In An Age Before – Part 285
Chapter One hundred sixty-six
Of 'Urmuakhshâm and Khabbkurdu – The Third Age of the Sun
16 Nórui dawned and Helluin gathered her trappings, brought Smoca from the stables, and led him to the gates of Erebor with the 'most wonderful bird' circling the vast hall o'erhead. There, as they had arranged, Kallfelak waited to bid her well on her mission.
"I shall ride Smoca 'til I come 'nigh Zudrâathuk, but there I shall dismiss him for I would not approach a Dragon whilst smelling of horse," she said.
Kallfelak nodded in understanding, saying, "That is wise as no few mounts have become their meals." He marked the stallion's eyes widening in alarm.
"He shall return hither and I pray thee see to his welfare a while, but I shall call for his return after I have dealt with 'Urmuakhshâm and Khabbkurdu," Helluin said. At that, the Dwarf looked at her askance.
"How shalt thou call for thy horse whilst hundreds of miles away, pray tell?"
"The bird accompanies me and when I have need of Smoca, it shall return. When the gate watchmen sight the bird returned to the mountain, just send forth Smoca and I shall be in thy debt," Helluin told him. Kallfelak nodded now that he knew there would be a sign.
"It shall be done, my friend. Shall he know where to go?"
"Aye, his nose shall follow his tail 'til he hath returned whence he was dismissed," Helluin explained. "I shall await him there. Should there be any changes in the plan, the bird shall inform him."
The Dwarf gave her a curious look in response to her claim, but the Noldo simply shrugged.
"'Tis how horses retrace their path using their wisdom and memory, or at least that is how it hath been explained by them to me," Helluin said. "They call going where they have been aforetime 'following their tail', for their tail was the last part of them upon that path. When going someplace for the first time, they say they are 'following their nose', for their nose is foremost and before their eyes upon their face. I reckon 'tis an aspect of their 'horse sense'."
"If thou say so, Helluin," Kallfelak said, some doubt still coloring his speech. "At thy request, Smoca shall be tended and upon thy bird's arrival, released to let his face follow his hindquarters eyes, nose, and all, back down the trail he returned on…I guess." He saw Smoca nod in agreement.
"Just so," Helluin agreed with a grin. "Then all shall be well, my friend. Thou hast my thanks. I take my leave."
Helluin rode out from the gate of Erebor and 'cross the bridge o'er the gate stream. Down the road 'twixt the southern arms of the mountain she urged Smoca to a canter, eventually vanishing in the distance. The bird swooped and circled o'erhead as if 'twas glad to be free of the confines of the city. At the gate, the sentries and watchmen marveled at the flashes of metallic colors and glints of morning sunlight reflecting from its plumage 'til it finally disappeared 'round the southwestern spur heading northwest.
For the first hundred and thirty-five miles, Helluin rode in peace. There was little traffic now and they met none in those lands 'twixt the Lonely Mountain and the northeastern border of Mirkwood. 'Twas only when they came within three leagues of Gunûdu Uzbad and again smelt the stench of Biraikhgirul-Uslukh that Helluin turned Smoca into the forest.
Unlike their previous ride past the Halls of the King on 17 Lothron, the day was fair and no downpour concealed them. It seemed that the rain had also filtered the reek of the Dragon somewhat, for now it followed them unmercifully amidst the trees throughout that afternoon and diminished not 'til they had come a full seven leagues within Mirkwood. Helluin was disgusted, Smoca somber, and even the bird was irritable when they regrouped after the air was no longer a torment to breathe.
That miasma was noxious even at a height of three hundred fathoms, the bird complained, shaking its plumage as if to rid itself of the stench whilst it perched on a stout branch. Then it punctuated its disgust by expelling a forceful jet of excrement. That one I would not eat for 'tis so foul that even I can smell it.
I would not eat it for any cause, Smoca stated, as if he e'er ate meat. Helluin rolled her eyes.
I should not accept it as edible by any save perhaps the Yrch, Helluin declared in sympathy, and even they might find it unfit. Indeed, she wondered to herself, Where are the Were-worms when I need one? I should be well pleased if the whole of Gunûdu Uzbad disappeared into a sinkhole, Dragon, treasure, and all.
Having passed the easternmost of the occupied mansions, Helluin went forward more warily. 'Urdazhâr lay two score miles west and the possibility of somehow waking Narag-Bagd the winged Cold-drake would swiftly put an end to her mission. Yet King Thrór's counselor had attested that 'naught had been heard or seen of that monster o'er the past seven years. Still, 'twas only a day later when that mansion lay behind that she began to feel a bit calmer.
