Estateillio

the Gates of Moria

• When night fell, Estateillio decided to head to the gates of Moria. She had searched the perimeter three times and was now fairly sure that they were safe.

• And so she snuck up to the fellowship and for a moment watched in amusion as Gandalf tried to open the doors. "Annon Edhellen, edro hi ammen!", he chanted, "Fennas Nogothrim, lasto beth lammen." But the stone wall remained unchanged, the gentle light of the Ithildin almost mocking them.

• "Nothing's happening", Pippin pointed out the obvious and Gandalf defended himself: "I once knew every spell in all the tongues of elves, men and orcs." "What're you going to do then?", the hobbit asked and the wizard exclaimed: "Knock your head against these doors Peregrin Took! And if that does not shatter them and I'm allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will try to find the opening words."

• That was as good a cue as she would get, Estateillio supposed, and so she quietly stepped out of the shadows and suggested: "Or you ask the one that was there during the door's creation and has passed through it many times."

• There was a whirlwind of motion as the fellowship jumped in surprise and their hands flew to their weapons, before they recognised her and relaxed again.

• "We are safe for the time being", she told them as she strode up to the gate and gently she ran a hand over the delicate Ithildin. "Let me", she said softly and Gandalf stepped back a bit.

• And because she was as dramatic sometimes as any Ñoldor, she launched into a long chant that was just a bit to quiet and fast to properly make out single words:

• "Andondi Khazad-Dûmo, valatëa ar halda tararllë an quantiéni, alatyarllë nauglar oronio. Nanerllë anna o Eldar, tanna nilmeo o Telperinquar, rendonya, an Narvi, málorya, ar illi nauglar. Cestan lé sí sa apantarllë, tier ecuvarnye pere Khazad-Dûm ar rehta endórë."

• And slowly, the doors swung open and the elleth stepped back to avoid being hit and a stench of death and decay wafted out of the darkness and it confirmed all of her suspicions and so she spoke quietly:

• "Here now lies the darkness of Moria, infested by orcs and goblins and other fell things. No friends will you find here, for they are all dead and long gone. Tread carefully and we might not join them. Four days the journey will take, I suggest we rest now, where there is still some sort of safety, before we brave the uncertainty of Moria."

• "That is, probably, a good decision", Aragorn agreed, for he too had smelled the death. And so they set up camp and they relieved Bill of his tack and split up all the supplies that the pony had carried and then they send him off to find his way back to Imladris or wherever it was he wished to go.

• Surprisingly, Merry and Pippin woke long before dawn and when Aragorn asked them about it, they simply said that the stench had woken them.

• They spent the time until their planned departure meandering around their little camp by the lake, which greatly aggravated Estateillio, because they created noise that might mask the steps of approaching orcs and the constant motions distracted the elleth slightly when she tried to feel down the tunnels, for she was on edge already and thus felt everything around her more clearly.

• And so it was no surprise that she eventually snapped at them and a bit sheepishly the two hobbits sat down at the lake and stared over the water. But as was common for younger folk, they grew bored very quickly and so Merry chucked a fist-sized rock into the dark water and the sound echoed through air.

• And Estateillio heard it, heard the rippling water and that was dangerous, they might wake the watcher, might enrage the watcher, and she turned all her senses to the lake so quickly that she felt dizzy for a second and she lunged at Pippin and grabbed his wrist before he could throw as well and quietly warned: "Don't."

• And they asked her why, but she didn't answer, to focused on finding out if the hobbits had brought them into danger. And there was a slight sliver of consciousness, slowly waking, and she yanked the hobbits away from the dark waters and hissed at Aragorn: "Wake the others."

• "What happened?", the ranger asked as he went over and woke Legolas with a simple touch to the prince's shoulder. "There is something on the water", she explained, "And it is waking."

• Quickly they rose everyone from sleep, filling them in on what had happened with hushed voices, and they gathered their belongings and entered the silence and darkness of Moria.

• "We must be quiet now and not make much light, lest we attract the attention of fell creatures. Remember well the light of the sun, we will not see it for four days", Estateillio spoke.

• And the watcher rose from the water and with its many tentacles lashed out at them, but the elleth triggered a hidden mechanism and the doors swung shut and cut off the tip of one of the long appendages.

• And the wet flesh glinted in the dim light of Estateillio and it was the only light source they had until Gandalf lit up a jewel at the tip of his staff, for the glow of Legolas was fainter and more subtle and barely there, for he was younger and of a less powerful line.

• "Let's make haste now", Gandalf suggested and because they all wanted to get out of the stifling darkness and away from the overwhelming stench of death and decay, they agreed and quietly they walked past the skeletons of fallen dwarf soldiers and goblins.

• And Estateillio and Gandalf lead them, for they had been there before, and Aragorn and Legolas brought up the rear and thus they started their long descend into the darkness of Moria.

[《◇》]
Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoyed! What Estateillio says is basically (with a few changes, because language is hard and I do not fully understand the concept sometimes): "Gates of Khazad-Dûm, proud and tall you have stood for centuries, protecting the dwarves of the mountains. A gift from the Eldar you were, a token of friendship from Telperinquar, my cousin, to Narvi, his friend, and all dwarves. I ask you now to open for us, so that we might pass through Khazad-Dûm and save middle earth." And she's speaking Quenya, because in my verse the Ñoldor kind of hate Sindarin and speak Quenya whenever possible and so they have this mechanism that will alert the dwarves in Khazad-Dûm, when there is someone opening the door with a Sindarin password, but when they do it in Quenya it doesn't trigger, and because Estateillio suspects that Moria might not be entirely safe, she chooses that option. Also, she doesn't just say the word (málo), because it's a door and doors have feelings too, especially magical ones.
AT