Chapter 13 Section 9 Wrecks and Ruins

Gandalf and the king rode eastward to round the ruined walls of Isengard; but Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas stayed behind, and they let Arod and Hasselblad eat nearby. Grass, and sat down beside the hobbit. "Well, well! The hunt is at last at last, and we meet at last, and in a place utterly unexpected," said Aragorn. "Since great men go to discuss important matters," said Legolas, "these hunters may learn the truth of those mysteries from their friends. We have followed your traces all the way into the forest, but there are many things It made us very curious."

"And we also have a lot of things we want to ask you," Merry said. "The old Treebeard told us something, but we still feel that there is more to say." "No problem, but later," said Legolas, "we are hard-working people, and you should tell us what happened first." "It's not in a hurry," Kim Li said. "It might sound better after eating. My head hurts, and the time has passed. You lazy people should find a lot to eat." Right? If there is something good to eat and drink, it can barely calm the anger in my heart." "No problem!" said Pippin. "Will you eat it here, or in the ruins of Saruman's sentry? It's over there under the arch. We just had a picnic here, because we have to watch out for the traffic on the road." movement."

"I'm afraid I'm not that focused!" Jin Li said, "I don't want to eat in a goblin's house, let alone touch any goblin-contaminated food." "We don't dare to ask you to do this," Merri said. "We've had enough of Orcs. Don't forget, Isengard has many other races. Saruman is smart enough to dare not trust Orcs completely. He has humans guarding the gates, and I think they are his most loyal servants. Anyway, they are quite favored, and have a good supply!" "Is there any tobacco?" Gimli said. "No, I don't think it's that good," Merry said with a smile, "but that's another story, we can wait until after dinner."

"Then let's go eat something!" The dwarf felt much more relaxed. The hobbit led the way, and the party passed through the arch, and on the left they found a series of stairs, with a door at the top leading directly into a large room, and at the far end other small doors, and even Fireplace and chimney.This room is made of rock and may have been quite dark in the past, as its only window faced the tunnel.However, since the roof had been broken, the outside sunlight streamed in directly, and a raging fire was still burning in the fireplace. "I built some fires," said Pippin, "and it was much better to warm in the mist. There were very few firewoods around, and almost all we could find were soaked. Luckily there was a good deal hidden in the fireplace, and there was no chimney." It's blocked. It's really convenient to have a fire, let me bake some bread for you! However, I'm afraid these breads have been a little long, maybe three or four days."

Aragorn and his companions sat down at the end of a long table, while the hobbit ran through another door. "This is the pantry, luckily it's not flooded," said Pippin, returning with plates, cups, bowls, knives and forks, and all kinds of food. "Master Gimli, you don't need to wrinkle your nose when you smell it," Merry said. "Treebeard said, these aren't goblin things, they're human food. Would you like wine or beer? There's still a barrel of beer in there." , It tastes good! This is top-quality cured pork. If you need it, I can also cut up some bacon for you and fry it for you. Sorry for the lack of vegetables. The supply may have been slightly affected in the past few days! Apart from cream and honey, I don't have anything else for you to sandwich bread with, are you satisfied?"

"Ah, I'm quite satisfied," Jin Li said, "When my anger sees food, many people die in battle!" The three of them devoured it quickly, and the two hobbits joined in the fun and ate too: "We can't sit around and stare blankly, it's too rude!" they said. "You guys were really polite this morning!" Legolas said with a smile, "But if we hadn't come, maybe you would have continued to eat." "Perhaps, why not?" said Pippin. "We've been dealing with Orcs for a long time, and we've all eaten very little before that, and we haven't eaten to our heart's content for a long time!"

"Ah, indeed," Gimli looked at the two of them from the edge of the cup, "Wow! Your hair is much thicker than the last time we saw it, and even curly. I bet you seem to be growing A little taller, I didn't know hobbits at your age could grow taller? This treebeard didn't make you hungry, did it?" "He didn't," said Merry, "but Ents live on drink, and that's hardly enough to fill me up. Treebeard's drink may be nutritious, but we always feel that we need something to chew to fill our stomachs, and even elf dry food will get tired. "

"You drank the water of the Treants, didn't you?" Legolas said. "Ah, then I think Gimli is right. There are many legends about the drink of Fangorn Forest." "There are many strange tales in this land," said Aragorn, "but I have never been able to see them myself. Come, tell me these tales, and describe these Ents well!" "The Ents are..." said Pippin, "the Ents—the Ents are all different, but their eyes, their eyes are really special." He muttered a few words, and finally closed his mouth again. "Oh, well," he continued, "you've probably seen these Ents from afar, at least they've seen you and reported that you're on your way. I think, before you leave here, you should You'll see more Ents, and you'll have your own opinions."

