Moria was just as threatening as Legolas remembered it. Without hesitation,
he, Aragorn, Corgan, and the rest of Aragorn's escort entered the now
brightly-lit hall of Moria. Bofir grumbled as he passed Legolas, saying
something about elves and their meddling.
The elf just sighed.
Bofir stood with Aragorn and they spoke in unnecessarily low voices. Legolas heard what they spoke about, and none of it included him. A young Dwarven boy walked up to him and handed him a canteen, while other young warriors passed out the water containers.
Legolas smelled his. A sweet aroma wafted up. The young warrior looked hopefully, so Legolas tasted it and smiled, "Thank you very much."
The young warrior laughed and slipped away, leaving Legolas to his thoughts.
"Legolas?" Corgan approached him quietly, "This place…there are many evils here, true?"
"You have no idea," Legolas shook his head.
They were quiet until Aragorn stood straight and looked at them.
"Bofir will lead us to the Hall where Gimli and his group were taken from," Aragorn narrowed his eyes, "It is close to the depths where the Tomb of Balin rests. Strangely enough, the one survivor claims to have seen Balin's ghost."
"A Wight?" Corgan ventured a guess, "Possibly a Shade?"
"Possibly," Aragorn repeated the bard's words absentmindedly, "Possibly…"
"Aragorn, I would that we hurried," Legolas said quietly, his arms wrapped tightly around his chest, holding his bow close, as if for protection, "I feel the fading presence of my friend. I fear that Gimli has not much time…"
"Humph," Bofir snorted and chuckled, his eyes filled with a racist hate, "You elves know nothing of the mettle of dwarves."
"I know that stupid folk should close their mouths, ere they find themselves without a tongue," Legolas shot back without thinking, "The dwarves of the Misty Mountain were not so ignorant long ago."
Bofir's eyes narrowed.
"Please!" Aragorn snapped, "Legolas, come. We go now."
"You need a guide!" Bofir snorted, "You need me."
"No," Legolas allowed himself a smirk, "We do not. I guide these through the depths that you have spent so much time in. I know crevices that you did not dream exist."
Bofir looked ready to explode when the elf took a torch from the wall and began to lead them. He was even more enraged when the elf led them down the right tunnel.
I will kill that elf, He thought, No matter if he is friend to Lord Gimli or not…
The band passed many a working dwarf, those that cleaned, spoke, or performed other tasks. Corgan had never before seen so many of them in one place before, and he was drinking in their work songs like a sponge.
"You are enjoying this?" One of the guards asked.
"Their music, it is rough and callous, but it holds an enchanting beat," Corgan nodded, "It cannot match the beauty of elven singing, however…"
Legolas heard him, but did not make any sign that he had done so. Instead, he led them through the halls that they had passed through not that long ago. It had not been long enough…
Aragorn watched the elves with suspicious eyes. So many seemed all to willing to attack the fair elf, though they knew nothing about him. They seemed more dangerous than the Balrog…
They came to a large door that was newly build, and heavily fortified. Here was where ten dwarves guarded the entrance to Dwarrowdelf.
"We seek passage through," Aragorn spoke up, stepping around Legolas, "We are the friends of Gimli, Lord of the Glittering Caves."
"We know who you are, King Elessar," One of the lead dwarves growled, "And we know who this one is."
He pointed accusingly at Legolas, who merely stood, waiting for the dwarf to elaborate. The dwarf obliged them willingly, his tone accusing, "I was there at the Battle of the Five Armies, Prince of Elves. I know what you did there."
Aragorn looked back at Legolas, who had stiffened suddenly.
"We did not come to banter, we came here to save the life of a friend," The king of Gondor nodded his head in respect, "With your permission, may we pass?"
"We will go as well," The dwarf said simply, his white streaked beard waving with each word, "I will not allow that murderer, that traitor, that demon-spawn of the old world, no, I will not allow him to enter without my eye upon him."
"You insult a prince, dwarf, I would hold your tongue," Corgan snapped angrily.
"Elf-lover!" The old dwarf spat, "Tis a pity none of the younger dream of the strength and glory of the dwarves! Instead, they fantasize about a murderous race of twig-legs!"
Aragorn held a slightly red Corgan back, "Bard, this is not your place."
The old dwarf spat and motioned for his warriors to open the small, yet heavy doors. The group of humans went through first. When Legolas followed, after surrendering the torch to a guard, the dwarf handed the torch back, flame first.
