[Thenamir]

Saruman turned away from the window. The latest missive from Borleg was comfortingly uneventful. Soon his long-laid plans could be brought to light, provided he could take care of that surprisingly hardy band of motley meddlers. He turned his thoughts to the challenge.

The Palantir was a surprisingly useful tool, but using it left him drained. He never consulted it without a chair and glass of wine near to hand. He sat now in the chair, pondering the fully reunited group (minus a few casualties). A bothersome crew, but so far completely unaware of the totality of his plans, and the number of tangled webs in which he could ensnare them...he'd thought about enslavng them, but it was are too much trouble, and besides, he had too many other matters to which he had to attend at present.

That spear of that insuferable dwarf, combined with the forest fire they'd deliberately set, gave Saruman an idea. He had friends and allies other than Dunlenders and Wargs on which he could call to take care of annoying "pests". He recalled several conversations with Fangorn about trees -- the sleeping ones can be wakened given the right circumstances. The Ents had not roused the huorns in many hundreds of years, perhaps not in the entire third age. But Saruman knew the right words to say, and the Voice would just add to his persuasion. Just add a bit of confusion to the minds of Thenamir and that travelling circus of his...

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The travellers had joyfully welcomed Gurthden back into their company, but were sorrowed yet again to hear the fate of Leoden. Themamir brushed away yet another set of tears as he listened to Gurthden's tale, silently adding Leoden to the mental tally against the White Wizard. The reckoning must come, and it must come soon.

They decided to take a short rest break to allow Gurthden to catch his breath, since all suddenly felt a bit more tired than usual. Some broke out and shared around their edibles, some just stretched out on the ground to rest their eyes for a few moments.

The moments turned to minutes, the minutes became an hour, and still no one made any move to resume their chase. They were so very tired, and this place seemed so comfortable. Thenamir fought to keep his eyes open, but to no avail, he just had to have a quick nap. Just before he fell completely asleep he decided he must be really tired, since he thought he saw trees moving in closer to their camp....