Celeborn's Nine - Riders of the Night

Author's note: this is it

Elrohir took his Prometheus arrow and readied it. "Set yours, brother," he said and waited for Elladan. Readying themselves for what would be the first strike against the monster, they fired. The arrows seemed to hiss as they flew towards the monster, and when they struck flesh the creature roared even more fiercely as the fire within its body hissed and faded for a moment.

Unleashing its great whip, the balrog snapped it at the two elven princes. Elladan managed to avoid it, but the thing that was neither real nor unreal wrapped itself around Elrohir, singing and burning him. He yelled as his brother drew his sword and hacked at the black thing. Tomy, her own short sword in hand, ducked under Elladan and pulled Elrohir back as hard as she could. Asplil joined her and together they pulled Elrohir free as Elladan severed the thread that held his brother.

"Do not shoot the bloody arrows yet!" Elladan told the Sakas. "Now that I know how they work, we need to save them." He knelt by his brother and looked at the bloodied flesh that was exposed. "Asplil, help me move him back."
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Haldir saw what the Prometheus arrows had done to the balrog and realized that for them to work effectively, they needed to fire at the same time. Still Galadhrim arrows when well placed could hurt the monster that was still looking for the twins. At the release of their volley, the thing roared again and turned away. With it looking for them, they ran back towards the exit, hoping to draw it out of the darkness and into the open.

Glorfindel, Celeborn and the Sakas with them, watched the balrog snake its whip towards the Galadhrim brothers, and the deadly lash wrapped itself around Haldir's foot, and this time the creature yanked. Orophin and Rumil dropped to one knee each and fired on the beast, and a volley of arrows from across the cavern met their theirs in the beast's fire flesh. It screamed and looked around, but not before it dragged Haldir off the ledge. Tiger leaped after him, staying just one step behind him. He reached for her neck, and even though he was being cut to pieces by the rocks, he clung to her neck.

Glorfindel realized now that this was what Himeros meant. This was the action he had to respond to. Instead of drawing the thing out of the cave, he ran back towards it, his sword, glowing with an etheral fire that he had not seen before. The balrog was starting to bend over the elf and jinn tiger who were on the cave floor when Glorfindel raced up and buried the sword in its abdomen. He yanked free before the thing reared up screaming.

"Tiger, help him!" he yelled at the tiger woman who shape shifted and helped her lover up. Haldir was battered and bleeding, but with her help and the arrival of a Scopias, he was helped away.

The balrog drew a sword from its burning core and faced the elflord. Glorfindel reacted instinctively, rolling away as the black blade swiped sensuously over his head. Not missing the chance to strike, he buried the sword once more into ebony leg muscle.

Celeborn joined the fight and hacked at the beast on the other side. The balrog turned its massive horned head towards the elflord and struck at him.

Suddenly, as if on cue, the elves and Sakas on the ledges fired their bloody arrows at the creature. It screamed in agony as the arrows turned to ice within its burning body. In agony, it swiped at the ledge where the twins stood. Tomy jumped forward this time, determination on her face as the black sword made for the twins. Elladan looked on in horror as the Saka woman took the blow meant for him and Elrohir. Grabbing his brother and motioning the other Sakas back, he retreated away from the creature.

Glorfindel saw the Saka woman fall but did not have time to grieve for her. "Back!" he yelled at Celeborn. "He's enraged and should follow us out!"

The moment the other elves saw him racing for the exit, they took off themselves. Tiger and Scopias stayed with Haldir who could not keep up and watched in horror as the balrog strided demonically past them.

"We've got to follow!" Haldir gasped and clung to their shoulders. Scopias and Tiger wrapped an arm around each side and half dragged half carried him out of the cave.


Glorfindel raced into the openess of the mountain and motioned for everyone else to get away from him. The bowmen scattered to keep from drawing the balrog's attention to anyone of them, but the balrog didn't seem to be interested in them anymore. Glorfindel had hurt it, and he was the one it wanted.

"Like old times," the elflord gritted to himself as he turned to face the monster. The sword in his hand was fairly glowing, the blade was ice cold, the cold of death.

