A/N: I know, inexcusable. *kicks RL in the behind*
Big thanks to NixNox and Tyren as usual.
Shoutout to my loyal reviewers, I haven't forgotten you, lovelies. RL just sapped my inspiration a bit. But I'm back now ;)
Chapter 13: Dark Fells
The relative safety and feelings of bliss were short lived. Kili supported the liaison between Fili and Linshara, as did most of the other dwarves. Thorin didn't like it, that much was evident, Dwalin didn't either but more because he didn't trust Linshara rather than anything else and Fili was next in line to be king. Balin, his brother was the one trying to turn his and Thorin's opinion. Or at least keep Fili from being in trouble with his uncle.
Winter ended soon enough and the time to move on came. It was decided they would go through Mirkwood, along the elven road, anything else would take too long. Gandalf however grew more and more unnerved as departure time approached and often spoke with Beorn alone. Linshara caught words here and there and tried not to satisfy her curiosity by extracting the information from their minds. Gandalf would be able to tell. He was keeping all this to himself for a reason. So Linshara let it be for the time.
The words High Fells and the dark inference over the words kept piquing her curiosity. Fili however usually distracted her.
The two kept their interactions proper when with the others, more or less behaving as they had before they entered the courtship. When they managed a few moments alone they would let their passion take hold for a little through hungry kisses, passionate embraces and exploration of the other. Mostly though, they just cuddled. Anything further, Fili wanted to allow himself to consider after they retook the mountain, when he could finally focus on his own life for a change, at least for a time. Plus keeping a goal and keeping focus were easier when not distracted by memories of intertwined bodies and related pleasures. Linshara understood the sentiment and wholly agreed with it.
They both came quite close to tossing the agreement aside when their passion and desire for eachother threatened to overwhelm them. It took both their strengths of will and determination to step away and rebuild the foundations of restraint.
Now, as they were packing their ponies, Linshara would glance over at Gandalf and Beorn. Both were concerned, watchful and that term appeared again. The High Fells of something called Ruudauur, or something to that effect.
The Jedi mounted with the others and rode with Fili and Kili mostly, the brothers bantering with her easily. Thorin and Dwalin shushed them from time to time.
As they rode on and Gandalf was still quietly worried. So much that even Bilbo and the dwarves noticed, Linshara decided to talk to him finally. So she rode up and next to him.
"Your mind is a storm of worry, almost crowing at me." Linshara commented softly.
He looked over with her with a practiced smile, "the area to the north concerns me. Fell tidings have been heard, spirits and undead things. More likely than not, in league with Gundabad."
"The High Fells..." she commented softly.
While she didn't look over at him she could feel his surprise. "You know..."
"I've picked up a few bits and bobs, the name keeps cropping up in your talks with Beorn. What is or who are the High Fells?" She asked quietly.
~A dark place, full of anger, hate, fear. A tomb.~ His reply formed in her mind. ~I am bidden to go and investigate.~
~Bidden or wanting?~
~Both.~
She looked over at him. Nodding slowly, she projected to him. ~I will go with you.~
He searched her eyes, she could feel him probing her mind. ~What of Fili and the others?~
~Can they traverse Mirkwood alone and reach the mountain?~ She held her ground, despite the little nagging worry in the back of her mind.
~If they keep to the path they should be able to. Yes.~ He replied, still not entirely convinced.
~Their path is the less evil of the two, if your state of mind is to go by. I cannot go with them while you face the greater one alone.~ She turned her head to look ahead.
~You will worry..~
~Of course I will, but I trust in the Force that it will see us through. I feel it is guiding me down that path. Fili...~ she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him, ~he will not approve but he will understand. He knows the meaning of duty and responsibility as well as I do.~
Gandalf nodded once and they spoke no more of it. She could feel though both Fili and Kili being concerned. As they approached a large mass of dark trees, Linshara began to experience a sinking feeling in her stomach. There was something very very wrong with that forest. A thought kept appearing in her mind, spiders, a lot of spiders.
Why though? She wasn't sure. The Company came to a halt, the dwarves started to unharness their ponies. Linshara pretended to fiddle with the strap of her saddle whilst waiting for Gandalf to announce he had to part with them.
