At this mont, dawn finally arrived, neither hurried nor slow.
Inside and outside the walls of Helm's Deep, the corpses of enemies were piled up like mountains, making them extrely difficult to deal with.
Fortunately, the Ents who had just finished off the remaining enemy troops arrived. They helped bury the Uruk-hai corpses across the deep and wide valleys, piling them up until a small mound was ford. Only then was the battlefield finally cleared.
Later, that mound ca to be called "Death Hill," and it was said that over ten thousand corpses lay beneath it.
Once the matter of the Uruk-hai was settled, attention turned to the Dunlendings. Seeing that the tide had turned against them, they all chose to surrender.
The Rohirrim did not slaughter these surrendering foes, but instead granted them rcy, though this rcy was conditional upon their acts of repentance and sworn oaths.
First, they were required to bury the dead and repair the damaged defenses of Helm's Deep. Then they had to swear that from that day forward they would never again cross Rohan's borders or invade even an inch of its land, nor ever ally themselves with the enemies of n.
Those Dunlendings who swore and upheld these oaths were allowed to return ho and continue their lives.
It was already a very lenient punishnt, one that showed great rcy.
While Rohan was still tending to its affairs, a visitor ca to see Garrett.
"So you're the northern human leader those two Hobbits spoke of?"
Treebeard bent down, his huge face looming close to Garrett, examining him with curiosity.
Garrett replied, "If the man they ntioned is nad Garrett, then yes, that's ."
Treebeard blinked and gazed at him for a while before saying, "I have lived deep in the mountains for so long that I know little of the outside world. What I know of you is only what those two little Hobbits told . Forgive . Ti passes differently for us. To us, a few thousand years is but the span of a nap. In that ti, heroes rise and fall like shooting stars, bright for a mont and then gone."
Garrett smiled and said, "That's true. I know sothing of your kind's habits. Being unaware of worldly affairs is quite natural."
"There's a great heat about you," Treebeard said. "It makes even my bark feel dry. Though the sensation isn't exactly pleasant, I don't dislike you. I can feel it through the earth itself. The brown lands have sprouted new trees and plants, and all of that has co from you. Welco, friend. You are welco to visit my ho at the foot of Fangorn whenever you wish. I'll give you a proper welco, if I happen to be awake then."
"And you, too, are welco to visit any part of the Free Cities. If you're ever willing to venture out."
As he spoke, Garrett looked at Treebeard's wooden head and thought that the old Ent probably had no idea what the Free Cities were, nor when they had even co to exist.
Haha.
Treebeard laughed softly, straightened up, and said no more. He simply returned to his duties as "Shepherd of the Trees," guiding the awakened trees back into the forest so they wouldn't wander off.
After he left, rry and Pippin ca running over.
"Hey, Garrett," rry said, "you know what? When we were attacking Isengard, Treebeard kept talking about Balrogs and fire-breathing dragons. He said they were part of the Dark Lord's army. But in the end, all we found were so orcs, not even any trolls!"
"How did he even think of such things?"
Both of them looked puzzled.
Garrett chuckled, ruffled their hair, and said, "That was Morgoth's army, not Sauron's."
"Long ago, the title 'Dark Lord' belonged to Morgoth. Only later was it passed down to Sauron."
"Morgoth sounds really powerful. Wouldn't he mind soone else taking his title?"
"He doesn't mind," Garrett said with certainty.
"But his army did truly exist."
"What?! For real?"
The two Hobbits were shocked. If even the Ents couldn't defeat such an army, it must have been one capable of destroying the world.
"Yes, it really did exist," Garrett said, smiling mysteriously. "Before I ca back, it certainly did."
The two clever Hobbits imdiately caught on to the implication in his words.
"Wait... you an, during that ti you disappeared in the Northern Waste..."
"Yes."
"I destroyed that entire army. They will never again appear in this world."
"Wow..."
At that mont, the two little fellows were completely, utterly stunned.