Emerging from the cavern, the balrog made straight for Glorfindel, who pointed the sword at the creature and waited.


Haldir, feeling such pain that it almost took his breath, stopped them and said, "The arrows! The last two! Take them to my brothers!"

Scopias looked at Tiger and said, " You are quicker, cat."

Tiger understood what that meant, and while Scopias stayed with haldir, Tiger shifted and carried the arrows as fast as she could to Orophin and Rumil. With the creature descending on Glorfindel, the snow under its feet rising in great steams of boiling water, the brothers used the last on the Prometheus arrows on the balrog. Planted one beside the other, the arrows pierced the ebony flesh, and the beast threw is head back and roared again. Glorfindel lunged forward and buried the sword in the balrog's gut, jerking down as hard as he could, opeing the ebony hide and exposing the fire within. It screamed savagely and staggered, the fire coming into contact with the snow.

Elladan broke a piece of ice from the cavern mouth and hurriedly tied it to his arrow. It would not be a perfect shot, but all it had to do was extinguish some of the fire. It was a wild thought...a wild thought that worked. The Sakas with their shorter arrows had to get in closer, but they followed Elladan's example and poured ice into the monster.

Celeborn moved in as the balrog slapped at Glorfindel and knocked him several feet through the air. The elflord landed hard and released the sword in his dazement. Asplil ran to him and picked up the sword as the balrog, mortally wounded, descended on them. Whatever caused the boy to do it, no one knew, but Asplil stood and ran into the balrog with the sword aimed high. The balrog roared as the blade cut through meat and bone, the flame of its core open to the wet mountain air.

Glorfindel shook his head and climbed to his feet. He saw the boy lying flat in the snow with the staggering balrog swaying under the assault of swords and arrows. Running up to the boy, Glorfindel pulled the him away as the balrog tried to pull the magic sword from its body. Through the hiss of melting ice, the elflord saw a flash of gold. Tiger was trying to get his sword.

"Leave it!" he yelled at her. "Leave it!"

She pulled it free and in a move that amazed all who were watching, she shape shifted and leaped just as the balrog swung a huge ebony paw at her. She did not have the sword, but it was now laying on the ground.

Glorfindel took the chance and ran to get it. Picking the blade up, he prayed for strength and drove the blade back into the beast and jerked downward. There was a sound rumbling from the beast that he remembered from another time and place. The balrog was dying.

"Back!" he called to everyone else. "Back!"

The balrog collapsed and slid down the mountain as the snow cooled the internal fires of its being. Glorfindel watched it, his breast heaving as he sucked in air, and then he remembered the boy. Tiger was kneeling beside him, holding his hand in hers. She was crying, and that told him all he needed to know. Scopias and two of his men went back into the cave to retrieve the mother's body.
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Celeborn watched as the Sakas gathered their things and readied to leave the Snow Queen's keep. Destroying the balrog had hurt them, but speaking to Scopias, he knew they did not consider it a waster of life. Tomy and her children would be welcomed by the Saka gods, and their line was not completely extinguished. The Saka girl Anoira was carrying Asplil's child. She would have many great tales to tell when the child was old enough, and everyone would make sure he, the Sakas were sure it was a boy, would know how his father and mother died fighting the balrog. It was fitting.

Of course this meant that the elves and centaur also needed to leave. Telling Melanippus that they were wanting to get out of the cold, they offered to go with him back to Hellenes since the mountain passes were still impassable.

And it would have ended that way at the Snow Queen's keep but for one little 'problem'? Before they left, the Snow Queen appeared with a golden wolf pup in her hands, the animal so tiny it did not have its eyes open. "My immortal lover," she said.

Rumil looked at his brother's horrified face and said, " Well, it does make the phrase son of a bitch interesting."

"It's a dog," Orophin gasped.

"Wolf," Rumil replied and waved his hand at the Snow Queen as they rode away, their horses taking them back towards Hellenes.

.......it ain;t over yet...maybe a minotaur?