Mersday, 3rd of Forelithe, Year 1417 Shire-reckoning
Moria, Somewhere Beneath the Misty Mountains
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| The Doors of Moria |
"What is the time?" I asked her after unleashing a cavernous yawn.
"Minutes before the rising of the Sun," she said softly. "I was wondering if perhaps you would care to join me to see it? It's only a guess, but I think this morning going to be a glorious one."
"That sounds divine," I said, and I meant it, but at the same time I suddenly felt quite depressed: the sobering fact was we were probably only a few short hours away from leaving the outside world behind us -- perhaps forever -- as our quest was leading straight into the darkness of Moria. That long-abandoned Dwarf-kingdom was rumoured to be home to countless Orcs, goblins, trolls... and worse. Still, it seemed the most sensible place for us to begin our search in earnest for the mysterious gondath, the shadow-stones, which could hold the key to Lagodir's full recovery. If there was any chance our finding those stones could bring him healing and banish Guloth the Tormentor from the world forever, then we had to risk that darkness.
The predawn air was chilly and wet with dew despite the approaching summer, so I wrapped my blanket around me as I accompanied Nephyn a little ways to one side of our camp. We perched ourselves together on a low and crumbling piece of the Elf-ruins where we had settled down last night and faced the East. The silhouettes of the Misty Mountains stood black and threatening before us as the light grew behind them, but after a little while it became clear Nephyn's guess was right: even with the dawn proper hidden behind the mountains' shoulders, the sky and clouds were being slowly bathed in the most luminescent colours, the brilliance of which would have made any painter furious at the obvious limitations of their craft to truly capture such magnificence.
"I hope you do not mind my waking you," said Nephyn, interrupting my thoughts. "I know how you hate getting up too early, but it seems a long time since I was able to just sit and enjoy the beauty of nature without fear or worry." I pondered her words for a moment.
"Oh, it's no bother, certainly not to see such a wonderful sunrise as this," I replied. "And I've been getting decent enough rest on this leg of our journey, as a rule, so I'm none the worse for wear. But I can't say I'm without fear or worry after what happened to Luean. I keep wondering if we're going to find ourselves suddenly attacked by that Volfren or some other of Inar's lackeys if we let our guard down. Having two sleepless Elves in your Company certainly helps take the edge off the nighttimes, though."
"That it does," Nephyn agreed, "Though we are now down to only one: apparently Minasse departed for Rivendell several hours ago, but not before revealing his knowledge about Moria's western entrance to Gaelira."
"Ah," I said. "Just like that one to disappear without a proper fare-thee-well, but I suppose I should be grateful; it sounds like we might have never known how to enter Moria if not for his long memory -- even Drodie was doubtful. I can't say I'm nearly as enthusiastic about going there as he is, but at the same time it should help us give Inar's men the slip if any of them are thinking about doing to us what they did to poor Luean."
"You know," Nephyn said after a short pause, "In Bree and the lands roundabout, auburn hair such as mine is often taken as a sign of a fiery temper. Perhaps there is some truth to that, but even the hottest fire will eventually burn itself out. I still mean to see justice done upon Luean's murderers, but after hearing Gaelira's account of Inar and a good night's sleep I find myself open to the possibility that perhaps the Seekers of the Seven Stars were not responsible for our friend's passing. At least, I can entertain the notion we may not have all the facts just yet."
"That seems very sensible," I admitted, "Though it would not hurt for us to keep our eyes peeled, so to speak: whatever Luean was after had him crossing paths with someone who would likely not be friends of ours either."
"True enough, and the last thing I want to do is have my own hot-headedness lead us into such a situation unprepared," she said. "Now that I've found myself a family I also find myself rather unwilling to let go of it. But anyway, none of these things are what I wanted to say to you this morning." My ears perked up.
"I have something for you -- two things, actually." She produced a folded letter from her pocket. "First of all there is this, which I am returning to you. Or, rather, I am willingly permitting you to keep it this time. I don't think I need to tell you what it is." I nodded and blushed as I accepted Nephyn's personal, hand-written account of her family story (so far as it had yet been discovered). I had copied down the original which I found in her chambers during our first stay at Rivendell, and she had later unearthed it from my journal and withheld it when I was incapacitated in Angmar. This had caused a brief schism in our friendship, but considering Nephyn had forgiven my intrusion before I even regained consciousness, I suppose schism might be too strong a word. I sheepishly muttered my thanks and stowed the leaves carefully back within the pages of my journal.
