Míriel had never been to Moria but she had heard much about it from the Dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield's company and from Gimli of course. Thorin and Balin had once been in a war of Moria against Azog the Defiler which was where he lost his grandfather Thrór and his father disappeared. All the Dwarves had spoken greatly of Moria, though, and it made Míriel eager to see it for herself. To meet hundreds of Dwarves again, to perhaps have a proper rest and be able to relax for a little while. Now that Legolas was in a better mood, perhaps he would be a little keener to be kind to the Dwarves they met.

When they finally seemed to arrive, Míriel was stunned to see the beautiful stone walls of the great mine of Moria.

"Ah!" Gimli said proudly as they all stopped to look at it. "The walls of Moria."

Míriel was not the only one who was impressed, that was for sure, since the Hobbits' jaws had dropped. Legolas tried to not show the impression and awe on his face, but Míriel could see it clearly. No one could say that it wasn't beautiful and somewhat compelling in a way.

"It is beautiful," Míriel said with a smile.

Gimli smiled, pleased about this comment, especially since it came from an Elf. Even if Gimli had not gotten along very well with Legolas, he had with Míriel and it was probably because she wasn't as rude as Legolas were. Míriel cared for Gimli too since he was very kind and amusing to be around, she just wished that Legolas could feel the same. It would all be so much easier if they got along and spoke once in a while instead of dropping insulting comments about the other race every now and then. Gimli would say things like 'Elves only care for their looks and beauty' while Legolas would say that 'Dwarves smell worse than the buttocks of a troll'.

"Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," Gimli told Míriel to sound a little smart, he thought he was the only one who knew things about Dwarves.

Míriel knew this already though, for the door to Erebor had been invisible too, even though they had a key. She hoped Gandalf had a key to the opening to Moria, or whatever was needed to enter the city.

"Yes, even their masters can have trouble finding them if their secrets are forgotten," Gandalf said.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas muttered and made Míriel chuckle, but Gimli only huffed.

They walked toward the entrance of the Dwarf mine as fast as they could with a pony and tired legs dragging behind. Much time had been wasted walking up to Caradhras and now they needed to hurry through the mines to avoid any further delays.

The fellowship finally arrived in front of a great stone wall. It was empty or any signs that it was a door, and Míriel wondered if they were really in the right place.

"Now let us see..." Gandalf muttered and let his hand graze over the stone wall, almost like he was looking for a sign to tell him that they were in the right place. "Ithildin, it mirrors only starlight and moonlight." On a cue, the moon revealed itself from behind the dark clouds, shining its light on the door which made light Quenyan words appear over the opening. Míriel was quite bad at Quenya, but she could read it pretty well and so could Gandalf fortunately. "It reads, 'The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak friend, and enter."

"And what's that's supposed to mean?" Merry asked. To be completely honest, Míriel was not quite sure either what this meant. Was it a riddle, a message, a clue?

"It's quite simple actually," Gandalf said and smiled. "If you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open."

He pointed his staff at the wall and spoke the password loudly. Míriel waited, they all waited to see what would happen, but nothing changed - the door didn't even flinch. Gandalf tried again and again with different passwords but the door would not open for him. Soon they had been there for more than an hour and most of them had stopped watching him try to open it. Merry and Pippin were throwing rocks into the water out of boredom and anxiety, Aragorn released Bill since he would not be able to come into the mines and Legolas leant against a tree whilst he examined his bow.

Míriel sighed and stared out over the black water in front of her, there was no way to see what was beneath the black cover of water. She had a strange feeling about it - something was lurking underneath the innocent surface that made her be at her best guard. She glanced away from the lake since she did not want to worry, it could be nothing. Míriel chatted with Boromir and Gimli for a while about what they would be expecting in Moria before she heard Frodo's voice speaking to a defeated Gandalf.

"It's a riddle," Frodo suddenly said. Could it really be so that Frodo had solved a riddle that Gandalf couldn't? "Gandalf, what's the Elvish word for friend?"

"Mellon," Gandalf said and indeed, the entrance opened itself to him - Frodo had been right.

One by one they entered the dark mine as soon as the doors were open for them, but Míriel did not get the same impression that Gimil had bragged about. It quickly became apparent that this place was dark and cold, and empty of people.

"Soon master Elf, you will enjoy the fighting hospitality of Dwarves," Gimli said loudly to Legolas. "Roaring fires, malt beer, red meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A mine!"

Gimli had not noticed that something was definitely wrong there. He was proud to brag about Moria's Dwarves to Legolas who did not look as enthusiastic as Gimli did. Why was it so dark in there? Gandalf quickly solved the issue and lit his staff with light.

"This is no mine, it is a tomb," Boromir said as he looked around deeper into the mine and the light shone some clarity over the situation. And indeed, there were skeletons everywhere, Dwarves with arrows piercing through their eyes, skulls and torsos.

Everyone was dead, all of Gimli's kin were dead, Balin's kin. Míriel's heart wrenched as Gimli let out a cry of pain, seeing that his friends and kin had been killed. It was terrible to see so much death, and it was quite clear that the bodies had been there for quite a while. Something else must have surely lived on in Moria, but Míriel was quite certain it wasn't something friendly. Míriel could only hope that Balin had taken some of his people and fled.

