The Thirteen gathered in a courtyard in Rivendell at dawn the next day. As the others were checking that they had all of their equipment, Elrond pulled Fayre aside.
"There is something else you must know," he told her quietly. "I have had other elves investigating your spell, and something seems amiss. Energy, or magic, is seeping into this world, and what it will do, nobody knows."
"No!" whispered Fayre. "How? Can I –"
"You must go on this quest, Fayre of Mirkwood," Elrond said firmly. "We will research further into this. Perhaps it is only a temporary after-effect of your spell. However, be on your guard. If anything dangerous enters this world from another, it might be drawn after you."
Fayre nodded. "I will be careful then. But I must teach Saige as well – her powers may help us."
"Do that then. But be safe."
Fayre returned to the company; the three other girls were ready and waiting, trying not to seem to nervous. They were carrying their equipment: swords, daggers and bows and arrows. Saige had accepted the weapons uncertainly, but Fayre had promised to help all three master them.
The Thirteen set out from Rivendell, heading towards the Misty Mountains. Fayre and the girls walked in the middle of the group, and Fayre tried to avoid meeting Legolas' glare. Fayre had written a letter back to her father to tell him about the quest, but Legolas was still unhappy about it.
Days passed as the Thirteen travelled towards the mountains. Fayre spent her time talking with the three girls, telling them about Middle earth. In the evenings, the girls and the hobbits would practise with their weapons as the others looked on. Saige and Fayre would go off later at night, sometimes with Gandalf, to work on their magic.
They reached the Misty Mountains sometime later, and stared up at Caradhras, covered in snow.
"We must take the pass of Caradhras," Gandalf announced, pointing up to the snow-covered peak high above them.
"We should go through Moria," Gimli grumbled as they began to climb the mountain. "It would be much quicker and easier, and warmer, too!"
Layre agreed – she was unused to the chill of snow, and the long walk up the mountain didn't entice her.
The cold increased as the Thirteen travelled up the mountain. Fayre contemplated conjuring a small fire to warm herself with, but she hesitated, remembering Elrond's words about the unknown magic, so she just wrapped her cloak more firmly around herself.
The company had almost reached the top when it began snowing harder than it had been before. They struggled through the snow drifts, except for Fayre and Legolas – being elves, they could walk along the top of the snow.
"We should turn back!" Gimli yelled. "This way will be the death of us, Gandalf!"
Gandalf ignored him and they kept moving.
Saige felt uneasy as she walked through the snow. Was it her imagination, or were there whispers mixed in with the sound of the wind? "Fayre," she said quietly, moving over to the elf. "Can you hear that?"
Fayre nodded solemnly. "Yes. And there's magic too – can you sense it?"
Saige closed her eyes briefly and concentrated. There was something unnatural about the storm – some small oddness that she felt every time a snowflake hit her skin or the wind brushed against her. "Yes." She looked up at Fayre. "It feels – slimy, but – harsh, and –"
"It's difficult to describe," Fayre responded, looking into the distance. "But it's magic, but not from anyone I know."
The party continued up the slope, bracing themselves against the violent winds. Soon the hobbits were having difficulty walking. "Gandalf!" yelled Gimli again.
Gandalf looked back but before he could reply there was a ominous rumbling from the mountain above them. Fayre looked up and gasped. "Get under cover!" she screamed over the wind, pulling Saige closer to the mountain.
The rest of the fellowship huddled together as rocks began to crash down around them. Fayre concentrated harder, and began to speak an incantation. A transparent shield sprang up around the party, protecting them.
"We must go back!" Gandalf shouted over the wind. Fayre kept the shield in place as they started to retrace their steps down the mountain. When the snow began to be less deep, she dropped the shield and sighed, exhausted.
Kadira quickly put an arm around her, keeping her from falling.
"That was dangerous, doing magic," Gandalf told Fayre. "Useful, yes – but dangerous, here. This isn't the safe haven that Mirkwood was for you. We must be careful."
Gandalf turned back to Gimli. "We shall go to Moria then, as this pass is closed against us."
The company reached Moria some days later, at dusk. Fayre and Saige followed Gandalf to the outlines of the door that appeared on the wall.
Fayre translated the words on the door, and Gandalf nodded, deep in thought. He began to shout at the wall, "Open!" he bellowed, and continued for some time, saying passwords in many different languages.
"What if it's a riddle?" asked Layla. She had always been fond of riddles and wordplay. Saige picked up on her thought, ever a Ravenclaw.
"Friend?" Saige tried, walking to the door. "Maybe a different language?"
"Mellon" Fayre said, and the door opened. Gandalf looked surprised.
"A simple riddle, on these important doors?" he queried. "I suppose those were less dangerous times."
The company gathered up their bags and entered the dark cave, Gimli leading. He was boasting about the riches that they would enjoy, when Kadira heard a sound behind them. She turned to see a gigantic tentacled creature emerging from the lake outside.
"Look out!" she yelled, grabbing her sword. One of the tentacles darted inside and grabbed Frodo by the ankle, dragging him outside.
"Frodo!" Layla shouted, drawing her sword and running outside again. The rest of the fellowship followed.
The tentacled creature was dragging Frodo back into the lake. Layla and Kadira both began to slash at it with their swords.
"Saige, help me!" Fayre grabbed Saige. "Just hold my hands and concentrate on giving me energy."
Fayre closed her eyes and began to chant, using her energy and Saige's as well. Fireballs materialised out of thin air and began to rain down on the lake. The creature hissed and dropped Frodo, retreating further into the lake. Kadira and Layla pulled Frodo to his feet and the company ran inside again.
Fayre stopped her spell. "Thanks," she said to Saige.
The fellowship regrouped in the main hall, but before they could decide what to do, two things happened very quickly. Gimli, who had been moving ahead, gave a loud cry of dismay. "No!" he shouted, bending over a skeleton. The fellowship looked around and saw more of them, that had been unnoticed before – casualties of a battle long ago.
The second thing that happened was the door collapsing. Kadira caught a glimpse of tentacles waving frantically outside, before the whole wall collapsed inwards. The company moved backwards, further into Moria.
Gimli looked devastated. "These were my family." He said sadly, looking at the remains.
"I do not know what happened here," Gandalf said. "But we must continue through Moria. We cannot go back."
He lit his staff, the light illuminating the entrance hall that they were standing in. "I know the way through Moria, to the door that lies on the other side of the Misty Mountains. It will be a long journey in the dark for us for the next few days."
Fayre summoned a small, silvery sphere of light as well. It hovered above the palm of her hand. "I'll show you how to do that later," she whispered to Saige, and together the Thirteen set off into Moria.
A/N: Happy New Year! Now they've set off on their quest properly! More coming up soon - and yes there will be some twists! Thanks for reading!