And whyfor should I feel calm at all? Helluin wondered. We approach Zudrâathuk wherein sleeps the Urulókë Khabbkurdu, the Furnace Heart. That one's kindred played a great part in the Fall of Gondolin. She shook her head and dismissed such recollections. 'Twas the evening of 21 Nórui.
In the evening of the 22nd, having come 'nigh Zudrâathuk, Helluin dismissed Smoca, telling the stallion, I bid thee return to Erebor now and remain there 'til I summon thee. Thou know the way, or at least thy tail does. T'will not be safe for thee here, for the Dragons shall waken. When I recall thee, the bird shall accompany thy return and guide thee. I wish thee a safe run.
Smoca nodded and whickered and said silently, I am glad to be gone, but I wish thee good fortune in thine endeavor. I believe I shall make my way for ten leagues and deeper in the forest when I pass that stinking lizard's den.
I blame thee not, she said, and with that, Smoca turned east and cantered off, eventually disappearing into the distance as the light faded to dusk.
Helluin then gave the bird a stern look and said, I pray thee wait or at least entertain thyself well away from the Dragon's lair. I would prefer not to have him waken whilst I am 'nigh.
The bird bobbed its head and gave her an innocent look as if the notion of flying 'nigh the mine had ne'er crossed its mind. Helluin shook her head and groaned ere sitting down to consume some waybread and wait for full dark.
That night, the Noldo abstained from her usual practice of resting whilst viewing the stars and instead set out afoot heading due north. She reckoned that she was still 'nigh ten leagues south of Zudrâathuk and the last ten miles would be an uphill climb to the High Mines. This indeed proved true, and just ere dawn, Helluin found a stream running down through a cleft in the highlands. There she paused to launder her garments, cleanse her armor, and wash her body with the thoroughness of an obsessive. When she was reasonably certain that no scent of Erebor clung to her, she gathered her accouterments and began her climb.
Now though Helluin could have reached the mines by mid-morn, she went slowly and with care, not only to maintain her stealth, but also to search. In order to fool Khabbkurdu, she needed to present no scent that would alarm and awaken him. Removing all scent from herself she deemed impossible if the Dragon's nose was as sensitive as she suspected, and so she sought rather to mask herself with his own scent, the one smell he would be comfortable with.
Deeming that a Dragon, like any other living creature, must drink, Helluin followed the stream uphill, hoping to find his watering place. Alas, the Dragon proved lazy and 'twas not 'til the entrance to Zudrâathuk was in sight that she found an area where the bank had been collapsed 'neath a prodigious weight and the lingering evidence of disturbed stones marked a trail back to the riven gates. She deemed that in the early days of his occupation, Khabbkurdu had regularly taken water, whether to recoup what he had expended during his attack on the Dwarves, or to store fluids for a long sleep to come.
She found there 'nigh the gates of the High Mines the remains of many fallen Dwarves, their armor and weapons scattered and their bodies rent and partially eaten if the condition of their remains spoke true. In the aftermath of the battle, the defenders had become fodder for the Dragon ere he took to his bed of gold.
There too, amongst the grisly ruins of the defense, Helluin found that which she sought, a pug of dung the thickness of her torso, capped with a white blob of urates, (crystallized urine), at one end, which comprised the combined excrement of the Dragon. 'Twas still pungent at close quarters, laced with protruding bones, and in all matters save size, identical to that of lesser lizards.
Dragon excrement, (feces and urates).
"Yé! Utúvienyes¹," she muttered with the sarcasm of disgust. ¹(Yé! Utúvienyes, Lo! I have found it Aragorn's exclamation after discovering a seedling of the White Tree on the slopes of Mindolluin, shamelessly appropriated from LotR, RotK, TSatK, pg 950. Quenya)
Working in haste, Helluin used her dagger to scribe a 'K' rune on one of the woven brass sacks and then hewed off a hunk of dung and shoved it inside. Finally, with a grimace of loathing, she wiped her dagger's blade clean 'cross her greaves, transferring the scent. She deemed that she smelt enough like Khabbkurdu that he would not wake from her presence, now that the familiar smell of his own excrement far o'erpowered any lingering scent of herself.
Outside the ruined gates of the High Mines, Helluin set aside her bow, quiver, and travel bag, and took only an empty sack and some linen rags with her as she entered the fallen Dwarf mansion.
'Tis dark as a mine in here, she carped as she strode 'cross the entrance hall and into the depths of Zudrâathuk. Reckoning that the treasury would be deep 'neath the ground and originally well guarded, she chose a tunnel leading downward, lighting her way with a dim ril of her own Light. Whether that tunnel led directly to the treasury or not, Helluin soon marked a faint susurration of air movement. It came and went in a languid rhythm, endlessly repeated and as natural as the dripping of water from a cave ceiling. The Dragon breathes in the peace of mortal sleep, she thought, I am in luck.
