Mithrilstone

[Lady Willow Rose]

Willow smiled at Acalewia but it was hollow. "There is most certainly an evil in Moria. We had a bit of an argument." She pulled her coat a little closer around her. "What news from Gondor?"

[Acalewia]

Colomir glanced at Acalewia.
"Cumaar's escort started their journey before we left." she said. "An intruder has taken the Queen and we have followed it this far. I believe it may be taking her to Moria." Acalewia sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "How he got past us and into the White Tower is beyond me"

[Lady Willow Rose]

Willow's eyes widened. "Sweet Valar, Queen Arwen was taken? What of Aragorn, how fares he?"

"He is doing well enough," Acalewia assured her. "Though he is, of course, distressed." Willow nodded and closed her eyes.

"Does he... Does he speak of me?"

[Curubethion]

Darkness...twisted threads of evil. Sickness...like the moon so pale. Descending on the elven light... snarled the Firstborn, enclosed in the shadows of Moria's abyss. Strike the maiden...slay her slowly...cover her in freezing death...

The poisoned words drifted through the musty passages of Moria, travelling many leagues, until they settled upon the body of Acalewia. Neither her nor Willow could feel the dark curse, for its power was ancient, before that of any elf that walked the earth.

[Lady Willow Rose]

Willow suffered from nightmares. It was not always darkness that brought the terror, but a light so sharp and bright that it revealed what she was to all she knew. And they feared her.

Something moved along her spine. The knowledge of all was gone from her on this earth, but she always knew when she was supposed to know. An infuriating sensation, to say the least.

She reached out to touch Acalewia's shoulder for a reason unknown to her when she saw her very own hand. The fingers were so long that a new joint had formed, the grace of it too perfect to belong to this world. Willow stiffled a surprised shriek.

Her hand returned to the natural human shape and, eventually, she regained the haven of sleep. Yet the occurrence shook her deeply and all her nightmares revolved around the light from then on. The light which would take her away from Middle-Earth, and her love.

[Acalewia]

Figures moved. Acalewia couldn't see them clearly. They darted. They became mists. Suddenly, a man stood before her.
"Go back!" he cried. His features were blurry. Two more men joined the first.
"You do not belong here!" the newcomers cried. Their features came into focus. Acalewia gasped.
"Father! Ramen! Remen!" Elmar pointed behind her. She turned and saw Colomir. Anger on his face.
"Go back! It is not your time."
"What do you mean, Father?" Acalewia's father and brothers drew on her.
"Flee!" they attacked.

Acalewia bolted upright. She wiped a hand across her brow, sweat covered it.
What was that about?she wondered.

[Lady Willow Rose]

Lady Willow woke that morning feeling ill at ease. She turned to Acalewia and saw that she too looked shaken.

"I see that my dreams were not the only troubled ones," she said quietly. The Elf nodded, massaging her neck absently.

"We should continue on our way." Willow rose.

"Let Colomir rest a while longer. At least he has found comfort in his sleep."

[rohirrim TR]

"so" Gimli went on "with that shortcut Legolas and myself discovered on one of our errands to Celeborn theres this small pass through the mountains that will pop us out right above the dimrill gate and we can enter in the east side, there ought to be a dwarf colony pretty well established by now although I don't know who all decided to retake the place do you Makoin?.

"aye" he replied

"oh yes there was that strange ong doogin or daggin or"

"dalgin" Makoin said roughly and then walked on in silence

"I say there he don't talk much do he mate?" said Tarkhal with a laugh

"no he don't, he's been grieving for his brother ever since we found the body" Gimli replied sadly.

"dwarf we are leaving the pass, where is the Dimrill Gate?" asked Alatar interupting them gruffly

"ah right down..ah let me see over there," Gimli said gesturing downward," hiy there, Legolas there can you see anything we can't?

"yes quickly war is at hand and I fear we didn't bring a large enough army even if three dwarves do eat like an army"

[rohirrim TR]

Grisha Lug laughed cruelly, he was old for an orc and much more experience than Lazhur though he was not a powerful a warrior he had a devilish cunning as many goblin chieftains could have told Lazhur, had those chieftains been alive that is. he laughed again he found it quite amusing making a treaty with Lazhur to attack the dwarves just to have the pleasure of watching both enemies kill each other for him.

"hey there Snaga, wheres the scouts how does the battle go on up there" he roared at an underling/

"there aint no scouts theres archers and trolls and troll keepers, there aint no scouts and there never was any" the little goblin snivvelled

"oh yeah, you look like a scout to me now get to it"

"no"

Suddenly the little goblin had the very uncomfortable feeling that one gets when an daggers are pinching ones neck.

"oh your not are you, I say you are, you have a choice of course and its obvious what it is, now get scouting after you report the battle go down to the lower chambers and keep an eye on the balrog or whatever it is hiding down there can scares trolls"

Snaga crawled away whimpering and cursing his captain, but he did get to scouting.

[Lady Willow Rose]

Willow was saddling her horse when it happened. Something cold swept over her skin, a light blinded her eyes. It was terrifyingly brilliant and she was familiar with that painful awe.

She wept silently, so silently that she would not have known but for the salty trails across her cheek. "Mankoi naa lle sinome?" she demanded.

"You have been among the living creatures too long. You forget your purpose." The voice was many and all. It was the voice of her masters, her mistresses, her parents.

"Forgive me, yaaraerea. Oio naa elealla alasse'."

"You are in danger, little one. Deep in the earth, older than any you have met in all Middle Earth. And now you charge into its clutches." Willow glared into the light.

"What do you suggest I do? I must help Acalewia find the Queen. She must be returned to Ara-" she stopped, took a deep breath. "She must be returned to Gondor."

