Down once
more to the dungeon of my black despair
Down we
plunge to the prison of my mind
Down that
path into darkness deep as hell
- The
Phantom of the Opera
The journey was worse than she had expected. The chill of the Dwarvish caves seeped into
her very bones, making her shiver constantly; her hands felt numb and
clumsy. Every small sound made her jump
and search the shadows and she soon began to think she was imagining things…
for no one else seemed to hear anything.
Even her fearless little guard dog preferred to remain inside of her
bag, his head and paws peeking out; not that she would’ve have risked losing
him by setting him down. He seemed to
sense the urgency of the journey and kept eerily quiet. The darkness was suffocating, and she found
herself eager to be at the head of the line with Gandalf just so that she could
have some light on her face. Instead,
she stayed in step with Legolas.
His expression was unreadable. Alert, determined… but she could not tell if
the sinister caverns unnerved him as much as they unnerved her. Several times, when a sound echoed through,
he would draw an arrow and ready it… but he never needed to fire. Not yet.
Warnings prickled at the back of her head,
creating an insatiable itch that made her want to watch their backs. As if something were following them…
stalking, waiting for a moment to attack.
“Do you feel it?” she asked Legolas in a quiet
whisper on the second day, as they encountered a wide bridge that allowed them
to walk side-by-side.
“Feel what?” he asked, his eyes flicking to
hers briefly.
“I’m not sure… like there are eyes watching
us… from behind. There’s a scent I
didn’t recognize before…” she shivered, drawing her cloak closed.
“I feel it as well… there is something
following us… but it has not yet caused any hardship. That scent… these caverns were taken by orcs. I am hopeful that they have moved on and
left only their scent behind them.” He nodded, resting one hand on her back in
a protective manner. “However… I doubt
that is the case. Keep your wits sharp,
Kate… we will need every pair of eyes and ears vigilant to the shadows.”
She nodded, swallowing nervously. “How can Dwarves live like this? It’s so… gloomy…”
Gimli came up on her other side, looking
strangely anxious himself. “The Dwarves
did not live like this… orcs despise the light… they destroyed all of the
sun-mirrors and torches.”
“Oh.” Was her only reply as they kept walking
and climbing where necessary.
Eventually, Katie found herself more in the company of the hobbits,
helping them climb over the stones without slipping. Her own agility seemed to have improved with her transportation
to Middle Earth, she thought vaguely as she pulled Pippin out of a would-be
fall.
They came to a clearing of sorts, although
littered with boulders and trash, and Gandalf paused. Ahead of them were three separate tunnels leading in different
directions.
“I have no memory of this place.” He commented
in a low voice. “We may as well rest
for a bit… I need to try and remember which way to go.”
With a collective sigh, packs were dropped and
bodies slowly slid to the stone floor.
Katie, too antsy to sit, paced and leapt nimbly from rock to rock,
watching for movement in the shadows below them.
“Kate…” Legolas called softly. “Calm yourself. You will exhaust yourself with this nervous activity. Come… rest.
We still have a long way to go.”
She growled under her breath, but sat next to
him nonetheless. “I can’t help it… I
feel like I’ve had ten cups of espresso.
I am in a completely different world, in a dark cave, with nothing to
defend myself with except a min pin.”
A ghost of a smile towards the sleeping min
pin. “Do not be anxious, Kate. I will watch over you.”
“I’m not certain whether or not that’s
comforting.” She sighed, resting her arms on her knees and bowing her head.
“You will see. My skills in the target range are impressive, but I am just as
capable in combat.”
“Handsome and modest, who would’ve thunk it?”
she murmured.
Silence reigned supreme over the Fellowship
until Frodo and Gandalf began a soft conversation she couldn’t quite hear. Instead, she busied herself with studying
Legolas. The archer was standing beside
her, arms crossed over his chest, staring up at the endless expanse of darkness
above them. His expression was
emotionless at first glance, but the longer she looked at him, the more subtle
clues she picked up. His grey eyes were
sharp, barely blinking darting through the blackness… his jaw set a little too
tensely… his ears twitching at the slightest sounds.
“Legolas.” She whispered.
“Hmm?” he met her gaze curiously.
“I’m nervous because I’m far from home
and helpless. What are you so
nervous for?” she asked, tugging on his arm gently.
He settled next to her with a sigh. “Elves do not go underground of their own
will. I am feeling… bereft… without
sunlight or starlight for so long. I am
just eager to leave these mines.”
She nodded.
“I know the feeling… I feel… dirty… buried. Like… like that day… last year.”
She shivered and bit her bottom lip before looking up at Legolas,
wide-eyed. “I’m scared… I am so deathly
scared right now.”
“Kate…” Legolas whispered, resting one arm
about her shoulders and drawing her closer, although whether to warm her or
comfort her, she was not entirely sure.
“We are all fearful… our mission is one of crucial importance… if we
fail, I could well be the doom of our world as we know it.”
