We're getting closer to the mines, where stuff finally starts to happen. ;) Things will get more interesting from here. I hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Shout outs!

Comments: teruhi (I'm glad you're excited, because things are only going to get more crazy from here on out) BlackMinx17 (Aww thanks for the kind words. I had to take a little bit of a break but I'm now posting more lol, because you couldn't tell) Guest (Thank you for fixing my spelling of the two names. I tend to type fast, generally around 40 wpm, so I don't always catch all the mistakes as is probably obviously evident to those reading. If I have time I will go back and fix all the spelling, though I don't see why you had to review just for that) Ireland Ranger (Thanks! Glad you like it, and glad that my practice writing is paying off.) lotrlover16 (Glad you love it and I will definitely post as quickly as I can with this one) and lastly DeHobbit (Glad you like the story, and I'll update as much as I can. I love you too random stranger who has commented on my story. XD Thanks again for being the first to review. It means a lot.)

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Thanks so much you guys! I've hit ten following, 8 favorites, and 6 reviews! It means so much, and makes all of the words I type much more worth it! Anyway, let's get to the chapter and past this extremely long author's note. Also you'll notice as it goes along that mostly this world is inspired by the movies, but I will take some inspiration from the books as well. I know some things are out of order in the battle in the Mines of Moria, but I just decided to take a creative leap of faith and change it up a bit. Hope you don't mind too much.

The trek down the mountain was easier, but it didn't ease Legolas' suspicion any more than it had been earlier. If fact, sensing the grim mood over the wizard, it only got worse. The Fellowship made their half frozen way back down the mountain side and to the ground. The blizzard began to ease its wrath with every step they took, and the numbness began to leave the Fellowship's limbs. Again the elf kept closer to the edge, feeling better himself that he was ensuring that none of the others would fall and die or be lost in the snow. The Fellowship of course only found that this made them more nervous for fear of losing their elf the same way, but they began to realize that he could tell where he was going somehow, and that he was surefooted enough to not fall. It was no secret to any of them though that they were very glad to feel the earth warm and green under their feet though.

The sun had risen again, and they were all glad to feel the warmth of it seeping into their bodies again. The wizard granted them a little time to rest and shake the numbness from their bodies, which they were all grateful for, because the clothes they had was not thick enough for the cold on the mountainside. But soon the wizard had them up and walking again. Even Gimli, the stout dwarf was beginning to feel the weariness of the long trek wearing on him. However Legolas, though he too felt tired, was not showing the signs of it and was quickly up. The others quickly followed the example of the tireless elf, too tired themselves to complain. With a quick glance around and confirmation from the elf that there was indeed no enemy near by, they stood and followed the wizard again on another route to find the door under the mountain.

Night had fallen again on another day as the Fellowship carefully made their way under the great walls of the mountains. There was a thin strip of land that led towards the doors, because just past the doors was a murky lake that none of them could see into. Nervously Legolas glanced towards the bottom and thought he saw a glimmer of light from within the water. He paused, but turned and walked away. Aragorn's quick eyes though did not miss the elf's hesitation, and now looked toward the lake as well. They all went to the door.

However it soon became increasingly apparent that Gandalf did not know the password, or truly did not want them to enter into the mines. He could not come up with the password to open the door. The elf's mind was more preoccupied with the water however. This time he was growing more and more sure he had seen something, and gazed into the darkness. Every now and then he could catch a glimpse of light at the bottom of the lake, which was no comfort. Sam noticed and came over to the elf as he continued to stare into the water.

"What is it?" the hobbit asked.

"Something lurks within the water," the elf replied.

A sudden splash nearby made the elf wince. He paled slightly as he continued to watch the water. But there was no indication that the creature within had moved. He heard as Aragorn caught the wrist of the hobbit that had been throwing rocks into the water.

"Do not disturb the water," the Ranger warned strongly.

Thankfully the tiny hobbit listened to the man, and it went silent again. Legolas' eyes did not leave the water however. He was standing near the edge, and he was sure that he had felt the slightest ripple of the water as it washed over his feet. He continued to gaze into its depths. But the water was so dark it was impossible to tell if anything had stirred within. He continued to gaze at the water until he heard Frodo speak up behind him.

