Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar
Kelgun Introduction
Kelgun scratched his red beard, sighing, as he walked towards the Silver Deep Mine. He walked along a path of black cobblestone, in a small recruit uniform. He had recently joined the ranks of the Thorin's Gate Militia, having trained for a few years as a guardian for the Dourhand miners who often went down underground to search for minerals, fighting off cave-claws with a hatchet.
He was proud of his armor, a blue piece of plate-mail with large metal gloves, boots, and shoulder plates. Leather straps covered the torso, and a copper plate covered his stomach area from damage. Kelgun had not been able to discover what the markings on the copper plate meant, but he knew that they were special.
Now, he had been called from his usual post near the large fortress of Thorin to the Silver Deep Mine, by Thorin Oakenshield himself. He walked quickly, but did not run, knowing that some ice would melt now, in the summer.
Thorin's Gate was one of the greatest settlements of Ered Luin, a small valley at the east side of the northern blue mountains. Three sets of houses existed within, as well as the central intersection of the roads where the militia bases stood.
The Refuge of Edhelion was the only unpopulated area, a former elf settlement now destroyed, with the mighty stronghold of the valley at the north. There, most of the dwarves lived. Kelgun had taken the path from near the refuge down the mountain path to the Mine. Now, he walked through the gate to the outpost.
There, several dwarves were conversing, several rations and horses near the entrance. Thorin was speaking to a huge old man, with a pointy hat and great gray beard. Kelgun walked over to one of them, and he turned around to Kelgun. "Ah, you're here. Took you long enough." He said.
"Its about time for us to leave to reclaim the Lonely Mountain's treasures. Thorin wants to make a bit of a show of it, so he wants everyone gathered to usher him off. Just about everyone is west of here, in front of the halls, but there are a few stragglers still at work in the halls of the Silver Deep." Looking back in the direction of the mine. "I've already sent my Gimli on ahead to gather them, but he may need your help. Go on in and give him a hand" he said, pointing behind him towards the mine. "You'll find the mine right around that bend."
Kelgun nodded, and took out his small hatchet, walking past all the dwarves past the bend. He saw the small wooden door, and pulled the door handle back, walking down a metal stairway into the mines. Kelgun had a bit of difficulty seeing in the dark, until he exited out of another wooden door onto the mines. There, the hallways were lined with torches on the side, and on occasion, a lantern hanging from the ceiling. Before him, a hooded dwarf was standing, with a dark brown beard.
"Ah, welcome. Between you and me, I'm glad you came to help. The sooner we are done, the sooner we can see my father and the rest of the company off." He said, smiling. "Here, you take this passage straight ahead, and I'll go by the side passage. I'll take the door to the left, you go straight ahead." Gimli said. He walked off, going into a door to the side.
Kelgun looked around and saw two Dourhand miners, one in front of him and one far ahead. Small chunks of debris and dust began falling from the ceiling, and one miner grunted to himself, "Place is shaking like there was a troll about." Kelgun walked up to him, and told him about the ceremony. "That ceremony is on now? Guess I'm leaving then" he said, and walked away to the door. Kelgun walked through the passage and sent two other miners off, before finally coming to a portcullis.
There, a small cave-claw shrieked, trying to cut into its opponent, a muscular dwarf fighting the creature with only a pickaxe. The cave-claw was a small animal that existed in the blue mountains, a creature with a large sharp nose that it used to impale both predator and prey. The dwarf hit the beast across the head, crushing its skull and taking it down instantly. Kelgun looked at him, and he looked back. It was Otur, leader of the Silver Deep miners.
"Cave-claws are such a nuisance! They burrow all over the place and weaken the walls. Well, at least they're better than the trolls that lived around here before" he said, sighing.
"Thorin's leaving, Otur. Everyone is at the ceremony, you're getting the rest of the day off." Kelgun said, pointing back.
"So, Thorin's finally setting off, is he? Well, its about time if you ask me! Fortunately, there is only one more dwarf you need to call. His name it Tvistur, you can find him deeper in the mine." He said, walking to the portcullis. "This way, guard. I'll tell you one thing – he won't come easily. He's a stubborn one, keeps to himself… that's why he's digging so deep into the Silver Deep.
"Well, we should move on. No sense standing here with our jaws flapping when there's work to be done. Lets go!" he said, opening the portcullis.
The two walked through, careful in case of a cave-claw attack. There was a large chasm, over which a thick bridge ran. Portcullis doors lie on each side of the bridge. Kelgun followed Otur to the doors, and Otur sighed, scratching his head, as he attempted to open the doors.
"Bah! He's locked it." He said, kicking the door. "This way! Tvistur is coming whether he wants to or not." Otur said, walking left to a small slab of rock bulging from the stable ground he and Kelgun were on before. To their left, a wooden scaffolding was attached to the wall, perhaps to hold back a collapsing wall.