Gimli kept mourning as Legolas walked around and kneeled down toward a skeleton. He picked one of the arrows up to examine it further and threw it away quickly since he recognised it clearly, and so did Míriel.

"Goblins," he said and drew his bow in all haste to be ready in case the Goblins were still occupying the mine.

Gimli refused to get up from the ground where he had been staying as he cried out for his lost kin, he was clearly furious of what had happened. The mine had been taken by Goblins or Orcs once again, and anyone who was wise had probably fled far away from there.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan," Boromir muttered to everyone, and Míriel agreed with him since that was the only way left. "We should never have come here. Now get out, get out!"

The journey through Moria was now too dangerous and so their only option was to risk the way through Rohan. It was not an ideal plan, but Míriel was eager to leave Moria now that it was clear it could not help their journey.

Gimli's mourning was interrupted when Frodo suddenly screamed and was pulled out of the mine by a huge tentacle that had gotten around his ankle. In shock, Míriel could not move until Sam's voice woke her from her trance.

"Strider!" Sam cried for help. Aragorn turned around and hurried out of the mine.

Boromir, Míriel, Gimli and Legolas hurried after him and helped to bring the huge octopus-like creature down without hurting Frodo. It held him in one of its thick tentacles and moved him closer to its terrible, huge mouth. Aragorn, Gimli and Boromir were in the water and chopped off the tentacles as fast as they could with their swords. Míriel and Legolas shot the beast with arrows to keep its mouth shut and Frodo away from it.

Aragorn caught Frodo as he fell when the tentacle let him go, and Legolas shot an arrow that made the beast pull back for a moment - giving them all a chance to go back into the mine. But if they did, they would probably not be able to escape it. They were going to be trapped in a mine that they knew nothing about with the only other alternative being a huge beast that obviously wanted to get to Frodo. Aragon was first with Frodo in his arms to enter and then Míriel who turned around to look for Legolas.

"Legolas, into the mine!" Boromir shouted. He was still trying to bring down the beast but it was no use, its skin was quite rough and the arrows didn't do much harm.

Legolas listened to Boromir and then hurried inside. As they passed the entrance, boulders fell and blocked any way of getting out again or for the beast to come inside. It became pitch black and all that could be heard was the deep breaths of the members of the fellowship. Gandalf gave them some light with his staff and blinded Míriel slightly since she had not realised that she was standing so close to him.

"What was that?" Míriel said and turned to Gandalf.

"The Watcher of the Water," Gandalf muttered. "A foul creature older and fouler than Orcs."

Silence yet again fell between them and Míriel walked over to Frodo to make sure that he was unharmed. She placed her hand on his shoulder and then they both turned to Gandalf yet again for directions on what to do now.

"We now have now but one choice," Gandalf said bitterly. "We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things in the deep places of the world." Gandalf started walking in the lead and the others followed. "Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed."

*

It was a great relief when the Fellowship finally were on their last day in the mines for everyone had been tired and tense the entire time they had been there. No one enjoyed their stay in Moria and Míriel could not close her eyes without being on her guard. She constantly felt that someone was watching them; like there were eyes everywhere around them. They barely spoke, barely slept and never laughed. Even Pippin and Gimli seemed to be sullen and out of spirits since the very air smelled of fear and death.

It was not an easy way to go either, the paths were uneven and the ground would crumble under their feet. Míriel didn't count the days that passed, but one day the Fellowship walked a narrow path with ladders stopping their way - forcing them to carefully squeeze through them as they made their way on the path. Míriel walked behind Frodo and Gandalf, and Legolas was right behind her. In case someone fell, they would be able to catch each other, but everyone seemed quite steady. Gandalf suddenly stopped and caressed his hand across the wall to examine it carefully.

"The wealth of Moria was not in gold or jewels," he said to them all. ", but Mithril."

Every five minutes or so he had something to tell them about Moria and Míriel suspected it was to keep their spirits up. If Gandalf didn't speak, they would be completely quiet and miserable. Míriel saw Pippin was growing quite tired of Gandalf stories, but she enjoyed them since it brought her to think of other things.

Gandalf brought some light over the mine and Míriel took a peek over the edge of the cliff to see how deep the Dwarves had dug their mine. It was impressive and she thought of how long it must have taken them to do so. The Fellowship walked another great distance until they stopped in front of a path that had split into two ways. Both were dark and Míriel could not see where they led.

Gandalf could not remember which way to go, which was bittersweet since they now had some time to rest since they all had to stop and wait for his mind to clear.

Aragorn and Boromir made a fire - knowing it could take a while for Gandalf to remember. Boromir, Gimli and Aragorn smoked their pipes as the Hobbits gladly ate some food and Legolas stood quietly and examined his bow as usual.

"I already miss the ladies," Boromir said and chuckled.

Míriel turned her gaze to him and raised her eyebrows. She had not spent much time around Men in her days, but one thing was for sure; their favourite topics of conversation was ale, women and fights. Boromir didn't seem to be much different, but this was the first time she had ever heard him speak of women. She had never even asked if he was married, but she knew he had a brother.

