VI

"Keep going!" Elladan said, and the four kept on at the fast pace Legolas set at the front. The ground had sloped upward at first, just as Elladan had reported, but had since levelled out. Legolas and Esendri had been silent for the last twenty minutes, concentrating on walking.

Legolas halted, causing Elrohir to almost walk into him.

"Listen!" Legolas said.

Straining their ears, they heard a soft gurgling coming from somewhere beyond the tunnel.

"It sounds like a stream!" Elrohir said.

"It might lead us out of here!" Esendri sounded hopeful.

Legolas swallowed hard but did not trust himself to speak further. Instead, he took a few deep breaths before approaching the wall of the tunnel and made to press a ear against the rock. Before he could do that, something on the rock caught his eye. Curious, he brushed away at the rocks, only to hiss in surprise.

"Roh, look!" he said, and Elrohir was by his side in an instant, peering at the rocky wall.

Elrohir called for Elladan to bring the torch near and saw that there were inscriptions carved into the rocks.

"Old Westron," Elrohir said.

"This, turn, no, way -- I do not know the rest -- wait! This power -- take heed -- Nay, I cannot make any sense of it!" Elladan muttered, mind spinning, attempting to decode its meaning.

"It sounds like a warning," Elrohir said, knowing that if Elladan -- ever the scholar -- could not read it, there was no point in him trying.

"What should we do?" Esendri said.

"We move on," Legolas insisted.

"Are you sure, Lass?" Elrohir said.

"Yes."

"This word, I have seen it somewhere before," Elladan was saying to himself as Elrohir moved to drag him away. "Elrohir, stop that!"

His protest were cut short as soon as he saw that Legolas was disappearing down the tunnel, and he had no choice but to follow after, Esendri behind him, with Elrohir bringing up the rear.

Ten minutes later, Legolas stopped again.

"Dan?" Elrohir sounded almost as nervous as Esendri and Legolas. "What now?"

Elladan surveyed the maze of tunnels before him, at a loss for words.

"I do not understand how we have no record of this place, for surely it must have housed a civilisation!" Elladan said.

"Which is the way out?" Esendri wailed, peering down every one in turn.

"We take this one," Legolas said, before starting down one of them.

"Wait, Legolas, are you sure?" Elrohir said.

"Yes."

"Fine, but I will take the lead this time," Elrohir said, starting down the tunnel before they could stop him. An unexplainable fear had seized him once they had come into the junction, one that spoke of a great danger about to befall them.

Elladan turned and scorched the ceiling of the tunnel they had just emerged from with his torch, leaving a large, visible mark, before he followed Esendri.

"It is curious." Legolas said, calmer than before.

"What is, Legolas?" Esendri said.

"This place. Might it have something to do with the devastation above?"

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Elladan said, noting that the path was sloping downwards.

Before Legolas could answer, they stopped short as they entered a large cavern two hundred yards wide and sixty feet high. In the middle of the cavern, a small stream flowed through, entering in front of them, before gurgling past them to the right.

Legolas went up to the stream and crouched down.

"Legolas, be careful," Elrohir said.

"It is strange, as if it were a thicker form of water. And the smell is familiar, although of what it is, I do not know," Legolas said.

"We should continue searching for the way out," Elladan said, growing anxious. "Glorfindel will be frantic!"

"Shall we turn back?" Esendri said.

"No," Legolas and Elrohir said together, and both stared at the opposite end of the cavern.

"There is something up ahead," Elrohir said, and started off.

"Mayhap we should just leave it," Elladan said. He let out a frustrated sigh when Legolas followed after Elrohir. Between the two of them, he was having trouble deciding which was more likely to lead them into further messes.

Elrohir reached the source of the stream, a tunnel emerging high up on the cavern wall. He grabbed the torch from Elladan, and started to scale the rocky wall, torch held between his teeth. He soon reached the tunnel, where he peered in, holding up the torch.

"There is a tunnel, and a room!" Elrohir cried. "I shall take a further look!"

"Roh, come back down here!" Legolas said, but it was to no avail, and they were left in an uneasy darkness as Elrohir disappeared into the tunnel.

A minute passed, then five, and Elladan could hear the scared breathing of Legolas and Esendri standing near him. Just as he was about to say something, there came the sound of a loud crash that echoed through the empty cavern, followed by a shout.

