A Stranger In The Woods
Chapter 18: Dwarrowdelf
Katie followed the group through the doors and down the long flight of stairs, feeling awful. The realization of what was about to happen mixed with the guilt she felt about lying to Legolas. If only he hadn't asked her if there was anything else she could tell him… She felt helpless, scared, terrified, and a hundred other emotions, but guilt and fear were the top two.
The stairs finally stopped and Katie strained her eyes to see in the half-darkness.
"I think I will risk a little more light," Gandalf muttered, holding his staff up to illuminate the clearing.
Her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness and Katie gasped at what she saw. Hundreds and hundreds of towering pillars, as far as they eye could see. Huge columns, each hand-chiseled from the hard stone. It was amazing.
"Behold the great realm and dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf." Gandalf said dramatically. No words were said as the company gazed in wonder.
Katie looked around in awe, trying to take in the uncharacteristic beauty of the place. It was ten times more magnificent than the movie made it out to be. 'Of course,' she thought with a smile, 'that could be because I've spent the last few days in what has to be the ugliest place in Middle Earth.' She could see where her opinion might be biased. Either way didn't matter- she was just happy to be on relatively firm ground again.
A cry of distress broke her thoughts, bringing her back to what was going on around her. Gimli was running towards a small room, ignoring Gandalf's cries to stop.
'Balin's tomb,' Katie realized, flooded with sympathy for the dwarf and fear for what was to come. She followed the others and watched helplessly as Gimli ran to the stone grave in the middle of the floor and dropped to his knees.
"No!" he cried, his voice thick with anguish. He rested his helmeted head on the tomb, weeping with his grief for his cousin.
Gandalf walked up behind him and read the words on the tomb aloud. "Here lies Balin- Son of Fundin- Lord of Moria..."
"He is dead then," Gandalf muttered, "it is as I feared."
Gimli moaned in grief as the others circled around him. Katie wished she could do something to help, something to lessen his pain, but knew it was useless. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gandalf lean over and pick something up. It was the book.
Several pages fell out as he opened it. He blew the dust away as he scanned the writing.
Katie didn't need to be told what it said- she already knew the chilling words by heart.
"They have taken the bridge and the second hall," Gandalf read quietly, holding the company in a breathless spell as he read the disturbing words. "We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long."
Katie wanted to cry out, warn the group that they needed to leave before the orcs found them, but she was frozen in place as Gandalf continued to read.
"The ground shakes…drums…drums in the deep." He turned the page and continued. "We cannot get out…A shadow moves in the dark…we cannot get out…they are coming."
Everyone jumped as Pippin unwittingly knocked the skeleton's head down the deep well.
The loud noise snapped Katie out of her trance. "We have to go," she cried, hurrying to catch the rest of the body before it could slide down also. 'Maybe they didn't hear,' she prayed fervently, shoving the crumbling bones to the floor.
"Hurry," she hissed to the others, quickly making her way to the doors. She was almost to the opening when a sound stopped her cold. thump…thump…thump… "Drums." She spoke her thoughts aloud. She turned to Boromir. "Bar the doors now," she ordered calmly, quietly. Surprisingly, he listened, pulling them shut and narrowly missing several orc arrows.
"Get back!" Aragorn ordered Katie and the hobbits. "Stay close to Gandalf."
'The hell with that.' There was no way Katie was going to let an old man do her fighting for her. Even if he was a wizard. She looked around at the bodies of the fallen warriors, searching for some kind a weapon. Her eyes landed on a small axe. It was a little rusted, but it looked like it would hold well. "Perfect," she breathed, leaning over to retrieve it. She grasped the handle tightly, preparing to fight.
Everyone stood in position, listening as the orcs beat at the doors.
"Let them come," Gimli growled from his place on top of the tomb. "There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath."
Katie smiled- glad the dwarf was back to his old self. She glanced over at Legolas, who stood with his bow aimed, looking calm and determined. The heavy wood began to splinter apart and Legolas expertly shot an orc through the small opening.
"One down, a million to go," she muttered to herself, watching as Aragorn followed suit.
Suddenly, the doors exploded and the orcs swarmed in. Katie held her breath as she watched Legolas kill one of the creatures with his arrow. He readied another quicker than her eye could follow and killed another.
The hobbits charged forward as the monsters pushed their way past the three men. One of the filthy creatures ran towards Katie and she blindly swung her axe, cutting its head clean off. She only got to admire her handiwork for a second before another orc rushed at her. She swung again, connecting hard with its chest. She watched in surprise as it fell to the floor- dead.
