Rings and Grudges (A LOTR/Warhammer Fantasy Crossover)

Omake: Peers?

Gotri cocked a brow at the Broadbeam thane who knelt down before him. A silver crown embeded with an almost glowing blue Opal stone.

"While the gift is a mighty one indeed, I've got to ask, what in Grungni's beard are you talking about?" The prostrate Khazad frowned before raising his head, confused. "Well as we are entering your halls it is customary for my clan to declare itself to yours till its fall." Your eyebrow still cocked you nod slowly. "Aye, I'm familiar with that. Though I don't know why your handing me your crown, I mean while I'm the senior thane you can't exactly expect me to rule your clan for you." The khazad blinks.

"I mean where to start. How in Valaya's name am I supposed to lead a clan of miners and jewelers? I'm a ranger thane of an engineer clan. While I like to think I can dig or find a seam as well as any other dawi, I have no experience at all with running a clan dedicated to it..." The dwarf only continued to blink rapidly, while you let loose a sigh. "Much better to leave the clan to their own devices. I mean, ancestors, who in their right mind among the miners guild would listen to some 'sun touched whazzock'." You chuckle mirthfully, before marching from your throne and clapping the dwarf on the shoulders lifting him up. "If your so willing, I'd much rather you do that."

It takes him a while, but the elderly thane finally nods, and clasps your arm shaking it hesitantly but deeply. You note that there seem to be tears running down his eyes. Ancestors why was he really so adamant before to hand of his clans rule to a 'foreign' thane? Ancestors the dwarves of these lands were strange.

Omake
Put the moon in Karak Lhune.


Borly inspected for one last time his project, it was a rather simple idea, the hold was called the fortres of the moon but there wan't any major simbolism about it costrucetd anywere.
So he tought of making one.
He was planning to add a great statue of the godess Valaya on the entrance of the hold, or carve it out on one of the flanks of the mountains on the hidden valley. The godess was holding a great disc of silver expertly crafted to look like Gormlhune, a reminder of the firts moon, now that they could not see it anymore.
This was all artistic and proper but Borly wans't a stonemason nor an artist; he was an engenierr and to be honest the plan depicted Valaya just because she probably was the most tematic choice. In truth the statue itself could really be anyone or anything, they could have put the moon inside the mouth of a roaring ancestor for how he cared.
The true marvel of it was going to be unseen anyway, the moon will only look like resting on the hands (or theets) of the statue; bacause it would be placed upon hidden rails, connected to a pulley sistems that would allow a great degree of controol on the exact angle of the silver disc in all the dimensions. With his clokwork of springs one would be able to make the sistem work on his own, with just peridicaly handcrank to give it the energy.
Applications where quite varied, sure one could limit itslef to simply follow the movement of the sun and moon and so shining constantly with an awe inspiring effect. But doing all of this work for just a fancy lamp to impress some diplomat and beardlings would be a waste. A smarter idea will be to also use it combined with a seriers of smaller mirrors embedded in the flanks of the mountains that reflected ligth out of the hidden vally and into the Dunedain city; combined with a simplified version of Grundlid and they will be able to talk with them withou even have to exit the hold, he already took way too much sun lately.
He also had plan about creating a second more curved mirror and make the two of them interchangable. The second one was designet to send enough ligth in a single spot and start fires, sure they did not have the infrastructure (or maybe the skill) to build something like that, but it never hurt to be ready.
The schematics looked compleate so he passed at the more burocratich part. He knew that something like this could cost a fair bit, so he was tring to reduce the expenses of the silver. he had prepared a contract that was proposing the creation of a virtual vault of sort (personal proprerty of the miner's guild) to be placed in the postions that the operator of the pulley sistem was going ot choose, the vault itself will be considered only fit to house a single silver crafts with precise measurements.
Sure if the guild was to accept the contract the thane would not have the freedom to sell the disc later, but with the ability to change his angle intact and unrestrited they both got what they wanted.
Of course this was only legal jurgon, the real reason why the miner's guild would ever acept something like this was because they were going to write the guildmasetr's name (and his glorious line) on the back of the finest piece of architecture of several miles.
He gave another nervous look at evrything, the sets of mirror to comunicate with the dunedain was probably going to take a while to costruct, bu he was quite confident that he could insert the main statue the pulleis and get the plate done by adding it to the work on the hold entrance.


@Mad0Slayer Omake to help with the entrance, my idea is to make something to either lifth the spirit of the hold or impress visitors, and in the future it could be expanded to make both a weak death ray (they do exist rigth now) or/and something to send morse code to the dunedain.
I hope you people like it.
Kazalid trivia, Grundlid is basicaly morse code invented by dwarfen miner's to talk trougth stone.

Omake: It's a long way to Nuln (song)

Up to mighty Everpeak
Came an Ruebatuki one fine day.
As the streets are paved with gold
Sure, everyone was gay,
Singing songs of Karaz a Karak,
Zuffbar and Barak Varr
Till the beardling got excited,
Then he shouted to them all:

Chorus
It's a long way to Nuln,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Nuln,
To the greatest kvinn I know!
Goodbye, Karaz a Karak,
Farewell, Barak Varr!
It's a long long way to Nuln,
But my heart's right there.

The Beardling wrote a letter
To his Imperial Svetta'lo,
Saying, "Should you not receive it,
Write and let me know!"
"If I make mistakes in spelling,
Svetta, dear," said he,
"Remember, it's the quill that's bad,
Don't lay the blame on me!"

Chorus

Svetta wrote a neat reply
To the Imperial beardling,
Saying "Rothor Ironside
Wants to marry me, and so
You must leave Zuffbar and Everpeak
Or to to blame you'll be,
For love my love, gold has fairly drove my family silly:
Hoping you're the same!"


So it's a long way to Nuln,
It's a long way to go.
It's a long way back to Nuln,
To the greatest kvinn I know!
Goodbye, Karaz a Karak,
Farewell, Barak Varr!
It's a long long march back to Nuln,
But my heart's right there.