"I really meant to hand it over to you weeks ago, but somehow I never got around to it," she continued. "But I know you will not betray me nor let it be seen by anyone with whom you would not trust that information. The second thing is this." Here, she drew forth an envelope which was stuffed near to bursting with loose pages of parchment. Most of them were blank, but on the beginning leaves I saw line after line of hastily written words, many of which were scratched out, replaced, or moved to other parts of the missive. My eyes began to widen as I read further.
"Neph!" I cried, "Why, this is extraordinary! I had no idea you were so talented."
"Oh, well, it's nothing, really," she said as her ears turned crimson. "But I thought that perhaps you could look it over sometime and let me know what you think? It's obviously not done yet... and I couldn't really say when it will be. No time soon, I hope."
"As do I!" I said with a laugh, "But ought I to be commenting on it now, do you think? Seems to me there is still quite a lot yet to be written. I will give this back into your keeping so you may continue your work, but I promise that you and I will go over it together -- at a more appropriate time." The huntress smiled and accepted the envelope back from me.
"Very well," she said as she tucked it back into her pocket. "But we must set aside all thoughts for the moment: look! The others are up and preparing to move out. We should join them."
I nodded and stood as Nephyn hurried back to the campsite. I made to follow her at first, but then hesitated a moment. I turned around again to look westward, where the rolling plains of Eregion lay before me being gradually and majestically revealed in the growing light. Then, off to my right and out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a shape or a shadow move among a group of large stones. They were at least a good two hundred yards away, though it can be hard to measure distances across flatlands. I squinted and looked again, but there was nothing to see anymore.
"Naught more than a prowling wolf or some other creature I shouldn't wonder," I said to myself. "And the whatever-it-is won't be following us where we're going next anyhow, so no point in alarming the others. Besides, if I don't move my furry feet, I might get left behind!" I scampered back to camp.
It was not long before we had all breakfasted, collected ourselves, and passed under the stone archway which marked the beginnings of the Walls of Moria. We followed an ancient roadway which ran more or less straight on then climbed up a steep set of stairs that were cut into a rock cliff. After much puffing blowing we finally emerged at the top, but then we were brought up short.
"Well! Now we know what became of the Sirannon!" I said with a grim and bitter laugh. We could see the very feet of the mountains some ways ahead, but between us and them lay a broad, cloudy pool. It was inky black, as if it were polluted, and though I was tempted to dip my fingers in and see whether it was actually ink, resisting the temptation wasn't hard for I felt absolutely repulsed by the water. Just off to our right was the dam which had both created the black pool and choked the Sirannon from flowing in its bed down through Hollin. I am no engineer, but the dam looked to me not like anything built by Dwarves or any other sentient being. It didn't even look like the handiwork of goblins: it was little more than a mass of stones, boulders, uprooted trees and other dross which jammed the spillway. Each of us stood pondering how such a thing could have happened.
"I am unsure as to when this came about," said Gaelira in her puzzlement. "It certainly did not look like this the last time I was in Eregion, but that was many, many long years ago."
"At least we know we are in the right place," said Drodie. "I was beginning to have doubts when we found no sign of the river, but seeing this removes any question: the Doors of Durin must lie somewhere on the yonder shore -- if we can find them, for Dwarf-doors are notoriously difficult to locate when shut."
"I think that will be the least of our problems," said Gaelira as she pointed across the lake. "Perhaps your eyes do not see as well as mine, friend Drodie, for the Sun has not yet passed over the mountains to lend us Her light here in the West, but do you mark...?" The Dwarf (and the rest of us) leaned forward, straining our sight.
"I see! I see now!" said Drodie as he clapped his hands. "Gamut! There are the two holly-trees which mark the West-gate of Khazad-dum! They are large and mighty; many a Dwarf has carven their likenesses into beautiful works of iron, stone, and gold. According to every account among my people, the Doors lie between them."
"But how are we to get there?" I asked as I peered across the water. "I know I rarely go near water even in the best of circumstances, but I wouldn't touch this stuff for any money. What are we to do?"
"For once I agree with Padryc on the topic of water," said Nepyhn with distaste. "There is something unnatural about this pool."