"Wait, don't worry!" Gimli interjected, "The order of our stories is out of order. I want to listen to this story from the beginning. Let's start with the day when our expedition team dispersed." "We'll tell you carefully, if we have time," said Merry; "and if you're full, you can put tobacco in your pipes first. At least we can pretend for a while that we're still at Bree, or at Rivendell, Take it easy!" He pulled out a bag full of tobacco. "We've got a bunch," he said. "You can take as much as you like before you get out of here. Pippin and I did a lot of recycling this morning. There's all sorts of stuff floating in the water. We found two kegs, I think they were flushed out of some warehouse, and when we opened the lids, we found them full of this stuff: top quality tobacco, and it's not broken!"

Jinli squeezed some, rubbed them in his palms, and smelled them again. "It feels good and smells even better!" he said. "It's really good!" said Merry. "My dear Gimli, it's a long bottom leaf! The barrel has the Trumpeter's label on it, obviously! I don't know how it got here." The side ones, I think, are mostly for Saruman's use. I don't know Stuff would come this far, but now it's time to use it. " "Yes," said Gimli, "it would be better if I had a pipe. Well, I lost mine somewhere in Moria. Have you found the pipe yet?"

"No, I'm afraid not," Merry said. "We haven't found it, nor in this room. Saruman likes to enjoy himself. I think it would be all right to knock on the door of Othanc Tower and ask him for a pipe now." Use it! Looks like we have to share something good together." "Wait!" said Pippin.He reached into the breast pocket of his coat and pulled out a small pouch tied to a string. "I have kept two treasures more precious than the Lord of the Rings--this is one, my own old wooden pipe, and the other is a new pipe that has never been used before. I carry these two things around, I don't even know why; I don't think I'll find tobacco on the road after I've run out of tobacco. Still, it's coming in handy now." He took out a small flat pipe and handed it to Gimli , "So you should not be angry?" He said. "My dissatisfaction with you has long been forgotten!" Gimli said, "Noble hobbit, this makes me owe you a lot!" "Well, I will go back outside and see how it is!" said Aragorn. They went out and sat down by the stone pile in front of the gate.Now they could see the valley clearly, and the smoke was all blown away by the breeze. "Let us take it easy!" said Aragorn. "We may sit by the ruins and talk, and leave Gandalf to some other place. I have seldom been so tired." He wrapped his gray cloak and hid it With the chain mail on his body, he lay down with his legs stretched out, and then began to breathe. "Look!" said Pippin, "the Ranger and the Strider are back!" "He never departed," said Aragorn; "I am the Striker and I am Tennathan, and I am of the North as well as of Gondor. " They smoked in silence for a while, the sun shone on everyone, and the sun slowly sank into the clouds in the western valley.Legolas lay on the ground, watching the changes in the sky intently, while humming in a low voice.Finally, he sat up, "It's all right!" He said, "It's been a long time! If it wasn't for your smoking, the fog would have cleared up. Are you talking about it or not?" "Well, my story begins with this: I woke up and found myself chained and in a camp of goblins," said Pippin. "Let me figure it out, what day is it?" "It is the fifth of March in the Sharkic calendar," said Aragorn.Pippin counted with his fingers. "It was only nine days ago!" he said. The Shire calendar has only thirty days in each month. "I thought we'd been caught for a year! Well, half of it was like a nightmare, but I can clearly tell that three very scary days passed in between. If I forget any important key, Merry will Remind me. I'm not going to detail all the whipping and the stink, it's not worth the effort to remember it." Once he had finished, he began to describe The last battle