FicWad

13
The Root People
The Silmarillion: P. 260-261: Of the Voyage of Earendil: "And Maedhros answered: 'But how shall our voices reach to Iluvatar beyond the Circles of the World? And by Iluvatar we swore in our madness, and called the Everlasting Darkness upon us, if we kept not our word. Who shall release us?'"

~~~

When Legolas dropped into the sinkhole, he was acutely aware that he had no precognition of what was happening to him, and did not know what to expect. It was an uneasy feeling, for his elven senses usually guided him, but this time they had abandoned him. He did not know if, or when, his feet would touch bottom, or if the sand would smother him before he reached it. After a few seconds of falling, or more accurately, being sucked down by the rushing sand, the side of his body struck something solid, and he fell into sudden openness and landed heavily on his back on hard ground. It felt like hard-packed soil, and slightly concave, not flat. Sand sprayed intermittently around and upon him as he lay still as stone.

"I must be in a tunnel," he thought. After a while in the silence, he raised his arms above him but could not feel a ceiling, so thought the tunnel must be large. He mentally assessed his body for damage, but it felt fine. "No broken bones. Good."

Legolas could see well in the dark, but the pitch-blackness of the tunnel was such that even he could see nothing. "Gimli!" he called out, but there was no answer save silence, and no sign at all of his friend.

Legolas had been holding his bow in his right hand when he fell, but it had been knocked loose from his grasp. He felt it underneath him on the ground, however, and he gingerly pulled it out and checked it for damage. His quiver of arrows was still strapped to his back, and there were yet a few arrows in it. He rose carefully, crouching at first, feeling around him for walls. He could not feel anything, and when he stood up, his head did not touch any ceiling. He moved sideways to his left, with his arm outstretched, until he touched a wall. On this, he dug a deep "X" mark with the pointed end of his bow. Then, counting paces, he moved to his right, stopping when he touched the wall on that side, about five steps away.

"A fairly wide tunnel," he thought. He walked forward carefully, keeping count of his paces as he moved ahead. After 100 steps, he stopped and dug another "X" mark into the left-hand wall. He reached up with his bow, and it struck a ceiling when his elbow was bent about 30 degrees. He estimated that the roof of the tunnel was about five feet taller than the top of his head. Because of the fairly large size of the tunnel he was in, Legolas assumed that it must be the lair of the beast that had surprised him on the road above. Therefore, he moved forward warily, always anticipating another encounter with either the same beast, or another one just like it.

The tunnel went on straight ahead for another 500 paces, with Legolas marking the wall every 100 steps as he walked forward. Then, the tunnel came to an abrupt end. Legolas could still see nothing but blackness, but he felt a narrower tunnel branching off to his right. He moved carefully into it, and, by feeling the walls and the ceiling, determined that this tunnel was much smaller than the first, by at least half of its width. It would have been much too small to house the beast, and so he felt safer in it, but still he wondered who or what had dug this tunnel. He was aware from the last time that he had been in Moria, that there were many chasms and deep places inside the Mines, but there was something he sensed that was different about this network of tunnels. It was underneath the bottom level of which they had previously known. These tunnels seemed newer, fresher, somehow. He sniffed the damp air.

The tunnel was steadily curving toward the right, and after awhile, he found another tunnel branching off of the new one, and this one was even narrower than the one in which he was travelling. Legolas decided not to take this third tunnel, but made a mental note of where he had found it. He kept moving forward along the second tunnel, and presently, again found another smaller tunnel, again branching off to the right. After much traveling, Legolas discovered that quite a network of new tunnels existed beneath the hallways of Moria, and he was much intrigued by this discovery.

He thought, then, that whoever had made the tunnels were trying to force their victims southerly, because all of the new ones branched off in that direction. He was acutely aware that he may be placing himself in great danger, but he decided to follow one of these to see where it would lead. Concern for Gimli was foremost in his mind, and he was determined to find his friend. He sensed that Gimli would have followed one of the tunnels and thus had gone the same way as he.