'I'm a natural,' she thought, nodding her head proudly. Just then the cave troll smashed into the little room, sending rock and wood debris everywhere.
Katie swung her axe wildly, caught off guard by an approaching orc. 'Pay attention,' she chided herself, watching as the orc fell to the floor. 'One mistake and you're dead.' The realization brought her to a level of concentration that she had never experienced before, a raw focus; one of life versus death.
Soon the battle reached full scale, the sound of clanging metal and knives slicing flesh all around her. Katie fought to keep the creatures at bay, wondering if they'd ever stop coming. One smashed into her arm, sending her flying into the stone wall. The force of the impact knocked her axe right out of her hand. It skittered across the floor, coming to rest by the decapitated head of the first orc she had killed.
"Crap," she cried, lunging as one of the hideous creatures made a grab for her. She struggled to her feet, searching desperately for a weapon of any kind. She ducked just in time to avoid being decapitated herself, then panicked, grabbing for the first thing she could find and lobbing it at the creature. The rock hit the orc squarely in the groin and Katie watched in fascination as it let out a pained cry, dropping its sword as it fell to its knees. She blinked twice, then quickly grabbed the blade and shoved it as hard as she could into the monsters chest. 'Talk about kicking a man when he's already down.' She thought, feeling a little guilty.
She looked around and realized that most of the creatures around her were dead. Relieved, she turned to find Legolas, wondering how he was coming along. Her heart skidded to a stop when she saw him, fighting an orc, unaware of the troll's chain swinging towards him.
"Legolas look out!" She screamed, holding her breath as he turned and ducked- narrowly dodging the blow. The cave troll swung again, and Legolas had to drop to the floor to avoid being hit. He sprang to his feet and jumped back just as the monster attempted another blow. The cave troll cried out in frustration and swung once more, obviously angry at being bested by a quick-moving elf. The chain wrapped itself around a thick pillar, becoming stuck.
Katie stood in place, frozen as Legolas climbed up the metal links and onto the creatures back. He got off one shot, deep into the neck, before being thrown to the hard floor. She watched, amazed, as he dive-rolled on the ground and numbly sprang to his feet, beginning to fight again, evidently unfazed and unhurt.
She was still standing there, gaping, when rough hands grabbed her, pulling her back just as the cave troll smashed its mallet into the ground where she had been standing.
"Thank-." She turned to face her rescuer and her mouth dropped open- cutting off what she was about to say. It was Boromir. Wordlessly, the man released her and began fighting again.
'He saved my life,' Katie realized in wonderment, trying to wrap her mind around what just happened. Why would he save her if he hated her? It made no sense.
Before she could think on it too long, another orc attacked, claiming her attention. She fought as hard as she could, killing as many of the foul monsters as possible, all the while trying not to get killed herself. Soon all the creatures were dead except the cave troll.
Katie watched as Merry and Pippin jumped onto its back, fighting the urge to yell at them and tell them to quit horsing around before they got hurt. She watched as Merry was thrown to the ground, providing the opportunity for Pippin to stab the troll in the shoulder.
The monster roared with pain and Legolas saw his chance, quickly firing an arrow through its open mouth and into the troll's brain. The creature groaned, sounding shocked, and began to sway. Everyone backed away as it crashed to the floor- finally dead.
Katie stood over the fallen beast, trying to catch her breath as the others ran to check on Frodo. 'In a few minutes, Gandalf will be dead,' she realized. 'And everyone will blame me.'
"Are you hurt?" Legolas asked, walking up beside her.
She looked down at her hands, stained with black orc blood. "A few cuts and scratches, but overall I'm fine."
He reached over and wiped some blood from her face with his thumb. "You fought well," he said softly.
Katie smiled at him, her problems forgotten. "Were you surprised?" she asked teasingly.
"Actually yes," Legolas admitted, "I was uncertain of how you would do."
"So you just threw me in and hoped for the best?" she tried her best to look angry.
"I was watching you," he spoke seriously. "I just did not realize that my protection was unnecessary."
She couldn't help it, she grinned. Those were the words she had been waiting this whole trip to hear. 'Music to my ears.'
"Well, you learn something new everyday," she replied, mainly because she felt she had to say something.
He smiled and opened his mouth to reply when a sound stopped him. A sound neither of them wanted to hear.
The reverberating echo of more orcs approaching.
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A/N: Sorry for the long wait. You can thank my butt-kicking beta The Hobbit Ivy for that one. HAHA! I really don't have anymore to say, so bye.
Katie-sue