A day later and the morning dawned pale and bleak, with little light penetrating the murky clouds that hung low overhead. Legolas set his jaw in grim determination as the rangers rose early. No one spoke as they quickly broke camp. He could sense Wren glancing occasionally at him, her brow furrowed and her eyes anxious. An unnatural quiet sat heavy in the air.

Moving in small groups, the rangers crept along the sides of the valley from boulder to boulder as they approached Mount Gundabad from the southwest. The imposing wedge of the mountain seemed sinister and cruel against the skyline. It would have been easy to doubt the presence of orcs, except that they could all feel the small hairs on the backs of their necks prickling. The rangers did not know whether the absence of movement demonstrated fear on the orc's part or whether they were being lured in closer to an ambush. And yet the Rangers continued towards the mountain unmolested.

"Well then..." Beringil cleared his throat, as the rangers regrouped behind a rocky outcrop within several hundred yards of the main entrance to the mountain, an hour later. "Now we come to it; to enter Gundabad and gouge evil from its very source in these lands." Although he spoke calmly, no one missed the hint of apprehension in the older captain's tone. "Elladan, do you see any other entrances besides the main tunnel?"

The raven-haired Peredhil nodded. "Did you see those small openings in the rock face? They point the way to two auxiliary tunnels, one on either side of the main entrance. Most likely they are used to channel air into the space within. I would recommend we split into two parties and send one in through either tunnel."

"Shouldn't we go in all together? In case we meet enemies and need all our numbers?" Kaelin said quietly as her fingers lightly twitched on her bowstring.

"What, through the main entrance?" Asvard asked incredulously. "I'm with the elf, better to go in with stealth."

Beringil ended any further debate before it even got started. "Experience speaks, Asvard. We break into two parties. Elladan, Elrohir, you take two and twenty rangers and go through the left entrance. The rest of you with myself and Legolas."

Beringil paused as he grimly eyed up the newly-weds. "Wren, you go with the Peredhil." There was no room for argument in his tone.

Legolas, felt his body stiffen as he subconsciously flexed his knuckles. He eyed up Beringil but the rangers bearded jaw was clenched tight and his gaze unblinking. The elf prince suddenly felt Wren squeeze his hand. As he turned to look at her, his sharp eyes did not miss fleeting look of pain cross her face, before it was replaced by her half-smile. She stood on raised toes as she whispered in his ear.

"Try not to kill any of my orcs..."

Her words diffused the tension, although he could not bring himself to smile in response. It was as if an invisible hand had wrapped itself around his throat, but he lent to kiss his wife. Gently holding her face in his hands, he said softly, "Le melithon anuir, mell nín."

"And I you. Return to me." Wren said, her hand lingered on his cheek. Her brown eyes were just beginning to melt his newfound resolve, when Beringil cleared his throat.

"Well that went better than I thought it would...Now let's hunt some orc!"

"Gladly." said Elrohir.

"About time too..." Added his brother.

Alongside Beringil, Rodorin, Kaelin and the other rangers, Legolas climbed up the steep slope of Gundabad. They had not seen any signs of life since dawn, and now as the sunlight feebly attempted to lighten the land, yet still nothing apart from the rangers, moved. The gray slate beneath their boots shifted and cracked easily as they approached the tunnels, every sound ominously loud in the silence of the mountain. As Legolas cast a glance across the mountainside at Elladan and Elrohir as they led their own party, he had his last sighting of Wren alongside the brothers, just before Legolas took a deep breath and plunged into the darkness after Beringil.

The stench of orcs, wargs and whatever other foul creatures may have been populating Gundabad for past centuries instantly assailed them, causing the rangers to pause briefly before they regained the composure to continue. The darkness was near absolute inside the narrow tunnel, so narrow, that they could only just barely pass by walking in single file.

Once they reached a small antechamber, they came to a stop.

"We need a light, Beringil." One of the rangers whispered. "Sneaking up on orcs will do us no good if we can't see to fight them."

"...Agreed."

