Lord of the Rings: An Outlaw's Redemption
…
Chapter 5: The Darkness of Moria
Gandalf spoke to the Fellowship in a hoarse whisper. "Be on your guard!" he told them. "There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world," he warned them.
"Consider what we just saw outside? I'm inclined to believe that sentence," Arthur muttered to himself. He was still reeling from seeing that… thing… in the water. The cowboy had heard old sailor stories of monsters at sea, but he had always dismissed them as fairy tales and the words of drunkards. But seeing whatever that thing was outside had made Arthur realise that what may have been a fairy tale back home could be very real in this world.
"Quietly now. It's a four-day journey to the other side," Gandalf whispered. "Let us hope our presence may go unnoticed," he added.
…
Time seemed to have little meaning in the darkness of Moria. Arthur had no clue as to whether it was morning, midday, afternoon or even night-time. The silence was almost overbearing to the cowboy as the Fellowship traversed the pathways of Moria. The paths themselves were roughhewn and narrow and the stairs was steeply made, difficult to climb and the deep chasms threatened to pull you in if you so much as looked down into them.
The Fellowship walked along a sheer rock wall and Arthur could hear hanging chains clinking, the noise echoing in the darkness. Gandalf paused for a moment, running his gnarled hand on the rock wall that had dark silvery veins running through it.
"The wealth of Moria was not in gold, or jewels, but Mithril," the Wizard said as he shone the light of his staff down the chasm. Brighter light shone on the rock face, illuminating the Fellowship. The rock face seemed to go on forever with scaffolding and ladders disappearing into the mineshafts below. Merry leaned forward to take a closer look, but Arthur pulled him back and shook his head at him. Frodo stared down until the light faded, the vision of a realm forgotten disappearing.
"Bilbo had a shirt of Mithril rings given to him by Thorin," Gandalf told the Fellowship.
"Oh, that was a kingly gift!" Gimli said in wonderment.
"Yes. I never told Bilbo, but the value of that shirt was greater than that of the Shire," Gandalf said as they began to move again.
"Must be pretty valuable, considering the size of the Shire I saw on the map," Arthur said in surprise. He could only imagine how much money this entire mine of Mithril would be worth or how expensive it would be to procure even a simple shirt of Mithril.
The Fellowship then began to climb some steep stairways in a vast cavern of numerous tombs. A vast graveyard, Arthur thought to himself as he helped the Hobbits climb the stairs. For a moment, Pippin nearly lost his footing but Arthur and Merry caught the Took just in time before he fell down the stairs.
"You okay?" the cowboy asked Pippin in concern and the hobbit nodded silently, looking shaken by his near miss.
After climbing the steep stairs, the Fellowship came to a crossroads. Three doorways stood before. Arthur looked at each doorway and muttered, "Which way do we go now?" he asked, glancing at Gandalf. The Grey Pilgrim looked at each doorway, a look of confusion on his face before he spoke.
"I have no memory of this place."
…
The Fellowship took a moment to rest while they could while Gandalf sat alone at the top trying to plot their course. Arthur stood on the lookout, keeping a wary eye out for any danger to them. Taking a moment to take off his hat and wipe his brow, Arthur sighed; he was starting to feel exhausted being in this place. He was more used to wide open spaces and forests than places like this. He longed to hear animals and birds and the whistling of the wind through the trees, hell, even the sounds of civilisation like Saint Denis would be welcome right about now. Here, the silence was deafening to Arthur, it was almost unbearable to the cowboy.
Taking out his hipflask of dwarven ale and twisting the cap off, Arthur took a sip to steady his fraying nerves. He took only a sip, knowing that drinking too much would dull his movements which would kill him in a fight. Feeling his nerves calm a little, Arthur screwed the cap back on and put the flask into his satchel. The cowboy felt much calmer now. Sighing quietly to himself, Arthur went back on lookout and took a moment to clean his guns. Squatting down, Arthur took out a rag and some of the cleaning oil Eibear had given him for this purpose. Pouring a little oil onto the rag, Arthur began to rub down his guns, cleaning off the dirt and grime from them before holstering them. Taking out his hatchet, Arthur rubbed down the blade of the axe, cleaning off any residue from the battle with the squid/octopus create from before. Once the hatchet's blade was clean, Arthur stowed it away and stood to his feet, just in time as Gandalf spoke. "Ah, it's that way," he said.
