Troglodytic

Part Three…

It was dark. No that wasn’t the right word. Grey? Dreary? Cold? No, none of them seemed right. Erestor walked along the dimly lit corridor, feeling the cold stone beneath his bare feet. Something was not right, but what was it? What was generating this odd sense of wrongness that he felt?

Continuing to walk he moved soundlessly along the corridor, desperately trying to grasp the source of what ever was causing this anxious feeling. Stopping he turned to look back the way he had come, finding the walkway deserted, dimly lit by a flickering candle. Turning back again he found the way ahead to be the same, uninhabited and dimly lit by gently flickering flames.

That was it, that was part of the problem. The light flickered as if a flame was casting shadows about, letting them dance eerily along the stone walls, but the light wasn’t orange. It was grey. And there were no candles. Aside from himself and the stone walls there was nothing. Nothing…

Empty! That is what it was. Completely and utterly empty.

Moving swiftly forward Erestor made his way towards the Library in hopes of finding Elrond and alerting him to the situation, what ever the situn man may be.

Arriving at the heavy wooden door he paused to collect himself, feeling that there was no sense in worrying his Lord without reason. Pushing open the door he froze at the sight that greeted him. It was empty, not a single item was left in the Library. All the shelving, the books, desks, even the floor and window coverings were gone.

With something akin to panic starting to sneak up his spine Erestor turned and made his way quickly to the Hall of Fire, soon running frantically down the passage. Reaching his destination he burst through the double door to find another empty room, the center pit which always contained a brightly burning fire was cold and barren, not even ashes had been left behind as testament to the once constant blaze.

Whirling to leave he found the doorway gone, black nothingness in its place. Spinning again he found the entire room had disappeared, with naught but a black void that appeared endless.

Empty, black, nothing, cold, alone… alone! He was alone.

Feeling his breath become harsh and strained Erestor doubled over, desperately seeking something, anything to calm himself and sort through what was happening, panicking as his control slipped, knowing deep down that soon he himself would become nothing, fading away to blend with the eteremptemptiness that now existed.

Reaching out with one hand he stretched, straining to find something to hold onto, and praying desperately to what ever God maybe listening to rescue him from the black pit of this rapidly approaching oblivion.


Just as he was certain that he had reached what ever end was waiting for him he felt a strong, warm hand entwine with his and tug him forward to be embraced against an equally strong body. Blinking agt tht the now golden glare he peered up at his savior to encounter laughing blue eyes and shimmering blonde hair.

Erestor awoke with a jolt, his breath coming in short, labored gasps and his body awash in a cold sweat. Sitting upright he buried his head in shaking hands, letting the sensations brought about by the dream slowly slip away.

What on all of Middle Earth had that been about?

To Be Continued…