"Wake up Alarain."
She turned her back to Aragorn's voice, hoping it was just a dream. Much to her disappointment though, he insisted in her rising. Getting to her sore feet she looked up to see Gandalf leading the way down one of the tunnels.
"If in doubt Meriadoc, always follow your nose." She heard him say from the front.
Alarain trudged after him, turned her gaze down when she felt a tug on her cloak. Sam was walking beside her, looking rather suspicious. "Your feet are hurting, aren't they milady?" he whispered.
She nodded guiltily before whispering back. "I'll be fine. Please, don't say anything to Aragorn." she glanced back at the ranger. "He'll insist we stop when he knows we must continue."
Sam looked reluctant, but nodded slowly. "If you're sure." he said quietly.
Nodding, she concentrated on walking without giving away the pain she was in. They soon came to the end of the small passageway, and as they walked further into the darkness, the light of Gandalf's staff grew bright. Alarain gasped at what she saw, completely forgetting her throbbing feet.
"Behold, the great realm of the dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf." the wizard breathed as he too took in the great room.
Massive pillars stretched into the distance above them, elaborate patterns carved into the stone they were made from. Staring straight ahead, Alarain couldn't even see the other side of the giant room, the expanse was so great. The air also felt not so compressed as it had in the smaller tunnels and Alarain breathed it in. Not as nice as fresh air from outside, but better than nothing, she thought.
"Well there's an eye opener and no mistake." Sam said with amazement.
Walking among the pillars, Alarain couldn't take her eyes off them and she walked with her head bent back, staring up in awe.
Gimli suddenly let out a surprised grunt and jogged away, Brenir following at his heels. Gandalf called for him to come back, but he took no notice. Tearing her eyes away from the grand stone structures, she looked for Gimli, but saw a dead dwarf instead. She jumped back slightly at it's mutilated features and gulped. Many more bodies lay scattered around a doorway that Gimli had just disappeared through.
The fellowship hurried to follow him and rushed inside. Once through the doorway, they slowed at what they saw. Gimli was on his knees with his head bent down, sobbing to himself in front of a large stone coffin. Light streamed in from a opening in the ceiling and landed on the casket.
"Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria." Gandalf read from the dwarvish inscription on the top. "He is dead then." he said sadly, taking off his pointed hat. "It's as I feared."
The poor dwarf continued crying as Gandalf turned to something on the floor. Handing Pippin his hat and staff to hold, he carefully picked an old book out of the hands of a corpse and blew the dust off it.
"We must move on." Legolas whispered to Aragorn beside her. "We cannot linger." She too felt the need to leave. The bodies littering the floor were making her feel queasy.
"They have taken the bridge, and the second hall." Gandalf's voice was low as he read from the book. "We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long." Alarain's stomach tightened and she felt the hair on the back of her neck start to rise. Gandalf continued. "The ground shakes. Drums... drums... in the deep." He paused and looked up at the frightened people around him. Turning the page, he kept reading. "We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out." Alarain unknowingly moved closer to the ranger at her side, looking for comfort. "They are coming." Gandalf finished.
A loud crash came out of nowhere and she almost jumped out of her skin. Brenir yelped in surprise and they all turned to look at the culprit. Pippin stood by a well, looking rather shaken as a headless skeleton started to slip. It plunged down into the well and was followed by a chain, which was attached to a bucket. Alarain and Pippin flinched at every thundering noise that erupted from the hole. Her heart also jumped at every sound, and she felt Aragorn's hand on her arm, attempting to comfort her.
The echoes started to fade and Gandalf walked slowly over to the halfling. Aragorn breathed a sigh of relief when no other sounds followed and the entire fellowship seemed to relax.
The wizard suddenly slammed the book shut, causing her to jump again. "Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!" he snapped, snatching his hat and staff out of Pippin's hands.
Pippin looked at the floor, knowing he had made a mistake, and feeling terrible for it.
Boom...
Everyone froze, then turned their wide eyes to the well.
Boom... Boom boom...
The horrible drums did not stop and Alarain's eyes started to tear up with terror. Her heart felt like it was in her throat and she grabbed onto the closest arm, which happened to be Aragorn's. Next came the screeches.
