Chapter 23: A Journey in the Dark
Yes, I *finally* get around to updating.
Disclaimer: Don't tell me about them. Not after I did my IRS report.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
So now the Company stood in front of the stone doors.
"They read 'the Doors of Durin, lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter'."
"How long d'you reckon it'll take them to figure it out?"
"How long before we get the nice reception from the watcher in the water?"
Blades were unsheathed and arrows notched onto bowstrings. Polinn was keeping up a whispered mantra of "No movie verse, no movie verse......."
Aragorn came over to the girls.
"The mines are no place for your horses. They have been useful enough but you have to let them go back here."
"It's true." Sara sighed. "Horses don't climb stairs, and definitely not in the dark."
Gwen and Pris were conducting a whispered conversation, then turned to Sara and Diana.
"That's it!"
"What?!"
"Unload the important things only, and leave the tack on."
"Why?"
"You'll see." Sara grinned.
When they had complied, the two whispered soft words into the ears of their steeds, and then the horses turned out led by the storm grey and the black. Sam let Bill loose after them.
Suddenly Frodo cried out, "What's the Elvish word for friend?"
"Mellon."
"Oooh boy. Guess what, we get to do this movie verse."
There was the screech of grating stone, and the doors swung open. They filed in. Gimli was rambling on about "good food and roaring fire and how it was called a MINE" and Diana had a smirk on her face as she anticipated the dwarf's reaction later on. She had never liked dwarves, and, come to think of it, WHO DID?!
"This isn't a mine." Boromir murmured. Shuwen finished the sentence.
"It's a TOMB."
"OUT! OUT!" Claire screamed, catching sight of the hideously mutated orc and dwarf skeletons lying around. And then it was the moment the Watcher chose to attack. There was a choked yell as Frodo found himself taking flying lessons from a giant squid of a thing. Silei was the first to react, and make a slash for the tentacles.
"Chao you yu!" Sara laughed. [Chinese translation: fried cuttlefish.]
Next to go were two more tentacles as Polinn and Shuwen did their piece. Sara was enjoying herself, and there were six on her "killed" list already.
"Into the mines!"
"SHIT!"
The slower Pris and Inez had to be dragged back, past the falling debris.
Boom.
Crash.
Thud.
The rocks settled. They were in pitch dark.
Chk. Fsssht. A flame appeared.
"Thank god I brought flint and tinder." Gwen smiled. Gandalf looked robbed of the moment when he would light his staff, but he lit it anyway.
Inez produced a map of Middle Earth. Legolas looked relieved, and snatched it from her. Inez growled and pulled it back. Diana and Pris looked up as one.
"Isn't that the one that went missing?"
And then the parchment ripped.
"Lovely!" Gwen exploded. "You two just HAD to do that, did you?!"
Legolas was looking rather shocked at being scolded by a *mortal* child, barely *half* his height, and definitely with less prowess than him. [A/N: No offence meant, Gwen!]
"SHUT UP!" Gandalf cut across the bickering. "It is three days or more across theses mines. What's more, there may be orcs.
"Balrog." Polinn mouthed.
"Better not say." Pris mouthed.
"Let's go."
The Company followed Gandalf in twos and threes. The Istari strode ahead, brandishing his staff. With him walked Gimli, still sniffling something awful. Following were the four hobbits, and then Diana, Pris, Gwen, and Sara, then Silei, Nez, and Claire. Polinn and Shuwen were being incooperative and making life difficult for poor Legolas, trying to keep them from stopping at every opportunity to distract him so Sara could, miraculously, appear from the front and give his hair a tug, and this occurred rather often.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Cold, tired, hungry, bored......" Inez ticked off her fingers. "What else?"
"Need the horses, need a *lot* more light....." Shuwen continued.
"Need to kill hobitses for eating our dinner while we were busy checking out the location." Gwen finished. "Can we get a break?!"
They forced Gandalf into calling a halt, and dropped wearily onto the ground. Gwen lit a candle from the supply she had.
"This place freaks."
Polinn peered over the edge of the steep staircase they sat on. It was a long way down. Too long for comfort. Somewhere down there lurked the Balrog......
