Millie woke with the sun in her face; she blinked a few times as her sleepy eyes became accustomed to the bright morning light. With a gaping yawn she turned over to see that the others were still sleeping-or dead in Manwë's case. She thought about waking Emma-preferably as suddenly and unexpectedly as possible!-but didn't really feel like moving just yet. With a sigh she realised that they would be forced to ride all day again if they were to reach the mountains by nightfall. If they were not quick enough the vampires would find them again. Millie shivered as she thought of their last meeting and was unnerved to find that she wasn't so sure that she didn't want the Nos to find them again. The lead vampire, (damn she didn't even know his name!) had been very good looking. Not to mention perfectly willing to kill her- or at least make her into a vampire, which-for all she knew-might be far worse!
As these conflicting and, in all honesty, confusing thoughts chased each other around the 'elf's' head, she was glad to see someone stirring across the remains of the fire. She was less pleased to see that it was Neithan. The strange boy knew more than was good for him. It is a well known fact that the people who knew the most about occults, rituals and creatures were either involved in them/with them themselves, had been involved in/with them or else would be dead by the end of the movie. Therefore Neithan (Neithan not Nathan which was strange enough in itself) had now, or at some point in the past, had some connection to the Nos. Either that or he would soon be joining Manwë in whatever passed for an afterlife in this world.
The boy rose silently from the fireside, glanced around quickly as if to check that nobody else was stirring. He then collected his swords and silently left the clearing.
Millie-feeling that her suspicions were now justified-rose silently, truly silently as only an elf can, and followed the rapidly disappearing figure into the trees.
The dark haired girl stopped suddenly as she reached another clearing. Neithan stood at the centre, a sword in each hand. Millie watched for a while as the boy moved through a series of well practiced moves, loosening and stretching his muscles. So maybe he wasn't going to reveal a secret alliance with the Nos. Millie stared for a while as he moved onto more intricate moves but soon became bored.
Turning to leave Millie did what all people in a dark forest eventually do…she trod on a dry stick with a crack that may well have been quite quiet but seemed to echo around the clearing like a gun shot. (actually this doesn't happen as much as you would expect…but anyway)
A sword appeared in the tree next to her and stopped, quivering by her ear. Neithan followed in a moment later his remaining sword held loosely in his right hand. "Oh, it's just you." He commented sheathing one sword before pulling the other from the thick barked tree.
"Fuck! You nearly killed me!"
"Sorry. You do know that we're in the middle of a forest not five minutes from a nest of vampires, don't you?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean you can skewer me with a fucking sword!"
"I didn't know it was you, you could have been a vampire for all I knew."
Millie made a show of looking up at the flecks of blue sky now visible through the shifting leaves above, "Oh yes, a vampire walking about in daylight."
"It's not just vampires that're 'round here, you might have been a…zombie? Um a yeti…witch…werewolf…"
"Oh um, yer you might not want to kill the next werewolf you see…"
Neithan gave her a strange look, "Why? You know they have this strange habit of eating people."
"Don't ask questions, just don't go killing them that's all. Have you finished waving your sword around yet?"
Neithan glanced down at the sword still held in his hand, "oh…yer." He sheathed the weapon quickly.
"Anyway how come you know about yetis and the like whilst nobody else seems to know anything about vampires let alone anything else?"
"Um…" Neithan seemed a little uneasy about answering the question which may well have been because he had a secret alliance with the nos that he was trying to cover up or may have been for far more normal reasons. Suddenly he remembered something that would allow him to avoid answering: "Wait, what were you doing out here anyway?"
Millie put on her best 'innocent' face "I was just walking."
"Sure…" Neithan was not convinced but the girl seemed to have forgotten about her earlier question so he didn't press the matter.
By the time they returned to the clearing the others were awake and had already collected the wandering horses, packed their equipment and begun to prepare breakfast, (quite good considering Millie only left the camp two pages ago!).
"Where the hell have you two been?" Emma asked, sounding disconcertingly like some annoying schoolteacher.
"Walking…" Neithan replied "Obviously."
"Is there any breakfast?" Millie asked, more to stop Neithan asking more questions than for any real want of food.
"Legolas is sorting it. Atan's already gone by the way, he left Manwë's horse for Neithan to ride."
"You mean you don't have you're own?" Millie asked, "How on Earth did you catch up with us on foot?"
Neithan looked more than a little uncomfortable as he failed to answer this question; "I wasn't exactly 'on foot' as it were…um, or on horse…er…"
He was spared from answering however when Legolas told them all food had been prepared and then they were forced to talk more of the journey ahead than of the day before so no more was said of it. Millie however added it to her list of unusual things about Neithan. (Hint hint there is something odd about this character…do ya think I've made that clear enough in this section?)
