THE JOURNEY BEGINS….
We made ready to go and set off on foot. As the journey progressed I could tell Aragorn was upset about some thing. "Aragorn, what ails you?" I asked him when we stopped for the night, on the side of a mountain that was crowded with trees. Slowly he turned towards me, away from the fire.
"Arwen wants to marry me when I return, but I am afraid I will not. We will be battling things I never have before." He answered slowly.
"Not sure you will return! Aragorn, you are a ranger, of course you will return to her! Her love will protect you."
"I know. she gave me this." Aragorn said as he opened his shirt collar and displayed the pendant Arwen always wore.
Knowing the meaning of the pendant I gasped and forgetting said in my own tongue, "Arwen natani, Meenoi ar ou narthes sekne. Finia egor warnithi, nori coni nethini goh vahna."
"I know you are speaking elvish, but that dialect I do not understand." Aragorn answered his face questioning.
"I'm sorry, That was the dialect of the Forgotten Elves. The forgotten elves were in Mirkwood before I was born, my mother taught me their language, so that I could talk to her and a few others without anyone else knowing what I said. Being an only child, I talked to no-one except my mother and I have adopted it as my native tongue, for it is the one I usually speak in. In these times I know of only four out of all elves in Middle Earth who know what it is and know how to speak it. Myself, Legolas, Lord Elrond, and Arwen. Basically what I said was, 'She gave you her love and immortality with that pennant. With that on, you will surely never die'." I answered blushing.
"She did? I thank her for it. I know now, that I will return to her."
"Aye, that you will." I answered and brushing my long red hair away from my face I rose and went to the rock on which I would be sleeping, leaving Aragorn to his thoughts by the fire.
As the sun rose I felt a cold feeling overwhelm my peacefulness. Jumping up I shrieked: "Aieee! All arise! We must move on..there is evil about." At my call every sleeping figure arose and looked around while grabbing their belongings.
"What is that?" Sam said suddenly looking toward the East, pointing to the sky.
"Nothing. It's just a wisp of cloud." Gimli said quickly.
"It's moving fast," Boromir noted as he held Merry and Pippin's sacks filled with food, "Against the wind."
"Crebain from Dunland!" Legolas and I cried together after looking hard at the approaching shape.
"Hide!" screamed Aragorn diving under a rock.
"Hurry, take cover!" Boromir called diving under a bush with Legolas, Merry and Pippin.
Frodo quickly dived under the rock with Aragorn and Sam. Gimli and Gandalf had their own rock to hide under, and I slipped into a small cave located behind Legolas' bush.
As we waited tense, the air was filled with the sound of beating wings and the cries of angry Crebain. Then as quickly as they had come they were gone, their cries fading into the distance.
"Spies of Saruman. The passage south is being watched, We must take the pass of Caradhras." Gandalf said to us as we returned from our hiding places to the middle of the mountain top. We all looked in unison upward to the higher mountain behind us, that was always covered in deep snow even in the hottest weather.
As we climbed, (all the mortals, and Gandalf having to cut paths in the knee deep snow, but Legolas and I walking on top, for Elves have the ability to make ourselves feather light, and walk on delicate surfaces that others wo8uld crash right through), Frodo slipped and fell, loosing the Ring in his tumble. Aragorn caught him and set him on his feet. Frodo desperately clutched at his neck, and when he realized that the ring was no- longer there he became terrified. Then Boromir walked two paces forward and lifted the ring, chain and all from the snow.
"Boromir." Aragorn said as though calling Boromir from a trance.
"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing." He responded to his name looking at the ring longingly, "such a little thing." He finished tenderly reaching toward it to clasp it to himself when I called sharply:
"Boromir!" And he jerked forward slightly and seemed to come out of a trance. Then more gently I said, "Give the Ring to Frodo."
Boromir clasped his fist around the ring and stood still for a minute, then ever so slowly he walked toward Frodo and held the Ring toward him, Frodo snapped it from Boromirs' hand and Boromir smiled to cover his hurt and said:
"As you wish, I care not." And turned and continued walking. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and I saw Aragorns' hand drop from the hilt of his sword, and I knew, when Aragorn looked at me, that he would have used it to get back the ring.
We continued on and after a couple of days of walking, sleeping, and walking again, we came to the most dangerous part of the mountain, the snow was waist deep on Gandalf, and over the heads of the Hobbits(they were being carried by Aragorn and Boromir). Legolas and I had a hard time seeing ahead and we were all struggling foreword when Legolas confirmed what I had been thinking for some time then.
