The Journey of the Ents
By Charlotte
In the first year of the Fourth age, Peregrin Took of the Shire, sent a message to his dear friend Treebeard, the oldest Ent, or tree herder. The message was an urgent one, saying that there had been a sighting of creatures like Ents, but slightly smaller, on the outskirts of the Old Forest, far West of Fangorn Forest where the Ents lived. When Treebeard received this message, he was truly out of character (for his motto is ‘Don’t be hasty’), by rushing throughout the forest to notify all the Ents that there would be an Entmoot, gathering of the Ents, the following evening. The first Ent he came across was Quickbeam, a rather tall Ent resembling a rowan tree. When Quickbeam noticed Treebeard swiftly crashing through the woods he was startled and amused. “Treebeard I have never seen you run that fast,” he said with a chuckle. Suddenly, Treebeard twirled around and in a hurried voice said, “Entmoot tomorrow night, usual place. Pass it on.” Perplexed at why the Entmoot was oh so important, that even Treebeard was in a hurry, Quickbeam went to tell the others what Treebeard had announced. Soon Quickbeam came across another Ent slowly drinking his fill of Ent draught, the Ents specialty food. “Oakbranch,” Quickbeam exclaimed breathlessly, “Have you heard? Treebeard is rushing through the entire forest telling every Ent to come to an Entmoot tomorrow night at the center of the wood.” Oakbranch just as surprised as Quickbeam that Treebeard was in such a hurry, gasped, “Well it must be very important, for Treebeard to rush about so. I shall see you tomorrow.”
Under the glistening moonlight in an opening in the wood the Ents gathered one by one into clusters whispering to each other about what might be going on. As soon as the last Ent came into the clearing, Treebeard in a loud voice yelled, “Silence! As you all may know I was quite out of character yesterday, and I am still out of character. In the morning hours of yesterday a bird flew up to me and whispered in my ear a message. This is what he said, ‘Treebeard, I have been sent to you by Peregrin Took of the Shire. He told me to tell you there have been sightings
of Entwives in the forest near there. He told me to fly as quickly as possible and to come directly to you. It seemed very important…’ and with that he flew off into the dark leafy wood. We all thought that the Entwives were gone for good, after Sauron destroyed their beautiful gardens. But by leave of the great King Elessar of Gondor, we may set off at once to find our long lost loves.” At that Quickbeam was decided, “What are we waiting for, let’s go!” “Wait one minute there Quickbeam,” exclaimed Treebeard with a laugh, “We have to discuss this matter of great importance.” Quickbeam quite disappointed that he couldn’t be hasty, muttered, “Well if it is SO GREAT, we should be going already. Humph.”
Quickbeam decided to go into the woods and wait there while everyone else was debating, since he had already made up his mind. Meanwhile, Treebeard was having an argument with Leaflock and Skinbark, two Ents who were growing quite treeish and sleepy and didn’t want to make the long and arduous journey across bare open lands with few scrawny trees. On the other side of the clearing, Oakbranch was involved in an argument with three other Ents called Elmheath, Beechbone, and Pinetrunk. Oakbranch and Beechbone wanted to travel up through Lothlorien and then over Caradhras to Rivendell and Elmheath and Pinetrunk wanted to go south to the Gap of Rohan through Dunland then up through the bare land of Hollin and then to Rivendell. The rest of the Ents stood motionless deep in thought. Suddenly, Treebeard cried out, “Everyone, Leaflock and Skinbark, you shall stay here and look after all the trees. The rest of us shall take the path through Lothlorien to Caradhras, then to Rivendell and finally getting to the Old Forest.” Grumbling to themselves Elmheath and Pinetrunk agreed for they did not dare disagree with Treebeard for he was very intimidating. Since no one challenged Treebeard, and Leaflock and Skinbark were satisfied, Treebeard called Quickbeam back to the clearing.
Almost a month had gone by since the Entmoot, and all the Ents except Leaflock and Skinbark, were busy preparing for the trip. Many of them were brewing Ent draughts as others were skillfully creating packs for their backs. As the month was drawing to an end, Treebeard knew it was finally time to leave. The next day was filled with tearful goodbyes to their trees.
At the beginning of the next week, all the Ents except Leaflock and Skinbark set off north towards Lothlorien where the Lady of Light lived.
A few days had passed since the Ents had left their beloved forest. Elmheath and Pinetrunk were very unhappy, they did not want to go this way, for they had heard many stories about the Lady of Galadhrim’s wrath and they certainly did not want to go near her. “Why do we have to go this way?” Pinetrunk asked Elmheath. Elmheath just grumbled and whispered back, “Because we didn’t disagree with Treebeard a month ago.” Hardly an hour after they had said this to one another, they could see the beautiful Mallorn trees of Lothlorien. Quite suddenly all fear left the young Ents, either because of the breathtaking beauty of the trees or Galadriel’s magic, they did not know. Minutes later, the whole forest lay out before them. At that moment, Treebeard smiled and cried out, “Behold, the forest of Lothlorien. In the depths of the forest lies the grand city of Galadhrim were the Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel are awaiting us. I believe that the Elves that lay waiting for us have already seen us and sent messages to Galadhrim.”