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Blah. No comment.
Yes, I *finally* get around to updating.
Disclaimer: Don't tell me about them. Not after I did my IRS report.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
So now the Company stood in front of the stone doors.
"They read 'the Doors of Durin, lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter'."
"How long d'you reckon it'll take them to figure it out?"
"How long before we get the nice reception from the watcher in the water?"
Blades were unsheathed and arrows notched onto bowstrings. Polinn was keeping up a whispered mantra of "No movie verse, no movie verse......."
Aragorn came over to the girls.
"The mines are no place for your horses. They have been useful enough but you have to let them go back here."
"It's true." Sara sighed. "Horses don't climb stairs, and definitely not in the dark."
Gwen and Pris were conducting a whispered conversation, then turned to Sara and Diana.
"That's it!"
"What?!"
"Unload the important things only, and leave the tack on."
"Why?"
"You'll see." Sara grinned.
When they had complied, the two whispered soft words into the ears of their steeds, and then the horses turned out led by the storm grey and the black. Sam let Bill loose after them.
Suddenly Frodo cried out, "What's the Elvish word for friend?"
"Mellon."
"Oooh boy. Guess what, we get to do this movie verse."
There was the screech of grating stone, and the doors swung open. They filed in. Gimli was rambling on about "good food and roaring fire and how it was called a MINE" and Diana had a smirk on her face as she anticipated the dwarf's reaction later on. She had never liked dwarves, and, come to think of it, WHO DID?!
"This isn't a mine." Boromir murmured. Shuwen finished the sentence.
"It's a TOMB."
"OUT! OUT!" Claire screamed, catching sight of the hideously mutated orc and dwarf skeletons lying around. And then it was the moment the Watcher chose to attack. There was a choked yell as Frodo found himself taking flying lessons from a giant squid of a thing. Silei was the first to react, and make a slash for the tentacles.
"Chao you yu!" Sara laughed. [Chinese translation: fried cuttlefish.]
Next to go were two more tentacles as Polinn and Shuwen did their piece. Sara was enjoying herself, and there were six on her "killed" list already.
"Into the mines!"
"SHIT!"
The slower Pris and Inez had to be dragged back, past the falling debris.
Boom.
Crash.
Thud.
The rocks settled. They were in pitch dark.
Chk. Fsssht. A flame appeared.
"Thank god I brought flint and tinder." Gwen smiled. Gandalf looked robbed of the moment when he would light his staff, but he lit it anyway.
Inez produced a map of Middle Earth. Legolas looked relieved, and snatched it from her. Inez growled and pulled it back. Diana and Pris looked up as one.
"Isn't that the one that went missing?"
And then the parchment ripped.
"Lovely!" Gwen exploded. "You two just HAD to do that, did you?!"
Legolas was looking rather shocked at being scolded by a *mortal* child, barely *half* his height, and definitely with less prowess than him. [A/N: No offence meant, Gwen!]
"SHUT UP!" Gandalf cut across the bickering. "It is three days or more across theses mines. What's more, there may be orcs.
"Balrog." Polinn mouthed.
"Better not say." Pris mouthed.
"Let's go."
The Company followed Gandalf in twos and threes. The Istari strode ahead, brandishing his staff. With him walked Gimli, still sniffling something awful. Following were the four hobbits, and then Diana, Pris, Gwen, and Sara, then Silei, Nez, and Claire. Polinn and Shuwen were being incooperative and making life difficult for poor Legolas, trying to keep them from stopping at every opportunity to distract him so Sara could, miraculously, appear from the front and give his hair a tug, and this occurred rather often.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Cold, tired, hungry, bored......" Inez ticked off her fingers. "What else?"
"Need the horses, need a *lot* more light....." Shuwen continued.
"Need to kill hobitses for eating our dinner while we were busy checking out the location." Gwen finished. "Can we get a break?!"
They forced Gandalf into calling a halt, and dropped wearily onto the ground. Gwen lit a candle from the supply she had.
"This place freaks."
Polinn peered over the edge of the steep staircase they sat on. It was a long way down. Too long for comfort. Somewhere down there lurked the Balrog......
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Blah. No comment.