Now at camp and resting for the night having finally left the mountainside, all drew together in form of council, for there was a great decision to be made. Since the Redhorn Gate was insurmountable, few options remained open to them. It was either go back to Rivendell in defeat and shame, or take a darker route that promised just as great a threat as the mountain. Frodo decided against returning to Rivendell, much to the dismay of the other hobbits, for he knew he could not give up his quest only after this much, saying that he would only return if there was no other way and that they were truly defeated. "You are right, Frodo, to go back is to admit defeat, and face worse defeat to come. If we go back now, then the Ring must remain there. We shall not be able to set out again. Then sooner or later Rivendell will be besieged, and after a brief and bitter time it will be destroyed. The Ringwraiths are deadly enemies, but they are only shadows yet of the power and terror they would possess if the Ruling Ring was on their master's hand again."
"Then we must go on, if there is a way." Frodo lamented in response to Gandalf's reasoning.
"There is a way that we may attempt, I thought from the beginning, when first I considered this journey, that we should try it. But it is not a pleasant way, and I have not spoken of it to the Company before. Aragorn was against it, until the pass over the mountains had at least been tried."
"If it is a worse road than the Redhorn Gate, then it must be evil indeed." Merry shuddered at the thought but attempted to feign confidence as he continued. "But you had better tell us about it, and let us know the worst at once."
"The road that I speak of leads to the Mines of Moria." All had a differing reaction to Gandalf's revelation. Gimli's eyes intensified with fire, whilst others hung their heads with gloom whereas Mallenheneth merely shrugged. Going above or below ground mattered little to her, so long as there was space for her to fly and ground enough to walk upon, she would be satisfied. Her eyes slid across to Aragorn as he next spoke, sensing his unease to go through Moria as his feelings lingered upon his scent as clear as day.
"The road may lead to Moria, but how can we hope that it will lead through Moria?"
"It is a name of ill omen. Nor do I see the need to go there. If we cannot cross the mountains, let us journey southwards, until we come to the Gap of Rohan, where men are friendly to my people, taking the road that I followed on my way hither. Or we might pass by and cross the Isen into Langstrand and Lebennin, and so come to Gondor from the regions nigh to the sea." Boromir's suggestion was most favourable to those who did not like the idea of going to Moria, for the name enough gave cause enough to shudder even to the hobbits, who knew little of its history and what rumours dwelled deep within its dark depths.
"Things have changed since you came north, Boromir. Did you not hear what I told you of Saruman? With him I may have business of my own ere all is over. But the Ring must not come near Isengard, if that can by any means be prevented. The Gap of Rohan is closed to us while we go with the Bearer." Boromir's suggestion was immediately refused by Gandalf, who knew better than to tempt such a road with the traitorous Saruman so near to its path. All but one spy needed to see them and report back for their entire quest to fail, for Saruman would unleash all under his command upon them and set a force against them to claim the Ring for himself. "As for the longer road, we cannot afford the time. We might spend a year in such a journey, and we should pass through many lands that are empty and harbourless. Yet they would not be safe. The watchful eyes both of Saruman and of the enemy are on them. When you came north, Boromir, you were in the enemy's eyes only one stray wanderer from the South and a matter of small concern to him, his mind was busy with the pursuit of the Ring. But you return now as a member of the Ring's Company, and you are in peril as long as you remain with us. The danger will increase with every league that we go south under the naked sky. Since our open attempt on the mountain-pass our plight has become more desperate, I fear. I see now little hope, if we do not soon vanish from sight for a while, and cover our trail. Therefore I advise that we should go neither over the mountains, nor round them, but under them. That is a road at any rate that the enemy will least expect us to take."
"We do not know what he expects. He may watch all roads, likely and unlikely. In that case to enter Moria would be to walk into a trap, hardly better than knowing at the gates of the Dark Tower itself. The name of Moria is black." Arguing further, Mallenheneth growled lowly at Boromir for continuing to be such a nuisance to Gandalf, glaring at him from where she lay with her feet draped over a rock and laying almost completely upside down for the boredom of quietness beyond their circle.
"You speak of what you do not know, when you liken Moria to the stronghold of Sauron. I alone of you have ever been in the dungeons of the Dark Lord, and only in his older and lesser dwelling in Dol Guldur. Those who pass the gates of Barad-dûr do not return. But I would not lead you into Moria if there were no hope of coming out again. If there are orcs there, it may prove ill for us, that is true, but most of the orcs of the Misty Mountains were scattered or destroyed in the Battle of Five Armies. The Eagles report that orcs are gathering again from afar, but there is a hope that Moria is still free. There is even a chance that dwarves are there, and that in some deep hall of his fathers, Balin son of Fundin may be found. However it may prove, one must tread the path that need chooses!" Thoroughly scolded and ever the eternal wisest of pilgrims, Gandalf began to win over the hearts of his fellow companions, one amongst their number needing no persuasion.
"I will tread the path with you, Gandalf! I will go and look on the halls of Durin, whatever may wait there – if you can find the doors that are shut." Gimli announced firmly, earning Gandalf's thorough approval as he looked upon the dwarf.
"Good, Gimli! You encourage me. We will seek the hidden doors together, and we will come through. In the ruins of the dwarves, a dwarf's head will be less easy to bewilder than Elves or Men or Hobbits. Yet it will not be the first time that I have been to Moria. I sought there long for Thráin son of Thrór after he was lost. I passed through, and I came out again alive!"