"He's remembered!" Merry said in relief.
The Fellowship began to rise from their seats as Gandalf put on his hat and said to Merry. "No. But the air doesn't smell so foul down there," he told the hobbit as he led them down the chosen pathway. "When in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose," the Wizard advised.
Walking down the stairways, the Fellowship came into a vast hall filled with ornate columns and pillars, reaching up towards the dark ceiling as far as the eye could see. Gandalf said, "Let me risk a little more light." Tapping the foot of his staff on the ground, the crystal of his staff shone more brightly, illuminating the vast hall. Arthur stared in awe, as did the rest of the Fellowship. Arthur really wished he had a journal and pencil, or at least something to draw with; something like this was begging to be drawn onto paper.
"If only the others could see this," the cowboy muttered. "Wonder how long it took 'em to build this place?" he asked himself.
"Now there's an eye opener, no mistake," Samwise said.
"Behold, the great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf," Gandalf told the Fellowship.
The dark hall was edged with silvery light from Gandalf's staff, shivering in the light it had not seen in many years. The Fellowship then began to walk down the hallway. Gimli was walking upfront with Gandalf. The dwarf peered around a column and saw a ray of sunlight coming from a chamber where the skeletons of dwarves were scattered. Gimli gave a short loud grunt and dashed ahead into the chamber. Gandalf gave a warning cry to the dwarf who paid no heed as he entered the chamber with the Fellowship following him.
Upon entering the chamber and seeing a sarcophagus in the centre of the room, Gimli began to weep as he read the runes inscribed on it. "No… No!" The dwarf began to cry in pain and sorrow. Gandalf read the runes on the sarcophagus.
"Here lies Balin, Son of Fundin, Lord of Moria," Gandalf recited the words. "He is dead then, it's as I feared," the wizard said gravely and Gimli gave a sob of anguish, now knowing the fate of his beloved cousin. Arthur patted Gimli on the shoulder in an attempt to comfort the dwarf who could only weep. Gandalf passed his hat and staff to Pippin before taking a large dusty tome from a dwarf skeleton and opened it, clearing away the dust and dirt with a puff of air from his mouth.
"We must leave! We cannot linger!" Legolas whispered urgently to Aragorn and Arthur.
"He's right," Arthur agreed. "These fellers look like they were massacred!" he said, glancing at each of the dwarf skeletons.
Gandalf then began reading out the lines in the book. "They have taken the bridge… and the second hall," he recited. Gimli paused for a moment, looking at Gandalf blankly. "We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes." Pippin was moving away from Gandalf a little. "Drums… drums in the deep," Gandalf continued and he looked up slowly before turning the bloodstained page. Everyone began to glance around uncomfortably. "We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the Dark." Pippin then looked behind him to see the skeleton of a dwarf sitting on the edge of a well, an arrow stuck in its chest.
"We cannot get out…" Gandalf read and looked at the last line scrawled on the page. "They are coming," he said in dread.
Pippin touched the arrow stuck in the skeleton, causing the skull to fall into the well with a loud clang, breaking the silence with a resounding crash and bang. Arthur whipped out his Lancaster aiming it at Pippin and everyone looked at the hobbit who had a guilty look on his face. The rest of the skeleton's body fell into the well also, dragging with it a bucket and chain. Loud crashes and bangs echoing in the Mines until it gradually fell silent. For a moment, everyone held their breath, waiting to see if Pippin's actions had woken anything. After a moment, nothing happened and Gandalf slammed the book shut.
"Fool of a Took!" He growled at the hobbit snatching his hat and staff out from his hands. "Next time throw yourself in and rid us of your stupidity!" he said.
"Don't bother! Do summat like that again and I'll throw you in myself!" Arthur spat at Pippin who looked down at the ground in shame.
Then, coming from the well was a deep noise.
BOOM-BOOM.
Gandalf slowly turned back around as did Pippin.
BOOM… BOOM-BOOM.
Boom-boom-boom.The beat paused before continuing. With the sound, came more noises and terror creeped into the Fellowship.
"Ah shit!" Arthur cursed as he lifted the lever of his Lancaster, cocking it and seeing a little light shine in the chamber of the repeater.
"Frodo!" Samwise said to the Ring-Bearer who looked at his sword, the blade glowing a pale blue.
