Today was a day to remember. After a smooth but tiresome travel through Eriador, delivering freshly made parchment and newly bounded books to several of my foreign patrons, I found myself at the roots of the Redhorn. O' mighty that mountain is, towering so high even the clouds cannot reach its summit! My road, however, was not to take me over it, nor under it, but instead, I chose to take the road south and followed the Misty Mountains into Enedwaith.
These lands are wild, both in memory and otherwise. The few men here do not take kindly to dwarves. I had to skip a night's rest for they would not allow me to stay till morning. And so, without further ado, I made sure my backpack full of scrolls and books was safeguarded from the harsh wind and kept on walking south until I reached a vale. This vale, oh by the Seven Father's, this vale is an astonishing sight to behold! As the stars were lit, and the moon shone its rays down on the gurgling stream of a fresh mountain spring, I walked amongst large pine trees of which the sticky resin gave off an enchanting honey-like scent. The snow was softly falling as I turned left, and continued to fall softly as I went deeper into the vale. Faint memories came over me like a dream; I had been here before, many years ago. We dwarves call it Thrór's Coomb, for it was here that a long time ago, during the golden age of Khazad Dûm, upon the slopes of the mountain side, the Longbeards built a great hall of records, a library where many centuries' of work was preserved; Zudrugund. Tales and songs tell of this place, but also of the dragons that were said to have resided nearby, leaving a path of destruction wherever they went. Now, there was only silence and the sweet scent of milky resin.
My curiosity was sparked, I needed to know whether the library was still being protected by its keepers. Not just that, I figured the vast knowledge within those walls could make for a great place of study. Perhaps here I could find inspiration for my future work, whether in poetry or prose. And so I crossed the shimmering stream of water on my left, and started scaling the mountain side. I found an old path, that lead straight up. It was covered in snow the higher I went, but the wind was somehow kinder here and did not give me such chills as it had before.
After a while, I reached the top of the slope, and there stood out from the stone a door large and powerful. This was the entrance to Zudrugund and as I entered, leaving the idyllic sight of the vale behind, I was welcomed by a warm stream of roaring fires. At the end of the hall, lamps from crystal hewn hung above an old statue and lit up the place. I could not help but be astonished by what I saw even though I had seen it before. Rows and rows of books and manuscripts, neatly supporting each other on tough wooden shelves of large bookcases reaching out to the ceiling. A familiar scent of old parchment and paper met with me as I stepped into the light.
Two dwarves were at work here, one by the name of Nár, though, he is a peculiar fellow, and another named Frithgeir. I remembered the first time I came there, long ago; Nár had not known I was there for two full days. I am glad to know Frithgeir is a more reliable guardian of these archives. Not that I would say a bad word of Nár but... he's just a peculiar dwarf. After a long talk, we agreed that it would be fruitful for me to aid them in their endeavours to preserve the books of Zudrugund. After all, only two dwarves to preserve thousands of books and manuscripts is hardly enough to ensure that all the books stay in perfect condition. I do not know what possessed me to take up this job -Mahal knows I was already swamped in work back home- but the sight of the vale, and the promise of inspiration for my own work told me I had to stay here for a while.
I've been spending the remainder of the day reading rather than copying damaged books - I cannot help myself. It is a scribe's duty to read before writing. And so I reckon I will be here for a while. I wonder whether Nár already noticed that I'm here...
-Nyr
3018
