Inside the dragon's cave, Legolas thought he heard Terrico. He peeked out of the cave, but saw only his guardian and Atten coming up the path. As far as he could see and hear, there was no one else. Atten came up to him. "She has gone to Driikk, and he has taken her. We must act quickly." Legolas looked confused. "Terrico, you dolt! Get moving!" The dragon brought him Terrico's staff. It held it as reverently in its jaws. Legolas took it from the dragon. The gem glowed faintly and he heard a voice in his head, "I am Terrico's staff. I have decided to allow you to bear me until you return me to Terrico. I can show you where she is, but I cannot break the spell that is now on her mind. I need you to help me." Legolas was surprised to be able to hear the words of the staff, as normally this only occurred between the staff and its owner. Atten explained Driikk's spell to Legolas, and told him that they only had until the night before the next full moon. "Driikk's spell runs out an hour before the spell to summon Sauron is complete. He will be watching Terrico closely during the spell. Our best chance is to get there as fast as possible. The next full moon is in three days, so we only have two." Atten looked worried. He turned to Legolas. "Have you ever used magic?" Legolas looked at him oddly. "No, never. It is forbidden that the royalty of Mirkwood have any association with magic, so I am right now breaking a lot of rules." Atten shook his head. He said something that Legolas didn't understand. He began to grow. Within seconds he was as tall as Legolas, and looked for the most part like a man, but he still had his white fur, although now it was short and sleek. His face had no hair on it, and looked human, but his nose was very small and his face had a very catty appearance. His ears were still cat's ears, and sat on the top of his head. His tail was thick and long, ending with a bit of a fluff. His hands had shorter fingers, and at the tips protruded long, sharp claws. Atten was indeed a Panterror. The transformation back to his true form startled Legolas, and he realized how good of a name his race had been given. Atten told the dragon that had been watching everything to go and tell the other dragons to prepare to again siege on the mountains. The dragon bowed to Atten and ran off. Atten turned to Legolas. "We haven't much time."
Deep in the South Mountains, all of the goblins and orcs were celebrating. Terrico and Balen sat on a raised platform in the main cavern. Terrico's eyes glowed orange, indicating that she was still under Driikk's control. Balen had shut his eyes. The spell on him had broken hours before, but he refused to desert Terrico. Driikk thought he still controlled Balen. "I told you that you'd be just like your mother!" Driikk laughed, taunting Terrico because he knew she could not move. Deep inside Terrico's now-black mind, a little bit of light shone. It grew stronger with every word. Driikk taunted for a few more minutes, then left to chase some goblin females that had walked by. Balen was disgusted. He planned to go and get Terrico's staff after everyone had fallen asleep or passed out. He didn't have to wait long. Driikk shut himself up in his quarters, and put a magic cage on Terrico to prevent her from being rescued. Balen knew that trying to take her was a bad idea anyhow. After all of the goblins and orcs were out cold, Balen began to move. The goblins had been so sure of victory they'd brought out their strongest liquors. The goblins and orcs were so far out that no one woke up when Balen walked across them, killing a good hundred as he trudged across the room to the exit. No guards were at the entrance to the caves, but Balen knew that even if there had been, the alarm would have fallen on deaf ears. He gave a bit of a snort, setting a nearby orc on fire. He then left and followed the scent of Legolas down into the woods. When he found Legolas and Atten walking toward the caves, he called out. "Hello, friends of Terrico! Do not be afraid!" Of course, Legolas was a second away from wetting himself. It was natural that elves feared balrogs, and Legolas was not an exception to the rule that there wasn't a single elf that could face a balrog and not run, faint, or wet himself. Legolas fainted. Terrico's staff glowed and revived Legolas. Atten covered his eyes. "If you do that again, I'll make you wish you'd never seen a balrog." "Too late. I already wish I'd never seen a balrog." Atten sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought. "Gimli the dwarf mastered his fear of Balen, why can't you?" Legolas was slowly relaxing. "I'm an ELF. Elves do NOT like BALROGS!" Balen snorted, and Legolas jumped. Atten put a claw to his throat. "If you do not run or faint when I take my paw off, I won't kill you. Balen's not going to hurt you. I don't know why Terrico chose a balrog to tame, but she did. If you really want to marry her, and rescue her, you're going to have to face your fear." Legolas swallowed hard. "I'll try." Atten let Legolas get up. Legolas looked at Balen and tried to think of it being nice, letting Terrico pet its head. The staff glowed and Legolas saw Terrico at the Council. He saw Balen acting like a regular balrog, but much tamer. He was lying there, letting Terrico pet him and bridle him. He acted as gentle as any of his father's horses. Legolas felt his fear dissipating. "Ok, I'm fine now." Legolas even got up the courage to pet Balen. Atten smiled and spoke to Balen. "Did you come from the caves?" "Yes, and all of the goblins are out cold. I stomped a bunch on the way out and no one woke up. Driikk's put a cage on Terrico, though. I don't know when he plans to open it." Atten thought for a moment. "He's probably got the cave rigged to trap us or some other similar fate." Balen shook his head. "She is still very much under his power. I think that he would probably have her attack us, knowing that we would not dare to hurt our friend." Legolas shuddered. He knew he could never hurt Terrico. Balen looked back into the forest, towards the village. "Has anyone alerted them?" Atten nodded and motioned back towards the empty dragon cave. Legolas fingered the staff in his hands. Atten noticed his nervousness. He began to walk up to the caves. "We do not have much time left." Balen bent down and picked up Legolas. He put Legolas on his shoulders. Legolas understood that Balen meant to protect him. Balrogs are naturally resistant to fire magic, and that was exactly the type of magic Terrico excelled at. Balen could take hits from Terrico almost forever, as the fire barely hurt him and sometimes could even heal him. The trio continued on toward the South Mountains. They did not know if they could succeed, but they had to try. On the way, Legolas heard the staff tell him how to break the control spell on Terrico. "You have to get her to respond to you, just a little bit. Then, give me to her. I will finish the breaking of the spell." Legolas nodded and the staff fell silent again. The ruby at the top glowed slightly. As the trio walked toward the Mountains, they walked through the battlefield when Legolas had been captured. Legolas shuddered when he saw the remains of the snare he'd run into. The ground below it was still red with blood. They continued on, stopping occasionally to check goblin and orc bodies for useful or valuable items. They found a few short swords that were good sizes for hobbits. Legolas picked up an elvish sword and many arrows. His weapons were lost, taken by the goblins. He also found another bow, very similar to his own, but it had different markings. Atten picked up a dagger and a short sword. Now that they were better armed, they continued on a bit faster. They got to the Mountains that evening. They hid at the mouth of the caves, listening. The armies inside were starting to wake up. They decided to wait until everyone settled back down for the night.