Part Five - The Road to the Shire

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The Fellowship arrived at the foot of the Misty Mountains more than a day after they had departed the wood of Lothlorien. Aragorn’s mood had worsened upon learning from Celeborn that Arwen and Eowyn had barely escaped with their lives at Cadras Nar. Faramir had even more reason for worry upon being told that the sting of the spiders that had infested the small seaside village and had killed all its inhabitants had injured Eowyn. However, he drew some comfort in knowing that, as always, she was more than capable of acquitting herself in trying circumstances. Haldir worsened the entire affair by telling Aragorn that he should have kept better a eye on his wife and that the welfare of the Evenstar should come even before his kingdom. It had taken the intervention of both Gandalf and Celeborn to keep the King from physically expressing his displeasure upon Haldir’s face.

Fortunately, Celeborn was able to supply them with stores that would be needed for their journey as well as provide some useful intelligence as to which direction Arwen and Eowyn would be travelling in order to cross the Misty Mountains. Celeborn had mentioned the pass that Arwen had considered using to cross the mountains since the Mines of Moria and the Bridge of Khazadum was no longer. Aragorn guessed that Arwen would make her next port of call Rivendell for it was familiar ground and she would choose to traverse the pass despite Celeborn’s warning. He knew that she would not want to miss the chance to visit Imladris once again, not when she had been so disappointed about the absence of her brothers’ at the celebration in the White City. It would also be her last opportunity to see it before the elves left for the Undying Lands.

"This is most disconcerting," Legolas complained as they rode along the foothills of the mountain, towards the pass they needed to cross. "We were certain all of the great spiders had been driven out of Mirkwood when Sauron was destroyed.

Legolas had led his father’s men through the forest of Mirkwood to hunt for the evil creatures after the war with Sauron was done. He himself had killed a number of the spiders and had believed them all dead. It disturbed him greatly that he had not done as a thorough job as he thought and now an entire village had succumbed to their menace. He felt responsible for those deaths even though he knew that he had done all he had been able to eradicate them forever. He remained silent for most of their journey, though Gimli had come to know him well enough to see that he was troubled by what had transpired.

"It’s not your fault you know," Gimli remarked as he sat upon the pony that he had acquired from the Shire. The horses bred for the halflings were the only beasts he truly trusted for dwarves were not accustomed to riding at all. He had only acquired the habit after travelling with Legolas and the Fellowship.

"You know me too well," Legolas returned quietly and yet Gimli’s insight did not change how he felt.

"I do," he nodded, "and I know that you elves have a tendency towards self recrimination."

"I was in charge of the party led to drive the wretched creatures from Mirkwood," he declared hotly. "I should have known that they were too easy to kill. Such creatures make it a habit of learning to disguise themselves, I should have anticipated that they were merely driven to find a new home, not that they were vanquished for good."

"In hindsight, it is easy to say such things," Gimli countered. "You did not kill those people and you did all that could have been done to destroy those monsters. Now, I would think that your efforts would be best spent ridding that town of the blasted things instead of moaning about how it could have been stopped."

"As usual, you are too blunt for your own good," Legolas frowned but he could not find fault with anything that Gimli had said. If anything there was even some truth to it. He was lingering on their deaths but he could not shed his culpability even if Gimli was right. He would avenge them. Once this quest to save Arwen was done, he would return home to Mirkwood and assemble a group of his father’s finest men. They would go to Cadras Nar and end the threat there before the creatures found another town in which to nest and feed.

"But I am right," Gimli pointed out.

"You are," Legolas grumbled. "How is that possible? You dwarves aren’t known for your subtlety."

Gimli laughed and Legolas would have joined him when a sudden gust of wind swept out of nowhere, dislodging rocks and dust from their place on the ground to be borne into the air. A great chill fell upon them and though it was bright and sunny not long ago, the sun had suddenly disappeared behind thick, heavy clouds. The change in weather was so sudden that Legolas had barely noticed the shift in the wind, a thing most elves were capable of doing since it was almost second nature.

"There is something a foot here," Gandalf captured everyone’s attention with that one sentence.

"What do you mean?" Aragorn demanded. While he did find it strange that the weather had come upon them so swiftly, it was entirely possible that it was a natural occurrence.