“I doubt I’ll be of any help… I don’t even
have a weapon.” She said softly.
Legolas started. “Do you not? I had
forgotten. I will have to take special
care to look after you then. I would
not for the world see you come to harm.”
“Oh good.”
“Ah!” Gandalf suddenly exclaimed, earning the
entire company’s immediate attention.
“It’s this way!”
“At last… he’s remembered.” Jason sighed in
relief.
“No.” said Gandalf cheerfully. “But the air doesn’t smell so foul down this
way. When all else fails, follow your
nose.”
“Proverbs to Live By… by Gandalf the
Grey. There’s a bestseller for you.”
Jason mumbled.
It was not long before the narrow caverns gave
way to a much larger space, where the air was cooler, but not as dank.
“I will risk a little more light.” Gandalf
whispered, the glowing quartz in his staff quickly blazing to reveal a hall
larger than any she’d ever seen, held up by scores of pillars with intricate
designs on them.
“Behold… the Great Hall of Moria.” Gandalf
announced softly.
“Now there’s a sight, make no mistake.” Merry
added.
“Indeed.” Jason agreed.
Katie clung to Legolas’ sleeve, staring up at
the vast hall with wide eyes, her mouth slightly agape. “I take it back, Gimli… you Dwarves have
excellent taste. This is astonishing.”
Gimli meanwhile was already heading for an
open doorway, where a light shone within.
“Gimli!” Gandalf called, charging after
him. Everyone followed, shocked to find
what appeared to be some sort of a mausoleum, complete with a coffin in the
middle. More dead and rotting bodies
littered the floor, almost making Katie gag.
“No… no…” Gimli muttered, falling to his
knees, his helmet clanging against the coffin’s stone edge.
Gandalf came forward, reading the
inscription. “Here lies Balin, Lord of
Moria… he is dead then… it is as I feared.”
A nagging sensation of urgency passed over
Katie once more, making her bounce up and down on the balls of her feet next to
Legolas. “We can’t stay here.” She
whispered. “This place is… watched.”
He nodded.
“I feel it too. Aragorn, we
should go. We must not linger.”
Aragorn nodded and waited for Gandalf, who was
busying himself with gently slipping a large book from under the skeletal hand
of a corpse. He opened the dusty book,
blowing the pages clean in order to read them.
“We cannot get out. They have
taken the bridge and the second hall.
We cannot get out. Drums… drums…
in the deep. We cannot get out…”
“Stop saying that…” Katie whimpered.
“They are coming.” Gandalf read the last line.
A crash from behind them made everyone
jump. Pippin, who had taken Gandalf’s
hat and staff, had knocked over a skeleton perched precariously on a well’s
edge. It fell down the long shaft,
banging and crashing its way to the bottom, making everyone freeze.
Silence followed the banging, seeming almost
louder as everyone strained to hear any sounds of threat. Seconds seemed like years before everyone
breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Gandalf snatched his belongings back from the dumbfounded Pippin.
“Fool of a Took! Next time throw yourself in and rid us of your stupidity!” he
admonished the youngest hobbit angrily.
Boom.
Boom.
The sound of drums
made everyone freeze.
“Orcs!” Legolas
cried as everyone drew a weapon of some kind.
Boromir ran to the
door, Katie hot on his heels, looking out to see which direction they were
coming from. Katie saw over a dozen
man-sized figures in rag-tag armor running their way… and behind them a huge
hulking creature that growled and roared.
Boromir pulled her back as two arrows whizzed just over her head,
shutting the doors quickly.
“They have a cave
troll!” he announced as Legolas began tossing long axes at them to bar the
doors with. Katie held the doors steady
while Boromir and Aragorn slid the axes into place.
“That’s a cave troll?!” she squeaked, remembering the
barreling shape. “I think I liked the
one in Harry Potter better!”
“Out of the way,
Kate!” Legolas commanded, aiming an arrow at the door.
She dashed away,
sprinting to the back where the hobbits stood in a small group. Even they had weapons… small swords and
daggers. Katie growled in frustration
and nabbed a frying pan from Sam’s pack.
“Perfect! We’re being attacked by monsters and I’m
defending myself with a skillet!” she mumbled under her breath as the orcs
began pounding on the door to break it down.
Several of the creatures fell before the door was ever shattered thanks
to Aragorn and Legolas’ arrows. But
once the wood splintered and fell, they were overrun. The grey-skinned, foul-smelling beasts attacked each member,
clumsy but strong enough in their numbers that the Fellowship was put to the
test. Katie, knowing that she stood
little chance against even one of them decided that climbing out of reach was
her best course. Few orcs noticed her
and those that did were easily knocked aside by the heavy pan she wielded.
