For one moment in time

by Nuredhel

Adelyn is a rather unusual Young lady. She is paralyzed from her waist down and dependent on the help of others. Little does she know that she is something unique, that her fate was shaped by Eru millennia ago, to tip the scales of Destiny in the right direction at one exact moment in time where evil may win the Battle. How will she cope With being tossed into middle-earth?

11. Deep deep down

Next chapter, yayyy! I have been a good girl these past days and done a lot of writing! In this chapter you'll get to see what Elladan has gotten himself into, an ancient secret will be revealed and a certain mage will have a very unpleasant experience. This story is sort of racing off with me in tow and I am helpless to control it, talking about having a will of its own, phew!

And as usual, thanks for any reviews and for following this story, hugs for all of you.

Mature, some very disturbing scenes!

Chapter eleven: Deep deep down

There are things that are hidden

Deep deep down

Treasures of the earth and treasures of the mind

Deep within the ground may rest

Things yet unseen by light and darkness alike

And when it becomes unleashed

Who dares to stand and watch?

Elladan had crept out of his blankets in silence and then he had managed to get into the woods undetected by the sharp eyes of the other elves. He felt a nervous energy building up within him, he had put on some rather dark tight fitting clothes and braided and tied up his hair. He covered his face with ash and made sure that he would be hard to spot. He had been spying on orcs before and didn't fear them at all. He moved swiftly through the canopy and sometimes on the ground and before long he stood in front of the waterfall that hid one of the entrances to the city. He stared at the small curtain of falling water, it was just a small creek and not a big river, a very nice place in fact. He approached the waterfall slowly, with all his keen senses in high alert, but there were no guards there, not even the scent of orc. This entrance was not used that much and he got in behind the falling water with ease. The small tunnel that disappeared into the rock was well made and he remembered the map. This had once been a city, but the style of the work done there was alien to him. It had been something else than dwarves that had carved this for sure.

He had a small torch and moved forth with relative speed, he could not waste any time and he knew in which direction to go. He walked through a winding corridor for what seemed like a small eternity before he started to notice a change in the air itself. It became less fresh and more moist and it started to smell of orc. He almost sneezed and had to force himself to walk on, he was completely silent and before long he encountered the first orcs. He had to remain undetected, he could not risk being seen since that could warn the orcs of the coming attack. This was a challenge and one he indeed was looking forward to.

There were orcs almost everywhere, they were gathered in small groups and some slept while others sat there chatting away in their foul language. The city had been grand, he could see that now. The architecture reminded him a little of that of dwarves but it had more elegant shapes and forms and even though it had been marred and distorted by the orcs it had a sort of forlorn elegance still. He used the shadows and moved without a sound, without any of the orcs noticing his presence. He dropped some of the powder into their pots and pans wherever he spotted some and he moved deeper into the city. He came upon a vast hall after a while, it had perhaps been a place of festivities and joy but now it had been changed into something rather frightening. The whole floor was divided into sections by tall walls made from rock. It looked like the pens in which the humans keep their livestock and he swallowed when he saw what these pens did hold. He had seen wargs before but these beasts were obviously some new breed, larger and even more ferocious than the old type. They were terrifying and he felt a cold chill running down his spine. What in the name of Morgoth was this? Some pens did hold trolls too, large lumbering creatures which just sat there passively while some large orcs scurried around looking after them. Elladan crept up onto a ledge where he could watch the entire hall. It was so large even his keen eyes were unable to see the end of it. Mist was forming underneath its roof and the air was sticky and stank, it was really a terrible place. Elladan did see something that caught his attention, not too far away from the wall where he hid there was a sort of huge pool or well. He could see that the orcs carried water from it and some left the hall for other rooms. This had to be their source of drinking water and he smiled slowly, a very wicked grin. The hall was badly lit, there were shadows everywhere and he crept down along the worn out stairs very slowly.

The orcs were busy doing their job and he used everything down there to hide himself, he was glad he had smeared himself with ash and dirt, it covered his scent for these wargs would have smelled him otherwise. The ground was covered with broken pillars, rotten equipment and something that had to be what the orcs regarded as housing, simple tents made from stinking hides and pieces of ancient timber. The place stank of animal feces and he did see that the orcs too did their business wherever they wanted to. It was no wonder orcs were infamous for their smell.

He got to the edge of the pool, it was indeed a well, it was probably almost without a bottom and the water smelled of cold rock and frost. It had to be freezing cold and it probably came from the very base of the mountains. He crouched down, it was dark where he sat and he saw that several orcs had gathered not far from him, they were arguing rather loudly about something and a rather small and scrawny looking orc was shouting and gesturing and screeching something that had to be insults. Elladan hoped that it would provide him with a chance to drop some powder into the pool, he needed something that would catch the orc's attention. It was rather obvious that he would get his chance for suddenly the orcs started fighting, they were at each-other's throats roaring and screaming and he saw that they only focused on the fight. Fast as lightening he threw a couple of handfuls of the powder onto the surface of the well and since the powder was very light it would stay afloat. The orcs actually killed the small one and threw it into the well where it immediately sank and then they calmed down again. They had spilled blood and that satisfied them for a while. Elladan crept on and soon he found his way through what had to be barracks and he even found the orc version of a kitchen. He left a generous amount of the herb there and he was extremely careful not to be seen. The orcs were bored and most of them slept or sat there playing with dice or telling stories and others were arguing or perfecting their insults.

