Chapter 5.

When Éomer and the king's party came out of the Hornburg they saw a few large mounds had been raised over the bodies of the dead. One dead man lay alone under the shadow of the Hornburg. The king stood near the grave many minutes, for the loss of his general, Háma, had been a hard blow. The body had been found in pieces, torn apart even after he had died. The king came and joined the rest of the men as their horses were brought out and readied.

They mounted and began the journey to Isengard. As they rode down from the dike they saw that the men, women, and the children who had been in the caves had emerged and were singing a song of victory. The strong, sweet notes journeyed on the wind as they rode on. The singing stopped suddenly as the people saw that the forest had filled the valley. The king and his party were headed straight towards the mass of thick, green foliage.

When they approached, Gandalf did not halt, and the gnarled branches of the trees rose to form an archway through which he passed. As they went through the opening, all the men looked around in wonder. The road was still there. They moved with creaking and groaning so that the riders could take the road through the forest unhindered. Éomer could hear the king speak under his breath.

"Never in all my life have I seen such a thing. Today I feel like a child."

Legolas, riding nearby, overheard him and answered in a cautious whisper, "As do I. This wood is very old, and it is throbbing with hatred. What has happened to the miserable orcs, I wonder."

"That, I think, no one will ever know," Gandalf answered.

The rest of the party rode in silence and Éomer was among them. He did not speak, but watched warily, for he also could feel the throb that Legolas had described. The elf and dwarf spoke softly among themselves until they reached the end of the forest and the branching road, leading one way to Edoras and the other to the Fords of Isen. Suddenly, Legolas cried out and the whole party looked back to see what he saw.

Out of the forest the elf had seen pairs of eyes, and now three strange figures came out of the wood. They were as tall as trolls and like the shape of trees. Their raiment and hair were shades of green and brown, and moss grew on their skin. They had solemn eyes that were staring past the riders and northward. They opened their mouths and let a call like trumpets rumble in the air. Éomer watched as the call was answered and more of the same creatures came swiftly from the North, their footfalls shaking the ground. Most of the king's men put their hands on the bow and on the hilt, but Gandalf stopped them.

"You need no weapons. These are but herdsmen. They are not enemies, indeed they are not concerned with us at all," the wizard said.

The men saw he was right, because in a moment the tree-herders moved off into the woods and disappeared among the other trees. Éomer doubted at the moment that he would ever see such creatures ever again. These were undoubtedly the Ents, tree-herders that had become a legend of bed-time tales in Rohan. The company soon turned away from the woods and continued to the Fords.

Éomer did not know what to expect at the river. The memories of Théodred's death had been washing over him all day, and as they approached the bank, all the riders were surprised. There had been no noise of moving water or splashing liquid as they approached but they still had not expected the river to be completely dried up. Cracked mud and dirt filled the furrow which had once been full of running water. Only a little remained and stood in solitary, dirty pools.

"This is become a dreary place. What sickness has befallen the river? Many fair things Saruman has destroyed: has he devoured the springs of Isen too?" Éomer asked, looking around in astonishment.

"So it would seem," Gandalf said unconvincingly.

They rode up the river towards the eyot where Théodred had fallen. It stood in the middle, a bare hump of ground rising from the vast indentation which had once been a great river. On its crest was a circle of spears that encompassed a mound made of stone and dirt.

"Friends have labored here," the wizard said as they crossed the dry waste to gather by the rise, "Here lay all the Men of the Mark that fell near this place."

The wizard had not told all. The king questioned him and it was found that all had been directed by him. Elfwine and his men had helped him to raise the mound and gather the surviving men. Gandalf did not say all that had happened nor offered explanation for the strange state of the land. When they crossed the river the sun was sinking quickly and they made camp beside it. Éomer was weary of the place and longed to leave it behind but followed the king's orders nonetheless. The three travelers and especially Aragorn seemed cautious and remained silent and watchful through the night. There was little sleep for any of the men.

The statue before the entrance of Orthanc was a white hand. It was made of a single piece of stone and was faced palm outwards, commanding and powerful. As Gandalf passed it, blood seemed to spurt from the nails and run down the long, thick digits. It blackened quickly and caked on the pristine rock as they passed warily.

The whole place seemed to have been underwater only a short time ago and pools of dirty water had been left behind. Submerged waste lay on every side, rock and branch stuck out of the water at intervals along the way. Most spectacular and perhaps absurd of all were two figures surrounded by smoke, sitting on a large pile of rock. They were very small, and kept talking for a few moments before they noticed the group of horseman who had stopped before the pile.

One of the creatures stood up and bowed slowly. He was only as tall as a child but looked much older than that. His hair was a mass of brown curls and he wore a cloak of the same design and make as those of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. The other remained recumbent and seemed to be sleeping very soundly. The latter addressed the king and his nephew with a small, cheery voice.

"Welcome, my lords, to Isengard! We are the door wardens. Merriadoc son of Saradoc is my name; and my companion, who alas! Is overcome with weariness," he stopped to kick his friend, "Is Peregrin, son of Paladin, of the house of Took. Far in the North is our home. The Lord Saruman is within; but at the moment he is closeted with one Wormtongue, or doubtless he would be here to welcome such honorable guests."

Gimli, Aragorn, and Legolas seemed quite glad to see these old companions of theirs and Éomer could see that these must be the hobbits that they had spoken of. He tried not to laugh at the small creature's flowery words. The king was just as amazed as the riders to find that the legends of the Holbytlan were true and they now saw them in the flesh as they had the Ents. The hobbits conversed with them for some time before relaying that Treebeard, the ent in charge of Orthanc, was waiting for the party farther on.