"I too once passed the Dimrill Gate, but though I also came out again, the memory is very evil. I do not wish to enter Moria a second time." Aragorn revealed softly, causing Mallenheneth to sit upright all at once.
"You went through Moria? I have no memory of this."
"We were parted ways at the time. You were battling trolls in the Ettenmoors for sport." Recalling this, Mallenheneth smirked as she thought back to the many trolls she had hunted and killed for the sake of lessening their threat upon Rivendell, for several had wandered too far from their domain and become her prey. The others now dwelled upon their votes, but whilst Boromir and Legolas cast theirs, Mallenheneth leaped to her feet so violently that the hobbits became alarmed, seeing a darkness in her expression as she listened to the wind as it howled. "Mallenheneth?"
"Wargs. There are wargs nearing us from the west. They are a ways off yet, but they are moving in our direction. We have little time now to decide. Cast your votes, and I shall try to lead them astray. Leave a sign for me of your decision, and I shall follow after you. Aragorn, you know how!" Racing forth Mallenheneth cast herself into the darkness and gave a great cry as she rose up into the skies, wheeling herself about before heading towards the wargs and orcs that sought them. She made certain to approach them from a direction away from the location of the fellowship ere she should be spotted, however upon diving low and landing upon the ground mid-pace of a run, her giant frame cast itself forth in order to hunt the pack that hunted her friends and companions. True as she had suspected, orcs were with the wargs that were attempting to find a scent, though the snow of Caradhras had dampened the musk of bodies which made it impossible to find the beginning of their trail. Ordinary wolves were with them too, an entire pack seemingly following the lead of the wargs in servitude to Sauron.
Mallenheneth slowed and snarled, facing the pack of wargs who all immediately whimpered and bowed their heads in submission before the superior beast, refusing to challenge her even as the orcs swung their ugly heads about and bleated. Knowing that she could leave none alive, Mallenheneth howled and leaped upon them, sinking her fangs deep into the neck of the first warg and tossed it against a tree with such force that its spine snapped, the sickening crack renting the air. Now the orcs became afraid, as their lances seemingly glanced off the hide of the wolf, and their swords were too short of reach to touch her before she had closed her powerful jaws around their arms and torn them from their sockets. Soon the air was shaking with screams and howls, blood pouring from the massacred bodies as some attempted to flee and Mallenheneth gave chase, not allowing any to live and run back to their masters to tell of what they had discovered.
It took all night to chase down those that had almost found the fellowship, but finally Mallenheneth squeezed the life out of the last orc as she stood in her natural form, holding the orc by its throat and tossing it aside once it was dead. All that remained were a number of the ordinary wolves that now cowered and quivered before her where she had allowed them to remain, looking at them now as even their alpha lowered his head and crawled upon his belly, turning onto his back to expose his throat and stomach to signal surrender. Mallenheneth returned to the form of a giant wolf, for then they would understand her as she growled and allowed the flow of essence to pass between them, communicating her desires. They would no longer serve Sauron, who would yet skin them alive and use their pelts for his robes, but rather serve her. Otherwise she would kill them all now and have done with it, but if they accepted her as their King of all Beasts, then she would allow them to live and gather the other packs to deliver her message.
No longer would they serve the Coward that Hid in his Den, but fight against him to defend their homes and their packs, their mates and their pups. They would tear apart any creature that served the Dark Shadow, and listen to the words and messages that were carried to him. Spread word of this new command, to all beasts and birds that wished to one day live in peace in a world untainted, otherwise Mallenheneth swore she would devote her life to killing them all as traitors to the natural world to which they all belonged, after she had ripped asunder the Coward of Shadows herself. The wolves all whimpered and whined, accepting her as their new alpha and bowed before her as she stood tall and proud before them. They were hers now, and would not dare betray her for their loyalty was earned through fear and respect. The presence of Mallenheneth purified the shadow's touch upon their minds, and they agreed to do as she had bade them, and rushed to carry the message to all who would listen, and thus Mallenheneth had an army of her own to call upon should the need ever arise.
Shifting back she took a deep breath and stretched her limbs lazily, looking up to the sky to see the sun had risen and the beginning of dawn was spreading softly across the world. Looking down upon herself and running her tongue across her lips, she realised that she was covered in blood, black ichor staining her mouth and throat as well as her hands and torso where her skin was bared. This would frighten the hobbits, and perhaps even the others too. Legolas at least did not care for dirty things, and thus Mallenheneth sniffed out the fresh scent of water and went to wash herself clean so that she did not appear nearly so frightful upon her return to the others. The clear water was marred by the orc and warg blood as it seeped into the stream, but as it continued to flow it gradually ran clear until Mallenheneth was fresh and clean. She returned to the skies and made her way back to where the others had camp, finding evidence of their stay at the hilltop where they had better surroundings to defend themselves during the night. A sensible choice, and as Mallenheneth landed upon the outer ring of boulders, found a mark left for her from Aragorn.
To any other it would mean nothing, but to Mallenheneth it told her exactly where to go, for she and Aragorn had long since developed their own code of messages to communicate with one another for just such occasions. They were away to Moria and would attempt to follow the stream that lead towards the gates, the Sirannon. Removing the mark made from ash and charcoal, Mallenheneth took to the skies once more with a caw and swept herself forwards, scanning the ground to ensure all tracks had been covered and to pursue the company in order to join them once more.