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Fleeing: Running, escaping.
Darkness: Absence of light, fear or unknown. Possibly evil.
On with the Tale, Allons-Y!
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Thalia
Gods I hate this place, Thalia thought. She was the daughter of Zeus, not Hades. She hated enclosed spaces. She hated the endless darkness, stumbling over bones, rocks, and who-knows-what, dependant only on the faint light from Gandalf's staff. She hated the silence; it was like a smothering blanket, discouraging speech and happiness. The only thing she could hear were the muffled footsteps of her companions and their tired breathing. Just when they had found a moment of fun and light, a greek firebomb had exploded, the chamber had almost collapsed, and then a horde of crazy orcs tried to kill them. Gods. This place had it out for them. Unlike earlier, she was unable to banter with Percy anymore, and the silence had returned as heavy as ever. She hated the silence. In the dark, with only a small light bobbing in front, in this enormous cavern, she felt small and alone. They were going at a slower pace than usual, as Pippin and Merry were slung across Percy's and Boromir's shoulders. Did she mention the silence?
Most of all, Thalia hated how the mines seemed to go on forever, without an end to this endless walking. Without any visible progress. Just an endless, twisting labyrinth. Again and again, she cursed the stupid creators of this damned mine. Her legs ached from all the walking they had done, and Gandalf seemed to have no intention of stopping. Her arms were also aching from lugging Nico's dead weight. The kid needed to watch his diet. Nico had been amazing in the battle. He had the advantage of being able to fight perfectly in the dark, and his shadow powers had given him a pretty good edge, unlike her and Percy, who had been caught out of their elements. Unfortunately, he had collapsed after the battle, his powers draining him too much. Boromir and Thalia had been taking turns to carry him while Gandalf looked for a place to rest. The battle had drained a lot out of them. They needed sleep. Percy's watch said it was past eleven. Gandalf was currently discussing the layout of the mines with Gimli. She hoped the dwarf remembered where the resting rooms were. She was so tired. Even the Blessing of Artemis couldn't alleviate her tiredness. Gods she was exhausted.
"Here!" She was shaken out of her thoughts by Gimli's triumphant cry. They had found a room! She sighed in relief and walked into the room. The room was quite large, and it was bare except for a well, the usual bones littering the floor, and a white marble box in the centre. Something set this room apart from the other rooms she had seen. There was a small hole in the roof, and a solitary shaft of light - was that sunlight? - streamed in, casting a faint white light on the room. Thalia's spirits immediately rose at the sight of sunlight. She had almost forgotten what the bright light of the sun looked and felt like in the bleak blackness of the mines. She sank down on the floor gratefully and placed Nico carefully on the ground.
However, Gimli did not seem to share her good mood. At the first sight of the box, he had given a cry of despair. He surged forward to the box and read the runes on the box. The runes just looked like chicken scratches to Thalia, but evidently they spelled a terrible message. Gimli sat down and started sobbing. Real, heartbroken, sobbing. She couldn't watch this. Gimli had never complained, never shown any sign of discontent, and while he had been less than his usual boisterous self in the Mines, he had never broken down once. It was unsettling to see such a stoic character break down and cry.
Gandalf walked over to the Box gravely. "Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria."
Oh.
It wasn't a box, it was a grave. Evidently, Balin had been close to Gimli. She dimly remembered a conversation where he had told them about the great exploits of his father, Gloin along with twelve other dwarves and Bilbo, Frodo's uncle. She was sure that Balin had been mentioned in the group. Gimli threw his hood over his head. Frodo, too, hid his face.
Casting another glance around the room, she saw a book, a thick, dust covered, leather-bound book. It was covered in dried blood. Gingerly, she picked it up. The pages crackled as she opened it. The book was full of the chicken scratches. She puzzled it over with Percy for a minute or two, then handed it to Annabeth. When she, too, could not decipher it, she gave up and handed it over to Gandalf. When Gandalf read it, his expression darkened. He looked like a very weary old man.