As Legolas crept along, he was worried that he was not finding any signs that Gimli had been there. He was sure that the dwarf would have dropped something on the ground for him to stumble across. It would have been quite easy to drop a glove, or a button, or some small item, but Legolas did not find anything. He hoped that Gimli had not been eaten by the creature, or that nothing else of an ill nature had befallen him. He thought that would have been unlikely, as he had dropped into the hole so quickly after Gimli, that he surely would have heard or sensed a struggle if Gimli had been attacked. The dwarf would have put up a tremendous fight, and would not have been quiet about it. It was more likely that his friend may have been carried off, alive. Legolas pushed forward, hope still in his heart that he would find Gimli well and safe.

There were many tunnels branching off of Legolas', but he stayed in the same one, and kept walking in the same direction, which he guessed to be southerly. After a long time, he came to a branch-tunnel from which a pale light issued. It was very faint, but Legolas's eyes picked up this light immediately. His heart began beating faster. He did not know what he would find, but he had hope of finding Gimli. He dashed ahead down the new tunnel toward the source of the light. It became much brighter as he drew closer to it.

The tunnel then opened wider and wider and the light became stronger, and then the tunnel opened into a large open chamber. Legolas looked around in amazement. He could see that he was in a cavern used for storage of some kind. Its walls and ceiling were shored up by great beams of wood, crossed over each other, supporting the ceiling and keeping the walls from caving in. At one end of the room was a large pedestal, and on top of this sat a metal cage, holding the source of light, which shone blindingly from it. What this source of light was, Legolas did not know, but the light shining from it was of such radiance that even he had trouble looking at it directly. Around the cavern's walls were set many shelves, upon which sat boxes, neatly arranged in rows. There were four tunnel openings that led out of the room. On the floor in the center of the chamber sat Gimli, bound with many ropes, and gagged with a cloth tied around his mouth, covering most of his face. Only his eyes showed above it, and they were wide open and staring intently at Legolas. Gimli's axe lay on the ground beside him.

Legolas ran over to him and tore the gag from Gimli's mouth.

"Go, Legolas! Run! Quickly!" Gimli gasped, frantically.

Legolas answered. "No, Gimli! I would not leave you here alone!"

"Don't be a fool! They will come back! You're faster than me! Go!" Gimli shouted.

Legolas shook his head in a determined gesture of refusal. Then he heard an almost imperceptible sound from one of the tunnels. He stood up quickly, his senses tingling. Suddenly there appeared from one of the tunnel openings dozens of tiny people. Without a sound, and moving very rapidly, they swarmed around Legolas. In a sudden movement, he picked up Gimli's axe from the ground.

"Back! Back! Tell me who you are and what you are doing here, or you will feel the unkind end of this axe!" he screamed, and raised it above his head, ready to strike.

The little people surrounded him, but did nothing except stand there and stare up at him. They were only about two and a half feet tall. From among their midst, one of them approached the elf. This was undoubtedly their leader. He wore some sort of headgear that set him apart from the others, who all looked the same. The tiny man approached Legolas and looked up at him with intensity but he could not fathom his expression.

"My name is Mene-mil," said the little man. "Now quickly tell me yours and what your business is here." He spoke sternly, yet in a voice as soft as water falling upon rocks.

Legolas was angry, but suppressed the feeling. The little man's demeanor was not threatening, only wary. "I am Legolas, of the woodland elven realm of Ithilorien in Gondor," he replied. "I have no official business here, except to rescue my friend Gimli, who fell into a hole created by a strange beast."

"What is Gimli's business?" asked Mene-mil. "We asked him, but he did not tell us. We had to tie his hands and gag him as he would not stop cursing and shouting. He did not give us a chance to explain oursElves."

Legolas looked upon Mene-mil then with some admiration for the tiny peoples' ability to be able to restrain Gimli, the fearsome dwarf warrior, and with some amusement at the picture Mene-mil had painted of the struggle which had ensued between them.

"I was exploring the ancient realm of my forefathers," explained Gimli, clearly annoyed. Several of the little people came forward to help him untie himself from his bounds. "My name is Gimli, son of Gloin, of the Lonely Mountain. These mines are supposed to have been deserted years ago, or so we thought. My friend Legolas and I were coming back for a visit. We had passed through these mines many years ago, while wars were still being fought in these lands."

