Chapter 4
The cold wind cut into my skin, straight through my bones. Even with warmer clothes, my body was frozen. It was beyond frozen, it was numb with cold. Snowflakes landed on my face, melting like a pool of ice.
My vision was blurred by the snowstorm and the harsh winds, and the wetness of the ice, clung to my skin. The snow was so deep, it buried me, but I followed those ahead of me and kept trudging on.
I have always hated winter. I missed the summer, with it's soft sunlight and bright green canopies, unlike the bright white snow, blinding me.
I knew that I had to keep moving, if I wanted to live but it was so tempting to fall onto the ground, and end that misery.
Legolas was the only one unaffected, he walked lightly above us, not feeling the cold. What I would've given to be an elf. We were all moving when Legolas suddenly stopped.
"There is a fell voice in the air," his voice was urgent.
"It's Saruman," Gandalf informed.
Thunder rumbled, the drums beat fast in the sky as a few rocks fell. I pushed myself against the wall as a rock skimmed over my head and tumbled down the tremendous mountain.
"He's trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf! We must turn back!" Aragorn screamed.
"No!" Gandalf protested and raised his staff,"Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho I ruith." He chanted again and again, his voice deep and melodious.
Lightning forked, high above us, a wave of snow crashed on our bodies. I was buried deep in pure white, my hands frantically digging, trying to breathe. Coughing, I emerged just as Boromir and Aragorn dug the hobbits out.
I gasped heavily, we were alive. We were alive.
"We must get off the mountain! Make for the gap of Rohan and take the West road to my city," Boromir shouted.
"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard," Aragorn intervened.
"We cannot pass over the mountain. Let us go under it. Let us go through the mines of Moria," Gimli interjected. There was a long pause and I swear I saw a flicker of fear in Gandalf's eyes.
"Let the ringbearer decide," Gandalf finally spoke.
Frodo's shoulders fell slightly, his bowed his head.
"Frodo?" Gandalf asked after another long pause.
"We will go through the mines," he looked Gandalf in the eye.
"So be it," Gandalf stated grimly.
***
The rocks dug into my feet, even with my boots. I wondered how the hobbits didn't complain, since they wore no shoes. Dark water licked our feet before running back to it's body. Again and again, I was entranced by the waves, their rhythm clouding my mind.
But it didn't feel right. There was a strong sense of evil about the place. Maybe it was the dark, maybe the eerie silence or the lingering chill from Cahadras but something sent chills down my spine, even though my jacket didn't show it, I could feel the goosebumps on my arms.
My whole body was on edge. It was as if there was a monster watching me, just waiting to kill me when my guard went down. I kept glancing around me, I'm sure the others noticed, but they didn't say anything about it.
We eventually came across a huge stone slab, quite like a door.
"The walls of Moria!" Gimli exclaimed.
Gandalf placed his hand on the stone and little rivers of silver crawled up the stone.
"Itidin. It mirrors only starlight and moonlight," as soon as Gandalf spoke this, the moon burst out from a wisp of darkness, and the rivers of silver widened, spreading so it painted a beautiful picture on the wall. A column arching with ancient words, two trees clinging to the column.
A bright star, almost too bright to look at, was at the centre of the trees. Above the stars and trees, there was a hammer and an anvil and above it a crown with stars spilling out on either side. The crown of Durin, I took a guess.
It was too beautiful, too hard to tear my gaze away from it.
"It reads: The door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter," Gandalf informed.
"What do you suppose that means?" Merry questioned.
"It's quite simple. If you are a friend, speak the password and the doors will open," Gandalf answered confidently.
He pressed his staff, against the door, preparing himself for a spell. "Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen!" He chanted.
A cold wind blew, but nothing happened. The door stood firm, even when Gandalf tried to push it. He mumbled more spells, but the door still didn't open.
Sighing, I took a seat on one of the large rocks, watching Gandalf's attempt to open the doors. It felt wrong to stay here for so long.
A loud splash attracted my eyes to the two hobbits, throwing stones into the water. Aragorn held out an arm to stop them, and whispered soft words to them. Ripples disturbed the still water, I could see the worry on Aragorn's face.
Shivers went down my spine again. We shouldn't be here.
Gandalf gave up and sat next to Frodo.
"It's a riddle," realisation dawned on Frodo's face. "Speak friend and enter, what's the elvish word for friend?"
"Mellon," Gandalf answered softly, spinning his eyes to the door. The doors opened. I stood slowly and stared into the seemingly endless darkness. One by one, we filed in to the mines.
"So, 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," my eyes lit up at Balin's name. It would be lovely to see him again. "And they call this a Mine. A mine!"
I was so excited at Gimli's words, I forgot about the warning in my mind, ever since we came here, I didn't notice the reek of death, lingering in the air.
"This is no mine. It's a tomb!" Boromir exclaimed.
I gave a small gasp.
"Oh...no...no..NO!" wailed Gimli.
I felt sick. The mines were littered with the dead bodies of thousands of dwarves.
Legolas bent to pull an arrow out of the skull of a dwarf. "Goblins!" He announced.
My hands unsheathed my sword, the rest of the fellowship readied their weapons.
"We should have made for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here," Boromir chastised us.
We slowly took a few steps back, unsure of what to do. A sudden cry from behind, sent my mind into panic. A tentacle wrapped itself around Frodo's foot, dragging him to the lake.
"Frodo!" I screamed as I ran to him, with Aragorn and Boromir. We hacked at the writhing snakes, one found it's way around my wrist, forcing my sword out of my hand. My other hand dug into my boot, searching for my dagger.
For a moment, my fingers clutched at air and fear raced through me. Then I felt the cold hilt against my palm, in one move I slashed the tentacle, using the time to regain my sword.
More and more attacked us. My stamina started to drain. My attacks got weaker and weaker, my arms heavy with the weight of my sword. It's an elvish sword, so it was naturally light.
"Legolas!" Boromir screamed.
An arrow pierced it's head, it dropped Frodo into Boromir's arms, buying us just enough time to race into the mines. Once again we we surrounded in darkness, the tentacles smashed against the door, creating a rock slide. I took a deep breath. We were trapped.