Chapter 6.
"Like and yet unlike," Gimli said under his breath, glancing back and forth between Gandalf and Saruman.
Éomer watched the figure at the railing. He was dressed in a cloak that seemed white but changed color as he moved. He had a high forehead and long face that swept down into a white beard that retained a few dark hairs around his lips and ears. His dark eyes were deep and watched the group with a grave and benevolent expression. As he spoke his whole body spoke of great weariness.
"Well? Why must you disturb my rest? Will you give me no peace at all by night or day?" After it grew clear that there would be no answer from his audience he continued, "But come now, two at least of you I know by name. Gandalf I know too well to have much hope that he seeks help or counsel here. But you, Théoden Lord of the Mark of Rohan, are declared by your noble devices, and still more by the fair countenance of the House of Eorl. You have fought many battles and slain many men Théoden King, and made peace afterwards. Can we not take counsel together as we once did, my old friend, can we not have peace you and I?"
There was a deep silence that lay upon all of them like a heavy blanket. The riders below were murmuring among themselves, pleased with the fine words that the wizard spoke to their king. Éomer fought the smothering sorcery that seemed to dull his thinking. Within him he began to feel a great fear for the war that would come. He was suddenly weary of battle and wished for peace. However, deep inside him he knew that no deal made with Saruman would end in tranquility.
It was Gimli the dwarf who broke in suddenly, "The words of this wizard stand on their heads. In the language of Orthanc help means ruin, and saving means slaying, that is plain," he finished with a fiery glance at Saruman and a firm grasp on his axe.
"Peace!" the wizard said his voice for a moment less suave, "I do not speak to you yet, Gimli Glóin's son. Far away is your home and small concern of yours are the troubles of this land." He turned his attention to the King once more, "What have you to say, Théoden King? Will you have peace with me, and all the aid that my knowledge, founded in long year, can bring? Shall we make our counsels together against evil days and repair our injuries with such good will that our estates shall both come to fairer flower than ever before?"
Éomer watched his uncle with growing concern and anxiety. The man shook slightly as he looked up at the wizard and met his glance, but he said no word, "Lord, hear me!" Éomer said suddenly, "Have we ridden forth to victory, only to stand at last amazed by an old liar with honey on his forked tongue?" he glanced up at Saruman with a steely gaze, "All he desires is to escape from his plight. But will you parley with this dealer in treachery and murder? Remember Théodred at the Fords, and the grave of Háma in Helm's Deep!"
"If we speak of poisoned tongues what shall we say of yours, young serpent?" Saruman said with anger. The force of his words seemed like arrows piercing through Éomer's flesh and spirit, "But come Éomer Éomund's son! To every man his part. Valor in arms is yours, and you win high honor with it. Slay whom your lord names as enemies, and be content. Meddle not in policies you do not understand." Saruman turned again to the King leaving Éomer feeling as a child left behind by the adults. His heart felt raw from the wounds sustained from the wizard's words. He hung his head dejectedly.
"My lord of Rohan, am I to be called a murderer, because valiant men have fallen in battle? If you go to war needlessly, for I did not desire it, then men will be slain. I say, Théoden King shall we have peace and friendship, you and I? It is ours to command."
"We shall have peace," Théoden said thickly and with an effort. The riders at the foot of the stairs cried out gladly, "We shall have peace when you and all your works have perished. You are a liar Saruman, and a corrupter of men's hearts. You hold out your hand to me, and I perceive only a finger of the claw of Mordor," he said with a stronger voice, his eyes glittering with deep anger, "We shall have peace with you when you answer for the burning of the Westfold and the children that lie dead there. We shall have peace when the lives of the soldiers, whose bodies were hewn even as they lay dead against the gates of the Hornburg, are avenged! When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we shall have peace," Théoden took a deep breath and shuddered slightly, "A lesser son of greater sires am I, but I do not need to lick your fingers. Now, I fear your voice has lost its charm."
And it had. The soldiers seemed to be awakened from a drunken stupor by the harsh voice of their master. Saruman remained quiet for a few moments, trembling with wrath. He leaned over the railing with malice in his eyes and for a moment he looked like a snake about to strike.
"Gibbets and crows!" he hissed between clenched teeth, "Dotard! What is the house of Eorl but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek, and their brats roll on the floor among the dogs? Too long have they escaped the gibbet themselves. But the noose comes, slow in the drawing, tight and hard in the end. Hang if you will!" Saruman straightened his back and clung to his staff with two hands, "For I need you not, nor your little band of gallopers, as swift to fly as to advance, Théoden Horsemaster. You give me brag and abuse. So be it. Go back to your huts!"
Éomer was afraid of the wizard's tone of voice. Now that the tables were turned he was acting like a cornered animal, wounded and about to strike. His next words came quickly, they were directed at Gandalf but not one of the people was left unaffected. His persuasiveness increased with the danger of his position.
"But you, Gandalf! For you at least I am grieved, feeling for your shame. How comes it that you can endure such company? For you are proud, Gandalf—and not without reason, having a noble mind and eyes that look both deep and far. Even now will you not listen to my counsel?"
Gandalf looked up, "What have you to say that you did not say at our last meeting? Or, perhaps, you have things to unsay?'
