It took us the rest of the day to trek back down the mountain and towards the mines. My right side ached slightly from where I had fallen, but it was easy enough to ignore with Merry and Pippin chatting cheerfully next to me.
We progressed into the evening, moving from the mountainside to rocky, uneven ground below Caradhras. It was misty in the gloaming darkness across the jagged rocks which stretched for miles around us.
"Frodo, come and help an old man" said Gandalf from the front of the fellowship. Frodo stumbled forwards to meet him. "How's your shoulder?" Gandalf asked loudly. He bent down to hear Frodo's answer, and muttered something in reply. I hung back awkwardly and tried not to listen. Boromir, oblivious as ever, stumped loudly past them.
From in front of me, Gimli gave an awed gasp. "The walls of Moria". I turned to look and my eyes widened at the impressive structure in front of me. Merry and Pippin fell silent as the fellowship gazed in wonder. It looked like a giant, ancient cliff face, stretching into the sky almost as far as even my elvish eyesight could see. A long lake stretched across the walls, ghostly and deep.
We walked until we were right beside the sheer rock. I couldn't see the sky from here, and coupled with the mist, it made me feel constricted and trapped. Having spent so long under the stars, with the freedom to go wherever I wished, being trapped in a small space sent shivers down my spine.
"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed", Gimli explained. He tapped his axe on the rock along intervals in the wall as he spoke, evidently looking for the entrance into the mines.
"Yes Gimli" answered Gandalf "Even their own masters cannot find them, if their secrets are forgotten".
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" said Legolas from behind me. I turned around and rolled my eyes at him, but I couldn't resist laughing quietly as Gimli grumbled angrily at his comment. Legolas smirked back at me.
I jumped slightly and turned around as I heard a splash. Frodo had slipped into the water. Chastising myself for startling at such a thing, I carried on walking. However, looking into the water I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Something about it wasn't right. I took out my bow and, not wanting the others to worry, fiddled nonchalantly with the patterns on the wood.
Finally, we came to a gap in the wall, and Gandalf stopped. "Ithildin. It mirrors only starlight, and moonlight" he muttered, running his hand smoothly over the rock. As he turned around, a cloud shifted in the sky above and the moon lit the walls.
I gasped as a door was revealed, bathed in the light. A rounded archway with elvish inscription was surrounded by two swirling, detailed trees. A large star shape sat in the centre of these, and nearer the top of the doors there were seven, smaller stars surrounding yet another intricate symbol.
"It reads 'doors of Durin, lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter'" announced Gandalf, following the words with the point of his staff as he spoke them.
"What do you suppose that means?" asked Merry.
"Oh, it's quite simple" Answered Gandalf "If you are a friend you speak the password and the doors will open".
Gandalf pointed his staff at the doors, and said "Annon edhellen hedro hi ammen". The door remained closed. Gandalf tried a different phrase. "Fennas nogorthrim lasto beth lammen".
I raised my eyebrows questioningly at him and he shot me a frustrated glare.
"Nothing's happening" Pippin stated simply. Gandalf pushed his shoulder and hands against the doors, but quickly gave up.
YOU ARE READING
The Last Othellan
FanfictionAúthiel has always been alone. Her dark past is splattered with blood and she struggles everyday to live with what she has done. She depends on no-one, and trusts very few. However, when the wizard Gandalf asks her to go in his stead to assist fo...
