River of Stars

Chapter Seven

     "Soon, Master Elf," Gimli said, addressing Legolas. "You will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone. This is the home of my cousin Balin, and they call it a mine. A mine!"
     Gimli laughed heartily, but the others looked around at the state of the place. The only light was from outside, but the moon reflecting off the water lit a wide but crumbling tunnel. No fires were lit, no sounds came from within. It was abandoned. A dead city.
     "This is no mine," Boromir whispered. "It is a tomb."
     And indeed he was correct. Around their feet dwarven skeletons laid, still in their heavy armor. Swords and arrows stuck from their ribs and skulls, cobwebs bridging them together.
     "No..." Gimli cried desperately. "No! NO!"
     As he wailed over his fallen kin, Legolas knelt beside one of the skeletons, pulling an arrow from its chest and turning the thing over in his hands.
     "Goblins," he said. He rose quickly as the others drew their swords and Abis readied his shield, should any attack come.
     "We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here," Boromir said certainly. "Now, get out of here. Get out!"
     As he finished yelling his last words, the wails of the hobbits sent another wave of panic through Abis. The young ranger whirled around, taking off running to the water as he saw Frodo being dragged in by a long dark tentacle, the other hobbits trying desperately to pull him away.
     "Frodo!" They cried. Frodo scrambled at the ground with his hands, trying to fight against the strange monster. "Get off of him!"
     "Strider!" Abis yelled. He dropped his shield and pushed the hobbits back, grabbing Frodo the best he could and pulling away from the water. "STRIDER! ARAGORN!"
     Sam rushed forward and slashed at the tentacle with his sword. The monster let go just long enough for Abis to pull Frodo away from the water's edge, but as soon as one had retreated some ten more shot out. They shoved Abis and the hobbits away, grabbing Frodo once more and raising him into the air.
     Abis hit the stone wall hard, the breath being knocked from his lungs as he fell to the ground. He tried to rise, but only fell back gasping for breath he couldn't hold.
     He could only watch helplessly as Frodo fought against the monster. Legolas raised his bow, shooting an arrow at the tentacle holding Frodo, but it was intercepted by another just as quickly.
     "STRIDER!" The little hobbit screamed.
     Aragorn and Boromir fought forward with their swords, cutting at tentacles as fast as they came, slowly moving forward through the water. A horrible face rose from the pool, tentacles pulling Frodo to what Abis assumed was its mouth.
     As Abis regained control over his breath, he grabbed his shield from where it had fallen, rushing forward to the others, but Legolas pulled him back.
     "You are hurt, you cannot help them," he said. Abis nodded. It was blunt, but right, and what time and the situation offered them.
     He watched Boromir and Strider cut at the monster, and between the two of them the monster quickly lost its grip on the hobbit. Frodo fell into Strider's waiting arms, and the three of them ran back to the shore.
     "INTO THE MINES!" Gandalf shouted.
     "Legolas, Abis, into the cave!" Boromir yelled, pulling Strider and Frodo behind him.
     Legolas ignored him, raising his bow to shoot again at the monster as it reared. As soon as the arrow was leased, Abis grabbed Legolas firmly and dragged him inside.
     "Run!" Strider yelled at the hobbits, who still stood frozen at the doors.
     The hobbits turned and ran inside, followed closely by Strider and Boromir. The monster chased them from the water, crawling in a horrifying mass as it tried to reach through the Gates of Moria. They firmly slammed the gates shut. It was silent for a good moment after that, all of them sitting still in the pure dark. Abis let go of Legolas.
     "We now have but one choice," Gandalf said darkly, then he lit the tip of his staff, providing good light for the cavern. "We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard, there are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places in the world."
     Abis adjusted his grip on Attraverso, trying to shift his weight lower somehow. His chest, but mostly his back and side ached horribly. He didn't think something was broken, but he was still decently hurt.
     Legolas was the first to follow Gandalf, and Abis trailed close behind.
     "Quietly now. It's a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed."
     Gandalf led the Fellowship through the tunnels over strange winding pathways. Abis's side hurt with every step he took, making him wince.
     "The wealth of Moria was not in gold or jewels... but mithril," Gandalf said. He lowered his staff to show them how truly deep the mines went. Hundreds of feet down. "Bilbo had a shirt of mithril rings that Thorin gave him."
     "Oh, that was a kingly gift," Gimli marveled.
     "Yes," Gandalf laughed. "I never told him, but it's worth was greater than the value of the Shire."
     They kept walking deeper into the mine. Deeper and deeper, until they came to a set of tall and steep stairs. The Fellowship climbed these stairs, the hobbits stumbling frequently on the high steps. Nearer to the top, Abis himself tripped as the edge of the stone step crumbled beneath his feet.
     Legolas above him was quick to react, twisting around and pulling Abis back up before he could fall. Unfortunately, he had to grab the shoulder that had taken the most damage from his brief encounter with the wall.
     "SON OF A SUNFLOWER!" He shouted as his side screamed at him. Legolas looked at him oddly and he could hear Strider laughing at him from the back of the group.
     "What does that mean?" The elf asked. Abis didn't answer, pulling away quickly and tucking his arm beneath his cloak.
     "He's calling your father a haughty bastard," Strider called helpfully. That got chuckles from the rest of the party, especially Gimli.
     "Thank you Strider, that's enough," Abis yelled back at the ranger. He pressed past the stunned Legolas and joined Gandalf on the flat ground before two tall arches. A fork in the path. "Oh for sky's sake."
     Abis looked up at Gandalf, who was looking around in confusion.
     "I have no memory of this place..." he murmured. Of course he didn't.