The sounds grew louder and Sam spoke. "Frodo!" he said, pointing his side. The Ringbearer half unsheathed his sword, only to see that the blade was glowing blue.
Why is it glowing?
"Orcs!" Legolas spat as Brenir let out a deep growl.
Oh... alright...
Boromir dashed to the doorway and glanced out before pulling his head back abruptly. Two arrows buried themselves deep into the wood of the door where his face had been and he sent them a glare before springing into action.
"Get back!" Aragorn ordered. "Stay close to Gandalf!" He then ran to help Boromir.
Gandalf herded the hobbits and Alarain further back from the entrance as the men pushed it closed.
A loud bellow sounded and Boromir leaned against the door before turning to the others. "They have a cave troll." he said, almost sarcastically.
Legolas tossed them some axes that were lying around, and Boromir and Aragorn used them to bar the gates closed. Standing back, Boromir drew his sword while Aragorn and Legolas drew their bows. Gandalf unsheathed his sword as well, letting out a yell as he did so. The hobbits also had their swords out and ready by the time Alarain came to her senses. She snatched her bow off her back and, remembering the arrow, stood at the ready.
Rattling came from the gates as the orcs and goblins rammed their bodies against it. Brenir shuddered behind her legs, whining in fear.
Gimli growled as he climbed up onto the rock coffin "Let them come!" he said, hate dripping in his voice. "There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!"
The halflings beside her trembled with fear as the door groaned louder under the weight of the evil creatures behind it. Not able to stand it any more, her dog ran to the back of the room and crawled under the edge of a rock.
Cracking sounded from the door and made her turn her attention away from the hound under the rock. Dirty, bloody axes and spears started to show through the gates as the monsters chopped. Legolas let an arrow fly as the hole became big enough, and the scream of a goblin echoed through the place.
Alarain's heart was beating madly, but she knew she had to fight. If not for her own life, than for the life of the Ringbearer and all her friends.
Another screech sounded as Aragorn killed a orc through the hole with his arrow. Finally, the doors gave way and the ugly creatures swarmed through. Shutting out all other things, Alarain aimed. Letting the string go, her arrow planted itself into the arm of an orc, making a satisfying sound as it did. She was not too impressed though, for she wasn't very far away from her targets and they were crowding through the entrance so quickly that she was bound to hit something.
Quickly, she dropped her bow and unsheathed her sword. Some orcs were already making it past Gandalf's strong defense and the only thing between them and the hobbits was her. Spotting the woman, one of the creatures grinned a slimy, toothless grin and sprinted for her. As it neared, she raised her sword to block, but it saw and swung to her exposed side. Remembering her lessons, she dropped her sword down and was pushed back at the weight of her opponent as it's blade met hers. Stumbling, she started swinging her sword madly and caught the orc unsuspected. She opened her eyes to see it lying dead on the floor, her sword in it's throat.
Looking up just in time, Alarain thrust her blade forward and into the chest of another enemy. It fell dead as well, but there was no time to congratulate herself, for a small goblin was coming for her. She quickly checked for the hobbits and froze when she saw they were no longer behind her. Ducking a swing from the goblin, she spotted them all amongst the battle.
Turning back to her foe, she felt something hit her left arm and looked down to see blood. Her attention was taken away from the ugly thing again as she stared up in horror. A huge troll carrying a hammer had crashed into the room and was roaring in anger. The goblin swung it's head to see what she was looking at, and she took her opportunity. While it was distracted, she sliced off it's head. Feeling her stomach churn with disgust, she looked for her friends.
Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Boromir fly through the air and smash into the hard stone wall. Seeing an approaching orc, she sprinted away from it, hoping to get to the man lying on the ground before something else. She was relieved to see him getting to his feet when she looked back.
Pain scorched through her as an orc buried it's bloody sword into her leg. She fell to her knees and looked around to see it move on, searching for another victim. Crawling to the edge of the room, she stuck her blade into a nearby orc when it didn't spot her.
Oh no...
She pushed off the floor with her hands and rolled out of the way as the troll almost fell on top of her. Edging underneath some rubble, she stuck her hand out and sliced into an orc leg with her sword. Gandalf, who had been fighting it, cut off it's head and glanced down. He nodded quickly before throwing himself back into the battle.
