[Amanaduial the archer]

Flori came wearily up from the mines where he had been helping the others, wiping a worn rag across his face in an attempt to remove some of the dust from his eyes. As he crossed bridge, he couldn’t help walking a little faster than he had before, not looking down. It isn’t that I’m afraid…of course not…why, we have no idea if there even is anything to be afeared of in that deep, yawning chasm of darkness whose bottom is so shrouded in depth that no one would even hear you hit it if some being leapt out and grabbed you…

He shuddered, stopping his thoughts hastily as he came to the end of the bridge. Fool of a dwarf, he chuckled slightly to himself, shaking his head. Why, they had been here for years now: surely anything that terrible would have surfaced by now? The orcs had been driven off into hiding in some deep, dark place that the warrior didn’t like to trouble himself about, and had barely been seen over the last few weeks. Balin had optimistically declared them gone.

“Sometimes even the most craven beings know when to stop!” he had announced wisely to the other dwarves. Flori raised an eyebrow slightly even though he was alone – he wasn’t sure Balin was completely sure even in his own mind, but there had been something very heartening about hearing their Lord speak so solidly. And ‘Lord’ he was now, not just a lord of Erebor, but the master of Moria, and wielder of Durin’s axe. “Not that you’d suspect it had gone to his head at all,” murmured Flori to himself with a grin.

“Oh, now that is unkind, Flori Bronzeshield.”

Despite all his fine thoughts about not being afraid, Flori couldn’t help it: he jumped. The speaker chuckled slightly and Flori turned hotly to see his brother sitting at the edge of the abyss, swinging his legs slightly. Instantly Flori’s brotherly instincts leapt up and he nearly jumped forward to pull his younger brother away from the depths. Instead, approaching, he replied, “What is?”

“’Not that you’d suspect it had gone to his head at all’,” Ori gave a passable imitation then raised his bushy brows at his brother. “Oh, the sarcasm…”

“How do you know who I was talking about?” Flori replied guiltily. Ori grinned mischievously back, his eyes glinting.

“I don’t.”

“Then how do you know that I was being sarcastic?” the older dwarf continued, a little suspiciously this time.

Again a nonchalant shrug and a toothy grin. “I don’t.”

“Then how can you say it was unkind when you don’t even know those two fundamental points of information?!” Flori exploded, gesturing wildly at his brother. The scribe laughed and Flori had to join in, before dropping down beside him and noticing the chunky, leather-bound red ledger sitting on his brother’s other side. He nodded his head towards it then rolled his eyes at Ori. “You don’t go anywhere without it, do you?” he asked, jokingly.

Ori shrugged, smiling, but his expression was still serious. “It’s important. For future generations – they need to know what happened.”

“You make it sound like some sort of accident is going to happen!” Flori laughed, then stopped suddenly, biting his lip as he realised what he had just said. The silence afterwards hung in the great cavern for a few moments more than was comfortable, with all its hidden implications. Like something dire is going to happen to us…

“Anyway, it certainly gets you out of work,” Flori continued quickly, changing the subject, then added in a singsong, teasing voice, “ski-ver…”

“Shut up!” the other dwarf replied, shoving his brother. Footsteps nearby made them both look up to see Balin, Lord of Moria, come down the stairs. Even in the darkness Flori could see the older dwarf’s eyes glinting slightly. There was something a little manic about his expression recently, and Ori had confided to him that he had found Balin wandering the corridors at night, poking into nooks and crannies and muttering to himself. He had not admitted it, of course, but nonetheless, Flori was no longer completely sure where he stood with the dwarf who had been such a close friend.

“Good day, Lord Balin. How goes it with you?” he inquired politely, rising.