~ The Throne Hall ~

[Ravyn]

Ravyn tapped her fingers impatiently on the throne arm as she waited for the dwarves to come in. The orcs could be so slow sometimes. Then the dwarf leader came in. The dwarves outside were watched carefully by a score of orcs. The orcs didn't like dwarves at all. The short folk were a common enemy, what with their tunneling and digging. Orcs liked the dark and deep places too, so the two races were bound to enter into conflict. Five orcs followed the dwarf leader in, positioning themselves by the pillars to act as a guard for their queen. Ravyn was capable of handling herself, of course, but it was always good to be on the safe side. Ravyn beamed brilliantly, a smile on her face, as the dwarf walked in and bowed. "Greetings, visitor!" she trilled, leaning forwards a bit. "Long you have traveled! Rest assured, I will personally make sure you are well rested and provisioned before you venture a journey back. I would offer to send a small contingent of guards with you to ensure your return, but I have a feeling my orcs would not come back from Moria, would they?" Ravyn winked slyly at him. Honestly, she hated the orcs. They stunk, lacked manners, and were altogether uncouth. However, they were a strong race, and strength was needed for the armies, so she put up with them. Right now she focused her attention on the dwarf. These were very valuable visitors; her 'evil queen' act wasn't needed at the moment. Instead she became the perfect hostess, well mannered and pleasant to talk to. The dwarves usually responded better to such treatment, especially coming from a woman.

[Frar II]

Goroth nodded as he listened to the woman speak and he looked over at the creatures that had come in to guard the queen. He had no weapon and they were obviously still armed. However, he was more than aware that he could kill all the orcs in the room even without a weapon. Dwarves, where trained to mine and fight and not much else. He was extremely effective in both of these. " Thank you my Lady. My men shall appreciate your hospitality. Forgive us for not expecting such a receiving hostess. " He said with another bow as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. These rulers were strange. They were human yet used orcs as their tools of war. Orcs were stupid and not all together efficient fighters. He shook his head and cast the thought aside. " Lord Frar II of Moria requests the assistance of the rulers of Nurn. I have been sent here to discuss his needs and your involvement. '

[Ravyn]

Of course the dwarves were not expecting a warm welcome; Minas Morgul was not renowned for its hospitality. If Canos had been here, it would have been all business and little else. Ravyn knew the importance of strong allies, however. By making sure the dwarves were treated well she ensured that their leader would get a good report. It pleased her that the dwarves were on the same page as she wanted them to be. "Indeed, we of Minas Morgul were seeking an alliance with Moria. What terms does Frar II suggest?" Ravyn asked. Sharan turned his golden eyes on the dwarf, curious. He had never seen this type of creature before. It spoke like Ravyn, yet it smelled different and looked different. Strange. However, he would stay until his master told him otherwise. The black jaguar wondered if this new creature was good to eat.

[Frar II]

The dwarves were rather excited to hear that Minas Morgul was interested in an alliance and thus their master would be very proud that they had succeeded in their mission. She asked of what the terms of the alliance would be and of course they had been ready to answer this question. " Well, we have a common enemy i believe. The elves..." He said blankly. " They almost all left our shores at the beginning of this age, yet to many remained and many repopulated and thus have become far to many. Now, Lord Frar II has obtained the use of the dwarves of the Iron Hills and Erebor, through a rather persuasive means of negotiation. " The dwarf said with a smirk. " However, that just adds more dwarves and more territory to his domain and makes him all the more powerful and useful. Frar II desires to crush the elves of Lorien and of Mirkwood. Thus in doing so, if you aid, you shall be granted the fortress of Dol Guldor that had been reclaimed by the elves, and obviously whatever other spoils of war that you seek. " He said with a smile as he knew this offer would be rather enticing for the Queen and her King.

[Ravyn]

Ravyn stroked Sharan's head as she listened. Yes, those elves were a nuisance. Always gallivanting about with their arrows and dreams of perfection and peace. She despised them. There would be no peace with she and Canos about, not while good still existed. The problem was that good always managed to hide in the cracks and corners of the world. It had an annoying habit of never truly dying. Since the elves, in general, were good, it was natural that they were the enemies of Minas Morgul. Dwarves and elves were also enemies, not necessarily for the same reasons, but still it was a good thing to ally against. Ravyn pondered the conditions. Finally she spoke. "Yes, we shall help you. The elves are no friends of ours by any means; we will enjoy the chance to finally exterminate them. However, there are a few points of the agreement I would like to revise. We have no use for Dol Guldor; it is practically a ruin and of little use to our plans. Instead, I ask for a dwarven hold. It would be of much greater use to us. As for spoils...." here Ravyn gazed off reflectively, "we shall want a third of the spoils, mostly weaponry and other implements of battle. We shall leave the majority of the gold, jewels, and other valuables to you of Moria." Ravyn smiled down at him. "Agreed?"

