Howling of Wargs, by Monztre

"It would seem that you have no useful skill or talent whatsoever," he said. "Have you thought of going into teaching?"

― Terry Pratchett, Mort

6. Big Bad Warg

It was late evening when the Fellowship finally stopped to rest. They were too tired to walk anymore that night, but where should they go tomorrow? A heated discussion followed, while they ate another cold meal and had a few more drops of Miruvor.

Legolas kindly translated for Kat. The question was; since the mountain was closed to them, should they take another way or give up and return to Rivendell with the Ring? The drooping hobbits looked up hopefully when Rivendell was mentioned, but Gandalf explained that this alternative would only lead to Sauron besieging and destroying that realm and taking back what he once forged, and with the One Ring on his finger he would be invincible.

"Then we must go on, if there is a way," said Frodo with a sigh. He and his friends seemed so cast down that Kat wished she had had arms to hug them with, but as usual she had to resort to rubbing her body against their legs.

Gandalf said there was a way, actually, one that Aragorn had been against until they at least tried the Caradhras route. "The road I speak of leads to Moria."

Hearing that name made everyone except Gimli and Kat look horrified.

What? What is Moria?

A dwarf mine. Tunnels through the mountains. Legolas shuddered.

The discussion continued. Aragorn confirmed that he absolutely did not want to go into Moria for there might be no way out of it, and Boromir agreed, suggesting they instead follow the mountain range south until the Gap of Rohan where they could pass through. He had come that way from Gondor to Rivendell last autumn and the horse lords had been friendly. Or they could go even further south and follow the coast to Mordor.

Gandalf firmly disagreed. The Rohan route would take them too close to the evil wizard Saruman's tower, and walking down to the sea could take a year or more. They were being watched now and had to use less known roads. They ought to go where nobody expected them – not over or around the mountains, but under them.

Boromir protested that they could not know what the Enemy expected – what if Moria proved to be a trap? They might as well knock on the gates to the Dark Tower itself then.

Gandalf was becoming annoyed now. The Dark Tower of Mordor was nothing like Moria! He had been to Sauron's old fortress in Mirkwood; he had seen the Enemy's dungeons there and knew what he was capable of. Entering the Dark Tower was certain death, but in the Mines of Moria they still had a chance. He would not lead them there if he did not believe it safe. Yes, there could be orcs inside, but not very likely because most of them had been killed in the Battle of Five Armies years ago. It was more probable the dwarves still lived there.

At the mention of dwarves Gimli's eyes sparkled with excitement. He would gladly go with Gandalf and meet his kin – if they could find and open the hidden doors.

Gandalf looked pleased. He had been in Moria once before and came out safe to tell the tale, he was sure he could still remember the way.

Kat listened to Legolas' translations, feeling a tremor in her slight body when she perceived the elf's and the men's reactions; they were all strong, apdept warriors, yet they feared this mine. She vividly hoped Gandalf would abandon the idea, but now with Axe Guy to support him it seemed less likely.

The argument continued back and forth, with everyone reluctant to take the Moria road except for the wizard and the dwarf. Aragorn was unusually quiet and demure – apparently he had been into Moria once too, and had bad memories from it, but since his idea to climb the mountains had nearly killed the hobbits he was willing to follow Gandalf this time.

Boromir seemed disgruntled by Gandalf's harsh answer to his first suggestion, and said that he would only go if everyone of the Fellowship voted for it. He wanted to know what the elf and the hobbits thought – surely the Ring Bearer should have a say?

"I do not wish to go to Moria," said Legolas silently. Kat could not quite interpret his expression but he did not look happy.

The hobbits looked at Frodo, who finally said he trusted Gandalf – but they ought to sleep on it before they voted. In a bleak night like this with the wind howling around them everything felt more frightening. Perhaps the Mines would seem like a better idea in the morning?

Aragorn jumped to his feet and cried something.