Elladan knew that he had to return soon, he started to make his way back through some of the corridors and tunnels that were higher up in the maze that was this city. He had for a second thought about finding the prince himself but he shook that idea off rather quickly. Even if he did find Legolas it would be hard getting him out by himself without being seen. He was probably guarded and Elladan wasn't so stupid that he didn't realize that he had his limits. The upper levels of the city were almost abandoned, the dust thick along the floors and just a very few orcs stayed there and they seemed nervous for some reason.
He could tell by their scrawny appearance that these were the pariahs of the orc society and this had to be the place to which they had been exiled. It was weird, this area was dry and the air less thick and moist than lower down and yet it was where the lowliest of the orcs had to live? That made him wonder if this area held some sort of danger of which his people were oblivious. He had no idea of what it could be though, he smelled nothing and yet something there made the hairs stand up in the back of his neck.

Some orcs sat by a small fire in one corridor, what had been beautifully carved doors hang from the openings leading into it, they seemed to have been gnawed upon? He crept closer to the orcs, he did know their language fairly well and it was obvious that they were frightened for they kept their voices down and their eyes were flickering all the time. What could make orcs this frightened? He listened to them, they mentioned the mage and obviously they hated his guts but were too afraid of him to do anything about it. Then they argued about the lack of food and one of them whined and complained that the mage didn't listen to his brethren when he was being told about the horror of the upper levels. He only cared for the one down below, not the thing that was hunting them up there. Elladan felt nervous, what were they talking about? What was really this one below? And what was hunting at the higher levels?

He was about to move on towards the entrance where he had entered the city when he heard a sound, it was an extremely high pitched squeal that hurt his ears and he immediately knew that he was in trouble. A strange glow started to fill the corridor and the orcs had disappeared like frightened rats. Elladan threw himself in behind a door, staring out into the corridor with wide eyes, what came moving down the tunnel was a nightmare! He had trouble even believing his own eyes and he knew that no blade would be enough against this thing. It looked unreal, a fluorescent being that seemed almost canine in shape but with a very wide and flat head and the crazy thing was that it was transparent. You could see the bones and organs through the skin that appeared to be at least five sizes to large, and the skin itself reminded him of jelly in a sickening tone of pink and purple with veins and arteries clearly visible. The head was so weird looking he had to stare to really make sense of it. The mouth was incredibly wide and it was drooling constantly. The eyes were miniscule and almost completely black and its nostrils were placed high on the head and very large. This creature whatever it was hunted by its nose first and foremost and Elladan held his breath. It was getting closer, the shrill sound could be heard again and he backed away from the door he stood behind, just a few feet. That was when he realized that he had done a mistake, one no warrior ever should do. He had focused on what he saw in front of him and forgotten to watch his back. He heard a sort of hissing sound and then he felt a terrible piercing pain in his side just above his waistline.

He looked down, a sort of barbed arrow had pierced him and he saw red eyes shining in the darkness behind him, the arrow didn't look like anything he had seen before, it looked as if it had been made from the same stuff claws and fingernails are made of. He saw several creatures in the room behind him, almost insect like and surreal. They looked as if someone had taken a sort of big ant or cockroach and tried to turn it into something humanoid. The arrow was actually a sort of antennae and he felt a burning sensation around the wound and knew that it was poisonous. The creatures squealed and moved in closer, they were perhaps five feet tall and the malevolence in their eyes were rather obvious. He drew his sword, tried to get into a fighting position but his vision was failing and his body felt strangely heavy and almost ice cold. He just knew it then, this was it. He would never see the sun again and he managed to send off a thought to his brother, a message of love and a warning. "I am so sorry Ro, please forgive me, I failed you, I failed us all"

The world went dark and he didn't feel himself hitting the cold hard rock, the creatures squealed and their jaws were clattering in anticipation of a good meal. The glowing creature pushed its way into the room too, eager to participate in the feast. The insect like beings hissed and swung their antennae against the larger carnivore and it growled and tried to scare them off by showing its terrible rows of teeth. They were so preoccupied fighting each other neither of them noticed the faint glow of light that suddenly came and went and when the large beast was chased off to hunt on its own and the insect beings turned around to finally start their meal there was nothing there except some blood and a broken off arrow.

Elrond had read the notes on the old map and he was horrified and confused, he had to do something to warn them all. Erestor had never seen him this affected by anything before and was trying to help him but he had little luck in just that. Elrond knew that he had to warn his sons in some way, they had no doves or hawks trained to carry messages and even the fastest rider would use more than a day to reach the mountains. Erestor sat by his desk and his hands were covered with ink since he had managed to topple one of the ink bottles in his attempt to find anything new within the writings. He swallowed and watched Elrond walking back and forth in a very nervous manner. "My lord, have you tried using farspeech?"

Elrond made a grimace. "I fear that neither of my sons have that capability, I have tried before yes, but they fail to hear it."

Erestor was thinking hard. "If I know Estel right he has probably sent for the elves of Mirkwood too, it would be just like him. And if he has done that then I am rather sure that Thranduil has joined them. He is strong enough isn't he?"

