Please check in to OOC thread first and make sure to read the recommended posts in MoME to get up to speed with what is going on
As the horses crossed the valley and came upon the tall foreboding structure of Minas Morgul, both brothers looked at each other apprehensively, Tyg turned in the saddle and looked at them both. ‘It’s ok, I’ve had the interior redesigned’
She turned back and started her horse towards the gates. The brothers looked sceptical but followed her through.
They walked their horses up to the broad steps leading into the main entrance way of the Tower, Maedhros looked up towards the heights of the dreary looking building, seeing faces and gargoyles in the stone staring back down at him. When one blinked, he looked away startled.
Several orcs ran out and took the reins of their horses as they dismounted. Tyg left instructions for them to take her things to her room and walked the brothers inside.
Once inside Tyg tentatively tried to make Maedhros and his brother Maglor comfortable. They were pleasantly surprised to find the interior of the Tower nothing like what they had imagined. It seemed light and airy, and inviting.
‘Tyg, it seems you have done wonders with this place’
‘Why thank you Maglor, it cost thousands in Interior designer fees, but I think they really worked their magic well’
‘Magic eh?’ Maedhros said looking around in awe ‘I though so’
‘Perhaps a servant can show you both to your rooms’ Tyg said indicating an orc standing waiting to be of help. He scurried over and took the two brothers bags, he walked off a couple of steps, turned back and grunted ‘Follow’ then walked off again, heading for a grand spiral staircase that seemed to wind up and up forever.
The brothers both looked at Tyg, who shrugged. ‘I didn’t say they were all perfect’ meaning the orcs. They looked at each other again, then followed after the orc.
Tyg finally let out a deep breath. Home at last, she stood there a moment, taking in the atmosphere that she had missed when in Rivendell, judging the MoME contest and seeking out Maedhros. She decided she would head for her rooms….on the top floor level 13….and have a much needed bath.
She waved another servant over and told him to tell the chef (who was not an orc, but actually a very good human chef) to start preparing something for dinner, and to let her and the brothers know when it would be ready.
‘Oh,’ Tyg turned at the foot of the stairs with an after thought ‘Make sure someone escorts the brothers to dinner, we wouldn’t want them to get lost, they may stumble upon things they may not be ready to see yet’ The servant bowed and grinned knowingly ‘Best to keep them escorted at all times for now’ Tyg finished her instructions then changing form into a black cat she ran at full speed and as light as a feather all the way up the stairs…..streaking past the brothers who were stopped at level 6 for a breather, Maedhros muttered the word ‘cheat’ as she ran by …….all the way to the top of the tower where her apartments were.
It was a couple of hours later when Tyg heard a knock at her door, suspecting it to be a servant orc telling her that dinner was ready, she went over and opened it. Maedhros was standing there, he peered over her shoulder into the wealth of her rooms, then said ‘I have come to escort you down to dinner my Lady’
Tyg glared at the Orc who had escorted Maedhros up to her rooms as he choked suppressing a laugh. He scurried away. Tyg took Maedhros’s proffered arm and lead the way down to where they would be dining. It was on level 10, over looking the Ephel Duath, the chef had set up a wonderful array of food and drink, as well as a lovely table for three on the balcony, where the moon shone to its full effect against the side of the tower.
All seemed to go well, everyone was over polite and a bit awkward until Maedhros asked forwardly, ‘So when do we do this thing?’
‘Thing? Maedhros?’ Tyg replied over the rim of her wine glass ‘What thing?
Maedhros, not for the first time, waved the stump of his right hand at her. ‘This is all very nice, but I want to see my hand’ Maedhros growled ‘I want my hand back!’
Tyg groaned inwardly Was it always going to be like this? She wondered, then stood up heading inside, grabbed a bottle of wine off the food table, then turned.
‘Well are you coming or not?’
She heard both brothers stand and come back inside, they followed her with tightly suppressed anticipation as she walked towards the stairs.
‘You should have got them to put in a lift’ Maglor groaned.
‘Then we would all get fat’ Tyg laughed as she started down the stair case, all the way down to the bottom where the entrance hall was. She turned then and walked into the darkness behind the staircase, where another stair case disappeared down into the very rocks of minas morgul itself, she grabbed a torch from a sconce at the doorway and started down into the darkness. The brothers hesitated slightly, then followed her.
