria and arrived in the evening of 10 Urui. There they found Gwilolrán, Lieutenant of the Laiquendi, commanding two hundred archers, of which one hundred were constantly watching the yawning black hole in the face of the cliffs 'neath Celebdil. He greeted Helluin gladly, whilst 'round him his troops looked to her in desperation for some relief of their tedium.
"Helluin, welcome to the most boring, threatening place in Eriador," he said in greeting. He sighed and rolled his eyes as his troops grumbled and muttered in agreement behind his back.
"My thanks for thy welcome, meldir nín," she said as she dismounted to let Red roam. "Hast thou truly tarried hither a score and two in the shadow of yonder maw?"
"Save for the respite of my holidays at the foot of the Redhorn, I have been here, aye," he said with a grimace. "The great excitement of these years has been shooting some Yrch, roughly a dozen per decade. As for yonder udûngaw¹, it hath changed not at all in that time, for which I am feeling both thankful and aged untimely." ¹(udûngaw, hell hole = udûn(hell) + gaw(hole) Sindarin)
Helluin nodded and offered him a look of sympathy.
"'Tis hard, living in suspense and waiting on the verge of war, yet coming ne'er to battle. Soon enough, one can scarcely bear the strain of peace and craves the relief of bloodletting and slaughter, or so it hath seemed to me," she said, straight-faced.
Gwilolrán nodded gravely in agreement, not for a moment recognizing the incongruity of Helluin's words. He had long felt the stress of this post threatening to turn him mortal.
"I was bidden to tell thee that Dálindir, Tórferedir, Gérorn, and Celegaras shall arrive two days hence in hopes of witnessing some progress at closing the gates," the Noldo told him. "I have preceded them hither as I rode rather than walked."
Her words made the lieutenant choke. His king and general were to arrive in two days, expecting to find some progress? He had no idea of what to do about the gates and ne'er had, save for guarding against 'aught that might come forth. His people had done 'naught else for the past twenty-two years. Gwilolrán groaned and shook his head.
"I have had no grand inspirations and 'naught has changed since I came here," he said. Then muttered to himself, "I may as well go o'er the pass to defect and join the Yrch."
Helluin had to chuckle at that, yet Gwilolrán's pessimism was plain to see.
"Pray take heart, meldir nín. They expect no miraculous solutions of thee. They come to take counsel with thee and me in hope of reaching some better answer to this quandary. Perhaps after, thou shalt no longer be required to remain in this depressing place."
He and the nearest of his archers perked up at that and the whispers of her tidings passed down the line of Green Elves watching the gates. 'Twas the first hopeful tidings they had heard in years, literally.
"What then wouldst thou have of us, Helluin?" Gwilolrán asked.
"I am not yet sure, save that for now I would not have ye shoot my horse untimely, nor myself either. I believe I shall take a look through the gates."
With that, Helluin took her bow, strung it, set an arrow to the string, and then stalked off towards the gates. Once she stood before the opening, she illuminated her figure with a ril of silver and gold and passed into the receiving hall. She was met with darkness and silence, both unbroken as she stood silent and still, taking the measure of the doorstep of Durin's realm.
The first hall within the gates appeared as it e'er had, save that 'twas deserted and the torches had long ago burnt out. In the past, several hundred soldiers had manned the West Door, standing guard in shifts, acting as messengers to announce any who were admitted, and remaining ready as reinforcements in case of attack. She took quick looks into the barracks, kitchen, storerooms, and armory. There too, all was as she expected it.
Eventually, Helluin came to the avenue that led from the gate complex and into Khazad-dûm proper. 'Twas a tunnel that opened 'neath an arch at the top of a broad case of two hundred stairs set at the back of the gate hall. The tread widths were generous, but the risers were sized for the Gonnhirrim and made Helluin feel as though she was mincing her steps the whole way up. For a time she stood just beyond the arch at the entrance to the tunnel, listening in hopes of hearing 'naught, and in this she was rewarded. There was no whisper or tell tale sign that any were 'nigh. Better still, there was no abnormal heat and no cadavers. She nodded to herself and then descended the staircase, returning to the gate hall.
Now she made a more deliberate examination of the rooms branching from the hall. She found little armament remaining in the armory. The soldiers had taken their weapons and armor as they left. In the barracks, Helluin found the bunks tidied in military fashion. Apparently, the withdrawal of the companies at the gate had not been a rout. They had left in a disciplined fashion and all things were ready for the next company. Though their relief shall be a long time coming, I reckon, she thought sadly.
There were several storerooms, the first being 'nigh the barracks held blankets, extra mattresses and pillows, and of greatest interest, field tents and many cords of bundled firewood. She wondered if the prospect of such supplies would be sufficient to tempt some of the Green Elves to join her in retrieving such as would make their deployment before the gates more comfortable.
