I got my first review and I was so thrilled to pieces that I decided to write another chapter!!!
DISCLAIMER: Y'know, I always forget to do this. And I always remember that I forgot when I am in the middle of uploading it! Yeah, it's a bummer. But, I remembered this time, so here it goes! I do not own Lord of the Rings. I own Gwen.
Gwen awoke to the feeling of cold stone against her cheek. She did not know how long she had been sleeping. It was hard to keep track of time in the dark. They had been journeying through the Mines for two days and had seen no sign of any living thing, good or evil. She pushed herself up off the ground.
" Oh, don't let me fall asleep like that again. If I'm lucky, I may be able to turn my head by the time we get out of here," she moaned as she rolled her neck. Boromir looked at her in amusement and laughed.
" What were we supposed to do? You just dropped like a stone as soon as we halted. Legolas tried to shift your head and almost got his hand cut off!" he said.
" Oh did he now?" Gwen said as she turned to face him.
" Yes, I did. You drew your knife so fast I had to jump backwards to get out of the way!" he exclaimed. They all laughed softly, yet it sounded like they were shouting because it echoed.
" Will you all kindly lower your tone, I am trying to think!" demanded Gandalf. All laughter ceased.
" How long have we been sitting here?" asked Gwen.
" Longer than I like," answered Aragorn.
" So Gandalf still hasn't figured out which of those three passages we are supposed to take?" she continued.
" No, not yet. But don't worry, he will." Gwen believed him. She grabbed an apple from a sack and began munching upon it. Just as she finished, Gandalf stood up and said, " Oh, it's this way!"
" He's remembered!" Merry said, happily.
" No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here. When in doubt Meriadoc, always trust your nose!" said Gandalf. The Fellowship followed him down the dark corridor. They emerged into a huge room.
" Welcome to the Great Realm of the Dwarf City of Dwarrowdelf!" said Gandalf. Gwen, along with the others, looked up in amazement.
" Well, that's something you don't see everyday," she heard Sam say.
" Wow!" was her all intelligent reply. Gimli interrupted their amazement.
" OH!" he cried as he ran off into a side room.
" Gimli!" yelled Gandalf. They all ran into the room behind Gimli, only to find him kneeling before a large coffin, bawling.
" Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria. He is dead then, it is as I feared," said Gandalf.
" Bwahaha!" cried Gimli.
" Aragorn, if he keeps crying like that, every beast that is down here will hear him!" Gwen whispered in Aragorn's ear. He walked over to Gimli and spoke to him. Gimli was quiet. Gandalf pulled a book out of the knarled hand of a dwarf skeleton and began reading some of the last passages.
" We cannot get out," he read, " they have taken the Bridge and the second hall. We cannot get out. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. They are coming!" A great bang caused Gwen to unsheathe her knives. She looked about frantically and her eyes settled on Pippin, who was standing near a well. Apparently, he had been messing with an arrow that was sticking into a dwarf skeleton upon the rim of the well. He, being the foolish hobbit that he was, twisted the arrow, causing the head of the dwarf to tumble down the well, helmet and all. The rest of the dwarf followed suit, dragging the chain and bucket along with it. With every bang, Pippin winced and squeezed his eyes shut. The clangs and bangs echoed throughout the entire Mine. Soon they became more distant, then faded entirely. The entire Fellowship let out the breath that they had been holding. Gwen just about collapsed.
Gandalf began berating Pippin. " Next time, throw yourself in and rid us of your stupidity!" A loud boom echoed through the room. It was followed by a series of drumbeats.
" Oh no," said Gwen. Chilling screams and shrieks reached their ears, causing the hair upon Gwen's neck to stand straight up.
" Frodo, your sword!" yelled Sam. Frodo drew his sword, which was glowing.
" Orcs," said Legolas.
Aragorn thought fast, sending them all into action. " Quick, jam the doors!" Gwen and Legolas ran for a pile of discarded weapons near the door and began handing spears and axes to Boromir and Aragorn, who jammed them into the door handles.
" They have a cave troll," Boromir said with mock enthusiasm.
" Oh, fun," said Gwen. The four of them moved back from the door. Gwen looked back at the hobbits, which were standing behind Gandalf. Orcs began pounding on the door. Aragorn, Gwen, Boromir, and Legolas stood ready. Gwen had her daggers out. The door heaved once, then broke entirely. The orcs in front met the ready blades of the four. Gwen downed an orc with a swift kick to his stomach, then brought one of her blades down to finish the job. The orcs were driven back by the ferocious defense of the Fellowship. Gwen looked up to see the cave troll come crashing into the room. She took aim and threw one of her knives at it, hitting it in the shoulder. The cave troll pulled it out and threw it across the room, hitting an orc. Gwen's eyes widened in fear. Legolas shot it with an arrow, which did nothing but make it angrier.
" Oh, like that's going to work! He could pick his teeth with Aragorn's sword, for goodness sake! We need to find his vulnerable area!" she yelled at him. She turned to go retrieve her dagger. Well, at least the troll is good for something. He keeps killing his own, she thought as she pulled her knife out of the orc's body. She then went about her business, which was to kill as many orcs as possible while staying alive. The next few moments were all a blur. She saw Legolas jump on the troll and shoot it, which didn't work. He jumped down and practically landed on her.
" Our situation has not improved," she said to him.
" We need to strike at the neck!" he yelled above the screams of orcs.
Gwen looked at the troll, then back at him.
" The neck? How are we going to get close enough to strike the neck without getting ourselves killed?" she looked at him incredulously.
" I just need one clear shot!" he yelled back at her.
" Okay, I'll watch your back, you fire away, savvy?" she asked. He nodded. They both turned to face the troll, only to see it stab Frodo!
" Quick Legolas! Now!" she screamed.
" I can't, he's moving around too much and the hobbits are in the way!" he replied. Gwen turned and looked at the hobbits stuck like glue on the cave troll's back. She watched as it flung Pippin down.
" Legolas, if you don't shoot it now, one of the hobbits will be killed!" she shouted. He took aim and let his arrow fly. It hit the cave troll in the throat. It moaned, as if trying to comprehend what had happened. Then it's eyes glazed over, and it fell to the ground like a log, flinging Merry from it's back. Gwen ran over to him and helped him up. She looked up and saw that the others were gathered around Frodo.
" Oh, no,' she said. She had grown to like Frodo; he was a good friend. She wandered over and saw that he was sitting up!
" I'm all right! I'm not hurt," he gasped. Gwen let out a sigh of relief and smiled.
" You had us all fooled for a second there, friend!" she said.
" You should be dead! That spear would have skewered a wild boar!" exclaimed Aragorn.
" I think that there is more to this outfit than meets the eye," said Gandalf, leaning heavily on his staff. Frodo opened the top of his shirt.
" Mithril!" breathed Gimli. Sure enough, Frodo was wearing a small mail tunic of mithril, which had saved his life.
" You are full of surprises, Master Baggins!" exclaimed Gimli.
" Um, I hate to be the bearer of bad news and all, but we need to get moving!" said Gwen as shrieks and yells echoed down the hall.
" To the bridge of Khazad — Dum!" yelled Gandalf.
Okay, that's that!!
SandraSmit19: thank you so much for reviewing! Yeah, I know it isn't all that original, but how can you be original with Lord of the Rings? Everybody has written everything! Which is actually quite frustrating, now that I think about it. I'm glad you like it, though!