of the Boromir, and the process of the orcs rushing from Eminmore to the forest, the others nodded their heads in line with their guesses. "Here are some treasures that you have lost," said Aragorn, "and you will be glad to find them again!" He unfastened the girdle from under his cloak, and brought out two small knives. "Great!" said Merry. "I never thought I'd find these again! I wounded a lot of orcs with my knives, but Ebony confiscated our weapons. He stared at us so badly." How vicious! At first I thought he was going to stab us, but then he threw the two weapons away as if they were going to burn his hands." "And your pin, Pippin," said Aragorn. "I will keep it safe for you. It is very precious." "I know," said Pippin, "it hurts me to lose it, but what choice do I have?" "You have no choice, I am afraid," said Aragorn. "I am afraid you will be in greater trouble if you do not sever your wrists, and you have chosen rightly." "It's really a smart move to cut the rope in your hand!" Jin Li said, "Although it can be said that you are lucky, you also grasped the opportunity with both hands." "That leaves us with a great mystery, too," said Legolas. "I thought you had grown wings!" "Unfortunately not," said Pippin, "but you haven't heard the part about Grisnak." He shuddered, unwilling to go on, leaving it to Merry to describe the moment of terror: Heartless His hands, his foul breath, and Grisnak's powerful arms. "Just to describe this Orc of Mordor, or Lugbeards as they call it, makes me uneasy," said Aragorn. "The Dark Lord knows too much, and so do his servants. Grisnak managed to send some news across the river, apparently after the dispute. Bloody Eyes will be paying attention to Isengard, and Saruman has his own way this time." "Yeah, he has a very dark future no matter which side wins," said Merry. "When his goblins set foot in Rohan, bad luck befalls them." "Gandalf hints that we have seen the old wretch," said Gimli, "near the forest." "When was that?" asked Pippin. "The night five days ago," said Aragorn. Merry said, "Let me do the math, five days ago—that's the part you don't know anything about. We met Treebeard that morning after the battle, and that night we were at Welling Hall, his treehouse. Rest. The next morning we went to the meeting of the Ents, which is where the Ents gather for a meeting. It was the weirdest situation I have ever seen in my life. Their meeting lasted two full days. Spend it with the Ents of Kuaizhi. On the third day, the Ents suddenly exploded. It was amazing! It was like a storm was building up in the whole forest, and then everything suddenly exploded. I really hope you can listen The song they sang on the march!" "If Saruman had heard the song, he would have been hundreds of miles away, and would not have cared if he had to flee on foot!" said Pippin. Surrounded by an unbreakable rock; We rush, we bump, we finally declare war, break the stone open its gates; The lyrics are not the only ones. There is a large part of this battle song without lyrics. It sounds like horns and drums, which is very exciting.I thought it was just some kind of march, but when I got here, I realized what they really are. " "We crossed the mountains and entered the Wizard's Valley after dark," continued Merry. "That's when for the first time I felt the whole forest move behind us. I thought I was dreaming with the Ents, But Pippin noticed it too. We were both terrified, though we didn't know what it was until later." "They're Hurn, as the Ents call them in our 'short'. Treebeard won't say much, but I think they're Ents almost reduced to trees, at least outwardly. They don't Lives remarkably in the woods, and tends the forest with ever-relaxing care; and in the darkest valleys, I think thousands of these creatures exist." "They're incredibly powerful, and they seem to hide themselves in shadows, so you can hardly see them move clearly, but they do. If they're angry, they can move very quickly, probably while you're The moment