As so many of you took the time to review the last chapter and most of you begged for a quick update I wanted to say thank you to all of you with fulfilling this wish...
So keep the reviews coming !!! :-)
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They had ventured into the dark to find the creature that had caused death to two of their own. They had not known what they would find, but somehow evil always seems to be associated with ugliness and darkness.
But the being in front of them was nothing they would have imagined to be the cause of such terrible death.
Small it was, not even the size of a dwarf and of light build, almost fragile. Its skin was almost white, reflecting the light of the torches they carried. It had no hair but its face held a beauty that made them stare in awe. It was not the pure beauty of the elves but nothing like anything they had seen before.
Its eyes were closed and it did not seem to take notice of the five dwarves only a few feet away. They stood mesmerized, still clutching their weapons but not advancing further.
It seemed impossible that a creature like this could be the source of what had happened.
But then one of its eyes opened to look at them and they found themselves caught in the stare. It was completely black, sowing no trace of white around the pupil.
And all of a sudden the whole atmosphere changed as a wave of evil seemed to emit from it and wash over the five dwarves.
Any doubt that had started to form was swept away.
With a hoarse cry the first dwarf raised his axe to move in on the creature that had made no move so far.
But he had taken no more than two steps when he felt a wave of terror seize his heart and the axe slipped from trembling fingers. He was no coward and had proven it before but the onslaught of emotions was not to be overcome.
It never moved as it used its ability to strike terror in the dwarves' hearts. Annoyed at being interrupted in breaking the elf it intended to finish them quickly but found it a harder task than it would have thought. They were five and it still kept part of his mind on the elf, never letting go of its grip on him.
Finally the dwarves recoiled, cowering away in fear they could not control.
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For a moment Legolas could feel the intensity of the attack lessen and he struggled to get free, to reach a higher level of awareness of his surroundings. His grip on reality had faded and he desperately tried to regain it.
For a moment he thought he could feel strong arms holding him that did not belong to the memories it had forced upon him. They offered strength and support but the feeling faded as quickly as it had come when he found himself caught in another memory of a desperate fight in the dark. Strong hands held him down and pain flared through him.
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He had thought to see a change in the elf's eyes but it was quickly gone.
Gimli shifted and the fingers of his right hand found the strap that held Legolas' quiver on his back. He undid it and managed to slip it off without moving the elf too much. Then he lowered the prone form down to the floor, laying him on his back.
He could hear movement behind him but kept his attention on his friend, taking no notice of Gudin who took the quiver to carefully place it next to the forgotten bow.
It seemed an eternity ago that his comrades had left but he knew it to only be a few minutes.
His fingers closed around a cold wrist, feeling the weak sign of life pulsing there. Legolas heartbeat was slow and he could almost feel the weakness of his body. This could not go on much longer, the elf was almost completely drained.
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Footsteps echoed loudly as the second group advancing through the western passage did not try for silence but hurried along. If they had been asked for the reason it would have been concern for their five comrades that had gone ahead as none of them would have confessed that it might have been concern for the one elf that they had all seen to be in grave danger. But still they made haste and passed through the darkness much quicker than the five that had gone here before.
The sight that greeted them told clearly that they had not arrived a minute too early. The five had sunken to the floor, their strength sucked away.
There was no moment of doubt or uncertainty of what was the cause. Nothing might cause a dwarf to become enraged more quickly than attacking one of his own.
So it were twelve opponents the creature faced now and they did not hesitate to move in on it. Relaying on how it had been able to overcome the five it refused to even now give up its hold on the elf to turn its full attention on the dwarves and maybe this is were it made a fatal error.
For it is never wise to underestimate a dwarf.
The wave of evil again caused fear and terror to rise in their hearts but an enraged dwarf is not so easily stopped.
'Use the fire!' Gloin called out as he himself moved closer to the creature. For a moment he recoiled as another wave of darkness hit him and he could feel his body shaking as mindless fear gripped him. But it passed and he had not lost his torch nor did it stop him in his advance. This was the creature that had caused death and pain to his people and deep grief to his own son.
It realized its error as it could feel that its powers were not strong enough to deal with all of them at once. It tried to correct its mistake, to let go of the elf and turn its full attention on the dwarves.
