GF: I would like to take this opportunity to introduce my personal muse,
Donovan. For you strange people like me who are fans of both LotR and Yu-
Gi-Oh!, Donovan is also known as the Serpent Night Dragon. I'll be writing
his story soon, and he'll be doing my disclaimers for me. Donovan?
Donovan: Do I have to?
GF: Yes! Do it or I won't write your story!
Donovan: *grumbles* GriffinFire doesn't own LotR, but she owns Drake, Amy, Celeb'loki, and me. You happy now, Griffin?
GF: *nods* And a note to a certain reviewer: Cestari, I am a Legolas fangirl myself, but I wanted Drake to not like Legolas much at the beginning. Don't worry, her opinion of him will change by the end of the story.
Donovan: Which will be up in about two million years....
GF: *glares* On with the fic!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter III - Into the Mines
A few days after leaving Rivendell, the Fellowship was attempting to make their way over the Misty Mountains. The snow on Caradhras was thick and deep. Aragorn and the other man, whom Drake had learned was Boromir, the son of the steward of Gondor, were forcing a path through the drift for Mithrandir, the four hobbits, and Gimli. Legolas was running ahead - on top of the snow - to scout out what lay ahead.
Drake - also walking on top of the snow - had Amy clinging to her back, and stayed a safe distance behind the company.
Even as the two men broke through the last of the snowdrift, the wind roared anew and a fierce blizzard flew upon the Fellowship.
Drake shivered and wrapped herself and Amy tighter in her fur cloak. She burrowed down into the snow as the nine walkers turned back the way they had come, defeated by the mountain.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Fellowship camped that night in a small wood at the base of Caradhras. Amy learned, through eavesdropping, that the company would be traveling under the mountain, through the Mines of Moria, instead of over it.
Drake frowned when she heard this. "They must be desperate indeed," she thought, "If they are willing to risk going through Moria." She knew that the Dwarves had delved too deep there, and had awakened an ancient evil, but what this evil she was she had no idea.
Suddenly, the howling of many wolves ripped through the silence of the night. Drake and Amy jumped to their feet, as did the Fellowship.
"Wargs," Drake muttered.
Amy's eyes widened in surprise and fear. She obviously hadn't counted on real danger when she followed her cousin out of the Shire.
Drake drew her bow, picked up Amy, and pushed her upwards into a tree. She then pulled herself into the pine branches. An ironic grin spread across her face as she remembered something Bilbo had told her when he and his Dwarven companions had been in the dungeons of the Wood-Elves. He had once been in this same predicament - up a tree surrounded by wolves.
The Wargs moved in from all sides, but they took no notice of the two in the tree and headed straight for the Fellowship.
Drake slowly drew an arrow and fitted it to her bow. She peered down and aimed at a wolf directly beneath her.
When the nine companions began swinging swords and shooting arrows and fireballs, Drake loosed her own arrow.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It didn't take long to get rid of the Wargs. After the leaders had been killed, the rest turned tail and fled.
Drake settled against the trunk of the tree and looked up at Amy. The young hobbit was clinging to a branch, both her arms and her legs wrapped around it. Her eyes were shut tightly.
"The Wargs are gone," Drake told her.
"Th-that's n-n-nice," stuttered Amy. "Can we g-get down now?"
"Not yet," Drake muttered back. The nine walkers were still peering warily into the forest, looking for Wargs.
The company finally settled down for the night, leaving Aragorn to take the first watch. Drake pried Amy off of her branch and lowered her gently to the forest floor, where she collapsed in a heap and proceeded to kiss the ground. The Elf dropped out of the tree herself and made her way toward Aragorn.
Isildur's heir jumped and began to draw his sword as Drake entered the circle of firelight, but then he grinned and greeted her. "So you're still following us."
"Of course. You didn't think I'd go back to Mirkwood and tell Thranduil that his son went on a dangerous mission to Mordor and I didn't follow him, did you? I just wanted to let you know I'm here, so you don't mistake me for an orc and kill me by accident."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next evening, the company approached the Walls of Moria. When the Moon appeared, the Doors of Moria were revealed. Mithrandir read the inscription aloud, and then began to chant spells and incantations, trying to open the doors.
