The Lady of Rivendell

Chapter 25

Of course, Gimli being the stubborn creature he was, refused to let the three of them journey alone into the ravine and down the path of Dimholt. So he rode with Aragorn as they ventured into the darkness that actually was not as dark as they feared for soon the pathway opened up as the sun shone down on them.

"What kind of army would linger in such a place?" Gimli wondered as Legolas held Allora's hips as they rode and beheld the landscape of stone that surrounded them like a cage, preventing them from seeing the horizon and of what would happen in battle. In her absence, Allora's people and her army had been given instructions to follow the instruction of Eomer and Theoden until her return, for she would return.

"One that is cursed," Legolas answered.

"One that is dead," Allora added before her beloved began telling the story.

"Long ago, the Men of the Mountain swore an oath to the last king of Gondor, to come to his aid, to fight. But when the time came, when Gondor's need was dire, they fled, vanishing into the darkness of the mountain. And so Isildur cursed them, never to rest until they had fulfilled their pledge."

"And as Isildur's descendant, Aragorn is the only one that can release them of their curse," Allora pointed out, Aragorn still making no comment as they journeyed on.

Eventually, the path changed again as the passage became narrower and filled with dead trees, bare of leaves, flowers or fruit. And hidden beyond the trees was a doorway into the darkness of the mountain.

"The very warmth of my blood seems stolen away," Gimli whispered nervously as they dismounted their horses and began to walk as they approached the hole carved into stone.

"The way is shut," Allora said as she beheld the carvings in the stone above the door. "It was made by the dead. And the dead keep it. The way is shut."

And an eerie wind blew out from the caves as if it was exhaled as the horses bucked and pulled themselves free of Aragorn and Legolas' grips and went running back the way they came.

"Brego!" Aragorn called but the horse did not heed it as Allora swallowed her fear and gripped her sword in hand as she watched Aragorn turn to face the cave. "I do not fear death."

And he walked through the doorway and disappeared into darkness.

Allora looked to Legolas, and in case this truly was their last moments, she gave him a final kiss as she ignored Gimli's shocked exclamations. It seemed that the Dwarf was not as perceptive as he liked to seem.

Allora gave herself three seconds. Three seconds to stay in this moment and stay safe with the one she loved before she pulled away and returned to reality. And the Elvish Lady was the first after Aragorn to disappear into the darkness. And Legolas certainly wasn't about to let her go at it alone as he followed her in, the leaders of a people that cherished open and free woodland spaces, delved into the dark dwellings of the underground.

"Well, this is a thing unheard of," Gimli said as he hesitated. "Elves will go underground where a Dwarf dare not? Oh...oh, I'd never hear the end of it," he grumbled before he jogged in after them.

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Through the narrow passages they ran, Aragorn lighting the way with a flaming torch that Allora initially thought strange before she realised it was the place and not the fire. Nothing seemed right, nothing seemed natural. A red fire seemed to burn green and the darkness outweighed daylight for these stones had not seen the light of the sun in eons.

The caverns opened out to reveal an underground city of stone, where no living souls resided, only that of the dead and anguished.

"Who enters my domain?" hissed a male voice on the cold wind and they turned to see the silhouette of a king appear on a set of stone stairs.

"One who will have your allegiance," Aragorn answered.

His skin was dead and withered like that of a corpse, his hair stringy, his nose missing and his bones moving and a green aura about him as he growled back, "The dead do not suffer the living to pass."

"You will suffer me," Aragorn threatened and the ghost king cackled as the sound carried across the cave and an entire ghostly citadel shimmered into existence as an army of the Dead approached.

"The way is shut!" The king repeated. "It was made by those who are dead. And the dead keep it."

And more ghostly warriors materialised as the four living souls were completely surrounded.

"The way is shut. Now you must die," the king said as he approached.

Legolas fired an arrow, but it went straight through the king's face.

"I summon you to fulfil your oath," Aragorn said.

"None but the king of Gondor may command me," the king snarled as he cried out and struck with his sword only for Aragorn to raise Anduril and meet his blade. And the ghost king seemed shocked as Aragorn knocked his sword down. "That line was broken!"

Aragorn gripped the throat of the dead ghost as he groaned.

"It has been remade," the heir of Gondor replied as he held the blade to the king's throat. "It has been remade." And Aragorn shoved the king back as he beheld the ghosts. "Fight for us," he said, "and regain your honour. Or be destroyed by the light of morrowdim." Aragorn turned to Allora and nodded at her.

The Lady of Rivendell held Orothel in front of her, both hands clasped around the hilt as her eyes closed and she focused on calling forth the power that hummed within the blade, on setting it free, rather than calling the power within herself.

"Orothel, hear my cries,

Take the light from the morning skies,

In this cavern, let it shine,

To uphold an oath and break the enemy line!"

And for a moment, nothing happened until Orothel's blade began to glow and a sonic boom echoed across the cavern, letting stone dust crumble as the entire cavern was filled with light. This light, however, did no damage to the ghosts for two reasons. One, Allora had not asked for the ghosts to be destroyed and two, these ghosts were not their enemies. So this was merely for show, but as Allora summoned forth the light from within the sword in her mother tongue, she could feel the power inside that itched for millennium to be set free.

And as the light died down, her father had been right. Before, Allora had been summoning the light of the dawn and of the morning star from within herself, now, she was summoning it from within the blade of her sword. How the power of the morning star had been infused within metal over 3000 years ago, she didn't know, but she was grateful to her ancestors that created the weapon.

Legolas hid his concern well as the light faded, but when he saw that Allora was just fine as she marvelled at her sword, he smiled internally as he kept his cold, battle-hardened exterior on.

"What say you?" Aragorn asked the ghosts as he walked amongst them. "What say you?"

"Ah! You waste your time, Aragorn," Gimli insisted. "They had no honour in life, they have none now in death."

"I am Isildur's heir," Aragorn continued. "Fight for me and I will hold your oaths fulfilled. WHAT SAY YOU?!"