On the other side, a large dwarf was picking away at a large stone door with a pickaxe, Gimli behind him. "Seems Gimli made it here first." Otur said.
Gimli turned to the two, specifically at Kelgun. "Ah, Kelgun. Maybe you'll have better luck with this one! He won't listen to a word I'll say!" he shouted across the chasm.
"I heard you already! I'm just not going!" Tvistur said, not turning away from the wall.
"And I told you that you shouldn't be digging near those ruins. Thorin said to leave them be, that there is danger beyond the wall!" Gimli shouted.
"Bah! I'll never pay heed to the words of a Longbeard!" Tvistur barked. He was one of the Dourhands then, Kelgun assumed. The miner dwarves, who had lost their power with the death of their tyrannical leader Skorgrim fifty years ago, resulting in a subsequent surrender. Finally, with one large pickaxe stroke, the stone wall crumbled, and Tvistur stepped back to avoid the debris.
Kelgun could see that a smile had covered his face, as he said "There, that should do it!" out loud, looking far into the tunnel he had just dug.
Suddenly, Tvistur's face changed to one of surprise and confusion. A large slam was heard deep in the tunnel that had just been dug out. "Wait, what's that sound?" he muttered. Otur stepped forward, not knowing what to expect from the cave.
"It's a troll!" Tvistur shouted, backing away from the cave quickly and running. He only ran a few meters before he slipped on the ground. Gimli's face was one of terror as he looked upon the figure that stepped out of the tunnel. It was a 12-foot cave troll, wielding a large club. It roared at Tvistur, and he quickly got back on his feet.
Meanwhile, Otur and Kelgun stepped back in horror upon seeing the great troll, and watched as Tvistur took out his pickaxe. "Roar all you like! You face your death, troll!" he shouted in defiance as he prepared to swing the axe. "For the dourhands!" he barked as he charged at the troll.
"Tvistur! run!" Gimli shouted to him, but it was too late.
In moments, the troll brought down its club upon Tvistur and hit him square in the chest. The dwarf was knocked back a few feet, and muttered to himself as he fell down on the ground. The troll had not seen Otur and Kelgun, but it had seen Gimli. The massive creature slammed its club on the ground, and Otur looked over at Gimli.
"Run, Gimli!" Otur shouted to him from across the chasm, and Gimli took out his axe, paying good attention to Otur.
"Come here, your oversized sack of stone!" Gimli shouted, and ran back towards a large passage in the caves. The enraged troll quickly gave chase, and the two disappeared in the passage. Kelgun looked over at Otur, and vice versa, as the entrance to the passage crumbled, leaving Gimli and the troll alone to fight.
Otur growled, looking over at the tunnel dug by Tvistur, then back at Kelgun. "We've got to help Gimli, and be quick about it! I do not know how long Gimli can keep that beast busy before it overpowers him! Follow me!" he shouted, and ran past Kelgun. Kelgun turned and followed, as the two ran to the portcullis.
"Wait, the lock on the door locks damaged." Otur said, and grabbed the lock. "Just a moment.." he muttered, as he took out his pickaxe and broke the lock in half. "There, that should do it." He said, looking back at Kelgun.
"I will help Gimli, stay here and wait for me." Kelgun said, turning towards the tunnel the troll had come from.
"Be careful though, you will surely run into some cave-claws on the way there." Otur warned, and Kelgun nodded. Kelgun ran into the tunnel, holding his hatchet ready to swing. It was a good idea, for out of the shadows, a small cave-claw ran at him. With a single swing, he slammed the cave-claw against the head and killed it. Kelgun looked down and laughed, as he ran through the tunnel.
He suddenly came upon a circular room, devastated by the troll. It's walls were of elvish design, and its center a large pillar. Interestingly, there were two holes in the walls of the room, through which light from the outside could be seen. The room was bright, after Kelgun being used to the relative darkness of the rest of the mine.
At the other side of the room, at a small square corridor, lay a sleeping cave-claw. It began to blink as it heard footsteps near. Its eyes trailed to Kelgun's location, and it quickly sprung to life, charging him. Kelgun put his wooden shield up, and was pushed back a bit by the cave-claw slamming into his shield. He stepped back against the wall and dodged a large stab by the cave-claw, hitting it in the back with his hatchet.
The cave-claw turned, slicing Kelgun in the leg with its claws, and tripping him with its large claw. Kelgun fell down on his back, and shouted as the beast drove its claw into his chest. The armor worked well enough that he was not pierced, but the pain from the hit was still great. Kelgun gripped his hatchet and hit the cave-claw in the leg with a hammer-like blow.
The cave-claw jumped back, its leg dragging along the floor as it moved with its functioning legs. Kelgun slammed it in the back with the hatchet and watched as it slowly backed away. He quickly stood, clenching his teeth against the great pain in his leg. Kelgun ran at the cave-claw and slammed it with a shield blow. The creature was thrown back by the power of this blow, and rolled dead on the ground.
