Chapter 8 - Rescue

                                    

                                          

"GWAIHIR!" Avadis yelled into the caverns below her as she soared into the valley. "GWAIHIR!"
From behind, a loud caw echoed around her. "What is wrong youngling?"
"He has Gandalf. Saruman has Gandalf."
The pair landed hastily on the top of the mountain. "Tell me", he urged her. "I do not know much, all I know is that I sent a watch over Isengard like you said and it returned with a shred of his cloak. What this means I cannot read yet" Avadis paced up and down, hands raised above her head. "Please, would you go and find him. Bring him to me. I cannot bear to think that he is in pain" she pleaded with the old eagle, standing to look at him, wings limp from the pain of flying all the way to him. 
"Climb on" Gwaihir responded. Avadis shot up onto his back and within seconds they were soaring back towards Isengard. "He is a wizard. He will be alright" Gwaihir told her. "Yes but so is Saruman" Avadis replied, "and I'm beginning to feel like Saruman isn't all the good Gandalf has been telling me about." 
"Your assumptions may serve you well" Gwaihir responded, "I will find him, do not worry."
"Thank you" Avadis said, rubbing the side of Gwaihir's neck.
...
"We are almost there" Gwaihir said, waking Avadis from her thoughts. Looking down beneath her, she saw for the first time Isengard in all it's glory. But it was not the glory of how Gandalf had described it to her. There were no gardens or freshly cut lawns, no trees or birds or streams. Just smoke, and fire, and ash, and hundreds and hundreds of orc. "Gandalf where are you" Avadis whispered to herself, looking over the edge of Gwaihir to the darkness below. She was glad she had such good eyesight, because even as they flew a great height above the tower, she was able to spot him standing opposite another man in a flowing cloak of white. "There! He's there!" she called to Gwaihir. "I see him" he responded, "leave my back so I can carry him"
Avadis let her body fall from his back, before stretching her wings out to carry herself away "I'll be on the hill!" she called back to him, turning slightly to watch as he swooped down lower below the clouds of smoke. Before going to the hill, Avadis stopped by her house to collect her bag of medicines. Unfortunately for her however, Treebeard was sitting right out the front.
"Treebeard!" she said, slightly with surprise and slightly with annoyance. "My... you seem... puffed... where have..." he began to say, before Avadis (very rudely) interrupted him. "Yes yes, I'm sorry I can't stop to chat right now," she said, hurrying around her house collecting the various items she might need, "long story short Gandalf is stuck on Saruman's tower, who is definitely evil might I add, and Gwaihir is bringing him to the hill and he needs me to be there with medicine in case he is hurt and my goodness does this man have some explaining to do." Avadis said with such a rush she had to stop and breathe before turning to look at the Ent. "I... see?" he said. He'll need a couple years to process all of that. Avadis turned and gave him a quick nod before forcing her tired wings back into the sky and over to the hill.
...
Avadis arrived at the hill at almost exactly the same time as Gwaihir. She watched keenly as he landed, sighing as she spotted Gandalf emerge from behind his wings. "Gandalf" she ran towards the old man, who had carefully reached his arms out towards her. "My dear girl, whatever would I do without you" he said, bringing Avadis in for a hug. 
"Are you hurt?" Avadis asked him, quickly lettting go and scanning him up and down for any bleeding. 
"I will be fine, thanks to you and your friend here" he said, turning to nod to Gwaihir behind him. Once Avadis was satisfied he was not about to die, she crossed her arms and looked at him with a frown, "you have a LOT of explaining to do" she raised her eyebrows at Gandalf. He chuckled slightly, "I suppose I do" he said, "but first I must at least be allowed to rest a little."
"I will return again tomorrow evening"  Gwaiher said. Avadis nodded, and passed his message on to Gandalf, who did not understand him. "Thank you, friend" Gandalf said to him, raising his hand to farewell the eagle. "Yes, thank you" Avadis said, walking forward and placing a hand on Gwaihir's feathers, "until tomorrow."