"It's a riddle," he said. "Speak friend and enter. What's the elvish word for friend?"

"Mellon," the wizard replied instantly, because the elf was still watching the water intently.

There was a great sound of rock crashing into the ground, making the blind elf wince as the noise hurt his sensitive ears. He turned towards the mines and looked. He was surprised to see that he could make out the darkness within. He could see the structure of the building faintly. A sense of foreboding fell over him again. The dwarf began to go on and on about the great hospitality that his cousin would show them as they all stepped forward, trying to rub it into the elf's face. The hobbits however could see the elf's hesitancy and paused as well.

"Mithrandir," the elf called. The wizard paused and looked at him. "We should not be here. There is great darkness in these halls. I can see it in the very stone we walk upon."

The others began to look around as well too now. Even the dwarf fell silent a moment, pausing at the sense of urgency in the elf's voice. They realized by now that they could trust his instincts beyond their own, as well as his eyes. Now those that could see could make out the signs of a battle that had been fought long ago. The Gondorian paused in horror, and the fear came across his voice as well sharply.

"This is no mine," Boromir said. "It's a tomb."

Gimli gasped in horror and grief as he looked around, crying out fiercely and making even Legolas wince at the sound. The blind elf knelt a moment and felt a corpse, silently asking the spirit to forgive him. Then he found the shaft of an arrow and pulled it out, running his hand gently over the tip. It was still sharp, and he knew the shape of it well.

"Goblins," the elf cried to the others.

They all drew their weapons, and Legolas stood, preparing his bow to fire. They looked around wildly, fear beginning to sink into them. They all knew that the orcs and goblins would not abandon this place so easily after they had won it. The darkness was their domain.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan," Boromir cried. "We should have never have come here."

The man of Gondor began yelling for everyone to get out, but Legolas had paused, hearing another sound as well. Through the panicked breaths, the cries of the man, and the nervous feet, Legolas heard an unearthly scraping sound, of something long and slimly slipping across the stone. The man, seeing the elf pause, thought that he was confused. Boromir reached out and grabbed the elf's arm, trying to pull him out with the others. But then there was a loud yelp of terror from Frodo, and everyone had turned.

In horror they had seen that Frodo's foot had been caught by a long, black, and slick tentacle coming from within the water. Legolas silently cursed himself for not knowing that something would come towards them from the water when he had seen it, for the creature glowed brighter than anything else near here. Sam managed to cut Frodo free, only to have more tentacles from the enraged beast reach out to throw them down and grab poor Frodo again. However, by that time the rest of the Fellowship was in motion to save the tiny hobbit.

The two men rushed forward with vicious snarls towards the fray, chopping away the tentacles as quickly as they could to reach the hobbit and save him from the strange creature. Legolas began to shoot his arrows at the creature under the surface, able to see some of its large expanse under the water. Gimli remained in the mines, too upset about his father brothers to help, and the wizard gathered the other three hobbits. The three hobbits looked up with surprise and wonder to see their three larger companions fighting with such ferocity. They had only seen Aragorn fight before, and then they could not fully see him fighting. But here they saw the same fierce bravery as they had before against the Ring Wraiths of Sauron.

The creature's head emerged from the lake, and even Legolas could see it was an ugly and dangerous thing. It held the tiny terrified hobbit far over its head, dangling him dangerously. The elf began firing arrows into the creature's face, successfully stopping it from dropping the hobbit into its open mouth where razor sharp teeth waited. Aragorn then at last found the creature's tentacle that held Frodo and cut it off with one swing. The hobbit fell into Boromir's waiting arms, and the Fellowship turned to flee the only way they could.

"Into the mines," the wizard cried.

The elf let all the others pass in front of him, covering them as they entered into the mines. The creature followed him through, dragging itself out of the lake. It reached up to grab the sides of the tunnel and pull itself farther inside, and Legolas felt as Aragorn grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the creature. Nearly instantly the roof overhead collapsed and buried the creature, killing it, but also blocking the only close exit. The darkness enveloped them all, and there was no light.

