May it Be | THE LORD OF THE RINGS 🖋

.19. The Bridge of Khazad-dûm

*UNEDITED*

Deirdre's POV

'To the Bridge of Khazad-dûm,' Gandalf said after giving us a few minutes to recover from the battle.

One by one, we all left the dreaded tomb and followed Gandalf down through another tunnel which opened up in to a large room, much like the previous one with an incredibly high ceiling and large columns everywhere. The sound of orcs following us was ever present; Moria had come back to life with the sounds of the foul creatures who now called the old Dwarven kingdom home. 

As I glanced backwards, I noticed that countless orcs where in fact chasing us. They were climbing out of cracks in the floor and in the ceiling, then climbing down the great columns. Shortly after, we were forced to stop, as we were completely surrounded by orcs. Boromir, Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli and I still had our sword drawn and at seeing the orcs, the Hobbit too redrew their swords while Legolas readied his bow.

We were surrounded, outnumbered and our bodies already ached from the previous battle.

Suddenly, a great roar rang out from a nearby archway which was glowing red. The orcs looked around at one another in worry and fear. The roar echoed out again over the great hall and to my surprise, it caused the orcs to  screech in terror and scatter.

I heard Gimli give a hearty chuckle but was silenced as we heard yet another deep roar. Looking towards the archway where the sound was emanating from, I noticed that the red glowing light was becoming brighter.

'What is this new devilment?' Boromir asked in a hushed tone.

Gandalf closed his eyes to concentrate for a moment. While we waited for the wizard to speak, I looked upon the faces of the four Hobbits. They were terrified, and rightly so. Looking at Aragorn, I saw the same fear and worry in his eyes which I was then feeling.

By the time Gandalf had reopened his eyes, the red glow was now entering the large room. What ever the light source was, it was getting closer.

'A Balrog, a demon of the ancient world...' Mithrandir said, 'Its foe is beyond any of you. RUN!'

Following Gandalf's orders, we all ran as fast as we could in the opposite direction of the light source. Boromir raced ahead, running down a set of steps two at a time. Suddenly,  the steps came to an end and Boromir found himself teetering on the edge of a chasm. Thankfully, Legolas managed to grab the Gondorian and pull him back away from the edge. I stopped the hobbits from getting too close to the edge as Aragorn and Gandalf reached the rest of us.

'Mithrandir!' I said as I looked upon Gandalf's face with concern.

To the right of us there was another set of narrow stairs which led to a stone path.

'Lead them on Aragorn,' Gandalf said to Aragorn, 'The Bridge is near!'

The others moved quickly down the stairs but Aragorn and I stayed behind with Gandalf. The narrow path gapped the two sides of the chasm and up ahead there was an arched shape bridge.

The red light drew closer as another roar rang out.

'Do as I say!' Gandalf yelled, pushing Aragorn down towards the stairs, 'Swords are of no more use here.'

As Aragorn scurried away, Gandalf grab my arm to hold me in place.

'Whatever happens, remember to keep moving forward. Never look back and always follow your heart. Always.'

I stared at my old friend in confusion.

'Do you understand?' He asked as he shook me slightly. Unable to speak, I simply nodded in response before Gandalf dragged me down the stairs and towards the others.