Legolas was relieved that he had been able to grab the handle before it touched the ground.
"Ah, clumsy elf!" The oldest chuckled.
"If I may ask, what your name, master dwarf, is as I can remember who it was that causes me such embarrassment," Legolas returned quietly.
"I am Nori, the same of Thorin Oakenshield and Company," The famous and rich dwarf had obviously kept in singularly good shape, unlike a few of his companions, "I fought long and hard for many a year under the command of my dear friend Balin, til his death did he meet."
Legolas squeezed his eyes closed against the enormous size of the room. He did not want to remember the Battle, nor what had occurred there.
"Come, let us find our friend."
Aragorn led the small group, walking beside Nori, holding a torch in his upraised hand. Legolas walked slowly, his hands encumbered slightly by the torch he also wielded, until one of the guards took it, offering to carry it.
Corgan noticed that he seemed out of touch with the occurrences around him. Twice had dwarves bumped into him purposely and twice he had not noticed. The bard wanted to ask what was wrong, but he held back.
"Oh my…" Corgan's hand flew to his mouth as they approached an area where a fight had obviously occurred. There were stripped bones, still white, littering the ground, along with blackened, charred bones, and armor.
"This is where Lord Gimli was taken from," Nori groused angrily, "The creature rose out of the pits and attacked mercilessly. It had tentacles that were thicker around than I am."
Legolas started at that. What had Adunólae said…?
"What do you hear, Legolas? What do you see and smell?" Aragorn roused him from his thoughts.
Legolas concentrated for a few moments, surveying the devastation. Then he shook his head, "It was kin to the Watcher, of this I am sure. I would think that, if we wish to rescue our friend, we should pursue down the pits."
"Stupid elf! We have tried that already!" Nori laughed, his arms crossed, "There is a great chasm, and none can cross it."
Aragorn glared at the dwarf, and barely noticed Legolas approaching one of the three pits that Nori had gestured to. The elven prince examined the depths quickly, then stepped down, landing on a small ledge.
"There is a chasm here, there is no other side to it," He called back after sliding down to the edge of the gaping hole, "The beast must have continued downward further."
"Then that is where we will go," Aragorn set his jaw and the whole group converged on the pit. The dwarves were becoming obviously more wary, and their axes rested lightly in their hands.
"We have lost many a good warrior into that pit," Nori growled, "What makes you think that you will survive?"
Aragorn did not respond. Instead, he followed Legolas into the blackness.
Legolas felt much unease. This was not a place that he had been to before. Why was he here? He should have known that they would not be on the old trail of the Fellowship.
After he finished securing a rope to a solid rock, Aragorn and Corgan took a hold of it, to ensure their friend's safety.
It would take long for them to transfer everyone down the rope, if there was an end to be found. Ten dwarves, seven human guards, Corgan, Aragorn, then Legolas as well…
The elf held the rope behind his back and leaned back. He was able to walk down the steep walls of the pit by feeding the rope behind him.
Soon, the light of the torches became faint, so much that even he, as an elf, had to strain to see the rock wall in front of him. Then, his foot met nothing but air…
Legolas fell forward, hitting the wall with his hands. He knew those above him felt the jerk, but he calmed and called to them, "I am all right. There is a cave of some sort…"
"Be careful!" Corgan called down.
Legolas was almost to the end of the rope. He slipped to the end and swung into the cave. The fact that there was even a floor surprised him, but the closeness really stunned him.
He landed hard and rolled.
"Legolas!"
"I am unhurt!" He called back. Their voices sounded so far away, "I cannot see, for there is not enough light. Toss down a torch for me!"
One fell towards him and he had to lean out to catch it. He waited for the flame to flare again, then turned back to the darkness of the cave.
"Legolas, do not enter until you have someone to watch your back," Aragorn called, but the elf paid him no heed. He stooped and picked up Gimli's helmet…
…and looked up to see a slightly quivering tentacle shudder.
His eyes widened in surprise as he now smelled the scent of rotting flesh. Why did I not smell that before? There is something terribly wrong here…
He blinked…
…and the tentacle was gone.
Legolas was alone in the cave, holding a helmet sized rock in his hand. He dropped it from nerveless fingers.
"There is something wrong here…"
"Legolas!"