In a storeroom 'nigh the kitchen, she found some foods aged beyond any use, but also some foods preserved in sealed crocks from which the faint scent of vinegar could just be detected. Too, she found many shelves laden with foods preserved in sealed, sheet metal canisters, a peculiar invention of the Khazad that she had ne'er seen anywhere outside their mansions. They had not been regarded as trade goods, and had only been used as long-term storage of military rations. She passed down the shelves, reading the notations in Khuzdul on their labels. A selection of a half-dozen she dropped into her travel bag and then she took her leave.
On her way back to the hall, she passed through the kitchen where clean dishes and mugs were stacked in ordered rows, the sinks were empty, and even the dish towels hung straight and sharply folded. The mess hall was separated from the kitchen by an opening in the wall featuring a counter for serving. Rows of tables and benches had been left in flawless order, as perfectly aligned in ranks and files as the soldiers themselves when formed up for inspection. Piercing the ceiling of the mess hall were three large openings, and though they were dark at night, they recalled a memory for Helluin of the ceiling in the treasury of the House of Gneiss in 1551, where Aslâm had revealed the Ithilvírin.
Returning to the gate, she laid hands on the doors and was able to easily move them half-closed. She made sure to brighten her ril ere issuing 'twixt them and back out onto the night-darkened gate road. No one shot at her and a glance revealed Red, unharmed, cropping grass and drinking water beside the Sirannon. She walked o'er to Gwilolrán, who eyed her with expectation.
"Good tidings, meldir nín," she said. "All is silent within, and if any have come to the hall or the rooms behind the gate, then I could not mark their passage."
Gwilolrán heaved a sigh of relief. For twenty-two years, no foes had come 'nigh the West Gate and if Moria hosted enemies, they were far away. He watched as Helluin drew forth from her travel bag a half-dozen canisters of metal and cocked a brow in question.
"Good tidings indeed, meldis nín, and my heart rejoices for the next hour or so," he said with a grin. "What hast thou found?"
"Upon my tour of the gate hall and the guard rooms behind it, I found much of value, abandoned and unclaimed, yet still wholesome, blankets, tents, firewood, and foods, foremost."
With her dagger, she pierced the top of a canister and with repeated rocking motions, extended the cut 'til she had hewed the edge where it joined the sides all 'round. When 'twas 'nigh cut away, she bent it back and in the glow of her ril of Light, they saw halved peaches tightly packed in a clear syrup. The Noldo stuck the tip of her dagger through one and lifted it free, then brought it to her nose. It smelled wholesome, as if it had been tinned but a week aforetime. She took a small, experimental bite and groaned with pleasure. After a larger bite, she nodded in satisfaction and offered the impaled fruit to Gwilolrán.
The lieutenant looked upon it with suspicion at first, but when Helluin failed to keel o'er or vomit, he too took a bite. His eyes went wide in surprise at the sweetness of the fruit. In two more bites, he finished the peach.
Now by then, many of the Green Elves that were not training their bows on the gate had gathered 'round, curious at what the Mórgolodh had brought forth from Moria. They watched the Noldo and their lieutenant eating fruit from a metal container, and when they neither keeled o'er, nor vomited, they clamored, pelting the two with questions. With a shrug, Helluin passed the can 'round and the more curious of the Green Elves sliced off and took pieces of the fruit to try. Many were the comments of surprise that rose from them, and they looked to the Mórgolodh to see what else she had brought out of the Black Pit.
"I have here one container each of halved pears in syrup, a sauce of apples, sun dried grapes, both red and green, and peeled orange sections," she said, reading the contents off the labels on the remaining five.
A clamor of "let us try them!" rose from the Green Elves. Helluin rolled her eyes.
"We must make sure they have remained wholesome," she said, nodding to Gwilolrán.
One by one, they opened the containers, finding the preserved fruit in fine condition. Helluin and Gwilolrán made sure that each variety was safe ere sharing them out. Each proved to be delicious and a rare treat for the Elves who had been deployed since mid-year at the feet of the mountains. Soon enough, all had been consumed. The Laiquendi were regarding the half-open doors with speculative glances.
"I wager that by daylight, those who might chance to accompany me within would be well rewarded, for I saw many of these containers and much else besides," Helluin said after trading thoughts in silence with their lieutenant and receiving a nod of approval.
About half of the gathered Elves nodded 'aye' immediately, and the rest joined them after a few moments' thought. Now, whereas aforetime they had spent twenty-two years with nerves on edge in fear of what bane might come forth, half the company of two hundred was ready to march into the maw of Moria with the coming dawn. Helluin nodded to herself, well pleased.
Through the remaining hours of darkness, during which none who had sampled the fruit keeled o'er or vomited, the resolve to venture in past the gates grew stronger. Helluin discussed the plan for securing supplies with reasonable safety and all who listened felt capable of executing her instructions. By nature, remaining silent would be little challenge, and none were apt to make noise for its own sake. They expected to come and go undetected, should any foes lurk within. By the time Anor rose o'er the heights of Caradhras and Celebdil, the Green Elves were actually eager.
