The Perils of Fangorn
by SkyFire
For disclaimer, see part 1.
A/N: The beginning of the story is kind of choppy. For that, I am sorry, but nothing of much
importance to the story happened during that time, and I didn't want to make the useless bit
overlong, lest it overwhelm the rest. It slows down for the fourth paragraph, and stays that way,
though, so it's not that bad.
Please review!! I know around 600 people get the announcement. Surely, I can get more than 5-6
reviews per chapter! I'm aiming for at least 10 this chapter. Come on! Don't be shy! Even if you
review anonymously and just leave a smiley or an "I like it," I'll be happy! Please?
*****
The Perils of Fangorn
by SkyFire
Part 9
It was nearing sunset by the time the group of riders rode out on the beginning of their journey
to Isengard. In this group were Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. With them also rode King
Theoden, Eomer and twenty men of his household.
They passed uneasily through the newly-appeared wood, keeping to the road. Once safely on the
other side of the wood, Gandalf informed them of the distance to Isengard; fifteen leagues it was
that stood between them and their destination.
They camped that night beside the bed of the strangely-empty Isen river. They were awakened late
that night by the alarmed calls of the night watchmen.
The Moon was gone. Stars were shining above; but over the ground there crept a darkness blacker
than the night. On both sides of the river it rolled towards them, going northward. (1)
The darkness came to them and passed all around them. It harmed them not, though in it they
could hear strange sounds and its darkness blinded their eyes so that they were unable to see.
But at last the darkness had passed them by and continued with great speed on its way north.
The members turned quickly at a muffled noise nearby, fearing some evil left by the strange
darkness. What they saw was sonething else entirely.
The wizard Gandalf had taken advantage of the distraction offered by the darkness and had grabbed
firm hold of Aragorn. He had dipped her far enough back that she had to clutch at him to keep
from falling and now he stood there, holding her, joined to her in firm, enthusiastic liplock.
The muffled noise had come from Aragorn. Eyes wide in shock, she overcame her instinct to hang
on to keep herself from falling, then flailed wildly with her arms, still making muffled noises
of protest as she tried to free herself of the wizard who was as firmly attached as a leech.
Actually, now that she thought about it, she had removed leeches with far less trouble than she
was having removing the wizard!
At last, after a loud cough from Eomer, whose throat bore bruises the size and shape of Aragorn's
hands, Gandalf ended the kiss, let the Ranger stand on her own. He smiled at her, shrugged
unapologetically. "In case it *was* some sort of nasty trick sent by Saruman that was meant to
kill us," was all he said by was of explanation.
Aragorn just stared, dazed, gulping air into oxygen-starved lungs.
The others smirked or laughed aloud at her expression, then settled back down to attempt to
resume their interrupted sleep.
All but Eomer, that was, who went over to Gandalf. "Let me know the next time you find so good
an excuse," he said quietly, "for that is a trick I would not mind trying on the fair Legolas."
Gandalf nodded solemnly, then the two smiled at each other, joined in conspiracy.
At dawn, they resumed their journey. Hours passed by uneventfully, though now everywhere they
could see that the once-thriving land bore the scars of Saruman's descent into evil. Once-fertile
fields and cropland lay fallow, full of weeds and brambles, with the stumps of burned and hewn
groves of trees easily visible through the growth. Mists and steams lay thick over the land.
Still they rode on.
At last, Gandalf halted and beckoned to them; and they came, and saw that beyond him the mists
had cleared, and a pale sunlight shone. The hour of noon had passed. They were come to the
doors of Isengard. (2)
The doors lay broken upon the ground. Broken stone lay scattered all around on the ground, for
the walls and towers were torn apart and battered and rent all to pieces. Inside the broken
walls, the ground sloped down in a gentle valley with the imposing tower of Orthanc standing dark
and proud at its center. But now that valley was filled with filthy, steaming water and in it
floated bits and pieces of wreckage. Slime now coated the bottom of the Orthanc tower where the
water had risen to and then receded.
