One Geek to Rule Them All

A Song in the Dark

His watch was nearly over, when, far off where he guessed that the western archway stood, he fancied he could see two pale points of light, almost like luminous eyes. He started. His head had nodded. I must have nearly fallen asleep on guard, he thought. I was on the edge of a dream. He stood up and rubbed his eyes, and remained standing, peering into the dark, until he was relieved by Legolas.

When he lay down, Frodo quickly went to sleep, but it seemed to him that the dream went on: he heard whispers, and saw the two pale points of light approaching slowly. He woke and found that the others were speaking softly near him, and that a dim light was falling on his face. High up above the eastern archway through a shaft of light near the roof came a long pale gleam; and across the hall through the northern arch light also glimmered faint and distantly.

Frodo sat up. "Good morning!" said Gandalf. "For morning it is again at last. I was right, you see. We are high up on the east side of Moria. Before today is over we ought to find the Great Gates and see the waters of Mirrormere lying in the Dimrill Dale before us."

"I shall be glad," said Gimli. "I have looked on Moria, and it is very great, but it has become dark and dreadful; and we have found no sign of my kindred. I doubt now that Balin ever came here."

"... I'm afraid he did," said Devin slowly. "And you must brace yourself, Gimli, for what I fear we will find before we reach the Gates." She hoped in telling him now that it might lessen the shock he would receive later on, if not the grief.

"You speak in riddles, much like a wizard," said Gimli. "Can you not speak more plainly?"

"I'm sure she would if she could. But you must not pressure her to speak of what does not she feel safe to give freely. Ignorance can be better sometimes than to have too much knowledge with not enough wisdom," said Gandalf. "Which reminds me, someone really should wake Kitty. That girl has slept long enough. There is a puddle of drool on the floor!"

"We've tried everything short of screaming in her ear, but nothing is working," said Pippin.

"Don't worry, I know how to get her up," Devin said. Without her alarm or ice only one thing could get Kitty up when she was like this. She reached over, and used one hand to pinch Kitty's nose shut and the other to cover her mouth. After a few seconds Kitty finally stirred, startled awake by the sudden realization that she couldn't breathe. Devin quickly removed her hands, and Kitty bolted upright, gasping for air as if she hadn't breathed in years.

"Holy crap!" Kitty cried. "How many times do I have to tell you not to do that! Do you have any idea how scary it is to wake up to the feeling of being murdered?"

"Don't be such a drama queen. You know I'd never really kill you," Devin reminded her with a frown.

"Though some might be tempted," Boromir muttered under his breath. Unfortunately, Kitty heard him.

"Why don't you do everyone a favor and go find out what it smells like underwater?" she growled, narrowing her eyes dangerously at him.

"Okay, time out," Devin said, stepping in before it escalated to violence. "I'm sure we're all just cranky because we're hungry, so let's not draw any blood until we've at least had some breakfast."

After they had breakfasted Gandalf decided to go on again at once.

"We are tired, but we shall rest better when we are outside," he said. "I think that none of us will wish to spend another night in Moria."

"No indeed!" said Boromir. "Which way shall we take? Yonder eastward arch?"

"Maybe," said Gandalf. "But I do not know yet exactly where we are. Unless I am quite astray, I guess that we are above and north of the Great Gates; and it may not be easy to find the right road down to them. The eastern arch will probably prove to be the way that we must take; but before we make up our minds we ought to look about us. Let us go towards that light in the north door. If we could find a window it would help, but I fear that light comes only down deep shafts."

Following his lead the Company passed under the northern arch. They found themselves in a wide corridor. As they went along it the glimmer grew stronger, and they saw that it came through a doorway on their right. It was high and flat topped, and the stone door was still upon its hinges, standing half open. Beyond it was a large square chamber. It was dimly lit, but to their eyes, after so long a time in the dark, it seemed dazzlingly bright, and they blinked as they entered.

Their feet disturbed a deep dust on the floor, and stumbled among things lying in the doorway whose shapes they could not at first make out. The chamber was lit by a wide shaft high in the further eastern wall; it slanted upwards and, far above, a small square patch of blue sky could be seen. The light of the shaft fell directly on a table in the middle of the room: a single oblong block, about two feet high, upon which was laid a great slab of white stone.

"It looks like a tomb," muttered Frodo, and bent forwards with a curious sense of foreboding, to look more closely at it. Gandalf came quickly to his side to read the runes deeply engraved on the slab:

"These are Daeron's Runes, such as were used of old in Moria," said Gandalf. "Here is written in the tongues of Men and Dwarves:

BALIN SON OF FUNDIN
LORD OF MORIA."

"He is dead then," said Frodo. "I feared it was so." Gimli cast his hood over his face.