Then the gleeful sounds of goblins began to echo throughout Moria.
"We got company!" Arthur said.
"Orcs!" Legolas stated as his keen hearing picked up the sounds. Boromir rushed to the door to take a look. A sharp whistling and Boromir managed to pull his head back in time as arrows stuck themselves in the doorway followed by a loud roar. Aragorn and Arthur rushed over to the Gondorian man.
"Stay back! Keep close to Gandalf!" Arthur shouted at the hobbits.
Arthur, Boromir and Aragorn then shut the door. "They have a cave troll!" Boromir said in resignation. The three men then began to bar the door with the old and rusty weapons scattered about before they moved back and drew their weapons. Gandalf drew his sword with a yell, tossing aside his hat. The hobbits then drew their own swords. Frodo's sword, Sting quivered, glowing blue. Gimli leapt atop of Balin's tomb, his axes in hand and gave a fearsome snarl.
"Reeaaargh! Let them come!" he growled. "There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!" he declared.
"That's a comfort," Arthur joked as he looked down the sight of his repeater, crouched down on one knee with Legolas and Aragorn standing on either side of him, their bows at the ready. Boromir stood to the side, his broadsword drawn and his shield on his arm. The goblins then began to pound at the door, trying to break through it.
Small gaps began to appear in the aged wood. Arthur then gave a chuckle which caused everyone to look at him and the cowboy said, "Is it me? Or are they suicidal?" Everyone gave a grim chuckle at Arthur's dark humour in the situation.
As the first clear gap was made by a goblin spear, Legolas loosed an arrow. The missile soared through the gap followed by a squeal as it obviously hit a target. Legolas nocked another arrow to his bow as Aragorn loosed his own arrow, hitting another goblin through the gap. Arthur took in a deep breath as the door was then broken down by the charging goblins.
Time slowed to a crawl as Arthur then began to fire his Lancaster, plugging each goblin in the head, until time resumed its normal pace. Fourteen goblins lay dead in front of the Fellowship. Arthur released the breath he was holding, but the other goblins then took this moment to charge again. Gimli gave a dwarven battlecry, and Aragorn quickly put away his bow and drew his longsword as a goblin leapt toward him. The Dunédain ranger swung his sword at the leaping goblin, the steel blade cutting deep into the creature's stomach.
Boromir charged forward, his shield raised which took the brunt of a goblin's attack before he stabbed it with his sword. Legolas leapt back, still firing arrows at goblins; one goblin came near, but the Elf prince used one arrow to stab the ugly thing in the head before nocking the same arrow and fired it at another. Arthur switched his Lancaster for his sawed-off shotgun; each resounding boom from the gun blasted apart a goblin, leaving gaping fist-sized holes in their bodies.
Three goblins then charged at Arthur; their shields raised to block the buckshot pellets. Gritting his teeth, Arthur then drew Orcrist, the blade seemed to glow in anticipation of killing goblins. Upon seeing the fabled elf blade, the goblins screeched and jabbered in fear, shrinking back, and baring their pointed teeth in anger. Smirking to himself, Arthur swung the elven blade at a pair of goblins; the blade sheared off their heads in one stroke.
Meanwhile, a goblin leapt at Gimli who was still standing on his cousin's tomb; the dwarf warrior swung his axe into the goblin's stomach with a roar. Gandalf gave a yell and charged forward; the hobbits followed suit with cries of their own. Frodo ducked underneath a goblin's sword while Pippin faced down another after killing his first goblin. Merry stabbed a goblin repeatedly and Samwise drove his sword through a goblin's chest.
Legolas aimed at another goblin and fired; the arrow speared the creature through the chest, making it scream in pain. Another goblin roared angrily at Aragorn who gave a roar of his own and took off the goblin's head with his sword. Black blood spurted out of the stump where the goblin's head once was. Arthur drove his sword deep into a goblin's guts before pulling the blade out and hacked off the creature's head. Sheathing Orcrist, Arthur then switched to his sawed-off shotgun, hefting it in his hand as a goblin charged towards him.
Arthur aimed his shotgun at the creature who raised its shield in front of it. Arthur spotted that the goblin left its feet unprotected. Aiming low, Arthur fired his shotgun, the buckshot pellets shredding the goblin's feet into confetti. The goblin gave an inhuman squeal as it fell onto its chest and looked up to see the barrel of Arthur's shotgun aimed its face. It was the last thing it ever saw as the barrel exploded, tearing apart the goblin's head into a shredded mess.
