Chapter 4: Exploring the Darkness Together

"It was not funny, Legolas!" Gimli grumbled, annoyed at the highly amused, irritating elven prince beside him. He would never live this down, never! Somehow he would have to make the elf forget about the morning's chaos. Walking faster towards their destination seemed a start. If Legolas was out of breath, he would not be able to laugh. Forget that the elf never seemed to be out of breath.

They were walking, almost jogging, towards the now familiar tunnel leading to the caverns near the prison in the third level. After obtaining all the available information from the city engineers, including a map of the tunnels and caverns that had been discovered to date, Gimli and Legolas had spent two days exploring the strange place. Legolas had been fascinated by the carvings, a pictorial history of the fall of Númenor. Gimli had been amazed at the workmanship of these carvings, not to mention the caverns themselves. They were naturally made, but had been enhanced by someone long ago, most likely the Númenoreans at the end of the Second Age. Today, they were going to explore a tunnel no one had ventured into as of yet.

"It was very funny, Gimli. I cannot help but laugh! How often does one see a dwarf running around a room screa...?"

"LEGOLAS!" Gimli bellowed, casting a full glare at the elf. "If you had not put that thing in my room, I would not have reacted in such a manner!"

"But Gimli, I did not put the creature in your room! Would that I had thought of it, but I did not. It simply came in during the night. You left your balcony door open all evening, after all. You should be grateful it was not something that would have made a nest of your beard!" Legolas looked to be struggling not to laugh again at Gimli's expense. Gimli kept glaring, trying not to think of how he had responded to the disgruntled bat earlier that morning. Surely, his attempts to escape the creature had not been that amusing. And no matter what Legolas claimed, Gimli had not shrieked!

"I still think you lured it in!" Gimli grumbled. "I cannot stand those creatures. They are evil!" He shuddered thinking about the incident again. His pride had taken a large blow by having Legolas find him in that state. When the elf had opened the door, he had stood there for a moment taking in the scene, before erupting into fits of laughter, holding his stomach as tears streamed down his fair cheeks. Gimli had barreled past him into the elf's room, slamming the door behind him, leaving Legolas to calm himself and the bat and get it back outside where the evil thing belonged.

"They are not evil, Gimli. The poor creature was more frightened of you than you were of it." Legolas chuckled.

Gimli stopped mid stride and cast another glower at the elf next to him. If he could shoot daggers out of his eyes, he would have done it at that moment. "I was not afraid of it! I was merely startled. Just because I do not like them, does not mean I am afraid of them, you arrogant elf!"

"Stubborn dwarf! I would have thought since you had so much in common with the bat, you would have gotten along just fine. You are both stunted creatures who live in dark places after all." Legolas grinned at him, and Gimli felt his face heating by the second. If Legolas did not stop his teasing soon, Gimli would be required to take action in the way of dwarven vengeance.

"Stubborn! STUNTED! I'll show you STUNTED, once I cut those saplings you call legs down to size with my ax!"

Legolas laughed all the more, bright eyes sparkling with mirth, shaking his head. "Oh, Gimli! I wish you could see your face! You look much like a Balrog when you get so angry. Your face turns all red, and your beard bristles…"

Gimli's axe was in his hand before he knew he had drawn it, and Legolas held up placating hands, beginning to look a bit abashed. "Peace Gimli, I am sorry. I should not tease you so; though you deserve it for all that I have heard over the past days about my dislike of caves." Now the elf glared back at him as if he were the one to have the right to be upset. And now that he considered it, Gimli had teased the elf mercilessly. Perhaps Legolas did have reason for his teasing.

Gimli turned back towards the direction they were headed, his axe safely back in the loop of his belt. "May I remind you, Legolas, that you live in a cave?" Gimli would have the last word in this matter.

"Nay, Gimli, I live in a tree. I only stay in a cave when you come to visit." The elf was enjoying this to no end, and Gimli allowed it, remembering how much he had missed the elf's company over the past year. He wondered if Legolas had had reason to laugh in the past year. The foolish elf should not have denied himself the companionship of his friends, and if Gimli were honest with himself, he had to admit he had missed the elf's teasing.

"Fine!" Gimli stopped again, giving the elf a hard look. "You live in a tree, but you were raised in a cave!" Legolas winced at this and Gimli harrumphed, confident that this time he had the last word. Giving the elf some leeway was not the same as giving him the last word.

Legolas yielded, most likely due to the fact that Gimli was correct. The elf dramatically bowed to his friend. "Very well, Gimli. Shall we proceed now?" He turned on his heel and led the way onward, but Gimli saw the sly grin on the elf's face. Legolas may have conceded for the moment, but the elf would find other things to taunt Gimli about.