Elrond turned around slowly, he had a peculiar grimace upon his face. "Maybe, but I am not sure that he has that ability at all."

Erestor shrugged. "Try, it may be our only chance to tell them of what they might encounter. If you fail you will at least know that you have tried."

Elrond sent him a swift smile and stared out of the window, the mountains were far away and if the Mirkwood king indeed had joined the search then there could be a small possibility, but it was very small and he didn't put much hope into it. He just nodded to Erestor and sat down in a chair. Closed his eyes and nodded. "I will try, I just hope that he is able to understand and thus act immediately."

Elrond allowed himself to fall into an almost trancelike state and he let his fêa reach out and tried to get into contact with the only mind out there which could possibly pick up the information he had to give. This had to work, it just had to work!

Thranduil of Mirkwood was sitting in his tent, he was getting help with his armor and he felt impatient and nervous at the same time. There was some commotion on the outside but he didn't hear what it was about, he concentrated on keeping himself in check. He could not jeopardize the mission by allowing his feelings to cloud his mind. His servant had just tied off the last knots and he was about to get to his feet when he got a weird sensation. Suddenly images were flashing before his eyes and he almost lost his balance. There was a voice, a strong voice with a pleading tone to it and he knew who it was who spoke to him thus. It only lasted for a few seconds but it was enough, he tried to reach back out to confirm that he had heard what Elrond had to say before the contact was broken and he believed that he had succeeded in this. He almost lost his calm expression for a few seconds but managed to hide it, he took a deep breath and blinked a couple of times. If this was true then they could possibly encounter something far worse than orcs indeed, he shuddered and nodded to his servant, gathered his cloak and left the tent.

Adelyn and Glorfindel was kneeling next to Elrohir who was shaking like a leaf in a storm, his eyes were enormous and dark and he made some strange keening sounds that were just terrifying. Glorfindel swore so bad it was a miracle that nothing did spontaneously combust. "Morgoth's rotten teeth, how could he be this stupid? He has endangered the whole mission!"

Elrohir whimpered. "Oh Dan, Eru help me, I cannot reach him, I cannot feel him!"

Adelyn felt helpless. "It doesn't need to mean that he is dead does it?"

Glorfindel just caught her eyes and nodded quietly and Adelyn swallowed a gasp. "Elrohir, please, don't let despair get the better of you, there is hope isn't there? We have to try to find both him and the prince"

Elrohir was rolling his eyes and gasping, Glorfindel leaned forward and slapped him across his face, hard! The peredhel stiffened and stared at him with huge dark eyes. "Grasp a hold of yourself Ro, you cannot help your brother like this!"

Elrohir whimpered again. "But I can't feel him, it's like our bond isn't there anymore. It's as if he never was there!"

Thranduil came towards them, he was almost running and stopped when he saw Elrohir kneeling on the ground and the faces of the others gathered there. "What is going on?"

Glorfindel sighed and stood up, he was in fact a whole inch taller than the king, Adelyn hadn't noticed that before. He looked rather intimidating for the moment. "Elladan apparently got the brilliant idea that he could sneak into the city and drug the orcs to render them helpless when we attack, but something has gone wrong. Apparently something has gotten him."

Thranduil groaned and his face became very grim indeed. "Elrond tried to far speak with me just minutes ago. He and Erestor has found some old parchment with information about this city."

Glorfindel frowned. "What information?"

Thranduil took a deep breath. "It may hold an ancient power, one almost forgotten and unimaginable. The orcs has probably just settled here because of the city itself and its possibilities. They haven't taken the time to investigate its past."

Adelyn bit her lower lip. "So what? How can that possibly be a threat? We have to move soon, before it is too late. If the orcs have got Elladan they might understand that an attack is imminent and prepare themselves, we'll lose the element of surprise!"

Glorfindel stared at Thranduil's stern face. "So, what is it that Elrond found out?"

Thranduil took a deep breath. "I guess you have heard the legend of Pell-nuath?"

Glorfindel cocked an eyebrow. "Yes? It is a fairy tale, nothing more than that."

Thranduil shook his head with a weird grin. "It is not, it was here!"

Adelyn waved her arms, suddenly her less than patient side emerged once more. "Hey, you guys? Some information please, what the heck is a Pell-nuath?"

Glorfindel tried to smile and Elrohir managed to get onto his feet, his eyes haunted and dark still. "It is not a thing Adelyn, it was a city, the city of silent shadows."

She frowned. "Why does that name make me feel as though it spells trouble?"

Thranduil sighed. "Because it probably does. Few know of that tale as anything but a children's tale, like Glorfindel mentioned. The kind you tell children in order to keep them quiet."

She stared at the elves and at Aragorn who seemed impatient. The sun would be rising soon and the skies were getting lighter by the minute. "Now that does really tell me that it is something bad right?"

Glorfindel made a grimace. "Yes, only those wise and familiar with ancient lore knows the truth about that city, and it has been forgotten for ages, and rightfully so. The things that happened there were horrible, even in that dangerous age."

Adelyn swallowed. "So, what was so bad about it, I need to know before we go. Obviously Elrond wanted to warn us of something."