"I am fine! Wait! I will signal if it is safe!" Legolas sighed, and then spoke to himself, "Aragorn, you are far too worried. You will not lose Gimli, nor I. You worry far too much…"
Now he began to smell a strange scent, one that reminded him of the strange drink that that dwarf had offered him earlier…
He blinked, and a skeleton leapt out of a corner, stunning him. The bony hands still had blood staining them, and they reached for his throat. Legolas slashed at the attacker with his long-knives.
They went right through the bony ribcage. It was a hallucination.
"Why am I seeing things?" He muttered to himself and blinked the apparition away, "That dwarf poisoned me, which is why, Legolas, you fool. Your trust in Gimli led you too far into complacency…"
"Legolas!" Aragorn sounded insistent.
"Yes, it is safe! But send only the best, for I do not know how long we should stay!" Legolas waited. Strangely enough, the first being down was Nori.
"Ah, elf, it seems that we wait together until the others arrive," The dwarf screwed up his face, "I smell the scent of a drug. Do you choose now to indulge in body-killing habits?"
Legolas shook his head and handed him the canteen, "One of your own warriors poisoned this water. It was not I…"
"How dare you accuse one of my warriors!" Nori snapped and grabbed the water skin from him. Suspiciously, he smelled it.
"Do you see now?"
"It is the caeleb-cened, the sick-sight plant," The Dwarven lord, for once, looked at the elf in pity, "This is not a simple narcotic. It takes many days to wear off, no mater what race you may be."
"Is there a quicker antidote than time?" Legolas watched the rope move more wildly as the next warrior came closer to the cave itself, "I cannot be afflicted by this now. Gimli needs my eyes…"
Nori looked at the elf as he sighed and leaned against the cavern wall. He seemed to come to grips with the fact that this elf was a dwarf-friend. Hesitantly, the older dwarf, who had been imprisoned by Legolas' father, moved to the elf's side.
Nori rested his hand on Legolas' arm, for he could not reach to his shoulder, "We will save my friend's son, elf. You need not worry about your abilities."
The elf shook his head, "Does the hate between our peoples run so deep that one of your own would poison me when I am trying to save one of their lords? Why is this so? Pray tell, Master Nori, for I do not know myself…"
Legolas sighed an looked up as Aragorn swung into the room, followed closely by Corgan, two dwarves, and two more human warriors. Aragorn noticed the water skin in Nori's hand and the slight glassiness in Legolas' eyes.
Legolas blinked.
A tentacle grew out of the wall, and reached for Aragorn's throat. The elf stepped forward with a small sigh of alarm, then Nori's grip on his forearm held him back as he blinked away the image.
"Tis an illusion, elf," The Dwarven lord grumbled, "You shall be seeing more of them until a few days has passed."
"What has happened, Legolas?" Aragorn was suspicious.
"One of the dwarves has poisoned him," Nori looked angry, "One of our own…with the caeleb-cened plant. Illusions are all he will see for the coming day or two, depending on the dose."
"Who would do this?" Aragorn demanded angrily, "We need him to save Gimli! Does the hate run so deep? A curse upon the anger of dwarves!"
"Aragorn, still yourself!"
Legolas' explosion stunned them all.
"I will not—" He stumbled forward, "—allow another fight—what is happening to me?"
He fell to one knee, his arms wrapped around his chest in pain. Corgan was the first to his side, his eyes wide, "My Lord…King Aragorn…the caeleb- cened plant is very deadly to elves! It causes not simple illusions."
"Tell me."
"An elf can consume it once. If he survives, he becomes immune to it for the rest of his life," Corgan looked very concerned, "But it may kill him. But there is no remedy, only time."
"We find Gimli," Legolas groaned, standing, "And we must hurry, for I would not fall under another illusion again."
Aragorn, though he was seized with a great concern, nodded. They rested for a few minutes, then began to slowly make their way into the depths of the tunnel. Legolas was to stay close to Aragorn, but he eventually, unwittingly, drifted back to walk beside Corgan.
"Here, I have an herb that may lessen the effects," The bard handed him a small vial of a greenish liquid, "But it may cause you to lose an edge off your sight."
"That is something I cannot risk," Legolas tried to hand it back, but the bard shook his head.
"Use it when this nightmare is over," The young man smiled slightly.
They continued to walk through the damp black stone, pausing every few hours. The tunnel led deeper and deeper into the ground, and soon, they had lost their sense of depth. The elven prince was feeling quite claustrophobic.
