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Volume III: Allies of the King
Book 1 - Oath of the Rangers
Elrond received a mysterious message from Galadriel, telling him to gather the Rangers of the North and send them to Rohan to help Aragorn. The player is summoned to the Last Homely House and given a list of Rangers to recruit: Radanir of the Trollshaws, Candaith of Weathertop, Saeradan of Bree-Land, Halros of the Shire, Halbarad from Esteldin, Calenglad from Evendim, Lothrandir from Forochel and finally Corunir and Golodir from Angmar. With the exception of Radanir, all Rangers are the ones player have interacted with during Epic Volume I. Joined by others of their kin, they form the Grey Company and meet Elrohir, Elladan and Lady Arwen, who passes Halbarad the banner she has made for Aragorn.
Book 2 - Ride of the Grey Company
Setting forth from Rivendell, the Grey Company begins the journey south. While passing the Ring-Forges of Eregion, Halbarad asks a Dwarf-Jeweler to craft fake copies of the Ring of Barahir, in order to confuse their enemies and to buy Aragorn time, should a member Grey Company be captured. Arriving in the lands of Enedwaith, the Rangers are trying to make peace with the local tribes and find an ally in Wadu, who is soon found dead. They eventually discover an old and confused Dwarf Nár, father of Ollfardh and old companion of Thrór. To everyone's amazement, he knows about the secret road the Company is planning to take.
Book 3 - Echoes of the Dead
Nona, Wadu's sister, offers to join Grey Company to wage war against Saruman, which Halbarad absolutely refuses. While investigating who can be trusted and who can't, the Rangers receive word that of a band of Oathbreakers from Erech in Enedwaith. An attempt to remind them of their Oath to Isildur fails horribly when Candaith is killed. An angry Halbarad is finished with this land and leads the company on to Dunland. But as the player leaves Nár, the Dwarf finally reveals that Saruman the White had a hand in these events all along.
Book 4 - Rise of Isengard
Passing into the lands of Dunland, the Rangers investigate the loyalties of the local tribes of Dunlendings. Some are fiercely loyal to Saruman, other openly oppose him and many have not yet been convinced to do either. The Falcon-clan of Tur Morva village offers the Rangers shelter in exchange for their help against Saruman. The Rangers busy themselves with preparations for war while the player is sent to scout the rest of Dunland. Finding a surprise ally in Nona, who insists that she does not need Halbarad's permission to travel over her own land, the player and the Rangers come into first contact with the Rohirrim. Riders led by Grimbold hold the Fords of Isen against inevitable assault, while Théodred, son of King Théoden, leads a smaller scouting party into the lands of the Dunlendings, who have been sworn enemies of Rohan for centuries. Returning to village of Tur Morva, the player finds a betrayal waiting for them: the clan decided that more is to be gained by siding with Saruman than by opposing him. The Grey Company is caught unprepared, many Rangers are killed and the rest captured.
The player and Ranger Lothrandir are sent directly to Isengard as a gift to Saruman. Separated from the Ranger, the player is sent working into the pits, observed by merciless Uruks. Using the dislike of Uruks for each other, the player fakes a total submission and is eventually allowed more freedom, as none believes him able to escape any longer. The player finds other prisoners, among them captured Rohirrim and Dunlendings - sworn enemies once, both find something in common after being made slaves to Saruman. Staging a diversion and freeing many prisoners at once, the player is able to sneak past confusion and escape Isengard.
Théodred offers the Rangers Saeradan and Radanir help in rescuing their captive friends and avenging the betrayal. The player and Rohirrim storm the village of traitors and rescue many Rangers, including Halbarad and the sons of Elrond. Yet they are still outnumbered - the leader of the traitorous clan gloats over Ranger's weaknesses and allows them to leave, telling them to spread the tale of how the Falcon-clan beat them. Of almost 60 named Rangers barely 30 made it out alive: Halbarad takes an oath to avenge the traitors and proclaims himself in eternal debt to Théodred, before planning the next move.
Book 5 - The Prince of Rohan
The secrecy required by Grey Company's errand and their weakened state following capture and imprisonment prevents them from continuing their journey for the time being. Finishing his scouting of Dunlending lands, Prince Théodred returns to the Fords of Isen and Halbarad bids the player to go with him, to repay the debt. Saying farewell to old friends, the player arrives at Grimbold's encampment and joins the preparations for the upcoming battle. Théodred shares his plan: the Rohirrim are to journey north to Isengard and smash the vanguard of Saruman's forces, then retreat to the Ford, forcing the Wizard to delay his assault on Rohan and buy themselves valuable time.
