Chance Encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognize. I'm just borrowing them without permission but with every intention of putting them back where they belong after I'm through with them.

Chapter 10: Into the Mines

The gaping maw of Moria was dark. Tentatively, the Fellowship stepped inside one by one. The air inside the mine smelled foul, as if it was tainted by rotting carrion. When Balian's eyes had adjusted to the inky blackness, Gandalf had already kindled the light on the tip of his staff. It gave out a cool glow, illuminating everything around it.

Gimli was busy describing the 'fabled hospitality of the dwarves' to Legolas, who was only half listening. From the light of Gandalf's staff, Balian could make out grotesque shapes lying on the floor of the mine. A closer inspection revealed them to be corpses of things long dead. However, Gimli, in his rapture, did not notice much. "…and they call it a mine," said the dwarf in disbelief "a mine!"

"This is no mine," said Boromir quietly, his voice laced with horror. "It's a tomb." To Balian, this equated to throwing a bucket of cold water over the dwarf and he felt slightly annoyed at Boromir's careless words. Gimli's jubilation was quickly turned into dismay and grief.

"No…" choked Gimli. "No!"

Balian's heart ached for him. He knew what it felt to lose friends and family. He had lost enough.

Legolas bent down to pull an arrow from one of the corpses and examined it. One experienced glance told him that it was not made by men or elves or dwarves.

"Goblins," he said in disgust, straightening and fitting an arrow to his bow. Aragorn and Boromir drew their swords as if preparing for an attack. Balian did likewise. He trusted the instincts of his companions.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan," said Boromir. "We should never have come here." His voice was full of conviction. Now that he had seen Moria, Balian felt inclined to agree with Boromir's last statement, unless something more terrible than this awaited them at the Gap of Rohan."

"Get out, all of you," Boromir was shouting "get out!"

The blacksmith was just thinking that it was slightly foolish to shout when there could be enemies about but his train of thought was interrupted by a cry from one of the hobbits. He whipped around. Something had caught Frodo and Sam was busy helping his master. Without looking back at the other members of the Fellowship, he raced out of the mines. Whatever it was that had grabbed Frodo had just released its hold, having been driven off by Sam's blade. However, just as Frodo was being helped to his feet, what seemed like many snakes shot out of the water, knocked all the other hobbits away and caught hold of Frodo's ankle again.

Balian hacked desperately at the tentacles, trying to reach the Ringbearer. For every tentacle that he cut off, two more seemed to replace it. He narrowly avoided being caught by one. The other swordsmen, namely Aragorn and Boromir, were also occupied with cutting off tentacles. It was a losing battle but their only wish was to free Frodo, who was being swung around in the air. They were all soaked by the foul water and the tentacles just kept coming. The creature's head broke through the surface of the pool. Balian could not find words to describe it. It just looked horribly wrong. Its eyes were two dark bulbous looking things while it seemed to have more than one pair or jaws lined with sharp teeth. The tentacles sprouted from its head. He definitely preferred the battle at Kerak.

Boromir managed to cut through the tentacle which dangled Frodo in the air and the soaking heap of hobbit tumbled into the man's outstretched arms.

"Into the mines!" shouted Gandalf. They didn't need to be told twice. Balian scrambled as fast as he could over the slippery rocks and into the relative safety of Moria. He could feel the monster's foul breath behind him and its roar filled his ears. It was gaining on him. Just as he reached the doors, an arrow flew above his head and buried itself in the beast's eye. The monster groaned in pain, falling back for a moment. That was all the time that he needed to throw himself into the mines, and none too soon. The monster was back again. It seemed bent on destroying the Fellowship. They ran further into the mines and out of reach of the beast's tentacles. On seeing that they had escaped from its grasp, the monster grabbed the doors and flung them shut with all its might. Rocks fell, blocking the way. When the dust had cleared and Gandalf had rekindled the light, they could all see that they were trapped.

"We have now but one choice," said the wizard grimly. "We must face the dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than orcs down here."

The Fellowship continued on wards in single file. Balian, who was near the back, noticed that Legolas stayed extremely close to the light on Gandalf's staff. 'Of all the things that kindle fear, he dreads the dark,' thought Balian wryly to himself. If Legolas was a good example of an elf, then elves must surely be strange creatures indeed.

