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Tumunzahar makes Menegroth look like a contract project. Which, the Dwarves assure her, it was. The stonework is astonishingly careful and beautiful, silky to the touch up close while from a distance it gives the impression of stretching on forever above, a sky of stone with crystals for stars. Vast natural cave systems are connected by dozens of perfectly smooth, gently sloped broad stone pathways from which the fall, if she fell, would be several miles down. There are handrails. "We use those to move materials carts," someone explains to her, "we're not going to be reckless."
There's an amphitheater, a place where a hundred of the stone walkways twine around to create space for a hundred thousand people to sit in close proximity, and someone is giving a lecture or a demonstration at the base of it, the seats closest to him filled with eager, tiny, bearded Dwarf-children.
And they spiral down, and down, and down, past waterfalls and egg-sized gemstones left half in the rock and halls of crystal. Everything grows gradually more ornate and more perfectly maintained and the clang of hammers fades behind them. "People say," her guide says, "that we only have a council instead of a single King because there were nine winners of the competition to design the throne so we couldn't just select one person to sit it." And they push open the doors to reveal, indeed, nine thrones so elaborate it would be hard to choose between them, and nine squat bearded people sitting them.
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I wish you'd met us all back in Valinor.
Yes. It'd have been marvelous.
purposeful_glory
Ha. Well, I could have just turned everyone who wanted to leave into a bird and you could have been on your way in a day, no boats necessary.
He winces. And we'd all be calling my uncle the King. That would be interesting.
Getting fond of him?
purposeful_glory
I walked in and said I had healing powers and he was dying and he wanted to hear me speak Asgardian with the Allspeak off and he was just - playing, with the sentences, rearranging the words - it was cute. On a personal level he hasn't improved on that, but it was a high starting point.
He nods. I'd be rather the world's biggest hypocrite if I complained about people harboring more affection for Feanorians than they actually warrant.
He starts reading his letter.
purposeful_glory
I'm gonna guess there's decent odds this is not a letter you want to read with company, she says. Later.
He doesn't look up. Yeah.
Thanks, Maitimo says. Stay for dinner? I can manufacture a reason for a party and have it really be in your honor.
The manufactured reason for the party is the trade deal he's been working on. No one seems to think that a party for a trade deal is extremely unreasonable. There is minimal alcohol -it's your party and lots of songs by Macalaurë none of which are the 'fun' ones with mental effects - it's your party - and lots of dancing. Maitimo begs out the dancing.
purposeful_glory
Loki dances, though! Dancing was the first thing she learned when she was pretending to grow out of her clumsiness and she has a soft spot for it. She is happy to learn local styles.
There is a lot of dancing! Late in the evening when Maitimo has left there are a number of giggly Quendi girls finding her for dancing.
purposeful_glory
Gosh. How could that have happened. She dances with giggly Quendi girls but is very restrained on the flirting absent clearer signals than dancing.
There are not clearer signals. Eventually Tyelcormo finds her for a dance. "You ask people if they want to climb onto the roof and stargaze," he says. "If you were wondering."
purposeful_glory
"Oh, is that how it's done. Do I then tell them the funny story about how you have pretend stars or would that be a moodkiller?"
"...we have pretend stars?"
purposeful_glory
So she tells him the funny story about how they have pretend stars.
"I don't think that'd be a moodkiller, not in this host. Not when the Valar say that two women doesn't even count, not when -" he shrugs, shakes his head - "they can't even get the stars right. That's amazing."