Gandalf closed his eyes sadly. "He is dead then. It is as I feared." Seeing Thalia's and Boromir's questioning glances, he explained. "This is a journal of Balin's conquest of Moria. The entries are cheerful at first. It talks of discovering many old mines and riches."We drove out the orcs from the great gate and laid claim to it. Balin has set up his seat in the Chamber of Mazarbul. Balin is now Lord of Moria." And here it says they found mithril"
He then flipped to the middle of the book carefully, causing a great deal of dust to fall out and made Thalia sneeze. "Here, it becomes bad". He read an excerpt. "The Watcher in the Water took one of us today. The dwarf had been collecting water when he was snatched into the deep. He never came back up. He was a great loss."
Gandalf turned to another part of the book and continued reading. "The decision to explore the two closed off mines has proved disastrous. Our Fathers had sealed them for a reason. Orcs. We had awakened the Orcs of Moria. They charged out of the mine, brandishing scimitars and clubs, baying for our blood. There was a terrible battle, and many good dwarves fell. We have now retreated to the few places the orcs haven't taken yet. We shall defeat them. The dwarves are strong."
Gandalf turned to another portion." This entry was made two months later. The orcs have gotten stronger and stronger. Slowly they are retaking parts of Moria and closing off the exits. Balin is dead. An orc arrow hit him when he was still unprepared. The conquest of Moria is doomed. We have failed. We must escape. Moria is lost to the dwarves." Gimli let out a choked sob.
Gandalf continued to read. "This entry is the next to last entry. Drums. Drums in the deep. The sound chills us and set shivers in our bones. The orcs have killed many of us. We are sorely outnumbered. The orcs are accompanied by monsters. Cave trolls. Huge, hulking brutes. Also, there is another monster. A monster of Fire and Shadow. aWe have not met it yet, and we pray we never will. We hear it roaring in the night, we hear his thundering footsteps. There is no hope for us. Tonight will be our attempt. It will be all or nothing. I cannot stand another night in this tomb. Tonight, one way or another, we shall escape."
In a grieving voice, Gandalf read the last entry. "We have failed. The orcs have taken all the exits. There is no way out. Of the five hundred brave dwarves that set out to Moria, only twenty dwarves remain. We now stand in this room beside Balin's tomb, readying our weapons for the final fight. They are coming for us. I can hear the drums. They are coming. We cannot get out. We cannot get out. THEY ARE COMING…" Thalia saw that the last few words of the last sentence trailed off the page, like the writer had fallen asleep trying to write it. Or worse.
"Cheery." Percy remarked, his eyes downcast.
"Is this the oft mentioned 'poetic justice?' Legolas mumbled. "My father imprisoned Gimli's father and his company in the underground dungeons of Mirkwood. Now here I am, experiencing in turn the hospitality of the dwarves."
"It looks bad." Boromir agreed. "This place is truly full of evil."
The mounting sense of dread finally overcame her. The plight of the dwarves, their sorrow and despair echoed their own. And now, she realized, we are now in the same situation. She looked at the remaining members of the company. Frodo and Sam were white with fear, Boromir was nervously gripping his sword, Gimli was still in mourning, and Nico was sitting with a blank stare on his face, having just woken up to catch the few final excerpts. They had all been affected by the words.
"We cannot get out?" Nico asked. "Does that mean the door is shut or the bridge is broken?"
"Let us hope not." Gandalf answered grimly. "Now, the hour is late. I suggest you rest. I do not wish to delay longer, but I cannot risk us going into a fight with a company of tired men and hobbits."
Boromir barked a short laugh. "Rest? After what you've read? Rest next to a dead person's tomb?"
"I for one have no problem with that." Nico piped up, unrolling his bedroll. He was snoring within seconds.
Aragorn nodded. "Gandalf is right. We must rest while we may."
"Who's going to take first watch?" Thalia mumbled, but she was asleep before she got her answer.