"And proper food," Boromir soon added. "And ale of course." They all laughed softly, just because Boromir was speaking of such irrelevant things.

As Míriel turned her head to see what Frodo was up to, she saw him sitting next to Gandalf and speaking of Gollum the creature. Frodo had spotted him following them and was frightened about it. Míriel had suspected for a while now that something was following them and now there was a name for their stalker. Gollum was the one who had the ring before Bilbo, for the Hobbit had taken it from Gollum when he, Míriel and the Dwarves were in the Goblin caves many years ago. The ring had not lost its value to Gollum despite all the decades that had passed.

Míriel and the Dwarves had assumed that Bilbo had gotten lost in the Goblin Cave, when in reality he met Gollum and took his ring. Gollum was obsessed with the ring, he loved it just as much as he hated it and it was the cause of his unnaturally long life just as it had done to Bilbo. But Gollum had gone a step further since it had changed his appearance completely and he was now something that was hard to identify.

"Why don't we just get rid of that thing?" Sam muttered, meaning Gollum. He had seen it too and most of them seemed to know who he was. Sam did not care for Gollum at all and sure, they could get rid of him very quickly but Míriel could not see why they would. He was doing no harm.

"He seems harmless," Merry said. Míriel agreed, Gollum was not much taller than the Hobbits and he was always crouching as he walked. He couldn't have more than eight teeth and he was skinnier than what would be deemed healthy.

It was honestly a miracle that he was still alive after all this time without the ring. The driving force of the ring was greater than Míriel could have ever imagined. Gandalf had told them that Gollum was tortured in Mordor to tell Sauron and the nine Nazguls where the ring was, so it was really because of him that Frodo was constantly hunted. Bilbo had, unfortunately, told the creature his name when they met.

"Gandalf is not worried, so you shouldn't be either Sam," said Míriel and smiled toward him to stop him from worrying.

Míriel ate some food that Sam offered her and then joined Gimli, Aragorn and Boromir in their storytelling. Gimli had gotten his spirits back and would not stop talking about the adventures of his kin and argued with Legolas for a while of what had really happened in the Woodland Realm eighty years ago. Gimli said the guards were too slow and drunk to even notice the Dwarves running while Legolas said that it was just because Bilbo helped them.

Míriel uncomfortably sat quietly and tried not to protest anytime Legolas said something that wasn't true. Gimli shouldn't really have spoken of it because Míriel had told him that she didn't want to confuse Legolas further.

"Oh, it's that way," Gandalf suddenly said, and Míriel was thankful for him putting an end to the story-telling.

"He remembers," Merry said, meaning Gandalf, and smiled.

Everyone turned their heads toward him hopefully, seeing how he had stood from the ground and waited for them all to join him. Míriel was happy to move on now because Legolas and Gimli had started arguing again and her ears could take little more of their bickering Aragorn and Boromir were tired of it too and quickly put the fire out and grabbed their gear so they could start walking again.

Míriel walked toward Gandalf who stood in the right tunnel now, hopefully at least.

"No I don't remember," Gandalf said and chuckled a little as an answer to what Merry had said. "But the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose."

The sooner they got out of Moria, the better for them all. They were going to Lothlórien next, Gandalf had told her so, and Míriel was excited since she had not been home for quite a while. There she would be able to present her friends to her grandparents and they would all be able to rest for a few days before continuing. Míriel kept that as her motivation to keep going in the darkness of the mine until she would be able to finally feel the sun on her skin again.

Gandalf staff was lit but only slightly while he led the way down through the tunnel. The path was quite short and they soon came out of the tunnel and entered a large hall, the Halls of Durin that Gimli had spoken so much about. It was dark enough to make it hard for Míriel to distinguish anything at all in the Hall.

"Let us risk a little more light," Gandalf mumbled and turned toward Míriel. "Míriel, will you do the honour?"

Míriel smiled and nodded before creating a small globe of light in her hand. She let it float out into the air and it shone brighter and brighter until it was shining all its light over the hall which became a lot clearer. There were huge pillars in rows up to the large roof. It was obviously a ruin of what had once been a city, a beautiful and powerful city that had once been filled with life.

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

"Well that's an eye-opener, and no mistake," Sam said and stared over the great hall.

It was grand, majestic and made everyone in the Fellowship gasp in awe. There was a certain mood in the air of what had once been - how the walls had been filled with the colours of the skies and lands, how laughter could be heard booming through the city in the deep one of the Dwarves' laughter. The city would have been alive and miners would have lived with their families and perhaps once, giggles of Dwarf-children might have echoed down the tunnels of Moria.

It had been a Dwarf city, Míriel thought. Now it was abandoned and everything seemed dusty and old. There was one question that had been burning in the back of her mind ever since they entered the mine, but she dared not ask it. Where had all the Dwarves gone? What truly happened in Moria? Balin was obviously not there - he must have either fled or he'd met the same fate as the poor Dwarves they met in the beginning of the mines. Míriel had a horrible feeling she would soon find out.