you look up at the weather or the starry sky, you are surrounded by the woods without a sound. They can still make sounds and talk to tree people. According to Treebeard, this is why they are still called Huon But their personalities have become so wild and dangerous that I might not dare to act near them without a real Ent to restrain them." "Then, that night we quietly entered a canyon above the Valley of the Wizards, and the treants rushed over with all the Hurns. Of course, we couldn't see them, but we could feel the invisible pressure in the air. The color of the sky It was very dark, and it was a cloudy night. As soon as they left the hill, they began to move quickly, making a noise like wind blowing. The moon was covered by clouds, and shortly after Shi Ye, the entire Isinger The north side is all taken up by tall trees. We found no enemy traces or obstacles, only a bright light from a window on the tower, that's all." "Treebeard and a few treants sneaked close to the main gate, just in time to observe the people coming and going; Pippin and I sat on Treebeard's shoulders, and I could feel his body trembling slightly nervously. But , even when the Ents are angry, they can still be very careful and patient. They just stand there, panting, listening." "Suddenly there was a great commotion, the horns thundered, and the high walls of Isengard kept echoing. We thought we were discovered, and the battle was finally about to start, but it was not the case at all, all the forces of Saruman Out in force. I knew nothing about the war, nor that the hussars of Rohan were out, but Saruman seemed to deal the final blow to his enemies this time, and he almost made Isengard It became an empty city. I saw the enemies set off without looking back, the orc dragons stretched to the other end of the horizon, and there were troops riding huge wolfs, and there were also human combat forces in the team. Many people carried In the flickering light of the torches I could see their faces, mostly ordinary human beings, tall, black-haired, serious, but not particularly evil; They've got goblin faces, they're as tall as a man, and they squint and go. You know, they remind me of those southerners in Bree, except he doesn't have as much goblin blood as they do .” "I heard you, and I thought of him," said Aragorn. "We have dealt with quite a few half-orcs in Helm's Deep. It is obvious that the southerner may be Saruman's spy, But I am not sure whether he is working for the Black Knight or Saruman. These evil forces are intriguing and intriguing with each other, and it is really difficult to determine who is loyal to whom." "Well, based on my rough calculations, there were at least 10,000 troops at the time," said Merry. "It took them almost an hour to get out of the door. Some walked along the road to the ferry, and some turned around. , go east. About a mile away, a temporary bridge has been built where the river is particularly fast, and if you stand up, you can still see the bridge. Every one of them laughs and sings rude songs, I Thinking that Rohan might be doomed this time, Treebeard was unmoved. He said, "My job tonight is to deal with Isengard's rock.", "Although I can't see what's going on in the dark, I speculate that the Hurns may have started moving south as soon as the gate was closed. I think their task is to deal with the orcs who stayed behind. By morning, they have reached the other side of the valley. On one side, surrounded by a darkness that I cannot see through." "When Saruman had dispatched all his forces, it was our turn to enter. Treebeard put us down, went to the door, and began to knock on the door, calling out Saruman's name. There was nothing in the door. There was no response, only arrows and falling rocks were thrown from the high walls, but bows and arrows had no effect on tree people; of course, they would feel pain, but it also aroused their anger, just like we are bitten by mosquitoes. Tree People can be full of orc arrows, but they will