XXIII

Legolas and Elrohir stood by the entrance, stunned by the size of the cave.

"I do not like leaving Sen behind with Eilwar," Legolas said.

"Neither do I, but Eilwar speaks the truth: it is dangerous, and we will do best to maximise the chances of obtaining what we seek."

The pair allowed the unspoken inference about the likelihood of success to hang in the air for a while as they took cautious steps into the cavern.

"Why do my adventures always lead me to caves?" Legolas said, drawing a thin smile to Elrohir's face. "It could have been lakes, mountains, but caves it has to be -- always!"

Elrohir laughed, and the sound reverberated, repeating through the large cavern.

"There goes our element of surprise," Legolas said, walking in further.

Elrohir winced. "Sorry."

"I would not object to entering a place echoing with your laughter!" Legolas said, grabbing the torch from him and examining the ground.

Elrohir let out a cry as he saw what Legolas was looking at. "The ground is burnt!"

"Family quarrel."

"Lass, you amaze me with your ability to maintain such humour in this situation."

"I either laugh or cry -- you decide which is better."

Elrohir reached out and took his hand, refusing to let go when he felt how cold it was. "You need not ask me how I feel."

Calming down at Elrohir's touch, Legolas started walking again, glad to have somebody he trusted beside him. The feelings of panic and claustrophobia threatened to overwhelm him, but he pushed them aside as he drew strength from Elrohir's presence.

"Fear not, Lass," Elrohir whispered as they crossed the length of the cavern and came to a passageway.

"How big do you think dragons are?" Legolas said, talking to maintain his composure.

"About thirty feet."

"In length or height?"

Elrohir let out another soft laugh.

Silence fell between them as they reached the end of the large passage and came to another large cavern, this one filled with jewels and treasures.

Legolas let out a long breath, for Thranduil had what was reputed to be one of the finest collections of treasures to the East of the Misty Mountains. Legolas had grown up among them, and while he never showed any particular interest, he still knew enough to see that the specimens surrounding him were more then worthy of his father's collection.

"It is true then that dragons covert gems and precious metals."

"I knew not that such treasures existed in these barren lands," Legolas said, examining a goblet near his feet. "This is a fine mix of mithril and white gold, its craftsmanship exquisite, and 'twill fetch the price of a palace if traded with humans."

"You seem to know much."

Legolas smiled, but there was a shadow in his eyes. "You forget my father is a collector. Many say he does so to fill the void in his heart after Nana died, but I know that he believes that he would be able to present them to her one day."

The grip on Legolas's hand tightened.

"He has you: more precious than these cold metals put together."

"Thank you for holding me in such high esteem, Roh. Perhaps he is right in Hoping. It is what keeps him going."

"As it does you?"

Legolas shrugged, his eye already caught by something at the far corner of the cave. He picked his way through strings of pearls, rubies, and golden plates, before stopping down and examining the wall with interest.

"'The true treasure lies in the furthest corner away from the second,'" he said, running his hand over the hard rock. "But 'tis hard stone!"

Legolas passed Elrohir the torch and instructed him to hold it over the wall while he took out a dagger from his boots and unsheathed it. Scraping at the wall, he gasped as a thin line of rock fell away.

"This rock is softer than the rest; it was filled in later," Legolas said, concentrating hard and following the groove with the blade.

The line came to an abrupt halt, and Legolas was forced to try elsewhere. He continued in this way for a while, before the truth dawned on them.

"They are words, Lass!" Elrohir said, before he too started working with his dagger.

It took the better part of an hour before they were done. Blowing off the last crumbs of soft rock, Legolas took a step back, and let out a surprised cry.

"It is in Quenya!"

"'Only those who have faith can enter!'" Elrohir said, frowning hard.

"Helpful." Legolas continued examining the rock, testing different places with his dagger to see if there was any more to it.

Just as Elrohir was about to say something, the ground gave a great shudder, almost unbalancing them.

Legolas and Elrohir froze. When five tense minutes passed, Elrohir motioned for Legolas to carry on.

The blade sank into soft rock again, and Legolas worked on it, expecting more words, but instead found it to cover a larger area.

"It is a large patch of rock! Why did we not notice it before?" Elrohir said.

"We tried this area before; the rock was hard."

Elrohir gave a start, before realising he was correct.

"Valar, there is something at work here!" he said, peering at the wall, willing it to give up its secret.

If the Elves were hoping it would be a tunnel, it was not to be the case as the dagger hit hard rock again. Instead, the soft layers were scrapped away to reveal a palm-shaped groove.

The pair stared at each other for a while, astonished.

"I have faith," Legolas said, suddenly understanding.

Before Elrohir could react, Legolas plunged his palm into the rock, a determined look on his face, and found that it fit the hole.

Elrohir let out a cry as blue light emanated from Legolas's palm. It was bright, spreading to the rock underneath it, which in turn started to grow. Legolas seemed to be struggling to hold his palm to the hole, and his eyes were closed with exertion.

The light grew in intensity and Elrohir had to shield his eyes. When he was able to look again, he found Legolas sitting on the floor, exhausted. Rushing to check on him, Legolas instead asked him to look at the wall, where a hole the width of a man's shoulders and about knee-high had formed.

"The entrance to the treasure," Legolas said, wiping the perspiration from his brow.

Upon closer inspection, Elrohir saw that it was a tunnel, the walls of which glowed with the same blue light, receding into the distance.

He grabbed the torch from Legolas and said, "I will go first," before flinging himself into the tunnel.

Legolas could only follow behind him, crawling into the strange, blue light.

***

Outside the cave, Esendri was pacing in tight circles when the ground gave a sudden rumble, and he let out a startled cry as a puff of blue smoke escaped the mouth of the cave.

"It's true then," Eilwar said, face tighter than ever. "It has begun."

"Right about what?" Esendri said. "How do you know so much? Tell me!"

"Their doom has begun."