A/N: Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had an equally fantastic night like I had! I'm so happy that so many people have added this story to favourites/alerts, but I would be even happier if you took the extra time to write a review. It truly makes my day. Without much further ado, on with the show!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my original characters.

The Road That You Go

Chapter 3

We walk the entire next day as well, and it's already becoming dark when we reach a large lake. I want nothing more than to take a bath, but I suppose that's out of the question. That sucks, because I'm stinking pretty badly. My only comfort is that they others are pretty ripe themselves. The lake is on our right as we walk along the shoreline, directly below great looming cliffs.

Gimli looks at the rock wall in awe. "The walls of Moria!"

I look up, seeing the wall stretch up towards the dark sky. A strange feeling is rising in my stomach, and I shiver. The shoreline is slippery, and I find myself holding onto the wall as I carefully step forwards.

"Dwarf walls are invisible when closed!" Gimli says lightly, tapping his axe against the wall.

"Yes, Gimli! Their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten," Gandalf answers, a humorous tone to his voice.

"Why does not that surprise me?" Legolas mutters, and I turn my head to look at him. What's his problem?

"Well, let's see." Gandalf runs his hand up and down the wall. Slowly faint lines appear like slender veins of luminous silver running through the stone. I can't make out the pattern, and I squint to see better.

"Ithildin," Gandalf says softly. "It mirrors only starlight and moonlight." As on cue, the clouds part and the moon comes out, casting a silvery glow over the land. The lines are getting broader and clearer, and I soon see a glowing arch of interlacing ancient letters and symbols grow from the stone. It's mesmerizing, and I step closer.

"It reads, 'The door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter." Gandalf says, and I can practically feel the tension growing.

Merry breaks the silence. "What do you suppose that means?"

"It's quite simple," Gandalf answers confidently. "If you are a friend, speak the passwords and the doors will open." He raises his arms and starts chanting something.

My feet are sore, and I sit down on a large boulder, resting my elbows on my knees. I notice Sam is packing up pots and pans, watching sadly as Aragorn un-saddles Bill. A large splash causes me to jump, and I took away from Aragorn and Sam to see that Merry and Pippin are tossing stones into the lake. Rippling rings appear on the glossy black surface, and another shiver goes down my spine. Pippin raises his arm to throw another stone, but Aragorn grabs his arm.

"Do not disturb the water," his voice is low and ominous.

I look back at Gandalf to see if he's had any luck with opening the door. It would appear he hasn't, since he's sitting next to Frodo. He's looking a bit gloom, and I wonder what we'll do now. Then, Frodo stands up and looks at the glowing lines with comprehension.

"It's a riddle. Speak friend, and enter. What's the Elvish word for friend?"

"Mellon," Gandalf replies, and the word has barely left his lips before the rock face silently divides in the middle and two doors swing outwards. I peer inside from my spot on the boulder, but all I see is darkness. Everybody gets to their feet and with Gandalf leading us we start to walk inside. I stick close to Aragorn; the feeling in my stomach I can't really identify still at large.

There's absolute silence until Gimli's voice breaks through the darkness, making me jump. "Soon, master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves; roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin...and they call this a mine..." He snorts. "A mine!"

Suddenly the top of Gandalf's staff starts to glow, casting light over the chamber. I nearly scream when the light hits the ground. There are skeletons everywhere, embedded with arrows and axes. I stumble backwards in horror, and collide with Aragorn. He steadies me, and in the split of a second draws his sword.

"This is no mine," Boromir says grimly. "It's a tomb."

Gimli starts to wail, repeatedly denying what's he's seeing. I stand as frozen, my eyes fixed on the skeletons in front of me.

"Goblins!" Legolas suddenly bursts out, and I feel Aragorn grasp my shoulder as we back towards the entrance.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here."

Suddenly a scream of terror is heard, and as I turn my head I see Frodo being pulled to the ground! A long tentacle is wrapped around his ankle and is pulling him back towards the lake. This time I do scream in horror, and I can only stare as Boromir and Aragorn cut their way through tentacles to free Frodo.

