Chapter 9
Battle in the Dark
As the Fellowship walked through the darkness of Moria, Kalan lagged farther and farther behind. He was getting dizzy and stumbled along weakly. Legolas turned and saw Kalan struggling. The boy looked worse for wear, his face was pale, almost deathly and he was sweating fiercely. Though he looked sick, those strange, silver darted about the shadows, watching for anything, or for nothing.. The elf called for a halt and ran back for Kalan. He took the boy's arm in hand, making him stop. "Kalan, we can stop if you need to," he offered. Kalan, his posture betraying his weakened and diminished state, shook his head.
"No, the sooner we get out of this dark, the better," he said softly. By now, the others had joined them. Gimli grunted.
"Afraid of the dark?" he asked gruffly, but without any malice. Kalan pinned him with his silver gaze.
"I'm a bloody light-dragon, what do you think?" he took a breath. "Darkness is my one weakness; it drains me of my power, the Light that I give off, that keeps me alive, making me weaker." His legs shook and he would have fallen if not for the elf holding him. Legolas took Kalan's arm and placed it around his shoulders, supporting him. "We have to go on, keep going. I'll be fine once I get outside," Kalan said. They did so.
They came upon a room, a stone alter in the middle, light streamed onto its surface from a hole in the roof far above. Gimli, distraught, knelt beside the alter..no, coffin. Runes were engraved onto its surface. "Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria," intoned Gandalf. "I'm sorry, Gimli," he said, sympathetically.
Legolas sat Kalan beside the alter, the boy all but drinking in the light. In a few seconds, he looked almost back to normal. "Gimli, I'm sorry. I never knew him, but I feel your pain like a dagger in my heart. But honor him with the success of this quest," he said softly. Gimli looked upon him with sad eyes but nodded.
Gandalf found a large tome and was reading from it, his voice low and foreboding. "We cannot get out, they have taken the bridge. Drums, drums in the deep, a shadow moves. We cannot get out. They are coming." CRASH! Everyone jumped and Gandalf turned to the source of the noise-a wide-eyed Took.
Pippin stood cringing as the banging continued. It was evident that the young hobbit had knocked something into the well; he flinched each time it banged. Finally it stopped and everyone stood still in anticipation and fear. Finally, Gandalf spoke. "Fool of a Took!" he said in a harsh whisper. "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!" he turned but a sound stopped him. Boom. A deep, rumbling sound from the well. Boom. Again. All eyes turned to the well. Boom. Boom. Doom. Boom. And a screech of hellish creatures.
"Orcs!" cried Legolas. Boromir ran to the door to close it. An arrow struck the wood and inch from his nose. Aragorn helped him shut the great doors, using two huge axes as bars. There was a great roar. "They have a cave troll," said Boromir, exasperated.
Kalan got to his feet, the light returning his eyes. "Stay close to Gandalf!" he said to the hobbits and drew his sword. Aragorn and Legolas each notched an arrow to their bows and were poised to release. Boromir had his own blade ready, as did Gandalf. An axe cut through the door and Legolas shot and arrow through the hole. An orc screeched in pain and the elf reloaded. "Here they come," cried Kalan as the door broke down. The orcs rushed in, bearing scythes, scimitars, clubs and blades. Gimli brandished his axe, screaming a battle cry. The each broke off, fighting their own group. Aragorn was backed into a corner, wielding his sword in front of him. One orc jumped forward only to his head severed from its body. Even Gandalf had caused the death of many orcs by his sword Glamdring. The hobbits too had joined into the fray, using their long knives as swords.
Kalan swung his sword around, orcs dropping like flies around him. His sword danced around his body, slicing through armor and flesh. His concentration was interrupted by a cry from his right. Silver eyes darted to the source of the sound and saw Sam standing there, petrified. The ground shook. The wall came crashing down and the cave troll burst into the room. Standing at least ten feet high, its great mass seemed virtually unstoppable. A chain encircled his neck and it wielded a huge club. "Sam! Get out of the way!" he cried, trying to break the hobbit out of his terror. Sam just stared up in shacked horror as the troll advanced on him. "SAM!" screamed Kalan. He decapitated an orc and cut the legs out from under another. The youth rushed toward the terrified hobbit. The troll raised its club to bring it smashing down on Sam. Kalan ran straight into the hobbit, pushing them both out of the way before the club struck them. Kalan dragged the shaking hobbit to his feet by the cloak. "Are you alright?" he asked. Sam managed a nod. An orc rushed at them but Kalan's sword cut him in two. "Go, stay with Frodo!" he pushed Sam in the direction of his friend.
Legolas shot an arrow at the troll from where he stood upon a ledge. It bounced harmlessly off the tough hide, but it was enough to draw its attention. Kalan turned to the elf and the oncoming troll. "Legolas! Look out, watch its chain!" whether the elf had heard him or not there was no telling. The monster advanced on the elf, angered. It swung the chain, but Legolas nimbly leapt out of the way. It swung again, hitting the stone pillar to Legolas's left but missing him entirely. Once again the chair came at him, but got wrapped around a pillar. Legolas pressed his foot onto the chain, trapping it there. Then he deftly leapt across the chain like a tightrope and onto the troll's head. He drew his bow back and shot an arrow through the troll's skull. The thing screamed in rage and pain and reached back for the elf but his leapt off before it could touch him. Kalan smirked to himself and turned back to the battle at hand.
The troll whirled his head in rage, but it caught sight of a small figure jumping behind a pillar. Frodo was hiding behind a stone pillar, shaking, knowing the troll was around looking for him. Suddenly a huge roar erupted and the troll's ugly face appeared. He screamed and the troll reached for him. Frodo struck at it with Sting, his elven long knife, but he tripped and fell to the floor. The troll grabbed the hobbit by his leg and dragged him toward itself. "Aragorn! Someone help!" he screamed and stabbed it with Sting causing the troll to release him.
Kalan turned at Frodo's call from where he was fighting off more orcs. He saw the troll grabbing at the hobbit and became enraged. "Frodo!" he cried and finished off the last orc, running toward his friend. Aragorn reached Frodo first, brandishing a spear. He thrust the weapon into the troll's tough hide, but it did little damage. The troll swung his great, tree-trunk like arm, swatting the man aside. Frodo struggled to get to Aragorn's side, but the troll took the fallen spear and knocked the hobbit back. Frodo watched in horror as the troll drew the spear back. "Frodo! No!" he heard Kalan scream. But the troll thrust the spear forward. Frodo gasped, his eyes wide, a pain in his chest and he couldn't get a breath. "NO!!" once again hearing Kalan's outrage. Frodo's vision darkened and floor rushed up to meet him.
Hey! Look, I live!!! trying to get back into writing this fic and the sequal. No better way then to do some renovations! Paragraphs! Who would'a thunk it