At dawn, the Prince leaves a small company to guard the Ford and leads his Éored into battle, with Grimbold and the player at his side. They encounter the vanguard of the Uruks and quickly cut through their lines, but then reinforcements come out of Isengard and outflank the cavalry, nearly surrounding them. Théodred orders a retreat, covered by Grimbold and the player, who have to cut down their pursuers many times. Unknown to the Rohirrim, Saruman has already sent his main force to the Ford of Isen by the eastern bank of the river while the riders attacked from the west. The defenders of the Ford are caught between two forces and are surrounded on a small island amidst the river by the time Théodred returns. Their forces are already failing by the time Grimbold and the player arrive. They cut through the enemies, but as they reach Théodred, he is struck by a mighty Uruk. It is then that the reinforcements from Riddermark finally arrive, led by Elfhelm from Helm's Deep, and charge the attackers. The Uruks retreat to Isengard, while Elfhelm and Grimbold tend to the gravely wounded Prince, who orders to bury him at the Ford - to guard it until such time as Éomer comes. At nightfall, the Prince of the Riddermark passes away.
Book 6 - Mists of Anduin
Regrouping at Grimbold's encampment at night, the Rohirrim and the player take a rest after a long day of battle. The player experiences a strange lucid dream, seeing many friends and enemies, both living and already dead. An apparition of Lady Galadriel bids the player to come and visit her urgently, adding a request to "bring the ghost" at the end. "The Ghost" refers to the Dunlending girl Nona, who had dubbed herself "Wadu's Ghost" in memory of her late brother and began waging her own vendetta over the Dunlendings who sold themselves over to Saruman. The players tracks Nona in the Gap of Rohan and convinces her to undertake a journey to Lothlórien. While the Galadhrim border sentries are even more distrusting of an outsider from Dunland than usual, the two are granted an audience. Galadriel shocks the player by saying that the dream had nothing to do with her, when Gandalf the White enters the conversation, having barely missed the Fellowship as they departed down the Great River days earlier. The Wizard insists that the dream must have had meaning and bids the player to explore the shores of Anduin downstream. After passing through the Rohirrim border settlement of Stangard, the player and Nona arrive at the Brown Lands, where they find a new threat: a corpse of a fell beast, slain by an arrow fired by Legolas as described in Fellowship of the Ring, with its rider missing. On their way back to the Rohirrim town, the player and Nona are attacked by first a band of Easterlings and later the Nazgûl himself. Using the fire, the two manage to hold their ground, yet Nona is wounded - and whether by an Easterling blade or a Morgul one is unclear. The Rohirrim are in no hurry to offer help to one of their old enemies, save for one man named Horn. With all haste Horn and the player take Nona back to Lady Galadriel, who heals the wound, leaving her out of danger. Later, Galadriel reveals to the player that in her Mirror she foresaw Nona's demise and that she was saved only by the player's actions.
Book 7 - A Fellowship Endangered
Her wounds healed, the Dunlending girl Nona makes a full recovery and becomes eager to leave Lothlórien. Lady Galadriel's mirror reveals to her and the player that the Fellowship faced a grave danger at Parth Galen, but many things remain unclear. Galadriel bids the player and Nona to travel further down the river of Anduin to discover the Fellowship's fate, sending with them guide - an Elf named Corudan, whose sister Sigileth fought alongside the player in Mirkwood and perished during the battle in Dol Guldur. The Fellowship makes a brief stop at the Rohirrim town of Stangard, where the player discovers that Horn, the man who helped carry wounded Nona into Lothlórien, is no longer welcome by other men for venturing into the woods they consider haunted. His future uncertain, Horn accepts the offer to join the player's quest. Together with an Elf, a man of Rohan and a girl from Dunland, the player travels by boat south down Anduin, eventually reaching the Argonath. On the lawn of Parth Galen, they find signs of the Fellowship's passing and a struggle and are eventually able to piece together the events leading to the Breaking of the Fellowship. This goal accomplished, they decide to pursue the Three Hunters and aid them in rescuing Merry and Pippin from the Uruks who captured them.[citation needed]
Book 8 - Into the Riddermark
Already days behind Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, the Company has no hope of catching up with them on foot. They set to acquire War-Steeds from the friendly Rohirrim in the town of Langhold. While the Three Hunters led their pursuit on foot without stopping for rest, the player's company now has the benefit of the mounts, but makes several stops at Rohirrim towns along the way, to get a better direction of where the passing Uruks went. After departing the town of Faldham, where Elfhelm's son Elfmar rules in his father's absence at the Fords of Isen, they make their way to Eaworth in the Entwash Vale, near the edge of Fangorn Forest. Horn's father Ingbert is the Reeve - ruler - of this town and the vale itself, but is not pleased to see his son, for Horn had a term to serve in the town of Stangard, which he now broke. Adding more tension is the fact that Horn and Nona, despite all their differences, have begun to show signs of affection for each other during the long journey, but few in Eaworth are even being able to tolerate to presence of a "wild Dunlending" among them. Offended by such welcome, Nona leaves silently and without saying goodbye. Unable to find her trail, the player, Corudan and Horn have no choice but to continue with their original mission.[citation needed]
