Disclaimer: Not mine, not mine, and, then, of course, there's 'not mine.'

A/N: To answer your question, no, Obi-Wan has not met up with the Black Riders yet; nor is he likely to do so in Moria. :) We'll have to see what happens afterwards. He'll run into them sooner or later; it's just a question of when.

Chapter Twelve
Darkness Wakes

It was Gandalf who roused them in the morning; he had kept watch all through the night. After a short breakfast, he told them that the right-hand passage, the one climbing upwards, would be the best. Obi-Wan's legs groaned, but in his mind, he knew it was the right choice.

The way up the stairs actually proved easier in some ways. The footing was surer, the stairs less crumbled. Also, it seemed to Obi-wan that they widened; in most places he and Strider could walk side by side with room to spare. Though neither spoke -- for the most part, all were silent -- Obi-Wan was comforted merely by his friend's steady presence.

They went on for hours; how many, Obi-Wan did not know. But they only stopped twice and even then the rests were brief. Obi-Wan took any opportunity he could to stretch his legs. Climbing stairs, Obi-Wan realized, was so much different than wandering the flat lands between Rivendell and Caradhras.

At least it wasn't cold, Obi-Wan assured himself, as the mountains had been. Despite his attempts to be optimistic, however, the darkness seemed to be growing, a darkness that grew beyond the mere absence of light and crept into the very depths of Obi-Wan's mind and soul. There was something strange happening; that was for sure. But what?

Suddenly, just as Obi-Wan was beginning to think they were getting nowhere, the path widened into a huge chamber. Obi-Wan took a step back and looked up to Gandalf at the front. Could this be right. Where were they?

But Gandalf only smiled, and a bright light blazed forth from his staff. Obi-Wan looked around. They were, indeed, in a large hall. Ahead, an archway lay in front of them, and one each on the left or right sides of the chamber, leading north and south.

Gandalf announced that they would rest there for the night, if it was indeed night, and Obi-Wan immediately sat down. Strider joined him, smiling. "You are a worthy companion, Obi-Wan," he said, as if he could tell the Jedi had been pondering how utterly useless he was being. "Not all could have made that march with as little rest. Some twenty miles, I would guess, we have covered in close to eight hours."

Obi-Wan nodded. That sounded about right, though he wouldn't have argued even if it hadn't.

Instead, he watched the rest of the Fellowship. Boromir sat with Merry and Pippin. Gimli was near them, with Frodo and Sam, and Gandalf was close by. Legolas remained standing on the very fringes of the little circle. Presently he came over to Strider and Obi-Wan.

"One can only listen to Dwarven poetry for so long," he explained, at last sitting down near the two of them.

Obi-Wan smiled. The Elf was obviously trying to make light of a terribly uncomfortable situation. Obi-Wan, as well, didn't feel quite safe in this wide-open space, and Strider, too, appeared uneasy.

"Thank you, Legolas," Strider said at last, "for being willing to take this route. I know you would not have advised it."

"Nor would any of us here, save Gimli," Legolas pointed out.

"And Gandalf," Strider added. "He knew from the start that we may have to travel by this road. It is surely too early to breathe easily, but other than that stone, I should say things have gone far better than I had hoped."

"I, as well," Legolas nodded.

Obi-Wan looked away from Gimli, who had been reciting some old Dwarven song. "I would say the same, but I have, at times, felt as if there was a presence, waiting, just waiting--"

"Gollum," Legolas nodded.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Goodness, does everyone but Frodo know?"

"I don't believe the other Hobbits know yet," Strider answered. "Boromir thought he heard something, so I told him, to keep him from mentioning it around Frodo. I believe he, or Gandalf, has told Gimli."

Obi-Wan smiled wearily. "Yet that one creature can hardly be held responsible for all the doubts, all the fears, all the misgivings, that everyone here has felt. There must be something more. It's more than one slimy cave-creature who is after the Ring! I know it is!"

Strider nodded, and when he spoke, his voice was low and gentle. "Obi-Wan, none of us like this place, with the exception of Gimli, who seems to be enjoying himself save for the fact that we have encountered none of his kindred. Yet we have come this far without incident. Perhaps . . . perhaps it is only that -- a feeling. Perhaps it will never amount to anything more."

Obi-Wan smiled, and nodded as he lay down to go to sleep. "I hope you're right."

The Fellowship was roused by Gimli and Gandalf. "We should keep moving," Gandalf said, "but before we continue on towards the Great Gates, we should learn exactly where we are, so that we may choose the right paths. There appears to be a light coming from the northern arch, to our left. We shall begin with that."

