Chapter 3

The pitch blackness of Moria

As the Fellowship stepped into the mines of Moria, Itarilde tripped over something on the ground. She let out a cry of surprise and disgust. A dead dwarf was lying at her feet, with 3 arrows imbedded in his chest. Searching the ground around her, Itarilde found numerous other dead dwarves, all whom had been lying there for many years.

"Ewwww!" she screamed, earning silencing looks from everyone else.

Legolas pulled an arrow out of one of the dwarves and examined it closely.

"Goblins." He proclaimed.

"This isn't a mine!" said Kel. "It's a tomb!"

Everyone rushed back outside. Suddenly, a scream was heard. Frodo was being lifted into the air by a large tentacle.

"Help!" he cried, just before another tentacle wrapped around his mouth and nose, cutting off his breathing. Aragorn quickly stepped into the water and sliced off the tentacles that were binding Frodo. Legolas took aim and fired, his arrow finding its way to the monster's mouth, which had just surfaced.

Emily also shot an arrow at it, successfully piercing the left eye. Itarildë started to do the same, but a tentacle suddenly whipped out of the water and swept her right off her feet. Startled, she accidentally let go of the arrow she had been about the shoot. Her mishap was not in vain, though, for her arrow, initially intended for the underside of the monster's stomach, hit instead his right eye. Blindly waving his tentacles, the thing let go of Frodo and started to advance unknowingly on the other members of the Fellowship.

Harry lifted his wand and shouted "expelliarmus!" at the same time as Legolas fired another arrow. Everyone ran back to the mines just as the monster crashed into the doors, sending it crumbling down and leaving the Company in darkness.

The first thing the Fellowship heard was a mutter: "lumos," and a faint glow began to form at the tip of Harry's wand, just bright enough for them to see Gandalf tap his staff on the ground. It lit up, casting a bright light around, in a radius of 5 feet in every direction. Everyone crowded around. They made a very odd procession. Gandalf squinted, trying to see through the darkness around them.

Kel frowned. Why had Frodo been the only one to get captured by the sea monster in front of the mines? Why had he been the one in the first place? Was it merely a coincidence or was there actually some significance behind it? She stopped pondering the subject as she nearly tripped over a loose stone, and decided to pay better attention to the ground in front of her.

They walked along a ledge for a while. Legolas got bored, and decided to look to his right, down a deep pit that seemed to have no bottom.

"What's down there?" he whispered, awed at the fact that anything could be so vast and deep.

"Mithril." Gandalf replied. "The dwarves have mined for it for centuries. Moria-silver, Durin's Bane, it is called. This is the only place in the world that you can find it."

Itarildë, moved by some sudden impulse, also looked down. The sight made her head spin, and for a moment she thought she might fall in. She quickly backed away and from then on hugged the wall beside the ledge (metaphorically, not literally).

This place was not for Aragorn. He was rather scared of the dark, strange as it might seem. And this mine, it was beyond dark. It was blacker than night, and it was almost impossible to think that dwarves had once dwelt here. If it weren't for Gandalf's staff they would have fallen into the pit by now, and they would probably still be falling.

After a while Gandalf led them down a great hallway.

"Here is the great hall of Dwarrowdelf" He said.

Emily looked around her. Arches reaching the ceiling surrounded them on either side. She was given the impression that she was walking along a red carpet to meet a king on his throne-in the dark, though.

Suddenly, Gimli broke into a run, waddling as fast as his short legs would carry him, into a small room. The room had a hole in the roof, something Kel found a bit strange. From the hole streamed a ray of moonlight, shining directly upon the stone block (or so it looked) in the centre of the room. Gimli threw himself on the block, sobbing uncontrollably. Frodo pointed to the dwarf runes engraved in the stone.

"What do they say, Gandalf?"

After a pause, Gandalf translated, "They say, 'Balin, son of Fundin, lord of Moria.'"

By this point Gimli had started wailing, but no one was making any move to comfort him. Gandalf picked up a dusty book lying in the hands of a skeleton and started to read it aloud. "'We cannot get out. They have taken- "

"Wait." Interrupted Neal. "Who are 'they'?"

"Don't interrupt me!" snapped Gandalf. Neal drew back a little. "'they' means the orcs, of course! Have you been paying no attention to your lessons in Rivendell?!" he cleared his throat. "Anyway, 'they have taken the Bridge and the Second Hall. The end comes. There are drums in the deep. They are coming.'"

