For Greater Things (An LOTR Fanfiction)

chapter 10

"We have but one choice...we must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard," Gandalf said as he turned inwards towards the deeper parts of the mine, "There are darker and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world."

That said, he turned and started shuffling into the darkness; the rest of the Fellowship following behind him. I was still a bit shaky on my feet from the loss of energy.

"Can I walk with you, lass?" Gimli asked.

I smiled down at him and nodded my head in answer. Silently, we walked through the dark mines. The soft glow of Gandalf's staff was the only source of light available to us. We walked on for hours in complete silence. Even the ever talkative Pippin seemed to realize the importance of keeping quite in this dangerous hole in the ground. After two days in the mines, (at least what I think has been two days) we came to a small room with three doors leading in different directions. Gandalf stopped in front of the paths and stared with a confused look on his face. I was barely able to pick up his mumbled words.

"I have no memory of this place."

"It's time for a rest anyway, Gandalf." I walked up to him and stood close enough that I could whisper and be heard. "The Hobbits are growing weary and need rest."

He sighed and looked at the four Hobbits huddled together. Their faces were dirty with sweat and clumps of dirt here and there, but a look of determination was also evident. "You're right. Let us rest here for the time being."

We all plopped down on the hard rock floor to rest our weary bodies. All, that is, except me and Legolas. Our stronger bodies allowed us to go many hours without any rest. I watched as Gandalf sat heavily down onto a large rock and took out his pipe. A small flame shot out from the tip of his finger as he lit the tobacco.

I leaned against the wall in a corner away from everyone else. My body may not be tired, but my mind was beginning run down. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the wall with my arms crossed. My mind keeps returning to my powers. The constant worry of having to hide them was slowly getting to me. I knew that if Sauron found out about me, he would do all that he could to harness my power; and with the Ring being close by constantly, I was starting to feel it trying to grasp my mind. It could feel the power flowing through me; a power that it knew could bring it back to Sauron's hand. An ache started to settled in my skull the longer I tried to fight it.

The sudden feeling of eyes watching me pulled me from my thoughts. Nonchalantly, I opened my eyes and stretched my arms above my head as I looked around the small dark room. My eyes landed on a tall figure in a dark corner of the room. He stood against the wall with his arms crossed and a thoughtful look on his face as he stared right at me. It was almost as if he didn't notice what he was doing. I walked over to him and watched as his eyes followed me the entire way.

"Is something wrong?"

Something flashed in his eyes at my words as he stared into my eyes.
"I should be asking you that."

Regret filled me at the reminder of my powers being out in the open. I glanced down, unable to withstand his intense stare. "I'm fine." I looked back up and forced a smile onto my face; though I'm sure it came out as more of a grimace. His eyes roamed my face as he searched for any of my wounds.
Of course, he wouldn't find any. My powers were strong and made sure to heal every wound visible on my body. He finally stopped and let a small smile slip onto his face.

"I'm not overly fond of caves," he said as he looked around the dark enclosure. I was caught off guard by his sudden change in topic, for I had expected him to keep pressing the subject of my injuries.

Slight confusion knitted my brows together at his words. "Well, no, I suppose not. Not many Elves are fond of being underground in the dark."

"Yes, I much prefer the trees to this wet hole in the ground," he replied with a smile.

"Better not let Gimli hear that. According to him, Dwarven mines are just about the best place to be." I laughed slightly as I saw Gimli glaring in our direction.

"Ah! It's that way." Gandalf stood and started walking towards one of the paths.

Legolas and I walked over towards the Hobbits and helped them to their feet, as the Fellowship walked behind Gandalf.

"How do you know which way to go, Gandalf?" Merry asked.

"When in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose," he said as he tapped the tip of his nose.

The Fellowship walked on through the dark mines in silence. We made our way through a doorway and found ourselves in a large dark cavern.

"Let us risk a little more light." Gandalf's staff became slightly brighter and lit up the room a little more.

Awe swept over me at the sight that lay before us. Large stone pillars jutted up from the ground and plunged into the ceiling above us. The room was so large that we could not see the end of it in the small amount of light provided.

"Well, that's an eye opener there's no doubt about it," said Sam in a small quiet voice.

It was at that moment I turned and noticed a small room off to the side with a soft light glowing inside. Gimli noticed it as well, and with a sharp intake of air, ran in that direction.

"Gimli!" I took off after him with the rest of the Fellowship not far behind.

We stepped into a small room littered with decaying bodies and crumbled columns. Cobwebs and dust covered every surface in a thick blanket. In the center of the room, lay a stone oblong coffin with a single beam of light shining down on it. Gimli was kneeling in front of it with his hands holding his head.

"No...no...oh, no!"

Sympathy rushed over me at the sight of the hardened dwarf sobbing. I laid my hand on his shoulder as I crouched down next him.

" 'Here lies Balin, son of Fudin.' He is dead then. It is as I feared," Gandalf said after he read the runes carved into the top of the coffin.

Movement caught my attention as I saw Gandalf bend over a rotting corpse. Handing his hat and staff to Pippin, he brushed aside a skeletal hand and picked up a crumbling book from the lap of the corpse. He blows dust off the cover and starts to carefully turn the brittle pages.

I look towards Legolas and Aragorn, barely picking up Legolas' concern of us staying any longer in our location.

" 'They have taken the Bridge and the second hall; we have bared the gates'," I watched as Gandalf squinted, trying to read the words through the dried blood covering the pages. " 'But cannot get out...the ground shakes...drums in the deep. A shadow in the darkness. Will no one help us? They are coming.' "

An ominous atmosphere settled around us as Gandalf read from the Scribes book. Everyone shuffled around glanced at their surroundings nervously. I whip around at the sound of a loud banging echoing behind me. Pippin stood next to an old well with a headless corpse leaning against it. With every bang, Pippin would wince more and more. Finally the noise ceased. We all stood there anxiously, waiting to see if it had disturbed anything still alive in the mines. Everyone held their breathes as an eerie silence followed.

"You fool of a Took!" Gandalf jerked his things away from a fearful Pippin. "Why don't you throw yourself in and save us some trouble?!"

Pippin looked down in shame as we all seemed to take in a collective breath of relief. But our relief was short lived. A low rumbling started coming from the deepest parts of the mine. My blood ran cold as I heard it. The low rumbling in the deep.

The drums in the deep.

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Oh, I am so sorry that it took so long for me to update again. My life is a bit hectic right now. I've been sick and I have a grandad that just had surgery and my grandmother is really sick so we have been taking turns staying with them. But I want to thank the ones that are still reading this story and I'm going to do my best to get another chapter up in the next couple of days. It will be easier to write this next week because I'll be on spring break. Anyways, love yall and peace!!