Obi-Wan nodded, but he was worried. He glanced over at Strider, who nodded. Gandalf was weary. He had not slept the previous night, and since neither of them had been roused to watch, who knew how much of this night he had sat alone, just thinking. Now he was thinking out loud; he had no need to explain to them the reason for his choice to explore the northern passage. But he had, which meant he wanted their approval, to make sure he was making the right choice, which could mean, Obi-Wan realized, that he was not sure of the choice himself.

Nevertheless, everyone slowly got to their feet, gathered their things, and followed Gandalf. The light grew stronger as they entered, and they could now see that it was coming from a door that led to the east. Through this they passed, and, at last, high above them, a window opened in the east to a blue sky. Obi-Wan's heart leapt, but there was another feeling, as well, in the room, for the others were strangely silent. At last, Obi-Wan tore his eyes away from the beautiful light, and saw why.

It was a tomb, Obi-Wan could tell immediately, and the top was a beautiful stone slab of white. The writing on it was of a kind Obi-Wan had not seen, but he already had a guess as to whom this tomb belonged.

"Balin, son of Fundin," Gandalf read, confirming the fears of at least half of the Fellowship. "Lord of Moria."

Obi-Wan shuddered. There were bodies lying there, decaying, as in the entrance to Moria. Swords and axes lay scattered on the floor, with a few bows among them, short bows, as if made for Dwarves to use.

Gimli fell to his knee by the tomb and bowed his head. The Hobbits were silent, staring all around them. Legolas lingered by the western door, with Strider by his side; the pair obviously wanted to leave this place as soon as possible. Boromir stood by the Hobbits, and Gandalf by Gimli.

Obi-Wan looked around. There were several places where the stone of the wall had been cut out, as if to serve as shelves. On one of these, something caught the Jedi's eye. It was an old book, torn and dusty. Obi-Wan reached out his hand and summoned to book to him. Then he handed it to Gandalf, who knelt down by Gimli's side, blew some dust off the cover, and opened it.

Obi-Wan stepped back to where Strider and Legolas stood, watching the rest of the Fellowship. "We must move on," Legolas insisted, obviously speaking to Strider, because Gandalf was occupied. "We cannot linger."

Strider shook his head, watching Gimli. Obi-Wan understood immediately. The book he had found possibly held the clues to what had happened to the Dwarves. Gimli deserved some answers before they moved on.

And yet Obi-Wan also understood the Elf's desire to continue on with all speed. The darkness seemed to be growing still, and the blue sky was now little comfort. It seemed now an unreachable goal, like the distant horizon that is always just beyond one's grasp.

Still, Obi-Wan listened intently as the Dwarves' story unfolded. They had been prosperous at first, had driven away the Orcs and had made Balin the Lord of Moria. But then Balin had been slain by an Orc while looking into something called mirrormere -- Obi-Wan made a mental not to ask about that later, when they were safely in the light of day again.

After Balin's death, things had begun to fall apart. Gandalf read many Dwarven names, and it seemed that they had been dying left and right. At last, they had been forced into one last stand.

"We cannot get out," Gandalf read. "The end comes. Drums, drums in the deep. They are coming." The Wizard closed the book and looked at Gimli. "It ends there. It appears that none survived. Keep this, Gimli, to take to Dain."

Gimli nodded and placed the book gently in his pack. Gandalf rose and looked around. "We should continue on. Yet our presence here has not been in vain, for I know now where we are. This is the Chamber of Records, high above the Great Gates, and north. We should go back, and make our way down the stairs to the--"

He stopped suddenly, for in the distance there came a boom like the beating of drums. "They are coming," Gandalf realized. "Trapped, just like they were before. We should have gone sooner."

"Quickly! Out the eastern door!" Obi-Wan shouted.

"No!" Gandalf countered. "It is no good fleeing blindly with the enemy right on our tail."

Strider nodded, drawing his sword. "We must delay them here first."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, but drew his sword. Strider and Boromir shoved the western door shut, but before it was shut all the way, Boromir glanced out. "Orcs, and a cave troll!" he reported. "There is no escape that way."

"Keep the eastern door ajar, then," Gandalf nodded. "We will go that way, if we can."

The drums came steadily closer, and soon Obi-Wan could feel the enemy pressing against the door. He reached out with the Force to help Boromir and Strider keep it shut.

Suddenly, there was a huge crash, and the door shattered into thousands of pieces; the troll had broken through with its hammer. Strider and Boromir were hurled backwards as the enemy poured in. They were on their feet within seconds, under the cover of Legolas' arrows, which quickly felled two Orcs.