Breaking it open and allowing it to reload before closing it back up, Arthur aimed his shotgun at another goblin who tried to stab him with its barbed spear. Turning to avoid the thrust, Arthur smashed the handle of his shotgun into the goblin's jaw, breaking the creature's jaw and knocking out a few of its teeth. The goblin fell down, grunting and whining like a wounded animal and Arthur out the thing out of its misery by slamming his foot down hard onto its neck, breaking it.
Then a loud roar made itself known and Samwise paused in the middle of battle and looked up to see what had made that noise. Aragorn also looked up and saw as a large hulking creature, a cave troll, smash its way into the tomb. A collar and a long chain were attached to the creature's neck with a pair of goblins pulling on the chain, leading it. The troll gave a loud bellow, making everyone look to see it. Legolas quickly fired an arrow at the creature's shoulder, making the beast growl in pain, clapping a meaty hand to the wound.
Samwise stared up at the troll in muted frozen horror. The troll then raised a large hammer in its hands, preparing to slam down it down on the hobbit. Samwise gave a yell of terror as he dived between the troll's stumpy legs and crawled away, just as the troll slammed its weapon down where the hobbit stood. The troll turned around and saw the hobbit had crawled into a corner. Lumbering over, the troll raised one foot to squash Samwise.
But then Aragorn and Boromir grabbed the chain attached to the collar on the troll's neck and pulled with all their might, sweat pouring from their brows, their teeth gritted in exertion. Arthur stepped in and helped pull on the troll's chain, his own grunts of exertion being made. But their effort did pull the troll's attention away from Samwise, but the troll retaliated by spinning to the right, swinging its mace as it did so. Aragorn, Arthur and Boromir ducked under the swing with the first two letting go of the chain. Boromir stood back and realised he was still holding the chain in his hands.
The troll appeared to notice this and yanked forcefully on its chain, whipping Boromir off the ground and sent the Gondorian man flying and crashing into a wall. Boromir slid down the wall and groaned in pain, dazed and disoriented, but he then saw a goblin in front of him. The goblin raised its sword, preparing to land a killing blow. But then the sound of something hitting the goblin in the back of its head made it squeal and fall to the ground dead.
A dwarven hatchet was stuck in the back of the goblin's head and Boromir saw Arthur, his hand lowered to the ground and realised the cowboy had saved his life. The Gondorian man nodded his thanks at the cowboy who nodded back in reply.
Standing atop Balin's tomb, Gimli threw one of his throwing axes at the troll. The blade of the throwing axe pierced the shoulder of the troll making it roar in pain as it lumbered towards Gimli and swing its mace down where Gimli stood. The dwarf warrior leapt off just in time as the troll's mace smashed the sarcophagus in a spray of dust and rubble. Arthur had his Schofield out, firing bullets at the goblins between him and Frodo, Merry and Pippin. Making his way towards the hobbits while reloading, the cowboy said to them.
"You two! Get Frodo out of the thing's line of fire!" the cowboy ordered Merry and Pippin.
"Yessir, Mr Morgan!" Merry replied as he and Pippin hustled Frodo onto the upper walkway and behind a pillar.
Gimli hacked at a goblin in front of him, just as the troll swung its mace at him. Gimli ducked in time, allowing the troll to kill the goblin instead. Another goblin charged at Gimli who fell over the ground. Legolas then nocked two arrows to his bow, pulling the bowstring back, aiming at the troll; aiming at the troll, the elf prince released the bowstring. The two arrows hit the troll, making it reel back in pain and fall onto its back. Using what was left of the sarcophagus, the troll levered itself back to standing position.
Gandalf slammed his staff into a goblin's head, crushing its skull before slicing another goblin with his sword while twisting around. Arthur got to higher ground, taking out his Lancaster, firing it at a goblin in front of him, the bullet piercing through its skull and brains. Black blood spurted out from the goblin's head as it fell against the wall and slid down, leaving a black slimy trail of goblin blood.
Lifting the lever of his repeater when he saw Legolas in front of him, holding his bow to the side and in his other hand, he held one of the long elven daggers, taking down two goblins in front of him. The cowboy then saw the troll had gotten back to its feet and was beginning to use its chain as a weapon and was readying to swing it at Legolas.