Nothing remarkable happened on the journey into the mountains so I'll say no more about it here though I will note that for a stable hand Neithan seemed to have little knowledge of horse riding and though he always managed to stay on the creature and remain with the group he did mention that it was quite a slow way to travel. Legolas then asked how you could travel faster except by flying and Neithan had decided that it would be better for him to remain quiet. The only reason I mention this is that it gave Millie something else to add to her imaginary list...(that's the list of how Neithan is weird and obviously evil.)
By the time they entered the shadowy passes of the Misty Mountains the sun was already low in the sky and soon disappeared from view altogether. The horses grew nervous and skittish and Neithan would have complained some more if he hadn't realised how suspicious that would have been.
"There are some small caves here," Legolas said, "We may be able to rest in one for tonight without drawing the attention of the Nos."
"These caves aren't connected to the Nos' own caverns are they?" Emma asked.
"No," Legolas answered, "The Nos have taken over the mines of Moria, so recently won back from the orc. These caves are nothing like so big and have no connection to the mines that I know of."
"So we'll be safe so long as the Nos don't sniff us out." Neithan said with a grin.
"'Sniff us out'?"
"You yourselves said they probably have heightened senses-including smell."
The group moved into the darkness of the caves and decided it would be best not to light a fire, if the Nos could 'sniff them out' they didn't want to make it easy for them.
The night passed pretty much as the day had-uneventfully. Not a single vampire disturbed their sleep much to the relief of all but Millie who found herself rather disappointed at the lack of Nos. She put it down to the fact that Neithan had had first watch; if he did have any connection to the Nos it would be simple for him to keep them away in preparation for some far worse trap…
The group rose with the sun, hopeful that in its bright light they would be safe from Vampires. But now came a problem, they had reached the Mountains and were only an hour or so's journey from the entrance to the vampire's nest-the Mines of Moria. But now that they were here they had to decide what to do.
"We need to find out how many of them they are, what weaponry or allies they have and if possible, any other weaknesses or advantages they may possess." Legolas said.
"Yes, numbers, weaponry, allies, etc. a very nice list but how the hell do we find any of that stuff out whilst living long enough to tell anyone?" Emma asked being her usual depressing self.
"It's obvious that we have to get into the mines." Millie said with a grin, "But wasn't the entrance destroyed by some giant squid thing that Lego…I mean you shot?"
"The entrance was cleared when the Dwarves retook the Mines."
"But walking in via the main entrance…I thought we might want to do something a little less suicidal!" Emma again-obviously.
"There may have been other entrances into the mines at one time or other, but they are either closed or hidden now so that only two passable entrances remain. One here this side of the mountains and one…"
"On the other side, probably as closely guarded as this entrance."
"So we have to enter here, that makes it a little simpler." Neithan observed, "So enter the nest, try to avoid getting seen, attacked and…"
"Avoid being killed stroke vampified?" Millie put in with a grin.
"Something like that, and then back out the same way."
"It sounds so simple…and suicidal!" Emma agin, Millie was getting a little annoyed at her pessimism.
"Thanks Emma, I'm feeling much better about all this now." She said.
"Well this'll make ya feel even better, even if the vamps can't stand sunlight they'll be perfectly fine underground. Oh and we won't be able to see a thing! Did I mention that this is suicidal?"
"Only about three times" Millie replied.
"If we're going to our deaths do you think we can go now, I'm getting quite bored of this conversation." Neithan said with a yawn.
"We may as well leave the horses here, if we do get out we'll need them to get back to Rivendell. And if we…don't…we don't want to take them in to the Mines." Legolas said, so the horses were left in the cave where they would hopefully be safe whilst the others gathered all they thought they would need and could carry. Weapons, rope, tinderbox…etc. Then they set off…
The entrance to the Mines had been cleared as Legolas had said, where once had stood a beautifully decorated door-the decorations only visible in moon/star light-now stood as a gaping hole in the face of the mountain surrounded by a jumble of rocks and stones partially cleared away leaving a meandering trail up to the 'door'. The stagnant pools and dead trees still surrounded it though and the travellers wondered if the great water monster-or squid as Millie called it-still lived in those murky waters.
Legolas made sure that the group approached the entrance silently, keeping well back from the water's edge. They could all see the gaping darkness of the entrance they knew they would have to pass though, when Emma suddenly stopped them all.
"What? What's wrong?" Millie asked
"I don't know, wait a moment…" Emma sat perfectly still for a moment before saying; "I think there may be someone guarding the entrance."