Finally, after several uncounted hours under the pressing stones, Aragorn called for them to rest as if it were the night. As they set up a 'cold camp,' Legolas fingered the long, thin dagger that Adunólae gave him…
He took it out of the sheath and looked at it. It was simply engraved with the elvish words for 'When all others have failed.' It was very simple, almost crude, for the leather wrapping around the handle had even become loose.
They all settled down, save for a dwarf and human guard to stand first watch. He absentmindedly unwrapped the leather. Under it was the finely wrought silver handle of a true elven blade.
Why would she hide it?
As he rewrapped the handle, he noticed a black shadow. It began to creep towards his foot, and then recoiled. It seemed to avoid his outstretched foot…
With a quick snap of his wrist, he sent Adunólae's dagger into the shadow. He blinked and the shadow disappeared, leaving the ground marred by a blade score. He shook his head as he realized that it was another illusion.
That night, he stood against seven different hallucinations, each more frightening than the one before. The last had been a disembodied Balrog head, nearly driving him to cry out.
"Come, Legolas, get them up," Aragorn's voice broke through the sleeping haze, "Are you all right?"
"Aye, my friend, I have lived through the night," He said quietly.
Then Aragorn shimmered and waved, eventually falling from sight. Confused, Legolas stood, Adunólae's dagger in his hand. He moved quickly to where Aragorn had stood only seconds ago.
"Aragorn!" He whispered urgently, trying to find his friend. He tentatively ducked into a nearby passage, hoping to find him there.
Aragorn slept peacefully on his bedroll.
Legolas stepped into a large cavernous room. There was a shallow pit of water in the center, and the surface rippled with life.
Another illusion…just like Aragorn was, He sighed and shook his head. Then his eye caught a familiar form.
Gimli sagged lifelessly against the gummy strands that held him to the wall of the cavern. His helmet laid at his feet, and the skeletons of his comrades, picked clean and bleached white, hung near him.
No, not an illusion…it cannot be a hallucination…
As he reached out, his hand passed through a strip of the gelatinous gum.
He flinched away, angry and afraid at the same time, These illusions have overtaken my mind! I cannot even see true images anymore!
In anger, he lunged forward and reached for Gimli's shoulder…
His hands felt real, warm, living flesh.
The dwarf's eyes flickered open, "Legolas…what are you…"
Legolas was so overjoyed that he almost cried. He tried to get a hold of the jelly bands that held his friend in place, but his elven hands passed through them. All he got for his work was a thin layer of slime on his fingers.
"I cannot free you!" He said, his entire being calm, "My hands pass through these bindings."
"You do not…believe in them…" Gimli sighed, his strength returning slowly, though his face was pale beneath his beard, "They are…all too real…to me…"
Legolas looked around for some way to free his friend. The long thin dagger in his hand should have worked…
But it was no where to be found!
Almost frantic inside, but utterly calm and composed on the outside, Legolas searched the cavern, barely noticing that there seemed to be a strange gray light coming from some where.
And the movement in the water did not catch his attention either.
Finally, he found the dagger and turned back to Gimli. His friend was not there!
He saw the dwarf being dragged towards the water. With fire in his eyes, he dove forward and slashed down on the tentacle.
An eerie wail shattered the silence of the cave. More tentacles exploded out of the water, slapping at them both. Legolas kept cutting at the appendage that had captured his friend.
It finally snapped.
"Gimli! Come!" Legolas hauled his friend to his feet, thankful that he was not hallucinating, "Run for the tunnel! Turn to the left and find Aragorn and the others!"
A tentacle, wet and slimy, wrapped around his waist. It squeezed suddenly, and the elf's hand sprang open unbidden, dropping the dagger to the floor.
Gimli disappeared out of the cave.
Legolas was dragged towards the water, his hands being scraped raw by his attempts at saving himself. Finally he had found a good handhold, but, nevertheless, He was jarred loose.
The cold, thick water closed over his head. As he struggled, a small tentacle touched his face, tentatively, as if curious.
Oh, Elenath, give me the strength I need to survive! He thought as he began to drown. The tentacle that had touched his cheek now probed towards his mouth. He clenched his teeth against it.
The tentacle around his waist squeezed.
He cried out involuntarily, his mouth open in an underwater scream.
The small tentacle did not wait. It thrust its way into his mouth, down his windpipe. He felt it split into two and split into each of his lungs…
The elven prince tried to cry out against the pain, but the mass in his mouth prevented anything more than water-muffled sobs.