"Hey, Treebeard! We've got so huge news!"
After recovering from their shock, they couldn't wait to run over to Treebeard and share this fresh bit of first-hand information.
Garrett watched the two lively little ones scamper off and couldn't help but laugh again.
But that laughter quickly faded.
A Ranger squad from the fortress city at the South Undeep ca to report the latest developnts.
At that very mont, forty thousand soldiers were gathered there, facing off against Mordor's main host.
Although the two armies were holding their lines without yet engaging, intelligence from the Free Cities was flowing in steadily. So Rangers had even infiltrated the area near the Black Gate, watching its movents day by day.
"The number of troops at the Black Gate has decreased. A significant portion of them have marched south."
"According to a secret informant at the Crossroads, those forces were sent to Osgiliath. The battle there is said to be brutal. The Witch-king himself led his army across the bridge, and the Gondorian defenders have all been forced to retreat."
"Also, there's news from the south. A ssenger claiming to serve one of the Blue Wizards says that a massive Umbar fleet is sailing toward Pelargir. The ships are packed with Umbar's ruthless pirates and the elite warriors of Harad. The current garrison at Pelargir will be hard-pressed to hold them off. The enemy numbers in the tens of thousands, while Gondor's defenders number only a few thousand, and they are completely isolated."
"Isolated?"
Garrett smiled faintly.
"No... not really. Send back a ssage. Prepare to attack the Black Gate. The ti will be set for when I arrive. Also, keep watch on the North, especially Dale and Lake-town. The n of the Dark Lands may strike there next."
"I still have so matters to take care of here. Once I'm done, I'll return. Let's give our great enemy a little pressure."
"If he attempts to attack Gondor's capital, then I'll strike straight into his own stronghold, and we'll see who panics first."
Whether Sauron would panic or not remained to be seen.
But at that mont, soone else did panic first.
---
Elsewhere, Pippin and rry were riding on Treebeard's shoulders, chatting rrily all the way back to Isengard and savoring the sweet fruits of victory.
"Saruman sure knew how to live it up! Who'd have thought that the supposedly calm and wise wizard would be addicted to pipe-weed?"
"And not just any weed. It's Longbottom Leaf, the finest! Oh, look over there. Isn't that the famous roast from Helm's Deep? And that mild, llow leaf, ah, I love it!"
The two Hobbits ate and drank to their hearts' content, puffing happily on pipes and each pouring themselves a mug of ale. What a delightful ti they had!
But word of Isengard's recapture spread quickly, and they weren't the only ones who showed up.
"You foolish Hobbits! Keep your hands off my things!"
A white, well, no, rather grayish and multicolored old man stord in upon hearing the commotion. When he saw the food in his storeroom being devoured, he completely lost his temper.
The two Hobbits froze.
"Gandalf? No... wait, no. His robes aren't that ugly, and his face isn't that sour. Well, not usually."
They muttered to each other.
"Saruman."
It was Treebeard who spoke the na upon hearing the commotion.
Saruman, who had been about to scold the Hobbits further, imdiately fell silent.
Treebeard fixed him with a stare. His huge eyes vividly expressed anger.
"You owe an explanation," Treebeard rumbled.
That took the wind right out of the flustered Saruman.
"Please, hear out! It was never my intention, my friend. You know I've always cared for the great trees of the forest. I never ant any harm! It was all because of our enemy. You have no idea how much I've suffered! It was hell itself! They wouldn't kill and let my spirit return, yet they wouldn't free either. They tornted endlessly..."
"That does sound like quite the tornt," rry whispered.
Sitting among the ruins, the two Hobbits continued smoking Saruman's precious leaf while watching the scene unfold. His misfortunes made the smoke taste all the sweeter.
As Saruman stamred through his excuses, more people arrived soon after.
Théoden, Éor, the mbers of the Fellowship, and Garrett.
They had all co to inspect the situation at Isengard.
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