"It feels as if someone has produced this storm for our benefit," the wizard replied, remembering too well how Saruman had almost killed them all when they had attempted to cross the Caradhras during the quest of the Ring. This sudden storm had that stink about it. While he could not sense the manipulations of another of the Istari at work as he had then, he knew the storm was false. There was something foul at work and caution was needed.

"Then we best reach the pass as soon as we can," Aragorn ordered. "Once we are on the other side, the mountains shall shield us from its might."

Gandalf was not so certain. The gale force winds were now bringing down the snow from the top of the mountain and it fell around them as if it was winter. The sudden snap of cold made everyone pull their cloaks and their coats to their bodies and even the horses were uneasy. Shadowfax, Gandalf’s trusted steed, snorted his displeasure and the wizard placed a hand across the stallion’s neck, trying to soothe its anxiety.

"Gandalf can you sense it?" Legolas asked him as they neared the pass.

"Yes," the wizard nodded.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Sam stated. "This doesn’t feel right."

"Are you developing Elven senses too?" Frodo stared at his old friend with a smile but it was a nervous one. There was darkness coming, they could all feel it.

"Let’s hurry," Faramir insisted, digging his heels into the side of his horse. "Maybe we can outrun it."

His horse bolted forward, making quick time towards the opening in the mountain. Merry and Pippin followed suit, never one to be left behind on anything.

"Faramir wait!" Aragorn shouted but the howl of the wind swept his voice out of Faramir’s hearing.

The king swore loudly when he saw his friends disappearing into the sudden blizzard. However, he could do nothing but follow suit, hoping to save Faramir from himself before he put too much distance between them. When there was magic afoot, it was best to be cautious even if the danger did not appear overt. The others followed his stead, keeping him in their sights as they followed him into the breach. Aragorn knew that it was Faramir’s love for his wife that made him irrational. The king could well understand this fear for he felt the same way about Arwen but he had spent too many years as a Ranger rushing in where angels feared to thread. He knew the sense of caution and he had patience. If nothing else, his years in the wilderness had taught him that much.

The walls of the canyon soon enveloped them and the storm seemed to grow a thousand fold in its ferocity, until it became hard to see through the veil of snow. Once again, they were reminded of the crossing at Caradhras when Saruman’s malice had driven them off the mountain into the Mines of Moria. Aragorn could see Faramir ahead and felt gratified that his old friend had come to his senses to slow down. Pippin and Merry had already brought their mounts to a halt, awaiting the arrival of the King.

"Fools!" Aragorn snapped as he reached them. "We have no idea what lies ahead!"

"We were riding after him to stop him!" Merry retorted, somewhat offended that Aragorn would think them foolish enough to act so rashly. The days when he had encountered them at the Prancing Pony were long gone. It was almost a lifetime ago and they had seen the world and knew the dangers that lurked beyond the Shire, enough to know when to be sensible about their action.

Aragorn felt ashamed of his anger and quickly apologised, "I am sorry. You were not deserving of my anger."

"He can’t hear us!" Pippin broke into the conversation. "We tried to call him before he got too far ahead of us but he couldn’t hear us over the wind. We wanted to tell him."

"Tell him what?" Aragorn stared at them in confusion as the others caught up with the trio.

"That!" Pippin pointed at the ground.

Through the snow, Aragorn saw what it was that had brought the two hobbits to such a complete standstill. The bones of a warrior, long dead stared at him with the empty eye sockets of his skull. The king allowed his gaze to move across the terrain before them. He made the same discovery as Eowyn and Arwen had done only days before that the irregular formations of rock that surrounded them traveled along their path. Nothing about what he was seeing appeared to be products of natural erosion and he had seen enough mountains in his time to know the difference.

Suddenly before he could think to say another word, he heard a sound through the wail of the wind that made him jump. It was like a clap of thunder that echoed down the canyon despite the storm brewing about them. Aragorn’s heart began to pound as Gandalf brought Shadowfax beside him. "We need to get out of here!"

"I won’t leave Faramir!" Aragorn said defiantly. "Take the others from here and I will go find him."

"No!" Gandalf grabbed his arm before he could gallop away. "You are the king! I will go!"

"I am the king and it is my choice!"

The choice was never made because he heard Legolas shout loudly and with such panic that even the wind could not still the prince’s voice.