Obi-Wan resisted the urge to immediately hurl himself into the fray. Instead, he stayed back with the Hobbits and let the enemy come to him. There was noise all around, the clanging of swords and the whir of arrows and the smashing of the troll's hammer. For a moment, Obi-Wan realized there were no laser blasts, no lightsabers, no force fields, no planes. This really was a whole different world.

Just as suddenly, he realized Pippin had been swept from his sight. Looking around, he saw that the Hobbit had been forced into a corner on the other side of the chamber, and a rather large Orc was looming over him.

Obi-Wan raced towards the Hobbit and at last made a jump for it, landing behind the Orc and slicing its head off in one blow. Pippin stared for a moment in amazement before another Orc came. This one Pippin drove his sword into with a yell, while Obi-Wan sliced off the arm that was threatening the Hobbit.

"Strider!" came a call from the other side of the room. Frodo was being dragged out of a crevice in the wall by the troll. But Strider was all the way across the room, with Merry. The closest to Frodo was Legolas, who immediately rushed to help. Between strokes, Obi-Wan managed to look over and see Legolas shoot an arrow into the beast's throat. Then the Elf raised his hand.

What was he doing? Obi-Wan wondered, but as soon as the question had formed in his mind, he knew. The arrow had barely penetrated the troll's thick skin. Legolas was trying to use the Force to drive it further in. But it was taking all of his concentration, for the troll had raised the club in his hand, and the Elf was also holding this at bay.

Suddenly, an arrow came whizzing from the far side of the chamber and struck the Elf in the side. In that split second Legolas lost his control. The club came swinging down with all the force he had been holding in check, and slammed Legolas into the wall. The troll raised the club again to bring it down on the Elf, who lay motionless in a pile of rubble.

"No!" Obi-Wan shouted, and, leaving Pippin to his own devices, raced towards the Elf. In one leap he was on top of the troll's shoulder, and a quick stab in the side of the neck quickly diverted the beast's attention.

Obi-Wan looked around hurriedly. Many Orcs lay dead. The rest were fleeing the way they had come. Unfortunately, the troll seemed to have no intention of doing the same, and its arm came up to whack Obi-Wan in the chest. Obi-Wan was sent flying, but flipped in the air and landed on his feet. Strider had his bow out now and was taking aim. As soon as the creature turned towards him, he let it fly. Obi-Wan waved his hand and the end of the arrow burst into flame, and plunged deep into the troll's neck. After teetering for a few seconds, the beast fell to the floor.

As soon as the troll hit the floor, Obi-Wan rushed to where Legolas lay. Gandalf was already kneeling by the Elf's side. "The arrow-wound is not bad," the wizard assured him. "The aim was poor and a rib stopped it, I believe. But he was hurt worse in the fall. Unfortunately, we cannot linger here to tend to the wound. Nor do we have any choice but to move him. We must press on, immediately."

Strider carefully lifted Legolas and Boromir picked up the torch, which Obi-Wan quickly lit again. They all headed for the eastern door. But on the other side, Gandalf stopped.

"Quickly, down the stairs, all of you," he instructed. "Wait for me at the bottom, but if I have not come in a few minutes, go on. Choose paths leading right and downwards."

"We cannot leave you here!" Strider protested. Boromir stood by his side, as well, defiant.

"Do as I say!" Gandalf ordered. "Swords are no more use here."

Obi-Wan sheathed his sword. "Then let me stay, at least. I can help you."

Gandalf looked the Fellowship over. They would not leave him alone, not without a long debate, for which they had no time. "Very well," the wizard nodded. "Obi-Wan shall remain with me. But the rest of you, go, now! Quickly!"

Obi-Wan watched as the rest of the Fellowship disappeared down the stairs, visible only by the light of the torch Boromir bore. Gandalf closed the door of the chamber of records. It was plain what they had to do. Somehow, the two of them had to keep the door closed, keep that one barrier between them and the enemy that would surely return soon.

Obi-Wan watched the torch go further and further down, further and further away. At last, he could see it no more, and he and Gandalf were alone.

Muahahahahaha. Oh, isn't that just the perfect place to end the chapter. Legolas is hurt and Obi-Wan and Gandalf are left to face the enemy alone. Muahahahahaha. (Hey, I updated quicker this time. Aren't you proud?) I promise, they won't be stuck in Moria forever, though the thought did cross my mind. :) Muahahahahahaha.