That appraisal faltered after the third part of an hour when she came to the treasury. The tunnel she had followed ended after a right angle turn in the arched entrance to a chamber whence came a dull, golden glow. The doors had been stove in a burnt leaving only some stubs of wood and chunks of charcoal on the threshold. Opposite her, in the exposed corner of the tunnel, lay the charred planks of what had been a wooden guardroom. Helluin extinguished her Light and carefully leant forward so that only one eye and the minimum of her face was exposed, and took a careful look 'round the corner.
Just shy of the treasure chamber's entrance lay the snout of the Dragon and the short section of tunnel before his face was awash with his fetid breath. His mouth was partially open, his tongue lolling on the floor where a puddle of saliva had collected. The Noldo wrinkled her nose in disgust and withdrew back 'round the corner.
Sha! Had I foreknowledge, I would have brought a pocketful of maggots to clean the twelve-year-old scraps of rotting Dwarf meat from his teeth, she thought. Worse, there barely remains room to pass 'twixt his nostrils and the tunnel wall. Skai! Somehow, cursing like an Orc whilst in a Dragon's lair felt appropriate and made her feel a bit better.
Finally, Helluin deemed there was 'naught to be done save hold her breath and go forward with her complete stealth. Twenty paces and no more was that walk and a Man or Elf standing in Khabbkurdu's mouth would have marked 'naught. The Dragon continued to breathe its foul exhalations and Helluin moved as the air passed his lips, staying her advance at the stilling of his breath in or out. Ne'er aforetime have I wished to be the size of a Hobbit, she thought. A great burglar one of them might make someday. After ten minutes, (during which time she had been forced to take a few shallow breaths through her mouth), she had stepped past his lips and into the treasure chamber, there to appraise the wealth of the High Mines.
There was gold aplenty, worked and in ingots, along with silver, copper, and tin as well. A hoard of weapons and armor lay discarded against the far wall whilst here and there, a scattering of faceted gems winked with many colors as they reflected her own Light.
The Dragon's body was sprawled o'er a mound of mixed metals and gems as if he were a child clutching at a stuffed animal in his sleep. Helluin marked that his scales had grown out o'er many years like shingles on a roof with each o'erlapping the next scale's origin point in his hide. At their distal ends, they had become somewhat frayed from abrasion, giving Khabbkurdu a disheveled appearance, and the Noldo wondered if one day he might resemble a shaggy sheep dog. She shook her head and turned to appraise the treasure.
Gold is heavy and amidst such plenty 'tis well 'nigh banal, she thought. Save for some outstanding piece, one lump is as another. She ignored the metals and looked to the gems.
In a coffer halfway 'cross the treasury she found a heap of opals, great iridescent cabochons, their colors fugitive and flashing in the least glow of her Light. She sought the most ostentatious examples and swaddled them in linen ere dropping them softly into her sack. In rapid succession, they were joined by sparkling, faceted rubies, emeralds, sapphires, diamonds, and a moonstone cabochon she recognized as akin to those that she and Beinvír had presented as wedding gifts to Thranduil and Inthuiril in 1551.
As she made a final circuit of the hoard, Helluin marked two objects of metal and deigned to add them to the sack. The first was a crown, wrought in a filigree of gold with diamonds the size of robin's eggs set in a mithril band. The other was a scepter of gold with mithril inlays, a round cut diamond at one end and a delicate filigree ball of mithril at the other. They were beautiful works of precious metals, stylistically matching each other and wholly unique.
With her sack filled, Helluin withdrew, passing the sleeping Dragon and slipping away down the hall whilst mantled in the full stealth of the Laiquendi. When she exited the gate, she heaved a sigh of relief and then recovered her bow and other goods. She stowed the sack in her travel bag and proceeded to the most noxious part of her plan.
At the stream, she used water to mix a slurry of the Dragon's dung, and this she allowed to dribble in a trail as she set off swiftly down a paved track leading west.
Trust the Dwarves to create roads through the highlands from one mansion to the next, she thought as she left a scent trail behind. I wager that Khabbkurdu shall easily follow it to 'Anshâkalathuk just as 'Urmuakhshâm shall be able to follow it to Zudrâathuk. I pray they meet in the middle so that neither of their carcasses needs be hauled out of a mine. She continued west for a day and night, dribbling a thin trail of the Furnace Heart's excrement.
Now in the morn of 25 Nórui, having walked the Dwarf track for 'nigh on fifty miles, Helluin marked the headwaters of the Forest River glittering their way downhill and 'cross the lowlands ere disappearing into northern Mirkwood. There, but a league from gates of the River Mines, she ceased her dribbling and hid the sack of excrement 'neath a cairn that she sealed with mud. Then she went to the riverbank.
