Chapter 17 - Revenge of the Ents

                                    

                                          

"Many of these trees... were my friends..." Treebeard's sorrowful words drifted atop the silence of the broken landscape. 
The group stood in what Avadis could only describe to be a massacre, of both trees and animals alike. The limbs of once great and mighty trees lay scorched and broken, sticking out into the sky like skeleton arms reaching desperately for the help that was not given them. Here no birds sang, no butterflies flew, no flowers bloomed, nothing remained but death and cold. And beyond this, within the tall walls of Isengard, fire and smoke rose high into the air, no doubt fuelled by the plunders of this attack.  
Saruman. Avadis gritted her teeth. You've picked the wrong forest, you who were supposed to be wise and thoughtful, how foolish of you. 
"I'm sorry, Treebeard" Pippin whispered, sitting next to Avadis on Treebeard's shoulder. He rested his hand ontop of hers, showing her what could not be said with words. Avadis squeezed his hand once as a thankyou before falling gently to the ground and kneeling down next to the remains of a tree only a few summers old. She muttered a poem of lament, spoken in the tongue of her own people, which she had not uttered for many years. Her words, while none of the others understood them, cast a feeling of deep sorrow throughout them all, especially the hobbits, who both fought the urge to burst into tears.
"They had voices... of their own" Treebeard said once she had finished. His eyes were locked on Saruman's tower, "Saruman! A wizard... should know better!"
Without any warning, Treebeard leant his head back and gave a deafeningly loud roar that shook through leaves and roots across the forest behind them. Avadis caught Pippin as he stumbled off his shoulders, and Merry who had already climbed down joined them. Avadis stood with Merry on her right and Pippin on her left, looking up to Treebeard with an element of surprise on her face. 
"There is no curse... in Elvish, Entish or the tongues of... men for this treachery. My business... is with Isengard tonight" he leant down and picked up a piece of the churned earth into his hand, "with rock... and stone."
Behind them, the forest came alive, the trees swaying as many Ents emerged into the clearing, all stopping with surprise at the sight before them. Some were tall, some short, some old and some young, but all came with a fierce revenge burning in their eyes. Avadis had never seen them look so terrifying as they did now. "Yes!" Merry shouted into the air.
So we fight, this is my path. It is time to show myself at last. Her heart beat with as much grief as it did excitement. She was ready. 
She was glad that she had taken the time to teach the hobbits a little of battle while she could. They were left in her care, and under her watch they would not be harmed. "Merry, Pippin. Collect stones into your pockets" she instructed them, "they will be of more use to you riding with Treebeard." While they searched carefully among the rubble, Avadis ensured her bow and arrows were secured to her back, and her swords safely kept by her side. 
"Send some Ents to the dam" she said to Treebeard, "break it and the place will be flooded. There will be little they can do against the power of the river Isen." Treebeard nodded his head in response, and waved at a group of Ents to begin the treck. 
"You will... fight?" Treebeard asked her, "this will... begin things that... cannot be undone for you".
"This is my home too my friend. And where you go I will go. If this is your war, then allow me to fight as one of you" she paused a moment as a small smile appeared on her face, "besides, I have some more... personal... issues with this Saruman myself." 
Despite the heaviness of the surroundings, Treebeard smiled down at her and rested his arm gently on her shoulder. "You... have always been... and always will be... one of us... young one." 
To hide the tears rapidly filling her eyes, she quickly patted Treebeard's bark and turned back to the hobbits, now definitely much heavier for the amount of stones they carried. "Here, see this" she said, kneeling down as the two came closer. "When there were more of my kind, and when we flew together at far distances apart, we would use hand signals to talk with one another, like this." Avadis opened three fingers and then two. "This means thank you. Which I say to you both now. But I want to teach you this, open and close your whole hand twice as a call for help. This way, while to you I may be high in the air, I will know you need help and will come for you."
"Thank you Avadis" Merry said, "we will remember."
Avadis looked out over Isengard as dusk fell upon the forest's leaves. She sighed,"for both of you who have not seen battle before, let me tell you, you may never see another like this again"
"Then I am glad to be here" replied Pippin, as Treebeard lifted them onto his back. 
Off we go.
...
"Treebeard!" she yelled down to him as she swooped into the walled ring of Isengard, "beware of the waters! Hobbits hold on tight!" The dam had been broken, and the full power of the ancient river had been unleashed. She circled around them a few more times before finally drawing her bow, watching as the black mass of panicked orcs began to flee from the waters. I've waited long enough. With a cry she plundged her wings downwards and fired arrow after arrow to knock down waves of orcs at a time, watching as they cried out and fell into the waters surrounding the great tower. Her arrows pierced through armour and flesh without missing, and down below the cries of "demon!" only made her motivations grow.
Stopping for a moment she looked over and squinted her eyes searching for her new hobbit friends. There they were, throwing their stones from ontop of Treebeard, who was bashing a tower down with his fists, a sight that made her smile out of pure amusement of her friend's strength. But she had little more than a moment to pause before she saw yet another wave of orc running towards her. Bringing both her swords into her hands, she ran towards them with a fierce determination in her eyes that even made the orc stop a moment to consider which fate was worse, hers or the river. 
Avadis soared high and low, hunting down any orc that had managed to escape. By the time she had returned to the walls, the battle was won. Shooting a few more orc down from the skies, she landed on the wall and glared up at the tower, gripping her bow a little tighter as adrenaline fueled hate flowed through her body. "Where are you" she said through gritted teeth, "you cannot hide forever." But there was no sign of the wizard. Coward.
"We have won! Avadis we have won!" Pippin waved over at her from Treebeard's back. She turned to them and forced herself to smile, waving back with the same enthusiasm as him. We have not won until we are rid of that wizard. She knew it, and Treebeard knew it as well. A wizard was not going to be as easy as a pack of orcs. 
Heading over to her friends, she used her wings to hover above the water infront of Treebeard, making large ripples below her feet. "It is... done" Treebeard remarked, looking around at the Ents who returned to group around them. "It is done" Avadis smiled at her friend, "you have all fought well, and your home has been saved. Isengard will now be under your management."
...
Avadis sat with the hobbits on the edge of the far side of the wall. They had found themselves the food storage room, stocked to the brim with all kinds of delights which the two hobbits had been gorging on like they had not seen such food in years. 
"I believe..." said Pippin before biting into an apple, "I have never had this good tasting food in all my life."
Avadis laughed, "but surely your tales of the shire say there is nowhere with finer foods than your home? Am I mistaken or are you beginning to enjoy it here?"
"Ai! Here! This barrel is marked! Southfarthing, Pippin do you see this?"
"Grab my pipe, and we shall be merry tonight. See I was right! The best of the best is only to be found in the shire!" Pippin laughed, doing a little dance that made the three laugh loudly.
Treebeard looked over at them from his watch outside the door to the Orthanc tower, confused with all the rukus but happy that Avadis was enjoying herself. He knew the time had come, that she would be leaving soon. And while he would never admit it to her or anyone else, through his happiness, his heart hurt to think of it.