Book 9 - The Third Marshall
Éomer and his riders make a stop at Eaworth while returning to Edoras. The Third Marshall says to the player the same thing he earlier said to Aragorn: that his riders have killed the Uruks and burned their bodies, with none left alive. The player and his/her two companions set out to investigate the site of the battle nonetheless. Lacking Aragorn's superior tracking skills, they miss the signs of the Hobbits having escaped and nearly succumb to despair. However, a chance encounter with an Ent from Fangorn reveals that not only are the Hobbits alive, but that Gandalf himself has already seen for their safety. Their hopes renewed, the player, Horn and Corudan the Elf decide to travel with Éomer's eored for a time.[citation needed]
Éomer's next stop takes him to the town of Snowbourn on the river of the same name. The Third Marshall deems the entire Eastemnet not defensible, with Isengard forces coming from the west, Mordor orcs pouring from the south and Easterlings crossing the river from the east. By his military power, he orders all people remaining in those lands to abandon their homes and move westward across the Entwash river, where they can be better defended. Fastred, the Thane ("Major") of Snowbourn openly defies this order, however, refusing to abandon his position and leading bold strikes against orc forces instead. Angered at the insubordination, Éomer decides to bring this matter directly to the attention of the King.[citation needed]
The player and his companions accompany Éomer to Edoras, where the sings of Grima Wormtongue's growing influence become apparent to all after The King's Minstel Gléowine is thrown out of the court for crossing him. The audience with King Théoden quickly turns into an interrogation by Wormtongue, who orders Éomer stripped of his rank and imprisoned for breaking the "King's" direct order not to pursue the Uruk-hai band. Only an intervention by Lady Éowyn saves the player, Corudan and Horn from similar fate - instead they are thrown out of Edoras and are ordered to remain in the Eastemnet, not to cross the Entwash river under the penalty of death. Their next move uncertain, the trio decides to spend time helping those people who choose to fight for their homes in this land, despite being abandoned by Edoras.[citation needed]
Book 10 - Snows of Wildermore
The player, Horn and Corudan choose to follow Gléowine, King Théoden's minstrel and Horn's old mentor, who has been thrown out of Edoras along with them. They find him in Snowbourn, where they hear troubling news from Harding, Aldor of the Northmarch - no word has come from Wildermore, in remote corner of the Wold, for weeks. Wildermore is where Gléowine spend his youth and a chance to revisit those lands gives him a new purpose. He joins the player's companions as they travel to the Wold and then to Wildermore. The find the land engulfed in snow, highly unnatural for those lands, and terrorized by a stone giant named Nurzum. A foul product of Saruman experiments, he had his strength augmented with remains of an ancient Huorn, making him nigh invulnerable, and a relic of Morgoth from Thangorodrim fused to his back, causing unnatural cold, snow storms and ice to follow him whenever he goes. Widfara, one of Harding's men from the Wold, is a sole survivor of his attack, and believes everyone else, including Harding's son Leodwig, killed.[citation needed]
While traversing Wildermore in search of ways to oppose Nurzum, the player and his companions unexpectedly come across Nona. Since her departure in Eaworth, she made her way to the city of Byre Tor, which has been razed by Nurzum, and cared for the survivors, her hatred for Men of Rohan lessened by the kind actions. Her reunion with Horn is brief and cold, and not having yet resolved her feelings for him, she chooses to leave again. The others follow her to a cave where she hides survivors from the snow, among them Harding's son Leodwig, injured but alive. Seeing wrath of Nurzum firsthand, Corudan the Elf decides to search for aid among the Ents of the nearby Fangorn Forest. He and the player manage to find and wake the Ent Leaflock (Finglas) and relay him Nuzum's story. The Ent cares little for troubles of Men, but defiling of Huorn's remains rouses him to anger and he commands Huorns of the forest to come after the giant. Nurzum fights off the attack, but is weakened and later defeated by the player and Heroes of Wildermore. Meanwhile, Nona and Horn resolve their feelings and finally commit to each other.[citation needed]
Interludes
A series of session plays running concurrent to Book 10 shows the Rangers of the Grey Company whom the player left in Book 5 and their activities in Dunland, without the player character's involvement.