"LOOK OUT!"

Aragorn and Gandalf looked up and saw a huge boulder tumbling towards them. Aragorn dug his heels into his horse and sent it running but Gandalf had not the speed for such a hasty departure. Instead, the wizard raised his staff and suddenly the large piece of rock shattered in mid air, sending fragments in all directions. No sooner than its debris had reached the earth, another crashing sound was heard. This time the deadly projectile from above had landed near Sam’s pony Bill, forcing the animal to bolt ahead. Frodo’s mount had reared up on its hind legs as more rocks started to fall.

"Ride!" Aragorn shouted, thinking of nothing else to do to escape the deadly barrage falling from above.

He needed not give the order twice for the others were already surging ahead. Aragorn looked upwards to see more boulders plunging through the air and pulled the reins of his horse as one of the large fragments covered him with the shadow of its perilous arrival. He dug his heels deeper into the animal’s flank, producing an angry snort as the steed bolted forward with enough speed to ensure that when the rock came crashing down, it would not be with the King under it. Aragorn’s relief at escaping certain death was short lived however, when he saw Gimli’s horse, rear onto its hind legs in fright when a boulder shattered in front of it. The dwarf tried valiantly to remain in the saddle and absurdly Aragorn thought that this experience was not going to improve his opinion on riding very much, when the king saw Gimli fall.

Legolas who had been riding alongside the dwarf, immediately ground his own horse to an abrupt halt, caring little about the consequences to himself as he rode towards Gimli who was scrambling to his feet after his unceremonious dismount. The elf leaned over upon reaching his companion, extending an arm out just as a boulder slammed into the path before him and began rolling forward, propelled by its momentum towards the duo. Aragorn felt his heart leap with fear as he watched in horror, the disaster about to unfold. Legolas however, proved far too swift to be brought to an untimely end and he grabbed Gimli’s arm and swept him onto the back of his horse and rode out of danger’s way.

Aragorn continued his own efforts to escape the deadly onslaught of rocks that were raining down on them. He could see Merry and Pippin struggling to escape the barrage while Legolas and Gimli seemed to be making good pace; the archer weaving expertly through the crashing rocks around them. The king attempted to raise his eyes to the source of this deadly storm and could see little through the blizzard of rock and snow. Fortunately, the boulders and rocks being dropped upon them were large for if they were not, there would have been no way any of them would escape this canyon alive. Despite the struggle to avoid the crashing rocks around them, Aragorn noticed something curious about the pattern of the bombardment. Where they had ridden, no other rocks followed. They only appeared to fall where the Fellowship was attempting to cross.

"GANDALF!" Aragorn shouted for the wizard, suspecting that perhaps the Istari might be able to discern what was happening and stop this before any of them were killed.

Aragorn saw Shadowfax first. The great steed seemed to know that its rider was being hailed and paused in its steps. Aragorn caught up to Gandalf, knowing they could not linger long. Frodo had wisely remained closed to Gandalf, following the wizards lead to see him and Sam safely through.

"The rocks follow us Gandalf!" Aragorn declared as another great boulder crashed along side of him and he had to struggle to stay his horse from bolting in panic.

"I know," Gandalf nodded, his gaze travelling upwards to the top of the canyon. "I do believe that there is a giant at work here."

"A giant?" Frodo exclaimed. "Like the one in Moria?"

"A little worse I fear," Gandalf retorted. Boulders were crashing all around them with greater frequency. Their ability to prevail against the creature’s onslaught had fired its determination to kill them once and for all and it was becoming more and more difficult to avoid being crushed underneath.

"We must keep moving!" Aragorn insisted, seeing Legolas and Gimli disappear through the snowfall and knew that to remain in place was to invite disaster.

"I’ll tend to this," Gandalf shouted. "You take the others and go!"

Aragorn stared at him. "The last time you asked that of me, you died!"

"That was a balrog!" Gandalf returned over the wail of the wind and the crashing rocks. "This is a stone giant, I can deal with it."

"You said you could deal with that balrog too and that did not bode well in your favor!" Aragorn retorted, not willing to leave the wizard to die a second time.

"GO!" Gandalf boomed, showing the king that his patience was finite and that he would brook no more argument.