[Frar II]

The dwarf listened as the Queen spoke. However, whenever she spoke that the leaders of Minas Morgul had no use for the ruins of Dol Guldor he was taken off guard. This was not the expected answer and thus it took him a moment to recover. The next statement was that off the use of a dwarven hold. Goroth knew very well that this would not be allowed no matter what the circumstance and if he returned to Frar II with such news he would certainly be executed. " As for giving a dwarven hold in exchange. I am unsure of the answer of my master. However, i can assume that his answer would be a resounding no..." The dwarf said in a rather flustered way. " There must be something else that we can offer you, for we are not ones to give away the homes of our brothers and forefathers to outsiders..."

[Ravyn]

Ah well. Ravyn had not expected that the dwarves would be keen on giving her a dwarven hold, but it was worth a try. "I understand, sit dwarf," she said calmly, "it would be difficult to give such a thing away. However, you must understand my motivation. The dwarven holds are renowned for their superior structure, their superiority to other fortresses. But no matter. I will rescind my request; I would not want your master to become upset. We shall still help you, taking a third of the spoils of the successful battle. However, we will ask that the dwarves swear themselves to come to our aid when we wage war upon another land." Ravyn felt this was fair; Minas Morgul helps them, the dwarves of Moria help in return. Having a large contingent of dwarven fighters would be a great asset in a time of war.

[Frar II]

The dwarf breathed a sigh of relief as she removed her claim of wanting a dwarven hold. He did not want to be the dwarf to have to tell his master that. He heard her next request and he couldn't help but smile as this is what he was hoping for. " My queen. It will be the honor of the dwarves to assist you in your military efforts. For, as i have said, we share the same goal. " He said with another smile. " However, after this world falls, we shall have to divide it evenly. However, we must take it first. " He said with another smile as his mind began to work, thinking of all the riches that he was going to obtain.

[Ravyn]

At least the dwarves agreed to that much. Ravyn knew Canos would have loved a dwarven hold. Still, maybe they would get a hold one day. The future was uncertain. Yes, in the end she and Canos would come out on top, rulers of Middle Earth. The dwarves would be lucky in that they would not be killed. The elves, of course, would have to be eradicated completely. The hobbits presented little threat now, but then again that was the downfall of the Great Eye. The hobbits would have to be exterminated as well, or at least depleted severly. Humans and dwarves would rule the earth, though some humans couldn't stay on this earth, not with their bent towards good. "Indeed," Ravyn agreed. Getting up from the throne, she walked towards the dwarf, her long dark purple dress trailing behind her. Obediently Sharan followed her, his paws silent on the stone floor. "Now, you and your men must be tired from the long journey. Do you care for dinner and rest?" she asked, smiling down at him.

[Frar II]

The dwarf was already excited that this agreement had gone so much better than he had planned and his master would be greatly pleased. She rose from her chair and walked over to him and the great cat followed her. Now, the dwarf was just about as tall as the cat, maybe a little higher. However, it was still not a very comforting thing to have such a creature against him whenever all he had was the small dagger that was in a clink of his armor that he had hidden cleverly from the guards. He heard her and bowed politely. " I believe that a rest and some food would be most welcome for my men. Our journey has been long, however, our master desires this news as soon as possible as you can imagine, thus we shall only stay the night. " He said with another bow.

[Ravyn]

Ravyn enjoyed settling things with the dwarves; they did not have many of the meddlesome morals the humans did. Most dwarves looked out for their own kind, and that made it easy to make deals with them. She respected them for their skill underground and their prowess in fighting. Sharan surrepitously sniffed at the short human-like creature that walked beside him. Yes, it smelled different than Ravyn or her mate, but it was not a vastly different smell. A puzzle, to be sure. But Sharan would not attack unless Ravyn ordered it. He was an obedient jaguar. "Come, then," she said, motioning for the guards to open the doors to the throne room, "I shall set you up with a hearty meal and rooms for the night." Once outside, she ordered the guards to give the dwarves back their weapons. "I trust you will feel more comfortable with these," she explained. After all, she was surrounded by guards, most orcs, and the dwarves were on friendly grounds now.