A few strikes of flint later, and they breathed a single torch to life that they found on a hook in the cave wall. The flickering firelight revealed a passage that widened as it went on, littered with bits of filth and debris that the orcs had left behind.

"Keep alert and stay close." Beringil murmured, stepping forward to lead them deeper into the mountain. He could have spared himself the utterance, as all of ranger's awareness was so heightened that they could have heard a mouse scrabbling in the dark at twenty paces. Legolas's senses were on a knife's edge with each step that he took in the darkness. Elves were not fond of the underground even at the best of times, and every breath he took of that stale air felt offensive and oppressive.

Time is hard to quantify in the dark, but it was likely thirty minutes that they traveled in silence. They then came to a junction, off which a pair of tunnels led further into Mount Gundabad. Legolas lent to observe the number of tracks in the dirt on the cavern floor

"What say you, elf?" Asked Beringil, his voice but a murmur.

"The tunnel to the right is more heavily used than the route to the left." Legolas paused. "As it is orcs we have come to hunt, then I say it is to the right we must proceed."

That put all the Rangers on even higher alert, and everyone adjusted and re-gripped their weapons more firmly, as they moved cautiously deeper into the heart of the mountain.

They finally they came to a large cavern, with various tunnels leading from it and found several large fire braziers there, glowing dim with still-warm coals. Holding a hand over them, Legolas guessed they had contained live fires only hours past. The rangers fanned out to search the cavern for fresh tracks.

"Here!" Rodorin called softly, and they all came to his side in a heartbeat. Sure enough, the treads of crude boots could be seen in the dust and filth covering the stone floors.

"They're here alright...but how many?" Asvard asked.

Legolas was about to answer, when he heard the slightest sound behind them. As he turned his head, the crashing and thundering of rocks falling and crumbling behind them brought everyone spinning about. Across the cavern, by the dim firelight and through the dust, they could just barely make out the catastrophic collapse of the tunnel by which they had entered.

As if anyone had needed confirmation this was no natural cave-in, there arose a cacophony of orc jeers and grunts reverberating off the cave walls.

"They've cut off our retreat!" Legolas cried, an arrow already on his bowstring. Even in the dim torchlight his eyes were still sharp enough to catch movement from one of the other entrances to the chamber. An arrow whizzed through the air unseen, to catch the orc between neck and shoulder. There was a sharp squawk as the creature dropped face-first onto the ground.

"Regroup. Archers at the flanks. Ready yourselves" shouted Beringil. The rangers had already gathered together to form a tight knit circle, bows drawn and swords out. Simultaneously orcs began pouring out into the cavern like cockroaches crawling out between the very stones and scurrying in from various tunnels that all led there.

Legolas stood alongside Kaelin, Asvard and several other archers as they repelled the onslaught of orcs with grim efficiency. The Rangers fought back-to-back and side-by-side, protecting one another as the rigorously disciplined unit that they been trained to be. Hordes of orcs continued to come from every side. Although the orcs were truly wretched looking, they fought with the viciousness of cornered animals. The Dúnedain were hard pressed to keep themselves from getting boxed into a corner and surrounded.

"Hold your ground." Yelled Beringil more than once.

Within minutes, Legolas had shot over a dozen orcs and was running low on arrows. He drew one of his knives as an orc got close enough to smell, just before Legolas ducked and straightened back up, bringing his knife up with him straight through the orc's belly as he simultaneously drew his other knife and cut across an orc's throat that attempting to bludgeon Kaelin from behind. Legolas then turned and spun with his blades as he cut through the swarming throng of vermin with lethal ease. These orcs were a disorganized rabble and without coordination or leadership of any sort, they died as quickly as they arrived.

Now that Legolas could pick their numbers out more closely, the Dúnedain did not seem so badly overwhelmed as one might have thought at first. The Rangers for the most part were handling themselves well. But no sooner had the throat of the last visible orc been cut, when each Ranger knew that this was only the first wave of enemies within the mountain. The screeches of the orc rabble came echoing through the tunnels at the far side of the chamber. And the growing glow of torchlight could faintly be seen spreading through the cracks on the floor and reaching up across the cavern walls. The ominous thump of drums grew louder and louder.