"I think," said Gaelira slowly as she looked while shading her eyes with her hand, "That I can see a narrow pathway -- there, along the northern edge. It appears to circle back toward us, but the trail becomes lost among those rocks. Let us retrace our steps and see if we can find the beginnings of the path!"
Descending the stairs was far less difficult than climbing them, so we immediately began searching northward. It did not take long to locate the trail, and very soon we were winding our way up back toward the water. At one point we found ourselves in a little natural dell which proved an ideal spot to break for lunch. Shortly afterward, we emerged on the northern end of the black pool and began to work our way around the edges. By then, even I could clearly see the two holly-trees which were our destination, and they kept getting larger and larger as we drew near. I was in awe of them and their beauty, but all the while I kept sneaking glances over my shoulder at the lake. Everything around us was dead quiet, and it was starting to fray my nerves. I think the others may have felt something similar, for no one said a word until we reached the trees, and even then all speech was hushed.
"Well, here we are," I said in a quiet voice as I gazed unsteadily up at the two massive holly-trees. They looked to me as if they had stood there for hundreds and hundreds of years -- they were easily the largest trees I had ever seen in my life. Their branches spread wide, but between them lay a smooth, blank space of stone. The Sun was now roughly two hours past noon, and she was bathing everything around us so that each leaf of the trees shimmered gladly in her light, yet the surface of the pool remained sullen and unlovely.
"But now what?" whispered Nephyn as she voiced my own thoughts. She also stole a look over her shoulder at the water.
"Now," said Gaelira, "We trust to Minasse's memory of this land when it flowered and blossomed in happier days -- he gave to me the password which he used to enter Moria (with the Dwarves' leave, of course) back when he called Eregion his home." She raised her staff aloft and spoke in a clear and commanding voice:
"Mellon!"
An intricate carven design which appeared to be made of silver flashed briefly on the rock-wall, then it faded again. I tried to trace a copy of it in this journal, but it only appeared for a short time so I can't recall the finer details. Then there was a soft but distinct crack as a line appeared in the stone and two door-panels swung silently open until they laid back against the mountain. A heavy, musty smell flowed out to greet us while we beheld a set of quickly ascending stone steps. The Sun's light did not penetrate beyond that gateway for more than a few feet.
We were all very impressed with our uncovering of Moria's West-gate, but now the time had come for us to leave the world of light behind and willingly enter the darkness of the underworld. Without a word, we each began sorting through our packs to ensure we had everything we might need on such a venture. Gaelira seemed to think it important that we never have more than a single torch or lantern lit at any one time, since we had no idea how long we would have to search the depths of that place to find what we needed. I was just going over the food-stores in my pack when I heard a soft swish and a plop. I looked up to see small rings of water spreading out from near the center of the black pool, and then there came a quiet bubbling sound. Unable to tear my eyes from the lake, I tugged on Nephyn's tunic, as she was next to me.
"Neph!" I whispered, my eyes widening in terror. "I think there's something alive in there." The huntress froze and stared at the water with me.
"Yes," she said in a hoarse voice, "I do believe you're right."
The two of us silently urged the others to make haste inside the doorway, and this was quickly done. Lagodir protested (noiselessly), making signs to show he was unsure whether we would be able to open the doors again from the inside, but Gaelira and Drodie herded us through and closed the gate. The two panels met with only the slightest sound of grating stone: we had entered Moria.
It was utterly dark at first, but Drodie lit a small flame in one of our lanterns. There wasn't much to see at first: behind us were the stairs which climbed up toward who-knew-where while in front of us was the door. Lagodir laid his hands upon it and spoke in the softest voice possible.
"Let us at least try the gate once," he said, "So that we know whether we will be able to escape Moria through the way by which we entered it."
Carefully but firmly, the Gondorian set his shoulder against the stone and pushed. The gate yielded silently to his strength as a stream of daylight penetrated through. We all peered out at the lake, but its surface was once again smooth as polished onyx. Satisfied that we were not trapped, Lagodir closed the gate and Drodie held up his lantern.
"Thus begins our journey in the darkened kingdom of the Dwarves," he said grimly. "May Fate be kinder to us here than it was to the former masters of these halls."
"What was that in the water, do you think?" I asked. I was still whispering, but it was because the hard stone echoed every tiny sound many times over, and all of us knew that Moria itself was still a place of great danger.