"There is a fell voice on the air." He said to Gandalf.
"It's Saruman!" screamed Gandalf as part of the mountain collapsed on us. Legolas and I turned our faces upwards and braced ourselves.
"He's trying to bring down the Mountain! Gandalf, we must turn back" Aragorn called loudly.
"No!" Gandalf replied and then stepped toward the edge of the cliff we were walking over and spoke in a language no-one but wizards knew, trying to send spells back at Saruman. It did not work, however, and Gandalf would have been knocked off when the snow fell heavily upon us if it hadn't been for Legolas grabbing him and pulling him back. After several seconds of silence we began to claw our way out of the 10ft. snow drift we had been buried in. Legolas and I were the first ones out, and we went around and helped the others excavate themselves.
"We must get off the Mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan, and take the west road to my city!" called Boromir over the wistleing wind hopefully.
"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn said in retort.
"If we can not pass over a mountain, let us go under it. Let us go through the Mines of Moria!" Gimli said forcefully. At those words Gandalf, Legolas, and I became sorrowful, for he(Gandalf), a long time ago, had helped to create then hide an evil creature that now lived there. It had been discovered by the Dwarves, who in their greed, dug too deeply into the Earth and released the monster. Legolas and I knew of this creature and were afraid of him, also we (elves) are afraid of deep, dark places, such as caves, so we did not want to go there.
Never-the-less Gandalf said: "Let the Ring bearer decide."
Frodo looked at him in amazement and confusion before saying: "We will go through the mines."
"So be it." Gandalf replied determinedly. And so we traveled to the Mines, where we were met with a wall od solid rock.
When we arrived there Gimli said reverently: "The walls of Moria."
"Well, let's see.."Gandalf said, "Ithildin. It mirrors only starlight and moonlight." And as he spoke the clouds covering the moon lifted and the door lit up. On it was written in elvish: 'The doors of Durin, Lord of Moria' speak friend and enter."
"What do you suppose that means?" asked Pippin who was in awe of the beauty of the door.
"Oh, it's quite simple, If you are a friend, speak the password and the doors will open." Gandalf said matter-of-factly. That turned out easier explained then done, for no-one knew the password. Gandalf spent several hours saying many different possibilities, but none worked.
He had just giving up when, Frodo thought of something. "It's a riddle! Speak "friend" and enter! What's the elvish word for friend?" Frodo asked excitedly.
"Heavens! I'm a bit rusty, but..no..Bridwen, do you know?" Gandalf lied, to test if I could answer quickly, no-matter how much pressure was on me at the time I was asked.
"I believe that it would be Mellon." I answered throwing a smirk at Gandalf. No sooner than I had spoken the door opened in ward. slowly we made our way towards the entrance.
As we entered into the darkness, Gimli nastily said to Legolas: "Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer ripe meat off the bone. This, My friend is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A mine!"
"This is no mine." Boromir stated with growing fear, "this is a tomb."
"No!.Noooooooooooo!" Gimli roared running to kneel at a dead body of one of his relatives. I crossed over to one of the dead dwarves and yanked an arrow from it's eye socket. I looked at it closely and raised my eyes to Legolas' face who was at the other side of the cave entrance. Our eyes met, and he slowly nodded in affirmation.
"Goblins!" I said as I disdainfully threw the arrow away, "They were killed by Goblins." Suddenly the air was pierced by a shriek pain of a Goblin in the distance. Immediately everyone drew their weapons and aimed into the darkness.
"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here. Now get out of here, Get Out!" Screamed Boromir as he backed towards the door slowly. Suddenly Frodo was grabbed by a huge tentacle, he was pulled backwards through the door and was then held high in the air above the head of a huge octopus.
"Strider!" Screamed Sam as Frodo was waved about in the air, But he had no cause to for Aragorn had already sprung into action, and was throwing knives at the creature. Soon everyone except Gimli and I were slashing at the creature with anything and everything.
"Does it have a name?" I asked a saddened Gimli suddenly.
"Yes, It is called 'Grabber', by the Dwarves, but it's proper name is 'The Appendage Of The Good Eye'." Gimli answered cautiously.
"Thanks." I replied and slowly walked towards the edge of the pond the creature was in. Slowly I came to a stop at the edge and bent down and lifted a handful of water to my eye level. I let the water trickle back down gently, dropping slowly into the water. I could feel the energy of the creature start to turn towards me. Slowly I stepped back and called calmly in my own tongue: "Legolas, theori copana itani, amonor."
