Chapter Fourteen:
The wind whipped at her cheeks as they trudged through the snow that seemed to grow deeper by the minute. Laurel held tight to Bill as they walked, constantly checking on the pony to make sure he was doing alright. The hobbits were having the worst go of things, seeing as they had no shoes and all members seemed to be ill-equipped for the snow. Bill was okay, but his hooves were starting to go numb from the snow and Laurel rubbed a stiff hand over his neck in comfort. She heard a shuffle behind her and turned in time to see Frodo lose his balance.
The small hobbit tumbled backwards a few yards before Aragorn quickly helped him to his feet. He patted the front of his tunic, his eyes widening when he didn't feel the ring hanging there from its chain. They all looked up when they saw Boromir standing to the side, the ring dangling from a silver chain in his hand.
"Boromir," Aragorn called in warning. The blond man just stood there, gazing at the ring.
"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing," he trailed off, watching as the gold band spun slowly with the wind.
"Boromir!" Aragorn called, louder this time, which seemed to jostle him out of his trance-like state. "Give the ring to Frodo." Boromir walked down to where the two were standing, gently lowering the ring into Frodo's grasp.
"As you wish, I care not," he said lightly, trying to seem unaffected by the one ring. He ruffled Frodos hair with a tight smile before he turned back around. There was an uneasy tension now and Laurel tried her best to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other. As they started moving again, she felt the tiredness start to seep into her bones. They had all seemed to have lost track of how long they had been wading through the snow.
As they pushed on, the winds picked up even more and the snow was coming down in massive amounts, sticking to their hair and clothes, weighing them down. Laurel had hooked one of her arms over the horn of Bill's saddle and the little pony was basically dragging her along at this point. Legolas, who was barely affected by the snow and hardly sank an inch into it, charged in front of the group listening to the howling of the wind.
"There is a fell voice on the air," he called back to them. They could all hear the chanting, harrowing voice of the white wizard in the winds now.
"It's Saruman!" Gandalf shouted over the storm. They heard the cracking of ice and snow above them and large, icy rocks came hurtling down the cliff face toward them. They pressed themselves as close as they could to the mountain, the rocks just missing them and bounding down into the great chasm below.
"He's trying to bring down the mountain!" Aragorn shouted. "Gandalf, we must turn back!"
"No!" the wizard cried. Gandalf began chanting his own words, trying to counteract Saruman's damage, but to no avail. There was a crack of lightning and more rocks and snow came thundering down upon them. Sam had pushed Bill closer to the cliff, squeezing the breath out of Laurel as she was crushed between the mountain and the pony. The snow buried them up to their heads and Laurel felt nothing but crushing pressure and intense cold. She couldn't hear the muffled sounds of the others as they climbed out of the snow.
Everyone had dug themselves free and Boromir had brushed the snow away from Bill's head so he could breathe again.
"We must get off the mountain, make for the gap of Rohan!" Boromir called out. "We'll take the west road to my city!"
"The gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn argued.
"If we cannot pass over the mountain, let us go under it! Let us go through the mines of Moria," Gimli suggested. After a few silent moments, Gandalf spoke.
"Let the ring-bearer decide." Everyone turned to Frodo, and the small hobbit shivered as he glanced at Sam, not knowing what to choose.
"We cannot stay here!" Boromir reminded them with a sense of urgency. "This will be the death of the hobbits!"
"Frodo?" Gandalf sent him a questioning look, the icy wind whipping at his beard and robes.
"We will go through the mines," the hobbit said, shaking from the bitter cold and violent winds.
"So be it," Gandalf practically groaned. Aragorn took a head count to make sure everyone was there.
"Eight, nine... ten? We're missing someone," he announced. Realization dawned on him. "Where is Laurel?" Legolas' head snapped up. He quickly scanned the group, not seeing her anywhere. He pushed his way toward the pony, where he had seen her walking beside earlier. Bill was still half submerged in snow and Legolas quickly dug down on Bill's left side, feeling Laurel's wet hair underneath. He shoveled the snow from around her in a mad frenzy, freeing her head, then her arms, before her lifted her out of the snow. Her whole body was shaking from the cold and her lips and fingers were blue.
"Laurel!" Legolas called out to her. She cracked her eyes open, seeing Legolas' face before her.
