Fan Fiction ❯ Lord of the Rings: Stargaze ❯ Moria ( Chapter 9 )

Moria

"The world is grey, the mountains old,

The forge's fire is ashen-cold;

No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:

The darkness dwells in Durin's halls;

The shadow lies upon his tomb

In Moria, in Khazad-dûm.

But still the sunken stars appear

In dark and windless Mirrormere;

There lies his crown in water deep,

Till Durin wakes again from sleep."

The weather was much warmer now at the base of the mountain. The rivers and streams running through the stone and grass were warm and bubbling. But Legolas could not shake the cold feeling in his mind at the thought of the dark caves of Moria.

It was not that Legolas did not like stone caverns. His own palace was built inside a dark cave in Mirkwood. But Dwarves…greedy, disgusting, uncivilized…What help could they give? Legolas would not eat Dwarven food, and he was certain Arora would not, either.

He looked back at her. She walked with her head bowed, one hand clutching the strap of her quiver that crossed her middle. Legolas could see that she looked white, even more pale than her natural skin tone.

Night Elves were known for their bravery. They did not feel fear, ever. What emotion they had instead was something that wasn't fright, but discomfort and foreboding. They got a bad feeling when Evil was near, or trouble was coming. The Night Elves called it the Dread. And Legolas knew that Night Elves hated and "dreaded" anyplace where they could not see or sense their beloved stars.

Arora would not do well in Moria.

~*~

"Frodo, come and help an old man."

Frodo approached Gandalf obediently, and the grey wizard put an arm around his shoulder but did not lean.

"How is your shoulder?" Gandalf asked as they walked along.

"Better than it was," Frodo replied.

"And the Ring?"

They both came to a stop, and Frodo looked up at Gandalf in surprise. Gandalf's expression was somber and concerned. Frodo gulped a little, looking hopeless.

"You feel its power growing, don't you?" Gandalf muttered quietly. "I've felt it too. You must be careful now," he advised the young Hobbit. "Evil will be drawn to you from outside the Fellowship. And, I fear, from within."

Gandalf stopped speaking, and they both glanced up as Boromir passed by. Frodo also allowed his gaze to drift behind the wizard, to the brooding female Elf at the end of the Fellowship. He looked back to up at Gandalf.

"Who then do I trust?" he murmured uncertainly.

"You must trust yourself," Gandalf answered sagely. "Trust your own strengths."

"What do you mean?"

Gandalf smiled gently. "There are many powers in this world for good or for evil. Some are greater than I am…And against some I have not yet been tested," he added pointedly.

Suddenly, they heard a low gasp behind them. Gimli had come up to them, and pointed in awe at the sheer wall of rock ahead. "The walls of Moria."

The Company was soon walking along the narrow path between the stone wall and a deep, dark lake. Gandalf stopped several times to examine the rock, and Gimli kept tapping it with the edge of his axe.

"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," he said by way of explanation, giving the stone another tap.

"Yes, Gimli, their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten," Gandalf called back, running his hands over a jutting rock.

"What doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas muttered scornfully, eliciting a growl from Gimli in front of him, and a smirk from Arora, again at the back of the line.

Suddenly, Gandalf came to a smooth part in the wall, covered with dust and dirt. "Let's see…" He stroked it carefully, brushing the dirt away. "Ithildin," he whispered. "It mirrors only starlight, and moonlight." He turned around and raised his eyes to the sky. As if on command, the clouds parted to reveal a full moon and thousands of dancing stars. Legolas saw Arora's eyes shine as she came to stand beside him.

Then, to the surprise and awe of the Fellowship, silver-gold threads began to curl their way across the gray stone, twisting and running until they formed the frame of a tall doorway, with ancient runes inscribed across the top.

"It reads, `the Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter'," Gandalf read, following the words with his staff.

"What do you suppose that means?" Merry asked. He and Pippin were standing just in front of Arora.

"Oh, it's quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open." Gandalf placed the gnarled end of his staff in the center of the doors, and rumbled an Elvish phrase.

Merry and Pippin waited in anticipation.

The doors didn't move.

Gandalf blinked for a second and stood back. Then he raised his hands, and another string of words flowed out.

Gimli shuffled his feet. Sam and Frodo waited expectantly.

The doors still didn't move.

Legolas and Arora looked down at Merry and Pippin, who looked slightly disappointed.

Pippin sighed through his nose. "Nothing's happening."

Gandalf mumbled to himself and tried to force the doors open. He braced his body against the stone and shoved with all his might, but the Doors of Durin refused to budge. "I once knew every spell in the tongues of Elves, Men and Orcs," he muttered, a bit annoyed.

"What're you going to do, then?" Pippin asked brightly.

"Knock your HEAD against these doors, Peregrin Took!" Gandalf shouted impatiently. "And if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will try to find the opening words."

Pippin looked abashed. Then he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Arora, a small smile on her lips. He grinned up at her and felt better.

Gandalf continued to try all the Elvish words and phrases he knew while the others waited patiently. Aragorn and Sam freed Bill the pony from his burden and sent him on his way home. Merry and Pippin wanted to sit with Arora and talk to her some more, but she was resting in the branches of a small, decrepit tree, with Legolas standing at the base. So they contented themselves with tossing stones into the murky lake.

Just as Pippin was about to hurl another stone, Aragorn suddenly appeared behind him and caught his wrist tightly.

"Do not disturb the water," the Ranger whispered, glancing apprehensively over the lake.

"Oh, it's useless," Gandalf grumbled as he gave up, tossing his staff to the ground and taking a seat on a large boulder.

The surface of the lake rippled slightly. Boromir stood up and approached Aragorn. Both Men watched with growing anxiety.