The group sat their horses and stared in amazed disbelief, for they had expected to find Saruman
still strong, still a major force to be dealt with, not this obvious defeat.
It was as they sat there that they at last became aware of the two small figures lying on a heap
of rubble, one seemingly asleep, the other lazily blowing bluish smoke rings.
Then the awake figure noticed them and stood hastily. He bowed low to Eomer and Theoden.
"Welcome, my Lords, to Isengard!" he greeted. Then he caught a glimpse of Aragorn and all his
carefully rehearsed speech fled from his mind. His head whipped around, followed quickly by the
rest of him, even as his eyes grew comically wide. "Strider?" he asked in disbelief. He looked
her up and down, eyes growing ever wider. He kicked his companion ungently in the side to awaken
him. "Pippin, wake up! Wake up now! The King of Rohan is here, and other Riders, and Gandalf.
Pippin, get up! Look at Strider!" He turned back to Aragorn, whose face was slightly flushed at
the reaction. "Strider! You... you're..." a strangled laugh escaped him. "You've got..." He
cupped his hands an impressively volumptuous distance from the front of his chest. "You've got..."
He burst out into uncontrollable laughter, laughing even harder the redder Aragorn's face got.
Pippin was finally up. He took one look at the Ranger and joined his cousin in laughter.
"Strider! You're a woman! And you've got... you've got..." he made the same gesture his cousin
had. "A... chest!"
Merry had collapsed, as he had laughed so hard he couldn't breathe and was very lightheaded and
in danger of passing out.
Pippin caught sight of Legolas, laughed harder. "Legolas? You, too?" He looked her over from
head to toe. "Actually, you make a very nice woman." He smirked. "What happened?"
Legolas blushed faintly at the compliment.
"How is it that this didn't happen to you?" Aragorn asked the chuckling hobbit. "Surely you
drank from the water in Fangorn as well."
"Yes, we did. But nothing like this happened to *us*. The Entwash was quite delicious after
being forced to eat orc-food and orc-drink."
Legolas made a face, the very thought of orc-food and -drink enough to turn her stomach.
"Entwash?" Gimli asked, speaking at last. "Not the Entwade?"
"Entwade? Goodness, no! Celeborn and Galadriel said not to," Pippin said. "We -Merry and I-
figured that the Entwash was safe enough to drink from where we were; it was where it ran into
the river Anduin. We didn't drink from the deep-forest rivers. Treebeard gave us Ent-draught to
drink instead."
"Treebeard?"
"The Ent. Oh!" he exclaimed. He turned back to Gandalf, Eomer and Theoden. "Treebeard told me
to tell you that he would be at the north side of the valley should you wish to see him."
Gandalf and the Rohirrim left, picking their slow way carefully around the valley towards the
north side.
Merry was still happily asphyxiating on the ground. "Strider!" he called with a giggle, "will
you have my children?"
Aragorn's face reddened even more. Legolas was alarmed; surely, if any more blood went to the
human's face, there would be none left in the rest of him and she would perish!
"Merry!" Pippin exclaimed with a giggle. "How could you say that? Without even going to dinner
first! Besides, it was obvious that Gandalf has already marked a claim."
Aragorn looked like she either wanted to throttle the two or have the earth open up and swallow
her whole.
"But where are my manners?" Pippin asked. He looked at the three. "Come and eat with us; there's
plenty of food in the guard-house there. Man-food, not orc-food. It's good."
And so, reunited once more, the five made their way to the guard-house and lunch.
TBC...
(1)Whole paragraph taken directly from the chapter in the Two Towers entitled "the Road to Isengard", page 539 of
my copy (all 3 books and append. in 1 pbk. volume).
(2)ditto, page 542 of my book.
So, what did you think? Click the button and tell me! Come on! Please? What do you think should
happen? Should Treebeard be able to cure them (he *is* the master of Fangorn's forest after all).
And would they be cured completely, or should they still turn back into women for a few days
every month? Let me know your thoughts!
by SkyFire
For disclaimer, see part 1.