"It would make sense, but if the Nos cannot stand sun light it could be none of them" Legolas pointed out.
"We were never sure that they couldn't stand sunlight." Emma replied.
"Where are you going?" This last remark was Millie's, directed at her friend who was scrambling closer to the entrance. The blond(ish) girl turned to silence her friend before continuing a little way. She peered over the rocks for a moment before returning as quietly as she could, keeping her head low.
'There are three men hidden around the entrance'
'We could take three of them!' Millie said, hand on sword hilt.
'I can only see two of them though.' Emma said
'How do you know that there are three then? How did you even know they were there in the first place?' Neithan asked.
Emma didn't really want to say that she had smelt them with her supersensitive werewolf nose, so she just shrugged and said that it was perfectly obvious that someone would be guarding the entrance. "Oh and by the way they're werewolves."
"Should I even ask how the hell you know that these people are werewolves?" Neithan asked.
'No.' Millie replied, 'If Emma says they're werewolves then they're werewolves."
"Can they see us, I mean do they know that we're here?" Legolas asked looking at Emma
"If they knew we were here we'd be dead by now, or at least fighting. We're down wind of them so they can't smell us…yet. But we need to stay quiet." The girl replied.
"OK werewolf expert, what do we do now?" Neithan asked.
"Avoid them."
"But we have to get in there if want to find anything out." Millie said.
Emma took a deep breath, "I suppose I could get past them…maybe."
"Without them seeing you?" Neithan asked.
"Oh no, no one could get past them without them knowing, but I could…get past them with them seeing me…maybe."
Now Neithan looked totally confused, "But can't the rest of us go?"
"No."
"How…"
"Don't ask. I 'spose I'll have to go otherwise you'll never find anything out."
"At least we won't have to listen to you moaning."
"Great Millie, that makes me feel so much better."
"Gotta look on the bright side else I'll go mad." Millie said with a grin, "Good luck." She said more seriously.
"I'll be fine." Emma said, more to convince herself than the others. She moved quickly away and soon disappeared from sight among the torn boulders of what had once been the majestic entrance to Moria.
The others crept closer to the dark gap that lead into the Mines now. Peering among the broken stone; Millie's sharp elven eyes took a moment or two to pick out the half hidden figures of the werewolf guards. Without the wolven sense of smell to guide her it took a little longer for her to find their position, but her sharper eyes could pick out far more detail. As she watched, the man she thought to be the leader-a dark haired thug, bigger and hairier than the others-stood suddenly from his half-crouched position to the left of the entrance. His eyes blazed in the golden sunlight as he bared his teeth-more like fangs really-and glared out across the ruins. His companions, or underlings or whatever the other two were, remained hidden. Millie was surprised to see that all of them had swords sheathed at their sides. Why would a werewolf need a sword? If they wanted to kill someone all they had to do was change.
Now Millie could see what had made the man/creature move-Emma(as if you couldn't guess)-The girl looked tiny compared to him. So small, harmless, vulnerable. Millie felt a stab of fear, what if he attacked her? Would they be able to do anything to stop him? This wasn't just some fairy tale where the good guys always win...live happily ever after and all that crap. Just look at Manwë, try living happily ever after when you're dead! What if Emma were next? Now I'm beginning to sound too much like Emma, she'll be fine...probably.
Emma had much the same thoughts running through her head-except the part about sounding like herself, which would be stupid-she tried to ignore them but the more you try not to think that your gonna die in under five seconds the more it seems to be the only thought in your head.
The girl strode forward purposefully, trying not to look scared, forcing her legs not to shake. If an animal-or werewolf-thinks that you're scared they tend to take for granted that they can do what they like with you, rip out your heart for instance. Unsurprisingly Emma felt slightly sick at this thought. Maybe she could just go away and be sick and not have to face three very bored, and quite likely to kill her, werewolves.
'Well well, what do we 'ave 'ere? A perty li'l gel got 'erself lost in the mountains.' The man sniggered, moving closer to the now very pale Emma. He grinned, revealing a mouth full of things that looked far more like fangs than teeth. 'That was a big mistake.'
Millie almost screamed as the creature leapt forward, grabbing Emma's arm in one hand and pulling her head back with the other-baring her neck. But unlike some of the girl's friends (hint hint Smeagi) Millie wasn't the sort of person to scream at just anything, not that seeing a man about to kill your friend is 'just anything'.
Beside her Neithan grabbed at the hilt of his sword and had to be held back from attacking by Legolas. The boy struggled to break free but was quickly silenced by the elf who forced him to look at what had happened.
