Journey's End - Chapter 33 - The Paths of The Dead

Journey’s End

Chapter 33

The Paths of the Dead

I turned back to my tent and began to pull on my leather tunic and cloak. I belted my sword to my side and then snuck out of the tent and made my way towards the storage tents. I slipped through the door, and silently lifted Falas’s saddle, and then moved out again. Aragorn would not want me to go with him, I would just have to present him with an argument he couldn’t refuse. As I located my horse and began to tack him up, I heard voices. I froze instinctively and listened.

“Why are you doing this? The war lies to the East. You cannot leave on the eve of battle. You cannot abandon the men.” I heard Eówyn say. She sounded close, probably on the other side of the tent.

“Eowyn…” Aragorn’s soft murmur made me jump a little, as if I was afraid of being found.

“We need you here.“ Eówyn tried to persuade him.

“Why have you come?” He asked, sounding a little frustrated.

“Do you not know?” She whispered, and I scowled, pushing away my feeling of jealousy.

“It is but a shadow and a thought that you love. I cannot give you what you seek.” Aragorn said softly, there was a pause and I heard Eówyn back away a little. “I have wished you joy since first I saw you.” He murmured, then I heard him walk away and I hurriedly finished preparing Falas. I could not help but feel sorry for Eówyn, but if what Aragorn said was true, then she must not have truly loved him.

I lead my horse through the camp until I spotted Aragorn. I kept a careful distance as I planned to follow him, until we had gone too far to turn back and he had no choice but to let me travel with him. I watched him warily as he walked through the camp. My only problem was, I currently stood between him and the mountain; I had to find some way of remaining hidden. He passed a tent and stopped, and I noticed Gimli sitting talking to him. I moved a little closer and listened to their conversation.

“Just where do you think you’re off to?” Gimli asked.

“Not this time. This time you must stay Gimli.” Aragorn said sadly, as if he regretted leaving his friends behind. I felt a little hurt that he hadn’t come looking for me to say goodbye, but he was probably trying to slip away quietly and unnoticed. I saw Legolas approach Aragorn on the other side of his horse, leading Arod.

“Have you learnt nothing of the stubbornness of dwarves?” He asked.

“You might as well accept it. We’re going with you laddie.” Gimli grumbled. I saw Aragorn smile as Gimli and Legolas mounted Arod. He mounted Brego and they continued through the camp. I quickly mounted Falas and walked forward. There was no point in staying hidden if Gimli and Legolas were going too.

“Rana?” I heard Aragorn say as he spotted me.

“Yes?” I asked innocently, smiling a little.

“Rana you can’t come with me.” He said sadly. I raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I’m not coming with you. I just happen to be taking the same road, at the same time, and will be by your side the whole way.” I smiled. He sighed, and shook his head disapprovingly, although I saw him smile a little and I took my place at his side. “I think I remember telling you once, that I would follow you into the very fires of Mordor and back.” I whispered to him. “You didn’t think you could leave me behind now, did you?”

He reached across to me and took my hand gently.

“Thank you.” He whispered, squeezing it softly. I blushed a little and smiled, looking down at the ground as he released my hand and we moved towards the mountain in single file.

As we slipped through the crevice and began following the path, I heard men behind us trying to call us back, but I ignored them and focused on following Aragorn.

We rode through the night, and as the pale light of dawn began to show itself, I could see that we rode through a barren canyon. Below me, Falas was restless, but was behaving himself nonetheless.

“What kind of army would linger in such a place?” Gimli asked.

“One that is cursed.” Legolas murmured ominously. “Long ago the men of the mountains swore an oath to the last King of Gondor to come to his aid, to fight. But when the time came, when Gondor’s need was dire, they fled vanishing into the darkness of the mountain. And so Isildur cursed them, never to rest until they had fulfilled their pledge. Who shall call them from the grey twilight, the forgotten people?” I glanced ahead at Aragorn, but I could not see his face. “The heir of him to whom the oath they swore. From the North shall he come, need shall drive him. He shall pass the door to the Paths of the Dead.”

Legolas finished his chilling speech and I shuddered a little. The air was growing cold.

“This only proves how great our need is.” I whispered. “We cannot win without them.”

As we walked on, we dismounted from our horses and continued on foot, leading them alongside us. For most of the journey, Aragorn had kept a solemn silence, and I was worried about him. Would he be able to accept his linage in order to summon the army?

“The very warmth of my blood seems stolen away.” Gimli murmured as we walked down a narrow, barren pathway. Then a door came into view, and I felt chills creep up my spine as we approached it. The door was carved into the mountainside, with ancient lettering etched along the top, and human skulls set into the sides. I shuddered a little as I stared into the darkness beyond.

“The way is shut. It was made by those who are dead…” Legolas said, reading the ancient inscription. “…And the dead keep it. The way is shut.”

A sudden cold wind blasted through the door, spooking the horses. Falas reared up onto his hind legs and wrenched his reins from my hand.

“Falas!” I cried, reaching for him as he wheeled around and galloped away.

“Brego!” Aragorn yelled as his own horse bolted away, closely followed by Arod. I stood silently, watching them disappear, before turning back to the menacing door.

“I do not fear death.” Aragorn snarled, walking determinedly through the door and disappearing into the shadow. My eyes widened in fear, but I followed him without hesitation. Behind me I heard Legolas follow me, but Gimli hesitated.

“Well this is a thing unheard of. An elf will go underground, where a dwarf dare not. Oh. Oh, I’d never hear the end of it.” He grumbled before dashing after us.

As my eyes adjusted to the gloom, I could just about make out the outline of Aragorn ahead of me. I walked towards him over the uneven ground, not wanting to know what I could be stepping on. Suddenly, I was momentarily blinded by a bright light, and saw that he had lit a torch. He motioned for me to follow him, and I kept close behind him as we began walking.