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Legolas
Legolas was awoken with a light touch. From the moment he awoke he could tell something was wrong. Boromir and Gandalf were busy barricading the door with pikes, axes and pieces of wood. The dwarf Gimli was standing with the hobbits beside the box, gripping his axe in his hands with white knuckles. Legolas spied a a blue glow from Frodo's knife. Aragorn hurried to awake the demigods.
"What hour is it?" He asked, stringing his bow. "What is the cause for alarm?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Percy uncapped Riptide and expanded his shield. Behind him, a ring of metal announced Aragorn's blade. He glanced behind him. Annabeth and Thalia guided the hobbits to a corner of the room. The demigods awake, Aragorn hurried towards Gandalf and Boromir and began to help them. Nico staggered unsteadily, "Oh come on! I just slept!"
Percy gripped Nico's shoulders and steadied him. "You okay?"
"With great power comes great need to take a nap." He muttered. He glanced at the doors, and his eyebrows rose as he realized what was going on. He summoned his Stygian Iron sword. "No rest for the weary."
Legolas moved over to Gandalf. "What happened?"
Gandalf's eyes were furrowed in concern. "The orcs have been battering at the wall Nico made at the Hall of Moria. They have finally broken through, and they are now hunting for us. We have no choice but to fight…again."
Percy groaned from behind him."Joy."
Footsteps. Footsteps outside the door. Legolas tensed along with the rest of the fellowship, nocking two arrows to his bow. The doors shook as something tried to push it open from the outside. Harsh shrieks rang out when they couldn't get in. A horn blast sounded. Answering horns sounded. The drums started again. Boom. Boom. Boom. The drum echoed around the entire cavern. the door started to bend inwards.
His hearing picked up their excited chatter. He spoke up. "They are coming."
Gimli snarled in anger, his face twisted in a look truly black. "Let them come. There is still one dwarf in Moria that draws breath!" He raised his axe high. Legolas resolved that he would not stand alone.
Gandalf strode to the doors. "WHO COMES HITHER TO DISTURB THE REST OF BALIN LORD OF MORIA?!"
The door started splintering. A black, twisted hand reached into the gap in the door. Thalia fired an arrow through the gap. There was a yelp and the hand went limp, dissolving into dust.
The gap widened. Three orc arrows flew from the gap towards Percy. The arrows broke on his skin. Legolas would have been surprised, but there was no time for that. Thalia and him fired a few more arrows into the gap. More orcs fell. A huge, green hand reached in.
Boromir muttered a curse. "They have cave trolls!" He rushed forward and swung his sword. The blade rang, but rebounded, flying out of his hands. Boromir picked up his sword again, noting with shock that it was slightly notched. Legolas was worried. Trolls were as tough as they were dumb. Stupid, but amazingly hard to kill. This battle would be hard fought indeed.
"The Shire!" Frodo cried, lunging forward with his elvish blade. The blade bit, and the hand retreated. A roar sounded.
"One for the Shire!" Percy laughed.
"The hobbit's bite is deep!" Aragorn smiled. "You have a good blade, Frodo."
But their rejoicing was cut short as the doors were smashed open. With triumphant shouts the orcs swarmed in. Three huge forms even larger than the orcs lumbered into the chamber.
Aragorn called to Percy "Percy! Lead the demigods and try to incapacitate the trolls! We'll handle the orcs."
Legolas slung his bow and unsheathed his knives, diving into the fray.
"Annabeth! We need a plan. Where are its weak spots?"
Legolas kneed an orc and slit its throat. He gracefully spun to avoid a sword thrust, allowing it to swing past him and disembowel the orc behind him. At the other end of the room an orc crept up behind Boromir. He flicked one of his knives, sending it to the other side of the room where it buried itself in the its skull. Boromir picked up the knife and threw it back, allowing him to catch it one-handed. Easily, he sliced the blade across the neck of another orc and buried it in the gut of another.
"I'm guessing these monsters are most similar to the Cyclopes back at home! If so, then their weak points would be the neck, the feet and the skull!"