With great care, Helluin again performed a thorough ablution, scrubbing the least trace of Khabbkurdu's dung from her armor and cleansing herself to banish the rumor of his stench. She spent long enough submerged in the Forest River that her skin was well pruned ere she was done, and finally, she dried herself, donned her garments and armor, and followed the river toward the gates of 'Anshâkalathuk.
As she had aforetime at Zudrâathuk, Helluin sought for the Dragon's watering place and his excrement. This took her longer than at the High Mines, for the Long-wyrm's dung was another seven years older and the first pugs she found had dried out and lost much of their pungency. She was becoming frustrated and irritable when finally, on ground perennially soaked by the river where the moisture had preserved its questionable 'virtue', she found a log of feces and urate as long as she was tall. This seemed to attest to a much larger Dragon and agreed with the description King Thrór's council had provided. She found it only slightly troubling that she was so joyous at discovering fresh Dragon shite.
Again she took an empty sack and this time scribed on it the rune 'U' for the Dragon 'Urmuakhshâm's name. Then she scraped some of the inner core of the pug into the sack and cleaned her dagger on her greaves. Anointed thus with the Long-wyrm's scent, she took linen rags and another empty sack and approached the fallen doors of 'Anshâkalathuk.
Helluin found much similar 'twixt the Riverbank Mines and the High Mines. Behind the broken gate was a spacious entrance hall with many galleries, tunnels, and passages leading from it in all directions. In both cases, these mansions were far smaller and far less grand that either Erebor or Khazad-dûm. They had been mining outposts, not cities.
Populating them had been prospectors, miners, and sufficient soldiers to safeguard their accumulated wealth, plus a few civilians who provided cooked food and tool repairs. Finally, there had been a workshop full of artisans to refine the metals and gems won from the mountains and some traders to obtain commerce from it. 'Anshâkalathuk had been home to a few hundred souls, but no more. About the gates lay the remains of the unlucky defenders and fleeing civilians who had met their fate in the Dragon's attack. And as at Zudrâathuk, these had been partially eaten.
After looking 'round the entrance hall, the Noldo decided on a likely passage leading into the depths of the mines. The opening was a dark maw whereat she stood listening carefully 'til she eventually marked the slow movement of air, now blowing as a gentle whisper against her face, and then whistling faintly as 'twas drawn back into the tunnel. The Dragon was breathing, but far more slowly than Khabbkurdu had.
At her best guess whilst in his lair, Helluin had estimated the Fire-drake of Zudrâathuk to be close to twenty fathoms in length, a third of that being his tail. Back in Erebor, King Thrór's counselor had claimed that in 2570, 'Urmuakhshâm had been thirty fathoms in length, but from the rate of his breathing and the length of each breath, Helluin suspected that he might be as much as half again that length, truly a monstrous creature. After standing a while to make sure that his respiration was unchanging, she sighed and started down the tunnel, pacing silently into the depths of 'Anshâkalathuk.
Now that tunnel led 'round several turns on its way to the depths. As in the High Mines, there had been guard stations along the way to the treasury. Unlike Zudrâathuk, she did not find any of them burnt. Rather, they had been smashed to splinters by the passing of the Long-wyrm's coils as it made its way down to usurp the wealth of the Dwarves. Amongst the piles of shattered timbers and fractured planks lay the bodies of some guards, crushed flat against the walls or floor and rendered unworthy of even being eaten. Helluin shook her head in sorrow as she strode past.
As the Noldo drew closer to the Dragon's lair, its breath grew in force. This was especially noticeable as she rounded corners and turns. Each such obstruction had served to slow the column of air, and as she passed each one, the Dragon's breath grew by increments to the strength of a wind that she felt break against her face and body. 'Twas a most fetid wind, for 'Urmuakhshâm's mouth still hosted the decomposing scraps of his last meal of Dwarves. Helluin squinted into the foul tempest and held a hand up o'er her mouth and nose for all the scant good it did.
After thinking herself likely to suffocate amidst the miasma ere she reached the treasury, Helluin was pleasantly surprised to round a corner and find herself facing the empty doorframe of the Dragon's hoard chamber. The door's sturdy timbers had been riven and wrenched from their hinges, and now lay trampled upon the threshold. From within came the blast of 'Urmuakhshâm's exhalations and the following suction of dust from the floor as he inhaled. The force of it made Helluin's hair flap, tangling as if presaging a coming thunderstorm.