"Legolas! Watch out!" Arthur shouted at the elf prince who looked up in time to see the troll swing its chain at him. Legolas dodged the strike and the troll swung again with the elf prince dodging it again. The troll then tried a downward strike making Legolas jump to his right to avoid it. The troll then swiped its chain again, this time the chain wrapped around the pillar. With the agility of a tree cat, Legolas nimbly walked the chain and onto the troll's shoulders, aiming an arrow at the troll's head.
The arrow broke on contact with the troll's thick skull and Legolas leapt off the troll before it could retaliate. Arthur quickly aimed his Lancaster and fired at the troll's neck, breaking the chain rendering it useless as a weapon. Meanwhile, Samwise slammed his cast iron skillet into a goblin's face, backing up to a wall and spotting another goblin and panned it in the face with his skillet.
"I think I'm getting the hang of this," the hobbit said to himself before hitting another goblin.
The troll then spotted the other free hobbits as they moved out into view. The troll raised its mace high into the air before slamming it down. The hobbits leapt to the side; Frodo to his right, and Merry & Pippin to their left. The troll's mace destroyed the walkway between the hobbits, separating them.
"Frodo!" Aragorn shouted as he began fighting his way towards the Ringbearer. Frodo hid on the other side of a pillar as the troll began to search for him on the opposite. Aragorn furiously fought his way to Frodo, punching with his left arm while slashing at goblins with his sword. The troll then attempted to search the side of the pillar Frodo was on; the Ringbearer quickly moved to the opposite side.
The troll sniffed the air, trying to search for the hobbit before it moved away, seemingly abandoning it search. Frodo heaved a sigh in relief while Aragorn continued to fight his way towards him. As Frodo sighed in relief, the troll reappeared, roaring in Frodo's face causing the Ringbearer to yelp in fright and fall back into a corner. The troll quickly found him and grabbed the hobbit with one meaty hand, lifting him in the air.
"Aragorn? Aragorn!" Frodo shouted desperately.
Aragorn panted in exhaustion, yet he continued onwards. "Frodo!" the Dunédain yelled.
Frodo slashed at the troll's hand with Sting, causing it to drop him and stare at its injured hand in surprise. Frodo fell and lay on the stone floor and looked up to see the troll raise its mace high and prepared to swing. Then leaping out in front of Frodo, armed with a long spear was Aragorn who stabbed the troll in the stomach. The speartip could not penetrate deep enough into the troll's thick hide, but it still hurt the creature.
Merry and Pippin began throwing rocks at the troll, annoying it, swinging its arm out blindly and knocking Aragorn into the wall, almost knocking him out. Frodo crawled over to the Heir of Gondor, trying to wake the man. The troll then pulled the spear out from its belly and attempted to stab Frodo in the head. The Ringbearer ducked in time and slashed at the troll's hand with Sting, but this did nothing. The hobbit then made to run but the troll blocked his path, throwing him back against the wall.
The troll pulled back with the spear and thrust forward; this time it did not miss. The spear struck Frodo in the chest making him groan loudly, catching everyone's attention. Arthur and Gandalf stared in shock. Merry and Pippin looked at each before they leapt onto the troll's back, stabbing it in the head repeatedly with their Barrow blades. But their blades had no effect on the troll's thick skin, only serving to annoy it.
Samwise looked and saw Frodo slide down to the ground seemingly dead. "Frodo!" Samwise shouted in horror. Arthur could only stare in disbelief, memories of Sean, Hosea and Lenny's deaths flashing through his mind. How Sean was shot in the head by a sniper after the bank robbery in Rhoades, how Hosea was shot in the back by Milton in Saint Denis and how Lenny was gunned down by lawmen trying to find an escape route for the gang.
"Frodo!" Samwise then began fighting his way towards his fallen friend, slashing with his shortsword and swinging his skillet. Gandalf joined too, swing his sword and staff, taking down any goblins in front of him. Seeing red, Arthur fired shot after shot at any goblins in front of him. Boromir cut down a goblin in front of him and sliced a goblin across the chest with his sword. Frodo's body slumped against the ground with the spear still stuck in his chest.