not suffer any real damage. By the way, they will not be poisoned, and their skin seems to be very thick, much tougher than ordinary bark. It takes a very heavy axe to do them serious damage. They don't like axes, but it takes a lot of ax-wielding warriors just to deal with a tree-man: whoever hits a tree-man with an ax will never There is no chance of a second blow, and a Treant can punch through the hardest steel with a single blow." "When Treebeard had a lot of arrows stuck in his body, he just started to warm up. According to him, he really started to "rush". Step forward. Angry treants are a very scary sight. Their fingers and toes sink into rocks, tearing them apart like bread crumbs. It's like watching a century-old tree in action, shortening to the same horror within seconds." "They pushed and pulled and pulled and shook and rammed; and within five minutes, with a great rumbling, the gates had been destroyed, and some treants even began to tear down the walls. I don't know what Saruman thought What happened, I just know he didn't know how to deal with the situation. He may have used witchcraft attacks, but I don't think he is a great person. Especially being trapped in a crowded place, He is useless without machines, slaves, and armies. He is really different from our old Gandalf; I don’t know if his reputation is all caused by hiding in Isengard.” "You are mistaken," said Aragorn. "He possesses unfathomable power, his knowledge is great, his cunning is great, he can manipulate hearts at will; Must not have gone away. If he is alone against him, I bet not many people in Middle-earth can get out unscathed. Maybe after his plot is exposed, Gandalf, Elrond and Galadriel can be unaffected, But others don't have it so easy." "The Ents are safe," said Pippin. "He seems to have persuaded them once, but that will never happen again. Anyway, he never knew them all along, and it would be a grave miscalculation to ignore them. He hadn't." Plans to deal with them; by the time they move, it will be too late to devise any countermeasures. After our attack began, the remaining minions of Isengard began to drill out of the holes made by every treant The Ents let them go after interrogating the humans, and so far only twenty or thirty of them have been found. I don't think any orcs escaped alive, at least the Huns would not let them go. At that time The entire Essinger has been surrounded by a dense forest, and there is no gap on the other side of the valley." "When the Ents had destroyed most of the southern wall, and most of the minions had fled, Saruman himself was about to make a hasty flight. When we arrived, he happened to be standing at the gate, and I guess he came to inspect the A mighty military one. When the tree man burst through the door, he was in a hurry to get away. We didn't spot him at first, but as the clouds parted, the starlight was enough Let the Treant see the surrounding environment clearly.Suddenly, Kuaizhi shouted: "Tree-choppers!The tree fellers are over here! ’ Quickbranch was a very gentle Treant, but this also made him hate Saruman even more. His fellow countrymen had suffered so much under the orc's axe.He jumped down from the passage of the inner door, rushing forward like a gust of wind, full of anger.A pale figure almost escaped to the door under the cover of the pillar, but it was still a failure.The fast-moving Kuaizhi rushed to the side of the tower, and strangled the guy by the door in a step or two, but unfortunately the guy slipped into the tower before him. When Saruman retreated to Orthanc Tower again, he activated those evil machines.By that time, many treants had forcibly entered Essinger, some followed Kuaizhi, and others rushed in from the north and east. They ran around in the valley, causing great damage.Suddenly, countless flames and foul-smelling black smoke sprang up, and a large amount of flames spewed out from various holes in the whole land. Several treants were burned, and one of them, I remember his