The Noldo withdrew back out of sight and took a moment to appreciate her good fortune, for this Dragon's head lay not in the doorway, but rather 'twas well within the treasury. She could clearly make out its silhouette a couple fathoms back within its lair, lit from behind by the dull glow of gold, surprisingly bright after the darkness of the tunnel. 'Twas an architectural device that Helluin had seen long aforetime in Khazad-dûm. The Dwarves of 'Anshâkalathuk had illuminated their treasury with a light shaft, bored upward to the surface through the mountain rock to admit daylight.
With only one eye exposed 'round the corner, Helluin timed the Dragon's breathing and sought for any movement in its head or body. Ere she advanced into the treasury, she would satisfy herself that the creature was truly asleep and not simply feigning its repose. For the quarter part of an hour, she remained thus, yet the Noldo detected 'naught to attest that 'Urmuakhshâm was wakeful.
Finally, Helluin advanced with her full stealth, slipping down the tunnel and through the doorframe. The Worm of Worry lay still save for the expansion and contraction of its lungs as it breathed, its mouth half open and its forked tongue dangling on the floor. Behind its triangular, snakelike head lay the mound of its coils, doubled and redoubled in a heap, and hanging limp at its sides she marked the vestigial limbs that would ne'er have borne its weight. The creature's length was impossible to guess, curled as 'twas, yet Helluin judged that its girth had barely allowed it to fit through the tunnel.
Scant wonder that the guard stations were crushed, she thought, there was scarcely room for 'Urmuakhshâm to pass. Were he to grow much larger, I wager he would be trapped here, ne'er again to leave his hoard.
Now the Noldo resumed her purpose and sought for the most valuable items of treasure. Despite her aversion to the weight of precious metals, a trio of mithril sword hilts could not be left behind. Wrapped in linen rags, they were the first items set into her sack. Swiftly, Helluin added a fist-sized emerald, a handful of grape-sized pearls, and a Ring of dull gold with a blue gem that she recognized as the craft of Celebrimbor, (and how did the Dwarves come to possess this, for 'tis not the same Ring that I saw on the hand of Durin IV ere the War of the Last Alliance?). At the first touch of it, she felt a loathing and was quick to swaddle it and set it into the sack. Sauron's perversion still lies heavy upon it, she thought, for it once lay in his hand. She closed her eyes a moment and took a deep breath ere swallowing and continuing her search.
Now thereafter, Helluin was eager to be done with the Dragon's hoard. She found a necklace of white gems set in bright gold and a matching bracelet, but could remain no longer, for her revulsion at the Ring had grown.
With careful steps, the Noldo passed the Long-wyrm and exited the treasury. Using her full stealth, she withdrew, slipping through the tunnels 'til she came to the entrance hall. A great sigh of relief she exhaled as she exited the ruined gates of 'Anshâkalathuk. Then in swift order, she returned to the Forest River to wash herself clean from the scent of 'Urmuakhshâm.
Helluin had one more chore ere she took her leave of the Riverbank Mines. From the mud-sealed cairn, she retrieved the slurry of Khabbkurdu's excrement and completed the scent trail to the gates of 'Anshâkalathuk. On the threshold, she dumped the remainder of the foul contents and tossed the empty sack into the waters of the Forest River. Then, dribbling the slurry of 'Urmuakhshâm's excrement, she laid a new scent trail parallel to the first as she fled east in haste down the Dwarf track.
Now when she came to the valley that she deemed was the midpoint 'twixt the Riverbank Mines and the High Mines, the Noldo emptied the two sacks and spread the treasure 'cross the roadbed. Afterwards, she continued on, laying the Long-wyrm's scent trail back to the Fire-drake's lair. By dawn of 27 Nórui, Helluin stood again outside the gates of Zudrâathuk. There she emptied the remainder of 'Urmuakhshâm's excrement slurry on the threshold. The scent trails were complete and she had only to take cover and await the coming of the Dragons. Soon enough, the scent of a rival would waft down the tunnels to their lairs and sometime thereafter, 'Urmuakhshâm and Khabbkurdu would wake, discover the thefts of their treasures, and come forth following their noses and seeking the thieves with murderous intent.
Helluin fled downstream as fast as she could run. When she reached the flatlands beyond the foothills of the Ered Mithrin, she spent enough time to wash herself unmercifully and then turned west, racing towards the mouth of the valley where she had left the stolen treasures. She arrived 'round dawn on 28 Nórui ready to spectate, for already there was a rumbling to be felt in the ground.
The tremors grew stronger through that morn as something large drew 'nigh and small stones were loosened and rolled downhill. Then from the east, there came a gout of smoke rising and a bellow rang out that carried 'cross the mountains. 'Twas met by a fearsome hiss much closer to her hiding place and Helluin cackled in anticipation.