The troll flailed its arms and managed to grab Merry, swinging him around making the Took yell. Then Gimli hacked his axe into the troll's back causing the troll to release Merry; the Took fell to the ground with a gasp of pain. Gandalf struck at the troll with his own sword, pulling back as Gimli made another strike. The troll swung its hand out and knocked the dwarf warrior to the ground. Arthur aimed his Lancaster at the troll and aimed carefully; firing methodically at the troll's stomach, the Lancaster roared as bullets flew from its barrel in flashed of fire and puffs of smoke.
The troll roared in pain as the bullets penetrated its thick hide, black blood pouring the golf ball sized wounds. The troll still stood, but was dazed and wounded, then Pippin stabbed his Barrow blade into the back of its head one more time, making the troll throw its head back in pain. Legolas had readied his bow with an arrow and as the troll exposed its throat, Legolas released the arrow and the arrow pierced the troll's soft throat.
The troll stood still, clutching its throat with one hand, groaning, staring upwards and with another long, pained moan, it fell forward onto the ground with a thud, finally dead. Arthur sighed in relief and exhaustion. A moment of silence fell over the Fellowship as they regrouped in the middle of the tomb, the ground littered with the bodies of dead goblins and the cave troll. Arthur took this moment to retrieve his dwarven hatchet from the skull of the goblin he killed saving Boromir.
The group then rushed over to Frodo as Aragorn awoke to see Frodo lying next to him.
"Oh, no. No…" Aragorn said in sorrow.
"Shit…" Arthur cursed as the memories of Sean, Hosea and Lenny once again entered his mind. He hadn't known Frodo that long, but the hobbit was a good sort who had been thrust into a situation he wasn't prepared and burdened with a responsibility that he should never have had to bear. "Poor kid," the cowboy said in sadness.
Aragorn turned Frodo to see Frodo was still alive. Arthur saw Frodo was alive. "He's alive!" the cowboy exclaimed in relief.
"I'm alright… I'm not hurt," Frodo said in a gasp of air.
"How the hell did you do that?!" Arthur asked.
"Arthur's right. That spear would have skewered a wild boar!" Aragorn voiced his agreement.
"I think there's more to this hobbit then meets the eye," Gandalf said wisely.
Frodo partially opened his shirt to reveal a silvery shirt of mail. Gimli said in awe, "Mithril!"
"I know what I want for Christmas now," Arthur said dumbly.
"You're full of surprises, Master Baggins," Gimli said to Frodo. Then the sound of pounding goblin drums was heard and looking at the door, the Fellowship saw the torchlight and shadows of goblins.
"Jesus! Don't they ever give up?!" Arthur swore. Looking at Gandalf, the cowboy asked, "There a way outta this godforsaken hellhole?"
"Yes. To the bridge of Khazad-dum!" the Grey Pilgrim commanded. Leaving the tomb through a hall in the wall, the Fellowship ran out into the Dwarrowdelf, a single ray of sunlight streamed in through some hole high in the ceiling. Arthur ran beside Gandalf, his Lancaster held in his arms. Out of crevices in the floor and ceiling, goblins climbed out, the ones on the ceiling crawled down the pillars like spiders.
"Christ alive! Spider-goblins?!" Arthur said in disbelief. The Fellowship ran as fast as they could as goblins came out from every side, before surrounding the Fellowship. Keeping the hobbits in the centre, Arthur aimed his Lancaster at the leering and snarling faces of the goblins. As Arthur prepared to make peace with his maker and go down fighting, a deep rumbling roar was heard and Arthur then saw a deep fiery light at the end of the hall. The goblins then all chattered fearfully before fleeing back into their holes in all directions.
Arthur could only guess that whatever made that sound had scared the goblins away, but he doubted it was friendly. Aiming his repeater in the direction of the fiery light, Arthur prepared to face whatever was coming towards them.
"What new devilry is this?" Boromir asked Gandalf who closed his eyes in concentration. After a moment, the Grey Pilgrim spoke.
"A balrog," the Istari said gravely. Arthur noticed the look of fear on Legolas's face and understanding that whatever a balrog was, it was definitely dangerous. "A demon of the ancient world," Gandalf added and another deep echoing growl was heard as the fiery light began to move closer.
"This foe is beyond any of you," Gandalf said to the Fellowship. "Run!" he ordered. The Fellowship then ran, following Gandalf heading towards a small doorway set in a stone wall. Gandalf stopped at the door, urging the group into the doorway. "Quickly!" the Wizard shouted before taking a glance behind him before following the Fellowship.
