They neared the mines.
Meghan looked like she was sleeping, rather than unconscious. But no one bothered to try and wake her up.
The mines was placed in a very gloomy area, and the surroundings made the fellowship feel grim.
"The walls of Moria!" Gimli breathed, pointing up to a cliff face.
As they neared, Rachel whispered to Lily. "Do you know why Gandalf is so hesitant about going into Lord Balin's Realm?"
Lily sighed. "I don't know for sure, but I think it's because of something in the mines. Goblins, perhaps."
Gandalf ran his hand over the cliff. "Itidin... It mirros only starlight and moonlight."
Everyone looked up at the sky as the clouds cleared and the moon was revealed. A silver/blue-ish glowing arch appeared.
"Whoa." Peo whispered.
Gandalf read the inscription over the arch. "It reads 'The door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter.'"
"What do you suppose that means?" Merry questioned.
"It's quite simple. If you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open!" Gandalf responded.
He put his staff against the door. He recited something in another language.
Nothing happened.
He tried another spell.
Again, nothing happened.
...
Gandalf had been trying to open the door for a long time.
Meghan was still sleeping. And the hobbits were waiting for her to wake up.
Lily was silently gazing at the lake, and Rachel was sitting with her.
"Mines are no place for a pony," Aragorn informed the hobbit. "Even one so brave as Bill."
"Bye, Bill." Sam said quietly.
"Go on Bill. Go on." Aragorn nudged the pony until he turned and faced Sam. "Don't worry Sam. He knows his way home."
He nodded and walked over to sit beside Frodo.
Meghan stirred and her eyed opened slightly. "Where... Where am I...?" She whispered.
"The Mines of Moria. A dwarven realm." Pep said quietly.
Meghan closed her eyes again. "Wh... Why are we here?"
"Would you rather be on the mountain?" Merry asked.
"No."
"That's why we are here." Pep said.
"Oh... Okay."
She tried to go back to sleep, but Merry shook her.
"What?" She asked quietly. "Don't go back to sleep." Merry responded.
"Fine." She sat up, and observed her surroundings. "This is where the dwarves live?"
"Apparently."
"What a lovely place to live."
"I know right?"
The two girls laughed quietly and then turned solemn again.
Lily watched Merry and Pippin throw rocks into the water. Pippin was about to toss another, but Aragorn caught his arm. "Do not disturb the water."
Lily stood up and took slow steps towards the water, noticing something was very wrong.
Legolas stood beside her, and the two shared a confused and worried look before turning back to the water.
"It is useless." Gandalf gave up.
Frodo looked at the words over the door, and stood up suddenly. "It's a riddle!"
Meghan, Gandalf, Rachel, and Pep gave him blank looks.
"Speak friend, and enter..." He repeated. "What's the elvish word for friend?"
"Mellon."
The doors swung open.
Lily turned and saw the doors open, and walked over.
The group entered slowly. The mines seemed unatturally dark.
"So, master elf, you will soon enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves." Gimli bragged. "Roaring fires, malt beer, red meat ripe off the bone! This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin. And they call it a mine!" He chuckled. "A mine!"
Gandalf lit his staff, and Pep, Meghan, and Rachel gasped and tried to hold back their screams upon seeing dwarf skeletons covering the floor.
"This is scarier than a graveyard on halloween." Rachel whispered. Meghan and Pep nodded nervously.
"This is no mine... It's a tomb!" Boromir observed.
"No... Oh no... No, no, no, oh no..." He ran to each skeleton, looking for someone alive. "No!" And he failed.
Legolas yanked an arrow out of a corpse, and then threw it away in disgust. "Goblins!"
"This is definetely not where the dwarves live." Meghan muttered.
"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here!" Boromir yelled.
Suddenly Rachel screamed as she and Frodo were yanked away from the others.
"ARAGORN!"
"FRODO!"
"RACHEL!"
A tentacled monster emerged from the water and opened it's mouth to eat the two fellowship members.
Lily took out an arrow and shot the monster in the mouth, outraged, it tried to grab her, but Legolas sliced off the arm that tried to take her.
Aragorn and Boromir ran into the water, hacking off all of the tentacles. Rachel flew into the air and landed in the water. The woman picked herself up and ran towards the mines.
Frodo was caught by Aragorn when the arm holding him was cut off.
"INTO THE MINES!"
They all fled into the mines, and the monster caused an avalanche to fall over the door, trapping them in the darkness.
Gandalf lit his staff. "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. Quietly, now. It's a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence will go unnoticed."
...
"Why did that thing grab Rachel and Frodo?" Pep whispered to Lily. She sighed. "It might've sensed something evil. That's why it grabbed Frodo, because of the ring. But why it took Rachel. Because she is definetely not evil." Lily glanced over at the woman. "But watch your back, 'cause you never know, she could be evil."
Pep nodded and walked over to Pippin, Merry, and Meghan.
Lily looked at Rachel again and bit her lip. Nothing was evil about her, she's an ally. Or is she...?
...
They reached three doorways, and Gandalf, stopped. "I have no memory of this place."
Pep sighed and sat down on a rock. "Well, I'm going to sleep."
"Are we lost?" Pippin asked.
"No." Merry responded. "I don't think we are. Shhhh. Gandalf's thinking."
"Merry!"
"What?"
"I'm hungry."
If she was not where she was or in the situation she was in, Rachel would've laughed.
Frodo stood up and walked over to Gandalf.
Lily looked down at the mines and gasped slightly.
"There's something down there." She whispered.
A/N: PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I'VE ONLY GOT ONE! ONLY ONE REVIEW! C'MON PEOPLE!
