Thuringwethil: Messenger of Melkor

Submitted by Teira-chan.

$30.00

Sauron and the Wargs sketch <3

His words made him recall that said mortals would likely still be prowling about, but no sooner had he said them than one of them ran right into him as they rounded the corner. He blinked in surprise, motionless for a split second, then clamped down on the instinctive reflex to rip out his throat and backed away to avoid contact with the man again. It would be so much easier to kill the wretch, he thought, gritting his teeth in irritation. But that would tell the rest of them without a doubt that there was an intruder. Thinking quickly, he reached out and grasped the mortal’s forehead in his hand, chanting a spell to confuse his memory. He would remember running into something, but not exactly what had happened. When Mairon withdrew his hand, the mortal slumped to the ground, unconscious. He kicked his forehead for good measure, to ensure there would be a nasty bump swelling when he awoke or his companions found him, then stepped over the wretch, extending his senses far down the stair to be prepared if any other rangers came running.

They reached the bottom quickly, with no further interruptions, save for hiding behind protrusions in the walls or ornate pillars whenever the patrolling rangers came too close.  Pulling off anything that the water could damage, like the ancient staff from the previous vault, and her potions, she set them aside in a hidden little niche before laying a spell over the entire thing to prevent it from being noticed by mortal eyes.  Then she returned to the underground lake, entering it.  The water was frigid, she realized, hissing in distaste as they waded further in, and not liking the idea of being entirely covered in the cold liquid.  Maiar did not need air to survive underwater—Ossë and Uinen were very good examples of that, acting like the brainless fish they floundered around with—and so it was no issue for Thuringwethil and Mairon to quickly reach the submerged vault.  The only problem would be opening the doors and preventing the water from entering and ruining the artifacts.

But they would have to get in first. He perused his memory, searching for a spell that might work. There were some, but they were long and complex and would require more power than he would wish to spend on the indeterminate value of whatever lay on the other side of the door. Let us simply make a wall of ice, he said with a hint of impatience in his thought. It would be more complicated than that, however, he mused. The entire area about the door would need to be frozen. We can freeze the water from the surface. He kicked off the floor, floating to the surface of the underground lake. ‘Then blast our way through the ice to the door,’ he added when her head emerged from the water half a second later.

Reigning in her wandering mind, she returned to the issue at hand; how to ensure the bubble would not move upwards and pop at the surface, allowing the water to enter the room.  Perhaps, since the doors were submerged quite deep, they could place a layer of ice over the bubble, and then secure the solid in place before entering the room.  It would be more complicated than she liked, she thought, but what else could they do?

The giant golden-crowned flying fox (Acerodon jubatus), also known as the golden-capped fruit bat, is a rare megabat  and one of the largest bats in the world. The species is endangered and is currently facing the possibility of extinction because of poaching and forest destruction. It is endemic to forests in the Philippines.

i’m going to have nightmares about this chasing me now

God Emperor of Dune - Frank Herbert

The Aeneid - Virgil