Now Legolas could truly see the caves around him, but the sight gave him little comfort, for he knew that it meant that there was darkness all around them. Too much darkness. He could already feel the darkness tugging at him. But he ignored it and looked around, seeing the dark shapes of the Fellowship framed out to his eyes. He saw as the wizard moved and more darkness surrounded him as he lit the tip of his staff and gave the others some much needed light. The elf quickly checked his quiver by feeling it and sighed a little to himself. He'd used nearly half of them against the creature outside. He'd have to save them now.

"We now have but one choice," Gandalf said. "We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard, there are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world."

He glanced towards the elf, giving him a very meaningful look. The others looked as well and noticed instantly how much paler the elf looked. It worried them suddenly. This place was full of darkness, and the poor elf couldn't stand much more darkness. But though they worried for their friend, they knew that they had little choice but to try and lead him out of this place. They turned one by one and followed the wizard and he took them into the mines slowly, they passed over a precarious bridge, and the wizard looked over his shoulder at them.

"Quietly now," he warned. "It's a four day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence will go unnoticed."

The way he said it only served to make the elf much more nervous, and the others along with him. The elf noticed instantly that though he had been in the rear before, the two men instinctively let him pass and then stood in the line behind him, refusing to let him farther back. They kept him firmly closer to the center of the group and kept a careful eye on him, acting suddenly very protective of their elf companion. Legolas did not show any sign to them that he had noticed and instead followed the line of hobbits and the dwarf in front of him after the wizard, and all of them tried their hardest to be as silent as possible.

It was impossible to tell what time of day it was within the mines, for no light came through at all. They had to trust that their bodies knew the time though they did not, and so they slept when they were tired and ate when they were hungry. They traveled farther than they might have if they had been within the wild, but here in the darkness even the elf had no guess as to the time. They climbed up a long set of narrow and steep stairs. The elf marveled at how easily the dwarf seemed to walk up them. For a people with such short legs they had no trouble with such high stairs. At last though they stopped at the top and looked around. Here Gandalf paused.

"I have no memory of this place," the wizard said with a slightly perplexed sound in his voice.

The others all sighed and sat down, because none of them had any clue about this place at all, even Gimli who had been here before. The elf turned his eyes to the darkness beyond, and paused as he saw movement among the darkness. It was very faint, and hardly visible to his eyes because the darkness he was seeing was barely darker than the stones around it. But he recognized the shape of the creature Gollum. His eyes widened a little as he saw him but he did not raise the alarm, for the creature backed away quickly.

He heard as Frodo quickly went to Gandalf and mentioned seeing the creature as well. After a little conversation in which again the elf was impressed with the wizard's wisdom, the hobbit then admitted that he did not want the burden of the Ring. Legolas pitied him. He truly did. He knew the darkness of the one Ring and its master well. But the wizard quickly allayed the hobbit's fears and then looked up, announcing that he had figured out the way to go, and told Pippin to follow his nose if in doubt.

Gratefully the others all stood and followed the wizard farther inside. They marched forward tiredly until at last they had reached a large cavern. Here the wizard stopped as the elf looked up in wonder. Even before the light was extended so that the others could see, he could already see the great halls of the dwarvish city. The others fell silent as they looked up as well, and wonder fell over all of them. The city of Dwarrowdelf was truly a sight to see.

The elf turned his eyes away first and noticed a great spot of darkness, where sunlight came through a hole in the roof. The dwarf looked that was as well, and then gave out a horrified gasp. He rushed that way, and the elf instantly leaped off after him, confused at seeing the usually so sturdy dwarf so upset. The others all saw this as well and leaped off after the elf and the dwarf, calling for them to stop. But the dwarf ran right to a large slab of stone and fell to his knees, crying out in a loud and heartbroken voice. The others all paused, unable to read the dwarvish script. But Gandalf read it as he walked in, very sadly.

"Here lies Balin," the wizard said. "son of Fudin. Lord of Moria. He is dead then. It's just as I had feared."

