They had no warning. They were unarmed. Now the Wild Men are moving through the Westfold, burning as they go. Rick, cot and tree.
Where is Mama?
Shhhh.
This is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash. All the more potent for he is driven now by fear of Sauron. Ride out and meet him head on. Draw him away from your women and children. You must fight.
You have 2,000 good men riding north as we speak. Eomer is loyal to you. His men will return and fight for their king.
They will be 300 leagues from here by now. Eomer cannot help us. I know what it is you want of me, but I will not bring further death to my people. I will not risk open war.
Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.
When last I looked, Theoden, not Aragorn, was King of Rohan.
Then what is the king's decision?
By order of the king......the city must empty. We make for the refuge of Helm's Deep. Do not burden yourself with treasures. Take only what provisions you need.
Helm's Deep.
They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight. Who will defend them if not their king?
He's only doing what he thinks is best for his people. Helm's Deep has saved them in the past.
There is no way out of that ravine. Theoden is walking into a trap. He thinks he's leading them to safety. What they will get is a massacre. Theoden has a strong will, but I fear for him. I fear for the survival of Rohan. He will need you before the end, Aragorn. The people of Rohan will need you. The defenses have to hold.
They will hold.
The Grey Pilgrim. That's what they used to call me. Three hundred lives of Men I've walked this earth, and now I have no time. With luck, my search will not be in vain. Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east.
Go.
That horse is half mad, my lord. There's nothing you can do. Leave him.
Fæste, stille nú, fæste, stille nú. Lac is drefed, gefrægon. (Fast, be quiet now, fast, be quiet now. A battle is stirred up, they heard.)
Hwæt nemnað ðe? Hm? Hwæt nemnað ðe? (What is your name? Hmm? What is your name?)
His name is Brego. He was my cousin's horse.
Brego. Ðin nama is cynglic. (Brego? Your name is kingly.)
Man le trasta, Brego? Man cenich? (What troubles you, Brego? What did you see?)
I have heard of the magic of Elves ... but I did not look for it in a Ranger from the North. You speak as one of their own.
I was raised in Rivendell ... for a time. Turn this fellow free. He's seen enough of war.
Gandalf the White. Gandalf the Fool! Does he seek to humble me with his newfound piety?
There were three who followed the wizard. An Elf, a Dwarf and a Man.
You stink of horse. The Man ...was he from Gondor?
No, from the North. One of the Dunedain Rangers, I thought he was. His cloth was poor. And yet he bore a strange ring Two serpents with emerald eyes. One devouring, the other crowned with golden flowers.
The Ring of Barahir. So Gandalf Greyhame thinks he has found lsildur's heir. The lost king of Gondor. He is a fool. The line was broken years ago. It matters not. The world of Men shall fall. It will begin at Edoras.
I am ready, Gamling. Bring my horse.
This is not a defeat. We will return. We will return.
You have some skill with a blade.
Women of this country learned long ago: Those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain.
What do you fear, my lady?
A cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them. And all chance of valor has gone beyond recall or desire.
You're a daughter of kings ... a shieldmaiden of Rohan. I do not think that would be your fate.
Theoden will not stay at Edoras. It's vulnerable. He knows this.
He will expect an attack on the city. They will flee to Helm's Deep, the great fortress of Rohan. It is a dangerous road to take through the mountains. They will be slow. They will have women and children with them.
Send out your Warg-riders.
Hey, stinker, don't go getting too far ahead.
Why do you do that?
What?
Call him names. Run him down all the time.
Because. Because that's what he is, Mr. Frodo. There's naught left in him but lies and deceit. It's the Ring he wants. It's all he cares about.
You have no idea what it did to him ... what it's still doing to him. I want to help him, Sam.
Why?
Because I have to believe he can come back.
You can't save him, Mr. Frodo.
What do you know about it? Nothing! I'm sorry, Sam. I don't know why I said that.
I do. It's the Ring. You can't take your eyes off it. I've seen you. You're not eating. You barely sleep. It's taken hold of you, Mr. Frodo. You have to fight it.
I know what I have to do, Sam. The Ring was entrusted to me. It's my task. Mine! My own!
Can't you hear yourself? Don't you know who you sound like?
We wants it. We needs it. Must have the precious. They stole it from us. Sneaky little Hobbitses. Wicked. Tricksy. False.
No. Not master.
Yes, precious. False. They will cheat you, hurt you, lie!
Master's my friend.
You don't have any friends. Nobody likes you.
Not listening. I'm not listening.
You're a liar and a thief.
No.
Murderer.
Go away.
Go away?
I hate you. I hate you.
Where would you be without me? Gollum. Gollum. I saved us. It was me. We survived because of me.
Not anymore.
What did you say?
Master looks after us now. We don't need you.
What?
Leave now ... and never come back.
No.
Leave now and never come back. Leave now and never come back!
We told him to go away. And away he goes, precious. Gone! Gone! Gone! Smeagol is free!
Look. Look. See what Smeagol finds?
They are young. They are tender. They are nice. Yes, they are. Eat them. Eat them!
You'll make him sick, you will, behaving like that. There's only one way to eat a brace of coneys.
What's it doing? Stupid, fat Hobbit. It ruins it.
What's to ruin? There's hardly any meat on them.
What we need is a few good taters.
What's taters, precious? What's taters? Eh?
Po-ta-toes.
Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew. Lovely, big, golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish.
Even you couldn't say no to that.
Oh, yes, we could. Spoil a nice fish. Give it to us raw ... and wriggling. You keep nasty chips.
You're hopeless.
Mr. Frodo?
Who are they?
Wicked Men. Servants of Sauron. They are called to Mordor. The Dark One is gathering all armies to him. It won't be long now. He will soon be ready.
Ready to do what?
To make his war. The last war that will cover all the world in Shadow.
We've got to get moving. Come on, Sam.
Mr. Frodo. Look. It's an oliphaunt. No one at home will believe this.
Smeagol?
We've lingered here too long. Come on, Sam.
Wait! We're innocent travelers!
There are no travelers in this land. Only servants of the Dark Tower.
We are bound to an errand of secrecy. Those that claim to oppose the enemy would do well not to hinder us.
The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is ... where he came from.
And if he was really evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home. If he would not rather have stayed there ... in peace.
War will make corpses of us all. Bind their hands.
It's true, you don't see many Dwarf women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance ... that they're often mistaken for Dwarf men.
It's the beards.
This, in turn, has given rise to the belief that there are no Dwarf women ... and that Dwarves just spring out of holes in the ground. Which is, of course, ridiculous.
It's all right. Nobody panic. That was deliberate. It was deliberate.
I haven't seen my niece smile for a long time.
She was a girl when they brought her father back dead. Cut down by Orcs.
She watched her mother succumb to grief. Then she was left alone, to tend her king in growing fear. Doomed to wait upon an old man who should have loved her as a father.
Gimli?
No, I couldn't I really couldn't.
I made some stew. It isn't much, but it's hot.
Thank you.
It's good.
Really?
My uncle told me a strange thing. He said that you rode to war with Thengel, my grandfather. But he must be mistaken.
King Theoden has a good memory. He was only a small child at the time.
Then you must be at least 60.
Seventy? But you cannot be 80!
Eighty-seven.
You are one of the Dunedain. A descendant of Numenor, blessed with long life. It was said that your race had passed into legend.
There are few of us left. The Northern Kingdom was destroyed long ago.
I'm sorry. Please, eat.