Meanwhile, the Grey Company of Dúnedain remains in Dunland, where following their rescue from imprisonment in Tur Morva, the Rangers drove the traitorous Falcon Clan underground. The Ranges occupy the city itself and fight off several smaller ambushes, but don't have the force to assault the Dunlendings in the tunnels under Methedras, for the Falcon Clan knows them much better, resulting in a stalemate. The Sons of Elrond bid Halbarad to continue the journey south, yet many Rangers refuse to leave without having vengeance for their fallen brothers. The Ranger Saeradan, with Halbarad's permission, leaves the company and takes a wagon with the bodies of the fallen north, to prevent their defilement in the hostile lands. Upon reaching Enedwaith he makes an important discovery - the Oathbreakers of the Forsaken Road, responsible for an earlier attack on the Rangers, have left those lands and are travelling back to the Stone of Erech, hoping to be relieved of their eternal curse. In Tur Morva the Ranger Golodir refuses to wait for vengeance any longer and enters the caverns accompanied only by his friend Corunir. There they discover that the Falcon Clan has tricked them again and used the underground passages to cross the Misty Mountains into the lands of Rohan. In Isengard, the Ranger Lothrandir is still holding out against physical and mental abuse by Saruman's servants, but the Wizard has patience and is determined to break him.
Book 11 - The Golden Hall
As the refugees of the city of Byre Tor prepare to leave their temporary cave shelter, the player and his travelling companions decide that the news of Saruman's atrocities in Wildermore must be reported to King Théoden despite the penalty for breaking their banishment. To avoid angering him even further with the presence of a Dunlending woman, Nona and the Elf Corudan escort the refugess to the nearest surviving city of Forlaw, while the Rohirrim men Horn and Gleowine together with the player ride to Edoras. Their timing turns out to be most fortunate, as they seek audience just after Gandalf has arrived and woken the King from a long slumber. Éomer is released from imprisonment, Grima Wormtongue is thrown out of the court and after a short preparation, King Théoden musters his army to ride forth and meet the forces of Isengard head-on. Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Éomer and Gleowine depart with the King's riders while the player and Horn stay behind in Edoras to assist Lady Éowyn, who has been ordered by her uncle to bring both citizens of Edoras and the refugees from other corners on Rohan into the safety of Dunharrow.
Book 12 - War in the Westemnet
After making arrangements for bringing a large number of cilivians to Dunharrow, the player and Horn fulfill the promise given earlier to Éomer by visiting his home town of Aldburg and confirming that his regent manages to lead the people in his absence. They are caught up with by Nona and Corudan and the whole party returns to Edoras. Before Éowyn and the refugees can depart, it is revealed that a servant of Wormtongue remained undiscovered in the city and is now actively engaging in both sabotage and murder. Before the spy can be apprehended, he flees Edoras and the player's party sets out to chase him through the lands of Westemnet, which are now besieged by the White Hand forces. After conversing with Thane Herubrand of Woodhurst and his son Herefara, they learn that a war band of Dunlendings bearing the sign of a Talon of the Falcon has been seen marauding in the area. Both the player and Nona desire revenge on the Falcon Clan, which had betrayed their Ranger friends to Saruman in Dunland. Before they can act however, a more urgent message arrives: the Fords of Isen have fallen to the enemy, their defenders Elfhelm, Grimbold and Erkenbrand are nowhere to be found, a massive army from Isengard marches through the Westfold and King Théoden's forces have taken refuge at Helm's Deep. The party splits once more: Nona is unwilling to abandon her quest for vengeance and Horn is unwilling to leave her, so they set out to track the Falcon clan, while the player and Corudan ride to Helm's Deep. On their way they meet Gandalf the White on Shadowfax - it was Gandalf who advised the King to turn his army to Helm's Deep, and now he is seeking far and wide for the survivors of the second battle of the Fords of Isen, if any remains. After Gandalf finds Elfhelm's eored, Elfhelm relays to him the recent news: the force that came from Isengard was many thousands strong and Erkenbrand and his men were driven south of the Fords, beyond the river Isen. Seeing their situation hopeless, Elfhelm chose to retreat and, despite Grimbold's protests, took his men back into Rohan before Saruman's army poured through the Fords in their wake. Gandalf orders Elfhelm to protect Edoras, which now sits empty, and travels to the Fords to find Grimbold. His men almost all dead, Grimbold refuses to abandon the Fords, where Prince Theodred now lays buried. Gandalf helps him reconnect with Erkenbrand and leads the combined force to Helm's Deep.