The Fellowship ran down a passage and went down a flight of stairs with Boromir in the lead. But then Boromir almost fell as the stairs ended in a broken segment. The Captain of the White Tower managed to stop himself before he fell off, but he teetered on the edge but Arthur and Legolas pulled the man back in time as the rest of the Fellowship caught up and stopped in their tracks.
"Gandalf?" Aragorn asked Gandalf who leaned against the wall.
"Lead them on, Aragorn! The bridge is near!" the Wizard said to the Dunédain who tried to help him to his feet. Gandalf shook him off roughly and shouted, "Do as I say! Swords are no more use here!"
The Balrog roared as it began slamming against the small doorway. Arthur then spotted a flight of stairs, "Down this way!" the cowboy shouted and the Fellowship followed the stairs that twisted down into the fiery depths below. But then there was a gap in the stairs as part had been broken off at some point in time. Legolas leapt smoothly across like cat, before he turned around and said, "Gandalf!" he urged.
Gandalf then leaped across with Legolas catching him, just as a sharp whistle and arrow struck the spot where Gandalf stood but a moment ago. Arthur then spotted goblin archers on ledges far above the Fellowship. "Archers up top!" the gunslinger cursed as he switched to his Rolling Block Rifle and aimed down the scope. Another arrow landed near the hobbits causing them to shuffle back a bit.
Arthur cursed as he aimed at one of the goblins and fired his rolling block. A resounding boom of thunder was heard as the bullet took off the goblin archer's head off. The dead goblin was replaced with another goblin. Legolas and Aragorn pulled out their bows and fired arrows at the goblin archer, killing a few.
"Merry! Pippin!" Boromir hoisted the Peregrine and Took into his arms and leapt across the gap, landing on the other side just as part of the stairs broke off a little more. Arthur shot another goblin, causing it to tumble off the ledge and it was replaced with another goblin.
"Sam!" Aragorn lifted Samwise into his arms and threw him across to Boromir who caught him in time. Aragorn turned to Gimli who held up his hand and said, "Nobody tosses a dwarf!" Gimli then leapt across the gap, landing on the edge but only just and he teetered for a moment but Legolas grabbed the dwarf by the hairs of his beard.
"Not the beard!" Gimli shouted but Legolas pulled the dwarf up.
Arthur fired another around at a goblin but then the stairs began to crumble beneath them. Aragorn pushed Frodo up the stairs and clambers after him, Arthur managed to back up in time and pulled Aragorn up to his feet. The three then looked at the much mor significant gap between them and the rest of the Fellowship.
"Hold on!" Aragorn told Frodo.
"This ain't lookin' good!" Arthur said.
The Balrog roared in fury as it pounded against the doorway, the stone structure began to lose its integrity as the demon tried to break through. Then a huge boulder fell from the ceiling and smashed through the stairs behind Arthur, Aragorn and Frodo, creating another gap and weakening the foundation. The stairs began to wobble as Arthur, Aragorn and Frodo tried not to move to suddenly.
"Hang on!" Aragorn said to Frodo, holding the Ringbearer by the shoulder.
Arthur was then struck with an idea. "I got an idea! Lean forward! Tilt the weight towards the others!" he told Aragorn and Frodo. Doing just that, they managed to make the stairs fall towards to where the Fellowship was.
"Steady as she goes!" Arthur shouted.
Then the stairs landed on the other side and Arthur, Aragorn and Frodo leapt off the broken stairs as it fell into the abyss below. The Fellowship then fled down the stairs and around a corner into a hall where flames leapt and danced and whirled behind them.
"Over the bridge! Fly!" Gandalf bellowed.
The Fellowship fled across the narrow bridge, but Gandalf did not follow. Instead he turned around to look behind him. Then in an explosion of ash and flame some fiery demon with a bull like head with curling horns and its eyes like white fire. The demon then opened its maw and roared, searing heat from the depths of its mouth. Arthur stopped at the bridge to make sure everyone made it across and saw Gandalf had not joined them and he then saw what Gandalf was looking. Primal terror gripped Arthur but he chose to ignore it for the moment and focussed on Gandalf.
"Gandalf!? C'mon! We gotta move!" the gunslinger shouted at the Wizard who looked back at him and shouted, "Go, Arthur! Go now!"
Arthur hesitated for a moment but then complied as he ran across the bridge and Gandalf followed as well. But then Grey Pilgrim then stopped half way across the bridge.