Then he realized that he could breathe…
The elf just sighed.
Bofir stood with Aragorn and they spoke in unnecessarily low voices. Legolas heard what they spoke about, and none of it included him. A young Dwarven boy walked up to him and handed him a canteen, while other young warriors passed out the water containers.
Legolas smelled his. A sweet aroma wafted up. The young warrior looked hopefully, so Legolas tasted it and smiled, "Thank you very much."
The young warrior laughed and slipped away, leaving Legolas to his thoughts.
"Legolas?" Corgan approached him quietly, "This place…there are many evils here, true?"
"You have no idea," Legolas shook his head.
They were quiet until Aragorn stood straight and looked at them.
"Bofir will lead us to the Hall where Gimli and his group were taken from," Aragorn narrowed his eyes, "It is close to the depths where the Tomb of Balin rests. Strangely enough, the one survivor claims to have seen Balin's ghost."
"A Wight?" Corgan ventured a guess, "Possibly a Shade?"
"Possibly," Aragorn repeated the bard's words absentmindedly, "Possibly…"
"Aragorn, I would that we hurried," Legolas said quietly, his arms wrapped tightly around his chest, holding his bow close, as if for protection, "I feel the fading presence of my friend. I fear that Gimli has not much time…"
"Humph," Bofir snorted and chuckled, his eyes filled with a racist hate, "You elves know nothing of the mettle of dwarves."
"I know that stupid folk should close their mouths, ere they find themselves without a tongue," Legolas shot back without thinking, "The dwarves of the Misty Mountain were not so ignorant long ago."
Bofir's eyes narrowed.
"Please!" Aragorn snapped, "Legolas, come. We go now."
"You need a guide!" Bofir snorted, "You need me."
"No," Legolas allowed himself a smirk, "We do not. I guide these through the depths that you have spent so much time in. I know crevices that you did not dream exist."
Bofir looked ready to explode when the elf took a torch from the wall and began to lead them. He was even more enraged when the elf led them down the right tunnel.
I will kill that elf, He thought, No matter if he is friend to Lord Gimli or not…
The band passed many a working dwarf, those that cleaned, spoke, or performed other tasks. Corgan had never before seen so many of them in one place before, and he was drinking in their work songs like a sponge.
"You are enjoying this?" One of the guards asked.
"Their music, it is rough and callous, but it holds an enchanting beat," Corgan nodded, "It cannot match the beauty of elven singing, however…"
Legolas heard him, but did not make any sign that he had done so. Instead, he led them through the halls that they had passed through not that long ago. It had not been long enough…
Aragorn watched the elves with suspicious eyes. So many seemed all to willing to attack the fair elf, though they knew nothing about him. They seemed more dangerous than the Balrog…
They came to a large door that was newly build, and heavily fortified. Here was where ten dwarves guarded the entrance to Dwarrowdelf.
"We seek passage through," Aragorn spoke up, stepping around Legolas, "We are the friends of Gimli, Lord of the Glittering Caves."
"We know who you are, King Elessar," One of the lead dwarves growled, "And we know who this one is."
He pointed accusingly at Legolas, who merely stood, waiting for the dwarf to elaborate. The dwarf obliged them willingly, his tone accusing, "I was there at the Battle of the Five Armies, Prince of Elves. I know what you did there."
Aragorn looked back at Legolas, who had stiffened suddenly.
"We did not come to banter, we came here to save the life of a friend," The king of Gondor nodded his head in respect, "With your permission, may we pass?"
"We will go as well," The dwarf said simply, his white streaked beard waving with each word, "I will not allow that murderer, that traitor, that demon-spawn of the old world, no, I will not allow him to enter without my eye upon him."
"You insult a prince, dwarf, I would hold your tongue," Corgan snapped angrily.
"Elf-lover!" The old dwarf spat, "Tis a pity none of the younger dream of the strength and glory of the dwarves! Instead, they fantasize about a murderous race of twig-legs!"
Aragorn held a slightly red Corgan back, "Bard, this is not your place."
The old dwarf spat and motioned for his warriors to open the small, yet heavy doors. The group of humans went through first. When Legolas followed, after surrendering the torch to a guard, the dwarf handed the torch back, flame first.
Legolas was relieved that he had been able to grab the handle before it touched the ground.
