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Originally Posted by Meneltarmacil
The problem with getting supplies from Sauron seems to be mainly a geographical one. The most direct route between Mordor and Isengard would be through Rohan, which Saruman was unable to ever fully control, though he did try.
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Originally Posted by Gil-Galad
Goblins from Moria fought for Saruman to revenge their fallen comrades during the time the fellowship went through...maybe they brought their food supplies through there? but i would guess it would probaly be from the Shire...
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These two posts have got me thinking. Perhaps Sauron's aid, such as it was, came from Dol Guldur? We know that this remained a major base of Sauron's during the War of the Ring, and it was certainly well-equipped, considering that it was the centre of the struggle against Lorien and Thranduil's realm. Is it too much of a stretch to imagine that they were passing supplies on to the orks of the Misty Mountains? North of Lorien there is ample space to be moving things from Mirkwood to the Mountains, and although the Beornings were clearly doing their best to keep the area thereabouts as enemy-free as possible, the image painted by Gloin when he talks with Frodo, in my mind at least, is that this was a less than successful battle, and there were all sorts of orks and such running amok in the Vale of the Anduin.
Once into or across the Mountains, it would be quite easy to hide the traces of the support from prying eyes, considering the very sparse population of those lands. And indeed, if there were interconnected goblin caverns as far south as Dunland, as seems to me to be very possible, then the goods could travel all the way from their entry into the mountains to Isengard without detection. And it might well be assumed by those knowing of their entry into the mountains that they would be used by the orks there, as indeed some of it probably was.
Anyway, that's my hypothesis. Is is reasonable, do you think?