A roar sounded,
shaking the stone walls and nearly knocking Katie from her perch. The cave troll ripped through the doorway,
sending shards of broken wood and rocks everywhere. Legolas was the first to wound him, sending an arrow straight
into the creature’s breast… but to no avail… it only served to anger him
further. Sam was forced to duck under
him to avoid being flattened. Gimli
showed remarkable agility in avoiding the blows from the huge mace it carried,
letting it instead hit inattentive orcs.
Katie saw Legolas
on a ledge across from hers, using his white-bladed daggers to fend off a pair
of orcs. The troll came at him, taking
advantage of the elf’s preoccupation.
“Legolas! Look out!” she screamed at the top of her
lungs. Legolas ducked just in time as
the troll swung the chain around his neck at him, cracking against the stone
wall and sending dust thick into the air.
Another swing and the chain caught on a pillar. Katie gasped in horror when Legolas used the
line to skitter across it and plant himself on the troll’s head.
“You idiot! Get down from there!” she shouted.
The elf ignored
her, shooting an arrow into the troll’s head, attempting to kill it. Still no effect other than pained fury as
the troll swung about, trying to dislodge the elf. Legolas jumped quickly, dashing out of reach. The troll spun around and about, trying to
focus on another target.
The hobbits!
Katie leapt over
the ledges, hoping to distract the troll, but it was no use… Frodo had caught
his one-track attention. His mace came
crashing down and Katie dragged Frodo to one side while Merry and Pippin darted
to the other. Together, she and Frodo
hid on one side of a pillar, dancing around it in a fearful panic, trying
desperately to avoid the troll’s detection.
No good… it caught them, grabbing Frodo by the legs while Katie held
onto his arms.
“Aragorn!” Frodo
yelled in a high, terrified voice.
The ranger flew
over, armed with a spear, challenging the troll as Katie hung onto to Frodo for
dear life. With her eyes squeezed shut,
she saw little of what happened. All
she knew was that she was shook lose and hurled across the room, hitting a
stone wall with a bone-jarring thud.
For a moment, the world swam with little whirling stars as she slumped
to the ground. By some miracle, she
managed not to faint, but pulled herself up shakily in time to see the troll
wield Aragorn’s spear and drive it forward… right into Frodo.
Merry and Pippin
were the first to react with action, throwing themselves at the troll and
landing on his head, beating him with their fists as hard as possible. Katie, overcome by anger, followed suit,
leaping onto the troll and climbing over his shoulders and head, shouting
obscenities that she did not know she knew how to use in context.
Merry was thrown
quickly, as was Pippin. Katie held
fast, noticing that Legolas was below, aiming an arrow sharply. With a superhuman pull, Katie reared back,
making the troll jerk his head back, his mouth open in a roar.
One perfect shot
and Katie could feel the strength suddenly leave the beast, stumbling and
crashing to the ground with an Elvish arrow lodged deep in its brain. Katie was flung off of his head, landing on
her back heavily, knocking the wind out of her lungs.
She groaned, lifting
herself up painfully as Legolas knelt next to her. “Are you hurt, Kate?” he asked earnestly.
“I’m… I’m okay I
think… just a little banged up… Frodo!” she suddenly remembered, watching
Aragorn turn the fallen hobbit over.
To her great
surprise he coughed and he looked around at everyone gratefully. “I am all right. I am not hurt.”
“We thought you
were dead!” Aragorn exclaimed. “That
spear would have skewered a wild boar!”
“I think there’s
more to this hobbit than meets the eye.” Gandalf winked.
Frodo smiled and
opened his shirt to reveal a silvery garment underneath. Gimli gasped. “Mithril! You’re full of
surprises, master Baggins.”
“Seems to run in
the family.” Jason grinned. “Can we get
out of here now?”
“Quickly!
Through the hall and to the bridge!” Gandalf ordered, leading them back
out in a dead run.
Katie stumbled, still jolted by the hits she
had taken, but kept up with everyone, spurred on by the screams and guttural
mumblings of more orcs. Even as she ran
for her life, she could see they were quickly being surrounded by hundreds,
possibly thousands of the dreadful things.
The circle around them was growing tighter, forcing them to slow and
come to a stand-stil.
Katie whimpered, her head against Legolas’
back as the orcs drew closer, their large, reptilian eyes gleeful with the
prospect of fresh blood.
“Legolas…” she whispered, her voice breaking
with tears. There was no way out of
this one.
“Katrina…” he whispered back, his tone much
the same, even as he readied his bow to fight these impossible odds.
A thunderous growl, a million times deeper
than the cave troll’s, shook the entire cavern, sending Katie to her
knees. The orcs screeched and panicked,
running, scampering up the pillars and into the deep cracks they had come from. Confused, Katie regained her footing and
stood out, watching a blaze of fiery light bathe the tall pillars red. Legolas’ hands aimed an arrow this way and
that at the fleeing orcs… but lowered it slowly as they all disappeared.
“Um… anyone… care to… explain?” she asked
softly as the rumblings drew nearer.