name was Cypress , a very tall and majestic treant, just happened to be drenched by a mass of burning liquid flames, and turned into a big torch in a blink of an eye, which made people very sad to see. " "This really pissed off the Ents! I thought they were already agitated, but I was wrong. I was the last to know what an angry Ent was. It was a heart-rending sight. They Roaring and running around, the sound alone was enough to shatter the rocks; Merry and I lay on the ground with our cloaks over our ears. The Treants swept the valley like a gale, breaking pillars and blocking openings with boulders , Huge rocks flying all over the sky like leaves... Orthanc Tower became the only building in the center of the hurricane. I saw huge iron pillars and rocks fly hundreds of feet and hit the windows of Othanc Tower. Fortunately , Treebeard was still awake, he was not burned, and he didn't want Saruman to escape in the chaos. Many Treants kept banging their bodies against Orthanc Tower, but it didn't have much effect. The rock on which the tower is built is hard and smooth, and there is probably some magic older than Saruman in it. Anyway, the treants just couldn't grab the tower, or create any cracks on it, such an impulsive behavior It's just hurting in vain." "So Treebeard rushed into the confusion, and shouted, and his deep voice drowned out all the noise, and suddenly all fell silent; and we could hear shrill laughter from the tower, which had a great effect on the Ents. A very strange effect. They had been dazed with rage before, but now they were calm, quiet and serious as icebergs. They left the tower and gathered around Treebeard, standing still. He used the treebeard A few words were spoken to them in the language of man, and I guess he was speaking of a plan decided long ago. Then they just disappeared into the twilight, which was nearly dawn." "I believe they sent people to watch the tower, but the watchers were so well hidden that I couldn't see them at all. The others all went north, and they were there all day. We were bored that day, wandering about; however, we were wise enough to avoid the windows of Orthanc Tower as much as we could, for we thought there was something terribly evil about them. We spent a good deal of time looking for As for the food, we also sat and chatted, and wondered what had become of Rohan, and what had become of our companions, and all the while we heard the falling and knocking of rocks in the distance. When we came to Hesh, we turned around to see what was the matter, and at the opening of the valley there was a great dark forest of Hurns, and another forest on the other side of the north wall; we dared not go in, But the sound of knocking could be heard in the distance. The Ents and Huln worked hand in hand to dig pits and channels, and build great pools and dams, to gather all the waters of the Eshin and the springs of the mountains. We decided Do not disturb them." "At dusk, Treebeard returned to the door. He grunted happily and seemed quite satisfied. He stretched his arms and legs, and took a deep breath. I asked him if he was tired. "tired? ’ He said, ‘No, no, not tired, just a little stiff.I wish I could take a few sips of the Treant's drink.We've worked so hard that we're moving far more rock and digging soil today than has been done in thousands of years, and thankfully we're almost done.Do not approach this door or those tunnels after nightfall!The flood may flood over, and the water may be temporarily tainted with a stench. Saruman's stench must be washed away, so that the Eshin River can restore its former purity. ’ He tore a large rock off the wall, just for fun.We were still thinking about where it would be safer to hide, when the most unexpected sight appeared in front of us.We heard the sound of a knight galloping fast.Merry and I lay quietly on the ground, and Treebeard himself hid in the shadows under the arch.Suddenly, a fine horse ran out like a silver light.It was getting dark, but I could clearly see the knight's face, his face seemed to be glowing, and all his clothes were white.I just stood up and looked at him dumbfounded.I tried to make a sound, but I couldn't. " "It wasn't necessary at all. He stopped right in front of us and looked down at us. 