The Fourth Age (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"No... she's terrified..." Uther didn't want to move for fear of frightening her away. If she was scared of them, there was the possibility that she was not someone to be feared.

It was Pippin that addressed her. "Excuse me, miss..." he said softly, stepping forward so she could see him. "What's your name?"

Slowly, the woman's tense form began to relax, "... Elle... Elle is my name... And yours, little hobbit?"

"Peregrin Took," he smiled, "or Pippin as m'friends call me. An' these are my comrades." He motioned to all behind him.

"So... you aren't more of my brother's warriors...?"

"... Your brother isn't Kaan Dache, is he?" Oswyn asked tentatively.

"I'm afraid so..."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve raised a curious eyebrow as she spoke and said her brother was the dark lord here and sighed softly. She was still weary of the girl. Blood was blood. She stepped forward slightly, keeping her sword down in a non-threatening manner. She did not want to scare her. “I am Eruve Calime. How long have been here, Elle? Is there more family down here?” She wondered what was actually going on here.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I've been here most of my life... Kaan brought me here when I was just a baby, after my mother died nearly a century ago."

"But you're human," Pippin mused.

"Only half. You see, Kaan and I are half-siblings. Our father was an elf like his mother, but my mother was human. If it weren't for the blood between us, Kaan would've let me die as an infant. He cares little for me, so I simply roam the halls beneath the island... You all came to slay him, didn't you?"

"I'm afraid so," Uther sighed.

"I don't blame you... he's done far too much to go unpunished..."

"But I imagine you won't help us either."

"I won't help you kill my brother," she shook her head. "but I will help you survive whatever he throws at you, if you wish. I don't want anyone to die..."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve sighed again. Seems this young girl was somewhat a prisoner here. If not for being Kaan’s blood, she would be death by now. At least he gave her a chance to survive. For that she was lucky. “Please,” Eruve replied, “any help at this point would be greatly appreciated.” She did not want anyone to die either. And they were lucky that at least Elle could see her brother needed to be stopped from his reign of terror. Then Elle could be freed of this life and begin to live another.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You will see me here and there... All I can tell you is to continue on straight. Don't turn into any of the side hallways for any reason," she warned. "And try to keep close to the sunlit pools. Torches will be of little help to you here, the guardian beasts this far down are used to the torchlight."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve nodded at Ella’s words. She just hoped that they could be trusted. She was still weary, but she was always weary. She had a hard time trusting anyone. She would, however, trust the ones in her group and if they trusted her, she would as well. It, at least, seemed true about the sunlit pools. The ones at the opening did not like the sun. “Thank you,” she said with a bow of her head. She then looked to Uther and smiled slightly. His presence put her at ease a bit. At least she had him with her, it made things a bit more tolerable. She loved him, plain and simple. And though she wanted to keep her emotions in check, she could not help but smile when she looked upon his handsome face. Her calm in the storm.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Good luck to you... And even though I don't want my brother to die... I do hope you win this battle, for the good of your people." Elle turned and disappeared down the hallway, and soon, the group continued on. It was eerily silent. "Where're all th'guardian beasts she was talkin' about?" Gimli muttered quietly.

"Hiding from the sun..." Uther answered. "We'll be safe from them for as long as the sun is out... Thank the gods the sky was clear."

As they went, they occasionally saw a pair of white eyes glaring at them, but the beasts never dared come out.

The hall was vast in length and there were many winding halls that extended off the sides, but Uther kept the group going straight. When they stopped to rest, he wouldn't allow the group to settle anywhere else but around a sunlit pool.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve walked along the straight path, looking down the corridors to see eyes staring back at them. It was an eerie feeling, knowing you were being watched. She listened to what Uther said about the sun. It was comforting, for now. Once the sun was down though, she did not want to even think about it. She knew it had to be on all their minds. When night came, they would not have the protection of the sun. She did not dare ask though.

