Chapter 840: The truth behind the matter
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Dawn City was even more beautiful at night.
Fireflies that flew all around the wetland looked like stars that illuminated the night. Bellflowers that glowed like street lamps scattered across the swamp to add to the mysterious atmosphere, shining a gentle light upon the steps of the wetland's inhabitants.
The occasional wind would shake the vines and branches slightly to produce a beautiful sound. The Elves that hadn't retreated to their beds would choose to meet in front of their treehouses to chat. Their laughters would add to the song of the night.
Sheyan was currently in a huge treehouse that was the tallest in Dawn City. It was the residence of Melody. Next to him were Segimli and Elder Annenia Cyathea, while in front of him was a huge magical sandbox that was at least 5 square metres in size.
Annenia Cyathea pointed and the sand started glowing softly. It quickly rearranged itself into an accurate model of the detailed layout of Dawn City.
The sand model showed everything from the wetland, lake and the battle fortress parked on the bank, to the Seaforest Trees behind them, to the Balrog held within the mountains, and to a few newly excavated caves to the side.
Sheyan couldn't help feeling extremely proud as he looked over the giant sand model. The whole Dawn City was built according to Sheyan's plan. To watch it rapidly grow and expand into the scale it showed today was immensely satisfying.
Sheyan had actually started planning for the construction of Dawn City the moment he heard that Melody had a group of Elves following her. It's just that the initial plan was nowhere near as colossal.
The reason he planned to build a city was simple. If Melody wanted to establish her own faction and poach a group of Elves away, she would first need to solve the basic problems of security and accomodation for these Elves. It's the same as courting someone's hand for marriage. If you have a humble abode then you would still have a chance, but if you don't, then good luck.
Paul the Octopus was the X-factor that provided meat to Sheyan's plan. It was actually strong enough to capture the Balrog. Once the Balrog was taken care of, the rich ore veins in the Mines of Moria became Sheyan's negotiation chip. Even if the Gimli tribe rejected his proposal for cooperation, various other Dwarven tribes would queue up for the chance.
And thus the first construction phase of Dawn City was rapidly carried out. Yet it was barely enough to satisfy the basic needs of the Elves that Melody "kidnapped" from Rivendell.
Fortunately, the resources plundered from Rivendell was unnaturally rich, with an abundance of energy crystals. Sheyan didn't even need to do much after that. Following Sheyan's concepts of "Wetlands" and "City in the Air", the Elves started making changes to Dawn City themselves. The magic formation to absorb the Balrog's life force, the Reconciliation Room of the Sun God where Glorfindel was robbed of his power, and the Seaforest Trees were all completed during this phase.
Sheyan was able to witness the terrifying might resulting from the cooperation between Elven magic and Dwarven construction. The appearance of Dawn City changed with every passing day! Each day brought new surprises.
The next phase in the plan of the Elves was to build a new Elven town called Tisdale on the ruins of the orc city nearby. The town would serve 2 purposes.
The first was to let the Elves that grew tired of the wetland environment of the City in the Air to experience life in a snowy forest.
The second was to act as a place to receive guests and make contact with people from other places. There were simply too many secrets within Dawn City, plus the Ring of Air, Vilya wasn't fully under Melody's control yet. They couldn't easily let outsiders into Dawn City.
After experiencing Glorfindel's visit, both the internal stability and security problems of Dawn City had been put under control. Melody's position as the "Queen" of Dawn City was completely unshakeable now. Even after Sheyan left this world, he wouldn't need to worry about rebellions.
If there were anything Sheyan was still worried about, it would be the Balrog.
If he recalled correctly, the Fellowship of the Ring in the story wanted to stay overnight on the bank of the lake, but they were attacked by the Ocean-freak of Moria. In their chaos, they escaped into the Mines of Moria and met with the ambush from the Balrog....
But now, the Ocean-freak of Moria was living a happy life with Paul. A large number of Dwarves and Elves would provide food for these two "Holy Beasts" everyday, so they probably wouldn't have any interest in hunting anymore.
