18. In Dungeons Deep and Caverns Old
Originally written for the LiveJournal tolkien_weekly "Mealtimes: Elevenses" challenge. And no, the interpretation of the prompt is no less twisted than "Breakfast" was...
Slipping and sneaking in the utter blackness of Moria the creature, well used to the roots of mountains, does not lose his way - or his quarry. He smells them, glimpses them from afar with his great pale eyes, even counts them obsessively under his breath as they grope cautiously forward:
"Wizard, yes - we doesn't like his staff, it burns usss, precious! Hulking great Men, two, three; hairy Dwarf, ugh! four; nasssty Elf, fiveses; stupid fat Hobbitses, pah! six, sevens, eights, nineses. Pony made ten, but they lost him, yesss. And we, preciousss..." - a hastily-stifled snigger in the darkness - "makes elevenses!"
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