When they finally rested, she looked up at the sun. Thankful, as Uther stated, that it was out. She was longing for a longer day. It would eventually end and they would be in darkness. Unless there was a magic here that kept the sun pools lit. She doubted they would be that lucky though. She sighed to herself and looked to the ground.

 

[KieranSoares]

Uther settled beside her and kissed her cheek for her comfort. Gimli calmed them all with an old dwarven tale from Moria, and Pippin sang them a funny little ballad that had them all chuckling. The story and song chased away the darkness in a way the sunlight did not. It reminded them all that, despite the situation, they still had hope and a home to defend, and even if they failed, they'd have their friends on the white shores.

But before they knew it, the light dimmed, and Uther looked up. "Clouds... dammit, a storm must be rolling in..." He rose, "Alright, everyone, we need to move. The sooner we find Dache, the sooner we can get out of this place."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve sat with Uther and listened to everyone as they put the group at ease. It was good for them to momentarily forget where they were. She was happy to be with her friends and the man she loved. She was actually at peace.

As soon as it started to get dark, the dread returned. She stood at Uther’s command and was ready to move. She walked beside Uther. “My love,” she said softly, “promise me something.” She took the ring off her hand and handed it to him, “That you will keep this close to you. It is the symbol of my people and will give you strength when you need it.” She looked up at him and smiled lovingly.

 

[KieranSoares]

Uther paused with her a moment as she spoke, letting the others continue on straight. Receiving his love's ring, he looked down upon it and then reached up to take his own necklace, a mithril chain with a simple claymore pendant, off. He slipped the claymore from the chain and tucked it away, and Eruve's ring took its place and he slid it back around his neck. "I promise," he whispered, and drew her into the warm, safe circle of his arms to kiss her.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve smiled as Uther put the ring on his necklace to wear it. It was a blue gem that was said to hold great power. She had always worn it, but never had the need for it. She now needed it to protect Uther. He mattered the most to her. He was her other half.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. She kissed him passionately as if it could be their last kiss. She did not want to take anything for granted. If it happened to be their last kiss, then she wanted it to mean something. She broke from the kiss to look at him, “I love you, Uther…and please make it out of this alive.”

 

[KieranSoares]

"Only if you do too, love," he whispered and kissed her again. They took up the back of the party, letting Legolas and Lexan lead with their sharp eyes. As the hallway grew darker and drops of water began to drip from the holes the sun had come from, more white eyes gathered to watch them until they were entirely surrounded and the only light was the torches on the wall and those in the warriors' hands. Uther drew his blade, standing side-by-side with Eruve and Miras. He knew there were far too many of these monsters, and this might be their final battle. Uther kissed Eruve one last time before they struck.

Just as Uther parried a swordblow by one creature, the tunnel suddenly lit with a blinding flash, and the monsters shrieked and fled like beaten dogs, some with their rotting skin sizzling as light was like fire to them. Uther turned to find where the light had come from, and his eyes grew wide at the sight of an immensely tall, dark-skinned elf with ebony hair and amber eyes, standing in the center of the group. All of the allies backed away fearfully. They knew it was Kaan Dache, just looking at him.

Clad in entirely black with a long cloak, Dache was a thin, tall, and very dangerous-looking figure. "Good evening," he growled in a spine-chillingly sweet voice.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve pulled out her sword and kissed Uther and readied for the attack. They were surrounded and the odds did not seem to be in their favor. Eruve winced as the blinding light filled the hall. She shielded her eyes for a second, with her free hand. She turned to where the light had come from. She drew in a deep breath as she looked upon the dark elf. She backed up with the group. His presence alone was enough to cause people to run screaming. He oozed evil and when he spoke, Eruve’s skin crawled.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Welcome to Leaguer Hall," he smirked, unfolding his arms and gesturing to the vast hall around them. "I daresay you're all trespassing. But I'm prepared to forgive you."

"We aren't here for forgiveness," Uther growled, standing his ground before the dark elf. "We're here to end the threat you hold over Middle Earth."