"I do not know," said Gaelira, "But whatever it was, I think it was asleep. Or perhaps it did not care to expose itself to the Sun's light. Either way, our arrival at the West-gate in the early afternoon may have been fortuitous, but here beneath the stone it is evernight."
"Thank goodness we came well-supplied," I said. "But, now that we're here, does anyone have any idea where we should start looking for the gondath? And what about Orcs and all that? The stories I've heard said this place was simply teeming with them, but I can't hear a sound in here that isn't coming from ourselves, at least for the moment."
"The Orcs will be a threat, of that you may be sure," said Drodie as he prodded around looking at the walls and their carvings. "They are known to have completely overrun Moria after Durin's Folk were driven from its halls. However, if the histories of my people are anything by which to judge, it was always said they were more numerous on the eastern side -- the side on which Old Moria was built and the Battle of Azanulbizar was fought."
"I see," I said, actually feeling a little relieved. "And will our search be taking us into Old Moria?"
"I doubt anyone could answer that with certainty," Gaelira replied, "Which brings us to your first question: where can we find the gondath? I am afraid I cannot say, assuming any of the gems are here in Moria at all. Perhaps Drodie would have a better idea of where to begin our search." We all looked at the Dwarf, his bearded face illuminated by the flicker of his lamp-light, but he merely grunted and shrugged his shoulders at us.
"I have been thinking about this," said Nephyn. "These shadow-stones were rumoured to be items of great value and power, yes? If that is so and this was indeed the greatest and most advanced of all the Dwarf-kingdoms in the world at one time, then perhaps there would be a record of them somewhere? Is that a possibility, Master Dwarf?"
"By my beard, I do believe the lass could be onto something," said Drodie, and his eyes sparkled with their own inner flame. "The Word-hoard of Durin! Why, anything of any importance -- great or small -- was said to be stored within it. What's more, while the Orcs have no doubt plundered much of my ancestors' home, there's a chance that less valuable things such as scrolls and tomes may have escaped their grasping claws. If these stones ever passed within the walls of Moria I'd say there's a decent chance we will find record of it in that library."
"Brilliant!" I said. "And where do we find it?"
"Haven't the foggiest," Drodie replied, still smiling, "But at least now we know what we're looking for, don't we? Come! Let's be about it -- despite the danger my heart yearns to behold the halls of my forefathers."
"Hold just one moment longer, friend," said Gaelira as she grasped his shoulder. "We should use every precaution: Drodie, you lead the way with your lantern followed by Nephyn, then Padryc. Next I would ask Lagodir to follow the hobbit. We all know the strength of our Gondorian's heart, but we must remember he is also not yet fully recovered. I will bring up the rear."
"As you wish," said Nephyn, "Though it appears I shall have to trust to my sword-arm: it is far too dark and close in here for archery."
We climbed the stairs (two hundred of them -- I counted!) and eventually emerged into what felt like a large chamber. The path we were on was flagged with stone tiles and ran straight, but it was caked with dust and debris of all sorts. We came to a meeting of four ways, but the two side-passages didn't appear to lead anywhere useful, so we continued on the eastward road. That path began to descend and to wind a great deal such that I quickly became confused as to which direction we were facing. It was always difficult to see much, and we often found ourselves doubling back out of dead-ends in order to keep moving forward. There seemed to be nothing around us but open stone-pits and piles of rubble, as if we were in a mine or quarry; it struck me as being a far cry from the grandeur with which Drodie had always spoke of Moria.
After what must have been several hours, we finally came to a point where the path rose steadily. Following this, we discovered ourselves on a broad landing which was surrounded by many carven pillars of stone. By this time, we were all quite tired and even Drodie, who had more cause for excitement than the rest of us, agreed to a rest. It was, of course, impossible to know what time of the day or night it might have been, but by the rumblings of my stomach I suspected it was high time for supper.
Our meal was cold, quiet, and uneventful. No one spoke a word for fear of betraying our presence, but we were still able to communicate through signs and writing. In this way, we agreed to a halt and to sleep while Gaelira would keep the watch. We all bundled up very nearly on top of each other in order to keep within the lantern's tiny circle of light, but I must admit it did make me feel a little safer, too. When everyone was settled in we doused the lantern and total darkness swallowed us. I lay awake for quite some time yet as every drip of water, crack of stone, and rattle of debris made my heart skip. Eventually, however, the constant and rhythmic breathing of my companions lulled me to sleep.
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