DISCLAIMER – I don't own any of Tolkien's characters or Middle Earth place names etc

They spent the night leaning against the tree trunk, Druluk staring straight ahead, his expression impenetrable. Ylfronir's mind spun. He felt sorrow, sorrow for Druluk, sorrow, even, that a company of orcs and Uruk Hai was dead. He had to keep reminding himself that a war was starting. That he may well have to join it soon. That he was on the good side.

Eventually a faint grey light started to seep down to the forest floor. Dawn had come at last. He noticed for the first time how cold and damp the tree trunk felt against his back. Stirring himself he stole a glance at Druluk. The orc's eyes were still open, but now he was hunched forward, staring at the ground.

'We'd better get moving…' Ylfronir ventured. The orc made no reply. Ylfronir realised that unconsciously he had implied they would travel together today. He cursed himself for introducing this extra complication. Why should the orc want to travel with him? Did he want to travel with Druluk? The surprising realisation crept over that he did. He opened his mouth once more, his lips an empty frame for words he was struggling to find, but it proved unnecessary. Druluk shook himself, and got to his feet.

'I thought, um, well, I was going to head further into the forest…' Ylfronir said, hesitantly.

'Let's go.'

'Fangorn is, um, quite a special forest…'

'OK.'

'I mean, there are some, uh, powerful forces at work…'

'It's quiet, there's shade from the sun and it's the direction I wanted to go in anyway.'

'Right…'

They tramped for hours, the leaf litter relatively gentle under their feet. Ylfronir could not help but speculate about where the orc was heading for. He himself had sought Fangorn Forest because he hoped to come into contact with the elusive Ents who lived deep in its leafy heart. Their customs precisely embodied the democratic principles which were so dear to him, and he would relish the chance to witness one of their legendary ent moots. It had long been a disappointment to him that Mirkwood lacked tree herders, and he was also hoping to broach that subject. But Ylfronir was fairly certain that Druluk had no interest in ents. And he was also pretty sure that ents would not take kindly to Druluk, but that was a problem he would deal with as it arose.

A soft sound started to impinge upon his consciousness. For some reason it stirred feelings of deep unease, even though he could not work out what it was. He paused for a moment, focussing his concentration and…

'One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, in Mordor where....'

'What on Middle Earth are you playing at?' he exclaimed, turning on Druluk in angry disbelief

'Sorry…'

'Sorry? What are you trying to do, summon the Nazgul?' Ylfronir took a step towards Druluk, who backed away, saying:

'I didn't even realise I was thinking aloud…What d'you mean, summon the Nazgul?'

'Oh don't play the innocent!'

'It's just a rhyme I read somewhere…You know, one of those folk tales about magic rings….'

'Folk tales!?'

'Don't tell me you actually believe in the rings of power!' Druluk exclaimed, apparently in genuine surprise. Ylfronir took a deep breath…but then he started to become aware of something else, just on the edge of hearing. He filtered out the orc's protestations and listened hard. Horses. He felt the blood drain from his face

'They're coming.'

'Who's coming?' asked Druluk irritably

'The Nazgul! The nine riders!'

'Oh, you aren't going to get me like that…' Ylfronir ignored Druluk, and swung himself up onto the lowest branch of a nearby tree.

'Hey!' came Druluk's voice from below, now edged with fear, 'What are you doing?'

Ylfronir scrambled higher, and heard the orc struggling to gain a purchase on the bark below. He paused until a trembling in the leaves below indicated that Druluk had gained the lower branches at least. Then he climbed onwards, upwards, higher, higher until he reached the highest branch that could hold his weight. He draped his body over it, legs curled around underneath the branch, the soles of his feet pressed against the tree trunk and his hands gripping the branch in two separate places. Resting his forehead against the cool, smooth bark he looked down through the canopy to the forest floor below. He could still make it out, through the haze of green.

'What can you see?' came Druluk's voice from below, followed swiftly by an ominous snapping sound, some frantic rustling, then

'I'm OK, I'm OK…'

'Just. Keep. Quiet…' said Ylfronir through clenched teeth

Druluk did not reply. He had some sense then.