"I know that, little human," Dache's tone became venomous. "I know all of you, and what you are here for. Uther Boarsbane, aren't you? And your brother, here, Oswyn. The little Hobbits Masters Merry and Pippin, the dwarves of grand Moria, Gimli and Miras. Uncle and nephew, elves of Lorien Legolas and Lexan. And I see the Prince is already missing, dead." Then his eyes turned to Eruve and he gave her a smirk.

"Ah, and young Eruve Calime, your love, isn't she Boarsbane?" Dache took a step toward her, reaching out to take her arm. Uther reacted instantly, slashing out and leaving a deep gash in Dache's wrist. Dache didn't even flinch, but he looked down at his arm as blood that was almost black fell and pooled on the floor. "You should learn to control that temper, young human."

A pulse ran through the air suddenly, throwing them all to the floor, but Dache grabbed Eruve, sending an awful wave of cold electricity through her to render her weak. "Heel your dog, dear girl, before he gets himself killed. Leave this place now, and perhaps you will not die on my island... Perhaps." With that, he disappeared, leaving them all stunned.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve stood there as Dache spoke. It was eerie that he knew who they all were, but not a surprise with what all had happened already. She stepped back a bit as he smirked at her and tried to grab her. She was about to stop Uther, but he was too quick. She did not want to provoke Dache just yet, but she also did not want him touching her. She furrowed her brow as his blood flowed black like there was nothing left of the elf he once was.

She gasped as he quickly grabbed her and her companions fell to the ground. She drew in a sharp breath as she felt something move through her body. She fought to free her arms from his grasp as she looked up at him, but she was weakened by what he did. She felt her knees give slightly, but fought to keep her footing. She shook her head slightly at his words. “Never,” she managed to get out before he vanished.

She fell to her knees, sucking in a deep breath. She felt like she had been drained of all her energy. Luckily it was already slowly returning to her. She closed her eyes and breathed in again. She was stronger than she looked. She pushed herself off the ground, still shaking. She looked at the Uther and the others, "Are you ok?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Everyone rose, thankfully only a few of them were dazed at the worst. Dayrn sighed, "There's no going back now, young ones. You've riled the beast."

"Dayrn..." Uther rose, looking at his blade. "Why is his blood black...?"

"It is dark magic, the same that threatened to take the hobbit's arm. Dache welcomed it freely and it has caused many physical changes as you see in his skin and eyes and blood and hair. He was once a fair elf like Legolas and Lexan with honest blue eyes. Now he is dark in every sense of the word with crazed feline amber eyes. You had best clean the blood from your blade or it will dissolve the steel soon. Do not touch it with anything you would mind losing."

With that, Uther tore an edge from his cloak and cleaned the blood away as best he could. The two hobbits were terrified now, and Lexan and Miras looked a bit shaky. Gimli, Oswyn, Uther, and Legolas, however, were only angry. The experience served them as an insight as to who Dache was, nothing more as long as no one was hurt.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve was slowly gaining her strength, but was furious as hell. She glared at the ground while Uther cleaned his blade off. They knew he could bleed, but his blood was poisonous in a way. It could destroy their blade. Worse off, he was powerful. Far more powerful than she could have imagined. She saw it in his eyes. She closed her eyes and tried to shake off the icky feeling of his touch, it lingered still. It, like his voice, made her skin crawl. “So, what is the plan now?”

 

[KieranSoares]

"We know he's not immune to physical damage," Legolas spoke, "but I have a feeling it'll take quite a lot to slay him."

"Agreed," Gimli nodded, "An' what with 'is magicks, there, 'e'll 'ave plenty o' defense."

"So we should figh' fire wi' fire!" Miras grumbled angrily.

"No one among us is powerful enough to stand up to him... We may have to send for a witch or wizard... If only Gandalf was still around," Legolas sighed.

"Well, he's not. It's just us and the allies that Aragorn sent. We need to get out of here and find them."

