Very Well! We’ll see! No treasure will come back through Mirkwood without my having something to say in the matter. But I expect they will all some to a bad end, and serve them right!”

moon-letters were a method of writing invented by the dwarves. moon-letters were ordinary runes, but written in such a way that they could only be read when the light of the moon shone behind the writing. some moon-letters could be read by any moonlight, but it was possible to make the writing even more secret. more sophisticated moon-letters could only be read by the light of the same shape of moon, or at the same time of year, as when they were written. hope this !