"Ah, clumsy elf!" The oldest chuckled.
"If I may ask, what your name, master dwarf, is as I can remember who it was that causes me such embarrassment," Legolas returned quietly.
"I am Nori, the same of Thorin Oakenshield and Company," The famous and rich dwarf had obviously kept in singularly good shape, unlike a few of his companions, "I fought long and hard for many a year under the command of my dear friend Balin, til his death did he meet."
Legolas squeezed his eyes closed against the enormous size of the room. He did not want to remember the Battle, nor what had occurred there.
"Come, let us find our friend."
Aragorn led the small group, walking beside Nori, holding a torch in his upraised hand. Legolas walked slowly, his hands encumbered slightly by the torch he also wielded, until one of the guards took it, offering to carry it.
Corgan noticed that he seemed out of touch with the occurrences around him. Twice had dwarves bumped into him purposely and twice he had not noticed. The bard wanted to ask what was wrong, but he held back.
"Oh my…" Corgan's hand flew to his mouth as they approached an area where a fight had obviously occurred. There were stripped bones, still white, littering the ground, along with blackened, charred bones, and armor.
"This is where Lord Gimli was taken from," Nori groused angrily, "The creature rose out of the pits and attacked mercilessly. It had tentacles that were thicker around than I am."
Legolas started at that. What had Adunólae said…?
"What do you hear, Legolas? What do you see and smell?" Aragorn roused him from his thoughts.
Legolas concentrated for a few moments, surveying the devastation. Then he shook his head, "It was kin to the Watcher, of this I am sure. I would think that, if we wish to rescue our friend, we should pursue down the pits."
"Stupid elf! We have tried that already!" Nori laughed, his arms crossed, "There is a great chasm, and none can cross it."
Aragorn glared at the dwarf, and barely noticed Legolas approaching one of the three pits that Nori had gestured to. The elven prince examined the depths quickly, then stepped down, landing on a small ledge.
"There is a chasm here, there is no other side to it," He called back after sliding down to the edge of the gaping hole, "The beast must have continued downward further."
"Then that is where we will go," Aragorn set his jaw and the whole group converged on the pit. The dwarves were becoming obviously more wary, and their axes rested lightly in their hands.
"We have lost many a good warrior into that pit," Nori growled, "What makes you think that you will survive?"
Aragorn did not respond. Instead, he followed Legolas into the blackness.
Legolas felt much unease. This was not a place that he had been to before. Why was he here? He should have known that they would not be on the old trail of the Fellowship.
After he finished securing a rope to a solid rock, Aragorn and Corgan took a hold of it, to ensure their friend's safety.
It would take long for them to transfer everyone down the rope, if there was an end to be found. Ten dwarves, seven human guards, Corgan, Aragorn, then Legolas as well…
The elf held the rope behind his back and leaned back. He was able to walk down the steep walls of the pit by feeding the rope behind him.
Soon, the light of the torches became faint, so much that even he, as an elf, had to strain to see the rock wall in front of him. Then, his foot met nothing but air…
Legolas fell forward, hitting the wall with his hands. He knew those above him felt the jerk, but he calmed and called to them, "I am all right. There is a cave of some sort…"
"Be careful!" Corgan called down.
Legolas was almost to the end of the rope. He slipped to the end and swung into the cave. The fact that there was even a floor surprised him, but the closeness really stunned him.
He landed hard and rolled.
"Legolas!"
"I am unhurt!" He called back. Their voices sounded so far away, "I cannot see, for there is not enough light. Toss down a torch for me!"
One fell towards him and he had to lean out to catch it. He waited for the flame to flare again, then turned back to the darkness of the cave.
"Legolas, do not enter until you have someone to watch your back," Aragorn called, but the elf paid him no heed. He stooped and picked up Gimli's helmet…
…and looked up to see a slightly quivering tentacle shudder.
His eyes widened in surprise as he now smelled the scent of rotting flesh. Why did I not smell that before? There is something terribly wrong here…
He blinked…
…and the tentacle was gone.
Legolas was alone in the cave, holding a helmet sized rock in his hand. He dropped it from nerveless fingers.
"There is something wrong here…"
"Legolas!"