"Roh!" Elladan started climbing the wall, as did Legolas, relying on their memory as they groped about in the dark.

"Esendri, stay here!" Legolas said, but was rewarded by the sound of Esendri starting to climb as well.

"Roh!" Legolas cried, falling to his knees as he banged his head on the low roof off the tunnel as he tried to enter it. He blurted out a warning to Elladan, before beginning to make a slow way forward, crawling on all fours in the shallow stream.

"Come straight in! I cannot move!" Elrohir's voice floated in, causing Legolas to start moving with greater urgency. Shuffling behind him indicated that Elladan was not far.

Legolas made out a weak light in the distance, and doubled his pace. He found himself in a room with walls too smooth to be natural. Elrohir was lying to his side near the middle, the torch knocked from his hand a distance away, still burning.

"Roh!" Legolas and Elladan rushed over to Elrohir, and saw that he was grimacing in pain.

"A rock fell and hit me!" he hissed through gritted teeth, pointing at a rocky tower.

Esendri picked up the torch and wandered near the mound, while Elladan and Legolas tended to Elrohir.

"Two ribs and your thigh are broken," Elladan said, while Legolas was wiped the sweat off Elrohir's face and comforted him.

Esendri in the meantime was studying the towering mound, and saw that steps had been cut in the side of it. Footprints in the dust indicated that Elrohir had climbed to the top. Overcome with curiosity, he started to ascend.

"Ai, I do not know how you do it," Elrohir was saying to Legolas, a let out a hiss as Elladan started to bind his ribs.

"What?" Legolas said, confused.

"Endure your body getting torn in two and not make a sound," Elrohir said. Legolas almost let out a laugh, and took his hand in his own, glad that Elrohir was able to joke.

"Tell me what happened," Legolas said, when Elrohir let out another snarl of pain as his brother continued to work on his injuries.

"I climbed to the top. A large rock fell and hit me, and I fell," Elrohir said, his speech slurred.

Legolas turned to look up at the mould, and to his consternation saw that Esendri was on top of it.

"Esendri, come down!"

"Legolas, the stream comes out of the ground here, this altar!"

"Esendri!" Legolas cried, more urgently this time.

"There is something written on it. I think it is in Quenya! 'Those that seek shall receive'." Esendri said. "There is more, but I cannot see it properly!"

He took a step forward, and a loud crack was heard again.

"Sen!" Legolas cried as a huge rock came hurling at Esendri.

Luckily for Esendri, he had moved back at the urgency of Legolas's tone, and the rock missed him by inches as it went hurling past and smashed into the wall with a loud crash. He leapt deftly off the mound and landed near his companions, who were starting to breathe again.

"Now just stay here and do not mo --" Legolas said, only to be cut short by a loud rumbling noise.

The first boulder hit the floor just a few feet away. Legolas scooped Elrohir up in his arms and rose, his own body shielding Elrohir's.

"There is a way out, somewhere!" Esendri cried. "It was written on the stone, but I had not the time to read it!"

"This way!" Legolas shouted as more rocks slammed to the ground around them, moving to the side of the room, dodging rocks as he went along.

"Legolas, I can carry Roh better!" Elladan cried.

A large rock hurtled towards them, causing Legolas to leap out of the way, where he crashed against the wall. It gave way and crumbled, whereupon Legolas started widening the hole, aided by Esendri. Once it was large enough, Elladan was ushered through with Elrohir.

"The way out!" Esendri cried, rushing to a brilliant light source, euphoric.

They burst out into the open again, revelling in the lightness of the day, failing to notice the haze hung in the air.

"Where are we?" Esendri turned to look at Legolas, only to gasp in horror as he saw his face covered in blood.

Legolas frowned, and only realised he was bleeding when Esendri started wiping at his face, where a river of blood was running down from his nose.

"Do not worry about me! That would must have been harder than it looked!"

"This way to the camp."

Elladan started off, carrying the half-unconscious Elrohir in his arms.

Legolas and Esendri followed, and reaching the camp, they were surrounded by concerned members of their company.

"Where have you been?" a furious voice demanded, and they found themselves looking up into Glorfindel's livid face.