"Leg-g-olas," she stammered. The elf scooped her up in his arms and wrapped his cloak around her as best he could.
"This way!" he called to the rest of the group. He started quickly down the mountain, nearly snapping at the rest of the fellowship to hurry. He pressed Laurel's cold body closer to his, trying to offer her a little warmth. Aragorn came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"How is she, mellon?" he asked gently. He knew that Legolas had feelings beyond friendship for this woman, so he didn't say anything when Legolas hefted her small frame from the snow and then took off down the mountain. His friend looked over to him with worried eyes.
"She's still conscious, but maybe not for much longer." Aragorn nodded and did his best to help the hobbits descend the mountain. They had an easier time descending the snowy mountain than ascending, so it was quicker, but not quick enough for Legolas. He rubbed her arm as he walked, trying to keep her awake.
"Laurel, speak to me," he demanded. She no longer had the energy to open her eyes, but she tried her best to listen and respond.
"Hi," she sighed, barely above a whisper. Legolas snorted slightly at her response, but at least that was something. They trudged on, making slow progress, but eventually made it to the base of the mountain where the snow and wind gave way to rocks and fog. When Gandalf made it clear that Bill could not journey with them through the mines, the weary travelers each took some of Bill's load from his saddle. Sam said a teary goodbye to the little pony when no one was looking, and they let him loose to hopefully find his way back to Rivendell.
Gandalf led them down a rocky trail that began to increase in elevation slightly, but not in the direction of the mountain they had just descended. The wizard motioned for Frodo.
"Frodo, come and help an old man." The hobbit quickly caught up with their leader, allowing him to brace his arm on his smaller shoulders as they walked.
"How is your shoulder?"
"Better than it was," Frodo supplied tiredly.
"The Ring?" Frodo glanced down at the shape the ring made beneath his tunic. "You feel its power growing, don't you?" Frodo gave the wizard an imperceptible nod. "I felt it too," Gandalf reassured the small hobbit. The two passed these whispers between themselves as their troop pushed on, Frodo's spirit growing heavier with each step.
The ranger brought up the rear of the group and helped maintain their pace as the sun set in the sky and darkness came upon them. He could see Legolas ahead of him, trying his best to get Laurel to speak to him, but it was obvious that she had fallen unconscious. He was beginning to doubt the wizard's judgement for bringing this woman along. They eventually made their way to a little lake that was bordered on one side by a large stone wall that seem to blend up into the face of a large mountain.
"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gimli announced when they stopped in front of the large expanse of stone.
"Yes Gimli," Gandalf responded, "Even their own masters cannot find them if their secrets are forgotten."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas muttered in an uncharacteristic fashion, drawing a look from Aragorn. The clouds overhead that had blocked most of the moonlight from the sky began to part, revealing the presence of the dwarf door.
"It reads, 'The doors of Durin, Lord of Moria, speak friend and enter'," Gandalf translated.
"What do you suppose that means?" Pip questioned with a confused look at the glowing markings.
"Oh it's quite simple, if you are a friend you speak the password and the doors will open," the wizard explained. Gandalf pushed up his sleeves and squared himself up to gate, lifting his arms and staff as he began to chant. The fellowship watched with anticipation as the wizard tried two or tree different passwords.
"Nothing's happening," Merry whispered up to Legolas. They watched as Gandalf muttered frustratedly under his breath and tried pushing against the stones.
"What are you going to do then?" Pip spoke up, his voice eerily loud in the quiet of the night.
"Knock your head against these doors, Peregrine Took! And if that does not work, then I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions while I try to find the opening words." Pip shrunk back behind Merry at the wizards gruff words.
While Gandalf muttered and stared at the door, the hobbits investigated the dark, still water of the small lake. A fine fog hung over most of its surface and dead, twisted branches rose from its depths near the shallower edges. Out of boredom, Merry and Pip had found some nice looking stones and began hurling them as far as they could into the lake. Aragorn quickly whipped around and grabbed Pip's hand that was loaded with a fresh stone, ready to catapult it into the depths.
"Do not disturb the water," he warned the hobbits with a grim expression. The ranger looked back over the water, noticing that the ripples from the stones had not ceased, and were instead moving slowly over the entire surface of the lake. Boromir came up behind him, looking over his shoulder at the strange sight. The water continued to ripple, even though no more stones had been tossed.
