This is a stupid idea... a very very stupid idea.
That's never stopped you before, Evelyn could hear the scoff in Nightshade's voice.
We've got one shot... but if something goes wrong...
The little ones will be fine.
With that, the wolf turned and disappeared into the underbrush, heading to her station to await the signal.
Evelyn had her eyes on the tower. She could see a room lit up near the top with shadows moving across it often enough to tell her that Saruman was home. The grounds between Fangorn Forest and Isengard however, were dangerous. The earth was littered with deep caverns, the sounds of forges and groans of newly made Uruk-hai echoed in all directions. It was a practical minefield between her and the tower and there was an army ready to leap up at the slightest notice.
There was no way that anyone would be able to miss over a dozen giant trees marching their way up the cliff towards the dam. It would take a miracle to create a distraction large enough for a wizard and nearly two thousand orcs and wild men to not notice such a sight. Evelyn was hedging her bets on a miracle.
Resigning herself to the plan that she had created, Elizabeth released a high, shrill whistle that sounded startlingly similar to larks that didn't live near Isengard. Apparently, orcs weren't all that skilled in ornithology and thus didn't take notice, but young Pippin heard the signal clearly.
Young, happy, innocent, carefree Pippin who emerged from the tree-line, jauntily marching straight towards the pits of Isengard.
Oh god... this is a very very very stupid idea.
"Hulloooo!" He called out, waving a hand at the orcs scattered about in work.
It seemed that the appearance of a happy and carefree Hobbit was enough to shock the dark creatures as they all froze, staring at each other as if weren't quite sure what they were looking at. It was an almost comical sight.
"What a lovely set of mines," Pippin continued, unbothered by the shocked orcs. "I must say though... your stench is really a bit overpowering. Haven't you beasts ever heard of baths?"
"Get 'im!" One orc cried and they all launched themselves at the small Hobbit who darted off into the underbrush. It seemed that his ramblings were enough to break them out of whatever shock they had been in.
Evelyn knew that Nightshade was waiting and that at any moment, Pippin would come upon where she was hiding and hop aboard her back. The wolf was faster than any orc and would purposely leave a long and winding trail for the beasts the follow.
Evelyn waited a few moments to ensure that the orcs were well and truly invested in the chase before she released the call of an owl, deep hoots echoing across the way. That was the second signal, and moments later, from the other end of the clearing, Merry emerged.
"Afternoon!" Merry sauntered forward, hands on his hips as if he were on a casual stroll. "I was in the area and just thought that I'd pop on by. How's the wizard doing these days?"
"Another one!" One orc rather unhelpfully supplied.
"Get 'im!" Another shouted.
"Well I suppose I'm off!" Merry turned and darted back into the underbrush.
One of the slimmer, more nimble Ents was waiting for him. Evelyn silently counted in her head, knowing that the Ent would scoop Merry up and race through the forest until it arrived at the predetermined ambush where the rest of the Ents not on the trek up to the dam would be.
Just one more thing... come on Nightshade... I know you're fast enough.
The wolf was supposed to run through the Ent's ambush to ditch her pursuers and circle back. Very few other creatures would be capable of such a feat, but Nightshade was far faster than any normal wolf. And then, right on schedule, Pippin came sauntering out of the woods far from where he disappeared. By then the number of orcs patrolling the grounds of Isengard was already thin enough, but it didn't take them long to spot him.
"I'm back!" He called out cheerfully. "Nothing like a brisk jog to wake a Hobbit up. Anyone up for a game of tag?"
"Ow'd he get there?" A particularly large and frustrated Uruk appeared to be ready to rip the smaller orcs to shreds as he screamed in anger. "I told you unless lubs to catch the Halflings!"
That seemed to be all the encouragement that the orcs needed as yet another group broke off to chase the Hobbit. The troops patrolling the grounds of Isengard had been significantly thinned by the chase. Evelyn felt like lighting was crackling under her skin as she practically vibrated with anticipation. For then, just as she predicted, the cacophony of noise caught the attention of the master of the tower.
Saruman stepped out onto his balcony.
"What is-" the wizard din't have time to finished his question as Evelyn stepped forward, out of she shadows of Fangorn.