A/N: The beginning of the story is kind of choppy. For that, I am sorry, but nothing of much
importance to the story happened during that time, and I didn't want to make the useless bit
overlong, lest it overwhelm the rest. It slows down for the fourth paragraph, and stays that way,
though, so it's not that bad.
Please review!! I know around 600 people get the announcement. Surely, I can get more than 5-6
reviews per chapter! I'm aiming for at least 10 this chapter. Come on! Don't be shy! Even if you
review anonymously and just leave a smiley or an "I like it," I'll be happy! Please?
*****
The Perils of Fangorn
by SkyFire
Part 9
It was nearing sunset by the time the group of riders rode out on the beginning of their journey
to Isengard. In this group were Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. With them also rode King
Theoden, Eomer and twenty men of his household.
They passed uneasily through the newly-appeared wood, keeping to the road. Once safely on the
other side of the wood, Gandalf informed them of the distance to Isengard; fifteen leagues it was
that stood between them and their destination.
They camped that night beside the bed of the strangely-empty Isen river. They were awakened late
that night by the alarmed calls of the night watchmen.
The Moon was gone. Stars were shining above; but over the ground there crept a darkness blacker
than the night. On both sides of the river it rolled towards them, going northward. (1)
The darkness came to them and passed all around them. It harmed them not, though in it they
could hear strange sounds and its darkness blinded their eyes so that they were unable to see.
But at last the darkness had passed them by and continued with great speed on its way north.
The members turned quickly at a muffled noise nearby, fearing some evil left by the strange
darkness. What they saw was sonething else entirely.
The wizard Gandalf had taken advantage of the distraction offered by the darkness and had grabbed
firm hold of Aragorn. He had dipped her far enough back that she had to clutch at him to keep
from falling and now he stood there, holding her, joined to her in firm, enthusiastic liplock.
The muffled noise had come from Aragorn. Eyes wide in shock, she overcame her instinct to hang
on to keep herself from falling, then flailed wildly with her arms, still making muffled noises
of protest as she tried to free herself of the wizard who was as firmly attached as a leech.
Actually, now that she thought about it, she had removed leeches with far less trouble than she
was having removing the wizard!
At last, after a loud cough from Eomer, whose throat bore bruises the size and shape of Aragorn's
hands, Gandalf ended the kiss, let the Ranger stand on her own. He smiled at her, shrugged
unapologetically. "In case it *was* some sort of nasty trick sent by Saruman that was meant to
kill us," was all he said by was of explanation.
Aragorn just stared, dazed, gulping air into oxygen-starved lungs.
The others smirked or laughed aloud at her expression, then settled back down to attempt to
resume their interrupted sleep.
All but Eomer, that was, who went over to Gandalf. "Let me know the next time you find so good
an excuse," he said quietly, "for that is a trick I would not mind trying on the fair Legolas."
Gandalf nodded solemnly, then the two smiled at each other, joined in conspiracy.
At dawn, they resumed their journey. Hours passed by uneventfully, though now everywhere they
could see that the once-thriving land bore the scars of Saruman's descent into evil. Once-fertile
fields and cropland lay fallow, full of weeds and brambles, with the stumps of burned and hewn
groves of trees easily visible through the growth. Mists and steams lay thick over the land.
Still they rode on.
At last, Gandalf halted and beckoned to them; and they came, and saw that beyond him the mists
had cleared, and a pale sunlight shone. The hour of noon had passed. They were come to the
doors of Isengard. (2)
The doors lay broken upon the ground. Broken stone lay scattered all around on the ground, for
the walls and towers were torn apart and battered and rent all to pieces. Inside the broken
walls, the ground sloped down in a gentle valley with the imposing tower of Orthanc standing dark
and proud at its center. But now that valley was filled with filthy, steaming water and in it
floated bits and pieces of wreckage. Slime now coated the bottom of the Orthanc tower where the
water had risen to and then receded.