Thranduil nodded, he felt very scared but still determined to save his son. Regardless of what he had come to learn. "He did, the orcs are just a part of what this mountain may hide. I hope that the tales are untrue, if not we may face something out of this world."

Adelyn crossed her arms across her chest with her chin out. "The tale please, the short version, we doesn't have time for the whole thing. "

Glorfindel bit his lip, thought hard for a few seconds. "Right, fine, the city of shadows was a place created by a sort of guild of wizards and mages and wise men of all races, they were trying to find a way to break the power of Morgoth, the first dark lord. They used a lot of magic to create weapons they could use against him or find weaknesses they could exploit. It was a very tightly held secret, nobody was to know where it was located. "

Adelyn just nodded. "I understand that, go on please, something went wrong I guess?"

Glorfindel nodded. "It did yes, they used too much magic there, it started to accumulate, get a will of its own. It changed the living creatures that inhabited the caves of the mountains into terrible monsters and it started to possess the ones who lived there so that they only sought more power, more magic and forgot about its true purpose."

She tilted her head. "Runaway magic, how cozy"

Glorfindel continued. "In the end the place had turned into a terribly dangerous site where nobody dared to tread, the mages and wizards were caught there together with their servants and families and even though their bodies were consumed by the power unleashed their spirits remained there as shadows, as ghosts. "

Adelyn shivered. "Silent shadows, ghosts, I see!"

Thranduil smiled, a sad grin. "It is said that in death they did see the errors of their ways and they tried to undo what they had done there, tried to cleanse the city of the wild magic but to no prevail. After the war of wrath the valar themselves removed that force but they didn't manage to get all of it. Some of it supposedly seeped into the very rock itself and was impossible to get rid of unless of course the entire mountain was brought down."

Adelyn took Glorfindel's hand. "So Elrond is afraid that some of that power may reawaken when we enter the mountain? That it could be a danger to us?"

Thranduil nodded, his blue eyes distant. "Yes, exactly. The orcs may have disturbed it already, or awakened the shadows of old, and you can never be too sure of what those houseless spirits can or may do."

She clenched her teeth together. "They may be malevolent yes? Angry or hateful? Thanks for the warning, but that cannot stop us. We have to move, now!"

Glorfindel smiled and kissed her brow. "Yes, we have to move, everybody, gather into your designated groups, we do not leave until we have Legolas and Elladan among us once more."

Aragorn touched Adelyn's hand quickly with a reassuring smile before he and his men left to break down the dam. They didn't have much time left to do it.

Elrohir was still grey and wide eyed and Glorfindel took his hand, patted his back. "Can you fight mellon? If not you stay here!"

Elrohir jerked, his face even paler than before. "No, you cannot keep me here, not while he may be dead or dying. I can fight, I will fight. If I die too at least we meet again in the halls."

Glorfindel gave the peredhel a grim smile. "Good boy, that's the spirit."

Elrohir got his armor and weapons on and his eyes were still very dark and his face pale. He would fight to his last drop of blood to find his brother and Adelyn felt very sorry for him indeed. And genuinely pissed off at Elladan for having been such a pe-channas!

Glorfindel saw that the warriors who were to watch their back and guard the entrances got into position, he watched the sun starting to rise and knew that Aragorn and his warriors broke the dam down at this very moment. He was sure that it would be a spectacular sight.

Down in the city things were as usual, peaceful would be the wrong word to use since a city consisting of such creatures as orcs never is peaceful. There were the occasional murder, some fights, shouting and screaming and accusations, just a normal morning. The orcs were getting ready for the day, some were forging weapons, others taking care of the wargs and trolls while some prepared food or made equipment or just spent the day being busy doing nothing. The day appeared to be normal until the trolls started acting weird, then the wargs too and the orcs that were working in the huge hall became confused and then very frightened. What was this? The wargs started mounting each other like crazy even though it wasn't the breeding season at all and all of them were male, the females were smaller and more docile and were kept in pens and cages deeper down into the city. They were too valuable to be risked at any cost and were treated with the outmost care and given only the very best meat available. The trolls seemed to be caught by the same insane need to breed and were humping each other like mad yelling and bawling with desire and frustration since their anatomy made it extremely hard for two males to copulate in a satisfying manner. Then the trolls broke free from the pens and started attacking the larger orcs who suddenly found themselves as the objects of years of pent up desire and needless to say, they didn't take it well.

In fact few of those the trolls managed to actually get a hold of survived for very long since a troll both is very large, very heavy and compared with the size of an orc, extremely well endowed. There was a lot of screaming going on and it spread quickly, suddenly orcs were sodomizing each other with the fervor and eagerness of rabbits and if anybody had seen it the scenes would have made that person both sick, stunned and utterly terrified at once. The orcs that weren't affected by this weird malady sought refuge in the outermost corridors, too horrified to even dare thinking about leaving the city. In his rather posh chambers Shugrum the mage had rested rather uneasily that night, he had constant nightmares where he saw the master awakening the one and then he saw himself fall victim to that ancient scourge. He had tossed around in bed so long the bed looked as if it had been the scene of a battle of epic grandness. He got up and got dressed, feeling drained of strength and very tired, almost half asleep. He had anointed a new servant, a former goblin slave some of the warriors had dragged back home a year ago and it had been used as a helper in the warg pens. It was something about the scent of goblin that drew the wargs into a sort of aggressive frenzy and so the goblin had been locked into a cage and hung above the pens, just to keep the wargs juices flowing as one of the officers so elegantly explained it. Now on the other hand it served him and did it with no small amount of gratitude, it was literally ready to kiss the soles of his boots so relieved was it that he had taken pity on the hapless creature and offered it this much better job.

