The Liba

Moria

They all sat down, waiting for Gandalf to figure it out. Lydia sat with Aragorn and Boromir, smoking. The other girls were either chilling with Gimli, Legolas, or the Hobbits. 

"There's something down there." She heard Frodo whisper to Gandalf.

"It's Gollum, hes been following us for three days."

  "He escaped the dungeons of Barad-Dûr!" Frodo said.

"Escaped? Or was set loose? And now the Ring had drawn him here. He will never be rid of his need for it. He hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself. Sméagol's life is a sad story. Yes, Sméagol he was once called. Before the Ring found him... before it drove him mad." 

  "It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance!" Frodo said loudly. 

  "Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo?" 

Frodo sat down by Gandalf, looking at the ground, silent.

"Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise can not see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill... before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many. "

"I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." Frodo said.

"So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought." Gandalf said.

Lydia stood up and walked towards the doors sniffing the air. She walked to the doorway that didn't smell as foul and leaned there.

"Oh! It's that way." Gandalf said.

"He's remembered!" Merry half yelled.

"No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here."  Gandalf said, "If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose." 

They came to a more open space. Broken columns lie tumbled across the floor. Gandalf lifted his staff.  

 "Let me risk a little more light."  He said.

  His staff illuminated a giant stone hall with tall pillars and arched ceilings.  

  "Behold, the great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf."  Gandalf announced.

  Gimli ran into a chamber, bodies and weapons scattered about it. He stopped and knelt by a crypt in the center of the room. A shaft of light illuminated it. Gandalf walked forward and peered at the tomb's surface.  Gimli was crying "No"

  "'Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria.' He is dead then. It's as I feared."  Gandalf said.

Gandalf picked up a book.

"We must move on, we cannot linger!" Legolas told Aragorn and Lydia.

Lydia sighed, knowing what was coming.

"What's coming, Lyd?" Aragorn asked.

"...They have a cave troll." She replied, "They are coming."

"They have taken the bridge... and the second hall." Gandalf read, " We have barred the gates... but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes.Drums... drums... in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark.We cannot get out...  They are coming."