Soon, by the blessing of her sharp Elvish sight, the Noldo marked the slithering advance of the great Long-wyrm on the Dwarf road midway up the highlands above her. The creature was almost two fathoms in diameter, just barely able to fit through the tunnels of 'Anshâkalathuk. His scales were weak and left his body appearing smooth, but in length, 'Urmuakhshâm was surely o'er two hundred fifty feet from nose to tail tip. In a series of many 'S' curves he held his body, and propelled himself forward with undulating movements like a snake. Yet no natural snake had e'er attained such a size or strength. Dirt, boulders, and the trunks of trees were dislodged and flung aside in the Long-wyrm's haste, and as he came forth, he hissed in rage and sampled the scents in the air with a flickering forked tongue.
Now from the east there came another bellow and the stomping of mighty feet. On all fours Khabbkurdu scuttled forward, his splayed legs sweeping front to back as his body and tail bent side to side in a single 'S' curve like a lizard. The Furnace Heart occasionally paused to sniff the ground like a dog ere resuming his charge. Whilst moving, the monster bellowed to voice his wrath, and when that failed to assuage his fury, he belched great gouts of flame, causing billowing clouds of black smoke to rise into the air and track his progress. By the unnatural temperature of those flames, trees withered and burned like torches and boulders cracked from the sudden heat. Dragon fire could melt metals, vaporize flesh, and cause rivers to flash into steam.
'Urmuakhshâm had a head start, having wakened first and surged from his lair, but Khabbkurdu was far faster afoot. If they met not in the middle, then they would not be far to one side. Helluin watched in increasing impatience, eager to witness the coming conflict like a child that incites a spat 'twixt siblings to provoke parental disapproval.
When the two Dragons met they actually passed each other by a short ways, following the scents of thieves with single-minded intent. 'Twas only when they found their missing goods and marked that the trails they followed reeked of the one just come 'nigh that both stopped and slowly turned to take the others' measure. They were well 'nigh standing right o'er their stolen treasures. Helluin had to clap a hand o'er her mouth to keep from jeering and egging them on.
Now none can know for certain what words passed 'twixt them. Helluin was too far away to read their eyes or hear what words they might have spoken, but considering their natures and their grievances, perhaps it sounded somewhat like this, (or at least Helluin imagined it so).
What art thou doing hither, snake? (Khabbkurdu)
I ask the same, whyfor hast thou left thy hole, scruffy candle-mouth? ('Urmuakhshâm)
I follow the scent of a miserable thief, one bereft of honor that snuck into my abode and purloined my hard-earned treasures! (Khabbkurdu)
Thou and I both then, for I too have been robbed, and here I find thee, thy stink leading from my halls and lo! here lies my property, footpad! ('Urmuakhshâm)
And mine! Here is my stolen treasure and I see none save thee that might have robbed it, for my nose lies not, slithering worm! (Khabbkurdu)
I should wring thy neck, thieving wretch! ('Urmuakhshâm)
I should scorch thy face, crawling sneak! (Khabbkurdu)
Whilst their 'parlay' had proceeded, the Fire-drake had not marked the movements of the Long-wyrm's hind section. When the hostilities erupted, 'Urmuakhshâm seized Khabbkurdu in a hundred feet of constricting coils, pinning his legs to his sides and holding him helpless. In a sudden, snake-like flash of action right after, he rolled the Furnace Heart up in his remaining length and then began to squeeze the life from him.
Khabbkurdu flexed his claws and pierced the Long-wyrm's sides, gaining a bit of respite in which to breathe, and then he twisted his neck to face his enemy. By coiling his entire body length 'round the Fire-drake, 'Urmuakhshâm had ended up face to face with him.
Then Khabbkurdu summoned his remaining strength and exhaled like a blowtorch, the flames of his Dragon fire blasting and incinerating 'Urmuakhshâm's head. Helluin was truly impressed that the Furnace Heart had burnt the Long-wyrm down to a decapitated torso, but like a true snake, the Worm of Worry's body continued doing what it had been doing at the time of his 'death'. Mindless, it continued to constrict, and it squeezed all life from Khabbkurdu.
It took most of the next two days ere the headless remains of 'Urmuakhshâm lay still at last. By then, the Fire-drake's body had been crushed into a jelly and was mostly unrecognizable. At some time during the final night, there had been a fleshy 'pop' and much of the Fire-drake's entrails had burst from its mouth in a Dragon pap measuring several dozen hogsheads. That morn, Helluin came forth to survey the damage, for in spite of herself she could not help but look. Besides, there was a Ring…
'Twas 30 Nórui and by noon the Noldo had recovered all of the items she had stolen from the Riverbank Mines and the High Mines. Her travel bag had ne'er seemed so heavy. She looked 'round at the valley, and believing that none further east or west could see into it, Helluin closed the Ring in her hand and then blazed with the Light of Aman. On the eaves of Mirkwood ten leagues to the south, the bird marked the Noldo's sign and took wing. After the quarter part of an hour, it arrived and perched on the dead Long-wyrm's coils.
