We start to travel again after that. Some days of walking later, it begins to snow heavily. Aragorn, Legolas, Gandalf, and Boromir have to carry some of the hobbits so they wouldn't be left behind. I cannot carry a hobbit, I am not strong enough. Instead, I borrow Aragorn's pack, put it on the snow, and then tell Pippin to sit on it. When he does, I take a rope, tie it to the pack, and pull it like a sled with Pippin on it. Everyone laughs at the sight of me pulling a pack with a hobbit on it. It works, so I don't care if they are laughing at me or not.
The snow comes down heavier and heavier, and the decision is eventually made to turn back. We will go through the Mines of Moria. Sam isupset to have to leave Bill to wander, but Aragorn assures him that the pony will be okay.
We
come to the Mines of Moria. There is a strange door with Elvish runes
on it.
After about half an hour of sitting there with nothing to
do, I walk up to Gandalf and say 'mellon'. The doors open, and we
enter cautiously.
But soon, we are in for a nasty shock. "This is a tomb!" The Elf's words echo through Moria. Tomb. Tomb. Tomb.
"Goblins."
The one word effectively terrifies half the company.
"There's more then goblins in here." I say.
Predictably, nobody notices my remark, and we continue into the Mines. I was nervous, as I knew what was going to happen. "We should really--"
I am cut off as the group enters a wide chamber with a tomb in the center of it.
Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria.
Gimli
gets upset. Gandalf picks up a book and began reading of the doom of
the Dwarves. I let my guard down but am shocked back to attention
soon enough.
BANGBOOMCRASHTHWACKBANGCLUNKCLANK!
"Pippin!
What have you done?" I say in a loud whisper.
"I...I..."
Clearly, he was just as shocked at what had just happened as everyone
else, well, except for me and Stephanie.
"Never mind."
"I hear something..."
"Drums, I think," I said.
"Fool of a Took!" shouted Gandalf.
The drumbeats become clearer. Gimli curses fluently in Dwarvish.
"Frodo--" says Gandalf urgently.
The hobbit pulls at the hilt of his sword, which seems reluctant to come out--but when it does, it is glowing bright blue.
"Orcs!" says Legolas.
There is a flurry of activity. At the end of it, Aragorn, Boromir, and Legolas stand ready to fight. Gimli raves and waves his axe. Gandalf's staff glows even brighter.
Standing behind Gandalf I begin to get very scared, so I start to sing my favorite song very quietly.
"What are you humming?" asks Pippin.
"It's--It's a Christmas song," I answer, and continue singing quietly.
The doors splinter, and a mad rush of Orcs pours into the room. Yuck, they smell like rotten eggs. Worse then rotten eggs, a smell so horrible that no human words can describe it.
The fight begins. The screams are frightening, to say the least.
I hear a loud cry and turn as, with a grimace, Sam stabs at an Orc, which sways and falls backward. Merry and Pippin are across the room, fighting one foe. But--where isFrodo? Stephanie and I go to the far corner of the room.
Then
I hear it, the 'whoof' of someone getting the wind knocked out of
them.
I run over to Frodo. "Are you OK?" I ask.
"Yes, I'm fine," he says back.
"You're lucky that you have that mail armor on," I say in a whisper to him.
He stares at me, wondering how I know he had the mithril on.
"Don't worry, I will keep it a secret," I say to him.
The rest of the Fellowship crowds around Frodo. "You should be dead!" says Aragorn in disbelief.
"There may be more to him them meets the eye," I say. Gandalf gives me a questioning look. In response, I just smile.
"Bilbo's mithril vest!"
But we don't have time to stare.
The drums have started again,
and there is a mysterious flicker to the distance.
We run down,
and down - down to the Bridge of Khazad-dum.
My mind races as I run. Should I tell Gandalf that he will soon die? Or should I not tell him? I don't know what to do.
"Ai! Ai! A Balrog has come!"
I look over my shoulder at the enormous fire-demon. My heart is pounding. What to do?
I finally know that I should tell. "Gandalf, please don't try to fight the Balrog. I know that you are going to fall down with it."
Gandalf smiles at me. "I also know that. Don't be scared." Then he laughs and adds, "Try not to fight with you sister too much."
"But..." I stammer. He smiles again and turns away"What were you telling him?" Pippin asks, coming up behind me.
"Nothing..." I trail off as the shadowy shape of the Balrog appears.
"Run!" shouts Gandalf.
We do.
The Balrog comes closer. We run
harder. Gandalf starts to fight off the Balrog.
I can't bear to
watch, so I don't turn around. I do not see him fall.
Our diminished group comes out of the mines on shaky legs. Everyone begins to cry.
