Estateillio

Drums in the Deep

• So far down, there wasn't supposed to be a lot of light and so when Estateillio felt some bright rays against her consciousness, she knew where they were and that the exit wasn't too far away.

• The light came from outside, through a system of small tunnels and mirrors and it shone into a small room, directly onto a block of white stone, and Gimli saw it and recognized it for what it was and he cried out and ran towards it and Gandalf called after him, but the elleth already followed the dwarf and so did the others, for though they might not recognise a dwarven tomb, they knew grief when they heard it spoken so obvious.

• "No", Gimli wailed, kneeling down in front of the stone and bowing his head, and Estateillio stood next to him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, for she too had known the one buried here and she read aloud the inscription, so the others would understand their companion's sorrow, for often had the dwarf told them about his cousin and when the elleth had regaled tales about Smaug, she had named the old dwarf as one of their wisest: "Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria."

• "He is dead then", Gandalf added, removing his hat, "It is as I feared." And Gimli mourned with Estateillio a steady support at his side, for she knew his pain from centuries long gone, that keening loss of someone held dear, one that would never truly fade, but stays forever as a reminder of their love - whatever form it might have taken.

• And she let Gimli mourn for his cousin and his fallen kin, lest he bury that wound and let it fester and he would forever carry it. For though many thought dwarves to be prideful and only caring about themselves and their own gain, the children of Aulë felt very strongly and were compassionate and sensitive towards each other.

• Meanwhile, Gandalf carefully extracted an old tome out of the skeleton hands of a dead dwarven scribe that was leaning against Balin's tomb and he carefully opened the old book and thumbed through the dusty and brittle pages in hopes of finding what had transpired here in Khazad-Dûm.

• And with growing trepidation the Istar read aloud the last entry: "They have taken the Bridge and the second hall.  We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming."

• The words awoke a great uneasiness in Estateillio and she cast out her mind again, having retreated into her body while traversing the great hall to save some energy in the knowledge that there were no threats nearby, and she resumed her watch and she reached out as far as she could again, until her immediate surroundings were to her no more than vage shapes and she found nothing of interest and the only thing that worried her was the well, for it went deep and might funnel noise to foul beasts hiding in the dark.

• But they had been rather quiet, still wary of the danger, though the sight of sunlight after almost four days of darkness had calmed their nerves, and so she decreed that they may tarry a bit longer and rest a bit, before braving the last part of their journey through Moria and whatever perils might await them on the eastern side of the Hithaeglir before they could enter the safety of Lothlórien.

• But alas, in her state of barely-there and in the other's trepidation and growing alarm, they did not pay attention to their youngest.

• Perhaps it was fate or meddling Valar who wished for their maia to return to them and did not care if others died in the process or perhaps it was just sheer curiosity and naivety that drove Pippin to reach out and touch a skeleton that was perched precariously on the well, but it happened and it collapsed slowly and fell down into the deep abyss and the loud clangs as it hit the walls echoed through the stuffy air, alerting everything within a mile or two of their presence.

• And Estateillio jerked back into her body, reaching for her swords, before she realised that it had only been Pippin from his guilty expression and Gandalf's angry shout: "Fool of a Took!" And the Istar grabbed his hat and staff that he had entrusted the hobbit with earlier and he continued to scold him: "Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity!"

• And Estateillio, perceiving that Pippin felt guilty for the incident, let it drop and instead told the fellowship: "We cannot stay here. The noise has alerted everything within a two mile radius, though I cannot tell yet how great our threat is, for the stone is thick and deep asleep and does not help me as much as the wind who often brings me warnings."

• And then a sound resonated in the air, a low, dull thump that set their nerves on edge, one that would travel far, and another followed and after a short pause there was an answer and back and forth it went, increasing in speed and volume. Drums, drums in the deep and already Estateillio could feel the first goblins on the edge of her mind with which she felt for their attackers and possible escape routes.

• "There's a good news and a bad news. The good news is that they are not yet too numerous, I have fought off worse on my own. The bad news is that they are coming from all directions, blocking the tunnels", she reported, conversationally almost, "Our best chance is to stay here and defend this room, for they cannot swarm us like they could in the hall."

• And Aragorn agreed with her and so the two elves and the men started barricading the door with old axes that lay around, while Gimli gathered himself again and Gandalf instructed the hobbits on what to do during the fight.

• And Estateillio put a simple spell on the door, one that was tightly bound to an object and not as loose and unbound as battle magic that due to its nature could be felt far away, and thus it was safe to use and then she stood between Legolas and Boromir, bow in hand and preparing to shoot anything that came through the doors despite the burns a touch with the old wood would cause.

• And then they waited for the goblins to arrive and had Estateillio still been casting out her mind, she would have felt the stirring of another, shadow and flame slowly awakening in the deep dark.

[《◇》]
Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoyed!
I love how these shorter chapters (~1000 words) basically force me to do cliffhangers. Not that you don't know what happens next, because you've all read/watched LotR (right?) and we've not yet reached the Canon Divergence parts, but because it's just so dramatic and leaves you (very satisfyingly, even if done a bit poorly) on edge.
Also, I just rewatched FotR and I noticed that in Moria, Legolas is occasionally clutching his bow to his chest like he's seeking comfort in the tunnels. Perhaps they remind him of his home?
Anyways, I'm rambling.
AT