He spoke with Bilbo a little and was concerned. That darkness was about the Hobbit again. Had Gandal felt it too? And then it came, the announcement. To Linshara's surprise, the Dwarves didn't protest too much, in fact some seemed almost glad.
Fili, true to his intelligent self stepped over to her, not bothering to hide his concern. "You mean to go with him," she expected it to be a question or a rant. Instead a statement of calm acceptance. Or was it defeat?
She turned to him slowly and stepped closer, "I have to. Where he is going, there is much evil there, if the Sith is there..." she leaned into his open arms and embraced him in return, "Gandalf cannot fight the Sith alone." She whispered into his ear.
It wasn't necessarily true, but she could feel it eased his concern a bit.
As she pulled back slightly, she whispered, "I will find you." She locked her lips with his hard, trying to convey at least a little bit of what she felt for him.
His arms tightened around her as he responded to the kiss.
"Mahal protect you, azagal." He whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers.
One final nod to eachother and Linshara went to mount her horse. Thorin noticed this and frowned. "You abandon us too?"
His furious, dark temper lay underneath, barely restrained.
"I'm not abandoning anyone, Thorin." She said calmly. "You are thirteen, Gandalf is one. Should he encounter the Sith, he will need my help."
"What if we need your help?" The Dwarf king growled. "You would abandon my nephew?"
~Whose foolish heart I've taken? Really, Thorin?~ She thought to herself as she detected the unsaid complaint.
"We both know our duty, Uncle. I agree that she should accompany Gandalf. We can take care of ourselves through the woods. We are dwarves of the Durin line. We can achieve anything." Fili countered as he stepped over to Thorin, Kili by his side.
She allowed herself the tiniest smile at his defence. Then she nodded gracefully to everyone.
"Do not enter that mountain without us." Gandalf said motioning for everyone to go.
Linshara moved with a heavy heart. She resisted the urge to look back, instead focusing her mind on the task at hand. Investigating the High Fells.
Once they broke into a high speed run, they started making good time towards Rhudaur, as Linshara learned it was called. The most eastern kingdom that sprouted from the ancient kingdom of Arnor. The High Fells were a part of the Misty Mountains in the area in which dark and deep tombs resided, tombs that held the bodies of nine of the most evil of Men, the kings of Men turned Ringwraiths, servants to the great evil of this world. Servants of Sauron.
It took them an entire day and night to arrive at the steep mountain side. Linshara frowned as she noticed flimsy, in places non existent, stone steps that lead up to the side of the mountain.
"Gandalf what do we hope to find?" She asked as they released their by now rather scared and disturbed horses.
"That the Lady Galadriel is wrong..." he said with a heavy sigh.
~Just like we hoped we were wrong about the reemergence of the Sith~ she thought to herself.
Nodding slightly she said, "this place is full of evil. Almost as if a Dark Side nexus but not as powerful. I can feel it pulling at me."
Gandalf studied her for a moment then nodded quietly and started to slowly climb the dilapidated steps. She went carefully behind him, extending her senses and coiled to act should one of them fall into what would likely be their doom. Not even she with all her skills could protect herself from a fall this high.
They came to a rectangular opening in the side of the mountain, with what looked to be steel bars bent outward.
~Not good,~ she frowned, feeling a tightening in her gut, and that all too familiar feel of a vision inducing migraine. But could the Dark Side affect her so?
Before she had time to think she noticed Gandalf skid down the sloped corridor which lead down. On instinct she extended her hand and reached out through the Force after the wizard, grabbing the edge of the entry herself. She could feel that she grabbed him, but as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior she realized he was tethering over the edge of a precipice or a hole. Grunting a little she pulled him back to the nearby wall.
"Are you alright?" She asked quietly as she gingerly descended the slope until she found herself at another set of stone steps, just as dilapidated.
He nodded slowly and encircled the gem atop of his staff with a hand and puffed into it. It started glowing a light blue light within moments and the wizard moved the staff around to see the room.
It was more a gigantic square hole built inside a mountain, the sides of which were lined with the steps. One side held nine similar looking holes, similarly bent doors, one under the other. She exhaled deeply, her migraine increasing. Gandalf started moving down the set of steps gingerly and she followed having to focus extra on keeping her composure.