We walked in single file through the mountain, through dark, narrow passages and over more uneven ground that made suspicious noises. I shuddered as every cell in my body told me to turn around and run, but my faith in Aragorn made me stay. He would not let us come to harm if he could help it. And I would not abandon him.

I looked away from the ground as the light from Aragorn’s torch revealed skeletons scattered across the floor.

“What is it? What do you see?” Gimli whispered from the back of our small party.

“I see shapes of men and of horses.” Legolas replied from behind me. I hugged myself tightly and forced myself to keep walking, not letting my eyes wander from Aragorn’s figure.

“Where?” Asked Gimli.

“Pale banners like shreds of cloud. Spears rise like winter thickets through a shroud of mist. The dead are following. They have been summoned.” Legolas murmured. Aragorn looked back at me, his eyes wide with concern. I smiled weakly, trying to comfort him as we carried on.

“The dead? Summoned? I knew that! Huh. Huh. Very good. Very good.” Gimli muttered uneasily, then he must have realised that he had been left behind. “Legolas!” He cried, dashing to keep up with us.

My hand crept to the hilt of my sword. It would do no damage to the dead, but it was still comforting to know it was there. As we continued on, an eerie mist began to form around us, which seemed oddly familiar. I recognised it as the mist from my dream and began to tremble in fear as it took the form of ghostly hands and began to swarm around us. I saw them writhe around Aragorn as he watched them and I felt a chill run through my body as the dead fingertips touched my cold skin. Suddenly, Aragorn turned back to us.

“Do not look down.” He whispered. Well, now that he’d said it, I just had to look down. I quickly looked back up again as I saw the heaped skulls that completely coated the ground beneath my feet. I felt like I was going to be sick, and I found myself frozen to the spot in terror.

“Aragorn.” I whispered as he began to walk on. He turned back and walked to my side.

“It’s alright.” He whispered in reply, taking my hand. “Just keep walking.” I forced my legs to move as I gingerly stepped over the skulls, walking a lightly as I could to avoid breaking them. Finally, I found my feet on a stone floor again, as we entered a large chamber. Aragorn squeezed my hand a little, before releasing it and walking ahead of me. He looked around, and by the light of his torch, I could just make out the form of a building ahead of us, carved into the rock.

“Who enters my domain?” A voice hissed and I span around to see a ghostly figure appear before us, wearing tattered clothes and crown, most of his flesh had been eaten away by time, but his sunken eyes still stared menacingly at us. This was the King of the Dead.

“One who will have your allegiance.” Aragorn replied.

“The dead do not suffer the living to pass.” The ghost hissed, slowly moving towards us.

“You will suffer me!” Aragorn hissed in reply, standing confidently. The king laughed menacingly, and all around us, the walls started to glow a pale green, and a city appeared as an undead army marched towards us. It was just like my dream. I looked at them in fear as they closed in around us.

“The way is shut! It was made by those who are dead. And the dead keep it.” The King chanted, moving closer. “The way is shut! Now you must die!”

Behind me, Legolas fired an arrow. It passed through the head of the king and fell to the ground behind him with a clatter. Aragorn began to determinedly move towards the king.

“I summon you to fulfil your oath!” He cried.

“None but the King of Gondor may command me!” The King yelled, drawing his ancient blade and bringing it down on Aragorn. I almost cried out, before Aragorn drew Andúril and blocked the blow. His sword clashed against the ghostly blade of the King.

“That blade was broken!” The King hissed in surprise as Aragorn caught him by the neck and forced him back.

“It has been remade.” Aragorn growled, turning to look at the army. “Fight for us and regain your honour. What say you?” He began to walk through the army – literally. “What say you?”

“Ach! You waste your time Aragorn. They had no honour in life and they have none now in death.” Gimli grumbled, I turned to him in shock. I was too terrified to speak, let alone insult the army!

“I am Isildur’s heir. Fight for me and I will hold your oaths fulfilled.” Aragorn continued, brandishing his sword. “What say you?”

The King laughed, and his image began to fade, along with the rest of the army.

“You have my word! Fight and I will release you from this living death!” The army vanished completely, and we were once again left alone. “What say you?” Aragorn yelled to the empty room.

“Stand you traitors!” Gimli cried.

The hall was empty, and eerily silent. Silent until we heard the sickening cracking sound. I looked up to see the walls of the building before us start to crumble and out of the cracks poured hundreds upon thousands of human skulls.

“Out!” Yelled Aragorn as we frantically ran for the nearest passageway out of the hall. I cried out as I was hit by the wave of skulls and screamed as I came face to face with hundreds of eyeless sockets. I scrambled to try and get above the skulls, but I was beginning to get buried. Suddenly, Aragorn was above me and grabbed my wrist, hauling me out and we began to half run, half slide our way towards the exit. We managed to just make it to the passageway before it started to flood with skulls.

“Legolas! Run!” Aragorn yelled, still dragging me along by my wrist. As the bones rained down behind us, we burst out of a door in the mountainside, into the bright sunlight. I stumbled and leant against the cliff-side for support, exhausted after the run.

I looked up and my face fell as I saw the fleet of black-sailed ships sailing down the river below us. Beside me, Aragorn sank to his knees in despair as I looked in horror at the ships.

We were too late.

I saw Legolas approach Aragorn and place a hand on his shoulder. I bowed my head and forced back the tears that gathered in my eyes as I felt the last shred of hope that I had clung to slip away. Suddenly, a noise behind me made me turn, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli did the same and my eyes widened as The King of The Dead walked through the rock and approached Aragorn.

“We fight!” He hissed.