"Be especially on the lookout for rope, spears or poles of stout steel, and a shovel or spade," she said ere leading a hundred inside on the morn of 11 Urui.
Now she brought her raiding party first to the storeroom 'nigh the kitchen and there choose many containers of preserved foods for them to haul away. Some gave her questioning looks when she skipped o'er certain cans and tins. Helluin pointed to the cirth on the labels and silently told them, eye to eye, this says puree of beef hearts, or herein is contained a condiment of minced songbirds, or marinated bat meat chunks, all of which made the Elves blanch and nod in agreement that such could be left behind.
From metal bins in a corner, they harvested many stone of flour and dried peas, corn, and oats, carrying off bushels of each in sacks made from their own cloaks. They all looked forward to baking fresh flatbread beside their campfires in the days to come.
After the better part of two hours, the Green Elves had grown much more comfortable plundering the pantry of the Dwarves and a small mountain of tinned goods was accumulating outside the West Gate. Added to this were crocks containing vegetables in vinegar. Though the Laiquendi could read not a word of Khuzdul, they stacked the cans and tins by type, matching the cirth on containers of like dimensions to organize their pilfered larder.
Helluin brought her crew of pirates next to the storeroom of the barracks. There she directed the acquisition of tents, blankets, and many coils of rope. This was not the slender hithlain cordage of Lórinand, but rather the stout woven jute rope that the Dwarves traded for from caravans that came north to Rhovanion east of the Greenwood. 'Twas the same as was used by the Wainriders and it had been predominant in Rhûn. Helluin had recognized it immediately.
In their search for spears or steel poles, the Green Elves were unsuccessful, but an archer brought forth the spit from the kitchen hearth, a square rod of eight feet in length and sufficiently stout to roast a half bull or whole goat. Helluin was delighted and had it taken out of the gates to be added to the growing pile of stolen goods.
Finally, the Green Elves carried off many cords of dry firewood, cut to precise lengths and bundled in what Helluin suspected were parcels of two stone apiece. This was most welcome, as o'er the past two decades, the Elves had used up 'nigh all the seasoned deadfall within a couple hours' walk.
As the Elves finished taking away their selections, Helluin returned to the mess hall. Just as she had suspected the previous night, the three openings in the ceiling were now brightly lit by the daytime sky. Far above the ceiling rose the light shafts, bored straight through solid rock, showing bright, blue rectangles from their openings somewhere on the cliffs o'er the gate. From the bottom, she could not estimate their length, nor but crudely guess at the positions of their openings, but she reckoned that after nightfall, she would be able to locate them easily enough.
During the remainder of that afternoon, Helluin directed the raising of the tents, an activity wholly strange to the Green Elves. Whilst allowing the waxed canvas to air out, they used them to store the firewood and preserved foods in case of rain. When evening came, Helluin took counsel with Gwilolrán for the advancement of her plans.
Now Ithil rose in the northeast and still lingered low, his waxing crescent wholly eclipsed by the Hithaeglir as the Laiquendi stood close 'neath the cliffs of Celebdil. The sheer escarpment was cast in darkness, shadowy and mysterious 'neath the starlight.
The lieutenant of the Green Elves brought Helluin's magickal viewing tube to his eye and watched as his friend passed within the maw of Moria. For a while, the glow from her body lit the interior of the gate hall, but then she passed from view.
The device still left him unsettled. Helluin had demonstrated its virtue and finally, he had willed his heart to slow and his hands to steady, and then he had taken a look through its lenses. The door had looked as if he stood right before it and he had slammed his eyes shut and well 'nigh dropped the tube as he would a red hot glede. He had been terrified that his sight would remain afflicted e'er after.
That had proved untrue and he had opened his eyes, his sight restored, to see Helluin with the hint of a grin on her face as she regarded his horrified expression. Eventually, he had become more comfortable with this enchantment of the Golodhrim, though she had assured him that 'twas a Mannish invention from the east.
Thereafter, with the rest of his company, he trained his sight on the upper reaches of the cliff face and waited. It seemed a long time that he and his archers stood staring up at the bare rock, but then some pointed and called out. Soon, he too marked the trio of bright shapes on the cliff. With the viewing tube, he sought for and then found them, three rectangles lit from within by a Light of silver and gold. He committed all he saw to memory, especially the surrounding stone.
The quarter part of an hour after she had entered the gates, Helluin strode back out, unharmed, and through the tube, he saw the hopeful look on her face. He beckoned her o'er and she came directly. When she arrived and stood before him they shared a smile to celebrate their success, and then she stared deeply into his eyes and he shared his memories of all he had seen.
To Be Continued