Title: A tale about friendship, Part 11?

Author: Dís Thráinsdotter

E-mail: Overall rating: M, for violence and orctorment. This chapter: M

Summary: A group of children are told the tale of their friendship with the dwarves in general and the Folk of Durin in particular.

Warnings: The overall rating of this fic is M, as parts of it deals with violent battle and torment. There are also Original Characters in the fic, but no Mary Sues. Unbetaed, all mistakes belong to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own any one of Tolkien's characters, never have, and never will. The only ones I own are the people you have never met before.

Chapter 11, Attacking the Orcdens

The children wept when they heard about Thrórs death and what the Orcs had done to his body, and their hands reached for their chins in order to tear their nonexistent beards. Balin, Dáin, Bard and Gandalf smiled when they saw it and Balin said to them "you have to grow a beard before you can tear it". Thrór said to them

"That was horrible, my namesake didn't deserve that fate. In fact, no one does." Gandalf looked at him and said,

"it is true that no one deserve to be tormented and killed by Orcs, but it is a sad fact that many have faced such ends". He then looked at Melian and asked her why her foremother hadn't mentioned to anyone that she had taken part in the War. Melian answered,

"our foremother wrote in her book ´it was a war for vengeance, and all such wars have a tendency to become nasty. This was no exception and I have done deeds about which I can only say that I did them. I am not proud of them but I was very angry at the time. I am quite certain that she must have been fierce and frightening at times." Both Balin and Dáin nodded agreeingly.

"But then you must remember" Balin added "that her friend had been murdered by the horrible Azog, she wanted to lay her hands on the Orc and nothing would stop her from getting him." Bard commented

"I think that you have that inside of you as well, if any such creatures were to threaten your friends they would get more than they bargained for" and the others agreed with him.

"In any case" Melian said "I am sure that even though every member of the Army had prepared as much as possible, no one was quite prepared for what lay in store for them. Melian wrote ´I had listened with the others in our village to the tales about Orcs told by wandering Elves and Men, and while the Army assembled and prepared I also listened to the tales that the Dwarves could tell. I thought that I knew everything there was to know about them. It didn't take long for me to find out that I still had much to learn about them, and when I did I found out that they were even more horrible than I could possibly imagine. It was when the Army was making for the first Orcden, the capital Gundabad north of the Misty Mountains. The people of Huor were ahead of the main host, divided into groups to be able to find a way for the Army to approach the Mountain and find the exits. Boromir and his group had reached some pits not far from the Mountain when they heard a voice calling up from one of them. None of them understood what was said but Boromir answered ´Boromir at your service´. To his surprise the voice repeated the same words and Boromir said to his companions ´I don't understand but I think Melian does´ so he shouted to Melian ´come over here, quickly´ and Melian came to him with her group, asking what was the matter. ´Someone is down there´ Boromir answered and the voice was heard the third time. Melian answered, asking a few questions and the answers worried her. She turned to Boromir and asked him to throw down a rope.

Not long after there were three tugs on the rope and the members of Boromir´s group hauled up a thin and worn Dwarf named Lîm Goldplate who was younger than he looked. Melian and Boromir aided him to a smooth stone that they padded with a blanket so he could sit on it. When he sat there, leaning against a tree trunk, they gave him some food and drink. He was then able to tell them that he was one of ten who had been put into that pit four days earlier. They had been able to drink the water that gathered in puddles on the bottom but they hadn't eaten anything. Melian decided to go down there in order to get them out and before she went she told the others that they had to be careful with the amounts of food and drink given ´they have had nothing to eat for four days and little enough for a long time I wager´. She repeated it in khuzdul because she wasn't sure of Lîm´s knowledge of westron before she tied the rope around her waist; put her pack with food, drink and medicines on her back and was sent down into the pit.

As she descended into the pit she saw the remaining nine Dwarves laying on the bottom of it, unable to move they simply looked at her. When she came down she bowed before them, naming herself and gave each of them some food and drink. Each of them named himself and started to tell her what had happened to them but Melian told them that the tale was best told after they had left the pit. She offered their chief named Hepte to go up first, but he said to her that he couldn't leave his people behind so he was instead the last to leave.