The group sat their horses and stared in amazed disbelief, for they had expected to find Saruman
still strong, still a major force to be dealt with, not this obvious defeat.
It was as they sat there that they at last became aware of the two small figures lying on a heap
of rubble, one seemingly asleep, the other lazily blowing bluish smoke rings.
Then the awake figure noticed them and stood hastily. He bowed low to Eomer and Theoden.
"Welcome, my Lords, to Isengard!" he greeted. Then he caught a glimpse of Aragorn and all his
carefully rehearsed speech fled from his mind. His head whipped around, followed quickly by the
rest of him, even as his eyes grew comically wide. "Strider?" he asked in disbelief. He looked
her up and down, eyes growing ever wider. He kicked his companion ungently in the side to awaken
him. "Pippin, wake up! Wake up now! The King of Rohan is here, and other Riders, and Gandalf.
Pippin, get up! Look at Strider!" He turned back to Aragorn, whose face was slightly flushed at
the reaction. "Strider! You... you're..." a strangled laugh escaped him. "You've got..." He
cupped his hands an impressively volumptuous distance from the front of his chest. "You've got..."
He burst out into uncontrollable laughter, laughing even harder the redder Aragorn's face got.
Pippin was finally up. He took one look at the Ranger and joined his cousin in laughter.
"Strider! You're a woman! And you've got... you've got..." he made the same gesture his cousin
had. "A... chest!"
Merry had collapsed, as he had laughed so hard he couldn't breathe and was very lightheaded and
in danger of passing out.
Pippin caught sight of Legolas, laughed harder. "Legolas? You, too?" He looked her over from
head to toe. "Actually, you make a very nice woman." He smirked. "What happened?"
Legolas blushed faintly at the compliment.
"How is it that this didn't happen to you?" Aragorn asked the chuckling hobbit. "Surely you
drank from the water in Fangorn as well."
"Yes, we did. But nothing like this happened to *us*. The Entwash was quite delicious after
being forced to eat orc-food and orc-drink."
Legolas made a face, the very thought of orc-food and -drink enough to turn her stomach.
"Entwash?" Gimli asked, speaking at last. "Not the Entwade?"
"Entwade? Goodness, no! Celeborn and Galadriel said not to," Pippin said. "We -Merry and I-
figured that the Entwash was safe enough to drink from where we were; it was where it ran into
the river Anduin. We didn't drink from the deep-forest rivers. Treebeard gave us Ent-draught to
drink instead."
"Treebeard?"
"The Ent. Oh!" he exclaimed. He turned back to Gandalf, Eomer and Theoden. "Treebeard told me
to tell you that he would be at the north side of the valley should you wish to see him."
Gandalf and the Rohirrim left, picking their slow way carefully around the valley towards the
north side.
Merry was still happily asphyxiating on the ground. "Strider!" he called with a giggle, "will
you have my children?"
Aragorn's face reddened even more. Legolas was alarmed; surely, if any more blood went to the
human's face, there would be none left in the rest of him and she would perish!
"Merry!" Pippin exclaimed with a giggle. "How could you say that? Without even going to dinner
first! Besides, it was obvious that Gandalf has already marked a claim."
Aragorn looked like she either wanted to throttle the two or have the earth open up and swallow
her whole.
"But where are my manners?" Pippin asked. He looked at the three. "Come and eat with us; there's
plenty of food in the guard-house there. Man-food, not orc-food. It's good."
And so, reunited once more, the five made their way to the guard-house and lunch.
TBC...
(1)Whole paragraph taken directly from the chapter in the Two Towers entitled "the Road to Isengard", page 539 of
my copy (all 3 books and append. in 1 pbk. volume).
(2)ditto, page 542 of my book.
So, what did you think? Click the button and tell me! Come on! Please? What do you think should
happen? Should Treebeard be able to cure them (he *is* the master of Fangorn's forest after all).
And would they be cured completely, or should they still turn back into women for a few days
every month? Let me know your thoughts!