"I am fine! Wait! I will signal if it is safe!" Legolas sighed, and then spoke to himself, "Aragorn, you are far too worried. You will not lose Gimli, nor I. You worry far too much…"
Now he began to smell a strange scent, one that reminded him of the strange drink that that dwarf had offered him earlier…
He blinked, and a skeleton leapt out of a corner, stunning him. The bony hands still had blood staining them, and they reached for his throat. Legolas slashed at the attacker with his long-knives.
They went right through the bony ribcage. It was a hallucination.
"Why am I seeing things?" He muttered to himself and blinked the apparition away, "That dwarf poisoned me, which is why, Legolas, you fool. Your trust in Gimli led you too far into complacency…"
"Legolas!" Aragorn sounded insistent.
"Yes, it is safe! But send only the best, for I do not know how long we should stay!" Legolas waited. Strangely enough, the first being down was Nori.
"Ah, elf, it seems that we wait together until the others arrive," The dwarf screwed up his face, "I smell the scent of a drug. Do you choose now to indulge in body-killing habits?"
Legolas shook his head and handed him the canteen, "One of your own warriors poisoned this water. It was not I…"
"How dare you accuse one of my warriors!" Nori snapped and grabbed the water skin from him. Suspiciously, he smelled it.
"Do you see now?"
"It is the caeleb-cened, the sick-sight plant," The Dwarven lord, for once, looked at the elf in pity, "This is not a simple narcotic. It takes many days to wear off, no mater what race you may be."
"Is there a quicker antidote than time?" Legolas watched the rope move more wildly as the next warrior came closer to the cave itself, "I cannot be afflicted by this now. Gimli needs my eyes…"
Nori looked at the elf as he sighed and leaned against the cavern wall. He seemed to come to grips with the fact that this elf was a dwarf-friend. Hesitantly, the older dwarf, who had been imprisoned by Legolas' father, moved to the elf's side.
Nori rested his hand on Legolas' arm, for he could not reach to his shoulder, "We will save my friend's son, elf. You need not worry about your abilities."
The elf shook his head, "Does the hate between our peoples run so deep that one of your own would poison me when I am trying to save one of their lords? Why is this so? Pray tell, Master Nori, for I do not know myself…"
Legolas sighed an looked up as Aragorn swung into the room, followed closely by Corgan, two dwarves, and two more human warriors. Aragorn noticed the water skin in Nori's hand and the slight glassiness in Legolas' eyes.
Legolas blinked.
A tentacle grew out of the wall, and reached for Aragorn's throat. The elf stepped forward with a small sigh of alarm, then Nori's grip on his forearm held him back as he blinked away the image.
"Tis an illusion, elf," The Dwarven lord grumbled, "You shall be seeing more of them until a few days has passed."
"What has happened, Legolas?" Aragorn was suspicious.
"One of the dwarves has poisoned him," Nori looked angry, "One of our own…with the caeleb-cened plant. Illusions are all he will see for the coming day or two, depending on the dose."
"Who would do this?" Aragorn demanded angrily, "We need him to save Gimli! Does the hate run so deep? A curse upon the anger of dwarves!"
"Aragorn, still yourself!"
Legolas' explosion stunned them all.
"I will not—" He stumbled forward, "—allow another fight—what is happening to me?"
He fell to one knee, his arms wrapped around his chest in pain. Corgan was the first to his side, his eyes wide, "My Lord…King Aragorn…the caeleb- cened plant is very deadly to elves! It causes not simple illusions."
"Tell me."
"An elf can consume it once. If he survives, he becomes immune to it for the rest of his life," Corgan looked very concerned, "But it may kill him. But there is no remedy, only time."
"We find Gimli," Legolas groaned, standing, "And we must hurry, for I would not fall under another illusion again."
Aragorn, though he was seized with a great concern, nodded. They rested for a few minutes, then began to slowly make their way into the depths of the tunnel. Legolas was to stay close to Aragorn, but he eventually, unwittingly, drifted back to walk beside Corgan.
"Here, I have an herb that may lessen the effects," The bard handed him a small vial of a greenish liquid, "But it may cause you to lose an edge off your sight."
"That is something I cannot risk," Legolas tried to hand it back, but the bard shook his head.
"Use it when this nightmare is over," The young man smiled slightly.
They continued to walk through the damp black stone, pausing every few hours. The tunnel led deeper and deeper into the ground, and soon, they had lost their sense of depth. The elven prince was feeling quite claustrophobic.
