Aragorn had spoken the truth; Forngor was weak, but not so weak that he could not fly. He reached the thermals of air in the higher regions of the sky and soared along them for a while, resting his mind and tired body.
"Ah, they move." Forngor's sharp eyes picked out the Company as they began to move hurriedly – purposely, Forngor thought – into the forest, away from the smoldering remains of the village and the road.
He followed them, high above them, watching the eight move along the nearly-invisible trails in the forest until they were hidden by the trees.
"Eagle-brother, I did not expect to see anyone else here today." a surprised voice called.
Forngor looked up to see a real eagle gliding along the air currents with him.
"I am not an eagle-brother of yours." he hissed.
"Do not speak in such a tone." the eagle scolded.
"Leave me in peace, bothersome bird!" Forngor snapped. For an instant, he almost lost his patience and control completely and his feathers flickered briefly into gray skin.
The eagle let out a screech of surprise as Forngor turned on him, streaking towards him madly.
Far below, the cry of the eagle reached the ears of the Company. They looked up to see the bird dodge Forngor's attack and turn tail to flee. Forngor was after the eagle in an instant, and then, with a sudden burst of speed, upon him, stabbing deep into the eagle's neck with his talons.
The eagle gave a gurgling squawk as Forngor ended its life. Its eyes dimmed and blood ran down its neck, sliding along the dark feathers. The madness of Forngor ended, and he let the eagle fall, watching the body spin towards the treetops. A sudden weariness struck him then and he flapped away, discontinuing his search until he knew he was rested.
The eagle's body thumped through the branches, falling with a thud in front of a shocked Sam.
"My dear Mister Frodo! Look at that!" he exclaimed.
"Yes, an eagle whose fall will let us sleep safely tonight." Frodo replied as the others stopped and turned to them.
"Then do not let such a gift lie there. We should bury it." Gimli said and he picked up the bird gently, struck a hole into the ground with his axe and buried the eagle then and there.
"Now that the eagle is resting, we should do the same. Forngor is too weak to return tonight after that skirmish, and we should take advantage of his drained state." Gandalf said.
He led the way deeper into the forest where the eyes of a tired eagle in a nearby tree would not be able to see them.
The night, for once, uneventfully, passing into a day that was warm and peaceful. Legolas, the last on watch for the night, woke the others. "The sun has come. Wake and rise, the day will not wait for you."
"And neither will Forngor." Frodo replied as he sat up.
Sam flopped back with a sigh. "I was hoping that he was but a nightmare."
"Well he's not. So get up, Sam, and let's get this over with." Merry nudged Sam with his foot.
Sam got up after another minute of groaning and joined the others, who were getting ready to leave. Aragorn leaned down to the Hobbit's level, as if he were merely checking something on the ground.
"You know what you are supposed to do, Sam?" the Ranger asked.
"Yes." Sam nodded. "Though I wish I weren't doing this at all."
"Don't we all." Pippin added.
The night before, Legolas, Aragorn and Gandalf –those who had traveled the path before – had told the others about the various paths of the forest. Where they would lead, where they crossed, where they ended. They had come up with a plan to stop Forngor. Gandalf seemed to have great confidence in the success of the plan and his assuredness gave the others the same confidence.
Now they split up, following different paths – seemingly random paths – through the forest. Gandalf and Aragorn took one path that looked as if it led north-west. The Hobbits and Gimli took a path that curved east and Legolas set off straight north. There was one point where all three paths met, but they appeared to go in separate directions. At that point, that meeting of the paths, Forngor would find his defeat and the terror of a shape-shifter would exist no more in Middle-earth.