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Eliriel slowly opened her eyes after the crumbling noise stopped. Although despite opening them, there was nothing she could see but darkness. She could only hear the breaths of the Fellowship members as they all stood there, blind in the dark.
"We have now but one choice. We must face the long dark of Moria." Gandalf spoke in a grim tone.
He used his staff to create a small circle of light so that they could at least see where they were going.
"Are you hurt?"
Eliriel heard Legolas say from beside her. She turned her head to respond but then she noticed, he was still holding her hand.
She quickly shifted her hand away from his, feeling as it turned cool from the lack of touch.
"No." She tried to answer normally, praying that the small light from Gandalf's staff could not reveal her slightly flustered face. "Are you?" She asked the elven prince who shook his head in response.
"Are you sure Eliriel, that was quite a jump you did back there. You could have fallen into the water." Aragorn said in concern making the elleth turn to look at him now.
Eliriel just gave him a small smile. "I'm sure, Aragorn. As you can see I didn't fall into the water. But you of all people should know, that would not be enough to stop me." She gave him a playful smirk at the end.
Aragorn chuckled. "You're right, that was foolish of me."
Legolas watched the pair in slight confusion but soon followed them as they went after Gandalf, slowly making their way deeper into the dark caverns.
They moved through the many bones and skeletons on the ground. Sometimes Eliriel stepped on few bones, hearing a chilling crunch afterwards.
"Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world." Gandalf warned as he led the way.
Even with the light Gandalf provided, the place didn't seem less unsettling. Darkness and death surrounded them from all sides, the air was thick and heavy. All that could be heard was the steps of the Fellowship as they made their way up some stone stairs.
"Quietly now. It's a four day journey to the other side." The wizard warned again. "Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed."
Eliriel felt chills on her back again. She just hoped that they would soon get out of this place in one piece.
With Legolas in front of her and Gimli, the hobbits, Aragorn and Boromir behind, Eliriel finally made it up the stairs. None of them dared to speak even a whisper, too afraid of what may lurk in the dark corners of the mines.
As they walked over a stone bridge, Eliriel looked around and spotted a few ladders and mining equipment that were left abandoned, broken and dusty. She tried to imagine what the place would look like before evil found its way in. All the hustle and bustle around the mines, the laughter of the dwarves and all the gems that they discovered. It would have been full of life, but now it's only dark and empty.