The sound of hooves was definitely approaching; though now that Ylfronir listened hard it seemed more like two horses than nine. Still, that was no reason for complacency. He hoped that Druluk had concealed himself adequately on his side of the tree.

The sound was much closer now. Ylfronir had to resist the temptation to move his head and get a glimpse of the horsemen. Just a few seconds more and…they came into his field of vision.

Aragorn! Ylfronir exhaled in surprise, only realising then that he had been holding his breath. But it was. Aragorn, leading a horse through Fangorn Forest, and followed by another horse, this time being led by…but it couldn't be…

'Legolas?' This time Ylfronir gasped the word aloud to himself. The elf below glanced up, and Ylfronir froze, hoping against hope that Druluk wouldn't choose this moment to attempt to gain a better vantage point. Legolas! Prince of Mirkwood! And Aragorn. What could possibly be going on? Aragorn moved out of his line of sight, and Legolas too continued, apparently satisfied that nothing untoward was going on in the tree above. But following behind them came two more figures. One, a dwarf whom Ylfronir did not recognise, but the other was a figure he knew very well indeed. Mithrandir, the wizard. Part of him cried out to jump down from the tree and find out what was happening. Something of immense importance must be taking place to have brought these companions together. But the last time he had met Aragorn was when Gollum had been given into the custody of the Mirkwood elves - the ranger had been the one who had captured Gollum in the first place. And during his last encounter with Legolas he had been waving a banner reading

'Would the royal family kindly demonstrate what qualifies them for their position of absolute power other than an accident of birth?' (it had taken forever to weave that), so he was uncertain whether Aragorn or Legolas would be entirely pleased to see him. Plus there was the problem of how to explain Druluk's presence. His curiosity would have to remain unsatisfied.

Ylfronir waited until the sound of footsteps had receded beyond his hearing, then jumped nimbly to the ground. Behind him, Druluk half slid half clambered out of the tree.

'Who was it?' he asked 'Not the ringwraiths I take it?'

'No…'

'Oh!' exclaimed the orc, in mock surprise, 'and there I was expecting the foul fiends of Minas Morgul to tear us limb from limb…'

'Stop it!'

'Sorry, sorry, I just didn't realise you elves were so superstitious…'

'It's real. The rings of power exist, and the nine rings of men are borne by nine…

'….kings of old, yes, you don't need to tell me. I know all about the elven smiths and the seven for the dwarves and three for the elves and the One Ring to rule them all…' reeled off Druluk in a singsong voice, 'I just don't believe that a piece of metal can control a person.'

'But the rings of power are magical…'

'Oho, magic! You should have said! I mean, if they're magic then that explains everything…'

'You don't believe in magic either? I thought you worked for Saruman!'

An expression twisted in pain and anger flickered across Druluk's face at the mention of the name.

'Yes,' he muttered. Ylfronir opened his mouth to ask what made a wizard if there was no such thing as magic, but thought better of it. Druluk set off walking again, and Ylfronir followed in silence.

………………………………….

It was noon, and even in the heart of Fangorn Druluk knew it. He longed to stop for a rest, but didn't want to show any sign of weakness. He let his pace slow though, so that eventually Ylfronir overtook him. They were not following any kind of path, just weaving in and out of the trees. Druluk began to doubt that the elf had any clear destination in mind. His own destination he now knew. Even if it took him days to reach the edge of this maze of trees, he was heading back to Isengard. Purpose had come to him in the middle of the previous night, though as yet he had hardly dared to let the thought take shape in his mind. Now that the seed of the idea was sown he was content not to think of anything at all. It was enough to have intent, the details could come later. So it was with a sense of irritation that his thought processes were forcibly awakened by Ylfronir:

'Druluk, um,'

'Yes?'

'I hope you don't mind me asking, but I was wondering where exactly you were headed?'