"Into the mines!" Gandalf yells, but I can't get my feet to move. The others are running into the mine again, and someone pulls on my arm and practically tosses me into the chamber. A loud noise is heard, and I watch in horror as a ton of rocks seals the doorway. It turns pitch black, and I stifle a cry. Tears start to leak from my eyes, and when I try to take a step I trip and fall down on my butt. I'm close to breaking down, but I know I have to keep it together. I don't want to be a burden. A pale hand appears before me, and I grasp it. I allow him to pull me to my feet, and then I'm face to face with Legolas. His eyes speak of worry.

"Mind your step," his voice is low.

Then a faint light comes from Gandalf's staff, casting an eerie glow over his face. "We now have but one choice. We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard, there are older and fouler things than the Orcs in the deep places of the world."

Orcs? What are Orcs? I dare not ask as we start to walk; I'm busy trying not to walk on any skeletons. I'm mostly successful, and the times I do feel the bones break underneath my feet I cringe.

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

We continue up a steep stair, and I fear I might lose my balance and fall backwards. The only light is the faint glow from Gandalf's staff, and the light it provides is barely enough to see the faces of my fellow travellers. As we reach a new platform, the path splits into three passages, each one disappearing into dark tunnels.

Gandalf stops. "I have no memory of this place."

I sit down as Gandalf ponders on which way to go, and pull my knees up to my chest. Despite my efforts to keep them at bay the tears swimming in my eyes flood over and fall down my face. I can't help it, I feel so drained. I hear Merry and Pippin talking, Boromir quietly muttering to himself and Gimli's despair. A sob escapes from my tightly shut lips, and I bow my head forwards, letting my hair shield me.

I feel a gently hand on my shoulder, and I wipe away my tears before looking up. Legolas stands before me, holding out a water skin I accept it silently, bringing it up to my mouth and swallowing a few gulps of the cold water.

"Thanks."

"Are you all right?" he asks, his blue eyes looking concerned at me.

I give an unconvincing fake smile. "I'm fine. Just tired."

I see hesitation on his face, like he can't decide whether to believe me or not. Luckily, we're interrupted by Gandalf.

"Ah!" Gandalf says, too brightly for this dark place. "It's that way." I stand up and move to join the others.

"He's remembered," Merry's tone is relieved, and I can't help but to agree with him.

"No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down there. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose!" He lets out a small laugh, and we walk down the right hand tunnel. I wonder what lies ahead of us. I feel someone watching me, and when I look over my shoulder my eyes meets Boromir's. His gaze makes me shiver, and not in a good way. I try to ignore him and walk closer to Gandalf. There is a feeling of fear in my stomach, and every nerve ending in my body is screaming danger. It's stifling, the cold has given away for a warmer temperature, but the air is stale.

"Let me risk a little more light." Gandalf taps his staff, and suddenly a bright light comes out of it, lighting up the area we're in. "Behold! The great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf!"

I gasp, my eyes taking in all the splendour. I've never seen anything like this before in my entire life! The ceiling is so high I can barely see the top of it, and there are huge stone pillars holding it up. A large empty hallway stretches out in front of us, its black walls polished and smooth as glass. I'm sure my eyes are as large as saucers as I look around. The craftsmanship to make something like this must have taken hundreds of years! I suddenly hear Gandalf call out Gimli's name, and I tear my eyes from the ceiling to the rest of our group.

Gimli is running towards a broken wooden door. There is a narrow shaft of sunlight in the empty chamber we're in now; it's coming from a hole near the roof. The light falls directly onto a stone table standing in the middle of the room. Gimli falls to his knees and starts to sob. I look around the room, noticing that there are two different types of skeletons. Goblins and Dwarfs. They must have been here for a really long time.

"Here lies Balin, son of Fudin, Lord of Moria. He is dead, then. It's as I had feared," Gandalf reads from an inscription on the tomb. An eerie feeling is coming over me, and I shiver. I hear the crackling of old pages being turned, and see Gandalf with a very old book in his hands. It looks almost rotten, and is covered in blood. He starts to read, and the words sends chills down my spine. "'They have taken the Bridge and the second hall: we have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. Will no one save us? They are coming.'"

A crash is heard, making me jump. I look over at Pippin, who is standing by a well I've completely overlooked so far. What sounds like a bucket or a helmet is going down the well, echoing in the walls. A rusty chain follows, and lastly a large skeleton that was sitting on the edge of the well. Pippin flinches with every sound, and I feel sorry for him.

"Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!" Gandalf calls out angrily.

I step back against the wall; this place is giving me the creeps and I can't wait until we leave. Then everybody stiffens. The sound of a drum is heard. The drums get louder, and faster. My heart is beating as fast as the drums now, and I look to the others to try to figure out what's going on.

At Sam's call of his name, Frodo unsheathes his sword, which is glowing blue. A screeching is heard.

"Orcs!" Legolas spits, and panic rises up inside me.

Boromir runs to the doors. Two arrows fly past his head, narrowly missing him, and stick into the door. I bite back a scream.

"What exactly are these Orcs?" My voice is shrill with panic.

"Get back, and stay close to Gandalf!" Aragorn calls out towards where I'm standing with the Hobbits. I look at the others, swords drawn by three, Sam holding a frying pan. I suddenly realize I'm without a weapon, and I look around the ground for something, anything, that I can use. I find nothing, the only weapons I see are arrows and large axes. In panic, I look up towards Aragorn for help, but he's busy helping Boromir barr the door shut.

"They have a cave troll!" Boromir groans, drawing his sword.

Legolas throws axes to them to barr the door. Gandalf draws his sword. The Hobbits copy. The doors are being battered. My knees are shaking so badly I can barely stand. Suddenly Legolas is by my side and presses a long sword in my hand before rushing back to Aragorn and Boromir. I grip the sword tightly, my knuckles turning white. The steel in my hands is heavy, and I pray with everything in me that I will be able to swing it if necessary.

Gimli gets up on Balin's tomb. "Agh!" He roars. "Let them come! There's one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath."

The door is battered down, and these vile looking creatures come through! I scream in terror, more afraid than I've ever been in my entire life. Their stench is enough to make me gag. While I feel like I want to jump into the well after the skeleton Pippin pushed, I stand my ground, the heavy sword raised in front of me.

An orc comes towards me, and I recoil before attempting to hit the orc with my sword. I miss, and prepare myself to get skewered when someone grabs my arm, pulling me behind them. Its' Gandalf, and he kills the orc easily, causing black blood to spill out on the ground.

The large troll enters, a broken chain around his neck, and I freeze in terror. He's bashing the walls with his fists, roaring in the meantime. An arrow embeds itself into the troll's chest, and I see Legolas reloading his bow. The troll sees Sam and raises its club above his head to strike him, but Sam dives through its legs, confusing it. Aragorn and Boromir pulls on the chain around its neck

"Pull!" Aragorn shouts.

I can hardly see the rest of the battle; everything is in chaos, and Gandalf seems pretty hell bent on defending me, since I can't do it myself. He keeps me behind him at all times, killing orc after orc. I finally get a glimpse of the room in front of me, just in time to see the troll plunging a wooden stake into Frodo's chest. I scream. Frodo gasps. Gandalf turns around. The troll snorts, and within the second Merry and Pippin are charging at it, swords at the ready.

"Frodo!" Sam's heartbreaking howls chill my bones.

I follow Gandalf as he fights his way over to Frodo. Rage like I've never felt before surges through me, and I scream out as I swing my sword at the orcs coming in my way. To my right, the troll gives a groan as Legolas fires an arrow directly into its mouth. Aragorn crawls over to Frodo as Sam watches on.

"Oh no!" Aragorn's broken whisper shatters my heart. Tears form in my eyes, but I brush them away, along with the sweat on my forehead. Trying to control my heavy breathing, I drop the heavy sword on the ground. Aragorn turns Frodo over. He gasps and groans, holding his chest.

"He's alive!" Sam breathes a sigh of relief.

Frodo sits up and looks around "I'm all right." His eyes meet mine, and I think I try to smile. "I'm not hurt."

The relief that flows through me blocks out the sound of the others talking; all I can focus on is that Frodo is alive. A screeching sound alerts me back to the present, and I look at the others in panic. What now? Aren't orcs and a cave troll enough?

"What's going on?!" I exclaim, my voice frantic.

Gandalf's frightened blue eyes meet my own. "To the bridge of Khazad-dûm!"

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