Chapter 376: The White Wizard
A blast of horns announced the arrival of reinforcements from the Free City-States. With the support of five full-strength companies, more than a thousand elite soldiers in all, the destruction of the Uruk-hai warband was as unstoppable as a landslide.
Never mind that the Uruk-hai force was smaller than the reinforcements from the North Vale. Even if they had matched the North Vale's numbers, or even doubled them, they would still have had only one fate: to be beaten into the ground.
The difference in equipment was simply too great, and the troops' fighting quality was beyond question.
And on top of that, there was the anger buff piled on from the fact that Levi seemed to have been caught in some enemy scheme and was currently missing without a trace.
Knowing they could not hold, the Uruk-hai fought as they retreated, pulling out of the forest step by step. Cornered, they even tried to flee towards another ancient forest on the western side of the plateau.
The clearing in the Yellow Leaf Forest where the Fellowship had been attacked had plenty of open space, with wide gaps between the trees. Both forces could move smoothly through it, weaving back and forth without being slowed.
The ancient forest to the west of the plateau was different. The ground there was rougher, and the towering trees grew dense and wild, a thick, overflowing green as far as the eye could see.
Any army that entered would only be broken up and scattered.
That ancient forest was Fangorn.
The Uruk-hai plan was not a foolish one, but they had clearly underestimated the reinforcements' speed and efficiency. As the retreat turned into a rout, Uruk-hai fell at a frightening rate. By the time they reached the edge of Fangorn, they had been almost completely wiped out.
Their hope collapsed. The forest could not shelter them.
"Regroup. Prepare to return to the city," ordered the legion commander leading the five full companies, once he had confirmed that the Uruk-hai had been all but cleared.
At that moment, two Men, one Elf, and a panting Dwarf hurried over.
They were the four remaining members of the Fellowship.
"Where are the hobbits?" Aragorn strode up to the commander. "Did you see the halflings they took? They were with the Uruk-hai."
"Halflings?" The commander frowned, thinking. Then he shook his head. "No. We saw none."
"They were not slain with the Orcs by mischance?" Gimli muttered, breath still coming hard.
Boromir rounded on him at once. "Do not speak so foully."
Gimli's mouth snapped shut.
"Be at peace on that score," the commander said. "We know Orc from halfling, and Dwarf as well. And these were Uruk-hai, not the lesser sort. They stand taller than most."
Gimli's brow furrowed. There was something in the man's words that sat ill with him.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing," the commander answered evenly. "Only that you need not fear we struck down our own friends in the press."
"It had better be so," Gimli growled. "If it is not, then when Levi returns, I will make my complaint to him."
Even as he spoke, he felt the mood falter and sink.
At Levi's name, both sides fell silent.
The commander closed his eyes and dipped his head slightly, offering no answer.
"I believe he will return," Gimli said, as if trying to push the gloom away by force.
"Yes," the commander replied, quiet but firm. "We all believe it."
While Gimli and Boromir spoke briefly with the commander, Aragorn's gaze strayed. He stepped away from the others and walked the very edge of Fangorn, bending now and again to study the ground.
Legolas followed, light-footed and silent.
"What do you see?"
"Tracks," Aragorn said. "And something is amiss."
He knelt at the forest's border, then rose, his eyes lifting to the dark boughs beyond.
"They are fresh," he said softly. "Whoever made them still lives, and yet they have gone into the wood. They should not have come so far."
Legolas' grey eyes narrowed, and for a moment the two stood without speaking.
"Then we have work still before us," Legolas said.
Of the four, everyone but Boromir was deeply familiar with the Free City-States' armies. After a few words, and once they confirmed there was nothing else pressing, they prepared to move.
When Boromir offered his thanks, the commander answered only that he did no more than obey an old charge of Levi's, and that it was but his duty. Then he led his men away.
Boromir watched him go, and the look upon his face showed plainly that he would not forget such aid.
Before they departed, the commander, mindful of the orders Levi had left behind, commanded that provisions be shared with the Company, both food and healing draughts.
Of food, indeed, they had little need. For in the Golden Wood the Lady Galadriel had given them a store of lembas, and its virtue was great: a small bite would sustain a traveller for a long day, and keep hunger at bay.
Therefore the four set out swiftly. Once they had chosen their course, they ran on without pause.
A day later, in the southern reaches of Fangorn Forest, they met someone who had clearly been waiting for them.
That figure came wrapped in a holy radiance. His face could not be made out, and only his robes marked what he was.
"A White Wizard. Are you Saruman?" Aragorn demanded.
"Yes. You could say that. I am Saruman."
"But I am not him," the figure continued. "I am only taking the part he should have played."
"Gandalf?" Aragorn took a step forward, gathering his courage, and recognised the one within the light.
Not long after, they followed Gandalf as he led them out of the forest.
"Do not worry about Pippin and Merry," Gandalf said. "They are safe. Safer than you think. I asked Treebeard to look after them."
"Treebeard?" Boromir looked puzzled. It did not sound like a name any ordinary man would choose. Handing hobbits over to someone like that, was it truly reliable?
"An Ent, a tree-herd," Gandalf explained. "Few now remember that they exist, and fewer still trouble to learn of them, but they have been in the world since its beginning."
"I see," Boromir said.
He did not fully understand, but he nodded anyway.
"Hm. Four of you, and Merry and Pippin, and Frodo and Sam who have gone on ahead," said Gandalf. He smiled a little. "The Company is sundered, yet it is not broken. There has been less loss than we feared, and for that we may be thankful."
"The Company may yet stand," said Aragorn, "but there is one of whom we have no tidings. Gandalf, is Levi truly gone?"
If Gandalf had returned, did that not mean—
"Him?" Gandalf lifted an eyebrow. "Do not trouble your hearts over him. He is in no peril. Indeed, he is far better off than I was."
"Did you hear that?" Gimli cried, laughter breaking from him in sudden relief. "I told you he would be safe!"
"He is safe," said Gandalf, "but we shall not have leisure long, Master Dwarf."
"A great evil has risen in Isengard through the folly of one man, and its shadow is moving upon these lands. The King of Rohan is blinded, and the trail is hidden from him. He knows nothing of the danger that draws near."
"I do not yet know what has befallen the Fords of Isen, nor what state Helm's Deep is in. Yet I fear the worst. If those defences fall, one after the other, then Rohan will lie at the edge of the Enemy's sword, and may be hewn down at his will."
Gandalf climbed to higher ground and looked out towards the road that led to Edoras.
"Time presses. We must ride, and ride at once."