The mines were vast, and strangely devoid of equipment except for a ladder here and there. The blacksmith wondered what was mined and why the miners had taken the time to build such hazardous paths. They were walking along a narrow path on the edge of a large chasm. It was strangely warm inside the mines and after the cold of Caradhras, it was not unwelcome.

"The wealth of Moria was not in gold, or jewels," explained Gandalf "but mithril." The wizard held the light over the chasm and the rays were reflected by veins of silvery metal until the whole chasm turned into a pit of light. They all gazed down in awe for none of them had seen such great wealth before. The wizard let them admire the scene for a while before turning the light back to the path.

"Bilbo once had a shirt of mithril rings that Thorin gave him," continued Gandalf.

"Oh! That was a kingly gift!" gasped Gimli.

"Yes," said Gandalf and Balian could detect the smile in his voice although he could not see the wizard's face. "I never told him, but its value was greater than the value of the Shire."

The blacksmith did not understand most of what was being spoken of and he hoped that once they got out of this dark and dreadful place, he would be able to learn how this Bilbo got his expensive mail shirt.

Boromir scanned his surroundings and took no notice of the anecdote that Gandalf was telling. His mind dwelt on the soft-spoken and well liked blacksmith. Moria was treacherous. It was so easy for a man to fall to his death. One small inconspicuous nudge to upset his balance and…No, he could not do that. He would not stoop to that level. Besides, the sharp-eyed elf would suspect him. It would be better to make the Fellowship suspicious of Balian and drive him away of their own accord.

The blacksmith in question was not aware of his companion's malicious thoughts. Rather, he was wondering as to why the Fellowship had stopped.

Gandalf looked around him. Nothing seemed familiar. "I have no memory of this place," murmured the wizard with a frown. He turned to the rest of the Fellowship. "We shall rest here for a while," he said.

Pippin let out a sigh of relief and promptly sat down. Merry and Sam followed suit. Legolas, Aragorn and Boromir leaned against the same rock while Gimli sat opposite the hobbits. Frodo sat slightly apart from the group. He was occupied by thoughts. Balian stood to the side and kept watch while Gandalf was alone on an outcrop of rock, puffing on his pipe and thinking.

For a long time, no one spoke. The darkness of Moria was discouraging and it weighed down heavily on their spirits. The Ringbearer seemed especially troubled to the observant blacksmith. Cautiously, he moved closer to the hobbit and finally sat down quietly beside him and crossed his long legs.

Frodo was startled to see Balian beside him. The man was as quiet and subtle as a ranger. However, he welcomed the man's company. Balian was not talkative as his fellow hobbits were liable to be and Frodo trusted him. They had been through quite a lot together and the little hobbit had come to appreciate the blacksmith's stoic silence. Somehow, he seemed more like a hobbit than all the other Big Folk.

It was Pippin who broke the silence. "Are we lost?" he asked in a loud whisper.

"No," replied Merry.

"I think we are," insisted the young Took. No one commented.

"Merry," said Pippin.

"What?" snapped Merry.

"I'm hungry."

Aragorn rolled his eyes and looked meaningfully at Legolas.

"Hobbits," said the elf with a fond smile, shaking his head.

"It's my birthday soon," said Pippin with a sigh. "I don't think I should expect a party."

"You want a party in a place like this?" demanded Merry.

"Not really," said Pippin. "I was thinking of a party similar to Bilbo's. You know, outdoors with plenty of food and fireworks."

"Bilbo was turning one hundred and eleven, Pip," said Merry. "You're only turning twenty-nine!"

Balian's eyes widened when he learned that Pippin was older than him. The little hobbit was so childlike, it was impossible to think of him as a child older than ten!

"Yes," Pippin was saying "but I'm the youngest in the Fellowship so I'm special and therefore I deserve a nice party!"

"How do you know you're the youngest?" demanded Merry hotly. Boromir looked extremely amused. Only hobbits could argue about such mundane things such as birthday parties while trapped in Moria.

"Well, that's easy," said Pippin. "I'm the youngest hobbit. Strider looks older than me so he ought to be older. Same with Boromir and Legolas is an elf so he must be older. Gimli is one hundred and twenty. Gandalf was old even before I was born so I don't think I need to mention him. And Balian…how old is he?"

Merry shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Why don't you ask him?"

"But that would seem rude!"

