Disclaimer: The characters, settings, places and languages used in this work are the property of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Tolkien Estate and Tolkien Enterprises. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Notes: *SPOILERS* - Do NOT read if you don't want to know what happens at the end of the Return of the King.

Based on canon (i.e. book-verse, not movie-verse. The Elves were not at Helm's Deep in the book – this is why.)

Originally written for the www.haldir-lives.org Fan Fic Challenge. Huge thanks to Kissaki and everyone else at www.haldir-lives.org.

Chapter II

Haldir jogged swiftly over the rocky ground, heading up towards the Dimrill Stair. He had volunteered to lead this scouting mission, and now he led four other Elves towards the Misty Mountains, less than a day's march from Lothlórien. Since Gandalf had reported the destruction of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, Galadriel had realised the Moria orcs must be using a different entrance to get in and out of the Mines.

The trouble is, never having been in Moria myself, I have no idea where to look for the usual door, let alone another one, thought Haldir.

The other Elves in the party were no more knowledgeable. Celeborn had offered to come himself, as he had travelled through the Mines in ages past, but Haldir had refused to allow his lord to make such a dangerous journey, and in any case Celeborn was needed in Lórien. Heavy rain had put out the fires along the northern border, and by the power of Nenya Galadriel had already begun to heal the wood, but Haldir's heart bled at the thought of the blackened trees and barren ground. His anger at the orcs hidden in the mountains grew, and he ran on with renewed vigour. They needed to locate where the orcs were coming from, and find a way to block the entrance, at least temporarily. It was enough to have Dol Guldur to worry about, let alone these nasty little goblins as well.

Nearby, one of the Elves gave a quiet call. It was daytime, so there was little chance of the orcs coming out and attacking them, but they still needed to be careful. Haldir stared at the rock face that his companion was pointing to, and his sharp elven-eyes soon spotted the small crevice. They closed in on the cliff face, surrounding the crack. It certainly looked like it went a long way into the mountainside, but it was too dark to be sure.

"One of us will have to go in and take a look." Haldir said.

The scouting party looked at their leader. Elves as a rule intensely dislike caves, and none of them were very willing to venture into that small fissure. Haldir knew why they hesitated, truth be told he didn't want to go in there alone either.

"We will take a torch, of course." Haldir smiled. "Though the orcs might see the light, it will do us no good to go in there if we cannot see."

The other Elves noticed his use of the word 'we', and one of them stepped forward.

"I will go with you, Haldir. Let us see how far this cave goes."

"Thank you, Rhimdir. I will carry the torch and my sword. If you ready an arrow on your bowstring, then we should be guarded against an attack. The rest of you prepare to kill any that may pursue us out of here."

The Elves did as Haldir ordered, and Haldir led the way into the crevice, crouching a little to begin with, as it was so small a hole. Soon though, it opened out enough for Haldir and Rhimdir to walk side by side. Silently they went, careful not to make any sound that may echo down the passage. They did not want to announce their presence to the orcs inside. Suddenly Haldir stopped, looking around uneasily. A second later Rhimdir understood what had alarmed Haldir as he felt tremors surge through the rock walls around them. They stopped quickly, but it was a few minutes before either Elf ventured to say anything.

"Do you think there will be any more tremors like that, Haldir?"

"I do not know Rhimdir. It is not unheard of in these parts to have earth tremors, but am I just wondering if the recent movements of the Balrog might have made the mountain unsafe."

"Maybe we should go back. Haldir?"

Haldir was sorely tempted to agree to this. He was more terrified than he cared to admit by the thought of being buried in this hole, which was too small and too dark for his liking. For a wild moment, he imagined just turning and running outside, into the wonderful fresh air and wide-open space on the mountainside. The others would understand, they'd have felt the tremors, and were probably worried about them. But–

"We cannot. We have not yet found out how far this tunnel leads, and if it is the one being used by the orcs. Go back if you wish, but I must carry on."

"Nay Captain, if you are going ahead then I will follow you."

Haldir silently sighed in relief; his offer for Rhimdir to go back was made out of courtesy, but Haldir in truth had no wish to be left alone in this dark place. They carried on, and soon the crevice opened out into a small chamber. The torch illuminated pillars carved with dwarf-runes, proving that they had in fact entered Moria, not just a random cave. Haldir noted that some of the rubble on the floor looked recently fallen, and that the holes knocked into the sides of the chamber looked newly made also.

The orcs have only just started using this exit, after the destruction of the Bridge, Haldir guessed.

"Captain Haldir, look!"

Rhimdir held up a black arrow, clearly made by orcs. But Haldir was more concerned with how loud he had shouted. He knew it probably seemed louder than it really was, but as it echoed around the chamber he dreaded being discovered. And he was right to dread: from below there came a terrible, ominous sound, drumbeats hammering deep, seeming to come from the rock itself. Doom-boom-doom. The Fellowship had reported hearing the same sounds before they were attacked, and Haldir had no wish to be caught like they had. Grabbing Rhimdir he ran towards the exit.

They were too late. Orcs came pouring into the chamber, and quickly gave chase to the fleeing Elves. The passage thinned, and they had to run in single file. Haldir was in front; Rhimdir had paused to fire an arrow back down the passage, more to discourage their pursuers than in any real hope of hitting one of them. Haldir looked frantically for a flash of daylight that would signal the end of this horrible passageway, when Rhimdir shouted to him from behind. It took Haldir a second to realise what Rhimdir had said, but from the sound of receding footsteps he understood; the orcs had given up the chase. In fact, they were running away.

Haldir and Rhimdir stopped running, confused. Then Rhimdir's eyes opened wide in fright.

"It's happening again!" Rhimdir cried.

"RUN!"

Haldir and Rhimdir ran, going even faster than before, trying to outrun the tremors that coursed through the rock. As they rounded a corner Haldir spotted the end of the tunnel, and saw the other three Elves stood there, bows held at the ready. But, even as he ran, now just yards away from the end, Haldir saw the ceiling of the crevice begin to give way. Desperately he cried out a warning to Rhimdir, and almost dove for the exit, but it was too late. A rock struck Haldir on the shoulder and drove him to the ground. He dropped the torch and shielded his head, panicked thoughts running through his mind. He heard Rhimdir cry out, heard the Elves outside calling to him, heard the terrible noise of boulders falling to the ground around him, on him, he realised he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe! Haldir's last conscious thought was for Lórien, and with immense sadness he believed that he would never again walk under the mallorn-trees in Spring. Then darkness took him.

Author's note: Please remember to Read & Review! All reviews are deeply appreciated.