Merry and Pippin soon became bored and tried to skip rocks on the surface of the stagnant pool before the Doors.
Drake frowned worriedly, for she thought she saw the pool's surface ripple where no stone had been thrown.
A sudden laugh came from Mithrandir - he had discovered the secret of the Doors. The wizard cried "Mellon!" and the doors opened.
Even as Drake sighed in relief and the Nine Walkers entered Moria, a slimy tentacle slithered its way out of the pool and wrapped itself around the ankle of Frodo, the Ringbearer. It yanked the hobbit off his feet and into the air.
Frodo yelled, and the rest of the Fellowship turned and ran back out through the Doors. Those with swords - including Drake, who was unnoticed in the confusion - hacked at the tentacle, and Legolas shot arrows at the body that was rising out of the water. More tentacles groped forward to fend off the swords, but Aragorn chopped through the tentacle holding Frodo. The hobbit fell and was caught by Boromir.
The company, followed by Drake and Amy, sprinted for the Doors. Mithrandir counted them as they went thought.
"One, two...five...eight, nine ten! Wait a minute..." He frowned, but followed the others as tentacles wriggled in and pulled rocks down, sealing the entrance and trapping the Fellowship.
In the ensuing darkness, Drake and Amy hid themselves among fallen stones.
Mithrandir lit his staff and again counted the Fellowship, this time getting the "correct" number of eight, plus himself.
The nine companions started forward into the long dark of Moria, the two trackers behind them, but always in the shadows.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GF: Well then, that's it for now. The next chapter will be up in a couple days, but I haven't written anything after that yet, so that might take a while.
Donovan: Aren't you forgetting to thank someone?
GF: Oh, yeah! Thanks to my sister, Millennium Slinky, for typing this for me, as well as advertising for me. Read her Yu-Gi-Oh! story "Daughter of Anubis." Please review! We live on reviews! If we don't get reviews, we die! *Kicks Donovan in the shins* See? *points*
Donovan: *falls* I'm gonna kill you....
GF: So go on, just hit that nice little button.
Donovan: Do I have to?
GF: Yes! Do it or I won't write your story!
Donovan: *grumbles* GriffinFire doesn't own LotR, but she owns Drake, Amy, Celeb'loki, and me. You happy now, Griffin?
GF: *nods* And a note to a certain reviewer: Cestari, I am a Legolas fangirl myself, but I wanted Drake to not like Legolas much at the beginning. Don't worry, her opinion of him will change by the end of the story.
Donovan: Which will be up in about two million years....
GF: *glares* On with the fic!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter III - Into the Mines
A few days after leaving Rivendell, the Fellowship was attempting to make their way over the Misty Mountains. The snow on Caradhras was thick and deep. Aragorn and the other man, whom Drake had learned was Boromir, the son of the steward of Gondor, were forcing a path through the drift for Mithrandir, the four hobbits, and Gimli. Legolas was running ahead - on top of the snow - to scout out what lay ahead.
Drake - also walking on top of the snow - had Amy clinging to her back, and stayed a safe distance behind the company.
Even as the two men broke through the last of the snowdrift, the wind roared anew and a fierce blizzard flew upon the Fellowship.
Drake shivered and wrapped herself and Amy tighter in her fur cloak. She burrowed down into the snow as the nine walkers turned back the way they had come, defeated by the mountain.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Fellowship camped that night in a small wood at the base of Caradhras. Amy learned, through eavesdropping, that the company would be traveling under the mountain, through the Mines of Moria, instead of over it.
Drake frowned when she heard this. "They must be desperate indeed," she thought, "If they are willing to risk going through Moria." She knew that the Dwarves had delved too deep there, and had awakened an ancient evil, but what this evil she was she had no idea.
Suddenly, the howling of many wolves ripped through the silence of the night. Drake and Amy jumped to their feet, as did the Fellowship.
"Wargs," Drake muttered.