Slowly Legolas dropped his strung bow and called to the others: "Stop! Wait Bridwen is in the firing path." The other companions looked over at me as I fearlessly walked between them and the creature who still had Frodo and was still waving him about, and they dropped their weapons and started to scream at me to get out of the way. Calmly I shook my head, and again cupped a handful of water and let it drizzle from my hand, disturbing the water.
The beast turned towards me and started to attack me when I said in my own tongue: "Orniti se calia, ithuai penai hai a. Se cah li, inai atomina reni benah se benia." The creature slowed and wavered uncertainly, looking at me unsuredly. I began to sing, in a high voice, a song that was known only to few, for it's powers are great.
"Ta mo croi-se go tláth lag 's I lár mo chuid saothair Togann lán tocht im chléibhse cé nár méin liom é ra Tá an dibirt I ndán dom ó bháin bheannaibh éireann Is fánach mo shaolsa 's is déarch mo chás Is cuimhin liom an tráh úd a ghrá ghil na n-ae istigh Thugas grá searc is géilleadh dod chaomh roisc thar chách A ri ghil na n-árann dod fhearr liom go n- éagfainn I láthair mo ghaolta is mo bhuachaìllín bán."
As I sang, the beast calmed and slowly sank down in the water. When I had finished the beast reached a tentacle out towards me tentatively.
"Watch out!" Screamed Boromir as he saw it coming nearer toward me.
Legolas clapped a hand over his mouth and said: "Hush, can you not see what she is doing? She is calming and taming the beast." Boromir nodded silently and Legolas let go.
"Oh, Appendage Of The Good Eye, would you give us back our good friend, Master Frodo?" I asked the creature as it's tentacle gently touched the side of my face. It's response was to gently lower a whimpering Frodo into my waiting arms. "Thank you Appendage Of The Good Eye. We thank you greatly. Why do you torture us?" I asked as I placed Frodo on the ground, motioned him to be silent and pushed him toward the waiting companions. I listened to it's speech which thanks to the magic of the song, I understood, and then answered it in English(for the magic worked both ways): "I see. We are sorry. You must be so tired, after being disturbed by so many! First Goblins, then Orcs, and now us! We are truly sorry. We beg your pardon, and ask that you let us go and continue our Journey." The creature slowly nodded and started to sink down under the water, as it went it reached out a tentacle and stroked my hair gently, while asking for a lock. I laughed and said: "Of course! What a simple and flattering thing to ask, of course I will grant you your wish." As I spoke, I reached into my belt and pulled out a small mother of pearl knife which, to the amazement of the others, I raised to the side of my face.
The others in the fellowship gasped and Legolas called softly: "Blood need not spill here today…" But his voice trailed off when I lifted a long lock of my red hair and sliced it off. I tied a knot in the lock to keep it together, and I held it out to the creature lovingly. It reached over and grabbed the lock of hair from my hand with a gentle tip of a tenticle. It took the lock and sank below the surface. As I turned back to the company I saw from the corner of my eye Boromir raise his arm and hurl a knife at the small bit still visible of the creature.
"Noooooooooooo!" I cried and flung myself at him, hoping to knock him off balance so the knife would miss it's mark, but I was too late, the knife made contact and the creature reared out of the water after Boromir.
"Run! Into the caves! Quickly!" Screamed Gandalf.
We all ran into the caves, I was crying and screaming at Boromir: "Fool! He was going! Why did you do that! Now he is hurt, the poor thing!"
"He took Frodo!" Boromir replied as we ran. Suddenly it grew dark and we heard a large crash. the walls of the tunnel, the only way out known to us (beside through Moria), were falling down behind us.
"We are trapped." Gandalf said as we came to a stop, "We have now, but one choice. We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world." He finished lighting his staff to give us light. As he spoke Legolas shivered and drew me closer to him.
"Quietly now. It is a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed." We quietly walked for hours until we came to a branching of three tunnels. Gandalf stopped, and after staring at them for some time said: "I have no memory of this place." As he spoke everyone shared tortured looks. We sat down and rested. Gandalf said and did nothing just lit his pipe and stared at the three different choices of where to go.
"Are we lost?" Pippin asked Merry.
"No." Merry answered unsure.
"I think we are." Pippin answered.
"Shh. Gandalf's thinking."
"Merry?"
"What?"
"I'm hungry."
"Shut Up, Pippin." Aragorn. Legolas and I started laughing at the whispered conversation that had just taken place when Frodo gasped and raced towards Gandalf.
"What?" Boromir asked.
"Shh." Answered Aragorn.