They reached the nearest opening, what looked like a cell. Gandalf stepped inside first, carefully. She leaned against the wall near the entrance, watching.
The images however would not be kept at bay.
Many men carried a body wrapped in what looked like mummification cloth and placed it into a stone tomb.
She drew a sharp breath, not realizing Gandalf turned to stare at her as she looked into nothing particular, groaning, fighting to breathe.
The men tossed the weapons alongside the bodies. A dagger exactly like the one Radagast found. The images changed to Kallus Ruun standing atop of endless piles of gold, seemingly talking at it, he was filled with darkness, it was almost inviting.
There was another feeling, something was approaching but she couldn't tell if it was a vision or not.
Leaning forward she placed her hands on the other side of the wall. There was a lake of ice, a lake of gold, darkness surrounding it all.
Just before the images ended she caught glimpse of a large golden eye covered with gold coins. Swiftly she drew her saber and pointed it at whatever it was she felt approach them, a bat from the coffin flying overhead just then.
"Oh it's you." She heard Gandalf's voice distantly.
"Why am I here, Gandalf?" Radagast's voice broke through her purplish daze. "This is not a nice place to meet."
The Grey put his hand on hers gently and pressed down on it in a bid for her to lower her saber. "No, it is not."
Slowly, she blinked the haze away and resheathed her saber.
"Apologies..this place is making me ill and giving me painful visions." She explained as Radagast stepped outside to look at the outer corners.
"These are old spells, evil and full of hate," he said looking at them. "Who is buried here?"
"If he had a name it has long since been forgotten. He would have been known only as a servant of evil. One of a number," said Gandalf as he lit the hole again as he exited the tomb.
Linshara followed, sweaty and pale, feeling nauseous. "One of nine."
The three looked at eachother. Wordlessly they began to make their way out. Being the last, Linshara turned and gave the inside one last look and flinched, groaning in pain.
The image was brief but terrifying. She saw herself blasting Kallus Ruun with a river of lightning from her hands. A large bony hand clasped her shoulder firmly and broke her out of the vision.
"Come." Gandalf urged.
Nodding half distractedly, Linshara followed, extra careful now that Radagast was here too.
As they descended, the question was asked. "Why now Gandalf? I don't understand." Radagast queried.
"The Ringwraiths have been summoned to Dol Guldur." Gandalf replied as they reached a small overlook.
"But it cannot be the Necromancer," Radagast argued, "a human sorcerer could not summon such evil."
Linshara leaned against a crooked tree that was next to Gandalf as he stood at looked upon the tombs.
"It is not Human." She said with some effort, feeling a little less sick now.
Gandalf nodded, "the Nine only answer to one master. We've been blind, Radagast." He sighed deeply, "and in our blindness the enemy has returned."
Radagast stared at him in shock. It was nearly as overwhelming as Gandalf's gut wrenching worry.
"He is summoning his servants to Dol Guldur." Gandalf continued. "Azog the Defiler. He is a commander, a commander of legions. The enemy is preparing for war."
"And if the Sith should side with him..." she added quietly.
Gandalf nodded, "it will begin in the East. His mind is set upon that mountain."
Almost as one, both Gandalf and Linshara made to descend and return to the Company as swiftly as possible.
"Where are you going?" Radagast turned after them.
"To rejoin the others."
"Gandalf, Linshara!"
They turned to face the Brown, "I started this," said Gandalf, "I started this, I cannot forsake them. They are in grave danger."
~Graver than we realize if what I saw was true~ Linshara thought as she nodded, the urgency of the moment giving her new vigor.
"If what you say is true," Radagast countered. "The world is in grave danger. The power in that fortress will only grow stronger."
Gandalf looked down the slope, sighing. "You want me to cast my friends aside."
Her hand clasped around his forearm. "I will return to the Company. I will find them and keep them safe until you can join us. You two must summon the Council and make for Dol Guldur."
She couldn't describe the gratefulness that swept over Gandalf's face. It was however short lived as worry set in.
"I will find them." She held up a hand to halt their protests. "May the Valar protect you."
The two wizards nodded, "and may the Force be with you."
Final nods given, Linshara nodded and raced down the slope into the mist.