"Are you both dwarves, then?" asked Mene-mil, looking wonderingly at Legolas.

"I am a dwarf," said Gimli, surprised at the question. "My friend Legolas is an elf. Do you not recognize our different races?"

"No," replied Mene-mil. "My people and I have lived underground for a very long time. I can see only that he is taller and fairer than you are. Otherwise you are the same to us. You are of the big people. The only other beings we have seen in a very long while are the ant lions."

"Ant lions?" asked Legolas.

"Yes, the beast that you mentioned was undoubtedly an ant lion. There are a few of them in this area. It is some kind of larva of a dragonfly-like creature that eats ants and other insects in its true form. It has grown to huge size in these tunnels, and cannot get out, so it keeps eating our people, and keeps getting bigger. In a way, it is good that they cannot get out, otherwise if they managed it and then became flying beasts, who can tell what havoc they could cause?"

"Where did you come from?" asked Gimli. "Up until a few years ago, there was a realm of dwarves living in these mines, and evil beings called orcs, which killed all the dwarves. Then, the Dark Lord Sauron, the master of the orcs, was defeated, and all of his evil servants disappeared."

"We are the root-people," said Mene-mil. "We used to dwell long ago in the Grey Mountains. We have spent many years moving slowly through underground tunnels that we dug as we moved along. We were trying to escape from terrible torment. We have spent most of our lives, and for some of us, all of our lives, escaping from a Dark Lord named Morgoth. It is a wondrous thing to know that the evil is now gone, although we did not know it until this moment."

Legolas and Gimli were astounded. "We have never heard of your people," said Legolas. "How is it possible that you have existed for this long without being discovered?"

"In the beginning, we were dwarves of the Grey Mountains," explained Mene-mil, to a shocked Legolas and Gimli. "We were captured and then taken from our homes by servants of the Dark Lord Morgoth, and he turned us into twisted little creatures that he called "Rorts." He tried to bend us to his will and make us do his bidding, but he did not succeed. He did not know that dwarves are stubborn. They are unbendable, and as resistant as the rocks from which they were made."

"This is a discovery of great wonder!" exclaimed Gimli. He and Legolas exchanged excited glances. Legolas looked to be greatly amused, as well as surprised, by Mene-mil's story. Gimli was elated. Mene-mil continued.

"Morgoth discovered that we would not do that which he willed us to do, which was to steal things and bring them to him, and then to work in his mines, extracting metals and jewels, and in his forges, to make devices of evil for him. And so he took us and threw us into his deepest dungeons in the bowels of the earth, to die slow, suffocating deaths. However, what he wished for did not happen. We survived because we were able to grow roots. Look."

Mene-mil then drew up his little robe, exposing a ring of whitish, fleshy tendrils that grew out of his waist, all around the circumference of his body. The other root-people, in unison, drew up their robes to show the visitors their roots. They all had identical tendrils growing from their bodies, the skin of which was a pale, grayish color.

"By the growth of these roots, we were able to live underground, drawing nutrients and water out of the soil. For many centuries we were unable to move, but we survived by becoming almost like plants buried in the earth. Our size became stunted, and we have remained very small ever since. Being dwarves originally helped us to survive as well, because we were formed from rock and stone anyway. We were able to converse with each other, even underground. We called oursElves "root-people" because we did not like, and would not use, the name "Rorts," which Morgoth had given us.

Eventually, a miraculous event occurred. The earth shook and chasms opened in it. Fire came, and molten liquid ran everywhere. When this happened, we were shaken from the earth, and we found that we could move once more. Our legs had renewed strength, and our hands could dig. And so dig we did, through the earth, making tunnels, many tunnels. We would see from time to time the evil creatures called "orcs" when we peeked above the surface. We became very good at avoiding being seen. We discovered that Morgoth had turned to the Elves to corrupt them and twist them to his evil purposes after being unsuccessful with dwarves. He had successfully turned some of the Elves into orcs, as they were much easier to bend to his will, where dwarves had proved to be impossible."