Frodo approached Gandalf and whispered: "There's something down there."
"It's Gollum." Gandalf said.
"Gollum?" Frodo replied forgetting to whisper. And everyone gasped.
"He has been following us for thee days." Gandalf said.
"He escaped the dungeons of Barad-Dûr?" Frodo asked, amazed.
"Escaped. or set loose? He hates, and loves the ring, as he hates and loves himself. He will never be rid of his need for it." Gandalf replied.
"It is a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance." Frodo responded angrily.
"Pity? It is pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death and judgement. Even the very wise can not see all the ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill. before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many." Gandalf said reprimandingly.
Frodo steeled himself against the tears that were beginning to flow and said: "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."
"So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of Evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring. In which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought," Gandalf answered gently, putting an arm around Frodo, "Oh! It's that way!" he finished nodding to the path on the left.
"He's remembered!" Merry cheered as everyone followed Gandalf's glance.
"No." Gandalf started with a chuckle in his voice, "But the air does not smell so foul down here. If in doubt Meriadoc, always follow your nose." We walked for a bout an hour until we came to a chamber wherein we found the bodies of 100 or so dwarves. At the sight of which Gimli let out a pained yelp and ran for an inner chamber. When we arrived after him we found him kneeling beside a stone tomb weeping.
"Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." Gandalf read the top of the stone aloud.
"He is dead then." Gimli said resignedly.
" We must move on. We can not linger." I said insistently to Aragorn who just shook his head. Gandalf read from the account that a scribe kept of the events. He had just finished reading when Pippin knocked a dead body down a well, it also took down a heavy metal chain and well bucket with it, making a loud noise, alerting the evil presence to where we were.
"Fool of a Took! Through yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity." As he finished speaking a sound of drums and low cries reverberated through the halls.
"Orcs! Bar the doors!" Legolas screamed.
"Get back! Stay close to Gandalf!" Aragorn called pushing the hobbits behind him.
Boromir closed the doors and leaned against them and said: "They have a cave troll!"
"Come on!" Called Aragorn as he rushed over and help bar the door with axes Legolas and I tossed to them.
"Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria that still draws breath." Gimli called angrily jumping onto his cousin's tombstone.
We lined up across the front of the tomb of Balin weapons at the ready, Aragorn with a sword, Borimir with bow and arrows, Legolas with bow and arrows, Gimli with axe, Gandalf stood with the hobbits and all five of them had swords at the ready, and I stood next to Legolas with my knife and a smaller bow and arrows.
"Wait until they have made the first move." Aragorn said quietly as the orcs drew closer. Suddenly the orcs were at the door tearing at it with axes and swords. We all shifted expectantly, waiting for the first arrow. When the tip of the first arrow appeared in the hand sized hole in the door Legolas drew back his hand and let loose an arrow that shot directly into the hole and killed the Orc that had been aiming the arrow. With in a few seconds the Orcs had torn the door down and had entered the small chamber in which we stood. Then all at once the battle commenced, I was battling fiercely with three Orcs while Legolas took on four more while Boromir was just swinging randomly hoping to kill someone since there was so many of them. Gandalf and the hobbits each had their own Orc to battle as did Gimli who was unflinchingly hacking Orc's heads off willy-nilly. Aragorn on the other hand had five of his own orcs to battle but was also either shooting help to the others but sometimes killing their opponent for them (which almost proved a deadly thing to do, for several times as he helped others he was almost slayed).
Suddenly when I thought it couldn't possibly get any worse one lone Orc led in the biggest cave troll I have ever seen in my life.The Orc which was leading it spoke in some unintelligible tongue but it apparently told it to attack for immediately the troll went after the closest opponent, Boromir. Almost instantaneously Legolas and I moved in unison, running across the hall to help Boromir fight off the troll. Quickly we shot arrows into the head and torso of the troll, as Boromir slashed at it with his sword. Suddenly Legolas, in a fit of anger, jumped onto the head of the troll and fired four rapid shots into the top of the trolls head. The troll unsurprisingly became distracted and reached up to swipe Legolas off. In that split second before the trolls hand made contact with Legolas, Boromir lunged foreword and slashed through the trolls neck. The troll lurched foreword and fell facedown at Boromir's feet. As the troll fell, Legolas jumped from it's head to the ground landing nimbly on his feet.
"Run!" screamed Aragorn as he pushed their hobbits, Gandalf, and Gimli through the door behind him brandishing his sword.
As we fled, the Orc's arrows pierced the air around us.