The goblin had done a brilliant job so far, it looked after his every need way better than the lost orc had and he didn't miss the darn thing at all. The goblin brought him food and drink, fixed his clothing, bowed and crawled and bragged about his great powers and the mage sort of liked that. Of course the goblin couldn't tell real magic from the tricks of a common village witch but nevertheless, it made him feel rather important. The goblin saw that he was up and immediately brought him a huge glass of fresh water and a bowl of hot stew. Shugrum had never quite been among those who favored wine that early in the day, it clouded his mind somehow. And now he needed a clear head and new ideas and he needed them sorely. He ate and then he sat down to study some more of the texts from the book, he was nowhere near getting closer to unravel its mysteries but what the hey, he had to try. Within it lay his only hope for survival. He was trying to understand a page with a lot of strange symbols when he started feeling a bit weird. The page looked so very promising and he had no idea that it in reality was some long dead village healers best tricks to avoid prostate problems in elderly men. It looked like some really menacing spells and he didn't have enough knowledge to understand that it in fact was the ancient healers less than skilled attempts at making anatomical drawings. If he had turned the page upside down he may have noticed some familiar shapes, the one who made the book didn't know how to read and write neither. He put the book down, strange, what was this strange warmth? Was he developing a fever? Gods forbid, the orcs would be at his throat the very moment he showed any form of weakness. He got up a bit nervous and noticed that he immediately had certain interesting reactions, he yelped and looked down. By Sauron's armor, what was happening? Before long he was ablaze with a desperate need and he was shivering and swearing. Had someone put a spell on him? Did he have rivals to the dark lord's favor?

The goblin returned with some clean shirts which he had washed with huge care in whatever clean water he could find, he stared at his masters weird expression and started to back out of the room again, rather scared and very quickly. Shugrum saw the goblin and grinned, a grin that didn't promise anything good. "You, up on that chair, now!"

The goblin hesitated, it had never seen its master looking like that? What was wrong with him? Shugrum almost growled. "Now Dimling, do as I command!"

The goblin obeyed with shivering limbs and the master immediately pulled the poor creature's pants down and grasped onto it after having removed his own pants. The goblin was not a very large creature, it had to stand on the chair to be of the right height and it was clinging on to the back of the chair with its eyes bulging and its mouth wide open in a wordless squeal. It was suddenly feeling very homesick, yes it wanted to return to the warg pens, immediately. Shugrum went at it for a good quarter of an hour with the goblin, at the end it was half dead and it just collapsed into a heap on the floor covered with blood and other body fluids as he let go of it. Sauron's wraiths! He still didn't feel as if he had had nowhere near enough, the goblin was clearly dying but there had to be other options for him? Of course, the goblin was in no way a very attractive partner, but the prisoner? Oh yes, there you had something that would offer him the satisfaction he so craved. He buttoned up and left the poor goblin on the floor, wherever it was its soul was heading, it probably regretted ever being born.

On top of the mountain Aragorn and his group had worked like crazy, they had used axes to chop through the old half rotten wood of the dam and now they used ropes and some good old fashioned pulling to break it down. At first there was just some creaking noises, the dam refused to budge almost as if out of old habit, it had stood there for so long and had sort of become a part of the very landscape there. Then the first logs broke under the pressure and where water finds a way out it always exploits it. Beams of water burst forth, the creaking became a thundering noise and everybody got back onto safe ground. There was a sort of almighty groan and sigh and the entire dam just let go, it tilted forward in an almost slow motion and came crashing down and the dam behind it became unleashed. It immediately flooded the area in front of the dam and started disappearing into the hole in front of it with a bizarre gargling sound forming a huge vortex. Aragorn stared at it with a wry grin, he knew that the water would come as a real surprise for the orc's and it would enable the others to enter the mountain without being noticed at least right away.

He and his warriors spread out, they were to watch over the upper entrances and make sure that no orc escaped alive and he pulled his sword and chuckled when he thought of how the millions of gallons of freezing cold water would be welcomed down there. It was probably a sight to behold.

Shugrum raced down to the dungeons and the orcs he had ordered to watch over the prisoner gladly moved out of the way so he could open the door to the cell block, the mage had a strange expression in his eyes and he looked desperate enough to turn them into something less than savory. He hurried down the corridor and stopped in front of the cell door, the prisoner was still unconscious and laid there on the rotten straw almost as if he was dead. Shugrum just cursed the fact that his plan had failed but now he at least had something beautiful to play with. He opened the door and almost threw himself forth, he eagerly got his pants out of the way once more and pulled the unconscious elf into a more practical position. This was going to be sweet.