Well, this is not very nice, it said, but 'tis a wonderful outcome nonetheless.
All went as well as could be hoped, Helluin replied, poking at the carcass with a stick, for the Dragons are dead.
Dragons? I see but one Dragon, and that quite ill-treated.
Pray look closer, my friend. The coils are the remains of the Long-wyrm 'Urmuakhshâm from which the Fire-drake Khabbkurdu burnt the head. That mass of meat-meal is what remains of Khabbkurdu, squeezed to death by the Long-wyrm.
Ahhh, now I see, said the bird as it sampled a mouthful of jellied Dragon entrails. Helluin expected further commentary, but the bird passed to a single-minded feeding frenzy and paused not 'til 'twas sated the half-part of an hour later.
Very nice, Helluin, the bird finally said. It tastes quite like lizard.
I am honestly not surprised. Dost thou feel like flying?
I shall feel like flying shortly, the bird replied, but I must first adjust my weight to wing area ratio. And with that, it ejected a huge bolus of excrement, spattering down the side of the dead Long-wyrm. Ahhh, much better! Now I feel like flying. I wager thou wish me to summon Smoca from Erebor?
Indeed so, my friend. I would be most grateful.
The bird bobbed its head, tested its wings by flapping, and then launched itself down the valley ere turning east o'er the lowlands. Soon enough, it had disappeared from sight. Helluin shouldered her travel bag and began walking from the mouth of the valley and out onto level ground. There, she too turned east towards Erebor.
Helluin had walked at a lazy pace and took the full day to travel the twenty miles so that she stood due south of Zudrâathuk. There she set a camp and waited for Smoca whilst keeping watch on the area of the liberated mines.
To spare itself from encountering the stench of Biraikhgirul-Uslukh, the 'most wonderful bird' had flown in a beeline to the Lonely Mountain, passing o'er a great swath of northeastern Mirkwood. It had also thereby shortened the distance by some ten leagues. By dusk that evening, it had arrived.
The watchmen at the gates of Erebor marked the bird immediately and sent word to Kallfelak. The Dwarf rejoiced and saw that Smoca was released from the stables. Then he hastened to Thráin's Hall where he bowed before the throne.
"My king, the sign has been received. Helluin calls for her horse, and that means she has defeated the Dragons," Kallfelak reported.
"May Mahal bless thee for thy tidings, good Kallfelak," Thrór said, and 'round him, the counselors were jubilant. "Let us hear from her ere we make further plans for celebration."
Now Smoca charged off into the night, following the bird northwest from the Lonely Mountain. Having been idle for a fortnight, he was eager to run. He followed his tail at a gallop, but ne'er caught up to it, (though he ne'er did as 'twas simply a concept), and by noon he had come three score miles. In the early afternoon on 3 Cerveth, he and the bird approached the precinct of Zudrâathuk.
Soon they marked the flashing of reflections as Helluin tilted the bright Sarchram in the sunlight, and they followed that sign to find her.
Well met, my friends. Ye have made good time! the Noldo said in praise.
I had stood still in thine absence and felt the need to run, Smoca said.
Loëndë and the third day of Cerveth not yet passed, and I reckon thou hast come seventy leagues, Helluin said. Pray rest a bit and graze, and then we must away to begin our journey.
Smoca nodded and walked off to drink from the stream that ran down from the High Mines.
Any sign of others? The bird asked.
Nay, none have come 'nigh since thy last leave-taking, Helluin replied.
Then perhaps the Dwarves shall recover their treasure uncontested, the bird said, bobbing its head in approval.
That is my hope, Helluin said. How was thy flight to the Lonely Mountain? Didst thou endure again the reek of Biraikhgirul-Uslukh?
Nay, I did not. I flew well away from that wretched cesspool, passing o'er the forest in a straight line to Erebor. Perhaps the Dwarves should go that way, hewing a road through the trees. T'would be shorter as well as safer.
To that notion, Helluin nodded. Though she little favored hacking down trees, a safe route past Gunûdu Uzbad would be a great boon. To be practical though, t'would depend on the flatness of the ground in the forest, not just murdering enough olvar to clear the way. A road seldom used hardly justified a great expenditure of effort if stealth could serve just as well.
An hour had passed when Smoca returned. Helluin cast her eyes to the east and he nodded 'aye'. She mounted and the stallion came to a gallop as the bird circled o'erhead. They continued on, but took a detour through the forest during their second day's ride. Though they avoided the unpleasantness of Gunûdu Uzbad and its Reeking Dragon, the Noldo marked that the ground was far from flat and a road would require great labor to level for wains to travel.