The dwarf's head hit the stone and his helm gave out a loud thud, but he grieved silently now. The elf carefully scanned the room, now beginning to grow nervous. The wizard knelt and picked up a large book, of which large sections of pages fell to the ground. The wizard opened it and began to read some unsettling last reports in the book. The Fellowship began to become more and more nervous.

"They are coming," the wizard said.

Nearly instantly there was a loud crash that made the elf wince painfully and the others jump badly. The skull of a dwarf clattered down a long mining shaft in the room. Then to add insult to injury the rest of the corpse followed with the chain and bucket still attached to it, making it clang loudly all the way down until it at last stopped somewhere. They all turned to look and found a very sheepish Pippin looking at them all. The wizard angrily closed the book with a slam and crossed the room to him.

"Fool of a Took," he cried. "Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity."

They all winced at the insult, and the hobbit looked like he was about to apologize when he noticed the elf freeze. From deep within he had heard as something began to move and screech loudly, orc screeches. Instantly the others knew as well though as they heard the loud booming of a drum from within the deep. They all stood their horrified for a moment, rooted to the spot at the horror of the hordes that were now descending upon their location. They had no time for indecision however.

The two men and the elf quickly ran to the door to barricade it, flimsy though it was. Boromir peered out and managed to pull his head back in time to not get shot in the face by an orc's arrow. He quickly slammed the door shut and turned to the others, sighing in desperation and with a slightly annoyed attitude.

"They have a cave troll," he told them. Legolas understood though why he sounded that way. Because things weren't already bad enough without the cave troll.

The elf shoved the hobbits quickly back towards the wizard, who shepherded them behind himself gently. Then the elf began to toss axes and other things he could find to the two men, who were busy trying to give the Fellowship as much time as possible. Gimli jumped up on the tomb of Balin, brandishing his axe angrily.

"Let them come," he called. "There is one dwarf yet in Moria that still draws breath!"

The elf and the two men backed up as well, pulling out their weapons and facing the door. Legolas strung his bow and pointed it at the door, seeing the mass of orcs gathering behind it. Their darkness combined was very bright to his eyes. The already battered door shook and rattled as the orcs pushed against it, and their weapons began to make holes through the door. Legolas released an arrow through a tiny hole, killing one of the orcs. Another arrow that belonged to Aragorn went through a larger hole and struck the throat of an unfortunate orc that fell screaming.

But the door was forced open at last and the Fellowship suddenly broke apart to fight. Legolas knew that they were at a disadvantage. None of them had fought together before. Their fighting styles were completely different. And they didn't know how to fight with one another. But there was no time to think, only act. The elf put away his bow for a moment and pulled out his twin blades, spinning them expertly in his hands before leaping forward onto another orc. The two men, the dwarf and the elf got easily into the pulse of battle. The wizard was fighting hard to protect the four hobbits, and the hobbits were stabbing at orcs to give the others time to fight. But then with a resounding crash, the cave troll came lumbering in, led by the chain around its neck.

The creature didn't look too dark, but mostly because it was far too stupid to be very evil at all. It walked in, crushing more of its comrades with sluggish swings of its club meant for Aragorn than actually doing any damage to any of the Fellowship. Legolas hardly manged to jump out of the way, but then had to turn his attention back to attacking the orcs around him. Few a few minutes it went on like this, with the elf dancing in his deadly steps to kill the orcs that came too near. Then however he found that there were few orcs left, and then he heard a sound that chilled his blood.

Frodo started yelling for help from Aragorn, and then Sam screamed in horror. Frodo had been speared in the chest by the troll. Legolas paused a moment, thinking that the sound was not right at all, but then he heard Merry and Pippin leap up onto the Troll, trying to protect their friend. Boromir and Aragorn attempted to help but were tossed to the side, and the creature threw Merry and Pippin off. Then its eyes locked on the blind elf, and Legolas tensed, sliding his blades back into place.

He heard Aragorn call out his name in a warning, and the troll to the chain in its hand, swiping at the elf. However, Legolas could hear the chains as they came close and managed to dodge them though he couldn't see them. Then he quickly immobilized the troll by pinning its chain around one of the pillars.