Boromir and the others were horrified to see the condition that the Dwarves who came up from the pit were in. Boromir´s and Melian´s groups made makeshift litters for the Dwarves using branches and blankets. According to Melians instructions they were given some food and drink before they were put on the litters, wrapped into the spare cloaks of some of the members of the groups. While this happened the main host caught up with them and looked shocked as they saw their kin. When Melian came up as the last with Hepte in her arms, Thráin said to her in khuzdul ´you seem to have made carrying Dwarf lords a habit´ and Melian answered ´it seems like that. This is Hepte son of Nale, he is even more worn than your father was but not as hot´. When he saw Thráin standing with his sons he suddenly wept. Melian asked him what was the matter and it was then she understood what had happened. Hepte told her that his group had consisted of thirty in all and his two sons had been with him, but the group had been divided into three parts. He had been put in one of the parts and each of his sons in each of the two other parts and then they had been separated. He had later been told, or half told rather, that everyone in the other parts had been killed. Melian asked him if he really believed it, as she didn't think it would be beneath the Orcs to lie to their captives and Hepte answered that he hadn't entirely believed it but was unable to prove that it was a lie. Melian translated what was said into westron and everyone gasped when they understood what had happened. Boromir said to his and Melian´s group's ´we have to find them´ and then he said to Hepte ´don't worry, we'll find your sons and kin´. A third group sent a messenger to tell them that a safe place for a camp had been found and the rescued Dwarves were brought to it. Melian asked Hepte if he wanted to go with his people but he answered that he was too worried to remain in the camp and Melian carried him as they searched for the others.

Not long after the combined groups with Melian and Boromir found the second Dwarf group. Hepte who was wrapped in Melian´s spare cloak was placed on the ground leaning against a tree before Melian went down a second time. After the others had been sent up Melian emerged from the pit with the last of them in her arms and Hepte looked at the Dwarf unable to believe his eyes. ´Veig´ he called out and was answered with ´father, it can't be real´ as the young Dwarf was as astonished as his father. ´They told me that you and my brother were dead´ he continued and he wept as he touched his father's face for the first time in months. Veig and his group were then carried to the camp and the search continued until finally the third part with Hepte´s younger son Gandalv had been found and rescued. Then at last all of them could go to the camp.

Melian had at first shared the joy that everyone felt but then she had a nagging feeling that something horrible had happened, because when she had spoken with Gandalv he had told her the same thing as Hepte and Veig; he had been told that his father and brother had been killed along with their parts of the group. Melian was certain of one thing, it hadn't been done to benefit the Dwarves but for some other purpose and although it was unknown to her she was certain that it had to be foul. Boromir noticed that Melian didn't share the joy the others felt and asked her to tell him the reason. She told him that the stories that Hepte and his sons had told her raised a number of questions. Why had they been separated? Why had each group been told, or half told, that the two other had been killed? She didn't tell her brother that she thought Hepte was testing her in order to find out whether he could tell her what had happened to him. But she hadn't pressed him, as she was sure that Hepte would tell her when he was strong enough. She didn't have to wait for long.

The following night Hepte woke from a nightmare, got out of the bed he had been put into although where he got the strength from Melian never found out, knelt before her and begging ´don't do it´ kissed her hand. It took a while for Melian to make him understand who she was and that he was safe, and then he practically collapsed into her arms as he sighed with relief. Melian put him on her lap and asked him what had happened, and was then told that for a while he had been regularly whipped by the Orcs for no apparent reason. Then groups of Orcs had entered the cave where he and his group was kept and took one of them away, when that Dwarf returned he was almost unable to walk. When he was taken the Orcs took him to a nearby chamber where he was raped by each of them. ´I tried to resist but finally one of them had his way with me´ Hepte told her, ´then they whipped me until I promised that I would comply with their wishes. Then they raped me, I don't remember how long it lasted but it felt like ages. I was returned to the others when they had grown bored with me´. This had happened on a number of occasions until the Orcs had put them in the pit that Melian had rescued them from. During this time they were also forced to make tools for the Orcs.

At first Hepte was unable to look Melian in the eye but when he had finished he leaned against Melians arm and it seemed to her that he had been relieved of a great burden. He said to her that he didn't know if his people would accept him, should they find out what had happened but Melian assured him that they would be welcomed, ´they will be so happy to see that you are alive that they will tell you that it wasn't your fault´ Melian said to him.

The following morning the captains of the Army gathered as they had heard that Melian had information for them, and with Hepte on her lap she told them what she had heard. When she had finished, her sister Emeldir and cousin Faelivrin told them that Hepte´s sons had told similar stories. This made everyone furious, and the scouts worked day and night in order to find the hidden Orcexits.

When everything was ready they were able to take Gundabad, which was sacked, while the few prisoners that they took were interrogated about where Azog could be found. It was when they searched for evidence of Azogs whereabouts they found a cave with a locked door. They found the key on one of the Orcs that lay dead in the passage and opened it. To their astonishment and anger they found a group of half-starved Elves, who had been taken captive by the Orcs. Each of them had to be carried out of the Mountain as they were unable to walk to the gates and when they were taken to the camp one of the Elves caught sight of Hepte and looked as if he had seen a ghost. He finally said ´Hepte, but how? They told us that we would never see you again´ and Hepte answered ´they didn't intend it, but we were found and rescued´.

In the following weeks every Orcden in the area was taken, and Dwarves, Elves and Men rescued. They were nursed back to health and strength and finally they were able to return to their peoples. The gold, silver and jewels that were found in the Orcdens was given to the liberated peoples, as recompense for what they had had to endure."

TBC