Adelyn and the others had started to move into the corridor behind the waterfall, some of the mirkwood warriors followed them while the rest had spread out to keep a watch over the lower exits and entrances just like Aragorn's warriors had. Malagar and Cirel had decided to join the group too, they were used to fighting alongside Glorfindel and Adelyn didn't for a second doubt that this trio could do some extreme damage when unleashed. The corridor was silent and narrow and they moved forth in a very orderly fashion, Adelyn was in the middle of the group as she was the fragile one there and Glorfindel and the two others were at front while Elrohir and Thranduil had positioned themselves behind her. The archers followed then in tight formation.

The air became more foul and the warriors had drawn their weapons, they were ready for whatever it was that they would encounter. Glorfindel suddenly stopped, he raised his arms and they all just listened, it was a strange sound up ahead and Adelyn had to really strain her ears to pick up what it was. It was screaming and it was rather chaotic too. What was this? They moved forth slowly, keen eyes kept watch with every shadow, every nook and cranny that could contain a possible enemy. They left the tight corridor for a larger one that was way more elaborate and Adelyn had to blink and gasp at what she saw. This high up there had been no effect of the flooding, the orcs were probably oblivious to the fact that there were a flood at all. What they weren't oblivious to were each other, it looked like some utterly bizarre and unreal dirty movie with orcs screwing in every thinkable and unthinkable way everywhere. Adelyn turned around with a groan. "Dear lord, this is hell, nothing else can describe this!"

Glorfindel just swallowed and stared at the scene in front of them with wide eyes. "Allow me to agree on that statement"

Some orcs were so desperate they had formed almost a sort of a conga line but they weren't dancing, the screeching and moaning was deafening and the elven warriors looked more than a little disgusted by the sight. "Elladan did succeed, it worked!"

Elrohir's voice was flat and shivering and Adelyn grasped his hand and squeezed it. "He is alive, don't allow your hope to fade."

Thranduil had a devilish grin on his face. "These orc's are no danger to anyone, only to themselves, spread out and leave none alive."

Adelyn stood there guarded by a couple of mirkwood warriors as the others went into action and she suddenly knew why these warriors were so feared. It looked so elegant, so effortless, a fleeting almost flowing motion of blades and orcs fell everywhere while the elves almost floated on to the next victim. Thranduil decapitated orcs with a rage that was terrifying, some of these disgusting beasts had possibly been among the ones who violated his precious son and he was seeing red quite literally. Glorfindel and the two other Imladris guards fought in an elegant formation, striking left and right with terrifying elegance, Adelyn could see that all three of them were highly skilled but Glorfindel was the best anyhow, he had something the others were lacking, a sort of reckless courage that allowed him to do moves that others probably were to disciplined and bound by the training they had received to execute. He was thinking in different ways, moving differently, saw options where the others didn't and although Thranduil was a terrifying sight Adelyn just knew that Glorfindel was a more dangerous foe, just due to his unpredictability. Before long they had killed every orc within that area and they moved on, Adelyn still had problems believing what she was seeing, she had never imagined anything as nasty as these orcs. They could have made fortunes as extra's in different horror movies, and they wouldn't need any make up, in fact the less the better.

Legolas had sort of dwelled in the land of memories and he had no idea of how long he had been there, time was of no importance. His mind was trying to protect itself by shutting the more recent memories away and he only saw good ones. He floated in light seeing things he had almost forgotten and he felt strangely at ease there. He just felt that something was wrong, that there were danger and something dark lurking around him but as long as that friendly golden light embraced him he was safe, nothing could harm him whilst in its grasp. He remembered a fishing trip he had had with his father, they had been sneaking out of the palace underneath the noses of the guards and dressed as commoners they had fished from a small canoe in one of the tiny lakes within the great forest. He remembered the starlight sky, the soft expression in his father's eyes as he made sure that his precious little leaf didn't feel cold. He saw how the moon had been mirrored by the smooth surface of the pond and he remembered the only fish they had caught, a huge catfish with a wide mouth and a strength that was shocking. They had spent most of the night trying to land that impressive catch and at the end the string broke and threw them both into the lake as the canoe just flipped over. They had emerged dripping wet, covered with silt and mud and both looked like some sort of ancient kelpie. Legolas remembered the laughter, his joyous peels and his father's deeper fuller laughs. Oh how he longed for those days, so filled with light and with so little worries or fear.

He was ripped out of his blissful state by a sudden unease, there was something interfering with his dreamlike state, what? Then he recognized the feeling, it was pain. A piercing stabbing pain that seemed somewhat familiar and then it suddenly returned to him, all that had happened to him over the last days. He remembered, his soul wailing in horror and fear and his desperation was so strong he suddenly had the strength to break free from the hold of unconsciousness. His mind was forcing itself back to the surface, breaking through with a gasp, a desperate plea. Not again, oh Eru have mercy, not again!