Book 13 - Helm's Deep
The player manages to arrive to Helm's Deep just before the gates are closed in preparations for the battle. Erkenbrand, the military commander of Hornburg, took most of the defenders and weapons with him to the Fords, so the King's army can only supplement itself with refugee villagers and makeshift weapons. As the night falls, the White Hand forces begin to arrive and Gamling the Old holds them for a short while at Helm's Dike, before being overwhelmed and retreating into the fortress. Orcs, Uruks and Dunlendings assault the Deeping Wall and the defenders led by Aragorn manage to hold them off, until a section of the wall is blown and the enemy pours into the Deeping Comb. Éomer, Gimli and the player are trapped in the Glittering Caves and have to protect the refugees hidden there. Their plan to lead the refugees away through the secret mountain tunnels fails when it is revealed that those passages are already known to the enemy - a group of Dunlendings emerges in the caves from a direction though safe and is led by Lhue Brenin, the Chieftain of the Falcon clan. With Gimli's help, the player manages to slay him and exact vengeance upon the Dúnedain slain in Tal Methedras. As the dawn comes, Théoden chooses to ride forth with the remaining able riders and meet the enemy head-on. The sound of the Horn of Helm Hammerhand shatters the morale of Saruman's minions, as Théoden, Legolas and Aragorn cut through their ranks. It is then that Gandalf arrives, with Grimbold and Erkenbrand leading a combined force of footmen and riders. The Dunlendings surrender en-masse and the Orcs and Uruks try to flee into Westfold, only to be trapped by the arrival of Huorns from the Fangorn Forest. In the aftermath of the battle, fallen are counted in many numbers, but the White Hand army is destroyed and Rohan still stands. Gandalf warns the player and others not to relax for long, for soon they must ride to the Ring of Isengard and confront Saruman himself at the Tower of Orthanc.
Book 14 - The Breaking of Isengard
In the aftermath of the battle the minstrel Gleowine and the player pay respect to Théoden's doorwarden Háma, who fell at the gates of the Hornburg. King Théoden, Éomer, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and the player set out for Isengard, passing through the forest of Huorns that came down from Fangorn on their way. As they approach the Gap of Rohan, they are met by Halbarad and the remaining Rangers of the Grey Company, their long ride to the aid of their chieftain Aragorn complete at last. This is the first time where the Epic storyline contradicts the Lord of the Rings books, as the Rangers are not supposed to meet Aragorn until after visiting Isengard. At the gates of the now flooded Isengard, the company finds Peregrin and Merdiadoc. The Hobbits relay the tale of their escape from Saruman's Uruks, meeting with Treebeard, the Entmoot and the march of the Ents on Isengard. Gandalf, Théoden and Aragorn set out to confront Saruman, while the Rangers begin to search for their kinsman Lothrandir, who has been imprisoned in Isengard since the Falcon Clan's betrayal in Dunland. In a section of the wall that escaped destruction by the Ents but is quickly being flooded, the Rangers begin opening prison cells until they finally discover a man in the signature Grey Company outfit. To their horror, the rescued prisoner is completely broken in body and mind alike: his face is mutilated beyond recognition and his shallow eyes do not seem to recognize his friends. He only manages to utter a single word before collapsing and passing away, a broken shadow of the strong-willed man Lothrandir once was. However, while mourning their fallen friend, the Rangers discover that it was not Lothrandir underneath the garbs. Despite using the magic to torture his body and mind in horrific ways, Saruman failed to break the Dúnadan and in an act of corrupted twisted cruelty had him switch garbs with a prisoner from Dunland. Continuing the search, the player finally finds Lothrandir in another cell - beaten, bruised and weakened, but very much alive and sane. At the same time, Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff and casts him out the Order of the Wizards and the White Council. Treebeard promises to keep watch over the Wizard now trapped in his tower, while Pippin briefly comes in contact with the palantír thrown out by Grima Wormtongue. Aragorn is much rejoiced over both finding his captured kinsman alive and ending Saruman's threat to Rohan and extends his thanks to all of his allies: the Fellowship, the Dúnedain, the Rohirrim and the player alike.
_________________  The Vinyamars on Stage! This time at Bag End
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