"I think he's used to it by now. You're always too nosy for your own good. "

Frodo seemed to have been distracted by his cousins' silly behaviour. He was smiling as he watched the debate's progress. The Ringbearer gave Balian a nudge.

"So how old are you?" asked the hobbit.

Everyone looked at the blacksmith expectantly and he inwardly cringed.

"Come on," pleaded Pippin. "You don't have to be shy."

Balian looked down at the ground. Suddenly, the rock seemed quite interesting.

"Just tell him," urged Frodo. "He won't leave you alone until you do."

"Twenty-eight," mumbled Balian.

"What did he say?" asked Pippin.

"He's twenty-eight," said Frodo "so you're not the youngest."

It was actually quite surprising to learn that Balian was the youngest member of the Fellowship. He acted like someone who was much older.

"Look what you've done, Pip," said Merry in annoyance. "You've embarrassed him."

"What? I made him tell us how old he is; that's nothing to be embarrassed of," retorted Pippin.

"Alright, gentlemen," chided Aragorn softly "that's enough. Can't you see that our young blacksmith here does not like being at the centre of attention? Anyway, you'd better be quiet. You don't want to attract things of an unsavoury nature.

The group went back to being silent again but their mood had been lightened.

A movement caught Frodo's eye, giving him a fright. He tapped Balian's arm and pointed. The two of them peered into the gloom then Balian looked at Frodo in confusion. His night vision was poor compared to the hobbit and he could not see anything.

"There's something out there," Frodo whispered to the bewildered blacksmith.

"It's Gollum," said Gandalf, who had overheard them. "He's been following us for three days."

"Gollum?" asked Balian. "What—" He was rudely cut off by Legolas.

"Where?" demanded the elf, bounding up to the outcrop where Gandalf was sitting. Frodo pointed into the darkness. The elf narrowed his eyes, listening intently. Then without warning he put an arrow to his bow. Only Balian's quick reflexes stopped Legolas from shooting and alerting the unpleasant inhabitants of the mine of their presence.

"What are you doing?!" Legolas hissed at Balian, whom he was wrestling with. He tried to pry his bow from the blacksmith's hands but the man was stubborn and would not let go.

"Do you know what that is, and what it has done to me?!" demanded Legolas furiously.

The hobbits had never seen the elf so wrathful and they were terrified by his outburst. Even Aragorn and Gandalf, who knew the elf well, were shocked.

"Legolas stop this!" pleaded Balian. He was surprised by the elf's unnatural strength. Legolas ignored his plea and kept on trying to shoot at Gollum. In his anger, he drove his elbow into the man's healing ribs, causing Balian to hiss with pain. Aragorn quickly scrambled up to where the two were and tried to pull them apart. Gandalf was already trying to calm Legolas down, to no avail. For a moment, the arrow was pointing at Balian's chest. Gandalf quickly pushed the man aside before something that Legolas would regret forever happened. Finally, Aragorn and Gandalf, with some help from the rest of the Fellowship, managed to separate the two and pacified Legolas enough so that he did not attempt to shoot anything anymore.

"Why did you stop me?!" demanded the elf through clenched teeth, glaring venomously at the breathless blacksmith who was clutching his ribs. "Why did you stop me from avenging my kin?! I thought we were friends!"

"We are friends," insisted Balian helplessly.

"No we're not," spat Legolas. He turned and stalked away. Aragorn followed him and tried to reason with the elf but Legolas refused to listen.

Gandalf helped Balian to sit down. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Balian nodded. His eyes were full of hurt and confusion. Why was Legolas acting this way? As if he had read his thoughts, Gandalf began to explain.

"Balian," said the wizard "Gollum was once a prisoner in Legolas' kingdom. When he escaped, he caused many of Legolas' comrades to be killed and moreover, Legolas was in charge of guarding Gollum. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but Legolas' father was furious and I suspect that Legolas bore the brunt of his anger."

"So he wants to kill Gollum to avenge his friends and himself," finished Balian. Gandalf nodded.

"He's very angry at you for taking away this chance," said Gandalf "but I am certain that in time, he will forgive you. I can only ask you to forgive him as well for his rash actions."

Balian nodded. He hoped that this moment of reconciliation would come soon.

A/N: Some Legolas/Balian angst, heheh. I'm so nasty to them. Please review and tell me whether you liked it or not!