But even as it came to this decision it was already too late as Gloin had thrown his torch at it. Two other dwarves followed his example and the creature shrieked in surprise as its dark cloak caught fire as well as other parts of its clothing.
The shriek turned to a howl of anguish as the fire spread unnaturally quick. It was the one thing it feared above all others and for a good reason for fire was the one thing it was vulnerable to. Not made from flesh and bone as any other living being fire would devour it quickly and completely.
The dwarves stood in shocked silence as the creature before them caught fire like a dry twig and its voice rose in a shrill cry of agony and death.
@@@
Once more the onslaught seemed to lessen and Legolas tried to find something, anything to hold on to. A memory of Greenwood rose, the trees and the beauty of his home standing clearly before his eyes and he clung to it ere it could be ripped away from him again to be distorted and estranged to be used against him.
Instead he could feel the darkness starting to lift but he was too weak to push it further away.
Than it all changed to an image of burning flames and terrible agony and even as a shrill cry filled his ears his own voice rose as fire filled his mind and the searing pain of burning alive.
@@@
The elf had lain unmoving for so long that the sudden jerk of his body took Gimli by surprise.
A howl echoed through the room coming from deep inside the mountain, changing to a shrill cry of pain and agony.
But it was drowned out by the cry coming from Legolas lips, as the elf let out a scream of his own.
There was a moment of shock ere Gimli reacted. Than he moved quickly, trying to hold the twitching body still, calling out the elf's name in desperation. The horrible sound of agony brought tears to his eyes as one of his strong arms wrapped over Legolas, holding him as the elf's body tightened as if in unbearable pain. His fair face was twisted beyond recognition, his eyes wide and mirroring the agony in his voice.
Gudin had backed away in shock but his eyes never left the two figures on the ground. He could hear Gimli crying the elf's name again and again through the sound of Legolas' cry mixing with the one coming from the western passage.
Then abruptly silence fell and Legolas body went limp and still again under Gimli's arm.
In the sudden quiet all that registered to Gimli's mind was that he could no longer feel the weak pulse underneath his fingers that had never left the elf's slender wrist.
So keep the reviews coming !!! :-)
_____
They had ventured into the dark to find the creature that had caused death to two of their own. They had not known what they would find, but somehow evil always seems to be associated with ugliness and darkness.
But the being in front of them was nothing they would have imagined to be the cause of such terrible death.
Small it was, not even the size of a dwarf and of light build, almost fragile. Its skin was almost white, reflecting the light of the torches they carried. It had no hair but its face held a beauty that made them stare in awe. It was not the pure beauty of the elves but nothing like anything they had seen before.
Its eyes were closed and it did not seem to take notice of the five dwarves only a few feet away. They stood mesmerized, still clutching their weapons but not advancing further.
It seemed impossible that a creature like this could be the source of what had happened.
But then one of its eyes opened to look at them and they found themselves caught in the stare. It was completely black, sowing no trace of white around the pupil.
And all of a sudden the whole atmosphere changed as a wave of evil seemed to emit from it and wash over the five dwarves.
Any doubt that had started to form was swept away.
With a hoarse cry the first dwarf raised his axe to move in on the creature that had made no move so far.
But he had taken no more than two steps when he felt a wave of terror seize his heart and the axe slipped from trembling fingers. He was no coward and had proven it before but the onslaught of emotions was not to be overcome.
It never moved as it used its ability to strike terror in the dwarves' hearts. Annoyed at being interrupted in breaking the elf it intended to finish them quickly but found it a harder task than it would have thought. They were five and it still kept part of his mind on the elf, never letting go of its grip on him.
Finally the dwarves recoiled, cowering away in fear they could not control.
@@@
For a moment Legolas could feel the intensity of the attack lessen and he struggled to get free, to reach a higher level of awareness of his surroundings. His grip on reality had faded and he desperately tried to regain it.
For a moment he thought he could feel strong arms holding him that did not belong to the memories it had forced upon him. They offered strength and support but the feeling faded as quickly as it had come when he found himself caught in another memory of a desperate fight in the dark. Strong hands held him down and pain flared through him.