Gimli felt a smile grow across his lips, and he glanced at Legolas. The elf looked rather taken aback, and Gimli found that to be amusing. Warmth grew in his heart for the brave little root-people.

Mene-mil continued. "We found many gemstones beneath the earth's surface, and began to collect them. We had to devise little vehicles to carry them that we could pull behind us. Then we found a very strange jewel. It was much bigger than the others, and it shone with a great light, very unnatural. We carried it with us as we tunneled farther and farther under the earth, away from Morgoth's dungeons and away from the earthquakes and the fire. We stopped eventually in this place. We liked it here because it already had great caverns and tunnels built under the mountains. We discovered that it had been a great realm of the dwarves, whom we still consider to be our kin. However, we had been so used to staying hidden, that we continued to do so, and did not make ourselves known to the dwarves who lived here. Then, we discovered after awhile that the orcs and other great evil creatures of fire were here also, and we thought at first that Morgoth had sent them after us to bring us back to him so that he could punish us. But then, when they had killed all of the dwarves, we were very sad, and afraid again for our own existence. And so, we have stayed hidden ever since, and we are still usually wary of others."

Mene-mil removed his headgear, which was a simple little helmet made out of metal. His head was completely hairless. His eyes were huge and yellowish-brown, and set in a small, plain face. He was practically neckless, and his body was short and squat. His arms were thick and muscular, with wide hands and long, thick fingers, their tips shaped like spoons. He wore a simple robe of hide, and his legs were short and very strong, his feet wide and large.

"Your tale is strange, indeed," said Legolas. "What do you plan to do now? The world has become a free place again in which one can live as one desires, without threat of war or evil. However, there is a great deal of unpleasantness in it yet, as its people cope with many new problems. Do you plan ever to go to the outside and reveal yoursElves to the rest of the world?"

Mene-mil shook his head. "We have discussed whether or not we will remain living this way, and we have not yet reached a decision. We will continue to talk about it, but I feel that most of us wish to stay as we are, for a while yet. We have become so used to living underground that the light bothers us, for one thing. I will admit that for myself, I feel a longing to experience the outdoor air again. As for the light, I wanted to ask you if you know what this strange jewel is, which emits such an intense radiance. It does not seem to have its origin in this world, of that I am sure. It is impossible for us to look directly at it, and we usually keep it covered."

Legolas and Gimli looked again toward the source of light in the cavern. It was held in the cage of silver that Legolas had first noticed when he entered the room. Brilliant shards of light broke through the bars of the cage, and rainbows of color spread about it, even though at first glance, the light appeared to be white.

"Could I look at it more closely?" asked Legolas. "Its light does not seem to bother me as much as it does the others."

Gimli covered his eyes, as he found it painful to look at it.

Mene-mil bound his own eyes with a piece of cloth through which he could see, but it filtered the light. He used a poker-like instrument to open the lid of the cage. He lifted the jewel out with a pair of tongs, and handed it to Legolas. "Be careful," he said. "You cannot hold it in your hands. It burns. Look at what it does to them." There, attached to the gemstone, was a charred, skeletal, blackened elvish hand.

Legolas recoiled in horror. "Ai!" he cried. "No! It cannot be!"

"What is it, Legolas?" shouted Gimli, frightened by his friend's reaction.

"This must be the Silmaril of Maedhros! His hand still holds it!" cried Legolas. "You have found the Silmaril which was lost to the earth! We are looking at the evidence of a death most terrible, and it is sure as death that now we shall have a great curse upon us!"

Gimli was startled to see Legolas in such a state. "Legolas, what are you talking about?" he asked. "Do you know to whom this hand belongs and what this strange jewel is?"

Legolas sank to the ground and knelt there, stunned by their discovery. Then he told them the story of Feanor, his sons, the Silmarils, and the curse, of which Gimli and the root-people knew nothing.

"Well, whatever are we going to do with the accursed thing?" Gimli asked, letting out a long breath. "This is a real dilemma. Wherever the Silmaril goes, the chance of the curse following it will bring too great a risk to us, anywhere we take it. We cannot take it to Minas Tirith, for instance, because it may bring trouble for Aragorn. I cannot think of what to do."