'Gandalf!' I finally managed to get the three words out, but it sounded like a cough. He said it in a calm tone. : "Hello, Pippin! That's a real surprise!" Oh, well, I'll correct it a little bit, but he's saying, "Get up, you stupid turk! In this wreckage , Where is Treebeard? I want to see him. Hurry up!" Treebeard came out of the shadows at once at his voice, and it was a strange meeting; which surprised me, for the two seemed not surprised at all.Gandalf obviously knew that Treebeard was here, and Treebeard was hiding near the porch to wait for Gandalf.But we've told Treebull all about what happened in Moria, and I remember the weird look on his face.All I can say is that he had seen Gandalf, and seemed to know more about his whereabouts than we do, but would not haste to tell. "Don't act hastily! ’ is his mantra.However, even the elves seem to say little about Gandalf's whereabouts when he is away. " "'Hom! Gandalf!' said the Treebeard. 'It is a pleasure to see you. I can handle trees and water, goods and rocks, but there is a wizard to deal with.' "Treebeard," said Gandalf, "I need your help.You've done a lot, but I need more help, I have probably ten thousand orcs to deal with. 』」 "Then the two men went into another corner, and discussed it quietly. It must have seemed hasty to Treebeard, for Gandalf seemed to be in a great hurry, and talked a great deal as he went. They were gone only a few minutes, perhaps, Fifteen minutes perhaps, and then Gandalf came back to us, and he seemed almost to smile with relief, and then he said he was glad to see us." "'But Gandalf,' I cried, 'where have you been? Have you met anyone else?' "No matter where I went, I'm back now! ’ He answered me in the usual way of Gandalf: ‘Yes, I have seen some companions, but it is not a good time to chat and catch up. Tonight is a dangerous night, and I must travel about. The dawn may bring new hope, and if so, we shall meet again.Take care of yourself and stay away from the Orthanks!Goodbye! 』 After Gandalf left, Treebeard began to meditate. He obviously knew a lot of information in a short period of time and was trying to digest the information.He looked at us and said, "Well, I just realized that you guys are not as hasty as I thought. You kept a lot, but you didn't tell me what you shouldn't say.Well, that's a whole lot of new news!Well, Treebeard has to get busy again. 』」 "Before he left, we got some news from him, but it didn't make us very happy. At least at the time, we were more worried about you three, not about Frodo, Sam and Boromir. Go to them in extra time. We know there's a big war coming, and you're in it, and you might not even survive it." "'Huln will help,' said Treebug. Then he went away, and we didn't see him again until this morning." "In the middle of the night, we were lying on a pile of rocks, and we couldn't see anything due to the weather. The fog and shadows outside covered all the surrounding scenes like a thick blanket. The air was hot and stuffy, and it was full of There was all sorts of commotion, rubbing, and what seemed to be whispering whispers, and I guessed hundreds of Hurns had set out to help fight. Later, there was a loud noise like thunder from the south, and distant lightning illuminated the All of Rohan; every once in a while, we could see the distant mountains suddenly illuminated by lightning, flashing across the sky like a black and white landscape, and then disappearing in an instant. It was a deep sound, but it was different from thunder, and the whole valley shook with it." "It must have been late at night when the tree man broke the dam and poured all the accumulated water into Isengard from the gap in the north. The figure of Hu En disappeared, the thunder