[Airerûthiel]

Bragolhirwen felt drained of all hope; she wanted to drop to the ground and fall into a deep sleep. Maybe she was bitter with her realisation that she served no purpose in Hreeza's plan, but secretly she felt guilty for attacking the spider without thinking of the consequences. There was nothing she could do, except watch...and wait.

The silence in the tunnels seemed to echo on into eternity, save for the spider's occasional groans. They shook the walls of the catacombs so violently that Bragolhirwen had to cling onto the cloak of the person in front of her several times in order not to lose her balance. She kept her hand on the hilt of Minyacirith, but did not dare to draw it in case she should alert the monster to their presence a second time.

The noise was louder now, tearing through the stuffy atmosphere in the caves as though it was a sheet of paper. Bragolhirwen shut her eyes tightly, a sense of fear running down her spine in a cold shiver. She felt physically ill, and had to swallow several times in order to prevent herself regurgitating the meagre contents of her stomach. Slowly and cautiously, they came closer to the spider's lair.

Shelob was lying in a strange position, a horrible slime spurting briskly from the open wound in her side. The ground had become wet and slippery with the amount of disgusting fluid the spider had spilt as she crawled away to her hiding place. Suddenly Bragolhirwen, who was last in the group, lost her footing and skidded several feet down the path, slamming into the wall in the end.

Shelob was instantly on alert, seeking out the intruders. Bragolhirwen hated herself that very instant for ruining the plan, but now she realised they had no choice. Someone yelled at the group to get into their positions as fast as possible, and without another word they all shot off into the darkness like arrows from a bow.

[ March 02, 2003: Message edited by: Airerûthiel ]