Legolas Greenleaf, Agent of MESS, in
You Only Live Forever
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Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction, which is why I am posting it on this site. Legolas and associated characters were created by JRR Tolkien. James Bond was created by Ian Fleming. Legolas' appearance belongs to Orlando Bloom in a wig.
Author's Notes: Well, from here on in it all goes off, figuratively and literally speaking. Not much else to say. The little two-arrow trick in the last chapter was actually borrowed from 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' (which I only watched for Alan Rickman). I'd actually forgotten about that bit in FOTR.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the second (unexpected) chapter of 'Kill Me Tomorrow'! Particular congratulations go to Shemyaza1 for recognising my little Dad's Army references.
Review replies: theinklesspen: I'm sure you made a terrifying Wraith (and that's a compliment, I think). What about Sauron's eye? Well, look at the chapter title then read on (heh heh). The first double-digit chapter indeed, and this is already my longest fic!
Nemo Returning: I believe I mentioned how they'll destroy this mountain. If not, well, you'll just have to wait. Why do you think that G and U said it? And yes, you are a corrupting influence, very much so (the evilness of Harry, etc.).
Idlewild: Confession time here. I had never read The Spy Who Loved Me. Having realised this, I went and pulled it off my shelf (I have the whole pile, all in order, my pride and joy) and read it in two days. I can see why you like it so much (having melted into a puddle after reading it). I'm glad you liked Welch, I'm rather fond of him myself. I have vague plans for him in the future, I hope. You know, whenever I read in James Bond where he goes to Idlewild airport, I always think of you.
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Chapter 10: For Your Eye Only
There was no easy path across the Plateau of Gorgoroth, or if there was then they didn't see it. All that could be seen between the foot of the Ephel Dúath and the great bulk of Orodruin was a huge flat area, littered with large boulders, smaller rocks and stagnant pools. The moon shone down on it all, leaving dark shadows and bright reflections in the water. Greenleaf and Gimli picked their way across the plateau with as much speed as they could manage over the difficult terrain.
"Ouch," Gimli muttered, stumbling for the umpteenth time.
Greenleaf looked at him in mild concern, and then remembered to be surprised at himself for doing so. He kept catching himself forgetting that Gimli was a Dwarf, not thinking about the differences between them. It was a decidedly odd feeling for someone who had been brought up as he had: in absolute hatred, or at least low tolerance of the entire race of Dwarves. This is what Men call growing up, he decided, the rebelling-against-your- parents stage. Though he had had arguments with his father in his time, particularly concerning his choice of career, the idea that he needed a job on the first place, and why didn't he just settle down with a pretty Elf maiden like most sensible Elves. Greenleaf sighed. Sometimes his father treated him as if he was a mere Elfling, and this irked the Elven secret agent more than a little.
So distracted was he by these thoughts that he almost slipped headlong into a rather repugnant-smelling pool when his foot caught on a rock. He stopped himself as gracefully as was possible with his other foot, but was still irritated for it. Gimli, to his credit, said nothing, due either to tact or self-preservation. They continued on doggedly.
"Down!" Greenleaf hissed suddenly. He dropped to the ground and Gimli followed suit. They both pulled their cloaks over to hide them. Red light began to glow on the area they lay on, emanating from the very top of Orodruin. It was searching the plateau, and seemed to linger for far too long where they were. Greenleaf stared at the ground beneath his face, feeling the heat of the gaze on his back and silently willing it to move on. His hair fell in tendrils around his face, curling slightly in the damp night air. They were watched for what felt like an age, time seemingly slowing down just to torture them. The heat bore down, and both were convinced that they'd been seen and orcs were being sent out even now.
But finally it moved on, leaving Greenleaf and Gimli in cool, blessed darkness, and continuing its southerly sweep. They stood quickly, wanting to reach the mountain before it got light.
"What was that?" Gimli asked, touching his axe for reassurance. "Creepy damn thing. I'd swear it was watching us."
"It was probably looking for us," Greenleaf said, "or anyone coming this way. It's Sauron's surveillance system. It takes the form of a huge red eye, staring out over the plateau."
"Well, I don't think it saw us," Gimli said, "being as it moved on."
"Either that or he's trying to make us think that," Greenleaf answered, not allowing complacency, "but whichever it is, we need to move on."
They did so, continuing to make their way steadily across to the great volcano ahead. Most of the time the temperature had been cold –if he had been a man Greenleaf knew he would have been shivering- and the pale moonlight had added to the bleak, chilly feeling. But as they drew nearer they began to feel the heat from the fires within the mountain, and the deep red glow from its top began to overlay the delicate silver, like the red sun that rises after a battle.
"It'll be warm inside," Gimli commented, "like a forge or something, I expect."
