"Thank you for the knowledge you have parted us, Lord Glorfindel. These tidings are of great weight to us.
"And you as well, King Kaen. The help you have given us, we will remember. If we come back alive, we will grant you the title of Prince of Khazad dum, in the honor of your greatness.
"If we do not return alive, then… we beg you to watch over Erebor and the Iron Hills in our stead.
"Fíli, Kíli, and Thorin, all three are worthy. They are fit to inherit our crowns. You will be their teacher, the guardian and leader of Durin's Folk."
So Thorin and Dáin spoke at length beneath the branches of the Silver Sacred Tree, as heroes do when they go to meet death, entrusting their children and their kingdoms to the one they trust most.
In their eyes there was no reluctance, no confusion. They showed instead the calm and the courage that befit kings when they look upon doom without flinching.
Then Thorin and Dáin bowed low to Glorfindel and Kaen, turned, and without a backward glance went down from the snowy heights.
The summit of the mountain grew quiet once more. Only the wind remained, whispering as it always had.
Glorfindel smiled faintly. "You did not tell them that you mean to go as well?"
"They never gave me the chance."
Kaen shrugged, a little helplessly. "I should be used to it by now. All Dwarves are like that. Right now they are probably certain they are about to die a glorious death, hearts swelling with pride."
Glorfindel asked, "And you will not go after them?"
Kaen shook his head, untroubled. "I am rather better prepared than they are. All of Moria is already ringed by my armies. They go on foot. I, on the other hand… will be sailing south."
He rose and brushed the snow from his cloak, then turned to Glorfindel with a half-playful smile.
"My lord," he asked quietly, "tell me, as I am now, can I defeat that creature?"
At the question Glorfindel's gaze fell to the two long swords at Kaen's waist.
One was the royal blade Courage and Glory, reforged many times and inlaid with rare metals until it became the king-sword ofEowenría.
The other was the Foe-cleaver, the sword Kaen had won in the Troll-forest at the beginning of his rise, later gifted to Cathril.
In the First Age that sword had been the weapon of Turgon, King of Gondolin. Its old name was Glamdring.
In the original tale, Glamdring had once shone in the hand of Gandalf, driving back the darkness of Moria, helping him to stand against a Balrog and hewing the demon's flaming sword into fragments.
Though Gandalf and the Balrog perished together, the blade itself remained unscathed.
Now, knowing that this time his foe would be a Balrog whose strength had reached the very peak of mythic power, Kaen had, for safety's sake, reclaimed Glamdring from Cathril and brought it with him in readiness.
Glorfindel held the sword for a long while and did not ask how Kaen had come by it. At last he spoke only this, with quiet certainty.
"You will prevail. You carry the will of Gondolin. Its unyielding spirit is enough to shatter the flames of any demon."
...
A month later.
After a long and weary march, Dáin and Thorin came at last to the mouth of Dimrill with three thousand Dwarf Heavy-armored troops behind them. Yet when they reached the outer edge of the valley, they found that another host had already raised its camps there.
They both blinked in disbelief.
"By the mountains!" Dáin breathed, "what am I seeing? A great army… no, not merely Men. Those are Caladhîn Elves, and warriors ofEowenría from Tusgar."
"Not only them," Thorin said, narrowing his eyes. "Look there. The King's Guard as well. You know what that means."
"Kaen!" Dáin started, then cried the name aloud. Behind him a dozen Dwarven champions stared, struck dumb for a moment.
"Pitch camp here first," Thorin said with a sigh. "Then we will go and see. Kaen does nothing without reason."
When Thorin and Dáin came to the edge of the encampment before the valley, Andric himself came out to greet them.
"Welcome, King Thorin, King Dáin," he said with a courteous bow. "My lord guessed that you would arrive this very day, and commanded me to receive you with honor."
"Where is Kaen?" Thorin asked at once.
Andric glanced toward the direction of Lothlórien. "My lord has been residing in Lothlórien these past half-month. You know that place does not admit outsiders of other kindreds."
At that, Dáin frowned. "When will he return?"
"I cannot say," Andric answered, shaking his head. "But before he left he gave one clear order. Until he returns, no one is to enter the Dimrill Dale You are the only exception, for it is your ancestral land."
"In that case, what is the meaning of your whole host encamped here?" Thorin asked slowly. "If you intend to aid us, then we must refuse. The hope of victory in this battle is very small. We will not drag you down with us."
...
"No. We are not here for your sake."
The voice came from behind Andric. A tall Elf stepped forward, with mist-golden hair and a suit of silver blue armor. It was Yenagath, Lord of the Caladhîn in the east .
He bowed to Thorin and Dáin, then spoke in an even tone.
"To strike at Moria is indeed the affair of Durin's Folk," he said. "But do not forget what your act will bring about.
"You possess a mighty force, but you have only three thousand. Perhaps you can cleave a path through Moria, yet you cannot hope to stop all the creatures who flee before you.
"Beyond the Dimrill Gate lies Lothlórien, and Golden Iris City, and the homes of hundreds of thousands of folk in the Anduin valley. If those monsters pour into the vale of Anduin, the consequences will be beyond imagining.
"Nor is it only here. On the other side of the mountains, before the western Doors of Khazad dum, our armies are also in place, for that region lies close to our southern borders in the Westlands.
"So yes, to march upon Moria may be the choice of the Dwarves of Durin. But whether you triumph or fail, the cost of what follows will fall uponEowenría.
"We are stationed here to deal with the troubles your war will unleash."
At these words Thorin and Dáin fell silent.
Did they not know the consequences? Of course they did. It was precisely because they did not wish to entangleEowenría that they had chosen to conceal their plans for a time.
They had meant to send word to Kaen only when they reached the very gates of Moria, so that even if they had already gone in,Eowenría could still ready itself in time.
They had not imagined that Kaen would recognize the peril so early and prepare everything before them.
Andric spoke again.
"Perhaps you do not know," he said, "that we have watched Moria for a long while. Since the birth of the Sacred Trees and the spreading of my lord's light over the valley, the darkness hidden in Moria has grown restless.
"We have kept troops here, hunting the creatures that creep out. Light and darkness are at odds by their very nature. This war cannot be avoided, and we have been preparing for it all along.
"It is only that your expedition has brought the battle forward sooner than we had planned."
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