(A.N. Many thanks to Orcish Nations for the Black Speech translations. They'll pop up every now and again.)
My orcs were ready to take on the nine members of the Fellowship. I stayed with them up until they almost reached the door to the tomb. Then I took a detour up to find the rest of the orcs. I knew there had to be hundreds roaming around in the mines. I wanted those nine dead and if the band I had already sent couldn't do it, we would need to overwhelm them. I didn't think we'd need to wake up the Balrog, assuming he hadn't done it himself.
I walked through the mines, collecting a trail of orcs behind me. It must have been an interesting sight, me in my blood red robes followed by hundreds of orcs. For the first time, I got to lead my army. It felt good to be in charge. I actually smiled to myself as we walked. It was the smile of a woman about to do something very naughty. We bypassed the tomb below and I they began to take up places of entry in the main chamber. The room was cavernous with plenty of points of entry, but only one way out. The Bridge lay out the door I where I would be standing. It was the only way out of Moria and they would have to pass through me to get there. I stationed myself just inside the door and waited. Surely by now they were either dead or about to come charging in. No sooner had I thought that did I see a light out of the corner of my eye. Somehow they had beaten the cave troll and made it out again. We would soon fix that. I stepped out from my hiding place.
"Prauta! Prauta!" I yelled. The Fellowship skidded to a stop, first looking at me, then the orcs that came streaming out like water. This time we would take care of it. They drew their weapons, as if they had a chance of winning. I shook my head in disbelief. This was incredible. I would have expected a group being led by a wizard to know better. I waited for the pounce, but it never came. What did come was a horrible rumbling. The ground shook under our feet. I looked up to see the orcs scattering. That meant one thing. The Balrog was awake.
I may be immortal, but I'm not stupid. I was not about to stay there and see what entailed a Balrog attack. I was out the door and down the stairs while they stood dumb. Frankly, if they were dumb enough to stand there, they deserved what was coming to them. I had made it to the bottom of the stairs when I saw them come crashing in. That's when the stairs crumbled and they were forced to jump. I watched as they each in turn leapt from one side to the other. The dark man and one of the Hobbits were the last to jump. I was hoping they'd miss, but sorely disappointed. It looked as if they would make it out of Moria alive. I was lamenting this fact mentally as I crossed the bridge. It had yet to give out. Some dwarf construction was halfway decent. The Balrog was catching up. I climbed up to a decent vantage point and got my first look at a Balrog. It wasn't that terrifying. It was imposing, probably fifteen or twenty feet tall, with horns like a bull. It stood on two legs and wielded a fiery whip. Eight members made it across the bridge, but the wizard stopped. He was going to fight it.
"Brave, but stupid," I said to myself. The Balrog was not pleased that he had been stopped. Obviously the wizard had some kind of counter magic that held it at bay. The bridge opened up under the Balrog and down it fell. It looked like they had won out again. I groaned, convinced we were never going to get anywhere. Then, suddenly, the wizard fell. One of the Hobbits started yelling and trying to get to him and the Gondorian man held him back. The wizard disappeared into the chasm. I had to keep myself quiet, but I wanted to cheer. With their leader gone, they would be far easier to penetrate. I decided to keep following them, even though I had promised not to. I had to find out who had the Ring. I met Angath outside. She was waiting patiently.
"Our journey isn't over yet, kranklub," I said, patting her. She tossed her head and snorted. I mounted her and waited for the eight to emerge. Now would be my time to test my shapeshifting skills. Angath and I rode just over the ridge where we could remain unseen. I knew Lothlorien lay not too far from our current position. Since there was an elf in the Fellowship, perhaps they would venture there. If not, I could convince them. I rode up over the ridge. They were on their way down.
"Are you the party that set out from Rivendell?" I asked.
"We are," the dark man said.
"Then you are to come with me," I said. "I ride from Lothlorien."
"Then we shall follow," he said. I turned Angath around and we headed to the third realm of the elves. I had never spent much time there. It was a fair distance to travel and what with Mirkwood on our doorstep, there was little need. The elf kept looking at me strangely. I was hoping he didn't see through me.
"What is your name?" he finally asked. I froze. I had no idea what to say, so I blurted out the first name that came to mind.
"Authaenil," I said. It was the name of an elf I had turned long ago. The only reason I remembered her name was she had begged me not to change her. She was the only one who ever had. It still moved me, now that I remembered. Her eyes nearly broke what little heart I had left. I quickly pushed her from my mind.
"And what is yours?" I asked.
"Legolas," he said. "I come from Mirkwood." I nearly fell off Angath. That's where I had seen him before. He had been the one who I had forgone kidnapping on my very first trip. He would surely recognize me if I couldn't keep up my ruse. All the more reason to not let it drop.
"And who travels with you?" I asked.
"The Ranger is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. There is Boromir of Gondor; Gimli, son of Gloin; and the Hobbits. The one walking with Aragorn is called Frodo, and the little one is Peregrin," he said. Thank you for being so brilliantly gullible, I thought.
"Why are you traveling so far and with such a group?" I asked.
"Have you not heard? The Ring of Sauron has been found," he said. I bit down on my tongue hard to keep from cheering. I could taste blood as I finally spoke.
"I have not heard, but I do not hear well these days," I said. Now to get him to tell me who had it. Which one I needed to kill first. Before I could speak, a bit of dust got in my nose and I sneezed.
"What was that?" he asked.
"Nothing," I said, wiping my nose.
"You sneezed," he said.
"Did I?" I said. He stopped and gave me a hugely suspicious look. Then something clicked in that little elvish brain of his. Elves never sneezed. Ever. Therefore, I was not what I said I was.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"I told you who I am," I said.
"Who are you really?" The rest of the Fellowship had stopped to watch this display. I was found out. No use in keeping it up anymore. I let them see me for what I really was.
"I am the keeper of Sauron's armies. My name is Azra and you will not soon be rid of me," Angath gave an impressive rear and we galloped off back in the direction of Mordor.
"What was that all about?" Merry asked.
"That was Azra, the witch of Mordor," Legolas said. "I used to think she was a myth."
"And now?" Pippin asked as they started walking.
"Obviously she is real. There are quite a few stories about her among my kind. I saw her myself once, about two thousand years ago. She looked me in the eyes and then rode off with two of my cousins in her grasp. She takes elves and turns them into orcs. No one knows exactly how. She roams mostly in Mirkwood because it is so close to Mordor. The story goes Sauron saw her when he first started the war and fell in love with her. He made her the master of his orcs and gave her the gift of eternal life. She is said to be the most beautiful woman in the world and that is what helps her capture her prey. They trust her because of her beauty. Apparently she has somehow learned to shapeshift," he said.
"Which is why we followed her in the first place," Aragorn said, looking back in my direction. "Does she know who has the Ring?"
"No, I realized who she was before I said anything. She knows our names, that is all," Legolas said.
"That could be dangerous enough," Boromir said.
"We shall see," said Aragorn. "We shall see."
~*~*~*~*~*~
Translation Corner:
Prauta-Ambush
Kranklub-Sister