6. Tactics

- Winter Dec 2957 -

At Hornburg, Fastred called the West Muster of the Mark. The regular troops and able-bodied men came from their homes and winter pastures in the Westfold. When his Marshals and Captains had gathered, leaving a small garrison at the Fords of Isen, Thorongil told them his plans.

He had modified the tactics of the Rangers of Arnor to take full advantage of the speed and versatility of mounted troops. He proposed placing small mounted troops to patrol the long borders from the Gap of Rohan along River Isen to the Entwash along Fangorn Forest. It allowed few men to be spread over great distance. By themselves, a patrol of four riders was too few to fight a band of orc raiders. They were meant to give warning to the éored camped nearby. With pre-arranged signals, one éored could call upon its neighbours if they were outnumbered.

There had been much arguments before Thorongil had finished. Especially when Fastred explicitly forbid the patrols from deserting their posts to engage the enemy.

"We are the Eorlingas, not rabbits. We do not flee nor stand aside when there is battle before us. The men would not bear the thought of it." One captain declared loudly in Rohirric. Fastred was not surprised. He had warned Thorongil there would be protests to that particular point.

"You are the Riders of the Mark, the King's men." Thorongil said quietly. He faced the gathering of captains and marshals of West-March, their yellow hair gleaming in the torch light. "If it is your task to run like rabbits, you will run like rabbits. And make a good show of being rabbits too. If 'tis your duty to stand your ground and guard your post, that is what you will do. Still as a rock, no matter how the enemy goads you. Let out the signal and let the main éored take care of them. No one thinks less of you for missing a fight. If you leave a post unguarded, you may let the second band through unchallenged. Do what you must to help you comrades in need, mind you. But do not leave your posts unattended. That is why there are four to a patrol, not one. Remember, we are on a hunt. And our prey is smarter and more vicious than any wolf or boar."

Thorongil did not raise his voice, but Fastred noted that there was steel in his voice that was not there before. His command of Rohirric was also improving. But he still needed to learn how to speak to a Rohirrim. The children of Eorl valued honesty, bravery and loyalty. They were certainly not known for subtlety, Fastred thought in silence. He could have come from Gondor, if only his speech did not betray him.

There was a sullen silence. Then the hall erupted once more as a hundred voices vied to be heard. It was time Fastred put his foot in, so to speak. He banged the table with an empty tankard. Once more, the hall fell silent.

"Come now, Braga," he said, picking the loudest of the protesters. "Are you afraid you might not make a good orc bait? I'll wager a round of ale Gelthane can lure twice as many orcs to their deaths." Fastred raised his tankard to Gelthane, a spindly quiet young man trying to sink into his chair at the sudden attention from the Second Marshal. All eyes suddenly riveted to the unassuming young rider. Fastred could practically hear the wheels turn in the thoughts of his men. All of Thorongil's carefully explained tactics and reasons forgotten. Their capability had been doubted. It could not remain unchallenged.

"Hah!" cried one of the Marshals. "My Calmund is a faster rider. And he has eyes of a hawk. He could out do Gelthane, I'll wager." The hall erupted once more. Before long, each éored had their favourites and the wagering got thick and fast. After that, the Marshals and Captains were more willing to listen to the plans.

Each Marshal were assigned an area and bid to choose his battle ground. The patrols would flee before the enemy in pursuit and they should always lead the pursuing enemies toward these chosen grounds where the main strength of the éored awaited them.

Only at one place was the border unguarded. A valley at the tail end of Misty Mountains where a great fortress called Orthanc sat, tall and black. When Thorongil questioned Fastred about it, he told Thorongil not to worry. "Isengard is safe and securely held. Neither man nor weapon could breach it. It was not part of Rohan. The wizard, Saruman the White, resides there. He needs no help from us as he is quick to remind us. And it saves us the trouble of protecting it. The wild men give it a wide berth. And the orcs go around it. Be careful not to stray too close to Isengard. Saruman guards his borders jealously."

Thorongil was glad their plans had worked well. For once, the Rohirrim passed the Winter with little loss of lives. Fastred was called upon several times to curb the patrols' over-enthusiasm. "I knew I was going to be sorry for starting that silly bet," he confided to Thorongil and Hammond, his Second, one evening. "Some of the stunts these young fools pull to bait the orcs ... It chills my blood. We are fortunate our horses run faster than wargs and orcs."

In the end, Fastred was compelled to buy the promised round of ale. Braga had somehow outdone all other riders in orc-baiting, both in ingenuity and boldness.