She held her hands up high to the sky, eyes closed as she focused on her powers. She drew deep into that well inside her, feeling the curling tendrils of light swooping around her. When she opened her eyes, seven bolts of pure light rained down from the sky. Each blasting the ground open and crumbling the caverns buried beneath Saruman's workshops.
"Saruman," she called out the name, the voice emerging from her body a deeper rumble than she had ever heard herself to produce.
A bolt of fire from the wizard's staff flew towards her, but she flicked it away with the ease that one offends an insect.
"Saruman," she called out again, taking slow and steady steps forward.
There were still a fair number of orcs and men scattered about, but they were clearly cowed by her earlier show of power. They may not have been the most intelligent of beasts, but every creature has the ability to recognize a fiercer predator than themselves.
Another blast of fire, another deflection.
"Saruman!" She pushed force into her voice that time, feeling the ground tremble beneath her bellow.
She just needed to distract him for a little long, she just needed to hold the facade of power and intimidation long enough for the Ents to do their job... it wasn't long now.
The white wizard was furious, rage pouring off his form as he stood at that high balcony, white coat glittering in a myriad of colors as if he were coated by the scales of a butterfly's wings. He was terrifying and held that fierce beauty of a creature not born of mortal blood. His voice was deep and booming, an enchantment on any creature not of the strongest conviction.
"What do you want?!" The wizard shouted in anger as he threw yet another easily deflected blast of fire.
Boom
"That," Evelyn smirked as she heard the gushing sound of water.
Saruman turned to see the dam crumble as a deluge of water was released.
The massive crash seemed to break Saruman's troops out of their earlier stupor as they raced either for higher ground or the throat of their foe. Evelyn drew her blades, grinning at the familiar weight in her hands as the remaining Ents emerged from the tree line whilst the rest raced down from the cliff.
Evelyn knew that her troops were returning to aide her, but at the moment she didn't care. All that mattered to her were the blades in her hands and the beasts racing towards her. The newly forged blades sung as she whirled them in the air, slicing through her foes with each deadly movement. There was nothing stopping her as she unleashed her fury.
Nightshade emerged from the forest in a blur of shadow as she struck, jaws wide and teeth gleaming. Her black armor protected her from blades as she raced across the battle field, climbing the walls and throwing down any who stood in her way.
Soon the Ents were by her side. The massive tree-like beings had no qualms about the water that was rapidly crashing towards them. Instead, they used their sturdy branches to whip through the enemy troops, crushing and bludgeoning them to death. Though they were few, they were powerful. The water that they had released eliminated any hopes that Saruman had of using fire to his advantage and the Ents took great pleasure in wracking vengeance on the one who tried to burn their forests.
It wasn't a pretty battle.
It wasn't elegant.
It was brutal and rapid, the forces of nature taking back what belonged to them as water rushed all around. The Ents, made of buoyant wood and roots that had the ability to sink deep into the earth, were unbothered as the water swept the rest of their foes off their feet, carrying them further into the caverns that they had dug. Fires were quickly extinguished as the mines turned to mud. The water became more dangerous than any blade or bludgeon as it dragged the orcs and wild men deep within the caverns, soaking the earthen walls until they collapsed with the troops of Saruman inside.
The men drowning in caves that they had dug, the orcs and Uruk-hai trapped and suffocating in the earthen womb from which they had been born.
All too soon, the battle was over. Saruman's booming commands did little to combat the collapsing tunnel system, for nothing can dissuade water from taking its natural course.
At some point during the fighting, Evelyn had flown up to stand atop the now crumbling walls. She surveyed the scene around her, battlefield eerily quiet as a few corpses floated by like particularly grisly samples of driftwood. The Ents were blinking at each other, surprised by how quickly the plan succeeded.
Is that it?
Is it over?
Is our forest safe?
The questioned buffeted Evelyn from all sides, but she shook her head.
"Not yet."
Evelyn took to the sky, flying over the battlefield several times to check. Merry and Pippin were happily sitting on the branch of the spry Ent that had carried Merry as they were deposited onto a relatively stable looking structure near the crumbling walls. A few orcs, Uruk-hai, and men were fleeing, but she didn't feel the need to chase them down. Whilst the troops may have been taken care of, Evelyn still had to deal with their general.