Gimli was still sobbing. Pippin decided to cheer him up. "Look Gimli!" He dangled a skeleton above a well beside the tomb and shook it around, giving others the impression that it was dancing. Then, all of a sudden, he accidentally dropped the skeleton, sending it down the well, and causing it to fall thousands of feet, and bringing with it a long chain and a bucket.

Gandalf slammed the book shut, sending dust flying, and causing Itarildë to sneeze.

"Fool of a Took! Next time throw yourself in and rid us of your stupidity!"

Pippin winced. Legolas was about to go over and console him when he heard drums. . . in the deep.

"They are coming!" he announced.

Everyone soon became aware of the pounding that was approaching the Fellowship. Boromir quickly ran over to the door and barred it in place with 2 axes. He turned to the Fellowship and informed them with mock cheeriness. "They have a cave troll."

They didn't have to wait long before the orcs started to break down the door. Gimli stood upon Balin's tomb in a sumo wrestler's stance. "Let them come." He growled.

Emily, Itarildë, Legolas, and Aragorn stood at the front, bows ready. Behind them were Boromir, Neal and Kel, with swords and spear. Lastly were the 4 hobbits and Harry and Gandalf. Harry had decided to put his life into the hands of his wand rather than a sword or a bow, as those weapons were completely new to him.

The orcs had made a small hole in the door. Immediately, Legolas shot an arrow through it, killing the orc who had made the hole.

Sweat broke out on Itarildë's forehead. This would be her first battle, and maybe even her last. She certainly hoped not. But grimly, she pushed that thought away and brushed the hair out of her eyes, and readied herself for the massacre. Last battle or not, she still had to help out.

As soon as the door broke down, all 4 archers loosed their arrows, killing 4 different targets. Not bad, for a first shot, thought Emily as she strung another arrow.

Kel was having the time of her life. She slew orc after orc with her spear, gracefully, and yet, mercilessly. Neal was not too far away, also successfully killing the ugly creatures.

Harry decided to stand back and act when he was needed, for there was no need to injure himself while he was unarmed (except for his wand).

Still in the front line with Legolas and Aragorn, Itarildë had been forced to switch to her sword, as the orcs were advancing quickly. Even though she was grateful to be able to choose between weapons, she found that she was much more adept with the bow than the sword, and eventually retreated to stand beside Boromir. Emily had long since retreated and was now beheading orcs with her sword.

Suddenly, Harry had an idea. He shouted at everyone to shoot as many arrows as possible at the orcs. When they had spent all their arrows, he shouted, "Accio elven arrows!" and all the arrows ripped out of the orcs, splattering black blood everywhere, and came to rest at Harry's feet.

However, one of the orc archers who hadn't been shot fitted an arrow onto his string and attempted to shoot Itarildë. She dodged, but nevertheless the arrow managed to graze the right side of her ribcage. She gasped in pain, then hardly noticed as the troll picked her up and threw her against the wall, knocking the wind out of her.

All of the orcs were now gone. The only thing left was the cave troll. Emily ran over from behind him and tried to stab him, but was punched in the face by the dull end of the mace he was carrying.

Suddenly, he spotted Frodo. He chased after him, Frodo stumbling as he ran. Then he tripped. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the troll stabbed Frodo with his spear. Frodo's face turned from one of fear to one of intense pain.

Harry raised his wand and said "stupefy!" which did stupefy the troll, for just enough time to let Merry and Pippin jump onto him and continually stab him with their swords.

Enraged, the troll spun around, destroying everything in his path. Legolas shot arrows in rapid-fire attacks, and everyone watched as the troll gave one last swing with his mace and fell down face first.

The hobbits, Aragorn, Boromir, and Gandalf rushed over to Frodo. Boromir frowned and flipped Frodo onto his back. He gasped. "This isn't right. You should be dead."

Frodo shook his head. "I'm all right."

"He's alive!" Sam shouted to Legolas, who was taking his arrows out of the troll.

"How can that be?" Aragorn wondered aloud. His curiosity got the better of him and he unbuttoned Frodo's outer shirt, revealing a coat of mithil. Gandalf recognized it immediately. "That used to be Bilbo's. I never told him, but that shirt is worth more than the entire Shire."

For a moment everyone relaxed, now that Frodo's life was not in danger. Then they heard it: loud drumbeats resounded in the distance.

End of Chapter