Just then, Frodo stood up. He had been hit by inspiration. "It's a riddle."

The lake water frothed. Something was definitely underneath the black surface.

"Speak `friend' and enter," Frodo read. "What's the Elvish word for friend?"

The ripples began to turn towards shore.

"Mellon," Gandalf supplied, wondering what the Hobbit was talking about.

As soon as he said that, a great rumbling and cracking was heard. The Doors of Durin were splitting and moving outwards, until they were indeed doors, leading into a vast dark cave of blackness. The Fellowship stared in amazement.

Gandalf stood up and the Company gathered behind him, preparing to enter. Gandalf stuck a tiny crystal in the top of his staff to light their way. At the end of the Fellowship, Arora slowly looked up at the entrance to Moria. Legolas stopped and touched her arm gently, encouraging her. The Night Elf closed her eyes and swallowed tightly, but followed the Mirkwood prince into the cavern.

It was black as pitch inside, except for the faint moonlight reflected from the lake that shone through the doors. The Fellowship proceeded cautiously.

"Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves," Gimli said to Legolas, who was right behind him. "Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone." He emphasized each word, clearly looking forward to it all. "This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A mine!"

As Gandalf blew light into his crystal, the dark shapes that littered the floor of the cave could be seen clearly.

They were skeletons.

"This is no mine," Boromir said, his voice shaking. "It's a tomb."

The skeletons belonged to Dwarves, some missing limbs, some with arrows stuck in their rotted bodies. All were in positions that suggested they had died a very violent death.

"No…No…!" Gimli gasped, rushing to one of the corpse. He threw back his head and roared. "NO!"

Legolas reached down and pulled a black arrow from the chest of a skeleton. "Goblins!"

He threw down the arrow and readied his bow. Aragorn pulled Elendil from its sheath, and Boromir did the same with his own sword. Arora stared with utter disgust at the skeletons around her, and Gimli continued to wail.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan," Boromir said in a low voice. "We should never have come here."

The Hobbits stood side by side and began to shuffle backwards in fear, trying not to touch the corpses but tripping on them at the same time.

"Now get out of here. Get out!" Boromir cried.

There was no time to react. Frodo was pulled to the ground by a giant tentacle, which had wrapped itself around his feet and was trying to drag him back to the water of the lake. Frodo shouted for help, and Sam, Merry and Pippin cried out and chased after him. Sam began to hack at the tentacle with his little sword, while Pippin and Merry tried desperately to pull Frodo from its grasp.

"Get off him!" Sam cried as he chopped away. "Strider!"

Merry and Pippin shouted at the same time, "Arora! Arora! Aragorn!"

Sam succeeded in partially severing the giant tentacle. It slithered back to the water with the end hanging by a thread. The lake was still for a moment.

Then suddenly the surface burst with tentacles, writhing and flailing towards the shore. They knocked the Hobbits away from the Ringbearer, wrapping around his ankles again and hoisting him into the air. One wrapped around his neck as it held him suspended over the water.

Legolas appeared at the mouth of the cave and fired a swift arrow at the tentacle around Frodo's neck. There was a roar of pain as the arrow found its mark, and the appendage pulled away. Aragorn and Boromir ran into the lake, swords drawn, and began to slice at the snakelike arms.

But they could not get to Frodo; the tentacle holding him pulled him higher up. The water below frothed and boiled, and suddenly a massive body rose up beneath it. It resembled a giant squid, but it was far, far worse. Just below the eyes and ridged nose of the creature, the skin split to reveal a gaping maw leading the way into the creature's throat. The lake beast prepared for its meal as Frodo screamed in fear…

Then, Boromir ran to the Hobbit's aid. He swung his sword and an entire tentacle fell in half; the monster roared in agony, the flailing appendages swinging Frodo this way and that in the air. Then Aragorn sliced through the tentacle that held Frodo captive, forcing it to release him. Frodo tumbled down until Boromir caught him.

"Into the mines" Gandalf cried.

"Legolas!" Boromir shouted, running with Frodo in his arms toward the stone doors.

"Arora!" Aragorn yelled, taking a chance. "Into the caves!" he ordered the others.

Legolas obeyed the call, and to the Men's surprise, Arora did as well. They did not see what happened, but they heard the creature roar again, so Elven arrows must have found their marks.

The Fellowship made for the dark cave with Legolas and Arora following close behind. Merry and Pippin seemed to be frozen with shock, so Arora grabbed them both and ran. Fearless with pain and rage, the lake monster grabbed the Moria walls with its tentacles and heaved itself out of the water. It tried to grab the tiny prey that was so easily eluding it, but it pulled too hard on the stones; with a shuddering rumble, the rocks and boulders began to rain down on the giant creature.

The cave-in had soon buried the threat beneath it…but it had also blocked the easiest way out of the mines. The Company was plunged into blackness.

"We now have but one choice…" came Gandalf's voice from somewhere in the dark. His crystal began to glow, and the Fellowship could see his gray hair and the lines on his aged face by the dim light. "We must face the long dark of Moria."

Boromir had placed Frodo down, and Sam stood by him protectively once again. Aragorn hefted his pack onto his shoulder again. Merry and Pippin were clutching at Arora's indigo tunic, and she had her arms around their shoulders protectively. They did not notice the white lines in her jaw where her teeth were clenched. Legolas gripped his precious bow tightly to his body, his eyes narrowed at the unwelcome cavern.

Gandalf began to walk, his crystal light lifting and falling with the staff motions. "Be on your guard. There are older, and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world."

The Fellowship followed, glancing around suspiciously at the shadows and the cracks. Merry and Pippin checked to make sure Arora was still with them. Aragorn kept glancing behind.

"Quietly now. It's a four-day journey to the other side," Gandalf advised. "Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed."