A/N; Speaking in this, If people say something that is in the book, aside
from one exception they will say it word-for-word, I'm not ripping from the
book, why would Tolkien write them saying something if he meant them to say
something else? I've seen a lot of flames for people who've done that so
just.. don't. Although I'm expecting a helluva lot more flames from here
on in.
SECOND A/N; It was my birthday last Saturday, which is why this was late coming out. n_n sorry everyone!
THANK YOUS-
kristendotcom, ummm, *keeps going* n_n thanks for reviewing, I try to make my chapters as long as I can without people falling asleep. But perhaps Ch3 could have been longer.. then again it was pretty pointless so..
lady_of_darkness, glad you like, I aim to please and it's always nice to get positive feedback- hope you're reading this n_n
Nefertare, wow. I'm glad you like the story that much, and since you added me to your fav. Authors AND fav stories list, PLUS asked me to tell you when I post the next chapter, This chapter is dedicated to you. n_n thanks!
Akima, wow, another good review. Seriously, I am so proud, you can use me to see down dark allies, so here it is, the next chapter, ciao
:), Did you use a thesaurus or something. o_O;;;
Aithril-The-Elf-Maiden, talk about it, you should try getting to school around where I live, frost and snow everywhere in Winter, and I have to walk down 3 slopes. Crappy english weather. n_n thanks, I'm really proud of my story, that's why I'm actually writing it. Normally I would have given up by now!
Before the company left, ten in all and a pony called Bill, Elrond called them to him,
"This is my last word," he said in a low voice. "The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need. The others go with him as free companions, to help him out on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw, yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road." At this Gimli looked annoyed
"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens" He said
"Maybe," said Elrond, "But let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall."
"Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart" said Gimli
"Or break it," said Elrond. "Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts! Farewell and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!"
Leiya smiled secretly. So the other members of the fellowship did not know of her orders. This much was clear from the speech Elrond had made. A small halfling stood by Elrond rubbing his hands together with a look of excitement and disappointment on his face.
"Good .. Good luck!" He cried, stuttering with the cold, and then they were on their way, leaving to further shouting from the halfling about keeping diaries or some such.
At the Ford of Bruinen they left the road and turned south. They wanted to keep left of the mountains for as long as possible, they knew that their going would be slow this way, but in not taking a more direct path they hoped to escape the watchful eyes of the spies of Sauron.
Gandalf and Aragorn went in front to lead the way, with the little ones in the middle with Borromir and Leiya. Legolas brought up the rear. With his keen Elf eyes that was where he was most needed and useful. The journey was endless and boring, with much looking behind them and not enough looking ahead. Leiya doubted any of them would remember much of it, except the piercing cold from the mountains to the east. The days were weary and soon everyone was feeling dirty, whether from the intense cold or the sleeping fully clothed at noon or the hiding in bushes or the mediocre food, each had their reasons, but each felt it, aside maybe from Aragorn who was likely used to such conditions, and Gandalf who, as a wizard, probably had never felt such a thing in his life.
Within two weeks they reached the borders of Hollin, or Eregion as Leiya knew it. Or had known it, for it was well known and visited by Elves and Men long ago when times were not so dark. The weather had improved, the wind having fallen and the sun disrobed herself finally from the shrouding cloak of clouds that they had seen nothing but for the last fortnight, and now a merrier mood was on the troupe of adventurers, save Gandalf who forewarned them of danger yet to come.
"-turned eastwards in the night" Pippin finished a sentence that Leiya wasn't listening to. She broke herself from her meditative thoughts to do so now, and noticed that all the company seemed to be craning towards the little group of halflings.
"No" said Gandalf, "But you see further ahead in the clear light. Beyond those peaks the range bends round south-west. There are many maps in Elrond's house, but I suppose you never thought to look at them?"
"Yes I did, sometimes," said Pippin "But I don't remember them, Frodo has a better head for that sort of thing"
"I need no map" announced Gimli, with a strange sort of light in his eyes, which Leiya read as pride and awe. "There is the land where our fathers worked of old, and we have wrought the image of those mountains into many works of metal and of stone and into many songs and tales. They stand tall in our dreams: Baraz, Zirak, Shathûr.
"Only once before have I seen them from afar in waking life, but I know them and their names, for under them lies Khazad-dûm, the Darrowdelf, that is now called the black pit, Moria in the Elvish tongue. Yonder stands Barazinbar, the Redhorn, cruel Caradhras; and beyond him are Silvertine and Cloudyhead: Celebdil the White, and Fanduidhol the Grey, that we call Zirak- zigil and Bundushathûr.
"There the Misty Mountains divide, and between their arms lies the deep- shadowed valley that we cannot forget: Azanulbizar, the Dimrill Dale, which the Elves call Nanduhirion." To this proud speech, Gandalf gave a single nod
"It is for the Dimrill Dale that we are making" He announced wisely "If we climb the pass that is called the Redhorn Gate, under the far side of Caradhras, we shall come down by the Dimrill Stair into the deepvale of the Dwarves. There lies Mirrormere and there the River Silverload rises in its icy springs." "Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram," said Gimli, in a voice so filled with morbidity and fear that Leiya was chilled to the bone "And cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla. My heart trembles at the thought that I may see them soon.
"May you have joy of the sight, my good Dwarf!" said Gandalf. "But whatever we may do we at least cannot stay in that valley. We must go down the Silverlode into the secret woods, and so to the Great River, and then-" He paused
"Yes, and where then?" Asked Merry.
"To the end of the journey- in the end," said Gandalf "We cannot look too far ahead. Let us be glad that the first stage is safely over. I think we will rest here, not only today, but tonight as well. There is a wholesome air about Hollin. Much evil must befall a country before it wholly forgets the Elves, if once they dwelt there."
"That is true," Said Legolas. "But the Elves of this land were of a race strange to us of the silvan folk, and the trees and grass do not now remember the, only do I hear the stones lament them." And with this he repeated what had been going through Leiya's head since they arrived and conjuring up memories she was unaware she had,
/Deep they delved us, far they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone./
"They are gone. They sought the Havens long ago." Legolas finished sadly.
That morning, breakfast was a happy occasion, only slightly spoiled by Aragorn's constant itch to be moving. Soon the ranger moved away from the merry company and stood awhile, leaning against a thick oak, looking towards the south-west, in a position that suggested he was searching for a sound on the air. After a short time, he returned to the laughing happy crowd of Halflings, Elves, Dwarves and Men, a frown plastered across his face, still appearing to be listening.
"What is the matter, Strider?" Merry called up "What are you looking for? Do you miss the East Wind?"
"No indeed," He answered, a troubled look still across his features, "but I miss something. I have been in the country of Hollin in many seasons. No folk dwell here now, but many other creatures live here at all times, especially birds. Yet now all things but you are silent. I can feel it. There is no sound for miles about us and your voices seem to make the ground echo. I do not understand it."
Gandalf looked up with sudden interest. "But what do you guess is the reason?" He asked. "Is there more in it than surprise at seeing four hobbits, not to mention the rest of us, where people are so seldom seen or heard?"
I hope that is it" answered Aragorn, "But I have a sense of watchfulness, and of fear, that I have never had here before."
"Then we must be more careful" said Gandalf. "If you bring a ranger with you, it is well to pay attention to him, especially if the ranger is Aragorn. We must stop talking aloud, rest quietly, and set the watch."
Sam took the first watch, joined by Aragorn, while others made a good attempt at sleep. Then the silence grew until even Sam felt it. The breathing of the sleepers could be plainly heard. The swish of the pony's tail and the occasional movements of his feet became loud noises. Sam could hear his own joints creaking, if he stirred. Dead silence was around him, and over all hung a clear blue sky, as the Sun rode up from the East. Away in the South a dark patch appeared, and grew, and drove north like flying smoke in the wind.
"What's that, Strider? It don't look like a cloud," Sam whispered to Aragorn, who was intently scrutinising the mass of sky above them; but Sam didn't need an answer as soon he could see the 'cloud' well, it was no cloud but a mass of great black birds, screeching and wheeling and searching from their vantage point in the sky; and they were steadily drawing nearer.
"Lie flat and still!" hissed Aragorn, when a regiment of the birds broke suddenly from the main host and flew directly towards the ridge. Hidden in the cool shade of a holly-bush, Sam watched as they passed overhead, in a throng so dense they cast a deep, black shadow on the ground below them, and uttered a single, harsh croak.
Long after the sky was again clear, Aragorn emerged into the sunlight and woke the sleeping wizard,
"Regiments of black crows are flying all over the land between the Mountains and the Greyflood," he explained, "and they have passed over Hollin. They are not natives here; they are crebain, out of Fangorn and Dunland. I do not know what they are about; possibly there is some trouble away south from which they are fleeing; but I think that they are spying out the land. I have also glimpsed many hawks flying high up in the sky. I think we ought to move again this evening. Hollin is no longer wholesome for us: it is being watched."
And in that case so is the Redhorn Gate" said Gandalf "and how we can get over that without being seen, I cannot imagine. But we will think of that when we must. As for moving as soon as it is dark, I am afraid that you are right."
"Luckily our fire made little smoke, and burned low before the crebain came," said Aragorn. "It must be put out and not lit again"
The minute Leiya opened her eyes she was told of the news. Her brows furrowed in concern, but she did not look particularly surprised.
"I was expecting, hoping even, to move soon anyway. A silence takes this place and I do not much care for the feel of it. How many others know of our plans to move?" was her only response to news of the crebain.
"Aragorn, Sam, Borromir, Gimli and myself" answered Gandalf.
"You forget me too easily" Smiled Legolas, from his perch on a stone. Rising from it elegantly he continued "Though, who knows, it may be easy to do so, I am more stealthy than some. I have now listened to the story four times over and am not surprised either. Much like the Maiden from Mirkwood I felt the pressing silence. I saw the crebain approach earlier, whilst exploring the terrain, I fear it is a terrible omen of things to come, and so suggest we move as soon as we can" With this he walked off to tell the hobbits of their plans.
"Maiden from Mirkwood?" Leiya asked him later, after all the hobbits were awake and merrily complaining "You have given me a nickname?"
"Yes" he answered "Do you like it?"
"It certainly.. Alliterates" she answered. Truthfully she found it to be unimaginative and unnecessarily long, it was easier just to say 'Leiya'
"You hate it" He answered, a wicked gleam showing in his eye "Fine.. I dub thee.. The Murky Maiden!"
Leiya smiled "It is truly an honour to have. wait! You are a prince, am I right?"
"Yes" answered Legolas, not quite sure where this was leading
"You word is law?"
"To citizens of Mirkwood, I suppose, yes"
"So when you dub someone something, that is officially their title"
"Eheh.. oops?" He offered, a red tint entering his cheeks
"LEGOLAS GREENLEAF, I AM GOING TO DISEMBOWEL YOU AND FEED YOUR INTESTINES TO A BEAR!" She roared. Advancing on the poor prince, who was attempting to back away, with great difficulty as he found himself backing into the rock he had been sitting on earlier.
The day was spent in good humour, the company hiding and swapping stories beside what would be the fire- if they were allowed to light a fire that is, until finally the sun disappeared and the stars came out one by one. In this light they moved on, guided once again by Aragorn along a road, or what had been a road, it had now worn away, cracked and tilted. It had been broad though, and sturdy. Leiya noticed that much.
There was only one crebain sighting that night; the company felt, Frodo even saw, a huge shadow block light from the moon for a flickering instant in time, before leaving again. Gandalf hoped that it was just a cloud, but the raised hopes of the group were dashed when Aragorn pointed that it was going against the wind, and quickly.
On the third morning, the great, looming shape of Caradhras rose up before them and they stared with awe at its morbid beauty, the peak a pure white contrast to its blood red sides. Leiya, with her extreme boredom and elven enhanced hearing, heard secret words spoken between Aragorn and Gandalf that no man save the aforementioned and Frodo heard, and they chilled her to the bone. In combination with the cold weather of course.
"What do you think of our course now, Aragorn?"
"I think no good of our course from beginning to end, as you know well, Gandalf," answered Aragorn, "and perils known and unknown will grow as we go on. But we must go on; and it is no good our delaying the passage of the mountains. Further south there are no passes, till one comes to the gap of Rohan. I do not trust that way since your news of Saruman. Who knows which side now the marshals of the Horse-lords serve?"
"Who knows indeed!" said Gandalf, "but there is another way, and not by the path of Caradhras: the dark and secret way that we have spoken of."
"But let us not speak of it again! Not yet. Say nothing to the others, I beg, not until it is plain that there is no other way."
"We must decide before we go further" answered Gandalf
"Then let us weigh the matter in or minds, while the others rest and sleep." Said Aragorn. This conversation set Leiya on edge and she could not wait to see which way the debate would sway. A secret pass that filled even a ranger with fear did not sound particularly inviting, but after days of trekking and talking, excitement was not exactly at it's peak. So she was, for the most part, disappointed when Gandalf won and they took the pass at Caradhras. The most exciting thing that was approaching, was that the Redhorn Gate may be watched, and pace was a necessity.
At first when the company set out, speed was good, but sooner than Leiya had expected, the terrain steepened and grew more difficult. Soon it began snowing lightly and, unwanted, a blizzard rose up and engulfed each of them in a cloud of white.
"That is what I feared," said Gandalf. "What do you say now, Aragorn?"
"That I feared it too," Aragorn answered, "but less than other things. I knew the risk of snow, though it seldom falls heavily so far south, save high up in the mountains, but we are not high yet; we are still far down, where the paths are usually open all winter"
I wonder if this is a contrivance of the Enemy," said Borromir. "They say in my land that he can govern the storms in the Mountains of Shadow that stand upon the borders of Mordor. He has strange powers and many allies."
"His arm has grown long indeed," said Gimli, "if he draw snow down from the North to trouble us here three hundred leagues away."
"His arm has grown long" said Gandalf
"How long will we last?" Asked Leiya "With the elements against us? How long will the power of the enemy sustain, and for how long can we resist it?"
"So many questions, all of them unanswerable, but we will go on as long as we have the strength and willpower" answered Gandalf
"I for one, will continue throughout the entire quest," added Gimli, determinedly "going by your thesis, Gandalf"
"And I will continue regardless of strength and willpower, if not just to see Gondor free from evil" said Borromir
"I have sworn by my life or death to protect Frodo and I will do so whatever end our journey comes to" put in Aragorn
"And we'll never abandon Mr. Frodo. Not ever" said Sam, supported by a nod from the other hobbits.
"I will see Mirkwood purged from all evil at whatever cost, even if the cost be my own immortal life" said Legolas.
After a while the snowfall raged as a full-on blizzard and even the strongest and stoutest among them couldn't continue. Soon they heard the sound of shrill cries and strange laughter and of boulders falling down the cliff-face towards them.
"We cannot go further tonight" said Borromir "Let those call it the wind who will, there is a fell voice on the air and these stones are aimed at us"
"I do call it the wind," said Aragorn "but that does not make what you say untrue. There are many evil and unfriendly things in the world that have little love for those that go on two legs, and yet are not in league with Sauron, but have purposes of their own. Some have been in this world longer than he."
"Caradhras was called the Cruel, and had an ill name," said Gimli, "long years ago, when the rumour of Sauron had not been heard in these lands"
"It matters little who is the enemy, if we cannot beat of his attack," said Gandalf.
"But what can we do?" asked Pippin miserably. He was leaning on Merry and Frodo, and shivering uncontrollably. Leiya silently felt around in her pack and brought out a thick, woollen blanket, this she passed to the hobbit, who gratefully accepted it
"Either stop where we are, or go back" offered Gandalf "It is no good going on. Only a little higher, if I remember rightly, this path leaves the cliff and runs into a wide shallow trough at the bottom of a hard slope. We should have no shelter there from snow, or stones - or anything else"
"And it is no good going back while the storm holds" said Aragorn, "We have passed no place on the way up that offered more shelter than this cliff- wall we are under now."
"Shelter!" muttered Sam grumpily "If this is shelter, one wall and no roof make a house" Leiya smiled and silently agreed.
"Is there no other place we can shelter?" she asked in concern "The Hobbits may freeze from this cold"
"We will shelter here" said Gandalf "For if we go back, they will be exposed to more chill, and if we go onward and upward, they will be crushed to death by falling rocks"
"Leaving pretty red marks on the clean white snow," Borromir grinned sadistically "what think you of our course now, young Sam Gamgee?"
"Here is good" replied the hobbit fearfully, and Leiya could see that his face had been drained of all colour and he looked as if he was about to throw up. So there they huddled for a while, sheltered by rocks and a pony, until they noticed the Hobbits growing sleepy. After shaking Frodo awake, Borromir spoke.
"I agree with the Elf Woman, this cold will be the death of the Halflings. It is useless too sit here until the snow goes over our heads, we must do something to save them!"
"Give them this" Gandalf nodded, pulling from his pack a leathern flask. "It is Miruvor, just a mouthful each, for it is very precious. It was Elrond's parting gift to me. Pass it round!" The drink soothed and revitalised the members of the fellowship. But the snow still did not relent. Although after a while Gandalf did. Finally allowing them to light a fire.
Although they had brought timber, following advice from Borromir, nobody could light a flame. First the humans tried, then Leiya, then Legolas offered to help, when he failed, Gimli made a great fiasco of it;
"So the Elf is a wimp!" He said proudly "Fear not, for you will not freeze! I, Gimli son of Glóin will light a spark to save us from the cold!" He announced this while puffing out his chest proudly and winking at Leiya. Needless to say, he looked incredibly stupid. Particularly after trying with all his might to light set fire to the kindle and failing spectacularly. At last, Gandalf reluctantly took a hand, and after commanding the wood very loudly in some unknown language to light, it did so in a jet of green and blue flame, announcing their presence to every enemy within three hundred feet.
After the last faggot had burned out, the snow came again, relentlessly and they began their retreat back down the mountain. But this was difficult, as the snow pounded down on them, demanding their notice and half burying them
"If Gandalf would go before us with a bright flame, he might light a path for you," Said Legolas.
"If Elves could fly over mountains, they might fetch the Sun to save us," answered Gandalf. "But I must have something to work on. I cannot burn snow."
Finally Borromir and Aragorn started to clear a path through the snow. The strong men forcing their way through. Legolas smiled at their antics
"The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say; let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow, an Elf." And so saying he leaped forth and ran in the light shoes he always wore, calling back, "Farewell Gandalf, I go to find the sun" In passing the two toiling men, he gave them a light wave and disappeared in the distance. And so all three left the seven lone beings shivering with cold and unable to do anything about it. Leiya, bound by her oath, could not leave the side of the remaining frail beings, besides, Gimli was telling her a disgusting, lurid joke and it would be rude to just walk off. For an hour they waited until the return of Legolas, Aragorn and Borromir, who finished their labours at the same time.
"Well," cried Legolas "I have not brought the Sun. She is walking in the blue fields of the South, and a little wreath of snow on this Redhorn hillock troubles her not at all. But I have brought back a gleam of good hope for those who are doomed to go on feet. There is the greatest wind- drift of all just beyond the turn, and there our Strong Men were almost buried. They despaired, until I returned and told them that the drift was little wider than a wall. And on the other side the snow suddenly grows less, while further down it is no more than a white coverlet to cool a hobbit's toes."
"We have thrust a hole through the drift" said Borromir "And for that, all here may be grateful who cannot run as light as Elves."
"But how are we to get down there, even if you have cut through the drift?" Asked Pippin, voicing the thoughts of all the hobbits. In answer to this, Aragorn and Borromir and Leiya carries the hobbits through the drift they had made, which was even now closing in quickly on them. The mountain seemed intent on burying them alive. After they had exited the fateful mountain by means of the hole forced by the Men of Gondor, there came a deep rumble of stones once again and Gimli shouted
"Enough!, enough! We are departing as quickly as we may!" And so, the clouds parted and the sky showed a clear blue, the dark Crebain were spotted again and everything seemed to be mocking the company in a cruel, private way.
For Caradhras had defeated them ____________________________________________________________________________ _
OK, that was the longest chapter I ever wrote. It's about 8 and a half pages, and large quantities of it are completely out of the book. Oh well, next chapter my imagination will reign supreme!!! Please review! Just one review brightens my day and makes me write faster *COUGH- COUGH- HACK- COUGH- COUGH *
SECOND A/N; It was my birthday last Saturday, which is why this was late coming out. n_n sorry everyone!
THANK YOUS-
kristendotcom, ummm, *keeps going* n_n thanks for reviewing, I try to make my chapters as long as I can without people falling asleep. But perhaps Ch3 could have been longer.. then again it was pretty pointless so..
lady_of_darkness, glad you like, I aim to please and it's always nice to get positive feedback- hope you're reading this n_n
Nefertare, wow. I'm glad you like the story that much, and since you added me to your fav. Authors AND fav stories list, PLUS asked me to tell you when I post the next chapter, This chapter is dedicated to you. n_n thanks!
Akima, wow, another good review. Seriously, I am so proud, you can use me to see down dark allies, so here it is, the next chapter, ciao
:), Did you use a thesaurus or something. o_O;;;
Aithril-The-Elf-Maiden, talk about it, you should try getting to school around where I live, frost and snow everywhere in Winter, and I have to walk down 3 slopes. Crappy english weather. n_n thanks, I'm really proud of my story, that's why I'm actually writing it. Normally I would have given up by now!
Before the company left, ten in all and a pony called Bill, Elrond called them to him,
"This is my last word," he said in a low voice. "The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On him alone is any charge laid: neither to cast away the Ring, nor to deliver it to any servant of the Enemy nor indeed to let any handle it save members of the Company and the Council, and only then in gravest need. The others go with him as free companions, to help him out on his way. You may tarry, or come back, or turn aside into other paths as chance allows. The further you go, the less easy will it be to withdraw, yet no oath or bond is laid on you to go further than you will. For you do not yet know the strength of your hearts, and you cannot foresee what each may meet upon the road." At this Gimli looked annoyed
"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens" He said
"Maybe," said Elrond, "But let him not vow to walk in the dark, who has not seen the nightfall."
"Yet sworn word may strengthen quaking heart" said Gimli
"Or break it," said Elrond. "Look not too far ahead! But go now with good hearts! Farewell and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you. May the stars shine upon your faces!"
Leiya smiled secretly. So the other members of the fellowship did not know of her orders. This much was clear from the speech Elrond had made. A small halfling stood by Elrond rubbing his hands together with a look of excitement and disappointment on his face.
"Good .. Good luck!" He cried, stuttering with the cold, and then they were on their way, leaving to further shouting from the halfling about keeping diaries or some such.
At the Ford of Bruinen they left the road and turned south. They wanted to keep left of the mountains for as long as possible, they knew that their going would be slow this way, but in not taking a more direct path they hoped to escape the watchful eyes of the spies of Sauron.
Gandalf and Aragorn went in front to lead the way, with the little ones in the middle with Borromir and Leiya. Legolas brought up the rear. With his keen Elf eyes that was where he was most needed and useful. The journey was endless and boring, with much looking behind them and not enough looking ahead. Leiya doubted any of them would remember much of it, except the piercing cold from the mountains to the east. The days were weary and soon everyone was feeling dirty, whether from the intense cold or the sleeping fully clothed at noon or the hiding in bushes or the mediocre food, each had their reasons, but each felt it, aside maybe from Aragorn who was likely used to such conditions, and Gandalf who, as a wizard, probably had never felt such a thing in his life.
Within two weeks they reached the borders of Hollin, or Eregion as Leiya knew it. Or had known it, for it was well known and visited by Elves and Men long ago when times were not so dark. The weather had improved, the wind having fallen and the sun disrobed herself finally from the shrouding cloak of clouds that they had seen nothing but for the last fortnight, and now a merrier mood was on the troupe of adventurers, save Gandalf who forewarned them of danger yet to come.
"-turned eastwards in the night" Pippin finished a sentence that Leiya wasn't listening to. She broke herself from her meditative thoughts to do so now, and noticed that all the company seemed to be craning towards the little group of halflings.
"No" said Gandalf, "But you see further ahead in the clear light. Beyond those peaks the range bends round south-west. There are many maps in Elrond's house, but I suppose you never thought to look at them?"
"Yes I did, sometimes," said Pippin "But I don't remember them, Frodo has a better head for that sort of thing"
"I need no map" announced Gimli, with a strange sort of light in his eyes, which Leiya read as pride and awe. "There is the land where our fathers worked of old, and we have wrought the image of those mountains into many works of metal and of stone and into many songs and tales. They stand tall in our dreams: Baraz, Zirak, Shathûr.
"Only once before have I seen them from afar in waking life, but I know them and their names, for under them lies Khazad-dûm, the Darrowdelf, that is now called the black pit, Moria in the Elvish tongue. Yonder stands Barazinbar, the Redhorn, cruel Caradhras; and beyond him are Silvertine and Cloudyhead: Celebdil the White, and Fanduidhol the Grey, that we call Zirak- zigil and Bundushathûr.
"There the Misty Mountains divide, and between their arms lies the deep- shadowed valley that we cannot forget: Azanulbizar, the Dimrill Dale, which the Elves call Nanduhirion." To this proud speech, Gandalf gave a single nod
"It is for the Dimrill Dale that we are making" He announced wisely "If we climb the pass that is called the Redhorn Gate, under the far side of Caradhras, we shall come down by the Dimrill Stair into the deepvale of the Dwarves. There lies Mirrormere and there the River Silverload rises in its icy springs." "Dark is the water of Kheled-zâram," said Gimli, in a voice so filled with morbidity and fear that Leiya was chilled to the bone "And cold are the springs of Kibil-nâla. My heart trembles at the thought that I may see them soon.
"May you have joy of the sight, my good Dwarf!" said Gandalf. "But whatever we may do we at least cannot stay in that valley. We must go down the Silverlode into the secret woods, and so to the Great River, and then-" He paused
"Yes, and where then?" Asked Merry.
"To the end of the journey- in the end," said Gandalf "We cannot look too far ahead. Let us be glad that the first stage is safely over. I think we will rest here, not only today, but tonight as well. There is a wholesome air about Hollin. Much evil must befall a country before it wholly forgets the Elves, if once they dwelt there."
"That is true," Said Legolas. "But the Elves of this land were of a race strange to us of the silvan folk, and the trees and grass do not now remember the, only do I hear the stones lament them." And with this he repeated what had been going through Leiya's head since they arrived and conjuring up memories she was unaware she had,
/Deep they delved us, far they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone./
"They are gone. They sought the Havens long ago." Legolas finished sadly.
That morning, breakfast was a happy occasion, only slightly spoiled by Aragorn's constant itch to be moving. Soon the ranger moved away from the merry company and stood awhile, leaning against a thick oak, looking towards the south-west, in a position that suggested he was searching for a sound on the air. After a short time, he returned to the laughing happy crowd of Halflings, Elves, Dwarves and Men, a frown plastered across his face, still appearing to be listening.
"What is the matter, Strider?" Merry called up "What are you looking for? Do you miss the East Wind?"
"No indeed," He answered, a troubled look still across his features, "but I miss something. I have been in the country of Hollin in many seasons. No folk dwell here now, but many other creatures live here at all times, especially birds. Yet now all things but you are silent. I can feel it. There is no sound for miles about us and your voices seem to make the ground echo. I do not understand it."
Gandalf looked up with sudden interest. "But what do you guess is the reason?" He asked. "Is there more in it than surprise at seeing four hobbits, not to mention the rest of us, where people are so seldom seen or heard?"
I hope that is it" answered Aragorn, "But I have a sense of watchfulness, and of fear, that I have never had here before."
"Then we must be more careful" said Gandalf. "If you bring a ranger with you, it is well to pay attention to him, especially if the ranger is Aragorn. We must stop talking aloud, rest quietly, and set the watch."
Sam took the first watch, joined by Aragorn, while others made a good attempt at sleep. Then the silence grew until even Sam felt it. The breathing of the sleepers could be plainly heard. The swish of the pony's tail and the occasional movements of his feet became loud noises. Sam could hear his own joints creaking, if he stirred. Dead silence was around him, and over all hung a clear blue sky, as the Sun rode up from the East. Away in the South a dark patch appeared, and grew, and drove north like flying smoke in the wind.
"What's that, Strider? It don't look like a cloud," Sam whispered to Aragorn, who was intently scrutinising the mass of sky above them; but Sam didn't need an answer as soon he could see the 'cloud' well, it was no cloud but a mass of great black birds, screeching and wheeling and searching from their vantage point in the sky; and they were steadily drawing nearer.
"Lie flat and still!" hissed Aragorn, when a regiment of the birds broke suddenly from the main host and flew directly towards the ridge. Hidden in the cool shade of a holly-bush, Sam watched as they passed overhead, in a throng so dense they cast a deep, black shadow on the ground below them, and uttered a single, harsh croak.
Long after the sky was again clear, Aragorn emerged into the sunlight and woke the sleeping wizard,
"Regiments of black crows are flying all over the land between the Mountains and the Greyflood," he explained, "and they have passed over Hollin. They are not natives here; they are crebain, out of Fangorn and Dunland. I do not know what they are about; possibly there is some trouble away south from which they are fleeing; but I think that they are spying out the land. I have also glimpsed many hawks flying high up in the sky. I think we ought to move again this evening. Hollin is no longer wholesome for us: it is being watched."
And in that case so is the Redhorn Gate" said Gandalf "and how we can get over that without being seen, I cannot imagine. But we will think of that when we must. As for moving as soon as it is dark, I am afraid that you are right."
"Luckily our fire made little smoke, and burned low before the crebain came," said Aragorn. "It must be put out and not lit again"
The minute Leiya opened her eyes she was told of the news. Her brows furrowed in concern, but she did not look particularly surprised.
"I was expecting, hoping even, to move soon anyway. A silence takes this place and I do not much care for the feel of it. How many others know of our plans to move?" was her only response to news of the crebain.
"Aragorn, Sam, Borromir, Gimli and myself" answered Gandalf.
"You forget me too easily" Smiled Legolas, from his perch on a stone. Rising from it elegantly he continued "Though, who knows, it may be easy to do so, I am more stealthy than some. I have now listened to the story four times over and am not surprised either. Much like the Maiden from Mirkwood I felt the pressing silence. I saw the crebain approach earlier, whilst exploring the terrain, I fear it is a terrible omen of things to come, and so suggest we move as soon as we can" With this he walked off to tell the hobbits of their plans.
"Maiden from Mirkwood?" Leiya asked him later, after all the hobbits were awake and merrily complaining "You have given me a nickname?"
"Yes" he answered "Do you like it?"
"It certainly.. Alliterates" she answered. Truthfully she found it to be unimaginative and unnecessarily long, it was easier just to say 'Leiya'
"You hate it" He answered, a wicked gleam showing in his eye "Fine.. I dub thee.. The Murky Maiden!"
Leiya smiled "It is truly an honour to have. wait! You are a prince, am I right?"
"Yes" answered Legolas, not quite sure where this was leading
"You word is law?"
"To citizens of Mirkwood, I suppose, yes"
"So when you dub someone something, that is officially their title"
"Eheh.. oops?" He offered, a red tint entering his cheeks
"LEGOLAS GREENLEAF, I AM GOING TO DISEMBOWEL YOU AND FEED YOUR INTESTINES TO A BEAR!" She roared. Advancing on the poor prince, who was attempting to back away, with great difficulty as he found himself backing into the rock he had been sitting on earlier.
The day was spent in good humour, the company hiding and swapping stories beside what would be the fire- if they were allowed to light a fire that is, until finally the sun disappeared and the stars came out one by one. In this light they moved on, guided once again by Aragorn along a road, or what had been a road, it had now worn away, cracked and tilted. It had been broad though, and sturdy. Leiya noticed that much.
There was only one crebain sighting that night; the company felt, Frodo even saw, a huge shadow block light from the moon for a flickering instant in time, before leaving again. Gandalf hoped that it was just a cloud, but the raised hopes of the group were dashed when Aragorn pointed that it was going against the wind, and quickly.
On the third morning, the great, looming shape of Caradhras rose up before them and they stared with awe at its morbid beauty, the peak a pure white contrast to its blood red sides. Leiya, with her extreme boredom and elven enhanced hearing, heard secret words spoken between Aragorn and Gandalf that no man save the aforementioned and Frodo heard, and they chilled her to the bone. In combination with the cold weather of course.
"What do you think of our course now, Aragorn?"
"I think no good of our course from beginning to end, as you know well, Gandalf," answered Aragorn, "and perils known and unknown will grow as we go on. But we must go on; and it is no good our delaying the passage of the mountains. Further south there are no passes, till one comes to the gap of Rohan. I do not trust that way since your news of Saruman. Who knows which side now the marshals of the Horse-lords serve?"
"Who knows indeed!" said Gandalf, "but there is another way, and not by the path of Caradhras: the dark and secret way that we have spoken of."
"But let us not speak of it again! Not yet. Say nothing to the others, I beg, not until it is plain that there is no other way."
"We must decide before we go further" answered Gandalf
"Then let us weigh the matter in or minds, while the others rest and sleep." Said Aragorn. This conversation set Leiya on edge and she could not wait to see which way the debate would sway. A secret pass that filled even a ranger with fear did not sound particularly inviting, but after days of trekking and talking, excitement was not exactly at it's peak. So she was, for the most part, disappointed when Gandalf won and they took the pass at Caradhras. The most exciting thing that was approaching, was that the Redhorn Gate may be watched, and pace was a necessity.
At first when the company set out, speed was good, but sooner than Leiya had expected, the terrain steepened and grew more difficult. Soon it began snowing lightly and, unwanted, a blizzard rose up and engulfed each of them in a cloud of white.
"That is what I feared," said Gandalf. "What do you say now, Aragorn?"
"That I feared it too," Aragorn answered, "but less than other things. I knew the risk of snow, though it seldom falls heavily so far south, save high up in the mountains, but we are not high yet; we are still far down, where the paths are usually open all winter"
I wonder if this is a contrivance of the Enemy," said Borromir. "They say in my land that he can govern the storms in the Mountains of Shadow that stand upon the borders of Mordor. He has strange powers and many allies."
"His arm has grown long indeed," said Gimli, "if he draw snow down from the North to trouble us here three hundred leagues away."
"His arm has grown long" said Gandalf
"How long will we last?" Asked Leiya "With the elements against us? How long will the power of the enemy sustain, and for how long can we resist it?"
"So many questions, all of them unanswerable, but we will go on as long as we have the strength and willpower" answered Gandalf
"I for one, will continue throughout the entire quest," added Gimli, determinedly "going by your thesis, Gandalf"
"And I will continue regardless of strength and willpower, if not just to see Gondor free from evil" said Borromir
"I have sworn by my life or death to protect Frodo and I will do so whatever end our journey comes to" put in Aragorn
"And we'll never abandon Mr. Frodo. Not ever" said Sam, supported by a nod from the other hobbits.
"I will see Mirkwood purged from all evil at whatever cost, even if the cost be my own immortal life" said Legolas.
After a while the snowfall raged as a full-on blizzard and even the strongest and stoutest among them couldn't continue. Soon they heard the sound of shrill cries and strange laughter and of boulders falling down the cliff-face towards them.
"We cannot go further tonight" said Borromir "Let those call it the wind who will, there is a fell voice on the air and these stones are aimed at us"
"I do call it the wind," said Aragorn "but that does not make what you say untrue. There are many evil and unfriendly things in the world that have little love for those that go on two legs, and yet are not in league with Sauron, but have purposes of their own. Some have been in this world longer than he."
"Caradhras was called the Cruel, and had an ill name," said Gimli, "long years ago, when the rumour of Sauron had not been heard in these lands"
"It matters little who is the enemy, if we cannot beat of his attack," said Gandalf.
"But what can we do?" asked Pippin miserably. He was leaning on Merry and Frodo, and shivering uncontrollably. Leiya silently felt around in her pack and brought out a thick, woollen blanket, this she passed to the hobbit, who gratefully accepted it
"Either stop where we are, or go back" offered Gandalf "It is no good going on. Only a little higher, if I remember rightly, this path leaves the cliff and runs into a wide shallow trough at the bottom of a hard slope. We should have no shelter there from snow, or stones - or anything else"
"And it is no good going back while the storm holds" said Aragorn, "We have passed no place on the way up that offered more shelter than this cliff- wall we are under now."
"Shelter!" muttered Sam grumpily "If this is shelter, one wall and no roof make a house" Leiya smiled and silently agreed.
"Is there no other place we can shelter?" she asked in concern "The Hobbits may freeze from this cold"
"We will shelter here" said Gandalf "For if we go back, they will be exposed to more chill, and if we go onward and upward, they will be crushed to death by falling rocks"
"Leaving pretty red marks on the clean white snow," Borromir grinned sadistically "what think you of our course now, young Sam Gamgee?"
"Here is good" replied the hobbit fearfully, and Leiya could see that his face had been drained of all colour and he looked as if he was about to throw up. So there they huddled for a while, sheltered by rocks and a pony, until they noticed the Hobbits growing sleepy. After shaking Frodo awake, Borromir spoke.
"I agree with the Elf Woman, this cold will be the death of the Halflings. It is useless too sit here until the snow goes over our heads, we must do something to save them!"
"Give them this" Gandalf nodded, pulling from his pack a leathern flask. "It is Miruvor, just a mouthful each, for it is very precious. It was Elrond's parting gift to me. Pass it round!" The drink soothed and revitalised the members of the fellowship. But the snow still did not relent. Although after a while Gandalf did. Finally allowing them to light a fire.
Although they had brought timber, following advice from Borromir, nobody could light a flame. First the humans tried, then Leiya, then Legolas offered to help, when he failed, Gimli made a great fiasco of it;
"So the Elf is a wimp!" He said proudly "Fear not, for you will not freeze! I, Gimli son of Glóin will light a spark to save us from the cold!" He announced this while puffing out his chest proudly and winking at Leiya. Needless to say, he looked incredibly stupid. Particularly after trying with all his might to light set fire to the kindle and failing spectacularly. At last, Gandalf reluctantly took a hand, and after commanding the wood very loudly in some unknown language to light, it did so in a jet of green and blue flame, announcing their presence to every enemy within three hundred feet.
After the last faggot had burned out, the snow came again, relentlessly and they began their retreat back down the mountain. But this was difficult, as the snow pounded down on them, demanding their notice and half burying them
"If Gandalf would go before us with a bright flame, he might light a path for you," Said Legolas.
"If Elves could fly over mountains, they might fetch the Sun to save us," answered Gandalf. "But I must have something to work on. I cannot burn snow."
Finally Borromir and Aragorn started to clear a path through the snow. The strong men forcing their way through. Legolas smiled at their antics
"The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say; let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow, an Elf." And so saying he leaped forth and ran in the light shoes he always wore, calling back, "Farewell Gandalf, I go to find the sun" In passing the two toiling men, he gave them a light wave and disappeared in the distance. And so all three left the seven lone beings shivering with cold and unable to do anything about it. Leiya, bound by her oath, could not leave the side of the remaining frail beings, besides, Gimli was telling her a disgusting, lurid joke and it would be rude to just walk off. For an hour they waited until the return of Legolas, Aragorn and Borromir, who finished their labours at the same time.
"Well," cried Legolas "I have not brought the Sun. She is walking in the blue fields of the South, and a little wreath of snow on this Redhorn hillock troubles her not at all. But I have brought back a gleam of good hope for those who are doomed to go on feet. There is the greatest wind- drift of all just beyond the turn, and there our Strong Men were almost buried. They despaired, until I returned and told them that the drift was little wider than a wall. And on the other side the snow suddenly grows less, while further down it is no more than a white coverlet to cool a hobbit's toes."
"We have thrust a hole through the drift" said Borromir "And for that, all here may be grateful who cannot run as light as Elves."
"But how are we to get down there, even if you have cut through the drift?" Asked Pippin, voicing the thoughts of all the hobbits. In answer to this, Aragorn and Borromir and Leiya carries the hobbits through the drift they had made, which was even now closing in quickly on them. The mountain seemed intent on burying them alive. After they had exited the fateful mountain by means of the hole forced by the Men of Gondor, there came a deep rumble of stones once again and Gimli shouted
"Enough!, enough! We are departing as quickly as we may!" And so, the clouds parted and the sky showed a clear blue, the dark Crebain were spotted again and everything seemed to be mocking the company in a cruel, private way.
For Caradhras had defeated them ____________________________________________________________________________ _
OK, that was the longest chapter I ever wrote. It's about 8 and a half pages, and large quantities of it are completely out of the book. Oh well, next chapter my imagination will reign supreme!!! Please review! Just one review brightens my day and makes me write faster *COUGH- COUGH- HACK- COUGH- COUGH *