Ch. 6: Reunions and Releases

Kylie had never been to a funeral before. She decided that unless you actually knew the person who died, it was just a very awkward event. Sad, but awkward. She stood there, still in Éowyn's dress, and stared ahead as the soldiers slid the body in the tomb. If nothing else, it was an eerie sight. Théodred's body was pale and there was a trace of a smell. Clearly they had cleaned the body before burial, but Kylie could see traces of blood where he received his fatal wound.

"Never experienced death before?" asked Aragorn as they left. The fellowship, the part still intact, was reunited again.

"We don't exactly have wars or anything in Seattle," she muttered.

"But humans do experience disease and other such means of death," stated Legolas.

"Well… my family's young I guess. We just haven't had any of that."

"Learn to live with it lass, we're in a war now."

Legolas must have seen the horrified look on Kylie's face because he changed the subject very quickly. "What has occurred in our absence?"

"Nothing you can't guess. Wormtongue was just…" she shivered.

"Did he threaten you?" asked Aragorn.

"In a manner of speaking. He's just a creep. But what about you? You found Gandalf? What happened?"

"It's difficult to explain," began Legolas, "but after we left you, we traveled to the outskirts of Fangorn Forest. We did not find Merry and Pippin, nor did we find their bodies."

"We did find all the orcs Lord Éomer mentioned," added Gimli. "They certainly made quick work of them!"

"Anyway," Legolas continued, "we finally entered the Fangorn Forest itself to continue our search. Then, we saw Gandalf. We believed him to be Saruman, the white wizard, and attacked. But he identified himself and assured us that Merry and Pippin are safe."

"Where are they?"

"I assume with the Ents of the forest."

"Ents?"

"Shepherds of the forest so to speak. They should be perfectly safe there. More than us at least."

"What do you mean?"

Legolas just stared off in the distance. "Something approaches. It is difficult to say exactly what, but there is something dark is coming."

"That and Gandalf said he suspected an attack on Edoras," said Aragorn.

Legolas glared.

"But where is Boromir hiding?" asked Gimli. "I'm sure we'd all love to see what exactly his insight is on the situation."

"Oh Boromir is.…" Kylie's eyes widened.

"What? Kylie, where is Boromir?"

"I… can't believe I forgot… we just left him in prison!"

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Needless to say, Boromir was delighted to see the King, and his friends, outside the cell to release him. He was less than delighted to learn that he had been there nearly eight hours longer than necessary. But another few hours and some yelling later, he was back to his usual self.

"And you say that you believe that Saruman may be looking to mount an attack on Rohan?" asked Boromir. Everybody had been gathered in the Golden Hall for a sort of war council. Even Kylie had been invited.

"I would say an attack is imminent," said Gandalf. "Yet, there may be time to destroy the threat."

"Ha! In a few days, we will have several men of Gondor here to help us with the battle."

"Perhaps, but we must try to muster our people faster than that," said Éomer. "Based on how conditions have been here, the White Wizard may be more prepared than we could anticipate."

Théoden nodded. "What has happened in this time?"

"Villages have been attacked. The orcs have been moving across our lands unchecked and unchallenged. Théodred did try to stand up to them, my lord."

The king simply nodded. "And now I must continue to do what my son began."

"You must fight," urged Gandalf.

"How quickly can you muster the Rohirrim?" asked Aragorn.

"We can probably gather men from Edoras in a day, and the surrounding villages in three," estimated Éomer.

Gandalf nodded solemnly. "Better to begin sooner than later."

"Yes. Now is the time to fight. I will gather forces here in Edoras, and I would like Gandalf to help me" said the King. "Éomer, Aragorn, Háma, and Kylie, I want you to ride to the southern village and gather all able-bodied men from the village. Boromir, Legolas, Gamling, and Gimli, I would request that you ride north and gather men from there. We must have the manpower to sustain this attack. Gandalf, do you believe that will be enough?"

Gandalf simply stared ahead. "We must strike soon. There is no time to waste. Unfortunately, I have an urgent errand to run."

"You're leaving? Then if we have even a little time, we must wait for Gondor," insisted Boromir.

"How long would you believe it will be?"

Boromir looked down. "It could be about a week."

"By then Saruman may have thousands of more Uruk-Hai. Enough time has been wasted."

Boromir looked slightly put off, but he was not about to argue with the new White Wizard.

"Then it is settled. Please leave quickly so we can gather these forces."

Aragorn nodded and looked at Éomer. "Come Kylie," he said, "it is time to take a short trip south."

"Very short trip," added Éomer, "the village in question is barely 20 minutes ride."

Kylie shivered. Even though she survived the last ride, she was not too anxious to get back on a horse.