Glancing at Beringil, Legolas and the captain exchanged a look and a nod. They could stay where they were and keep fighting, however they were exposed on multiple sides. Or they could make for one of the other tunnels in the hope of finding the other half of the party and fighting with greater numbers. At the very least they would be able to restrict the fighting to one front, as orcs had already began to stream into the cavern from multiple directions.

"Follow me!" Beringil shouted, signaling to the Dúnedain with a wave of his black-stained sword as he made for one of the tunnels leading off the cavern, instantly cutting down two unfortunate orcs who blocked his way. The rangers followed. Without stopping, the archers plucked their spent arrows from the litter of orc corpses as they passed by. Plunging into the darkness after him, they rushed further into the mountain. They knew that there was no going back the way they had come, for their escape was now sealed by fallen rocks and debris.

With the sounds of unnumbered orcs following at their heels, the Rangers ran through the tunnels. The gap between them and the pursing orcs marginally increasing as the archers, including Legolas kept the braying horde at bay. Legolas suddenly heard Beringil give out a loud yell from up ahead, and immediately all the rangers began stumbling straight into one another as they were forced to come to an abrupt stop.

"A PIT. A damn pit. Right in the middle of this wretched tunnel and god-forsaken mountain." Beringil filled the air with curses. "But for that light, I would have run headlong into it."

The tunnel had opened out, but what looked like a large open well blocked their path up ahead. Beringil was perched on the very edge of the pit. However to the right side of the cavern, another passage was revealed by what looked curiously like a single shaft of sunlight illuminating the stone wall within. The very sight buoyed Legolas's spirit to see. It was like a guiding light to his Eldar spirit, and he was immediately drawn to it.

"Aaack!" The shout came from just behind him, as Rodorin, who had been bringing up rear of the fleeing rangers, stumbled and fell forward heavily. An orc arrow protruded from his shoulder.

"Down!" Legolas shouted, his bow coming swiftly to bear. The majority of the rangers dropped to the ground, but Kaelin and Asvard turned, and together with Legolas they sent a volley of arrows into the leaders of the pursuing orcs. The surviving orcs went to ground and ducked behind the nearest rocks for cover. Giving Rodorin the time he needed to scramble back up into the ranks of his fellow rangers. Wiping grime from his brow with his sleeve, Rodorin did not even seem to notice the short black shaft jutting out from his shoulder blade. He most certainly did notice though when Kaelin grabbed it and snapped it off near the base.

"What do you think, do we make a stand here?!" she shouted to Beringil, who shook his head and pointed right towards passageway where the pale sunlight could be seen.

"Keep on, we fight in the light." The older ranger answered grimly, as he turn to lead the way once again, navigating the edge of the pit as he took a sharp right into the passage. The party of Rangers hurried after him.

Legolas did not follow though. He stood as one transfixed, staring over the edge of the pit. Only sharp elvish eyes could have picked out that single glint of elven silver in the darkness far below. Of course it would have ended here. He could see it now, as clearly as if the past unfurled before him his very eyes...

A single elf, alone in the darkness, fleeing the enemies who were tight on her heels. The shaft of pale sunlight in the gloom would have beckoned her onward like a beacon of hope. But what if orcs had then come pouring out of the very passageway that should have led to her salvation... With evil closing in both ahead and behind, what alternative remained. The answer gaped like an open wound in the chasm before Legolas. There, hidden in the shadows of the mountain, lay the forgotten resting place of the last Elf Queen of Arda, Legolas's mother.

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Le melithon anuir, mell nín  ~  Iwill love you forever, my beloved 

So I may leave you and Legolas standing at the edge of the pit for just under week, hang in there (definitely no evil laughter) will try and publish next Monday!

Iwould love to receive your comments and please VOTE on this chapter if youenjoyed it. Your votes/comments are the only way I have of finding outwho is on this journey with me and are such a great encouragement to keepwriting! I really appreciate them