It was pitch black and the brothers hurried to catch up to the torch light in the distance as it rounded a corner and disappeared. It was narrow and a long way down, the rocks started to get moist showing just how far under ground they were getting.
Finally after what seemed hours in the dark, but which was really only 20 minutes Tyg stopped, and muttered something under her breath, suddenly the brothers had to cover their eyes as a large room as suddenly lit up by the igniting of several torches around the room.
‘Magic again ‘Maedhros scowled, then lost his voice as he looked ahead into the room, his eyes finally adjusting, although he still thought they must be fooling him.
Across the vast room, all cut out of solid obsidian rock, was a wall that was perfectly smooth, looking like the gate to oblivion. Maedhros felt he could step right through into nothingness. Tyg walked off to one side where there was a table and grabbed some glasses that were on it, opening the bottle she had brought with her, she poured it out into the glasses. Grabbed hers and gulped it back, she stood watching the brothers reactions, especially Maedhros’s.
He had walked up to the wall, transfixed on the one small blemish right in the centre which seemed to be glowing, he stared at it unbelieving, Maglor paled and turned away. Imbedded into the very rock itself, but shining through the thin layer of rock over it, was the Silmaril, making the obsidian rock look almost transparent.
He turned to Tyg ‘What is this?’ he demanded ‘You said I could take up the stone, how can I do that if it’s stuck inside the rock?!’
‘I never said you could ‘take up’ the stone, I said you could weild it, but it couldn’t leave here, you understand now’
‘What are we looking at exactly’ Maglor asked.
‘A gateway, ready for Morgoth’s return’ Tyg said simply
Maglor paled further and stepped away from the wall looking like the hounds of hell themselves could jump through any minute.
‘Relax, it still needs the power of at least one more Silmaril for him to come across’
‘One more?’ Maedhros asked, ‘How do you intend to get one more?’
‘Well, it’s no small feat, I’ve been trying for a couple of hundred years now to find a balrog I can get to understand the word fetch’ Tyg smiled wanly.
Both brothers just stared at her.
Suddenly Maedhros went as pale as a ghost, his mouth dropping open, as he stared over Tyg’s shoulder to a jar sitting innocently on a shelf behind her.
Maglor followed his brother’s gaze and felt his knees go weak, he searched for something to sit down on, grabbing a nearby chair, he sank into it.
Tyg calmly turned and leaning across the table she reached up and took the jar in both hands. She carefully turned back and held it out to Maedhros.
‘Your right hand’ she said simply. Maedhros just stared at it, recoiling slightly from it as Tyg offered it to him.
‘Place it on the desk, I can’t touch it’ he said as he raked his left hand through his hair.
Tyg placed it carefully on the desk, took up two glasses and walked over to Maglor first, handing him one then Maedhros.
‘You see now why I brought the drink down, but you may need something stronger.’ Tyg said as both brothers emptied the glasses in one gulp.
‘I think you guys should get some rest, I’ve organised someone to show you both around tomorrow morning, a trip over to Cirith Ungol and up to see the ruins of Mordor’
Maglor looked gratefully at Tyg for giving them an out and stood up, he grabbed a torch, determined not to walk back up the stairs in darkness and hailed his brother to follow. Maedhros however stayed and walked up to Tyg, taking her in his arms, he embraced her warmly, Tyg was shocked, but returned the hug. When Maedhros stepped back, his hand remained on her shoulder.
‘Thank you, I know this is not easy for you to do’ Maedhros said kindly, he glanced at the smooth wall with the Sil in it. ‘I can feel Morgoth’s malevolence from here my self.’
Tyg looked into Maedhros’s eyes then and they shared a moment, a deep before untouched feeling sparked between them.
Maglor coughed delicately breaking the moment. He quietly said to Maedhros ‘Come on brother’ Maedhros turned and followed his brother out of the cavern.
Tyg wrapped her arms around herself suddenly cold, she stared at the wall, almost expecting Morgoth to appear herself, there would be no sleep for her tonight, sleep here with the brothers within these walls, she shivered at the thought of what nightmarish and painful dreams Morgoth would send to her if she even tried to sleep, she couldn’t let him discover in her mind that the brothers were there.