Chapter 383: After the Battle
At last, dawn arrived, unhurried.
Inside and outside the walls of Helm's Deep, enemy corpses were piled like hills, almost impossible to deal with.
Fortunately, once the Ents had finished off the last of the fleeing enemies, they came over to help. They buried the Uruk-hai dead out on the wide ground of the Deep, heaping earth until a small mound rose. Only then were all the bodies cleared away.
Later, that little mound came to be called "Death Hill." It was said that more than ten thousand corpses lay beneath it.
Once the Uruk-hai were dealt with, the next matter was the Dunlendings. When they saw the battle was lost, they chose to surrender.
Rohan did not slaughter those who laid down their arms. Instead, they showed mercy.
But that mercy had to be paid for with action and a sworn oath.
First, the Dunlendings were made to bury the dead and repair the damaged defenses of Helm's Deep. Then they were required to swear that from this day on they would never again cross Rohan's borders to invade so much as an inch of its land. Beyond that, they were forbidden to ever again stand with the enemies of Men.
Any Dunlending willing to swear, and truly do these things, would be allowed to return home and live.
It was, by any measure, a remarkably lenient judgment, mercy shown in full.
While Rohan continued settling its affairs, Levi received a visitor.
"Hm… are you the northern leader the two little hobbits spoke of?"
Treebeard bent down until his great face filled Levi's view, studying him with open curiosity.
Levi answered, "If the man they meant is named Levi, then yes. That is me."
Treebeard blinked, watching him a moment longer. "I have lived too long in the deep mountains, and I know little of what passes outside. All I have heard of you is what those two little hobbits said."
"Forgive me. To us, a few thousand years is only the time it takes for a single sleep. In that span, heroes always appear, yet they are like shooting stars. They pass in an instant."
Levi smiled. "That is fair. I know something of how your kind lives. Not knowing the outside world is only natural."
"You are very hot," Treebeard said, "so much so that even my bark-dust feels dry. It is not the most comfortable feeling, but you are not unpleasant."
"I know from the earth itself that new trees and green things have grown in the Brown Lands, and all of it happened because of you."
"Welcome, friend. When you have time, you may visit my home at the foot of Fangorn's hills. I will treat you well, if I happen to be awake."
Levi answered, "And you are welcome in any land of the Free City-States… if you are willing to come out."
As he said it, Levi glanced at Treebeard's wooden head and suspected the old Ent did not even know what the Free City-States were, or when they had risen.
"Ho, ho, ho…"
Treebeard laughed and straightened up. He did not say more. He simply carried out the duty of a Shepherd of the Trees, guiding the awakened trees back into the forest so they would not wander.
After he left, Merry and Pippin ran over at once.
"Hey, Levi, did you hear?" Pippin said. "When we attacked 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, there were only a few Orcs. There were not even any Trolls."
"How did he even get those ideas?" Merry asked, baffled.
Levi laughed and ruffled their hair. "That was Morgoth's army, not Sauron's."
"Long ago, the title 'Dark Lord' belonged to Morgoth. Now it has been pinned on Sauron instead."
"Morgoth sounds like someone terrifying," Pippin said. "Would he not take offense?"
"He would not," Levi replied with complete certainty.
"But his army did exist."
"What?! It really existed?" The two hobbits stared, wide-eyed and startled.
An army even Ents could not fight sounded like the end of the world.
"Yes," Levi said. "It existed. Before I came back, it truly did."
He gave them a smile that looked almost secretive.
Merry and Pippin were quick, and they caught the meaning in his words at once.
"So when you vanished in the Northern Waste…"
"Yes."
"I wiped that army out completely. It will never walk the world again."
"Wow," Merry breathed.
This time, the two of them were genuinely stunned.
"Treebeard! I have huge news!" Pippin shouted.
The moment they recovered, they sprinted after Treebeard, desperate to share what they thought was the freshest rumor in Middle-earth.
Levi watched the two lively little figures go and laughed again.
But the smile faded quickly.
A small band of Rangers from the fort-city at the South Riverbend found Levi and reported the latest news.
There, forty thousand troops were gathered, facing Mordor's greatest main host.
Neither side had struck yet, both holding taut as bowstrings, but the Free City-States had never let the flow of intelligence slip. Some Rangers had even infiltrated near the Black Gate, watching its movements day after day.
"The Black Gate's garrison has thinned," the Ranger reported. "A sizeable force has been sent south."
"According to a mysterious source at the Crossroads, those troops were dispatched to Osgiliath. The fighting there is brutal. The Witch-king led his army over the bridge, and all the defenders of Gondor have been forced to withdraw."
"In addition, news has come from the south. A man claiming to be a messenger of the Blue Wizard says an enormous fleet from Umbar is sailing toward Pelargir. The ships are packed with Umbar's savage corsairs and elite warriors of Harad. With Pelargir's current garrison, it will be hard to hold."
"The enemy numbers are in the tens of thousands, while Gondor has only a few thousand defenders. They are isolated, with no help."
"Isolated?" Levi repeated and smiled.
"No."
"Send word back. Prepare to strike the Black Gate. Set the time for when I arrive."
"And watch the north as well, especially Lake-town and Dale. Dark Men will likely harass that region."
"I still have a few things to do here. Once they are done, I will return."
"Let us put pressure on our enemy."
"If he dares to attack the capital of Gondor, then I will break into his home and see who panics first."
Whether Sauron panicked or not was another matter.
But at that moment, someone else panicked first.
On the other side, Pippin and Merry, who had ridden on Treebeard's shoulder chatting all the way back to Isengard, were now enjoying the spoils of victory.
"Saruman really knows how to live," Pippin said, eyes wide. "That wizard, supposedly so calm and wise, actually got hooked on pipe-weed?"
"And it is the best Longbottom Leaf," Merry said, delighted. "Look over there. Is that Roadside Keep's special steak? And that mild-smelling tobacco, too. This is perfect!"
They ate, and they took what they liked. Once full, they packed their pipes, poured themselves mugs of beer, and settled into a stretch of pure happiness.
But word that Isengard had been reclaimed spread quickly, and they were not the only ones drawn there.
"You two foolish hobbits. Stop touching my things!"
A white… no, a faded elder in robes of many colors, grayed over as if dusted with ash, arrived in a fury. The moment he saw his stores being eaten into, he panicked on the spot.
The two hobbits froze.
"Gandalf? No, not him," they muttered. "His robe is not that ugly, and his face is not that sour. Well, it is not always friendly either, but still."
"Saruman," Treebeard said, naming the newcomer.
Saruman's outrage caught in his throat at once.
Treebeard stared him down, and his great eyes showed anger with startling clarity.
"Give me an explanation," he demanded.
That demand flattened Saruman's fury in an instant.
"Please, hear me. This was not my true intention, friend. You know I have always cherished the towering ancient trees of the forest. I never had such thoughts. This is all because of our great enemy. You do not know what I have suffered. It was hell. They would not kill me and let my spirit return, nor would they spare me and let me live in peace…"
"That does sound miserable," Merry whispered.
Sitting on the ruins, enjoying Saruman's treasured tobacco, the two hobbits watched the spectacle and kept muttering to each other. Saruman's gossip made the smoke taste even sweeter.
As Saruman rushed through his excuses, others arrived close behind.
Théoden, Théodred, many members of the Fellowship, and Levi.
They had come to inspect the state of Isengard.