((Next chapter :) Fraid that its going to get a bit serious from here on
in, since the Mines of Moria is a fairly serious bit. So there may be
angst. Enjoy!))
The Mines of Moria. In person, they were a lot more impressive than on the screen. Much more impressive. I could only stand and gape at them, looking like a goldfish. At least Gimli managed to articulate.
Night was falling as we made camp beside the door, and Gandalf cleared away the dust of ages from the ithildin and let the moonlight shine on it. The gate glowed, and Gandalf began to translate the runes. Part of me giggled furiously, wondering why they didn't ask Legolas to translate, seeing as it would have saved them a lot of time. The rest of me was swearing furiously as I remembered what was coming up.
As Gandalf did his best to open the door, I stayed in the background as much as possible, allowing the plot to direct their actions. Anyway, I wouldn't have been able to say anything useful, I was too busy shitting myself as to what was going to come.
There was always the option of leaving the fellowship before they entered the mines, by what chance would I have of surviving in world I knew little about. I had only read the books and seen the film for heavens sake! I couldn't tell a poisonous mushroom from one that was edible, and I don't think that I would be able to hunt down, kill and gut something. So that left me with the option of staying with the fellowship. And facing orcs and a peeved Balrog. Oh, and the watcher in the water. Fuck. What a decision.
"You look serious." commented Aragorn as he finished with his part in the plot and came to sit next to me.
"Just considering things really." I replied, trying to keep my face from showing the absolute terror that was trying to paralyse me. "Are you one of the ones who know what is going to happen next?" he asked. That startled me.
"Yes." I admitted. "And I'm trying to figure out my role in all of this." "We will protect you should we encounter trouble." Aragorn said, resting one hand on my shoulder in reassurance.
"That's one of the things that I'm afraid of." I told him, finding that his reassurances were helping me clarify my thoughts. "If you spend your time trying to defend me, me who is rather inept with a blade, you might not take the time to defend yourself. I don't want to be responsible for getting you killed." "And the fact that you're inept with a blade could mean your death if you aren't defended."
"Exactly. And that's what I'm so thoughtful about." I replied.
Aragorn nodded, his brow furrowing in concentration. I hadn't wanted to offload my problems onto anyone else, but now that I had, I did feel a lot better for it. Sharing the problem meant that two brains could try and work out a solution. But to be honest, I didn't think that there was a solution. If I wanted to return home, I would have to travel with the fellowship.
"I'll just have to do my best." I said, thinking aloud, and Aragorn looked over at me.
The Heirs of Isildur, if I remembered rightly from my reading, were extremely perceptive, and this was borne out by the nod that he gave me.
Now that I had made my decision, I felt a peculiar calmness come over me. I had felt this a couple of times before when I had made a decision. I had no idea where it came from, but it reassured me.
"Its no use." Gandalf said, and the line snapped me back to full awareness. That was my cue to start paying attention.
Frodo rose and stared at the door. My lips formed the same words as he spoke, and the final password.
"Mellon."
The doors rumbled open, sending a waft of dank air out as they did so. The interior was totally dark, and Gandalf placed a crystal at the top of his staff and murmured an incantation. The crystal began to glow.
The fellowship and I advanced into the Mines. At first I tried to watch where I was putting my feet to try and avoid stepping on the bones that I knew littered the floor, but it proved to be too difficult. I closed my ears to the cracking of the bones beneath my feet.
Gimli was talking to Legolas about the hospitality of the dwarves, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow that Balin was dead.
"This is no mine." Boromir declared, looking around. "It's a tomb."
The hobbits bunched closer together and started to back away at the sight of the skeletons. My hand was on my sword, and every muscle in my body was tensed. I /knew/ what was coming.
"We head for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here." Boromir said, before shouting, "Get out! Get out!'
Then my eyes picked out the tentacle that was creeping over the stones. Frodo yelled as it caught him by the ankle and dragged him towards the lake. Then my reactions kicked in. though I was an interloper, I was still part of the fellowship. I yanked my sword out of its scabbard and dashed to the lakeshore.
We lashed at the tentacle furiously until it released Frodo and withdrew, but before we could gather our thoughts, a myriad of other tentacles shot out of the water, sending us flying as they impacted.
One slammed into my chest, and the power in it literally knocked the wind out of me as I was flung back against the rock wall. Blackness descended briefly over my eyes and my head spun, but when my vision cleared, I saw Aragorn and Boromir to the rescue.
As Boromir severed the tentacle that had hoisted Frodo into the air and Frodo dropped into his arms, Aragorn called to Legolas to shoot an arrow into the creature's eye.
We all ran for what now seemed like a sanctuary, the entrance to the Mines. The Watcher seemed to gather itself, before lashing forward and collapsing the entrance. Darkness descended on us and rock dust billowed around us and clogged our hair.
Any thoughts that I had of leaving were now no more than dreams. There was no way out, except.
"We must face the long dark of Moria. It's a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence here may go unnoticed." Gandalf intoned.
And so our journey through the dark began. I stayed in the middle of the group near the hobbits, and kept looking around, taking in the enormity of the mines. Things in real life were much more impressive than things read about or seen on the big screen.