As the werewolf had grabbed her, Emma had frozen. Fortunately the magic within her had not and as the creature bent to-most probably-rip her throat out...he stopped. This may have been because he had a change of heart and decided that eating 'li'l gels' as he called them was undoubtedly wrong, or it may-as is more likely-have been because the girl before him was now more wolven than human. He pulled away as Emma span from his grip with a threatening snarl.
The man stood stock still staring and from where Millie sat she could see that his companions/minions/underlings/etc. were also staring. Neithan sat open-mouthed, muttering incoherently, so mister know-it-all didn't 'know it all' then. She thought with a grin.
Emma growled, she had only become a wolf once before but somehow this time it was easier. The first time she had barely remembered who, or what, she was. Had given over almost entirely to the wolven instincts that filled her mind. Now she found she had more control. She thought she might even be able to turn back...maybe.
'I'm sorry,' The werewolf said, eyes wide with shock, and sounding very apologetic, 'I didn't know what you were.' He sounded almost in awe of her.
Emma tilted her head to one side and growled.
The werewolf backed away, scared. He was scared of her. Emma realised. How strange. She flicked her tail and sniffed at the air. She could smell his fear. If she could grin she would have done. This was so cool. And, even better some part of her mind pointed out, you can't smell the others, which means neither can the werewolves.
With a swish of her tail Emma turned to examine the entrance to the mines. She could smell a faint scent which, she decided, must be that of the Nos. But there was no one near by. She could enter now, have a nose around, see what she could find out. And leave her friends to be attacked by werewolves the moment the wind changed, or...
Emma turned with a low growl and leapt at the man who-only moments before had been about to kill her-and sunk her teeth into her throat. He gave one desperate gurgling scream as he died, clawing at her thick coat in an attempt to break free.
Emma raised her head, mussel stained with blood. Her eyes caught those of a frightened underling (or whatever the other werewolves were). With a snarl she leapt at him too, clawing and biting as he struggled to get away and draw his sword at the same time. Maybe if he had concentrated on one or the other he might have saved himself, as it was he died almost as quickly as his leader.
The third werewolf didn't wait for her to attack. He ran from cover, not stopping to see what had happened to his companion he dashed away from the crazed wolf, leaping boulders and rocks in an attempt to get away. Unfortunately he had chosen the wrong direction to run and ran almost straight into Neithan's sword. Raising his own blade just in time the werewolf managed to stave of death for half a second longer before the boy's other sword slipped under his guard to gut him.
'You know you probably should have left him alive so that we could question him.' Millie said matter of factly.
'He is alive.' Neithan replied looking rather shell shocked, still finding it hard to believe that Emma was a werewolf, as he gestured at the still writhing body before him.
'I was thinking alive enough to answer our questions.'
'Well I thought I'd rather he was dead enough not to kill us.' Neithan replied slitting the werewolf's throat quickly to end his pain.
'Have you two quite finished?' Neithan jumped at the sound of Emma's voice. Well, the last time he looked she had been a wolf.
'Did you have to kill them Emma, I thought you were just going to, you know, get past them.'
Emma shivered, 'I was, but...it's kinda different when you're a wolf. Suddenly it seems so much simpler to just, you know, rip someone's throat out.'
'Remind me not to annoy you.' Neithan joked, probably joked. Though he still looked rather shell shocked.
'Why didn't they change when they realised you were going to kill them?' Legolas asked.
'I don't think they could.' Emma replied.
'But I thought you said they were werewolves, what's the point in being 'were' if you can't change?' Millie asked.
'I guess most werewolves can only change with the full moon, they probably have heightened senses and whatever, but can't change.'
'Oh. So are we going to go in there now then?'
'I never noticed how eager you were to go straight to your death.'
'And I never noticed how pessimistic you are, come on I'm an elf and you're a werewolf what could possibly kill us?'
'How about a hoard of mad vampires?'
'But we're the good guy's, we can't die.'
'Tell that to Manwë.'
Millie looked slightly less certain now, 'Look, we have to find out about these vamps one way or another.'
'I vote another, way that is, I just can't think of one.'
'Why deny the inevitable?'
'The only inevitability is death and we d our best to defy that daily.'
'Is that another quote Emma?'
'How did you guess?'
'Oh I don't know, it just sounded, you know, quotey. Anyway are we gonna go?'
'Fine…Gurth gothrim lye.' (death to our foes, elven war cry, I kinda like it)
'Then off to our deaths we go...great.' Neithan muttered. (not such a good war cry, but it has a nice ring to it)