A gust of wind blew his hair into his face for a moment. When he turned around, he saw the wind had propelled Perseus high onto the back of one of the trolls.a He turned and waved at Thalia in thanks. She gave him a mock salute and continued jabbing at another troll with her spear. Percy buried his sword deep into the troll's neck. The troll shrieked in pain, and crashed to the floor right beside Legolas. The ground shook. He actually stood stock still for a moment in shock. A cave troll. Taken down in less than five minutes. Percy actually had to kill the next orc for him!
Shaking it off, Legolas helped Percy off the floor and looked around the room. Annabeth and Nico seemed to be doing well. They had managed to clamber atop their troll, and the troll was charging blindly into walls in an attempt to dislodge the two mad humans from its back. Nico was actually laughing!
He shook his head in wonder. Never before had a cave troll been taken down so easily. They all seemed to be handling themselves well, too. He spotted the Sam knocking out a few orcs with a saucepan, grinning all the while. Merry and Pippin ran through the throng, jabbing at random orc legs with their knives. Their small stature worked to their advantage, allowing them to weave through the mess without getting noticed. There were a lot of orcs hopping on one foot, hollering in pain. Easy targets for Aragorn, Boromir and Gandalf. Beside him, Gimli was snarling with rage, decapitating three orcs in one mighty swing. Legolas vaulted high above an orc and kicked backwards, striking the orc's head as he performed a somersault midair, crashing down on another orc. He allowed a small smirk.
"TIMBER!" He barely dodged in time as a troll crashed down next to was grinning triumphantly, her spear was stuck deep into the troll's skull. What was it with dead orcs landing next to him?!
He heard a scream. Whirling, he saw that the last troll had managed to evade Annabeth and Nico, and was now charging straight towards Frodo. The troll raised its spear and pushed it into Frodo's stomach. Legolas saw red. Time slowed. Til then, no grievous injuries had been wrought. Til then, it was but a breathless but harmless fight. Now, the hobbits screamed in anger and went mad themselves. Merry and Pippin jumped on top of the troll and started smashing its head with pieces of rock. Sam took a dropped knife and jabbed the troll behind its knee. The troll screamed in pain, and as the troll opened his mouth, Legolas nocked three arrows to his bow and ran, sliding the last few paces. He slid before the troll's head, letting loose three arrows into its mouth. The troll shuddered and collapsed on the floor, crushing a few orcs on the way. And that's three. He did wonder why Percy called him Zoe Nightshade for quite a long while after that.
Once the trolls were dead, the Fellowship turned all their attentions to the orcs, focusing their anger over Frodo's death on the orcs. For the moment, they put aside the Ringbearer's death and its consequences, focusing on avenging him. The orcs never stood a chance. Boromir hefted the heavy spear the troll had used and flung it with all his strength. It impaled four orcs. Aragorn's eyes burned as he viciously cut down orc after orc. Sam, Merry and Pippin swung and fought with all their strength. Legolas cut down on his showy acrobatics and focused on taking out all the orcs in deadly, efficient strikes.
In but a moment the chamber was littered with corpses and blood. Not a living orc remained.
"Now is the chance!" Gandalf called. "Run for it!" Aragorn swept up Frodo where he lay and ran out along with the fellowship. In spite of the danger, Gimli lingered for a moment longer at the tomb of his uncle and friend, and Legolas had to drag him away from it.
"Where are we headed?" Perseus asked.
"The bridge of Khazad-Dum." Gandalf replied.
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Gandalf.
"It's alright, I can walk!" Frodo complained. "Put me down!"
Aragorn nearly dropped him in amazement. "I thought you were dead!"
"Not yet, evidently!" Gandalf puffed. "But there's no time for wonder! Make haste! Go ahead of me! Nico, lead them!" He had to buy some more time for the company to escape. The company raced down the stairs. Gandalf shut the doors, muttering a complex spell of locking. These spells took time to do rightly, and even then could be broken through by strength.