@@@
He had thought to see a change in the elf's eyes but it was quickly gone.
Gimli shifted and the fingers of his right hand found the strap that held Legolas' quiver on his back. He undid it and managed to slip it off without moving the elf too much. Then he lowered the prone form down to the floor, laying him on his back.
He could hear movement behind him but kept his attention on his friend, taking no notice of Gudin who took the quiver to carefully place it next to the forgotten bow.
It seemed an eternity ago that his comrades had left but he knew it to only be a few minutes.
His fingers closed around a cold wrist, feeling the weak sign of life pulsing there. Legolas heartbeat was slow and he could almost feel the weakness of his body. This could not go on much longer, the elf was almost completely drained.
@@@
Footsteps echoed loudly as the second group advancing through the western passage did not try for silence but hurried along. If they had been asked for the reason it would have been concern for their five comrades that had gone ahead as none of them would have confessed that it might have been concern for the one elf that they had all seen to be in grave danger. But still they made haste and passed through the darkness much quicker than the five that had gone here before.
The sight that greeted them told clearly that they had not arrived a minute too early. The five had sunken to the floor, their strength sucked away.
There was no moment of doubt or uncertainty of what was the cause. Nothing might cause a dwarf to become enraged more quickly than attacking one of his own.
So it were twelve opponents the creature faced now and they did not hesitate to move in on it. Relaying on how it had been able to overcome the five it refused to even now give up its hold on the elf to turn its full attention on the dwarves and maybe this is were it made a fatal error.
For it is never wise to underestimate a dwarf.
The wave of evil again caused fear and terror to rise in their hearts but an enraged dwarf is not so easily stopped.
'Use the fire!' Gloin called out as he himself moved closer to the creature. For a moment he recoiled as another wave of darkness hit him and he could feel his body shaking as mindless fear gripped him. But it passed and he had not lost his torch nor did it stop him in his advance. This was the creature that had caused death and pain to his people and deep grief to his own son.
It realized its error as it could feel that its powers were not strong enough to deal with all of them at once. It tried to correct its mistake, to let go of the elf and turn its full attention on the dwarves.
But even as it came to this decision it was already too late as Gloin had thrown his torch at it. Two other dwarves followed his example and the creature shrieked in surprise as its dark cloak caught fire as well as other parts of its clothing.
The shriek turned to a howl of anguish as the fire spread unnaturally quick. It was the one thing it feared above all others and for a good reason for fire was the one thing it was vulnerable to. Not made from flesh and bone as any other living being fire would devour it quickly and completely.
The dwarves stood in shocked silence as the creature before them caught fire like a dry twig and its voice rose in a shrill cry of agony and death.
@@@
Once more the onslaught seemed to lessen and Legolas tried to find something, anything to hold on to. A memory of Greenwood rose, the trees and the beauty of his home standing clearly before his eyes and he clung to it ere it could be ripped away from him again to be distorted and estranged to be used against him.
Instead he could feel the darkness starting to lift but he was too weak to push it further away.
Than it all changed to an image of burning flames and terrible agony and even as a shrill cry filled his ears his own voice rose as fire filled his mind and the searing pain of burning alive.
@@@
The elf had lain unmoving for so long that the sudden jerk of his body took Gimli by surprise.
A howl echoed through the room coming from deep inside the mountain, changing to a shrill cry of pain and agony.
But it was drowned out by the cry coming from Legolas lips, as the elf let out a scream of his own.
There was a moment of shock ere Gimli reacted. Than he moved quickly, trying to hold the twitching body still, calling out the elf's name in desperation. The horrible sound of agony brought tears to his eyes as one of his strong arms wrapped over Legolas, holding him as the elf's body tightened as if in unbearable pain. His fair face was twisted beyond recognition, his eyes wide and mirroring the agony in his voice.
Gudin had backed away in shock but his eyes never left the two figures on the ground. He could hear Gimli crying the elf's name again and again through the sound of Legolas' cry mixing with the one coming from the western passage.
Then abruptly silence fell and Legolas body went limp and still again under Gimli's arm.
In the sudden quiet all that registered to Gimli's mind was that he could no longer feel the weak pulse underneath his fingers that had never left the elf's slender wrist.