Finally, after several uncounted hours under the pressing stones, Aragorn called for them to rest as if it were the night. As they set up a 'cold camp,' Legolas fingered the long, thin dagger that Adunólae gave him…
He took it out of the sheath and looked at it. It was simply engraved with the elvish words for 'When all others have failed.' It was very simple, almost crude, for the leather wrapping around the handle had even become loose.
They all settled down, save for a dwarf and human guard to stand first watch. He absentmindedly unwrapped the leather. Under it was the finely wrought silver handle of a true elven blade.
Why would she hide it?
As he rewrapped the handle, he noticed a black shadow. It began to creep towards his foot, and then recoiled. It seemed to avoid his outstretched foot…
With a quick snap of his wrist, he sent Adunólae's dagger into the shadow. He blinked and the shadow disappeared, leaving the ground marred by a blade score. He shook his head as he realized that it was another illusion.
That night, he stood against seven different hallucinations, each more frightening than the one before. The last had been a disembodied Balrog head, nearly driving him to cry out.
"Come, Legolas, get them up," Aragorn's voice broke through the sleeping haze, "Are you all right?"
"Aye, my friend, I have lived through the night," He said quietly.
Then Aragorn shimmered and waved, eventually falling from sight. Confused, Legolas stood, Adunólae's dagger in his hand. He moved quickly to where Aragorn had stood only seconds ago.
"Aragorn!" He whispered urgently, trying to find his friend. He tentatively ducked into a nearby passage, hoping to find him there.
Aragorn slept peacefully on his bedroll.
Legolas stepped into a large cavernous room. There was a shallow pit of water in the center, and the surface rippled with life.
Another illusion…just like Aragorn was, He sighed and shook his head. Then his eye caught a familiar form.
Gimli sagged lifelessly against the gummy strands that held him to the wall of the cavern. His helmet laid at his feet, and the skeletons of his comrades, picked clean and bleached white, hung near him.
No, not an illusion…it cannot be a hallucination…
As he reached out, his hand passed through a strip of the gelatinous gum.
He flinched away, angry and afraid at the same time, These illusions have overtaken my mind! I cannot even see true images anymore!
In anger, he lunged forward and reached for Gimli's shoulder…
His hands felt real, warm, living flesh.
The dwarf's eyes flickered open, "Legolas…what are you…"
Legolas was so overjoyed that he almost cried. He tried to get a hold of the jelly bands that held his friend in place, but his elven hands passed through them. All he got for his work was a thin layer of slime on his fingers.
"I cannot free you!" He said, his entire being calm, "My hands pass through these bindings."
"You do not…believe in them…" Gimli sighed, his strength returning slowly, though his face was pale beneath his beard, "They are…all too real…to me…"
Legolas looked around for some way to free his friend. The long thin dagger in his hand should have worked…
But it was no where to be found!
Almost frantic inside, but utterly calm and composed on the outside, Legolas searched the cavern, barely noticing that there seemed to be a strange gray light coming from some where.
And the movement in the water did not catch his attention either.
Finally, he found the dagger and turned back to Gimli. His friend was not there!
He saw the dwarf being dragged towards the water. With fire in his eyes, he dove forward and slashed down on the tentacle.
An eerie wail shattered the silence of the cave. More tentacles exploded out of the water, slapping at them both. Legolas kept cutting at the appendage that had captured his friend.
It finally snapped.
"Gimli! Come!" Legolas hauled his friend to his feet, thankful that he was not hallucinating, "Run for the tunnel! Turn to the left and find Aragorn and the others!"
A tentacle, wet and slimy, wrapped around his waist. It squeezed suddenly, and the elf's hand sprang open unbidden, dropping the dagger to the floor.
Gimli disappeared out of the cave.
Legolas was dragged towards the water, his hands being scraped raw by his attempts at saving himself. Finally he had found a good handhold, but, nevertheless, He was jarred loose.
The cold, thick water closed over his head. As he struggled, a small tentacle touched his face, tentatively, as if curious.
Oh, Elenath, give me the strength I need to survive! He thought as he began to drown. The tentacle that had touched his cheek now probed towards his mouth. He clenched his teeth against it.
The tentacle around his waist squeezed.
He cried out involuntarily, his mouth open in an underwater scream.
The small tentacle did not wait. It thrust its way into his mouth, down his windpipe. He felt it split into two and split into each of his lungs…
The elven prince tried to cry out against the pain, but the mass in his mouth prevented anything more than water-muffled sobs.
Then he realized that he could breathe…