Little more was said until they reached the foot of Orodruin and stood looking up at the great dark shape crowned with fire. It was an intimidating sight, to say the least.
"Of all the places to have a lair," Gimli said, "this has definitely got to be the most impressive. Rather knocks Erebor into a cocked hat, I'd say."
"Bit flashy for my tastes," Greenleaf said, and a smile crept over his face, "I mean, just look at it. Ostentatious, if you ask me. All these megalomaniacs have to have enormous places to hide in, the bigger the better. Mine's bigger than yours and all that. I think they're all trying to play on the 'you know what they say about folks with big hands' thing."
"Big gloves?" Gimli asked innocently.
"That's the one," Greenleaf answered. "Now, how do you reckon we should get into this place?"
"Hmm." Gimli stroked his beard. "Well, there'll be the obvious way that the orcs go in by, but that'll be pretty heavily guarded. But there's bound to be smaller ways in and out, and less used ones, particularly as this is a secret hideout. Do you see anything up there with those keen Elven eyes of yours that looks like a tunnel entrance?"
"Great," Greenleaf muttered, "more tunnels." He turned to examine the mountainside above. The main entrance was away to their left, an obvious dark hole cut into the rock. Orc guards were visible around it. Greenleaf and Gimli had been careful to stay out of sight in the shadows. Greenleaf gazed up at the rocky slopes away from the entrance.
"There," he said, pointing, "I think. That dark patch doesn't look like all shadow to me."
They scrambled up the incline, always aware of the orcs that stood guard only a short way to their left. The dark patch was under a ledge, and it was indeed a tunnel. Unfortunately it was too small for either of them to fit into.
"Don't worry, lad," Gimli consoled, patting the Elf's arm, "the shadows made it look bigger. There'll be others around."
"Are you being patronising, Dwarf?" Greenleaf asked, scowling dangerously. "You shouldn't; it's bad for your health."
"And, it seems, also bad for my Elf," Gimli muttered under his breath.
"And don't call me 'lad'," Greenleaf continued, ignoring the comment, "I think you'll find I'm rather older than you."
Gimli only grinned, and Greenleaf realised he'd been got, just like they loved to do to Haldir. Damn it, he thought, I'm not going to let the Dwarf get a rise out of me again.
"Over there," he said, indicating further right.
They went that way. Gimli slid and almost fell on a particularly gravely stretch, but Greenleaf caught him by the arm.
"This volcano hasn't properly erupted in a while, has it?" Gimli asked, a minute or two later.
"No, it hasn't, as far as I know. Why do you ask?"
"The rock would be a lot smoother; it'd be cooled lava. And there wouldn't be these little tunnels like that one back there. It's too small to have been dug out by orcs any time recently, so it must have been there for some time." Gimli gave the mountain a calculating look. "Could help us if we set an eruption off."
"Could do," Greenleaf agreed, "but we'll save that for when we're inside." He stopped by the cave he had pointed out before. "Is that big enough, Master Dwarf?"
"It would seem so," Gimli answered, bending to look in. "I can't guarantee that it'll be the same inside though."
"We won't know until we have a look," Greenleaf said. He gestured before him politely. "After you. You're the expert, after all."
Gimli snorted, but didn't deny the statement. He stepped into the tunnel entrance, and Greenleaf followed. It was fairly high, enough for the Elf to stand and not bump his head. He reached up with one hand and could just feel the roof with his fingertips. He kept his hand at about the level of his eyes as they moved forward, not wishing to knock himself silly if the height of the roof suddenly dropped. They both went fairly slowly, testing each step for fear of pitfalls or loose rocks. The tunnel remained fairly steady as time wore on, the floor level and height regular. Their only worry came when they heard a clanking sound coming towards them. It was an orc.
Greenleaf and Gimli darted to opposite sides of the tunnel, pressing themselves up against the walls and hoping that the creature would not notice them. It was hurrying down the tunnel fairly fast, muttering to itself.
"Late for guard duty, they says," it was chattering, "punishment, they says. Like anybeast ever uses this way in the first place..."
Its voice faded away as it passed Greenleaf and Gimli. When its footsteps had died away completely they detached themselves from the walls.
"Lucky for us he wasn't at his post," Gimli said.
"We would have dealt with him if he had been," Greenleaf told him, "I never rely on luck."
He thought on this as they continued on. It wasn't entirely true; there were times when luck had played a huge part in his successes. But as far as possible he didn't rely on it, preferring to pit his own wits and skill against the situation. Relying on luck made you a gambler, and even good gamblers know that their run of luck had to end someday. Saruman had been a gambler whose luck had finally run out, and now he was dead. Greenleaf gave a mental headshake. Why did that old wizard enter his thoughts?
