An Excerpt From 'The Hero's Journey'

There was a moment of silence in the shambles, and all the orcs were dead or had fled. Boromir looked around the fellowship: the four hobbits seemed ruffled but fortunately unharmed, while Gandalf and that ranger were in a state so disheveled that it was difficult not to laugh. The pain at the back of his head made him grimace. Well, I must look just as bad, he thought and then turned to the elves standing silently at the rear.

He felt mildly aggrieved when he saw the Legolas and Ringëril unscratched, calm and composed, not a hair out of shape. The others were gathering around the Halfling, who had tripped over during their fight and got himself knocked off. Huffing, he strode towards the wall that accursed cave troll threw him against.

Dear
The stairs were treacherous, and Boromir would surely fall into a chasm if Ringëril didn’t catch him and pull him back.

Two times, he told himself as he took another flight of stairs down, the elf had saved you twice in a row.
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The fellowship sped across the aged flights under Gandalf’s lead; Ringëril heard again the pursuing drum-beats: Doom, doom, doom. Suddenly she spotted a black chasm afar, where the ground vanished into an unknown depth, and upon the chasm there was a slender bridge of stone, so narrow that people could only pass across it in single file. Then Gandalf halted before an arch bridge leading to the slender one and waited the others to come up, painting and stumbling.

“Lead them on Aragorn,” the wizard said to Aragorn, pushing him forth when the man protested. “Do as I say! Swords are no more use here.”

Ringëril exchanged a curt nod with Legolas, then the two of them led the others to the arch bridge, using their inherent balance to swiftly run down the steep staircase until they reached a gap. They leapt forward and landed on the other side, behind her Legolas did the same, and then they turned: there glowed fierce red light at the end of the flight they just
Gandalf looked back up as the entire fellowship heard a loud growl thundering near, causing the stones above dropped and rained around them. Then he leapt before a huge rock crashed down onto him. Doom, doom, doom! Their pursuers approached and started to fire at them; and amidst whistling sounds she heard the blond Númenórean called.

“Merry! Pippin!”

Boromir took the two hobbits under his arms, one on each side, and leapt forward, landing on her side with a dull thump. While Aragorn threw a horrified Sam across the gap, he released Merry and Pippin and turned just in time to catch the third hobbit.

“Nobody tosses a dwarf,” claimed Gimli, holding his axe tight and, with a battle cry, leaping forward before Aragorn could do anything. The dwarf nearly fell into the chasm; nevertheless Legolas caught him swiftly by grabbing his beard.

Ringëril felt her lips twitched as the dwarf being pulled up and howling: “Not the beard!” But her half-formed smile disappeared when some of the stone steps crumbled and fell into the chasm, widening the gap between them and the