He felt the creature on top of him, inside of him, felt the hot breath and hands that were grasping onto him, felt how he was being pushed into the stinky rotten straw with every rocking movement of the one raping him. He trembled, heard a voice hissing what had to be obscenities in some unknown language that had to be some sort of southron, no orc, a human. He felt a sort of shockwave rush through him as his full consciousness returned, the one taking him didn't notice that the elf had awakened and kept thrusting in a desperate rhythm, eager for yet another release. Shugrum had come several times already and yet he found no ease, it was weird but the elf was gorgeous and why not use the opportunity for all that it was worth now that it had presented itself? He had never fucked anything that pretty and although he normally would prefer a woman this was even better, the elf was really the best he ever had had. He was screaming as he reached yet another orgasm and that scream triggered the final reaction from Legolas, he suddenly found the strength to move, to do something to protect himself, to seek revenge. He did a sudden and very powerful buck that threw his assailant up and then he turned over in a quick fleeting movement and placed his feet onto the man's chest and kicked off. The kick threw Shugrum through the air and he collided very violently with the wall of the cell and then he fell forward, temporarily stunned. The sad fact for him was that he still was aroused, the herb was still having its effect and the mage screamed in shock when he hit the hard floor with a smash and a strange cracking sound. The collision between rock and cock meant that something had to give and it wasn't the rock. Legolas tried to get up but he was too weak, he had used all of his strength, he collapsed onto the straw once more but he tried to crawl towards the open door. Shugrum shrieked, grasping onto his manhood that had swollen up already and gotten a nasty purple color, it had actually gotten a fracture and the agony was unbelievable*. Still the mage had the wits to get up, stagger through the door and slam it shut. He wailed with agony and couldn't believe that this had happened to him, he was actually bleeding now and he whimpered in panic and the adrenaline and panic gave him strength to wobble through the corridor and rush out past the guards. They just stared, the mage was bleeding? And why was he pale as a sheet and groaning? They just grinned at each other, so the prisoner still had teeth with which to bite? There is no joy like the joy of watching someone as hated as the mage getting a painful injury and they chuckled and enjoyed the moment a lot.

The northern parts of the city had been unaffected by the events set in motion by Elladan, the orc's there had been completely unaware of any danger and they were caught completely by surprise. The first sign of trouble was a sound, a strange roar that grew in strength rather rapidly and the orcs stopped doing whatever they were occupied with and just stared. This part of the city was packed, it was the main living quarters and there were also a lot of smaller trolls there. They were of a species more intelligent and agile than the larger ones and lived alongside the orcs in relative harmony. That meant that the orcs knew better than to harass the trolls who were much stronger than an orc and a heck of a lot more volatile. The roar made the very rock tremble and shrieks of panic could be heard as the orcs started running for cover, fearing that the one from down below had awakened and were hungry. It did them no good at all, a wall came rushing down the tunnels, a dark grey and brown wall consisting of water, dust, earth, debris of all kinds, the bodies of long dead orcs and other creatures and rocks that had been torn from the walls. It was almost like a volcanic lahar, a liquid which was more comparable with thin concrete than water. It struck with horrendous force and the water sought out every room, every hall and corridor on its way down towards the bottom of the city.

Orcs were being washed away, screaming with fear and some drowned while others were crushed by all sorts of objects being carried along. Here and there new waterfalls emerged since some tunnels ended in drops into larger halls or natural caves and panic spread. Shouts and screams warned the rest of the orcs in the way of the flood that something was terribly wrong and they started to flee. In desperation they ignored the fact that the sun was up, they hoped to seek refuge in the forest but none came that far. The moment they appeared out of the hidden exits arrows and blades found them with deadly precision and still orcs came running, the panic so strong they didn't notice their fallen kindred until it was too late.

Aragorn stood by one of the exits and he was using his blade with both elegance and force, he and his fellow warriors had already killed at least twenty orcs and more came shrieking out of the small hidden doorway. One of the elves had an elven battle axe with a very unique design to it and he cleaved one orc in half and the bottom did in fact take a few steps forward before it fell over and lay kicking on the ground. The orcs were wet and stinking and Aragorn knew that what they were facing was the orcish equivalent of hell.

The other elves guarded the rest of the exits and soon they had more than their hands full, they had to kill like never before and did so without hesitation or doubt. It had to be done. In the city the northern part was completely wiped out within minutes, even the greatest of the trolls were unable to fight the terrible pressure of the water and mud and they were thrown along and fell over the cliffs and were smashed at the bottom. Orcs ran everywhere and some managed to get into the part of the city that weren't affected by the flood, their terrified screams alerted the rest of the population and chaos broke out.

There were no discipline down there, it was each orc for himself and only himself and some gladly killed the ones who were in their way just to get out. The wargs in the pens broke free, some water had in fact washed into the great hall and caused the animals to panic completely and they attacked their masters in their desperate attempts to escape. On a lower level the orcs looking after the warg bitches tried to open the cages in which the females were being held, water poured into the area and started to flood it and the wargs were screaming in terror as the rising level threatened to drown them. The orcs were unable to open the cages, the keys were held by their officers who already had fled and even the attempts to break the cages up failed. Some orcs were in fact so attached to their wargs and so dedicated to their task they remained in the halls and tried to free the animals to the very end and thus they drowned with them. Wargs were desperately clawing at the cages, biting at the solid steel but to no prevail, they all drowned.

Some of the greater trolls further up were too heavy for the water to move them, they just stood there glaring in confusion as they didn't understand anything. They were still utterly horny and made use of hapless orcs that came drifting by and it added to the horrors.