"What are ya doin'?!" Arthur shouted at Gandalf who faced the Balrog.
"You cannot pass!" the Istari told the demon who simply roared in defiance.
"Gandalf!" Frodo shouted in fear.
The Balrog then unfurled great ash black wings and fire erupted all overs its body. Gandalf stood before it, unafraid with his sword and staff raised.
"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame or Arnor!" the Wizard proclaimed as bright white light emanated from the crystal of his staff, enveloping him in a globe of endless light. "The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun!" he declared.
The Balrog heaved its arm up, a sword made of pure fire form in its clawed hand. With a great forceful strike, the balrog swung its fiery blade at Gandalf. The balrog's sword shattered against the white light in fiery shards. The balrog roared, enraged by this act.
"Go back to the Shadow!" Gandalf commanded through clenched teeth.
A snort of flame came from the Balrog's nose as it took a step on the bridge. The demon then conjured a fiery whip, lashing it menacingly. Gandalf then lifted his sword and staff together in the air.
"YOU… SHALL NOT… PASS!" Gandalf bellowed in defiance before slamming his staff down onto the bridge in a burst of light. Flaring its nostrils as if to say "Is that it?" the Balrog took a step forward onto the bridge, but then bridge collapsed beneath, causing it to fall into the deep chasm below. The Balrog roared as it fell into darkness below. Gandalf panted in relief as he turned around to join the Fellowship but then the balrog's whip wrapped itself around the Wizard's ankle, dragging him over the edge. Gandalf dropped his sword and staff and struggled to pull himself up, clinging to the bridge.
Frodo tried to run forward but Boromir stopped him.
"No! No!" The Gondorian man shouted.
"Gandalf!" the Ringbearer shouted in anguish.
Gandalf looked at the Fellowship before saying, "Fly, you fool!" before dropping down into darkness below.
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Frodo screamed in sadness and pain.
Arthur stared, his eyes wide with shock, stunned by what he had just seen.
"Aragorn!" Boromir shouted as he pulled Frodo up the stairs that would lead them out of Moria. Frodo continued to scream, still stricken by what he had witnessed.
Arthur stared at the broken bridge but he suddenly felt someone shaking his arm. "Arthur!" The cowboy looked to see Aragorn. "We must leave!" the Dunédain shouted at the gunslinger who nodded dumbly before fleeing with the Fellowship, out of the darkness of Moria.
…
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! After a long wait, I finally updated this! I apologise for the long wait, but real life and other projects have kept me busy, but I've finally updated this like some of you have asked me if I would. So, I hope this makes the grade for you all and I hope to see your reviews of it, because if you don't leave a review on this chapter, I'll find you~~~~~.
Just kidding.
Anyways, I can't promise that I'll work on the next chapter right away after this, but I will at least try to make an effort to. Reviews can and do encourage me to write more, so long as they're constructive, because I had a couple of nasty reviews on one of my other stories that somewhat discourage me. I will say this; if you have any criticisms to make about my work, then do so constructively and politely. If you're just going to throw around rude language and not offer any constructive critiques/advice, then you can show yourselves out the door.
Don't get me wrong, I fully understand and accept that not everyone is gonna like what I write, but I'm not forcing anyone to read what I write or to like what I write. Besides, it's not hard to be polite to people you know?
Moving on.
I've been struck with an idea for a Red Dead Redemption/Elder Scrolls crossover of the Dragonborn ending up in the RDR universe. Still trying to decide which RDR setting I would have the Dragonborn land in; I'd kinda like to see the Van Der Linde gang's reaction to actual Tamriel magic, Jack might think the Dragonborn is an actual wizard which to the people of the RDR world, he might as well be. But I'd kinda like to see the Dragonborn in the Red Dead Online world, going around carrying free roam tasks and doing some of the Frontier Roles such as the Collector, Bounty Hunter, Trader, Moonshiner and the newest role, the Naturalist.
Speaking of the Naturalist, what do you all think of it? I'm not sure what to think of it to be honest because it's kinda slow going trying to find animals to track and take samples from, but on the other hand, we now have more animal spawns but I can't kill them or else Harriet sprays me with whatever she has. What are your thoughts on the newest Frontier Role in RDO?
Anyways, that is about it from me and I shall see you all in the next one.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.