As for the Balrog, it was currently wrapped like a dumpling in captivity, continuously providing warmth to Dawn City and its surrounding area. The heat emitted by a Balrog was so great that anywhere it stayed would naturally turn into lava. The magic formation only restricted its freedom and absorbed the heat dispersed from its body without harming it. Even if Gandalf wanted to duel the Balrog, he would have to ask for permission from Dawn City!
Since they altered the storyline to such an extent, Sheyan couldn't help but feel uneasy. To make matters worse, the Stockholm party definitely caused major changes to the plot as well. The future was now completely unknown. Sheyan felt as if his eyes were blinded by fog.
"My dear friend, I actually came here today to bring you a good news," said Segimli. The little Dwarf was a chatterbox, so he quickly broke the silence when he felt the atmosphere turn heavy.
Sheyan's eyes lit up as he asked.
"What's the good news?"
Segimli happily answered.
"Following the underground rivers, we've opened up a path to the Mines of Moria. Everyone was really excited. From the injuries on the Inokas we've released inside, we deduce that they were attacked by some half orcs and undead creatures. Those creatures shouldn't pose a problem to our warhammers. (Inoka = a kind of lizard reared by the Dwarves. They could be used as mounts underground, or as hunting hounds and scouts.)"
Sheyan nodded.
"I completely believe that they would pose no problems at all for the courageous warriors of the Gimli tribe."
"Not only that, my friend. Despite the order forbidding us from entering, a companion of mine called Bronzebeard couldn't hold himself back and rushed in on an Inoka!" exclaimed Segimli excitedly.
"The important thing is, he came back safely 3 hours ago. Of course, he can't have any beer for 3 days as a punishment by the elders. But he brought back great news. There were 7 major ore veins underground just waiting to be mined! The facilities left by Durin's Folk when they evacuated were still operational, which means that we can start mining immediately. Each ore vein can be mined for a thousand years! Our only pleasant problem now is that we don't have enough hands!"
Segimli was already flinging his hands in excitement as he explained.
"Bronzebeard was sure that the captured Balrog inside Dawn City is the same Balrog inhabiting the mines previously. That means our greatest threat had been nullified! Even though the place had been deserted for a thousand years, he could still see the splendor of what used to be the biggest Dwarven city in existence. There were a total of 8 floors. Each floor possessed a large amount of arched tunnels. The rooms and halls were made of black walls that were as smooth as glass. The bottom floor contained mines, treasuries and prisons! Oh yeah, there were also the legendary Durin's Bridge and the Endless Stair! So cool! I can't wait to step inside!"
Elder Annenia Cyathea smiled and said.
"Moria, or as it was known in the ancient days, Khazad-dûm, was built together by our Ñoldor Elves and the great Dwarven race. The great Lord Celebrimbor personally recorded the glorious feat with Mithril. In the present day, under the collaboration of the Sin'dorei Elves and the Gimli Dwarves, Moria will definitely shine again as the number one Dwarven City on the continent."
After giving it some thoughts, Sheyan said grimly.
"Mr. Segimli, I must regretfully inform you that the news you bring are not good news at all. I wish to meet with your uncle and all the elders in your tribe within the next half an hour. There is something I must discuss with them."
Segimli asked in shock.
"It's not good news? If this isn't good news, then what else can you call good news? Fine, fine, I'll go notify them immediately. But I must warn you, my uncle should be enjoying a nice glass of beer with some Dwarven cheese on his lazy chair right now. If you call him over for no good reason, he will be very angry."
Sheyan's words apparently had some weight within the Gimli tribe. Half an hour later, all the important Dwarves in the tribe that could come have gathered.
Sheyan looked at the beardy, honest faces in front of him and cut straight to the point.
"The reason I asked everyone to gather here was to raise a few questions. If you can answer them, then there will be no problems."
The old Gimli suppressed his annoyance and said.
"Ask away."
Sheyan organised his words and said.
"I heard the Gimli tribe had confirmed that there were no more significant threats inside the Mines of Moria, and there are 7 major ore veins inside. My first question is, how does the wealth of the ore veins compare to the rewards of Skifz Ascûd?"