Soon the company of Orcs were moving again. Merry and Pippin were spent and being roughly carried. Grishnakh gave a cry: the Rohirrim were now in sight. With surprising speed and endurance Ugluk lead the company toward Fanghorn forest, overtaking the Misty Mountain Orcs along the way. The riders of Rohan came within bow shot and fired arrows into the company killing some Orcs. Pippin wondered how they would know he and Merry were not Orcs or if perhaps the Orcs would make the forest first. Just before nightfall the Rohirrim hemmed in the Orcs, nearly 200 strong, and surrounded them on a knoll.
The Orcs set up a perimeter around the knoll, setting Merry and Pippin under guard and waited. The fires of the Rohirrim could be seen around them. Ugluk was confident for he knew other Orcs from Isengard were waiting in the forest. During the night some of the Rohirrim snuck into the camp killing some while leaving unscathed. This caused a stir and Ugluk along with Merry and Pippin's guards went to investigate. Suddenly Grishnakh came upon them groping and searching them. It came into Pippin's mind that he was looking for the Ring. He told Grishnakh he wouldn't find it that way. This stopped the orc cold and he inquired what it was. "'For a moment Pippin was silent. Then suddenly in the darkness he made a noise in his throat: gollum, gollum. 'Nothing, my precious,' he added" (p. 59, The Two Towers). Grishnakh knew what that meant.
Merry and Pippin sought to bargain with Grishnakh. He would need to untie their legs for it. The orc spoke menacingly about the torture they would receive from Sauron. The hobbits fired back that as things were they were more likely to end up in Saruman's grasp. This enraged Grishnakh and he violently grabbed the hobbits, covering their mouths. He then snuck outside the Orc camp and toward a break in the Rohirrim's fires. But he was not quiet enough. A rider approached and as Grishnakh drew his sword an arrow killed him. The hobbits lay flat and the horsemen road over them not noticing them because of their Lorien cloaks.
They rested a bit eating lembas and untying themselves (remember Pippin had already loosed his bonds). They slowly and quietly began to crawl not wishing to be killed by the Rohirrim. The Orcs in the forest attacked causing a commotion before being killed or driven off by the horsemen. But as a result of the attack the circle around the knoll was pulled tighter so that Merry and Pippin no longer feared being killed by a sentinel. They now walked and talked without fear. "No listener would have guessed from their words that they had suffered cruelly, and had been in dire peril, going without hope towards torment and death; or that even now, as they well knew, they had little chance of ever finding friend or safety again" (p. 62, The Two Towers).
Pippin was glad Merry had paid attention to maps in Rivendell for the thought of losing Gandalf and/or Aragorn had never entered his mind so he had not bothered to learn the lands. Merry knew that Fanghorn forest lay before them but felt it was the safest path. At the eaves of the forest, at the brink of dawn, the horses and horns cried. They turned and watched the Rohirrim sweep over the knoll. Most of the Orcs were killed or fled being chased until death. One remnant fought strong and hard in a wedge and were making their way straight toward the hobbits and the forest. They recognized Ugluk at the head and turned to run deep into Fanghorn. "So it was that they did not see the last stand, when Ugluk was overtaken and brought to bay at the very edge of Fanghorn. There he was slain at last be Eormer, the Third Marshal of the Mark, who dismounted and fought him sword to sword" (p. 63, The Two Towers). After the battle the Rohirrim buried their dead and burned the bodies of their enemies.
Meanwhile Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli had been pursuing the Orcs. For a full day after the death of Boromir they ran on. Finally into the night they were faced with the hard choice of resting or continuing. After much debate they decided to rest. Before dawn Aragorn awoke to find Legolas dismayed. "'They are far far away,' he said sadly, Turning to Aragorn. 'I know in my heart that they have not rested this night'" (p. 28, The Two Towers). Aragorn put his ear to the ground and felt the distant beat of Orc feet and many horse hooves. They set out early in a pursuit they knew would most likely be in vain.
Thus began their third day of pursuit. They ran much, spoke little, and thanked Galadriel in their hearts for the gift of lembas. There was no sign of any men or beasts in the land which concerned Aragorn. At dusk they again were faced with a hard choice. The Orcs only seemed to be moving faster while Aragorn noticed his endurance wained unnaturally. Legolas also noted that a will was sent against them ever since they entered into Rohan. They knew it meant Saruman. But they had travelled as far as they could that day and rested again that night.
Middle-earth timeline: Third Age, 3019, February 27-28th
Today's reading comes from: The Two Towers, 55-63; 28
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