For Greater Things (An LOTR Fanfiction)

chapter 9

"Mellon"

A low rumbling went through the ground as the doors slowly swung inward, revealing a vast darkness within the mountain. Behind me I heard a slight splash in the water. I looked back across my shoulder at the water as everyone entered the mines. Gimli's voice echoed back to me from within the mines.

"So, master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the Dwarves; roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone." I turned back around and entered behind everyone. Blackness surrounded me , and a musty stench filled my nose. "This, my friend, is the home of my cousin, Balin.....and they call it a mine," he snorted, "A mine!"

Gandalf's staff starts giving off a glow, lighting up the place enough that we can see. I stopped in horror at what lay before me. Bodies littered the floor. Dwarven skeletons covered every space that we could see.

"This is no mine. It's a tomb." Boromir looks around in disgust and disbelief.

"Oh, no...no...no!"

Gimli's anguished cries filled the room. I walked up to him and placed my hand onto his shoulder. Movement to my right caused me to look at Legolas as he crouched down next to a carcass. Throwing away a poorly made arrow he sneered and stood back up with his bow at the ready. "Goblins!"

This caused everyone to grab their weapons and tense up, ready to go into action at any time.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan. We should never have come here!" Boromir starts backing up with his sword drawn and in front of him.

I suddenly had an overwhelming feeling come over me. I felt something was near; something dark and evil. Behind me, something fell with a thud and yells erupted in the air.

"Strider, help!" I turned quickly to see Frodo being dragged towards the water by a long slimy tentacle.

"Mr. Frodo!"

Everyone sprung into motion. Aragorn ran forward and chopped at the tentacle, freeing Frodo from a watery death. Suddenly, seven more large tentacles shot up out of the water towards us. One grabbed Frodo and swung him up, yelling, into the air.

"Frodo!" Yelling his name, I grab my daggers and run into the water with Aragorn and Boromir; trying to cut down the tentacles. I slashed and cut them, but it seemed to do nothing but anger the beast buried in the water. So far, I had seen no sign of air head, and I was glad of that. Something that has tentacles and anger issues is not something that I wanted to come face to face with. I felt something wrap around me and pull me up into the air.

"Andriel!"

I could hear my name faintly being called as I was thrown through the air. A few fleeting moments of feeling weightless and BAM! I went flying into the side of the cliff. Pain erupted through my side as I fell back onto the ground. I gasped for air and clutched my ribs. They felt terrible. I was sure I had broken at least one of them.

"Andriel, are you alright?" Legolas shouted over to me.

Grimacing, I nodded towards him, "Forget me! Get Frodo!"

Hesitating slightly, he turned back to the monster holding Frodo. I looked up and noticed that the monsters head had surfaced. A grotesque large head was above the water. Small beady eyes were sunken in it's large head. It opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar. Panic started closing in on me as I saw the tentacle grasping Frodo get closer to its mouth.

"Frodo." My voice was no more than a whisper as I struggled to stand up. A sharp pain ran through my torso, causing me to gasp. Looking down at my waist, I saw blood leaking through my tunic, staining the green fabric to an ugly brownish color. I saw my daggers laying a few feet away from me where I had dropped them. I pulled myself across the rocky shore towards them and resheathed them. Another deafening roar caught my attention as I saw Aragorn and Boromir cut off two of the beast's deadly arms. Frodo fell into Aragorn's arms.