Chapter 6 - Shadows and nightmares

A faint glimmer of light caught Legolas' eye as he paced unceasingly across the sandy floor of the cave. It seemed to the Elf that long hours had passed in the time they had been trapped in the dark. Long hours of controlling his breathing and forcing himself to forget his fear.

As he noticed the spark of light, Legolas also heard someone mutter an exclamation. He followed his keen hearing over to where Faramir stood and looking over the tall man's shoulder, Legolas gasped when he saw Gandalf's staff lying broken in half on the floor. The wall Faramir had pulled apart marked the start of a long twisting passage that plunged into darkness ahead. Even Legolas' superior sight could not penetrate the gloom.

"What does it mean?" Merry asked from beside Legolas. He and Pippin had come over when they saw the light. The dim light was radiating from the tip of Gandalf's staff. Although the bottom half of the staff lay useless by the wall, the head still seemed as though it were alive.

Faramir bent forward to pick it up and as his skin made contact with the wood, Legolas was sure he saw a strange light spring into Faramir's eyes for a second, before they returned to their gentle grey. He was not at all sure what this meant but promised himself to keep an eye on the Man of Gondor.

"Is Gandalf . . . dead?" Pippin asked quietly, seemingly unable to comprehend the thought that the Wizard, the strongest of them, had fallen.

"It is impossible to tell what happened to Gandalf," Aragorn said, "But one thing is clear, Gandalf would have wanted us to carry on with the quest without him no matter what. The whole of Middle Earth is depending on us. Still, there is a good chance he is alive and that he will return."

Aragorn spoke with confidence, bringing hope to the hearts of Gimli and the Hobbits. But Legolas, who had known Aragorn longer than they, could see the grief and fear in the Man's eyes and saw also that Faramir's face remained grave, unchanged by Aragorn's words.

"As there is no other way," Aragorn continued, "we must take the tunnels and hope for the best."

Legolas looked at the dark tunnel that must wind around the inside of the mountain for miles, like a black snake coiling through the earth. He suppressed a shudder and picked up his bow and quiver from where they lay against the wall. He swung them over his right shoulder and winced as they jarred his injury. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he cautiously shifted his weapon to the other arm and returned the tunnel opening.

"Aragorn," Gimli said loudly, "may I lead the way through the passage. Dwarfs have a good sense of direction and I believe the stone will not confuse me as it would the Hobbits or Master Legolas here. Gimli gave Legolas a friendly whack on the back, determined to begin a new argument. Obviously the Dwarf had not noticed how quiet Legolas had been while they had been inside, for this the Elf was glad. As Gimli's strong hand thumped his back, Legolas had to bite his lip to stop himself from making a sound, but nevertheless, Gimli had seen the expression on the Elf's face and looked worried.

"Actually, Gimli," Aragorn went on, not noticing the silent incident going on between his two friends. "I was thinking Legolas should go ahead of us, for he would be the first to see or hear danger and we want to be prepared should enemies come upon us."

Gimli growled deeply.

"But I'm sure Legolas would not object to you walking after and deciding the way." Aragorn quickly added, making sure he did not hurt Gimli's feelings.

A slight nod was Legolas' only answer. He feared that if he tried to speak, the lump that fear had made in his throat would stop him from replying. He swallowed with difficulty and walked, straight-backed into the darkness.

As far as he could tell, more than an hour had passed as they stumbled through the twisted, winding passages. The pain in Legolas' shoulder was almost unbearable, aggravated by the fact that he could not stretch it. His back ached, as must have Aragorn and Faramir's. The jagged roof of the passage was so low, the Elf and the two men had to duck their heads although the Hobbits and Gimli could pass with ease.

It had been a struggle to convince Bill to follow them into the long dark of the tunnels and Sam was still finding it hard to lead the pony. A short while ago, they had stopped for a short rest and some food.

Legolas had asked Faramir if he could take a look at the base of Gandalf's staff which the man still carried. Faramir handed it over rather reluctantly and Legolas was disappointed that the man still did not trust him. He turned the smooth wood over in his thin hands, running his fingers over the few impurities in the wood and a strange idea came to him.

"Faramir?" he asked, "would I be able to keep this?"

"What use could you have?" Faramir asked sharply, then his brow creased in deep confusion and worry. "I am sorry," he said, "I did not... of course you may keep it. The staff is useless now it is broken." The man spoke with finality but Legolas noticed he still held onto his half of the staff tightly.

Time passed slowly in the tunnels, and even for an Elf who had already lived some three thousand years, it seemed as though they had been toiling for days and had not moved at all.

Luckily there had not been too many divisions in the path and when the occasional choice had to be made, it was always easy to tell which was the main path.

Legolas half-listened to Aragorn's conversation with Faramir to take his mind off the horrible blackness.

"Something other than us has travelled this path in the last few days." Aragorn said, his voice quieter than a whisper so that he would not alarm the Hobbits. Legolas' sharp hearing managed to pick up most of the conversation.

Faramir agreed with Aragorn, like the heir of Isilder, he was a Ranger and could see the signs on the ground that told him others had been here. Legolas looked down at the ground and noticed that although the small leafy fungus that grew on the floor beside the walls, the moss in the centre of the path had been crushed by what looked like heavy boots.

Legolas looked up and stopped abruptly, causing Merry and Pippin to crash into him.

"Legolas! What have you stopped for? I almost fell over!"

"Aye, come on, Elf! What's the meaning of it?" Gimli asked with an angry voice.

"Sshhh . . . Listen, I heard something," Legolas whispered, trying to get them all to be quiet.

Everyone listened and gradually they began to hear what the Elf told them of. It sounded as if a group of creatures were either having a fight, or a roudy meal. None could tell which for sometimes the hideous shouts sounded angry and sometimes loud evil laughs could be heard.

"Where are they?" Gimli asked Aragorn, "in front or behind?"

Aragorn listened for a moment longer, his eyes narrowed. "I cannot tell," he said at last, "but I do not think they are in the tunnel ahead. We should move foreward quietly and try to avoid whatever they are."

So it was that Legolas found himself leading again, his soft shoes making no sound on the rocky floor. At every footfall of Gimli's heavy boots, Legolas cringed and expected enemies to fly around the corner. The sounds were louder now and it seemed as if they were surrounded by the loud voices.

Legolas felt the floor of the tunnel change and grow less rocky. He looked down but could not see the texture of the ground. After a few steps he turned around to warn the others about the change of terrain. Merry and Pippin had already stepped, almost slipping over, onto the smooth floor and Legolas opened his mouth to warn Gimli but it was too late.

At the fall of Gimli's foot on the new floor, Legolas felt a tremor beneath him and looked down to see a dark crack split the smooth ground. He looked up and saw Aragorn grab Gimli and pull him backwards out of danger. All at once Pippin disappeared, screaming as he fell through the thin layer of clay that was the floor. Legolas reached out for Merry but before they could leap to safety, the ground failed under their feet and they plunged into the blackness below.