The men were eager when they were told food was waiting there also. They went along carefully, watching for loose slabs and shifting rocks beneath the murky water. The horses walked slowly, but soon they came to Treebeard. Seeing the Ent so close was very different than watching the tree-herders they have seen before. He was tall, at least fourteen feet, and either clad, or made of, the same brown and green material of bark. His hands were knobby and long and rested at his sides as he watched them approach. His great, twiggy beard hung down across his torso and the light of the sun glinted on the green specks in his deep brown eyes.

The ent's voice was deep and booming as he addressed the riders, "Gandalf, you come at last. Wood and water, stone and branch I can manage, but here, there is a wizard to manage," he took a moment to examine the riders and with a strange sound like the howling wind called other Ents to him.

Food was brought from the storage cellars of Saruman, and the riders found a large jutting boulder to rest on while they ate. Théoden and Gandalf did not rest but continued to speak with Treebeard. Éomer wished very badly to know what they were saying and chewed on his portion distractedly, answering the banter of the soldiers with noncommittal grunts.

Brynfot stamped his front hoof warily and pushed his ears forward. Éomer patted his side but said nothing. The vast structure awed silence into the entire group. Though he had often heard stories of Orthanc, he had never imagined the building to be so enormous and unlike anything he had ever seen. Gimli, Legolas, Aragon and the strange hobbit creatures, called Merry and Pippin, had joined them an hour earlier and now, after close consultation between the King, Gandalf and Treebeard, they were approaching the massive structure.

The huge spike of architecture rose up from the ground, smooth and gleaming. A great flight of stairs rose from the murky water and led to a barred black door. Above the door was a window with a balcony and rails. No face appeared from either opening; the whole place remained still and silent as they approached.

When they came at last to the foot of the stairs, the King and Gandalf dismounted their horses. A soldier dismounted also, in order to hold the reins of their horses. Éomer began to dismount; he felt unwilling to be left behind while they climbed the strange stairs. Théoden glanced at him with a look of understanding.

"I will go up," said Gandalf, "I have been in Orthanc and I know my peril."

"And I too will go up," Théoden said motioning for Éomer as he spoke, "I am old and fear no peril any more. I wish to speak to the enemy who has done me so much wrong. Éomer shall come with me, and see that my aged feet do not falter," he said with a quick, sardonic grin towards his nephew.

"As you will," said Gandalf, "Aragorn shall come with me. Let the others await us at the foot of the stairs. They will hear and see enough, if there is anything to hear or see."

"Nay!" Gimli shouted jumping off the back of the horse, "Legolas and I wish for a closer view. We alone here represent our kindreds. We also will come behind."

"Come then!" Gandalf said with an exasperated sigh and began climbing the stairs. The riders below remained mounted, but Merry and Pippin slumped down upon the stair and watched dejectedly.

Éomer noticed with a small smile, that his uncle did not take his arm for support as they ascended up the stairs. No one talked and they reached the door very quickly. Gandalf took up his staff and beat on the huge, looming doors. The sound was deep and hollow.

"Saruman, Saruman! Saruman come forth!" Gandalf cried in a loud, commanding voice.

There was no answer for many minutes, until the window above the door scraped open. There was still no one to be seen as the voice spoke, "Who is it? What do you wish?" it said, and Éomer lurched forward in start at its familiarity.

"I know that voice," Théoden said, "and I curse the day I first listened to it."

"Go and fetch Saruman, since you have become his footman Grima Wormtongue! And do not waste our time!"

The window closed abruptly, and from the railing above them came a enchanting voice. They had not heard the wizard approach on the balcony, but suddenly he was there, speaking to them in a voice like none they had ever heard. All other voices at once seemed course and uncouth compared to this one. Éomer found himself caught unawares and succumbed for a moment before steeling himself, as much as he could, against the sound. In his mind he knew that he had heard such a voice before, one of lesser charm from the wizard's apprentice, Grima.

They all looked up in unison, and beheld Saruman.

Note: Yes that is as close as I get to a cliffie, yes it's a terrible excuse for one. Thank you to all my reviewers. I know my updates have been few and far in between but I hope during the summer to do better with it. As to the music regulations, yes it bugs me but I'm not taking my story off.

Mystikal- Thank you so much for your faithful reviews! It really helps to know people like the story enough to stick through my long periods of inactivity. I will be trying to update faster, but who knows if that will really happen. :)

Kalayna- Thanks for your review! I'm glad you like it!

Ithil-valon- Thank you so much for your review. I appreciate the comment and would have liked to see this on the big screen as well but I'm happy to settle for watching it unfold on my imagination. :)

Isilhén Daegol- Thanks so much for the reviews! It's amazing to think that it's been so long since I was first asking you how to get accents on letters! Thanks for keeping up despite school and stuff, it's a lot more than I can boast:) I looked back for the anand mistake and found it a bunch blushes I've tried to catch them, but I'll have to go back for a thorough look through. Thanks again for the reviews.

Eokat- Thanks for the reviews! I've tried to have some friendly banter in here that doesn't sound to silly, and I'm glad it's worked out ok. Thanks again!

Silverleaf- Haha! You've finally reviewed, should I be worried? Yes, I know I'm terrible with commas and I'm trying to do better. I hope you read this chapter sometime soon, maiden of doom…it rhymed.

Horsiegurl- I'm glad you like my story! I hope you read more.