He says the wind howls with wolf voices! Wargs are coming for us.

Wolves? But I read they are shy, peaceful animals. All that dominance alpha omega stuff and eating granny is just fiction. Fairy tales you know? They won't bother us. Right?

Peaceful? Wargs? He shook his head and grimly began to string his bow.

Kat's stomach plummeted. Why did she have to be sent into a world where fairy tales were true, where such things as big bad wolves actually existed? What if they ate her in place of a granny? All dogs hated cats. She would become wolf bait – bite-sized bait.

The possibility of a warg attack changed everything. Gandalf made clear they could no longer take the path around the mountains or even return to Rivendell; with wolves on their track they had to seek the protection of the Mines. Even Boromir grudgingly relented and agreed to the plan.

The company would set out on the Moria road in the morning, but to survive the night they needed to move to higher ground. They had been hiding on the side of a hill, now they climbed on top of it where some boulders and old rocks were scattered in a circle, and gathered in the center of them. Here they could better defend themselves if the wargs came closer.

Gandalf decided they could light a fire for warmth, and maybe it might keep the wolves at bay too. Soon they were huddling around the blaze, still fatigued after the ordeal on the mountain earlier that day. They took turns trying to get some rest, with those awake watching the surroundings closely for danger.

Kat was exhausted but could not get a blink of sleep with such bone-chilling howls sounding closer and closer. Wide awake, she crouched low against the ground with her fur bristling.

After a while she could see the monsters; large, gray shapes between the boulders in the outskirts of the circle of light, their eyes shining eerily as they walked back and forth. They were almost the same size as Bill the pony, who was trembling and sweating miserably at the sight of them – and the smell too, perhaps. To Kat's sensitive nose they had a pungent, almost sulphuric stench that did not at all fit with live creatures. There had been a similar smell when she was shot – a bit like fireworks.

The largest of the wargs stopped, staring straight at them and giving up a challenging howl. Gandalf strode against it boldly, shaking his staff and shouting something angrily. It sounded like a threat, but if he had intended to scare it his words had the opposite effect, for the ragged beast charged at him in a great leap.

With inhuman speed Legolas' bow twanged as he released an arrow, hitting the warg straight through its throat. It yelped and shrieked as it fell to the ground, twitching violently, pink foam bubbling out of its jaws. Soon it stopped moving, and beneath the hill the wolf shadows disappeared as the rest of the pack fled.

Still with her hair standing on end, Kat took a few steps closer to examine the large form. It looked like a very big dog, one of those compact, muscular breeds that historically were used for animal fighting, but unlike them this was covered in a thick, wolflike pelt. The strange, sulphuric reek was strong around it.

She looked up at Legolas who came to retrieve his arrow, suddenly awed at his achievement. He had hit the warg mid-leap and killed it with a single arrow.

That was... I don't know what to say. You're an amazing archer!

He gave her a bleak smile. Practice makes perfect. I have had a long time to hone my skills.

Gandalf grasped the elf's shoulder and said something in a soft voice, probably thanking the other for saving his life. Then they returned to the fire to catch some more sleep, now that the wolves had been chased away.

/\_,,_/\
( – _ – )

Loud howls woke Kat after what felt like hardly no time. The warg pack had returned.

Around her the others quickly rose, and it was right on time because suddenly dark shapes were jumping over the boulders, attacking them on all sides. Aragorn and Boromir slashed away at the beasts with their swords, piercing the throat of one and cutting the head off another, while Legolas' arrows turned a third into a yelping pin cushion. Gimli held his axe in both hands, chopping off wolf-parts like a berserk lumberjack, and the hobbits made the rearguard, their daggers small but deadly.

Kat backed away until she bumped into one of Bill's hooves. The poor pony trembled almost as badly as she when she climbed to sit on his back, hoping to stay away from under the others' feet. She had never in her life felt more useless.