The water kept coming for at least a quarter of an hour and it turned a huge part of the city into a raging river and the water swept everything with it down to the bottom levels, there it pooled while it searched for a way out almost like a living thinking being. Deep down below the city were huge caverns which not even the orcs had dared to explore, the water seeped into also them, it was suddenly almost raining down there and something started moving in the darkness. A fiery glow spread and smoke and flames started to move about, as if the creature used it to survey its surroundings. A low rumbling sound could be heard, and then hissing, the water had awakened it from its slumber and it was getting annoyed and curious. Water could not harm it, and it didn't know what fear was but if the orcs living up there was the cause of this then there would be hell to pay. It slowly crept out of the smaller caverns and its full size and power emerged as it headed towards the city. The deep rumbling sound turning into a growl as water splashed by it and released clouds of steam.

Legolas was barely conscious, the shock of remembering was almost too much for him, he wanted to drift back into the comforting golden light, let go of it all. He was aching and felt how his skin was twitching from the filth clinging to it. He wanted to curl up in a ball and just cry but he knew that he couldn't, he had to get out of there. The human that had violated him had escaped but it gave him some comfort knowing that the man hadn't left unscathed. He whimpered and tried to move but he was way too weak now, he was almost passing out again. Then he heard sounds on the outside, roars and shouts and a strange rumbling sound from afar and the air suddenly felt moist? He just listened, too tired to even open his eyes again, could this never end?

He just lay there, listening to feet that ran by the door at the end of the corridor, a splashing noise and more screaming. Something was happening, but what. Suddenly he felt a strange chill creeping up around his body and he forced his eyes to open, he yelped and managed to push himself up so he sat on the floor. It was water, icecold water was running slowly into the cell block and it was rising at a slow but steady speed. He gasped and forced his trembling body to obey him, for just a few seconds more. He managed to pull himself towards the bars, used them to get up onto his knees and the water was lapping at his groin area already. It was going to drown him he was sure and he quivered and sobbed. This was absolutely not how he had imagined that his end would come, drowning. He closed his eyes and thought of his father again, and his friends. Well, considering it, maybe it wasn't that bad. He was filth, unworthy of being around others, a molested disgusting whore, trash. It was perhaps for the better that he died, and they said that drowning wasn't such a terrible way to go. He clung onto the cold iron with what was left of his strength. His tears just as cold as the water that was creeping up towards his chest.

It was then he felt a sudden gust of wind, he turned his head in hopeless curiosity and saw something incredible. A sort of glowing figure emerged out of the cold rock, it looked like mist formed into the shape of a person.

Legolas yelped and felt terrified, it was a ghost, a houseless. The spirit was obviously a female and as it became clearer it was clear that it had been an elleth, a tall slender female with long flowing hair and a very fair face. It looked as if it was in despair and then it reached into the very rock itself and started pulling something out of the rock wall, something solid. It looked insane, as if the rock was an illusion, not really there. Legolas gasped when he saw what it was that the long dead elleth pulled out of the rock, it was an elf. A very dirty elf with long dark hair that covered the pale face and it was wearing dark hunters clothes and it had a wound in its side. The ghost gestured towards him, it was obviously trying to communicate and it was unable to speak. Legolas used the bars to pull himself closer, the elf was unconscious and would drown if he wasn't held up. The elleth looked terrified and her eyes were pleading, he could see her silent plea for help in it.

Legolas moaned, he wasn't strong enough to help anyone, they would both drown. "Why did you bring him here? I cannot save him, I am dying too damn it. We will both drown."

The elleth made a gesture towards the outside, a signal he knew meant foe near, it was a part of a very old system of hand signals the elves used to communicate when they had to be completely silent. Legolas felt dizzy, the water was soon reaching his chest. "I know but still he'd be safer out there."

He managed to get to the stranger, he was hanging in the arms of the spirit and Legolas ignored his pain and fatigue and pushed the unconscious ellon towards the rock, tried to hold him upright. He got the long black hair out of the face and now he saw who this was, he instantly recognized the ellon and in that minute he felt a desperate surge of hope, of almost unbearable desperation. "Elladan!"

Legolas grasped onto the unconscious peredhel and knew that if Elladan was there, then there were other elves there too, perhaps a whole rescue mission. He didn't care if he were to drown but he could never let anyone die because of him, he would not let Elladan die like this. He saw that the wound was infected, it looked black and it was oozing some whitish nasty liquid and he knew that his friend was in serious danger, not only from the water. The elleth disappeared into the rock again with a last glance filled with a deep sorrow and melancholy and Legolas used the last remains of his strength to almost lock himself onto the peredhel so that they wouldn't slide into the water and then he threw his head back and called out. A high pitched scream that could be heard from afar. He also sought out mentally, almost desperately. He suddenly got into contact with a mind he knew and with what he had left of energy he called out. "ADA, I am here, save me!"

He clung onto the peredhel and whimpered, the water was slowly rising towards his neck, he was unable to pull the both of them up any higher. "Please hurry father, please!"

Pe-channas: Idiot/stupid : sindarin

Dimling: insult in norwegian, not much in use these days but related to the English word dimwit. It means retard/moron/person of limited mental capability. I thought it would be a suitable name for the poor goblin.

*Yes, it is actually possible to break a penis while it is erect, it takes a lot of force and it is the internal membranes that actually tear causing profuse internal bleeding and intense agony and it can cause malformation and erectile dysfunction. To males I bet that has to be the ultimate nightmare, owtch!