"Here we are," Gimli whispered, stopping abruptly. Just ahead of him the tunnel opened up into a large cavern, lit by torches. A few orcs hurried about, but the cavern was mostly filled with weapons. Rough-cut shields lined one wall and also lay stacked in front. Spears and javelins leant against another wall, all different lengths and styles.
"It really stinks of orcs in here," Greenleaf commented, "I suppose it's because of all the heat. Sauron must have them working really hard to produce all that."
Gimli nodded, and they proceeded to follow the plan they had agreed on. Hoods up and keeping to the shadows, they crept round the edge of the cavern, keeping out of sight of the orcs moving around. They needed to infiltrate to the very heart of the volcano, to the centre of Sauron's operation, to the Dark Lord himself. They didn't know where he was, but on the plus side he didn't know where they were, or even that they were there at all hopefully. But still they were wary. Sauron was reputed to have an efficient surveillance system, both outside and in. If they were spotted then it would make their task that much harder. It was definitely one thing that they didn't want.
They left the huge armoury, going through one of the larger corridors. The width of it would allow them to stay out of the way of any orcs, which would not be possible in one of the smaller corridors. It was dark, but a faint red glow came from ahead, growing brighter the closer they got to it. The heat was increasing too, radiating from something before them. An Uruk- hai came striding past, followed by an orc. Neither even glanced to the sides, and consequently didn't see Greenleaf and Gimli. The Elf and the Dwarf continued on.
It wasn't long before they reached the end of the corridor. They looked out from the end to see another large cavern, larger than the armoury. At one end there was a wide gap between the edge of the ground and the wall. In place of solid rock floor was a river of molten lava, the heat of which must have been blistering close to. Orcs were at the edge, using the heat as a forge. What exactly they were making was unclear, but it obviously required much work. The creatures took it in shifts; as soon as one finished his piece it stepped back and another took its place. It was too hot for anyone to stay that close for any length of time. The orcs themselves were clad only in loincloths, but they still glistened with sweat.
Occasional sprays of lava were thrown into the air, sometimes causing the orcs to leap back. One orc was caught on the chest and he stumbled back screaming until another orc led him off down one of the corridors to the side. One or two sniggered, but the rest continued working, as if this was an everyday occurrence. It probably was. The entire cavern, though lit by the glowing lava, was still dark, and the heat was oppressive. The noise of the orcs' work was tremendous; the hammering was picked up and thrown around the walls in a huge echo, each beat repeated many times before finally being allowed to die away. Knowing that he would not be heard over the din, Gimli tugged on Greenleaf's sleeve and indicated to another corridor, round to the right of where they were. The pair hurried along beside the wall, keeping out of sight. Once in the corridor and round a corner it was much quieter.
"That wasn't weapons they were making in there," Greenleaf said, "some of those pieces were in rather odd shapes."
"And the orcs seemed to be taking rather a lot of care over them," Gimli agreed, "I mean, they were being very precise. They're usually quite slapdash with their weapons."
He looked down the corridor. It was long but not as dark as the last. Every so often torches were bracketed to the walls. Going further along, keeping their footsteps quiet, they came across an open doorway in the side. Beyond it was a small room, well lit and empty. There were a couple of chairs and a table, on which were some sheets of paper. Greenleaf went in cautiously and Gimli followed. Satisfied that there were no enemies hiding behind the door, they turned their attention to the papers on the table. A paperweight, a glass affair with pressed flowers in the centre, held them down. Greenleaf gave it an askance look before moving it aside. Sauron didn't seem to be a pressed flowers sort of person. He looked at the papers.
They were plans, and the Elf's eyes grew wide as he read. So this was what Sauron was planning.
A title was inscribed at the head of the page in the curling Black Script; it read 'War Machine'. The drafted blueprints below were enough to give Greenleaf a terrifying indication of the Dark Lord's ideas. They showed a giant metallic structure, made of many metal parts and set on several metal wheels. Two holes on the front were marked as places for shooting out flame, worked by bellows on the inside. It looked like it would be able to smash into walls and knock them down, or batter through doors. The oddest thing was at the back, what appeared to be the propulsion system. Greenleaf didn't understand it all, but one bit caught his eye. It referred to a ring, undoubtedly the very same one that he had retrieved from Isengard. It seemed, according to the writings, that Sauron had created that part personally, filling it with his power. It was the final component of the machine, marked with the legend 'ignition', and it was the bit that started the propulsion. It was a one-off item; Sauron would never be able to make another.
"This is ... monstrous," Gimli said finally. "Sauron could create a massacre in battle with that. It would be nigh on impossible to destroy."
Greenleaf nodded, and his thoughts fell back to the orcs they had seen earlier. Something suddenly occurred to him. "Ai!" he gasped. "He doesn't mean to have just one machine. He means to have an entire army of them!" He stared at the pages, not seeing the plans but instead imagining the horrors that could be wrought on the battlefield with such a device. "He has the orcs crating the parts in mass amounts. He probably plans to have hundreds of them. No army could stand up to such a force!"
