217;s Deep, the battle is fierce and the Orcs seem to be winning. Suddenly, Theoden and his men ride up from behind, trapping the Orcs. Gandalf appears with unexpected reinforcements. The Orcs flee into the forest, but the Ents capture them and the battle is over as quickly as it began. King Theoden, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Erkenbrand, Eomer, Gimli and the men of Rohan all set forth to Orthanc, the fortress of Saruman at Isengard. They are surprised to find that Treebeard and his ents have destroyed the citadel, and that Saruman and Wormtongue have hidden themselves away, guarded by none other than Merry and Pippin. Theoden, who is anxious to see Treebeard, says good-bye to the Hobbits and accompanies Gandalf to the Northern wall. At last the band of travelers, minus Frodo and Sam, are complete. Now the Fellowship is in Isengard, where Saruman is held prisoner by the Ents. Gandalf goes with Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli talk to Saruman. Gandalf gives Saruman a chance to discard his evil ways, but Saruman not only doesn’t take Gandalf’s offer, he even tries to persuade Gandalf to join him! When Gandalf asks him once more to come out of Orthanc, Saruman turns away. Gandalf raises his hand and commands Saruman’s staff to break. Saruman’s staff breaks and he falls back. Gandalf asks Treebeard to pour back the water into Orthanc so that Saruman can never escape. The narrative now returns to Frodo and Sam, who have been traveling for three days. Frodo and Sam have been having trouble finding their way. They know that Gollum is pursuing them, so they take the offensive and capture him first. Gollum promises to help them find their way, and to be on his best behavior. Gollum, or Smeagol, leads the Hobbits down the slopes and makes no attempt to escape. Gollum leads them over the marshes in single file. On the third day, they come upon the Dead Marshes. Gollum tells them about the battle that was fought there lo...