Amy's eyes widened in surprise and fear. She obviously hadn't counted on real danger when she followed her cousin out of the Shire.
Drake drew her bow, picked up Amy, and pushed her upwards into a tree. She then pulled herself into the pine branches. An ironic grin spread across her face as she remembered something Bilbo had told her when he and his Dwarven companions had been in the dungeons of the Wood-Elves. He had once been in this same predicament - up a tree surrounded by wolves.
The Wargs moved in from all sides, but they took no notice of the two in the tree and headed straight for the Fellowship.
Drake slowly drew an arrow and fitted it to her bow. She peered down and aimed at a wolf directly beneath her.
When the nine companions began swinging swords and shooting arrows and fireballs, Drake loosed her own arrow.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It didn't take long to get rid of the Wargs. After the leaders had been killed, the rest turned tail and fled.
Drake settled against the trunk of the tree and looked up at Amy. The young hobbit was clinging to a branch, both her arms and her legs wrapped around it. Her eyes were shut tightly.
"The Wargs are gone," Drake told her.
"Th-that's n-n-nice," stuttered Amy. "Can we g-get down now?"
"Not yet," Drake muttered back. The nine walkers were still peering warily into the forest, looking for Wargs.
The company finally settled down for the night, leaving Aragorn to take the first watch. Drake pried Amy off of her branch and lowered her gently to the forest floor, where she collapsed in a heap and proceeded to kiss the ground. The Elf dropped out of the tree herself and made her way toward Aragorn.
Isildur's heir jumped and began to draw his sword as Drake entered the circle of firelight, but then he grinned and greeted her. "So you're still following us."
"Of course. You didn't think I'd go back to Mirkwood and tell Thranduil that his son went on a dangerous mission to Mordor and I didn't follow him, did you? I just wanted to let you know I'm here, so you don't mistake me for an orc and kill me by accident."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next evening, the company approached the Walls of Moria. When the Moon appeared, the Doors of Moria were revealed. Mithrandir read the inscription aloud, and then began to chant spells and incantations, trying to open the doors.
Merry and Pippin soon became bored and tried to skip rocks on the surface of the stagnant pool before the Doors.
Drake frowned worriedly, for she thought she saw the pool's surface ripple where no stone had been thrown.
A sudden laugh came from Mithrandir - he had discovered the secret of the Doors. The wizard cried "Mellon!" and the doors opened.
Even as Drake sighed in relief and the Nine Walkers entered Moria, a slimy tentacle slithered its way out of the pool and wrapped itself around the ankle of Frodo, the Ringbearer. It yanked the hobbit off his feet and into the air.
Frodo yelled, and the rest of the Fellowship turned and ran back out through the Doors. Those with swords - including Drake, who was unnoticed in the confusion - hacked at the tentacle, and Legolas shot arrows at the body that was rising out of the water. More tentacles groped forward to fend off the swords, but Aragorn chopped through the tentacle holding Frodo. The hobbit fell and was caught by Boromir.
The company, followed by Drake and Amy, sprinted for the Doors. Mithrandir counted them as they went thought.
"One, two...five...eight, nine ten! Wait a minute..." He frowned, but followed the others as tentacles wriggled in and pulled rocks down, sealing the entrance and trapping the Fellowship.
In the ensuing darkness, Drake and Amy hid themselves among fallen stones.
Mithrandir lit his staff and again counted the Fellowship, this time getting the "correct" number of eight, plus himself.
The nine companions started forward into the long dark of Moria, the two trackers behind them, but always in the shadows.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GF: Well then, that's it for now. The next chapter will be up in a couple days, but I haven't written anything after that yet, so that might take a while.
Donovan: Aren't you forgetting to thank someone?
GF: Oh, yeah! Thanks to my sister, Millennium Slinky, for typing this for me, as well as advertising for me. Read her Yu-Gi-Oh! story "Daughter of Anubis." Please review! We live on reviews! If we don't get reviews, we die! *Kicks Donovan in the shins* See? *points*
Donovan: *falls* I'm gonna kill you....
GF: So go on, just hit that nice little button.