"It is your heart that rules you in this matter, not your mind. Your power is waning in this world. We know you have felt it."

"I don't care!" she shouted. "Ed' i'ear ar' elenea! You sent me to this world. You told me that I would love. Why would you waken my heart only to have me bury it? No more!" Willow broke away from the light and the power. She buried her face into her horse's mane, finally easing her tears.

All was silent till a quiet wind stroked through her hair. "Quel fara." And then she was alone.



*Why are you here?
*Ancient ones
*Ever is thy sight a joy
*By the sea and stars
*Good hunting

[Acalewia]

Two goblins fell together.
"You're improving, sister" The she dwarf beheaded another goblin.
"Shut up, Renus! and try to keep you head. Run off again and I might just leave you out there!" Renus mimicked his sister. She was the younger of the two, but he found listening to her was a good idea. The twin dwarves groaned as they saw more goblin scum heading their way.

[Curubethion]

"What was that, master elf?" asked Tarkhal, broadly grinning. " 'Elves eat like an army' or something like that?"

Legolas, indignant, replied, "I said-"

"Look!" declared Alatar. "Here it is! A gate into Moria...much like the one that was broken by the Watcher in the Water when Gandalf passed. At least we won't find a Balrog within its gates now. My brother took good care of that."

He briefly stroked the gem that blazed quietly in Narya. "Now, to get it open...these dwarf-doors can be hard to get open..."

Legolas cast a glance at Gimli, and the dwarf rolled his eyes, then grinned slightly.

[Lady Willow Rose]

Elrohir kept his hand over the elf creature's mouth as he watched the intruders study the door. She had squirmed at first but breaking her little finger put her in a calmer state of mind.

There were mud lovers there and one elf. He would not have minded the dwarves so very much. But the elf... Rage made his hand tighten on the elf scum's face. She whimpered slightly.

Elrohir ducked lower into the rocks. He didn't want this creature's elven brother to hear even a whisper.

Maybe if he got lucky, both elves would be dead before the day was through.

[Curubethion]

"Baruk Khazad!" bellowed a voice, and a young dwarf pounded into the goblin horde.

Swinging both of his handaxes, Dalginn quickly gutted one of the Moriascum. He felt a goblin sword glance off of his armor, and he whipped around, delivering two very hard blows. Dwrka and Renus cast glances at each other. Dalginn was always the brash dwarf in the colony-that they knew.

~~~~

The Firstborn hissed again as he looked down at the bones of an unlucky goblin. They got to be annoying after a time, although they were simple to kill. The dark shadow stared into the night of Moria, the Black Pit.

Where are you, little one? Elvish maiden...I will have you before the end...elven meat so sweet so sweet...

The hint of a deranged laugh came from the Firstborn's mouth.

[Lady Willow Rose]

The hair on the back of Willow's neck rose up. She massaged her neck absently as she rode next to Acalewia and Colomir. Moria drew closer by the moment and it seemed that something was crawling under her skin.

The presence of black power was so obvious that even a rock could sense it.

[Acalewia]

"C'mon," Renus called as he charged again.
"Fool!" Dwrka hissed as she followed her brother, cutting sown goblins as she went. "You both are idiots!"



Colomir had heard stories of Moria. Moria was invested with goblins he had heard. Fell creatures. He shuttered as a chill ran down his spine. A chill he couldn't put a finger on. Acalewia was frowning. She rubbed her arm as if she had taken chill.
"Saurar" she muttered. "Mankoi naa lle sinome?"





Foul one
Why are you here?

[Lady Willow Rose]

Willow smiled grimly. "The Valar only knows, my friend." She rode ahead of the others and Colomir leaned close to Acalewia.

"Can we trust this lady?" he asked. Acalewia smirked.

"If we could not, do you think I would follow her?"

"My apologies," he murmured. "It is only... She is no elf and yet she has the same look in her eyes. As if she had lived too long and seen too much."

"Perhaps she has," she said quietly.

[rohirrim TR]

"ahh night fall excellent now to enter and find your bretheren, Gimli" Alatar straightened up and seein the moon overcas by clouds he muttered something the other could not hear and the clouds parted as though two hands had pulled them apart like a curtain, and the Ithildin gates shined their brilliance upon the traveler.

"wait" said Legolas "theres something wrong I can feel the evil, not goblins worse than goblins"

"well we can't very well wait out here, we got to go in and face it laddie come on" replied Gimli, then remembering the gates were closed and seeing the wizard standing there trance like he said "mellon" the doors swung open and only Alatar heard Legolas say "I never said that it was inside"

[Lady Willow Rose]

Elrohir very nearly laughed aloud. The fools had opened the door for him! He'd been trying to figure out just how to get into Moria for days.

"Luck seems to play on my side," he whispered to the night. His captive whimpered pitifully but Elrohir felt no pity. He drew his knife quietly. She saw the movement and began shrieking, though it was muffled by the gag. "I'd rather not have to drag you throughout Moria," he said conversationally. "Killing you would be most efficient and yet... I have a feeling something in Moria could come up with a far more interesting death." He cut the ropes binding her legs and dragged her up. The dwarves and their elven companion had already entered the mines.

It was time to follow their example.

[Curubethion]

The Firstborn immediately felt the new presences. Two that felt...fair, fair enough to make him sick...and the third, one of the Sons of Stone...he snarled. There was another that entered. Seemingly fair, yet not. Tainted by a black stain...

A hollow laugh rang distantly through the abyss. The Firstborn began to reach out with dark tendrils. Reaching towards the mind. Taking hold of this being would be...amusing, to say the least. He would have the creature, after he had the others.