gradually faded away, and the moon slowly fell behind the mountains in the west. Essinger began to be flooded, and the river flowed across the plain in an instant, and the remaining moonlight shone on the overflowing flood, reflecting a faint light.These floods flowing around mercilessly drilled into the underground tunnels and holes, and immediately released a large amount of white steam, followed by white smoke.There was a dull explosion sound from the ground, and occasionally flames would appear. Several streams of dense steam rushed all the way to the sky, surrounding Othank tightly, forming a strange landscape of flat sea of ​​clouds under the moonlight.The flood continued to flow in relentlessly, and in the end, Essinger looked like a soup bowl, and every corner was shrouded in steam and smoke. " 「我们昨天在靠近巫师谷入口的时候，就发现了一大堆的蒸气从中冒出，」亚拉冈说：「我们还担心是萨鲁曼有什么阴谋诡计要对付我们呢。」 「这次可轮不到他了！」皮聘说：「他可能都快被呛死，连笑都笑不出来了。到了昨天早上，大水都流入了地底，平地则笼罩在大量的浓雾中。我们暂时躲在这边的房间里面，觉得非常害怕，里面湖水开始溢流，沿著旧隧道往上淹。我以为我们会像是半兽人被困在洞穴中一样走投无路，幸好我们在储藏室后面找到了一个楼梯，可以走到拱门上方。由于楼梯之前被树人破坏了一部分，通道也被落石堵塞了，我们花了很大的功夫才挤出去。然后，我们就安全地坐在高地上静观水淹艾辛格的奇景。树人们不停地将大水导入，淹灭所有的火焰和洞穴，大雾慢慢的聚集在一起，变成了一朵巨大的蕈状云，可能有一哩高哪！到了晚上，东边山丘那边还出现了漂亮的彩虹，日落则被山上的一场大雨给遮挡住了，一切都非常安静，只有远方几只野狼嚎叫著哀悼这一切。树人们晚上又挡住了水流，让艾辛河重新复流。故事就是这样啦！」 「从那之后，积水就开始退去，我猜，底下的洞穴中一定有什么可以让水流出去的出口。如果萨鲁曼从他的房间往外看，一定会觉得惨不忍睹。我们在这边觉得很寂寞，在整个废墟中连一个可以聊天的树人都没有。我们一整晚都待在拱门上，那里又湿又冷，根本睡不著，我们有种感觉，彷佛随时会有大事发生。萨鲁曼还在塔里面，到了晚上，有种像是风吹进谷内的声音传来，我想是之前离开的树人和胡恩又回来了；不过，我也不知道他们现在到哪里去了，当我们爬下来察看四周环境时，已经是个又湿又多雾的清晨了。大概就这样了，在那一阵混乱之后，现在感觉起来可以说是十分安祥。自从甘道夫回来后，我甚至觉得更安全了些，终于可以睡觉了！」 众人沉默了片刻，金雳重新将烟草装满烟斗。「有件事我不明白，」他一边点著火绒盒，一边说：「巧言──你告诉希优顿说他和萨鲁曼在一起，这家伙是怎么进去的？」 「喔，对了，我都忘记他了！」皮聘说：「他到今天早上才赶到，那时我们正好生起火，吃了一些早餐，树胡就出现了。我们听见他在外面哼歌，同时叫著我们的名字。 『小朋友，我正好过来想要看看你们过的怎样，顺便告诉你们一些消息，胡恩们已经都回来了，一切都很好，好得不得了哪！』他大笑著，边拍著屁股。『艾辛格里面再也不会有半兽人，也不会再有斧头了！天黑之前就会有人从南方过来，里面有些人你见到 会很高兴的。』」 「他话才刚说完，我们就听见路上有马蹄的声音。我们冲到门前，在那边等著，本来以为会看见神行客和甘道夫带著大军过来。可是，出乎意料之外，从浓雾中出来的是一个骑著老马的人，他自己看起来也是狼狈不堪。当他走出大雾之后，猛一看见眼前的一片残破，脸色刷地一声变成青白色，露出哭笑不得的表情。他震惊过了头，以致于一时之间没有注意到我们人就在旁边。当他发现的时候，他惊呼一声，试著要转身逃跑。但树胡三步就赶上了他，将他从马上抓了下来。他的马匹吃惊乱窜，而他则是趴在地上不敢动弹，他说他叫作葛力马，是国王的好友和谘询大臣，这次是希优顿派他来送一个重要的口信给萨鲁曼。」 「『没有其他人胆敢冒险穿越到处都是半兽人的领地，』他说：『所以他们才派我来。我一路上突破重重难关，现在又饿又累。我被恶狼追赶，偏离了原先的路径。』」 「我看见他偷瞄树胡的样子，心中暗叫了一声『骗子』。树胡沉默地看著他很长的一段时间，到最后对方已经完全趴到地上去了。最后，他才说：『哈，嗯，巧言先生，我本来就在等你呢！』那人一听到这名字吃了一惊。『甘道夫先到这边，所以我知道很多有关你的事情，也知道该怎么对付你。甘道夫说，把所有的老鼠都摆在同一个陷阱里面，我会照做的。我是艾辛格的主人，而萨鲁曼则被锁在他的塔中，你可以进去把你所有编出来的口信告诉他。』」 「『让我去，让我去！』巧言说：『我知道怎么走。』」 「『我可不怀疑你知道怎么走，』树胡说：『但事情已经有了转变，自己去看看吧！』」 「他让巧言走了。这家伙一跛一跛地穿越拱门，我们则是紧跟在后；最后，他终于看见里面一片水乡泽国的情形。他转过身面对我们。」 「『快让我离开这里！』他哀求道：『让我离开！我的口信现在一点用也没有了。』」 「『的确，』树胡说，『不过，你只有两个选择：留在我身边，直到甘道夫和你的主人抵达为止，或是越过这些积水。你选择哪一个？』」 「一提到他的主人，那人开始浑身发抖，一只脚踏进水中，但随即又抽了回来。『我不会游泳！』他说。」 「『水并不深，』树胡说：『水很脏，不过不会伤害你的，巧言先生。快下去！』」 「话一说完，那个落魄的家伙就跳进水中。他走了不远，水就快淹到他的脖子，最后，我看到他抱著桶子还是什么东西开始漂流。但树胡涉水靠近，监视著他的进度。」 「『好啦，他已经进去了，』当他回来的时候描述道：『我看见他像是只溺水的老鼠一样趴了进去，塔上还有人，有只手把他拉了进去。现在他到了目的地，希望人家会好好欢迎他。 我得先去找个地方洗乾净身上的污泥，如果有人想要找我，我就在北边。这里的水都不够乾净，没办法让树人饮用或是沐浴。所以，请你们两位小朋友注意靠近的人物，请注意，会有洛汗的国王喔！你们必须用周到的礼仪欢迎他，他的部下刚和半兽人打了一场恶战。对啦，你们对人类国王所喜欢的尊称和礼仪，应该比我们树人懂得多了。在我小时候，大草原上到处都是王公贵族，我从来记不起他们的称呼和语言。他们会想要一些可以让人吃的食物，我想你们也都知道。所以也请你们找一些适合国王吃的东西吧！ 』故事到这边告一段落啦，不过，我很想要知道巧言是谁？他真的是国王的谘询大臣吗？ " 「他是的，」亚拉冈说：「同时兼任萨鲁曼的间谍和洛汗的公仆。这家伙的命运实在不好，无敌壮丽的王国在他面前毁于一旦的滋味恐怕就够受了。但是，我想，塔里面可能还有更可怕的遭遇在等待著他。」 「没错，我并不认为树胡让这家伙进入欧散克塔是出于同情，」梅里说：「树胡似乎自得其乐，当他去喝水和洗澡的时候还在傻笑呢。在那之后我们花了很大的功夫搜寻漂在水上的残骸。我们在附近的几个地方，找到了几间在水线以上的储藏室，但树胡还派了一些树人过来，带走不少东西。」 「『我们需要二十五份人吃的食物，』树人说，由此可见在你们到之前，就有人仔细的数过你们的人数了。你们三个人很明显是该和大人物们一起走的。不过，你们在那边也不会吃得比这边好，我保证他们拿到的不会比我们丰盛，这儿的佳肴或许更好，因为我们没把酒给他们。」 「『饮料怎么办？』我问树人说。」 「『艾辛河的水就够了，』他们说：『对人类或是树人都够好了。』不过，我还是希望树人们可以酿出他们爱喝的那种饮料，这样一来，我们就可以看见甘道夫翘著胡子回到我们面前。在树人走掉之后，我们觉得又饿又累，但我们并没抱怨，实际上，我们的努力换来丰富的报酬。在那一阵忙乱之中，皮聘发现了这些残骸中的宝物，吹号者牌子的烟草，『抽烟比吃东西爽多了！』皮聘说，所以最后就变成这个样子了。」 「我们现在都了解了，」金雳说。 「只有一件事情例外，」亚拉冈说：「夏尔南区的菸叶怎么会来到艾辛格，我越想就越不对。我之前没有来过艾辛格，但我曾经到过附近，对于在夏尔和洛汗之间的荒地相当了解。已经有许多年两边没有任何货物的往来和贸易，至少不是公开的。我猜，萨鲁曼应该和夏尔的某个人有秘密的往来，巧言或许不只出现在希优顿的皇室中。桶上的制造日期是什么时候？」 「我看看，」皮聘说：「这是一四一七年份的，是去年的──不，应该说是前年的，那年的烟草很不错。」 「啊，好吧，我希望邪恶的事情都已经告一段落了，再不然，其他的状况我们可爱莫能助了，」亚拉冈说：「我认为等下应该把这小事告诉甘道夫，枝微末节往往会影响大局。」 「不知道他在忙些什么，」梅里说：「下什都快过完了。我们四处逛逛吧！神行客，如果你想的话，现在可以走进艾辛格了，只是，风景并怎么不漂亮喔！」