"Tell me, Gimli. How is it dwarves are able to hit such a high pitch? For I have never heard such shrieking…"

Gimli sighed. It would be a long walk to the caverns.

—  o  —

An hour later, they arrived at the new tunnel branching off to the right. According to the man with whom they had spoken, no one had traveled it yet. Taking a few minutes to rest, they sat quietly, observing the carvings lit by the torchlight then proceeded into the darkness beyond.

Along this tunnel, the carvings were different. Gimli paused to admire one that depicted different animals while Legolas paused before one that looked like a forest carved into the stone. There was a lack though in the carvings, beautiful though they were. Gimli was disturbed to see no sign of precious metals or gems of any kind. Living in Aglarond, he was used to these most precious minerals gracing the walls. Their absence made the place seem empty and bare. Dwarves would never create such a work without accenting it in some manner with precious stones, silver or gold.

Continuing down the passage, they arrived in a large cavern. There were many carved stone furnishings in the huge grotto, similar to those in the other rooms they had seen. Tables and chairs were scattered amongst the place and there were strange ledges along the walls; obviously this place had been occupied at some time. The caverns seemed to have once been living areas for an unknown people.

Sadly, it might never be known who had made this place their home so long ago. Some of the ledges held small carved figures in the shape of different animals which appeared to be decorations or possibly children's toys; there were many possible uses for the different items they found. Gimli was thrilled to find a small stone ax. It was crudely made, but it was most definitely an ax!

As they made their way through another tunnel, they spoke about what they had seen and speculated on the use of each item. To Gimli's surprise and delight, Legolas was still in high spirits and for once seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, despite the underground environment. Gimli was somewhat astonished at Legolas's lack of inhibitions in the dark places they explored. He came to the conclusion the elf simply had forgotten he was underground, so engrossed he was in their discussions and the interesting objects they found. He made a mental note to work harder at distracting the elf when underground in future.

After a time, they stopped to eat the lunch they brought with them, continuing their speculation about the various rooms they had seen. At one point Legolas stopped mid sentence, cocking his head to the side as if he were listening. It was then Gimli realized his elven companion was very aware that he was underground. Legolas simply hid his fears with much conversation.

Gimli sighed. "What do you hear?" he asked, looking at the curious expression on the elf's face.

"I cannot be sure," Legolas replied. "There was something, but now it is silent. Perhaps a stone rolling somewhere; I am not certain." The elf did not seem that worried about what he had heard. They finished eating and moved on into the mysterious unknown. At each intersection, Gimli took careful note of which tunnels they took. It would not do to get lost and need to be rescued.

- o -

After heading down several seemingly boring corridors, the comrades came to a dead end. Deciding they had seen enough for one day, they headed back out towards the surface. Legolas was thankful they would once again be out in the fresh air. He had enjoyed exploring, but there was only so much of being underground that he could take at one time.

When they reached the spot where they had eaten lunch, they stopped to rest for a few minutes. Once again, Legolas heard that strange sound, only this time it was louder. He looked at Gimli to see if he had heard it as well and was shocked to see a flash of fear on the dwarf's face. It was reflected in the dwarf's voice when he said, "There is going to be a cave in. Come, quickly!"

Legolas did not doubt Gimli's instincts in these matters. They both headed back the way they had come at a run. As they reached the first cavern off the new tunnel, they could both hear the rocks rumbling above them. Dust sifted down on them, and Legolas felt as if all his fears of being underground were about to come true and he would be buried alive underground! His breathing increased, and he looked to Gimli in a panic.

"Legolas, you must calm down. We will get out of this place, but you must stay calm." As soon as Gimli said this, the rocks above them began to fall. Gimli ducked under one of the stone tables, pulling Legolas with him.

No sooner than both made it under the cover of the table, the roar became deafening. Legolas watched in horror as large rocks and dust fell all around them. They had both dropped their torches in the scramble to get under the table, and without any warning, the light went out, leaving them in complete darkness.

Legolas felt his heart was going to explode out of his chest. He could not breathe; the air was full of dust. The noise was so loud his ears were ringing, and combined with the darkness, he felt as if he were already in a tomb. His panic grew with his labored breathing. Faintly, he heard Gimli trying to reassure him, but he could barely hear the dwarf over the din. He reached out and found one of Gimli's hands and held on for dear life.

A few moments later, a sharp crack came from directly above them and then something heavy smashed into his head. Even in the darkness, Legolas saw a flash of light before his eyes. The last thing he heard was a dwarven cry of pain, followed by oblivion.

To Be Continued…