After almost a full day of helping in Oin's Infirmary, Shobha was sent to get some food. She decided to head to the small informal dining hall accompanying the kitchens.
She passed through a variety of corridors all similarly carved into the stone of the mountain. This stone however was dark with a few sparse silvery veins running through. There were still some intricate carvings or runes at intervals, and the occasional statue of a noble dwarf or dam carved into an alcove so it didn't actually impose on the space of the corridor itself. Even the corridors were impressive. Dwarf craftsmanship was truly impressive.
As she continued, the corridors appeared less and less familiar, although they all seemed alike. And the corridors began slightly more damaged, with some statues chipped and some broken completely and occasional large gauges in the walls, looking like the claw marks of a large beast.
At that thought Shobha stopped in her tracks realising these were likely corridors roamed by Smaug, which still hadn't been restored. And then realising she was lost in the vastness of Erebor.
She turned to look back with the hopes of trying to retrace her steps and stopped. She heard the faint sound of hammering and chiselling or some sort of tools clinking off stone. Following the noise it led her to a similar corridor with several dwarrows in the distance that appeared to be working on restoration work. Some perched precariously on ladders and scaffolds and some standing. All of then carving, and chiselling and some grinding down the walls and ceilings. They were all covered in stone dust and wearing some strange cloth masks.
As she neared, they all stopped and turned to look at her. And recognition shot across their faces. She pondered a moment about why this could have been and then cringed at the possibility that gossip about her may have reached these reclusive dwarves.
One of the dwarves working in the middle stopped and walked over to her smiling. He had a mass o wild, dark hair and a large indented scar across his forehead. It was almost impossible it imagine someone surviving an injury like that. And then she realised, this must have been Bifur!
"Bifur?" she asked. He nodded, smiling. He spoke in Khuzdul, mixing it with the sign language she had seen the others using.
"I'm Shobha," she explained, but he nodded as if to say he already knew and held out his hand to follow him.
He walked her over to where the other dwarrows had been working. They had stopped to observe her with curiosity.
The wall they worked on had several runes that were being carved out. The stone here was lighter in colour, and appeared softer producing more dust, which they were all covered in. The work was meticulous and even half complete was still impressive.
"Dorin, son or Morin, my lady" the dwarf that stood closest to her bowed.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Shobha, daughter of Fundin," she bowed her head in return. "Your work is beautiful!" She sighed taking in the carvings, making Dorin beam proudly.
"Please may I.. touch the surface?" She asked Dorin and Bifur, who both nodded enthusiastically.
Shobha stepped closer and ran her hands over the carvings. The walls were a smooth pale stone, and they had somehow managed to grind them smooth again. The carved runes themselves were also clean and smooth lines. She ran her hands along a dark vein in the stone.
"What stone is this?" she asked.
"That's white marble my lady," he explained. "You find black veins in the stone in these parts. It gives the carvings a real depth."
"How long did this section take you? Isn't marble very hard?" she asked still running her hand along the smooth walls.
"Not too long… we have the best tools. Our smiths in Erebor may be few, but they are the best tool and weapons makers. Would you like to try?" he looked at Bifur, who nodded, and offered his file.
"Really…? Me..? Am I allowed..?" She tentatively reached out.
"Wait a moment, my lady. You'll need these…" Another nearby dwarrow stepped over quickly and offered his mask and gloves and bowed. "Mellin, son of Gellin."
"Thank you. Shobha, daughter or Fundin," she bowed in return, and earned a smile.
Donning the mask and gloves, she stepped to the wall holding the file.
"What do I do?" She asked looking at them. The other dwarves had all stopped working and gathered around watching with great curiosity.
"Just run the file over the edge, my lady" another stepped forward and demonstrated with his own file. "Its only to smooth the chiselled edge of the rune – let the file do the work… Torren, son of Sorren." He bowed and stepped back.
Shobha stepped forward and ran her file along the edge of the carved rune. After a few runs of the file she stopped to wipe the edge with her gloved hand and inspect it. The file must have been particularly hard, as it appeared to have done the job.
"Is that right…?" She turned around to ask her assessors and found them all wearing satisfied smiles on their faces. Bifur was nodding profusely and signing.
"He says you're a natural!" Torren explained. "And… if you ever get bored of working for Oin… and want another job, we could really use your hands here!"
"Really?!" She beamed. "I would love that!"
After a few more hours of being taught a variety of stone-working skills, Shobha's stomach had betrayed her hunger with a rather loud rumble. This had then prompted Bifur to walk her back to the informal dining room. She had felt rather awkward, as the few dwarves in the hall had stared at her. Bombur himself brought her a slice of vegetable pie, and introduced his wife, Elin, who was also a chef. She was a curvaceous red haired dam, with impressive red sideburns, rosy cheeks and twinkling bright green eyes.
"I'm so sorry for bringing in all this dust," Shobha explained standing up and greeting her.
"Nonsense my dear!" she had a beautiful smile. "Bofur and his miners bring much worse up here… that's why its an informal dining hall. We never turn away a hungry mouth. Especially not for our workers who keep Erebor going. And Bifur says you have a good pair of hands…"
"I think they felt sorry for me after I got lost.." Shobha blushed.
"I doubt that Shobha… He never says that about anyone…"
Just then Kili came bounding over. "My lady Elin! We are hungry please…. Shobha?!"
Kili looked at her, noting her dishevelled braid, and her face, clothes and hair that were covered in stone dust. "What in Mahal's name happened to you?" He sniggered. He was soon followed by Fili, Dwalin and Thorin – who stood surrounding her.
"Bifur wants Shobha to work on the restoration for him!" Bombur explained.
"Says Mahal has gifted her with a fine pair of hands!" Elin added grinning, as Dwalin and Fili's jaws both dropped open. "Can you believe it?!"
"He never says that about anyone!" Fili concurred, earning him a scowl from his brother. "Even Kili's arrows are never made correctly, as far as he is concerned! And they are perfect!"
Thorin eyed her from head to toe, the corners of this mouth pulled up ever so slightly on his otherwise unreadable face. "So does this mean Oin will be sharing your time with Bifur?" He guided her back to her seat and gestured for her to sit down. Dwalin took a seat to her left, while Fili and Kili sat opposite her on the table, and Thorin sat to her right.
"If I am allowed – I would really like that.." Shobha admitted softly.
"Well we will have to break it to Oin gently, on your behalf," Thorin spoke quietly leaning towards her slightly, and refilling her goblet with water.
