December 8, 2002

Many Thanks to Rob
Lughaidh

Thanks for the straightening out, Rob. I guess that'll teach me to spout off during work breaks with no texts with me! It reminds me of my old "Guide to Middle Earth" I had back in the mid-70's somewhere. I ran across "secret flame" of "secret fire" (I WILL look this up this evening when I get home!) and the definition was "Something Gandalf was a servant of." I thought, "Okay......." The whole thing is one of those mysteries that I hope will be solved one day.

But tell me: when Gandalf was putting the closing spell on the door in the Chamber of Mazarbul, was that the Balrog that came into the Chamber and cast the counter-spell that caused the roof to cave in? If you remember after he tumbled down the stairs, he commented that whatever it was was buried there. I'd always suspected it to be the Balrog, because when they get to the Bridge, Gandalf says something to the effect of, "A Balrog! Now I understand! This is an evil fate, and I am already weary."

Thanks again.