The Mines of Moria. In person, they were a lot more impressive than on the screen. Much more impressive. I could only stand and gape at them, looking like a goldfish. At least Gimli managed to articulate.
Night was falling as we made camp beside the door, and Gandalf cleared away the dust of ages from the ithildin and let the moonlight shine on it. The gate glowed, and Gandalf began to translate the runes. Part of me giggled furiously, wondering why they didn't ask Legolas to translate, seeing as it would have saved them a lot of time. The rest of me was swearing furiously as I remembered what was coming up.
As Gandalf did his best to open the door, I stayed in the background as much as possible, allowing the plot to direct their actions. Anyway, I wouldn't have been able to say anything useful, I was too busy shitting myself as to what was going to come.
There was always the option of leaving the fellowship before they entered the mines, by what chance would I have of surviving in world I knew little about. I had only read the books and seen the film for heavens sake! I couldn't tell a poisonous mushroom from one that was edible, and I don't think that I would be able to hunt down, kill and gut something. So that left me with the option of staying with the fellowship. And facing orcs and a peeved Balrog. Oh, and the watcher in the water. Fuck. What a decision.
"You look serious." commented Aragorn as he finished with his part in the plot and came to sit next to me.
"Just considering things really." I replied, trying to keep my face from showing the absolute terror that was trying to paralyse me. "Are you one of the ones who know what is going to happen next?" he asked. That startled me.
"Yes." I admitted. "And I'm trying to figure out my role in all of this." "We will protect you should we encounter trouble." Aragorn said, resting one hand on my shoulder in reassurance.
"That's one of the things that I'm afraid of." I told him, finding that his reassurances were helping me clarify my thoughts. "If you spend your time trying to defend me, me who is rather inept with a blade, you might not take the time to defend yourself. I don't want to be responsible for getting you killed." "And the fact that you're inept with a blade could mean your death if you aren't defended."
"Exactly. And that's what I'm so thoughtful about." I replied.
Aragorn nodded, his brow furrowing in concentration. I hadn't wanted to offload my problems onto anyone else, but now that I had, I did feel a lot better for it. Sharing the problem meant that two brains could try and work out a solution. But to be honest, I didn't think that there was a solution. If I wanted to return home, I would have to travel with the fellowship.
"I'll just have to do my best." I said, thinking aloud, and Aragorn looked over at me.
The Heirs of Isildur, if I remembered rightly from my reading, were extremely perceptive, and this was borne out by the nod that he gave me.
Now that I had made my decision, I felt a peculiar calmness come over me. I had felt this a couple of times before when I had made a decision. I had no idea where it came from, but it reassured me.
"Its no use." Gandalf said, and the line snapped me back to full awareness. That was my cue to start paying attention.
Frodo rose and stared at the door. My lips formed the same words as he spoke, and the final password.
"Mellon."
The doors rumbled open, sending a waft of dank air out as they did so. The interior was totally dark, and Gandalf placed a crystal at the top of his staff and murmured an incantation. The crystal began to glow.
The fellowship and I advanced into the Mines. At first I tried to watch where I was putting my feet to try and avoid stepping on the bones that I knew littered the floor, but it proved to be too difficult. I closed my ears to the cracking of the bones beneath my feet.
Gimli was talking to Legolas about the hospitality of the dwarves, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow that Balin was dead.
"This is no mine." Boromir declared, looking around. "It's a tomb."
The hobbits bunched closer together and started to back away at the sight of the skeletons. My hand was on my sword, and every muscle in my body was tensed. I /knew/ what was coming.
"We head for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here." Boromir said, before shouting, "Get out! Get out!'
Then my eyes picked out the tentacle that was creeping over the stones. Frodo yelled as it caught him by the ankle and dragged him towards the lake. Then my reactions kicked in. though I was an interloper, I was still part of the fellowship. I yanked my sword out of its scabbard and dashed to the lakeshore.
We lashed at the tentacle furiously until it released Frodo and withdrew, but before we could gather our thoughts, a myriad of other tentacles shot out of the water, sending us flying as they impacted.
One slammed into my chest, and the power in it literally knocked the wind out of me as I was flung back against the rock wall. Blackness descended briefly over my eyes and my head spun, but when my vision cleared, I saw Aragorn and Boromir to the rescue.
As Boromir severed the tentacle that had hoisted Frodo into the air and Frodo dropped into his arms, Aragorn called to Legolas to shoot an arrow into the creature's eye.
We all ran for what now seemed like a sanctuary, the entrance to the Mines. The Watcher seemed to gather itself, before lashing forward and collapsing the entrance. Darkness descended on us and rock dust billowed around us and clogged our hair.
Any thoughts that I had of leaving were now no more than dreams. There was no way out, except.
"We must face the long dark of Moria. It's a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence here may go unnoticed." Gandalf intoned.
And so our journey through the dark began. I stayed in the middle of the group near the hobbits, and kept looking around, taking in the enormity of the mines. Things in real life were much more impressive than things read about or seen on the big screen.