Dragon Rider in Middle Earth

XI

Frodo begins to run but the troll blocks Frodo's path with its spear, throwing him back. The troll takes aim and stabs Frodo in the chest.

As the others pause in shock, Arya rushes forward and throws her dagger with pinpoint accuracy hitting its target and embedding itself hilt deep in the trolls shoulder. She did not want to kill it quickly. No. She wanted it to be slow.

The cave troll gapes at her in surprise.

Merry and Pippin glance at each other and their faces appear resolved. Gandalf is shocked.

The hobbits leap onto the beast, stabbing him mercilessly.

Gandalf only stares silently across the room, stunned.

The troll flails at its head and grabs Merry, swinging him around and throwing him to the ground. Gandalf and Gimli take turns stabbing at the troll and dodging out of range. Legolas takes aim.

Arya swings herself onto its shoulders having had enough of the beast and pulling its head back so that the troll opens its mouth. Legolas shoots his arrow up into the brain through the mouth of the troll.

The troll stops fighting and its hand fumbles towards its mouth where the arrow is. It stares upward, shocked.

With a long, pained moan, the troll collapses to the ground, dead. Pippin is thrown against the floor but Arya catches him. There is a moment of silence. All enemies are dead or have fled.

Gandalf rushes to Frodo, as do Aragorn and Arya.
Sam walks slowly over.

-Oh no!

Aragorn rolls the hurt hobbit over.Frodo groans, gasping for breath.

-He's alive!- Arya shouts, draping her arm around the two people closest to her, Boromir and Legolas, both equally as shocked as the other.

Gandalf sighs in relief.

-I'm all right, I'm not hurt.

-You should be dead! That spear would have skewered a wild boar- Aragorn said in amazement.

-I think there's more to this Hobbit than meets the eye.

Frodo opened his shirt to show them an undershirt made of white metal.

-Mithril! You are full of surprises, Master Baggins- Arya clapped the small hobbit's shoulder in relief. But the relief didn't last long.

The squeals of orcs are heard in the distance.

-To the Bridge of Khazad-dûm!- Gandalf led them away.

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The Fellowship runs out the chamber into a hall of pillars. They are closely pursued by an army of orcs that start to swarm the halls as other Orcs spring out from the floor or crawl, like spiders, from the ceiling and down the pillars.

Arya and Legolas shoot down some but there were too many of them, and they were in a very closed up space so she did not want to risk it.

They surround the Fellowship, who have drawn their weapons outward in a circle, their backs pressed against each other.
The orcs close in and Arya thrusts out her hand.

-Jierda! (Break!)- the Fellowship watches as the surrounding orcs' necks are bent in strange ways and they hear the snap of bones. They look at Arya in awe -I cannot do it again. I do not want to risk loosing much energy-she tells them.

Inside she groaned knowing she would have to explain later on.

The Orcs snarl and leer. Arya hears Gimli let out a yell as he attempts to charge them only for her to hold him back.

A fiery light appears at the end of a hall followed by a thunderous rumble. The orcs shift uneasily and then quickly flee in all directions. Gimli laughs, thinking he has scared off the Orcs. As the creatures climb back up the walls and columns and disappear in the darkness of the mines, the presence at the end of the hallway intensifies and Arya feels as though something extremely hot is pushing on her mind.

She nudges Gimli and the dwarf turns to see the light. The Fellowship are left alone by the orcs, but now they have something new tp worry about. The weary wizard stares down the hall.

-What is this new devilry?- Aragorn asks, readying his sword once more.

Gandalf does not respond for a moment. He closes his eyes, concentrating. The rumble is heard again and the press of a dark and old mind is against Arya's making her wince, her old Shade wound starting to throb again like it had not in a very long time.

Gandalf opens his eyes a frightened look which is usually not present in him can be clearly seen now reflecting in his eyes.

-A Balrog — a demon of the ancient world- The thing growls, still hidden around a corner of the vast hall, throwing fiery light on the pillars. Legolas's eyes also show foreign fear  -This foe is beyond any of you... Run!

He pushes the Fellowship to run to a small doorway. Gandalf shepherds them through quickly while turning to watch the light grow brighter.

-Quickly!

He takes a last glance behind him, and follows.
The Fellowship enters a passageway and goes down a flight of steps. The flight ends in a missing segment, and Boromir nearly falls but Legolas pulls him back.
His torch whirls away into the vast underworld beneath.

-Gandalf!- Arya calls for the wizard as whatever is approaching them gets nearer.

-Lead them on, Aragorn! The bridge is near!- he instructs the man at the lead of the group.

They look across a wide space to a long bridge spanning the gap between a hall and a cliff face. Away behind them, the Balrog roars again and Aragorn moves towards Gandalf, but Gandalf pushes Aragorn roughly away from him.

-Do as I say!- Hurt and confusion register on Aragorn's face -Swords are no more use here!

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