Merry woke with his face pressed against the cold, wet ground, and he couldn't see a thing. He was surrounded by the pitch black, and all he could hear was a feint dripping sound to the left of him. Shuddering slightly, Merry went to sit up, but immediatly put his hand to his head as a shooting pain flashed through his temples. After carefully lifting himself up slightly, Merry began to feel his way around, his fingertips running carefully across the damp rock beneath him. The seconds dragged past in the dark, before Merry remembered why he was there.
"Mallyra? Lothiri?" he called out, hoping to get some form of response from the emptiness. A rock to the left of him shifted, making Merry freeze to the spot. Before he could back away, there was a spark of light and then the welcoming flame of a torch. Merry blinked as his eyes ajusted to the light, squinting to get a look at the person behind the flame. To his delight, he saw the thin, elongated figure of the she elf, her sliver hair flickering gold in the glow of the light.
"Thank goodness it's you," Merry breathed, as Lothiri helped him to his feet. "Where are we? and Where's Mallyra?" he asked, placing his hand to his head. Lothiri looked down awkwardly at Merry,
"I'm not sure where we are, Merry.. but I'm certain Mallyra can't have landed very far away from where we did." she answered, shining her torchlight against the walls of the cave like structure into which they had fallen. It appeared as if they had fallen through a gap in the tunnel which Elurka had created for herself, and landed in a small network of even smaller smooth walled corridors. To their delight, the two soon noticed that there were more torches placed along the walls, and within a few minutes, they had tamed the darkness into the far end of the corridor.
With the corridor lit up, it didn't take Lothiri long to use her exceptional eyesight to locate the other hobbit. Mallyra was just beginning to regain consciousness when they found her curled against what looked to be a pillar, with only a few minor cuts and bruises. As Merry pulled Mallyra to her feet, Lothiri drew a sharp breath. As the hobbit was lifted from her spot, a symbol which had been carved into the pillar became visible. Merry watched the elf closely, while also trying to keep Mallyra on her feet. Lothiri then began to search around the cavern frantically, muttering something to herself, and was in no way trying to help heal her companions.
"Lothiri!" Merry barked, immediately drawing the attention of both the elf and Mallyra. "What in middle earth are you looking for?!" he asked, a new found tone of authority creeping into his voice. Lohiri looked down at the two hobbits in front of her, both clearly puzzled by her odd behaviour. After sighing loudly, Lothiri looked across at the far end of the corridor.
"I just.. it's hard to explain, Merry. We've landed in a place which I had long since forgotten about. It holds bitter memories for me, as it is the place where I became myself as I am today. I fear that if we wander too far.." she didn't have time to finish her sentence before Mallyra quietly butted in.
"We have no other way of getting out of here, Lothiri. We must press on." She urged, looking up sympathetically at the she elf. Over the last few months, Mallyra and Lothiri had developed some form of friendship, unlike that she had with anyone else. The elf understood her fears, as she provided cheerful and welcome company for the otherwise lonesome elf. However, Mallyra had also watched the elf change. Lothiri was not the same elf she had been when they had first met. She now showed emotions, concern and worst of all, fear. Now, in a corridor deep below the surface, Lothiri seemed to be the most terrified she had ever been, and this fact alone produced an icy sickness in Mallyra's stomach.
The silence was shattered by Merry clearing his throat, before untightening his bag straps and removing a map from a small pocket. "We're somewhere under here," he said quietly, pointing to a range of mountains on the map. "And if I'm not mistaken, there was a small stream of water running downwards from here. The water must be coming from somewhere, and I suggest that if we wish to get the surface, we must go the opposite way to which it is running." he continued, watching as both Mallyra and Lothiri agreed in unison. With that settled, Merry placed the map back into his bag and began to confidently walk down the corridor ahead. Following him directly were Mallyra and then behind her, Lothiri.
They continued down the corridor, unil it met with the mouth of a large cavern. Lothiri removed an unlit torch from the wall, and then used the flames from one of the torches in the corridor to light it. Their eyes were met by light stone walls, one of which was smoother than the rest. Lothiri had barely made it into the chamber in front of them, before she felt herself begin to shake. The walls were painted with red and black tribal pictures of dragons and men.
"The war of the dragons.." Merry breathed. Mallyra turned and looked at him curiously, before turning her attention back to the wall. Lothiri was pale in the face, as her green eyes darted across the smudged pictures.
"These are ancient.. before your time. The first men drew them on the walls of their caverns in these mountains.." Lothiri took a breath, before she carried on through the chamber. Both the hobbits followed her with their eyes, and watched as the elf slowly walked away. To their surprise, Lothiri stopped dead in her tracks in front of one particular painting. It was of a dragon, it's appearance unclear due to the smudged paint running across it's face. It was curled around a man, as warriors threw spears that the beast. Lothiri felt her eyes sting with tears,
"This, I remember." she continued. Mallyra ran her fingers through her thick hair, and then realised what Lothiri had said,
"But this.. you said this was drawn by the first men. Surely you can't be that old?!" she squeaked, resulting in a slightly sarcastic glance from Lothiri.
Merry leant forward and rubbed his fingertips across the paint.