The dwarf turned, and walked through the tunnel, having difficulty finding his way with the darkness. "Blasted light!" Kelgun muttered, "Now it is impossible to see anything." He could tell that there were more elven walls as he felt his way through the path.
Finally, Kelgun saw light at the end of the tunnel, and the path was clear. He ran through the tunnel, jumping over a rock, into a massive room. More light penetrated in these walls than in the other room, but it was still not much. A large elven wall separated Kelgun from a rocky passage over, what Kelgun could see through a window, a large deep hole that covered almost all of the room and was deeper than any other chasm Kelgun had ever seen.
Beyond the gate, Kelgun could hear dwarf shouting and large slams on the ground. Gimli and the troll, in combat! "Gimli!" Kelgun shouted, but had no time to get closer before a horrid cave-claw shriek was heard behind him. He turned, and was slammed on a head by a cave-claw. It was reared up on its hind legs, and reached Kelgun's head with its claws.
He retaliated, swinging his hatchet to hit the cave-claw. The attack missed, and the cave-claw circled, slashing at Kelgun multiple times with its large claw with great speed. One hit pierced the armor, and Kelgun jumped back after taking the furry of blows. He looked down at his bleeding leg and then at the cave-claw. The beast wasted no time, jumping at Kelgun once more.
The dwarf had an idea, and only a split second to act it out. He collapsed himself, falling on his back, as the cave-claw flew over him and hit the wall head-first. Kelgun pushed himself up, kicking the cave-claw in the face to keep it down. He leaped down, grabbing its back and central spike, holding it up high. He suddenly threw it over his head, out the window, and watched it bounce off a stoney wall before disappearing in the fog of the chasm.
Kelgun turned to the gate and ran to it, pulling a lever and running through the gate as it began to rise. Kelgun looked to the left, and could see Gimli and the troll in combat. The troll was trying to hit Gimli with its blows while the dwarf crouched and dodged, counter-attacking with his axe. The two were fighting near two tunnels, one of which was blocked by a large rocky wall.
"Come to my axe! Today, you face the fury of the dwarves, troll!" Gimli shouted as he jumped back to dodge a blow, angering the troll even further.
Kelgun ran, as fast as he could go, to Gimli's aid, but it was too late. Gimli was exhausted, and as the troll brought down its club on the ground, Gimli was thrown onto the ground. The shockwave blasted Kelgun back, and he fell on the ground in shock. The troll lifted its club, prepared to deliver the deathblow.
Suddenly, a tall figure in grey stepped out of the open tunnel. Kelgun had remembered him from outside the mine before, speaking with Thorin Oakenshield. He wore a pointy blue hat and had a large wooden staff. A long white beard fell from his face, old and wise. "Stay your hand, beast!" he shouted in a powerful, booming voice as he lifted his staff.
In an instant, the wall behind the troll crumbled, revealing Thorin's Valley outside. The troll looked at the hole in horror, and in moments, it began to turn to stone. "You shall trouble us no longer!" the old man shouted, as its head turned to stone. The troll, formerly of flesh and blood, was now solid stone.
Gimli stood up, amazed, and looked at the old man. "My thanks to you, master Gandalf." He said, bowing low.
"You are most welcome, master dwarf." Gandalf said, looking at Kelgun then back at Gimli. "I am glad I arrived when I did. This fellow seemed intent on slaying the both of you" he said, glancing at the troll.
"We've had no end to the beasts here, especially around the elf-ruins. That is why Thorin forbade us to dig around them," Gimli said, "not that Tvistur paid Thorin's command any mind. Fool Dourhands!"
"An interesting tale, master dwarf. Most interesting…" Gandalf muttered to himself, then looked back at Kelgun, who was glancing back between the two. "Kelgun, come here. I wish to hear your tale as well." Gandalf said, and Kelgun walked over to him.
"Thank you for the help, master Gandalf. I had no part in killing the troll, I came to call the miners out to the ceremony, then went to help Gimli when the fool Tvistur got himself killed for Dourhand glory." He explained, and Gandalf rubbed his beard.
"Tvistur spoke of the Dourhands, did he? There is a long history with those particular dwarves and these halls." Gandalf said, Kelgun raising an eyebrow. "You see, these halls were once part of an elf refuge. Elves seeking to leave Middle-Earth would meditate here before their long trip to the west.
"These halls also contained many relics – relics that were much desired by SkorgrÍm, a lord of the Dourhands in the elder days. He assaulted Edhelion, but was slain when the elves brought a stone crashing down upon him almost 400 years ago." He said, sighing. "I will take this matter up with Thorin later. For now, however, let us go to the assembly. Time is wasting!"