"Unsay? I endeavored to advise you for your own good, but you scarcely listened. You are proud and do not love advice, having indeed a store of your own wisdom. I fear in my eagerness to persuade you, I lost patience. And indeed I regret it. I bear you no ill will though you return to me in the company of the violent and the ignorant. For the common good I am willing to redress the past, and to receive you. Will you not consult with me? Will you not come up?"
For a moment, the rest of the party knew that Gandalf would leave them. They knew that he would go up the stairs and take counsel with Saruman. Then they would be dismissed like the lowly beings that they were, compared to these two great beings. The thought vanished a few seconds later with a laugh.
"Saruman, Saruman! Saruman, you missed your path in life. You should have been the king's jester and earned your bread, and stripes too, by mimicking his counselors. Understand one another? I fear I am beyond your comprehension. But you, Saruman, I understand now too well. When last I visited you, you were the jailor of Mordor, and there I was to be sent."
"Nay, the guest who has escaped from the roof, will think twice before he comes back in by the door. Nay, I do not think I will come up. But listen, Saruman, for the last time! Will you not come down?" he addressed Saruman's stunned face and smiled a bit. "Isengard has proved less strong than your hope and fancy made it. So may other things in which you still have trust. Would it not be well to leave it for a while? To turn to new things, perhaps? Think well, Saruman! Will you not come down?"
Saruman's face grew white and livid. His face showed the conflicting feelings of his mind. For a second he hesitated, almost ready to accept the help that Gandalf offered. Then pride stiffened his features and he spoke with a cold voice.
"Will I come down? Does an unarmed man come down to speak with robbers out of doors? I can hear you well enough here. I am no fool, and I do not trust you, Gandalf. They do not stand openly on my stairs, but I know where the wild wood-demons are lurking, at your command."
"The treacherous are ever distrustful. But you need not fear for your skin. I do not wish to kill you, or hurt you, as you would know, if you really understood me. And I have the power to protect you. I am giving you a last chance. You can leave Orthanc, free—if you choose."
"That sounds well. Very much in the manner of Gandalf the Grey: so condescending, and so very kind. I do not doubt that you would find Orthanc commodious, and my departure convenient. But why should I wish to leave? And what do you mean by "free"? There are conditions, I presume?"
"Reasons for leaving you can see from your windows. Others will occur to your thought. Your servants are destroyed and scattered; your neighbors you have made your enemies; and you have cheated your new master, or tried to do so. When his eye turns hither, it will be the red eye of wrath. But when I say "free", I mean "free": free from bond, of chain or command: to go where you will, even, even to Mordor, Saruman, if you desire. But you will first surrender to me the Key of Orthanc, and your staff. They shall be pledges of your conduct, to be returned later, if you merit them."
"Later! Yes, when you also have the Keys of Barad-Dûr itself, I suppose; and the crowns of seven kings, and the rods of the Five Wizards, and have purchased yourself a pair of boots many sizes larger than those that you wear now. A modest plan. Hardly one in which my help is needed! I have other things to do. Do not be a fool. If you wish to treat with me, while you have a chance, go away, and come back when you are sober! Good day!" He shouted and turned to leave the balcony.
"Come back, Saruman!" Gandalf said. Saruman turned around and clutched at the rail.
"I did not give you leave to go. I have not finished. You still might have turned away from folly and evil, and have been of service. But you choose to stay and gnaw the ends of your old plots. Stay then! Saruman! Behold I am not Gandalf the Grey, whom you betrayed. I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death. You have no color now, and I cast you from the order and from the Council."
Gandalf raised his hand towards Saruman, "Saruman, your staff is broken." The great black staff broke in half and shattered. The head fell off and rolled down to Gandalf's feet, "Go!" Gandalf finished and Saruman fell back and crawled away.
At that moment a flash fell down onto the railing and broke it in to. It was a large shining ball that sparked on the stairs as it rolled down to the bottom and into a pool. "The murderous rogue," Éomer said with almost a laugh.
"No, that was not thrown by Saruman, nor even at his bidding, I think. It came from a window far above. A parting shot from Master Wormtongue, I fancy, but ill aimed," Gandalf said looking up to the windows above the balcony.
"The aim was poor, maybe, because he could not make up his mind who he hated more, you or Saruman," said Aragorn.
"That may be so," said Gandalf, "Small comfort will those two have in their companionship: they will gnaw one another with words. But the punishment is just. If Wormtongue ever comes out of Orthanc alive, it will be more than he deserves."
Éomer agreed wholeheartedly with the last statement. But how he wished to go up into Isengard and get rid of the worm all together. Éomer looked up at the towering structure for a moment before they descended the stairs.
Note: Hey everyone, thanks in advance for the reviews! I know this chapter was long and pretty much dialogue. I just wanted to have a little note here. This chapter was especially hard because I had the dialogue from the book and the dialogue from the movie to work with. I believe you will see that I mixed the two together, but kept more of the dialogue from the book. Almost nothing in this chapter is my own, almost everything is the wonderful work of Tolkien. I hope for more chances in the future to use my own imagination but I want to stay true to his genius in this story. So this will serve as a refresher course in his books until later. Next chapter should have a lot of original stuff.