Chapter 19

They rode day and night, and before long they reached Harrowdale, the dark valley that lied in the shadow of Dunharrow where the ghosts of the Men of the Mountain were said to dwell.

The Men of the Mountain pledged allegiance to Isildur at the end of Second Age; however when push came to shove, the men abandoned their oath to aide him in his fight against Sauron. Isildur cursed them with his dying breath to wander these lands until they fulfill their oath. It is rumored that the ghosts of these men lied waiting in Dunharrow, waiting for the heir of Isildur so they could fulfill their oath.

The camp was set up at the mouth of the cliffs that led towards Dunharrow. Men and horses were all high strung by the dark and eerie atmosphere.

Skyler too stared into the darkness forebodingly; she had never been a fan of scary movies or haunted houses, and she was not about to start now. Ash came up behind her: "Are you still afraid of ghosts?"

Skyler turned and glared at Ash who was smiling amusedly: "Not funny…so not funny."

"There's nothing to be afraid of as long as you're right in the heart. Ghosts have no intent for the brave." Ash said as she stared defiantly down the darkness leading to the cave.

"Easy for you to say, Miss Sunshine." Skyler growled as she turned away from the cave.

"There's nothing to fear but fear itself." Ash said calmly as she patted Skyler's shoulder.

"FDR, inauguration address, 32nd president." Skyler sighed, "Can't you be more original?"

Ash frowned at her slightly: "Sky."

"Easier said than done as I've said before," Skyler sighed, "Unlike you, I happen to have nerves in my body."

"What in the name of Bema are you talking about?" Ash frowned folding her arms.

"Never mind, I'll be damned if I'm going down there."

"With any luck, you won't need to." Ash replied dryly.

Of course, the words were spoken too soon. In the middle of the night, Skyler was woken up by Ash who looked strangely grim.

"Wh…a…?" Skyler said groggily.

"Wake up, the Fellowship is leaving."

Skyler shot up immediately: "What?"

"Lord Elrond of Rivendell was just here; he brought Lord Aragorn Anduril, forged from the shards of Narsil. It is a sword that is said to be able to command the army of the death. The Ghosts of Dunharrow."

"The Ghosts of…oh no…we are not…no…"

"You made a promise Sky."

Skyler winced and glanced away for a moment before she nodded: "Fine."

She followed Ash out of her tent to find the rest of the Fellowship already there, except for Merry. Apparently, he got to stay.

Haldir was there as well, suited and armed.

Skyler clenched her hand tightly as she walked towards them. Haldir walked towards her, a look of worried passed his eyes. Skyler smiled wanly at him: "I'm fine. Let us depart."

"To Dimholt." Aragorn said grimly, and another gust of wind came down the said road.

"Avere coraggio, essere sicuri, che gli dèi sia con voi." Ash called out.

Have courage, be safe, may the gods be with you.

A smile formed on Skyler's face and she turned slightly away from Haldir sitting before her on the horse and whispered: "Buona salute, buona fortuna, ci incontreremo di nuovo, la benedizione di dei."

Good health, good fortune, we will meet again, gods' blessing.

"What did you two lassies say?" Gimli asked as they rode out of the camp, "it sounds like no language I've heard before, a form of elven tongue?"

Skyler smiled and shook her head slightly: "No, it is a lost tongue…from a long time ago."

The horse only took them so far before they became too scared and would not go any further. The Fellowship along with the Lorien elf had no choice but to dismount and walked the rest of the way.

The soon found themselves in front of a cave. The scratchy carvings on the side were read aloud by Aragorn: "The way is shut. It is made by the Dead. And the Dead keep it. The way is shut."

"Oh lovely, and we're supposed to go through this?!" Gimli snorted.

Aragorn ignored him and went in without another word. Legolas followed quickly behind.

Skyler gave a wince but after a sigh she followed along with Haldir. She heard Gimli grumbled behind them: "Well, I'm not going to be out done by the elves!"

It took all of Skyler's pride and courage not to grab Haldir's hand and hold on. The cave was dark, and she couldn't shake the prickling feeling that something…or someone was watching them.

They passed through a small passage filled with stone columns before they exited out into a large empty space. There was a stone façade on one of the walls of the front of a temple.

They glanced around the large empty space.

Suddenly, Skyler let out a small yelp as a green shadowed appeared on the staircases.

He was dressed in the garb of a bygone day warrior king, and his face was half skeleton and half rotten flesh.

Skyler wasn't sure what Aragorn was saying to it, or what anyone was talking about at that moment. She just knew that the ghosts were increasing, exponentially around them. There was a flash in the corner of Skyler's eyes; Aragorn drew Anduril, the Flame of the West.

"You have my word! That I will release you from this living dead! What say you!" Aragorn shouted by the king merely chuckled evilly in the background as the ghosts disappeared one by one.

"Stand you traitors!" Gimli shouted.

The ground started shaking beneath them.

Stones began to fall from the top of the cave.

"Stay close." Haldir whispered to Skyler.

Skyler swallowed nervously as she nodded.

The stone pillar on the temple façade collapsed.

"Get out!" Aragorn shouted.

A flood of skulls came pouring out from behind the temple face. Skyler bit her lips to prevent herself from shrieking as she started running. However, the torrent of skeletons proved to be too strong and she tittered on the brink of the cliffs many time. Finally, Haldir reached over and grabbed her as he pulled her across the flood. They rushed out after Aragorn towards one of the passageways; Skyler turned briefly to see Legolas behind them with Gimli. Within minutes, they ran out of the mountain onto the edge of a cliff, gasping for breath as dust from the cave's collapse plumed out after them.

(Are you well?) Haldir murmured.

Skyler nodded as she glanced around. She saw Aragorn had suddenly stiffened, and followed his gaze. Beneath them on the river below were Corsair ships heading to Gondor. Skyler could feel her heart drip blood as Aragorn fell on his knees. The same thought ran through their head.

They had failed.

Gondor and Rohan will not be able to fight on both fronts.

They had send Rohan to a losing war.

Legolas went over to Aragorn and placed a comforting hand on his shoulders. The stood there staring at the ships with despair for the longest time until suddenly, a gasp of wind blew out from behind them. They turned around, startled.

A green mist came out from the rocks.

The ghost King smirked as he came over and stopped in front of Aragorn, inches away from the Isildur's heir's face.

"We fight." He rasped.