The orcs in the chamber pounded on the doors to no avail. Gandalf was about to leave, however, when he felt something else coming into room. He felt its presence through the doors. The air heated up. Shadows thickened. Gandalf breathed heavily. What it was he could not guess, but never had he faced such a challenge. It's counterspell nearly broke him, and the doors left his control and began to open. Frantic, Gandalf spoke a word of Command, but the effort was too great and the doors exploded. Behind the doors was something dark yet aflame, sucking all light into it. But to his relief the creature had misjudged its strength. The walls collapsed and the ceiling fell, burying it. He did not believe for a moment that it was dead, yet it bought the company vital seconds.
He leapt down the stairs and reached the company. "I have delayed them, but not by much, and nearly got myself defeated in the process."He explained. "RUN!"
They ran through many passages and descended flights of stairs, crossing numerous rooms. Occasionally, Annabeth or Nico awould stop to collapse a room using a small sphere of Greek fire or Nico's earth powers to slow down pursuers. Soon, they reached a huge crumbling stairwell that broke as they crossed. There was a lot of screaming and yelling. Only Gandalf, Boromir, Annabeth, Nico and Thalia managed to cross before a huge gap opened in the stair. The situation was made worse by the orc archers, who fired arrows from a high ledge. Legolas and Thalia fired back, and managed to take down eight archers. Aragorn had then proceeded to pass the hobbits over the gap into Boromir's hands. He had to scramble back, though, when the edge started to crumble. Legolas went next. He managed to clear the gap with an enormous leap. Gimli had to be tossed over the gap, despite his loud protests, leaving only Aragorn, Percy and Thalia. The piece of stair they were standing on suddenly fell forward. Aragorn leapt towards the safety of the other side, along with Thalia. Percy, though, was not so lucky. The stair crumbled, and he would have died, if not for Nico using his earth powers to levitate a piece of rock. As the fellowship crossed the bridge, it broke completely and fell into the chasm. They had had a fortunate escape.
The orcs were still pursuing them, though. Hundreds upon hundreds of orcs swarmed towards them, using secret passages to cross the chasm. They ran as fast as they could. They found one treasure room completely blocked by a recent fire started by the orcs to trap them. Fortunately, it had been a TREASURE room, and Percy found several unusual seashells that would serve his purpose. In only a few minutes the room was doused and they had crossed, only for Gandalf to reignite the fire to delay their pursuers. He gave a grim smile of satisfaction as the orcs wailed in frustration on the other side.
They ran until they thought they could run no more, until suddenly, in front of them…Light! Daylight! There was daylight! It became a flat-out race for survival. Suddenly Gandalf looked around, to see that there were no longer any orcs pursuing them. Through the gloom, Gandalf perceived a great shadow, inside flickered a dark form, man shaped. Power and terror was in it and went before it. His mouth ran dry, new, desperate strength flooding his veins.
"WHAT .THE. HADES!?" Percy gasped.
Legolas shrieked. "A Balrog! A Balrog has come!" he was visibly shaking.
Gimli almost collapsed. "Durin's Bane!"
Gandalf sagged and clutched his staff wearily. "A Balrog." And I am already so weary. He turned to the Fellowship. "A demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you, even you, Percy." He pointed towards the exit. "RUN!"
They ran. They ran and ran. Their chests heaved with gasps and pants. Then, Gandalf jerked to a stop, relief washing over him. "The Bridge of Khazad-Dum!"
Between them and the exit, the floor simply dropped away to an unfathomable depth. It was utterly black. The only way connecting the two sides was a bridge. A slender rock bridge that spanned the fifty feet of chasm. No handholds, no rails. Scarcely wide enough for one person.
"That's... that's the Hole of Tartarus!" Nico gasped.
"Probably just as deep." Thalia's face was green.
The hobbits, Gimli and Legolas were already running across the bridge. Percy walked over to Thalia and gripped her hand. "Close your eyes. Just follow me. Hold my hand. I won't let you fall." He reassured her. Thalia looked at Percy gratefully, took his hand, and closed her eyes. Gandalf watched as Annabeth go behind Thalia and whisper in her ear. Thalia seemed to relax.