Frodo was more preoccupied with the conundrum at the gate.
"It's a riddle," he whispered. "Speak friend... and enter... What's the Elvish word for friend?" he asked the gray wizard.
"Mellon," Gandalf's gravelly voice echoed in the night. The sound of crumbling stone and rocks sliding alerted the group that the doors had opened to them. The fellowship quickly hurried through the gate, waiting for Gandalf to shed some light.
"Soon, Master elf, you will enjoy the famous hospitality of the dwarves!" Gimli boasted, his voice echoing off the dusty walls of the mine. "Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone! This my friend is the home of my cousin, Balin," he went on as Gandalf's staff emitted a dim light, illuminating part of the entrance to the mines. "And they call it a mine!"
"This is no mine," Boromir said after taking in the dust-covered skeletons with arrows protruding from their bones. "It is a tomb." The rest of the fellowship let out gasps as they pieced together the carnage that had taken place here long ago. Gimli cried out in anguish as he sunk to his knees near a few of the remains. Legolas spotted an arrow laying on the ground and recognized the design.
"Goblins," the elf whispered, clutching Laurel tighter to his chest.
"We make for the Gap of Rohan," Boromir declared, brandishing his sword as the group started to take retreating steps toward the entrance. "We should never have come here. Now get out, get out!" The hobbits began to turn to beat a hasty retreat when a slimy tentacle wrapped itself around Frodo's ankle, dragging him toward the black water of the lake.
"Frodo!" Sam shouted, chasing after his friend. "Strider!" he called to Aragorn for help as Merry hacked at the tentacle with his small sword. The hobbits managed to free their friend and haul him away from the shore line as the injured tentacle slithered back into the water. Suddenly, half a dozen more arms sprang forth, knocking the others down and one hoisting Frodo into the air.
Legolas carefully placed Laurel against the stone wall with his cloak wrapped around her and reached for his bow and arrows. Frodo was suspended over the now exposed mouth of the creature that the tentacles belonged to, shouting and thrashing in the air. Legolas fired arrows into the arms holding the hobbit, causing it to switch arms, but Boromir and Aragorn were busy slicing through the many tentacles they could reach from the water line.
With a final slash, the beast released Frodo. The hobbit fell through the air and landed in the waiting arms of Boromir. Frodo tried to calm his racing heart and breathing as they scrambled back toward the entrance to the mine. However, before they reached the entrance, one of the tentacles shot ahead of them and wrapped itself around Laurel. The unconscious woman was easily plucked from the grass and drug into the dark water.
"NO!" Legolas bellowed, not fast enough to reach her in time. He was about to spring into the water when Boromir and Gimli pulled him back. "Laurel!" The elf tried violently to shake them off, but they had a tight hold on him, keeping him from jumping in after her.
"Mellon!" Aragorn grabbed his friend's shoulders and shook him as he pushed him back toward the mine. "I am sorry, mellon nin, but there is nothing we can do for her now. She is gone." He hated to say it, but they had to get out of there and she was already unconscious with no way to fight back. Legolas felt numb as he was dragged hurriedly into the mine, his eyes still trained on the spot where she had slipped beneath the water's surface. While they were retreating, the monster's remaining arms chased after them, beating against the stones surrounding the dwarf door. The entrance began to shake and bits of dust and rock shook loose from the ceiling and walls. Huge masses of stones tumbled down, sealing the entrance and putting a barrier between them and the creature from the lake.
Legolas dropped to his knees once the dust began to settle. The hobbits started to come out of their adrenaline-fueled shock and truly realized what had just happened to the only woman in their fellowship.
"She's gone," Sam's voice quivered quietly. Tears slipped down the hobbit's faces as they wrapped their arms around each other in comfort. Gimli even had to brush the back of his hand across his cheek as he gave a small sniff. Gandalf had been one of the first ones through the gate and the furthest from the commotion and hadn't had the time or vantage point to take in what had transpired, but he could deduce it well enough. His eyes glistened with unshed tears in the dim light from his staff.
"Perhaps, you all should know now Lady Laurel's true purpose for joining the fellowship."