Peeking out, she winced as she saw the troll using it's own chain to swing at Legolas. Trying desperately to think of something that would help, she relaxed slightly when she saw that the elf had trapped the chain around a pillar. Her heart twisted again when he climbed up the chain onto the troll's shoulders. He shot an arrow into it's head before jumping off onto the floor.
Turning her attention back to the troll, Alarain saw it had turned it's attention to Frodo. Aragorn yelled for the hobbit across the room, but he was busy, so Alarain scooted out from her hiding spot and limped towards the creature. The ranger was fighting like mad across from her, also making his way towards the troll. Looking for the hobbit, Alarain burned with anger as she took in the scene. The troll had backed him up into a corner and was attempting to grab the poor hobbit.
She was trying not to think of the pain in her leg, but it would not be ignored. Falling to her knees again, she crawled up behind the troll as Aragorn jumped in front of it. He thrust a huge spear into it's chest and it roared in agony. It dropped it's hammer, and she had to dodge quickly as it landed, causing pain to shoot up her leg. Looking back, her heart stopped as the troll smashed it's arm into Aragorn and sent him flying into a pillar. He landed hard on the ground and did not move.
With all her energy, she climbed to her feet, glaring at the piece of evil in her way. She raised her sword above her head, and was about to sink it into the troll's back, when it rammed the spear that Aragorn had used against it, right into Frodo. Everyone in the room froze as the hobbit sank to the ground, struggling for breathe.
Then, the rage in all came out and they were fighting again, twice as hard as before. Merry and Pippin jumped on the troll and stabbed their small swords into it repeatedly. Alarain snapped out of her currant state, and brought her sword down on the troll's back. It roared as it was pelted with blades, and soon stumbled out of her reach. The thing tried desperately to dislodge the two hobbits on it's back and succeeded in getting Merry off, but Pippin held on.
Alarain turned from the fight and crawled over to the ranger, trying to wake him. Looking back at the battle, her gaze wandered over the bodies on the floor. A low groan sounded and she saw the troll sway dangerously. It fell, sending Pippin flying off and landing heavily on the ground. The troll didn't move and everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Aragorn stirred and opened his eyes. He then crawled stiffly over to Frodo. Alarain followed and watched as he turned the hobbit over. Frodo suddenly let out a groan.
Sam rushed to his side as he sat up. "He's alive." he said, extreme relief in his voice.
"I'm okay." Frodo panted heavily. "I'm not hurt."
"You should be dead." Aragorn breathed. "That spear would have skewered a wild boar!" he exclaimed, staring wide eyed at the hobbit.
Gandalf stepped forward slowly. "I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye." he said knowingly.
Frodo slowly opened his shirt to reveal a shining piece of armour. That must be the armour his uncle had been given, Alarain thought in amazement.
"Mithril." Gimli whispered in awe. "You are full of surprises Master Baggins!" he smiled.
Their moment of rest was over when the sounds of orcs came again.
"To the bridge of Khazad-dum." Gandalf ordered.
Scrambling to get up, Alarain paused. "Brenir!" she yelled, and was rewarded with the dog's tongue on her hand. He was unhurt, though covered in spattered orc blood.
"Alarain!" Aragorn called, waiting at the doorway.
Using all the energy and willpower she had left, the woman ignored her leg and sprinted after the others. Aragorn ran at her side and Brenir at her feet. Glancing around into the darkness, she saw what would have normally made her freeze with fear. However, only paying attention to where her feet were landing, she did not react to it. Orcs and goblin in the thousands were coming out of the ceiling and the floor and were closing in on the fellowship.
She suddenly felt a pain in her arm which made it's way down to her leg. It overwhelmed her and she tripped. The dog and ranger both screeched to a stop and Aragorn yelled for the others. Frantically searching for the source of the pain, Alarain pushed up her sleeve to see the white hand almost bubbling, though it could have been her imagination. She quickly covered it as the group ran back to her. The monsters were on all sides now, and were closing fast.
Aragorn had his sword at the ready, standing in between her and the creatures, ready to fight to the death. Brenir seemed to have found some courage, and was standing at the ranger's side, growling and barking fiercely.
Looking around, the fear inside her grew rapidly. This isn't how I want to die!