The troll was too dumb to try and get away and simply stared at the elf stupidly as he leaped nimbly up onto the chain and ran up onto the troll's shoulders. The rest of the Fellowship watched, scared for the blind elf as he dodged the troll trying to grab him. Legolas pulled out his bow and notched two arrows, shooting them at the troll's skull. They bounced off his head, which was as hard as rock. The elf quickly leaped off, rolling in front of the troll and stopping, pulling out another arrow. The rest of the Fellowship called out warnings to him, thinking he was about to die then and there as the troll ran at him. But the elf shot an arrow into the troll's open mouth. The troll paused, trying dumbly to feel the shaft of the arrow now sticking out of the top of his skull. The elf leaped away to avoid being squished under the weight of the troll as it fell to the ground dead.

Slowly they all stood and made their way over to Frodo. Their hearts were heavy, thinking that they had failed very early in their quest. But as Aragorn lifted the hobbit he gasped for air. Their surprise could grow no further, but Legolas was glad that he had been right in thinking that there was something off to the sound.

"He's alive," Sam said, close to tears.

"You should be dead," Aragorn gasped in relief and shock. "that spear would have skewered a wild boar!"

Frodo opened his shirt to reveal a shirt made of mithril, as light as a feather and as tough as a dragon's hide. The elf knew the sound of it well, for his father still sometimes made shirts of it from the jewels from Erebor. Legolas sighed in relief, but then again began to listen as he heard the sound of distant drums. Gimli made a remark about how full of surprises the hobbit was. But then Gandalf called them back to their senses and led them running out of the room.

As they ran, orcs began to pour out of no where and climb down the pillars, the whole population of Moria coming to attack them. The elf felt despair as he looked around and saw the masses of orcs. It truly was a terrible sight to behold. And he knew that there was no way out of here. He pulled out his bow and stopped with the others, shepherding the hobbits into the center of a protective circle. They all prepared to fight and meet their untimely demise. But then to their surprise the orcs suddenly stopped and fell silent, listening. Legolas turned and followed their eyes, freezing in terror at the sight of the darkness before him, illuminating the halls brighter than even the eye of Sauron. Heat blasted over them.

The orcs began to scream and then turned and fled, leaving the Fellowship to survive the coming evil themselves. A low growl ruptured through the air, making the Fellowship tremble. The elf though paled and felt cold shivers running down his spine from the pure evil of the creature before him. He had never seen or felt anything like it, for it was a demon as old as the earth itself. Gandalf turned and saw the terrified elf, and the rest of the Fellowship turned and stared at him. They had never seen such pure terror in his eyes before. They called to him, but the elf was unable to move.

"What new devilry is this?" Boromir cried, terrified at seeing the elf so scared.

"A Balrog," the wizard said, making the elf shudder. "a demon from the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run! Quickly!" The elf seemed unable to move. The wizard grabbed the elf's shoulder, making him look at him. "Run Legolas. Run and do not look back. Do not look at it. It's darkness is too powerful for you. Run! Hurry!"

The elf paused a moment more, then turned and dashed away as quickly as a frightened deer. The rest of the Fellowship couldn't keep up with him, but they dashed after him as well. They were terrified of the beast, and knew that they had to escape. In the darkness, the Ring seemed to reawaken and began to whisper to the elf.

"The wizard will fall," the Ring whispered. "They will blame you. You cannot escape this fate. The Balrog's darkness will claim you. You cannot keep running."

But the elf was too terrified to do anything but run. He prayed that the Ring would leave him alone, but it continued to whisper to him. He could feel it dragging him into the darkness. But he wouldn't give in, not yet. He had to ensure that his friends would escape at least.

And in the next chapter things get really hectic. Sorry for the random cliff hanger. I'm working on the next chapter right now which will unfortunately have another cliff hanger. Sorry, but I hope it's still enjoyable to read.

I will say that it's really difficult to not explain how things and people look for me. I tend to like to explain as much detail about something so that you can tell exactly who I'm talking about even if you don't remember the name of a character. But with Legolas being blind then it gets even harder because I physically can't. That's probably one of the most challenging things about this story for me.

I hope you enjoyed, and feel free to leave a comment below.