Gandalf picked up a burning log from the fire and held it aloft while he slowly and menacingly approached the wolves. He seemed to grow where he stood and spoke a spell in a deep, roaring voice. The sound sent shivers down Kat's spine.

The burning branch in the wizard's hand became dazzlingly bright and with a loud crack it set a nearby tree ablaze.

Under the dancing flames Gandalf looked fearsome. Gone was the cranky old man whose beard she had toyed with, this was every inch a wizard, yielding a power both wild and fierce, hard as the rock under his feet and ancient as the stars.

Within minutes the whole hill was burning, and in the firelight the warriors' swords and Gimli's axe gleamed crimson.

One of Legolas' arrows burst into flame and hit the largest warg in its heart. That was the last straw; yelping and squealing the rest of the monsters ran away.

The fire flickered and waned until only black, twisted tree corpses and smoke remained. And behind the eastern mountains came sunrise at last.

/\_,,_/\
( O _ O )

The wargs had not been ordinary, which explained their strange scent. When Legolas went to retrieve his arrows they were all intact, except the one that had burned, and there were neither carcasses nor blood on the ground or on their weapons.

Gandalf seemed worried and said they must hurry to leave this place. Sauron was on their track and apparently had the power to conjure up apparitions like these from half a continent away.

Kat silently followed in the others' wake when they set out, walking last in line with heavy paws. Why had she been sent on this quest? She was completely unnecessary to them. No – worse – she was a burden. She ate their food and drank their water, just another creature to protect and worry about, but unlike Bill she could not help them carry things.

During the fight she had seen her companions in a new light, with Gandalf as a mighty wizard and Aragorn and Boromir in their true element as warriors. Gimli too – she had mockingly called him Axe Guy in her mind, but his strength and skill with that axe was masterly. Even the hobbits had bravely wielded their daggers despite their short stature and lesser experience.

And Legolas... He who she had teased and cuddled with had turned into a fierce warrior elf, taut and focused, his eyes sharp and his bow singing while he hit targets as tiny as a warg's eye fifty meters away. It made her ashamed for being so shallow. He was on a life-and-death mission and all she had done was forcing the poor elf to answer personal questions.

She had been a fool. A fool for choosing this quest, for thinking she was a hero just because she had locked some kids into a gym equipment storage and run for it. She was worthless.

Are you well? Legolas with his uncanny ability to sense others' emotions had slowed his gait to walk beside her. She glanced up at him, but seeing his handsome, worried face made everything worse and she quickly turned her eyes back to the ground.

Yes.

You do not seem well. Did the wargs hurt you?

Please, don't worry about me. You have important things to do. I don't belong among you.

I like to have you around.

His kind words only worsened her mortification.

I'm supposed to save someone but in this form I'm useless, she finally blurted out. Heck, even as a woman I was useless. I'm a teacher, for Heaven's sake, that's all I know how to do. Whatever did that guy in the Mandos place think I could achieve here, that you people couldn't manage better on your own?

Mandos? Legolas had stopped.

Yes? I think the place was called Mandos-something – it was where I met the person with the pretty voice. Didn't I mention that?

You never said you were in the Halls of Mandos! He stared at her incredulously. I know for a fact animals cannot go there. Are you really... Are you... He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. You really are a woman. He was silent for several minutes before continuing in an entirely different inner voice, subdued and polite. My most sincere apologies for mistrusting you, Ka– Miss Katharina. How stupid I have been! I should have told Gandalf about you from the beginning.

He hurried his pace to catch up with the rest of the group, leaving Kat staring after him in dismay as he called out: "Gandalf! There is something important I need to tell you."

This was not a conversation she was ready for.

A/N:

Finally Kat got through to the thickheaded elf, but how will Gandalf react to his information? And what will happen in Moria? Let me know if you have ideas for the next chapters. :)

Image Credits:

Howling of Wargs, Art by Monztre on DeviantArt, source: https://www.deviantart.com/monpuasajr