 

[queenclaire]

“He has to have a weakness,” Eruve said softly as she stood there, watching the group. She did not seem to have been hit as hard as them. She shook her head, “Everyone has a weakness…everyone.” She knew even if they hid it deep down, everyone had one. He may fancy himself a god, but he could be defeated. She knew it. They just needed to figure out how to knock him down a bit. Of course more soldiers would help them a bit.

“He wields the dark arts,” she said, almost talking to herself, “It is thick, in it his bones. I can smell it deep within him.” She had been sensitive to it, always had been. So, when he drew her close to him, she could almost feel it herself. “So,” she paused in her thought. She ran a hand through her red hair as she continued to think silently. She really wanted to know how he did it. How he found it and how he can control it. She was very curious.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Well, we can consider it as we go, we can't-" Pergolas was cut off by an awful and fearsome growl behind them. When they all turned, there in the darkness they could just make out the form of what seemed to be a huge bear stood up on its hind legs. Everyone froze in place, seeing its huge magic-filled eyes of white and its seemingly undead body like the other monsters. Merry gave a soft gasp as three more appeared behind it.

"No one move..." Uther whispered. The bears came forward, lumbering lazily and sniffing the air, soon the travellers too. But because they didn't move, the creatures didn't do a thing to them. Much like real bears. Uther whispered once more, "If you can, slowly lay down on the floor... slowly as possible. If one growls, freeze."

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve froze as she saw the bears approached. She was amazed at the strange things they had seen down here. The bears were like the others, dead-like. She watched as they moved up and began to sniff them. At least they were still acting as if they were bears. Dache had not changed their basic characteristics, or at least it seemed that way.

She heard Uther tell them to go to the floor if they could. She did not have a bear in front of her at the moment, but she was not sure she could move without being noticed. Her eyes watched the bear nearest to her, if she moved too fast, it could be on her in a blink of an eye. She decided to stay still and wait for the right moment.

 

[KieranSoares]

Merry and Pippin managed to press themselves close to Legolas and Lexan, knowing that their own small size could get them into trouble here. The bears were very nearly about to walk away when the smallest sudden sound, like a loose piece of stone from the ceiling falling into a pool, set the bears off. One plowed Gimli and Miras over, another cornered the elves and hobbits. The last two turned on Uther and Oswyn because they were the most imposing figures. Eruve was left unnoticed, and that was incredibly lucky for her and her comrades.

Legolas and Lexan were fighting as hard as they could but they couldn't do much damage to the beast in between the swipes of its huge paws. Gimli and Miras were trying to keep their assaulting bear from biting Gimli's neck and face, and Oswyn and Uther were pinned in a corner as well now.

 

[queenclaire]

Eruve stayed froze as the noise made the bears active. She was lucky they did not bother her, though her group was now under attack. She pulled out her bow and notched an arrow as she assessed the situation. She then let off the barrage of arrows quickly, drawing the bears’ attention on herself, letting her group have a break from being mauled.

She smiled as the bears turned to her and pulled out her sword. They were not happy with her or the arrows in their backs. One decided to attack her. She turned her back to him as it wrapped its arms around her. She shoved her sword up and through it skull. She twisted the sword, killing it. She yanked out her sword and rolled out of the way as it fell to the ground.

 

[KieranSoares]

Uther was the first to jump in and help her. One charged her, but Uther, with a great leap, landed on its back and drove his sword down between its shoulderblades. It fell forward, paralyzed, but still fought like mad to reach Eruve til Uther took its head off. Now the others had recovered and the remaining two beasts were quickly dispatched.

"Run!" Uther growled at them when he saw the glow of white eyes down the tunnel, and the group took off back from whence they came. Ever pursued, they reached the stone doors in double time and Dayrn opened them up. They shut just in time as Gimli bolted out last, and several members of the group fell to the ground panting heavily from the long run. Uther sat down, chest heaving and his blade laying across his lap. "Bloody hell..." he sighed.