As she arrived back to the section of wall that stood near the balcony, Saruman emerged.
"You are stronger than I though, Child," he spoke calmly and so self assured that it made Evelyn's blood boil. Somehow, the wizard acted as if his entire force of nearly two thousand had not just been wiped out. "I see the potential of your powers. Allow me to offer my services as your guide, for I am gifted-" then, Evelyn heard it. The low hum of seduction that traced the path of his words.
"Did you really think your petty tricks would work on me?" She asked, a bit incredulous as she realized what he was trying to do. "Curumo, the failed Istari..." She shook her head, tutting lightly.
"Failed?" He dropped the act of seduction, his voice turning to a snarl as his grip on his staff tightened. "I am Saruman the Wise, Saruman of Many Colors. I am the greatest of the Istari, the mightiest Maia since Sauron-"
"You have failed in your duties," she deflected yet another blast of fire as the two became engaged in another duel.
Power crackled through the air and the smell of ozone permeated the grounds of Isengard as blast after blast of fire was thrown and deflected. Evelyn countered with her own bolts of white light, pure energy ripping through the air. Saruman's staff danced in the afternoon sun as he conjured his magic whilst Evelyn relied upon the flow of power that she felt swirling around her.
Saruman's voice rose into a chant causing the earth around them to tremble, but Evelyn was not deterred as she slowly lowered her hand, calming the earth till it laid still.
Saruman called up a gale, wind picking up water and throwing it through the air so fast that water droplets turned to knives, but Evelyn pushed back and the wind stopped.
Saruman waved his staff and the water surrounding Evelyn's little bit of stone wall began spiraling, twisting and turning into a gyre sucking everything around it downward. Evelyn commanded the water to be still and it obeyed.
Saruman, lifted his staff again, but Evelyn interrupted him.
"Enough!" Her voice boomed, the rippled at the force of her command. "Saruman, you have betrayed your duty. You have been expelled from your order. Surrender and face the consequences of your treachery."
"And who are you to command me so?" His laugh came out like a purr.
Evelyn drew herself up to her full hight, allowing her wings to rise up behind her. The dark steel and mithril of her armor gleamed in the sun as she raised her voice high like she once did oh so long ago in Gondolin. This time though... she knew who she was, and she knew what she was fighting for.
"I am Evelyn, heir of Yavanna. I am the Child of the Valar and the blood of the Aratar runs through my veins. I am the power of your masters and the Gift of Eru united in one," her eyes were blazing in fury as pure white light poured off of her. "Saruman the Traitor, your staff is BROKEN."
With that command, the powerful wizarding staff in his hands snapped cleanly in half, a bright spark of magic the only indicator of the great power that had just been extinguished.
Saruman gasped as if struck, dropping the broken staff and stumbling a few steps back. His chest heaved in rage and grief as he turned his full fury onto Evelyn.
"You... you are no Vala," each breath was drawn with a desperate gasp as he raged. "You are a coward, a coward who hides and runs from her foes. You are a coddled child of weak, mongrel blood, lost in a world you do not understand. You call me a traitor," he spat the word with heavy distain. "Yet you once treated with Sauron as well. What does that make you?!"
Evelyn, instead of being enraged and Saruman certainly expected... laughed.
"Me, coddled?" Her laughter was dark and foreboding. "I was a child yes, a child dropped into a world where I was hated and scorned, where I did not understand my powers, where I had no friends and no allies, where there were no instructions or guidances offered up to me, and where I trusted all and was betrayed by all. But you, you were raised in the cradle of Valinor, surrounded by guidance, offered the trust of a sacred mission, and sent to this world as the trusted leader bearing messages of hope for all. And then, then you betrayed that trust that was given to you, you turned from guidance and light, you turned to greed and blind ambition heedless of the lives you stole to get it. You had everything and turned away! I had nothing and crawled my way into who I am! So DO NOT CALL ME CODDLED!"
With her rage, another blast of light struck the tower right above Saruman's head. Chunks of metal and stone fell down as he dodged them, jumping backwards further into his tower.
Saruman's staff was broken, his fortress destroyed, his army returned to the mud.
The wizard's reign was over.