The course of events has escalated rapidly since last I wrote. I may be gone some time longer than I intended but you can be assured that progress has been made in our arrangements with the dwarves. For which I will continue to send word of my experiences.
When I returned to gates of Thorin's Hall I had more time to appreciate their design. The great gates feature the depictions of several mountains, above which shine four bright stars. I do not believe those are the Blue Mountains, which can be plainly seen for themselves at this height, but instead I think they are there to remind the Longbeards of the mountain realms they had lost before their exile here. Gundabad, Erebor, Moria, and the Grey Mountains. Of the significance of the four stars I am less certain. Perhaps a reference to the constellation of Anarrima? The stellar crown of the sun could signify the lost crown of Moria.
It was clear that these were the doors for which the settlement of Thorin's Gate was named. Thorin's Hall was the mansion beyond carved into the mountain. Originally it was just the halls of the Longbeards, one of many houses the dwarves had made at the edge of the valley. But when Dwalin returned to take up stewardship of his liege's former home he found that name had become a term of denigration by its former occupants, who left the halls neglected. He felt that Thorin's memory was sufficiently not upheld, so henceforth the great underground mansion was called Thorin's Halls by the people of Thorin's Gate, with little heed to the confusion of travellers.
They asked what I hoped to learn from the relics, to which I indicated that it would confirm which places were promised to the dwarves. 'Dwalin will be glad to hear that matter resolved' said one, 'for we have finished arranging preperations for everything else'. And so with a signal the gates to the Halls were opened.
The grandeur of the marbelled halls is clear to the visitor on entry, their first sight being Thorin's statue illuminated by the light from the entrance, rising above a room large enough to house a giant. The Longbeards had certainly suceeded in restoring their home upon their return, with the wealth of Erebor they had made it more majestic than it was when Thorin dwelt there. The halls also seemed to be more acessible than before. Dwarves usually keep trade with the outside world above the surface yet I found even more traders within the halls than in the courtyard outside. Of course the word of Cirdan carries some weight with the dwarves, for he is one of the few elves they genuinely respect. Perhaps this is due to his unflinching dedication to his trade or the honesty of his dealings with them. More than likely, it is because he is perhaps the only elf in all Middle-Earth ancient enough to possess a beard.
Most of the traders were in the other great hall beyond the statue. To the right were the sounds of the forges but to the left was a great canal that must eventually feed though waterfalls into the vale itself. Even underground, people still build their cities by the banks of rivers. Looking again the walls there was still evidence of former neglect in the form of leaks spouting from holes in the mortar. The flow of water is more likely the cause of disaster to the old tunnels of Edhelion than the entombed dragons in which the dwarves believed. It is a credit to works of the Longbeards that the halls had not collapsed into the canal decades ago. Also further into the hall was a four-sided pyramid of green marble, set upon a platform. Inscribed on the sides were the Angerthas runes of the dwarves - Here the exiles of the lonely mountain finally settled. The throne were Dwalin himself would hold court was in the same part of the hall, but that was sequestered by guards and a steep flight of steps.
But eventually I found the library of the halls, nestled alongside the workbenches of the craftsmen. I asked one of dwarves by the entrance if a dwarf named Torri was inside but when he put down his book he directed me over by the forges, to a white-haired dwarven smith carving a pillar with hammer and chisel.
I saw the stone he spoke of, it was for the most part intact and certainly more legible than the fragments I had observed before. The writing was in dwarven Angerthas and had similar, if broken, wording to the more recent contract presented at Gondamon. Although the relation between the two was not immediately obvious since it only contained those obligations made by the dwaves.
There was one line that exited me, The folk of Linnar agree to convey the wood of the eastern grove in their stead should at that time the port in Barrow Lake be abandoned by the elves. This was a reference to what is now the dwarven port of Kheledûl, but which grove was expected to supply the timber was not mentioned.
Things moved much faster after I told the dwarves I had found what was needed. Messengers were sent with carts to Gondamon, for it would not be possible for one person to carry the large tablet through the valley. As I was asked questions about the locations specified in the old contract I soon realised they were planning an expedition to scout these areas. Seeing how this could get out of hand, I promised to return on the day the dwarves planned to set out to help guide them through Arassien. To my suprise, the expedition was already prepared to leave. They had been waiting at Thorin's Gate for word from the representatives at Gondamon, so it was apparently good fortune I had arrived. In fact I had already met them by the gates, where I had taken them to be passing merchants - Lorin and his caravan of northern dwarves.