Thorongil too had not been idle. While the Riders kept the enemies occupied, he ranged throughout the foothills and river vales, tracking their movements. The vale of Isengard made him uneasy. Though he could neither name nor see the reason, he felt oppressed whenever he came near it. There were a few tracks of someone entering and leaving the walls. But, as Fastred had said, the walls were impenetrable and orc tracks did not come near it.

Fangorn was also a strange place. He was warned many times by Fastred and some of the captains against entering it. He felt a great brooding presence, full of secret purpose within it. He doubted his own feelings and wondered if his mind had heeded too much the fables and stories told to him. It was not the first time he had been told a hairy story or two over a campfire. He would ask Master Elrond later. As it was, he could enter Fangorn safely for about a mile. Deeper than that, the woods felt close and once or twice, he could have sworn the paths and trees moved from where he remembered them. The long familiarity with ways of wild woods and forests stood him in good stead and he came without serious harm.

It was a truly frustrating season for Thorongil. He began to doubt his ability to track his quarry. The trails seemed to vanish into the hills, valleys and forest without a trace. And the mysterious captain of the enemy eluded him. His only clue was a cloaked and hooded man of unknown origins and features. Even the orcs themselves did not know who the man was or where he could be found. Even Thorongil had not seen the figure himself.

As Spring approached, the bulk of the Muster would return to fields and herds. The vigilance held in Winter would no longer be feasible. But their effort had been fruitful. The ranks of the enemy had thinned and they grew more wary. The borders were at peace once more.

One evening, at the end of March, Fastred sent word out to recall Thorongil from the fields. As the first buds swelled in the trees and the muster slowly disbanded, Thorongil and Fastred at last made their way back to Edoras.

TBC ...


Author's Note:

Boy, this is a tough chapter! Hope the tactics and strategies suit a cavalry force. Mixed success for Thorongil and hopefully, he would do better next time. Something of note is that from 2954 when Mount Doom bursts into flame again till circa 3017 when Sauron found out from Gollum about the One Ring, there had been almost no major war effort from Mordor. Mostly, there were rumours, skirmishes and local troubles with Rohan and Gondor. And during the early years which coincide with Thorongil's service, these problems were dealt with or minimised. It is probable that Thorongil's and Gandalf's presence during these years had kept Sauron's plans at bay and stalled or delayed his activities. That is, until 3017, when Sauron found out about Bilbo, the Shire and the One Ring's whereabouts that he mobilised his full strength.

Footnotes:

In 2957, the canon characters are :
Age - Name
09 - Theoden, son of Thengel
26 - Aragorn, son of Arathorn
36 - Morwen of Lossarnach, mother of Theoden
53 - Thengel, son of Fengel, King of Rohan

1. West Muster - A muster is a gathering of armed men in times of war. Mostly from éoreds of local lords and recruits from local population. Second Marshal such as Théodred was in charge of the West Muster. Éomer, as Third Marshal, was in charge of East Muster.

2. Braga - (OC), Captain of Rohan

3. Gelthane - (OC), newly-made, young Captain of Rohan

4. Calmund - (OC), a Rider of Rohan

5. (Appendix - When Turgon died (2953) Saruman took Isengard for his own, and fortified it.)

6. (Appendix - It was soon after Thengel's return that Saruman declared himself Lord of Isengard and began to give trouble to Rohan, encroaching on its borders and supporting its enemies.)

7. (Appendix - In 2989 ... At that time Sauron had arisen again, and the shadow of Mordor reached out to Rohan. ... came down from the Misty Mountains, many being great uruks in the service of Saruman, though it was long before that was suspected.)

8. (Appendix - Curunír journeyed often into the East, but dwelt at last in Isengard.)

9. Hammond - (OC) Second officer and right-hand man of Marshal Fastred.

10. (TTT - Aragorn : Elrond says that the two (Old Forest and Fangorn) are akin, the last strongholds of the mighty woods of the Elder Days, in which the Firstborn roamed while Men still slept. Yet Fangorn holds some secret of its own. What it is I do not know.)

Respose to Reviewers:
Grumpy, isn't Theoden a nice kid? LOL!
Neoinean, Fastred found Thorongil some time late evening, but it's meant to be ambigous, since Thorongil is not aware of passage of time. I'd estimate about 6 hours of Theraphy Time and meal. As for getting news back to his people, it'll be addressed in next chapter.