He and Gimli looked at each other, both horrified by the prospect. Neither really knew what more to say, but were saved the trouble by something distracting them. A light appeared above the doorway, focussing slowly into a red eye, which glared down at them.
"We've been spotted!" Gimli cried.
Greenleaf snatched up the paperweight from the table and threw it straight on target at the eye. It shattered against the stone and the eye vanished, winked out like a candle flame.
"Come on!" Greenleaf said. "This place'll be swarming with orcs soon. Let's go! We should find somewhere to hide!"
They ran down the corridor, hearing orcs approaching from behind. Shouts indicated that the creatures had seen them, and both pursuers and pursued increased their paces. When they reached a junction Gimli pulled Greenleaf down the left hand way. It was dark, with no torches. They ran a little way then stopped, pressing themselves against the wall. The group of orcs charged past in the darkness. Greenleaf and Gimli headed back the other way, going back to the junction and taking the right hand way. Unfortunately, it ended abruptly in a cavern, one that was filled with orcs. They turned back, but were faced by more orcs coming the other way.
Unslinging his bow with the ease of many years' practice, Greenleaf felled two straight away, but there were too many in that short stretch, and he and Gimli were pushed back into the cavern. A great roar came up from the orcs as Elf and Dwarf fell into their midst. They fell on them with delight; though the cries turned to pain for some when the pair began to fight. Gimli's axe cleaved attackers into pieces, swinging in arcs about him. He shouted a Dwarvish battle cry, the harsh consonants of his language ringing out. Greenleaf, separated from him, heard and made a definite mental note to learn some Dwarvish. It was certainly a powerful language.
The Elf cleared several orcs with a sweep of his bow, using it as a staff. Some fell to the ground and were trampled by others, all eager to be the one that got the Elf. Greenleaf knocked back as many as he could, but they were soon too close for him to use his bow. He hung it on his quiver in a moment and unsheathed his knife. Many orcs were dead before they'd even noticed; all prey to his knife, which seemed to be moving faster than sight. He never stayed still for a second, not giving the orcs any form of target to focus on. A blade came at his head and he ducked, parrying another aimed at his side. The perpetrators of the attacks were dead moments later.
Then a new threat came into play. A crude, black-feathered arrow just missed Greenleaf, and he whirled to see where it had come from. On a raised part of the floor stood three Uruk-hai, each armed with a bow and arrows. One grinned at the Elf as he raised his bow and fired again. Greenleaf pulled an orc over in front of himself just in time, and was rewarded by the orc's eyes bulging in pain as the arrow hit it square on the back. He finished it with his knife, dropping the carcass and spinning to meet an attack from behind. But even as he did one of the more foolhardy orcs threw themselves on top of him. It ended up dead, but Greenleaf ended up on the floor under the body. The orcs all piled forward.
"Fools!" a voice rang out. It was a horrible voice, but Greenleaf couldn't see whom it belonged to. Every syllable sent shivers down him. "I want Elf alive!"
Even as the words penetrated his mind, Greenleaf realised that this gave him an advantage. He was still fighting to kill; the orcs were not. He heaved the corpse off of himself and became a blur of motion, felling orcs left, right and centre. A quick glance told him that Gimli was doing the same, though the orcs would have had no such compunction in killing him. Greenleaf, aware of the orc archers, vaulted over one of the larger orcs and literally ran over the heads and shoulders of the orcs crowded behind. One had the presence of mind to grab his ankle; he turned and slew it instantly. With one final leap he was at the edge of the cavern, landing perfectly on a lump of rock protruding from the wall and re-sheathing his knife in the same smooth movement. His bow was in his hands and two of the archers shot down in moments. He dodged a shot from the third and felled him in his next breath.
Pausing only for a moment, Greenleaf looked around to see who had given the command earlier. He could see no one, but for a dark shape in the shadows. There was no time to ponder it though, as the orcs were converging on him, and he didn't have enough arrows for them all. Looking across he could see, though the Dwarf probably could not, that Gimli had only a few orcs between him and escape down a corridor. Greenleaf himself was surrounded, only the wall at his back. Three quick arrows cleared a path for the Dwarf. Gimli looked back at Greenleaf after noticing where the arrows had come from. He looked reluctant to leave the Elf in the thick of it.
"Go!" Greenleaf yelled, but was yanked off his perch before he could see whether the Dwarf had followed his advice or not.
He fought wildly, using fist and feet as well as his knife. Many orcs fell, but there were always more there to take their places. Eventually sheer weight of numbers won through. Greenleaf felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and he pitched forwards. He just saw orc feet all around him before everything went black.
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