Druluk did not answer

'Sorry, I know it is not my concern, but, ah, we are getting deeper and deeper into the forest and there are things you should probably know about…'

'Isengard.'

'Sorry?'

'I'm heading for Isengard.'

Ylfronir looked puzzled. He opened his mouth as if about to query this, but at that moment something caught his eye between the trees up ahead. He darted forward, exclaiming delightedly

'At last!'

Relieved that the interrogation seemed to be over for the moment, and mildly intrigued by what the elf could have spotted, Druluk followed.

Ylfronir was standing in front of a thicket of wiry thorn bushes which were growing around the foot of a huge oak tree. He was slightly hunched forward, hands on his knees, staring at the twiggy brambles intently. Druluk looked at the bushes but could see nothing unusual. Then the elf straightened his back and looked up into the tree above. He stood like this, studying the oak's branches for even longer than he had stared at the thorns. Just as Druluk was wondering whether to go over and tap him on the shoulder, or else abandon the elf to his lunatic tendencies and carry on walking, Ylfronir reached out one hand towards the trunk. To Druluk's astonishment the elf's fingers were trembling. He was about to speak, to ask the elf what on earth was going on, but his lips had barely parted when Ylfronir held up his other hand to silence him. Druluk became intensely conscious of an oppressive tension in the air as the elf's fingertips crept closer, closer, closer, a bare hairs breadth away…he touched the bark.

Nothing. Ylfronir relaxed visibly, and the tension dissipated in an instant

'What the hell was that about?' asked Druluk

Ylfronir didn't answer, but instead began to dextrously remove the thorny branches from the base of the tree. To Druluk's surprise the thicket was not rooted in the ground at all, the branches had been cunningly woven to appear like a clump of bushes. Within moments the elf had revealed what lay behind them – a hollow crevice in the base of the wide, ancient trunk. Druluk stepped closer to peer inside. There seemed to be a pile of evenly shaped stones tucked right into the tree. Ylfronir drew one out. Seeing Druluk's questioning face he handed it over, and Druluk saw that it was a flask of some kind – roughly hewn from stone, with a leather stopper. He shook it, and heard liquid splashing inside.

'What's this?'

'Entwash,' answered Ylfronir, as if that was all the explanation necessary. He was reaching inside the tree again. This time his arm disappeared right up to his shoulder, and Druluk wondered how deep this opening went. The elf pulled out another piece of stone, but this was a flat stone tablet. 'Thank you!' he grinned up at the tree, and Druluk wondered once again about his companion's sanity. But as the elf studied his prize, his face fell. He knelt down, and looked as though he were about to put it back. But Druluk had had enough playacting.

'Ylfronir!' he exclaimed in frustration, 'what's going on?'

The elf sighed and dropped his head back to look up at the forest canopy. Without looking at Druluk he asked:

'Have you ever heard of the Ents?'

'The whats?'

'Tree herders, Shepherds of the Forest, first proponents of universal suffrage…well….universal as far as trees go I suppose…'

'Not ringing any bells.'

'Well, they are an ancient race and this forest is their home. I came here with the intention of meeting some of them. I've been looking out for signs of them all day. This tree is clearly some kind of storage post, and this stone here…' he handed the tablet to Druluk 'is obviously some sort of message. Now it might just be saying, 'hands off the entwash', or 'drink responsibly', but it might equally have provided some clue about where I might find them…but I can't read it. I suppose it's only to be expected they wouldn't use the common script….I suppose I should have thought of that…'

'Urgent…announcement …. All…ummm, don't know this next character… summoning …. meeting … important… something … decide .... ummm …. war…' Druluk's voice trailed off as he saw Ylfronir staring at him in astonishment.

'You can read it?'

'I can read a lot of things.'

'But how? And you said you'd never heard of the Ents!'

'I hadn't. I just thought of them as the really annoying people who liked to write everything by scratching it into stones which are bloody heavy to carry up the stairs…' Druluk regretted this reply, but Ylfronir was barely paying attention.