Legolas had been sitting in silence, his head bowed. Now he looked up toward the others. "Mene-mil, do you have any claim on this jewel?" he asked.

"Claim? Oh, no, not us," replied Mene-mil. "We have collected many jewels over the long years we have spent tunneling," he said, indicating the many storage boxes. "Come and see." He gestured for Legolas and Gimli to have a look inside the boxes. The two friends did so, and saw a wealth of gems and precious metals revealed to them.

"We thought these were pretty things, and so we collected them," said Mene-mil, "but we do not have any real use for them. We are simply grateful for our lives. We do not have any claim on the strange jewel. Please, take it. We do not like it, anyway, because of its strange light that makes it difficult to look upon. Now, we definitely do not want it, if it carries a curse as well."

"Thank you, Mene-mil," said Legolas. "If you will then relinquish the Silmaril, I will take it to the one person who does have a claim on it." He told them all about Lindaril, and her claim to be the heiress of Feanor. "If anyone has the ability to remove the curse, it will be her," he said. "If she is the rightful owner, which I do believe her to be, then she should have the jewel which was made by, and belonged to, her ancestor. I must hurry, though, because she is on her way to the Grey Havens as we speak, and I will have to work hard to overtake her. The horses have left us, and I would have to go first to Edoras in order to retrieve Arod, and leave from there for the Grey Havens."

"I can show you a safe way out of here," said Mene-mil. "You need to be wary of the ant lions, but if you use our newer, smaller tunnels, through which they cannot fit, you can reach the outside in less than a day. Come, I will take you." He turned to one of the other root-men standing near him. "Digdigil," he commanded, "come here, please. This is my cousin, and second-in-command, Digdigil," he explained to Gimli and Legolas. "I leave you here, cousin, with this cantankerous dwarf. Please take him around the mines, and show him what we have done here. Beware the ant lions, all of you! They have become more active of late, and it seems they are ravenous for root-person, and now, perhaps, dwarf!" Mene-mil headed off down one of the tunnels. Legolas looked back at Gimli, who appeared quite uncomfortable at hearing Mene-mil's words.

"Gimli, will you stay here, or will you come with me?" Legolas asked, as he gingerly wrapped up the Silmaril in its holder, inside his vest. He then strapped it to his back with his quiver of arrows.

"I will slow you down if I come," replied Gimli. "I will stay here with the root-people. I think that there is much I can do to help them here. When you return from the Grey Havens, will you come back for me?"

Legolas smiled at Gimli, and nodded. "I promise," he said, and turned to follow Mene-mil.

The elf and the root-man emerged from the tunnel in less than a day, as Mene-mil had promised. At the tunnel opening, Legolas stooped down to bid Mene-mil goodbye. The little man was gazing at the outdoor surroundings in wonder. The tunnel opening was near the southern arm of the Misty Mountain range, and close to Mirrormere, the reflecting lake. It was a very beautiful area.

"May I ask something very bold of you?" Mene-mil enquired.

"You may indeed. What is it?" asked Legolas.

"Would you take me with you on your journey? I have never traveled above ground before. This may be the only chance I will ever have." His huge yellowish eyes looked plaintively up at the elf.

"I am sorry, but no. I must run many miles on foot," replied Legolas, looking down sympathetically at Mene-mil. "You could not keep up with me."

"I could sit on your shoulders," offered the root-man. "You will see that I weigh next to nothing."

"This goes against my better judgment, but something compels me to do as you ask," said the elf. He knelt down on the ground. "Jump up, quickly, and hold on tight!" he urged.

Mene-mil leapt onto Legolas's broad shoulders and grasped hold of his quiver strap. He held on tightly as Legolas ran as swiftly as he could to the Fords of Isen. It took about a day to get there, and when they reached the Fords, Legolas was most surprised and delighted to discover Arod and Cemera, who were drinking from the river.

Thankful for finding the horses, and thinking now that he would change his route and make his way directly to the Grey Havens, Legolas put Mene-mil upon Cemera, and with himself riding Arod, they sped toward the north-west, and the Grey Havens.