Green Cloaks || Legolas

Nineteen

The party hurried out into the hall. Around them, they could hear the screeching of orcs and the echoes of drums. Dim lights were beginning to appear in the tunnels and they broke into a sprint. Lungs burning as they ran through the caverns. Through the dark and round corners. Gandalf in the lead, Luin bringing up the rear. His two swords flying at their sides at the ready.

Luin let out a startled cry as he glanced up and saw orc faces grinning at him. They were climbing down from the ceiling. Grey bodies scaling down the pillars like spiders. Hundreds and hundreds of them quickly surrounding them. The party stopped suddenly, Luin almost colliding into Aragorn's back as they halted. The orcs had surrounded them. The horrible scaly creatures all chattering and screeching in a terrible cacophony of echoing noise. Luin turned to face them. His two swords glowing and sparking with blue energy as he glared at his opponents.

Then another, much deeper, louder growl echoed through the room. It was a rumbling noise, not one made by any cave troll. The party watched in astonishment as the orcs went silent for a second. Then they were running. Grey bodies climbing back up the pillars and disappearing into the dark just as quickly as they came. On the other side of the hall, a red glow of fire was just about visible. Luin felt his stomach drop. This was the creature Gandalf had told him about. Ah, they were screwed.

"Run!" Gandalf bellowed. No one questioned him. They all began sprinting through the hall. Luin and Boromir in the lead. They burst through a doorway and into another cavern. Then Boromir halted, torch dropping out of his hands and into the dark below. The path cut off abruptly into nothing but a sheer drop. Luin cursed. Dwarves and their lack of walls or handrails.

He grabbed Boromir by the back of his shirt and pulled him back onto solid stone. "Thanks", the man breathed. Luin shoved him towards the stairs. The whole party hurrying down them. Luin watched them go past then promptly stepped off the drop. He fell no more than a couple of feet before his swords caught him. Once he had his balance, he flew after the party.

The stairs were broken about halfway down. Legolas nimbly jumped the gap. Behind them, the stone shook as the creature broke through the doorway. It's roar thundering. "Gandalf", Legolas called. The old wizard jumped, Legolas steadying him as he landed.

"Luin! Archers!" Boromir cried out as black arrows glanced off the stone. Luin twisted on his sword and pulled another talisman free from his robes. He held it up and activated it with a spark. A shimmering shield of energy about six meters wide expanded before him. The black arrows collided with it and promptly bounced off.

"I can't fly people and keep this shield up", he called behind them. This talisman needed a flow of controlled spiritual energy. Luin had to concentrate intensely to keep both his sword aloft and the shield powered. It made him grit his teeth.

"Merry, Pippin". There was a grunt as Boromir picked up the two hobbits and threw them across. Legolas and Gandalf catching them. The stone shook again as the creature growled. The stone stairs crumbled. The gap between the two halves of the fellowship growing bigger.

"No body tosses a dwarf", Gimli snapped as Aragorn reached to throw him. The dwarf leapt, only just about making it. Legolas grabbing him by the beard to pull him away from the edge. "Not the beard!" Luin would have laughed if everything wasn't so terrifying. More arrows collided against his shield and he grunted.

Behind them, the creature snarled. The stone shaking under it's steps. Some of the falling debris hit the stairway and the structure cracked. Only Frodo and Aragorn were still yet to cross the gap. The stone they were standing on began to wobble as its base cracked. Luin spared a glance over his shoulder. "Lean forwards", he called. "Use your weight". Aragorn and Frodo both leaned forwards and the stone hit the rest of the stair case. Both of them tumbling into the rest of the fellowship as the previous stairs crumbled into the dark.

The party picked itself up and began running again. Luin dispelling the shield to fly after them. At the bottom of the stairs he dismounted and the sword shot back into it's sheath. His brow was dotted with sweat and his spiritual energy was low. Too many powerful talismans in a short period of time having drained him. Legolas caught him by the wrist and pulled him into a run after the others. "Across the bridge!" Gandalf called. They were so close to the exit that Luin could see a glimpse of daylight. Only a narrow stone bridge across a chasm remained.

Boromir with Merry and Pippin were across first. The narrowness of the bridge forcing them to go in single file. Then Gimli and Sam. Legolas pulled Luin across after them. Both of them running too fast to care about the sheer drop on each side. By the time they were with the others, Luin was panting with exhaustion. They paused to wait for the others. "It's a Balrog", Luin gasped as the creature finally showed it's face. It loomed out of the fire. A hulking thing of glowing black embers. It's long neck similar to that of a dragon but the two twisted horns on its head were that of a ram. The rest of its body obscured by smoke and flames. Gandalf standing before it with his sword ready. The wizard nothing more than a grey silhouette.

The Balrog roared and Gandalf turned and ran. Then he stopped halfway across the bridge and turned. Luin wanted to scream at him to move. The creature was coming. But Gandalf didn't. "You cannot pass!" He shouted at the hulking creature.

"Gandalf!" Frodo called. Aragorn pulling himself away from the bridge.

The balrog growled, more fire bursting around it. Luin could hear Gandalf muttering a spell. The words too faint to make out. Gandalf raised his staff and a white light formed a circle around him. The blaring struck it with it's whip, the weapon a sharp tongue of pure fire, and the shield disintegrated. "Go back to the shadow", Gandalf cursed. He raised up his staff. "You shall not pass!" The wood hit the stone with a crack and white light burst from the contact. The balrog took a step and the bridge crumbled beneath it. The fire disappearing into the dark, leaving Gandalf standing on the edge.

The wizard made to turn to them, the danger now apparently over, when the whip flicked up. It caught Gandalf by the led and pulled him back. His staff and sword dropping from his hands and tumbling into the dark. Luin burst forwards towards his mentor but two arms caught him round the waist. He struggled in their hold. No! No! No! No! He had watched so many die. He couldn't loose his mentor, the closest thing to a father figure he'd had since the death of his parents. Gandalf caught the edge of the stone and tried to pull himself up.

"Gandalf!" Frodo was screaming. Luin couldn't get the words out.

"Fly you fools". Then Gandalf was falling. His shape disappearing after the balrog.

"No!"

Unedited