Now in the morning of 7 Cerveth, Helluin rode to the gates of Erebor. There she was welcomed profusely and summoned before the king. She appeared straightaway before the throne, carrying her travel bag, the 'most wonderful bird' soaring o'erhead to roost on the rail where it had perched aforetime. Helluin bowed to the king and prepared to give her account of the mission.
"I should swear before Mahal that thy bird is increased, Helluin," King Thrór said, repeating his observation of 30 Lothron.
"'Tis so indeed, O king, and continues to eat and grow at a prodigious pace," Helluin replied just as she had aforetime, ere adding, "It hath supped of late on the remains of the Dragon Khabbkurdu."
Many bushy eyebrows were raised at that, for 'twas the first confirmation they had heard of the Dragon's fate. Now Thrór and his counselors leant forward, eager to hear her rede. Yet ere she spoke, the Noldo emptied her travel bag at the king's feet, saying, "Here is a sampling of the treasures of Zudrâathuk and 'Anshâkalathuk, O king, freed for thy recovery from the thievery of the Dragons."
Then as one, Thrór and his counselors rose and bowed to the Noldo, and they straightened after with broad smiles on their faces.
"The thanks of the Realm of Erebor is thine, O friend and ally of the Ages," King Thrór said. "I count myself blessed by Mahal to receive thine aid, Helluin Mórgolodh. Pray speak to us of how thou achieved this monumental victory."
So Helluin spent some time recounting her strategy and execution for the destruction of the Worm of Worry and the Furnace Heart, and great was the wonder of the Dwarves, for she had laid low two deadly foes without having so much as raised her sword. Great praise they offered for her guile and the courage to enter the Dragons' lairs and steal from their hoards whilst standing 'neath their very noses.
"My lords, I deem only the recovery of the treasures remains for this chapter in the war with the Dragons to find its end. I would advise secrecy whilst passing Gunûdu Uzbad, and driving thy wains 'neath the outermost trees of Mirkwood at night, and preferably on a night of heavy rains," she said, explaining that, "Such weathers deaden sound, sight, and scent, and shall hide ye from any o'ersight of the Reeking Dragon."
"Thy counsel we shall accept," King Thrór said, "for all else thou hast essayed was met with success. Leave that to us, my friend. I would have thee rest from thy labors and join my people in a great feast of celebration!"
'Twas just what the Noldo had most feared in coming to Erebor. She anticipated dining with such excess that she would be unable to even think of a Dragon again for a fortnight after. Helluin also wondered if she would be saddled with some new title. Mórgolodh was getting a bit old, having first been conferred on her by Gneiss in S.A. 142.
Of course, all her worst fears came to pass o'er the following week. The celebration went on for three days straight, so joyful were the sons of Durin to have two of their greatest enemies slain and their treasure returned. Ere the first night of feasting concluded, Helluin had retired feeling so glutted that she thought herself akin to a fatted sow.
Though to her shock her armor still fit, she donned robes instead for the comfort of her distended belly. I shall be producing droppings to rival 'Urmuakhshâm, she muttered to herself after she retired to her guest chambers. I wonder if even Húrin Thalion endured such torments whilst enjoying Morgoth's hospitality in Angband? The dozen Gonnhirrim I shared a table with consumed an entire roasted calf, for crying aloud!
After the third night of the feast, a half-dozen treasure wagons and four score soldiers set out to recover the wealth of Zudrâathuk and 'Anshâkalathuk. They had carefully planned their route and expected to return in a month, for they would also attempt to gather and entomb their fallen within the mansions that had been their homes.
That night, Helluin lay in her guest chamber digesting. Being far 'neath the ground with the night sky and stars hidden from sight, she gave thought instead to the next Dragon, the winged Cold-drake Narag-Bagd, the Black Wind of 'Urdazhâr. He was a totally different threat from the two earth-bound enemies she had brought down and defeating him would demand a wholly different strategy. This she pondered, drawing on her memories of the First Age as well as what Thrór's counselors had told, and slowly, the germ of an inspiration took hold. One threat she grappled with in thought was to keep the slaying quiet lest the combat draw the attention of Biraikhgirul-Uslukh who lurked only fifteen leagues east in Gunûdu Uzbad.
Of old, the winged Dragons were most oft slain by arrows, or other foes capable of flight, she thought. The Great Eagles and Eärendil aboard Vingilot played their parts in the War of Wrath, but this Dragon sleeps deep 'neath the ground, and to allow him to reach the surface and take flight presages disaster. I must be very careful.
To Be Continued
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