'War? You said war…the ents are going to war? With whom?'

'I can't read it properly, I don't know half these characters…'

'Try!'

'Look, honestly, I don't know! I reckon this is the crucial character, but I've no idea what it means…'

Ylfronir took the tablet from him,

'Oh, so you reckon you can do better than me now?'

'Which character did you say?'

'That one.'

'The one which looks a bit like a hand?'

'The one which looks like a…'

They both realised the significance simultaneously.

'…hand,' finished Druluk. His eyes were drawn irresistibly to look down at his breastplate. Muddy, dented, reddish brown patches which might be rust or…he suddenly thought….Rashgrul's blood…but the white hand of Saruman grinned through from underneath.

Ylfronir seemed unwilling to break the silence, so Druluk spoke first

'Well, I suppose it's to be expected.'

'Look, it might mean something else entirely….'

'What, like, um, the elves?'

Ylfronir said nothing, so Druluk went on:

'Anyway, it's deserved. Saruman is an evil man.'

An evil man with a hundred thousand orcs who will die before him. The thought burned in his mind, but he did not speak the words. He glanced at the elf, but Ylfronir's expression betrayed nothing of what he might be thinking.

They stood for some moments, not meeting each other's gaze, then Ylfronir silently knelt at the tree trunk and replaced the tablet. Then he began to weave the thorn bushes back how he had found them. Druluk realised he was still holding the bottle of entwash, and he almost opened his mouth to say something, but words stuck in his throat, and he slipped it into his pack instead.

Eventually Ylfronir stood up.

'Do you still want to go to Isengard?' he asked, matter of factly.

'Yes'. As he answered, Druluk realised that though his mind was in turmoil, that particular resolution was firmer than ever.

'Then I shall go with you to the border of Saruman's realm. If the Ents are going to go to war with Saruman I may have more luck finding them in that direction.'

Druluk registered this slowly, without seeming to hear

'If we do come across any Ents, I'll tell them you are no longer in the service of the White Wizard, you should be quite safe.'

The elf spoke earnestly, but Druluk was sceptical about how realistic his statement actually was. Still, having the elf with him wasn't going to make his situation any worse.

'If you say so,' he said, and set off into the trees.

…………………………….

Over the next few days they came across no more signs of entish activity. At last, on the morning of the third day they came to the edge of the forest.

'Here we are!' said Druluk triumphantly, but squinting as they emerged into full sunlight.

'Are you sure?' said Ylfronir doubtfully, 'I can't see the Tower of Orthanc…'

'Oh, Saruman's domain extends far beyond the Tower. Trust me. The thing is, it's all underground.'

'Ah, cunning,'

'Well, that practically is Saruman's middle name. Now, somewhere round here there should be an entrance to a small tunnel. The tunnel leads to his main underground hall. When I worked in there we would use the tunnel to nip out to the forest edge and set a few traps…'

'Traps?' asked Ylfronir in alarm

'Oh, for rabbits and similar. Snacks really,'

Ylfronir's expression remained horrified. Druluk sighed

'We had to eat, Ylfronir.'

'Well yes, but…What was that?' The elf pointed to a collection of scrubby bushes some twenty yards away

'Hey! Well done, I remember now – that's where the entrance is!'

'No, I thought I saw some movement…'

A huge figure crashed out of the bushes and hurtled towards them, screaming some incoherent war cry. Ylfronir drew his bow but hesitated to fire, as Druluk was moving towards this newcomer, gesturing urgently. The orc, for it seemed to be an orc, but larger than any Ylfronir had ever seen, thundered past Druluk and was heading straight towards him. There was no time to fire now, he cast his bow aside and ducked as the massive orc reached him, swinging a mace through the air. He heard Druluk shouting as he rolled on the ground, dodging hammer like blows which made deep indentations into the turf. Then a searing pain tore through him as he managed to avoid the mace but a kick from one of the orc's heavily armoured boots glanced off the side of his head. Just before he slid into unconsciousness he had a fleeting sense of Druluk reaching him...