"Curious, these markings seem so fresh. How do you suppose they've lasted so long?"
Mallyra went to speak, but was interrupted by Lothiri losing control of her nervous stomach, doubling over and wretching. The hobbit turned away quickly, avoiding looking at the vomit on the floor in front of her, and then proceeded to walk around it.
"Are you okay, Lothiri?.." Merry asked, pulling on the elf's cloak. After wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, a pale faced Lothiri looked down at the hobbit behind her.
"They're painted in dragon's blood." She answered solemnly. "And bronze dragon blood at that."
A shudder ran down Mallyra's back, causing a strange sensation to reach the very tip of her toes.
The elf urged the two hobbits to continue, her walking pace getting faster the deeper into the caverns they got. She only stopped when she knew the hobbits could go no further. Relucatantly, Lothiri then went about setting up a camp for her and the hobbits for the night. They'd come to a halt in a larger cavern, with smooth, dry walls, and a wider part of the stream running down the left side of it. Once they had a small fire going, Mallyra and Merry watched quietly as Lothiri began to relax. The orange flames caused her silvery hair to turn a copper colour, and glimmer more than usual. After five minutes or so, Mallyra sighed lightly, and then spoke up.
"Tell us about the dragon you recognise in the painting?" she asked quietly, watching for a response from the elf. To her surprise, Lothiri simply looked up, and her thin lips formed into a smile.
"As you wish, Mallyra." she answered, her voice almost a whisper. Her eyes then wandered into the fire, as her mind danced among the flames and into the past.
"I was just a young elf at the time of the war, just a juvenile. I was reckless. But in my recklessness, I discovered a friend. The silver dragon you know as Uryté. Of course I didn't meet her in her dragon form. But her being a silver dragon, she likes to take the form of a young maiden. She was stunning. We met just outside the city of Amros as it so happens. Me and Aiwendil had been travelling, and needed somewhere to stay. There I met her, Aurora. She was the mistress of lord Aethibryn. He loved her dearly, as she did him, and in our company he asked for her hand in marriage. To my surprise she declined. That was when I knew something was wrong, and so I asked her why. That was when she entrusted me with her secret. When the war started, Aurora disappeared. Aethibryn searched and searched for her, until he jumped to the conclusion that she'd been killed by a dragon. That was when he left to join the war. It was on the field of battle, that Aethibryn learned of her secret. The red dragon Smaug was attacking his legion, and was about to kill them all, until Uryte saved them. She snatched lord Aethibryn away from the reaches of the dragon and men, and coiled herself around him, and protected him. Here, she confessed her love for him, as well as her secret. Lord Aethibryn rejected her, and drove her away. Heartache almost killed him, as I guided him further from the battlefield. All the while, Uryté watched over us, her own heart heavy with pain. On that day, the silver dragon took another form, and disappeared, never to be seen again. On that day, not only did Lord Aethibryn lose his lover, but I lost my dearest friend."
Merry blinked, "well that explains his obsession with dragons then.." causing an icy stare from Mallyra. His lips tugged at a smile, but it didn't stay for long, and soon he hung his head a little and also look down into the fire. Before long, Lothiri was curled up asleep behind the two hobbits. It was a miracle that she'd found sleep, but she welcomed it. It removed her from the emptiness that was the chamber around her if only for a few hours. Mallyra poked at the dying fire with a small twig, before Merry glanced over his shoulder and peered cautiously at Lothiri. Her eyelids were sealed, yet still fluttered as she dreamt.
"Mallyra, there's something we need to talk about." Merry said quietly, flashing a nervous glance across that the hobbit girl sat next to him. And awful twisting sensation began to dwell in Mallyra's stomach, as she immediately thought he was referring to Pippin.
"What?.." she asked nervously, trying not to look at him. She held out her hands to the fire in an attempt to warm them, and Merry mirrored her actions almost immediately. He then cleared his throat,
"It's about Lothiri." This subject caught Mallyra by surprise, and she shot her head backwards as to look at Merry. Her expression asked the question for her. Merry held up his hands in protest,
"I know, it may be a bit strange. However I feel that there is something not quite right about her." he answered. Mallyra frowned hard at him, her blue eyes piercing into him.
"What? She's been nothing but a good companion and trusted guide. Why are you questioning her?" Mallyra sounded pained as she said those words, looking up into Merry's eyes. Merry shrugged, "It's just that I've been intrigued by her since the moment we first met. She's not like any elf I've seen or read about. The way she acts, her peculiar behaviour in this place, her knowledge exceeds that of many others and her extraordinary weapons. She does not however, have the skills of everyday elves. She cannot heal the simplest wounds on your horse, and her methods of planning and.." Merry trailed. His rambling had really caught Mallyra's attention, as she was sat hunched close to him, eyes wide. She did agree Lothiri was an odd elf, but then again, she was an odd hobbit.
"And?" She urged. Merry gave her a shifty look.
"Gildare the elf doesn't have a daughter."
Mallyra blinked hard, thinking she'd misheard. But she had not. "But.." she started. Merry shook his head, turning so he could look at the she elf. His words were stiff, almost as if they refused to come out of his mouth.
"Lothiri doesn't exist."