Slowly, ever so slowly, they crossed the bridge. It must have been a terrifying experience for them, but finally, they reached the other side. Only Gandalf remained. For a moment longer he glanced backwards. Perhaps they had evaded it after all. He started to cross, but was stopped by a roar. He shook his head. I should have known.
From the doorway behind the bridge, the Balrog stepped out. All light was extinguished. A far cry from the Balrog of Morgoth from days past, he thought. Yet, yet... weakened as he was, it was not impossible that even the distant offspring of the great Balrog could finish him off. The Balrog stretched to three times his height, fiery eyes gazing at him. Huge, shadowy bat wings extended from its back. Smoke streamed out of it. Sparks flew out of its jagged jaws. A flaming sword was in its hand, a fiery whip in the other. It took a single step on the bridge. The bridge trembled.
Gandalf stood firm a little way on top of the bridge. "You cannot pass!" he called. His staff was in one hand, his sword in another. His mind set. He would hold the narrow way.
A voice screamed, "Gandalf!"
Frodo.
The Balrog took another step. Its wings drew up to their full span. The two of them faced off on the bridge. The Balrog, the enormous beast of fire and shadow, a flaming sword raised, a whip in its other hand, and Gandalf, an weary old man holding a staff and a sword, a small grey figure precariously balanced on the bridge. "You shall not pass." He spoke, his voice soft and deadly.
Behind him, Aragorn and Boromir drew swords. "He cannot stand alone!" Cried Aragorn. Percy uncapped Anaklusmos, and the three of them ran forward to the bridge. Gandalf muttered a quiet spell. They were stopped by an invisible force. They could not get near him. His staff flared with a brilliant light.
Gandalf took a deep breath and roared at the Balrog. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor, the dark fire will not avail you." He gasped for breath, "Go back to the Shadow!"
A stab of flame. The Balrog's fiery sword came down upon him. Glamdring glittered white in reply. The Balrog's sword shattered and the molten pieces spiraled into the abyss. Everyone cheered. Gandalf watched the pieces fall, deeper and deeper, lighting up sections as it fell until it's light became but a pinprick and winked out. Still it had not reached the bottom.
The Balrog hissed and took another step forward, the step rocking the bridge. It's furious will blazed upon him. Gandalf cried out and took an involuntary step backwards. He glared upwards, drawing on a store of hidden strength. "This is your final opportunity." He spoke again. "Return to the shadow, where you belong. Never come into the light again. You shall not pass this bridge."
The Balrog's gaze doubled in intensity and Gandalf gasped as he almost quailed under the force of it's will. But no. He stood firm. He stood straight. His eyes blazed with fury.
"ELENDIL!"
"GONDOR!"
"Um…POSEIDON!"
The three of them charged towards him. It was now or never. He drew himself up and summoned his last reserves of strength. He cried, in a voice the walls themselves would remember-
"YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS!"
He focused every iota of his power into his gnarled, twisted staff, and with all his strength struck the stone bridge with it. Lightning white light blazed. The bridge cracked. Splinters of stone flew. The bridge of Khazad-Dum shattered. The Balrog screamed as it the stones on which it stood plunged into the abyss. Gandalf stood alone, gasping, his last vestige of strength spent.
Slowly, he stood up unsteadily, and with a morbid curiosity stumbled to the edge of the bridge, making sure it was dead. The Balrog was falling, arms flailing. A snake of fire whipped around his ankles. (Mark of Athena, anyone?) With a small sigh, Gandalf realized that he would not be escaping the Mines after all. The rope tugged and he fell. His arms scrabbled in vain, trying to grab the ledge. Aragorn, Boromir and Percy ran straight for him.
In the second that he hung poised in the air, he fixed the Fellowship of the Ring with his stare and said his last words. "Fly, you Fools." And he fell.
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Yeah, heavily reimagined, expanded Gandalf's fight and switched couple of perspectives. Hope you enjoyed the updated chapter. Please review, you know the drill. :) New chapter should be up in a couple of weeks, so your patience is required and I am grateful for it.
Signing off