Not All Who Wander Are Lost (A Lord of the Rings fanfiction)

Chapter 4- Speak Friend and Enter

Chapter 4- Speak Friend and Enter

Right about the time my freezing hands regained their warmth, we reached the bottom of a steep slope where there seemed to be a great mass of stone surrounded by a murky, dark lake. There were several pillars inside the entrance, supporting the Mountain and stopping it from caving in. We followed the narrow path along the water's edge as we neared the mouth of the cave.

I gave a nervous glance at Aragorn, over my shoulder. "I can't go on," I muttered to him.

"You're going to be fine, Rayel. I won't leave your side; I promise," he smiled reassuringly. "Nothing will happen to you, while I still draw breath."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Legolas murmured, following our Companions into the large cavern.

There was a wall beside the path that I trailed with my fingertips, I was afraid the walls would inch forward and push me into the lake. I didn't mind water in general, but there was something rank and mysterious about this place. "Watch your step," Legolas warned, grabbing my wrist and warning me about the obstacle in my way. A small pillar had become buried beneath the soil, but if I had tripped, I would've hurt myself.

"Thank you," I nodded at my friend. "You have saved me once again."

"It's become a force of habit," he chuckled, following Gimli.

"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," the Dwarf informed Gandalf as the path widened and lead to large area, surrounded by the enormous lake. Gimli rapped his small throwing axe on the wall and listened for an echo.

"Then how do their masters manage to find them, if their secrets were forgotten?" Gandalf replied, searching the stone walls.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas muttered. He hated going into the Dwarven territory as much as the next Elf.

Frodo followed behind Aragorn and accidentally sloshing into the murky water. A look of panic engulfed his face and he stepped backward and into the wall. "Be careful, Mister Frodo," Sam said worryingly.

We all stood before the walls watching and looking for whatever an invisible door might look like. "Yes," Gandalf said, wiping the dust from a small rectangular shape. "Yes," he studied the strange markings and shapes on the stone before finally saying: "Itidin, only revealed in starlight and moonlight." He turned to face the sky, which surprisingly was fully in view and I realized that there was no cave ceiling here. The moon was hidden behind thick cloud cover, but as we waited patiently, the clouds dispersed and the light shone down onto the Door.

Suddenly, glowing blue outlines appeared, tracing the shapes, and revealing the hidden door. Along the top of the door were a series of runes that I could not understand.

"It reads," Gandalf said, pointing his staff at the glowing symbols. "The Door of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend and enter."

"What do you suppose that means?" Merry asked, looking about as surprised as I did.

"It's quite simple," Gandalf muttered. "If you're a friend, you speak the password and the doors open." Gandalf raised his hands confidentially and pressed the center of his staff to the star in the middle of door and chanted: "Edhellen, edro hi amen!"

But nothing happened.

Gandalf tried again, raising both arms and his staff above his head. "Fendis gofide, losto boriden!" he waited expectedly, but the door did not budge.

Gimli and the Hobbits exchanged a look and I glanced at Legolas who merely shrugged. Finally Pippin announced what we were all thinking: "Nothing's happened."