Quickbeam was excited to finally see this glorious forest and did not doubt that there was magic in the air. He could not wait to see the beauty of Galadriel again. At the very moment Treebeard put his massive leafy foot into the forest, there came a loud, “HALT!” from out of nowhere, and Elmheath and Pinetrunk jumped a foot off the ground. They were so surprised! Nervously, Quickbeam glanced at Treebeard, yet Treebeard seemed very calm and not at all nervous. The voice rang out in the silence, “Ah, you have finally arrived.” At this an Elf with long flowing hair stepped out of the shadows followed by two other Elves. The Elf smiled at the nervous Ents and at once they were put at ease. Then looking towards Treebeard he broke the silence, “The Lady has been waiting long for your arrival. I am Haldir your escort and these are my brothers Rumil and Orophin. I am to take you to Galadhrim.” Turning to the Ents, Treebeard simply said, “Follow.” Swiftly and quietly Haldir strolled through the woods singing snatches of Elvish songs. Before Quickbeam knew it they came to a large fortress built in the trees. On the ground there were Elves everywhere and in the growing darkness, Quickbeam could see two thrones and two Elves shining even in the dark. The Elves were none other than Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn.
Standing to greet the Ents, Lady Galadriel smiled. As she smiled she looked into the Ents hearts and cast away their troubles and worries.
Days had past and the Ents were enjoying themselves profusely. Finally, Treebeard knew it was time to go. Galadriel sensed this in him and found Treebeard wandering about the wood. “I sense you feel like it is time to depart my forest Treebeard,” she whispered. Startled that she had found him, he stuttered, “Yes… I mean no… yes… I am very sorry my Lady but I feel like if we do not leave soon, Caradhras will be too treacherous for us to pass over.” “Yes Treebeard, for I have foreseen it. It is time for you to leave.” Galadriel said quietly.
Within the next hour Treebeard had called all the Ents together. “The Lady and I agree it is time for us to depart. If we do not we will not be able to get over Caradhras. We shall leave in a fortnight.”
The remaining days passed all too quickly, before Treebeard knew it, it was time to leave. When the Ents were drawing near the gates of the city, they were surprised to see Lady Galadriel, Lord Celeborn and many more Elves waiting for them. One by one Galadriel put a jewel around each of the Ents necks. The jewels were green and in the shape of two leaves. Very surprised, all the Ents could do was accept the gifts and thank the Lady and Lord profusely. Wordlessly, the Ents left the grand city of Galadhrim.
The Ents left Lothlorien sadly. Quickbeam gazed back at the wood wishing he did not have to leave. He knew that the journey from Lothlorien to Rivendell was dangerous.
The days past long and uneventful for the Ents, only a few times did they hear the howls of the dreaded wargs. The mountains ever loomed tall and majestic before them. Slowly, the Ents were moving towards the Misty Mountains. Treebeard was weary but he knew they had to press forward or they wouldn’t get over Caradhras safely. Elmheath whispered to Pinetrunk, “Why are we going this way again?” “I do not know… why are you asking me?” Pinetrunk grumbled back.
That night Treebeard spoke to the Ents, “Tomorrow afternoon we shall reach the foot of Caradhras. The next morning we shall climb
the mountain and reach Redhorn gate by noon. We shall need to climb fast if we shall be able to reach the other side by nightfall.”
The next day the Ents set off hopeful, about ten o’clock Quickbeam noticed the towering mountain loomed closer with every footfall. By noon they were at the foot of the treacherous mountain. Treebeard again spoke to the Ents, “Tomorrow we shall ascend the mountain and hopefully get to the other side. Tonight, rest well.” And with that he took a swig of Ent draught and lay down to sleep.
In the morning, Oakbranch was the first Ent that wakened followed by Elmheath, then Quickbeam and Treebeard. Soon all the other Ents wakened. After everyone was awake and quite groggy, Treebeard knew they had to begin traveling up the mountain.
The mountain path was rocky and rough. The climb was steep but Ents have good balance. As Treebeard had hoped they did get to Redhorn gate by noon. It seemed that Caradhras was being kind to the tired creatures. After a quick lunch of more Ent draught, they started to descend the opposite side. Up until then the Ents had not come across any trouble from Caradhras, but the old mountain had a couple tricks up his sleeve. Powered by the evil lord Morgoth, the Black Enemy, Caradhras could do almost anything. All of the sudden massive gusts of wind tried knocking over the poor Ents. But the Ents stood their ground. This made Caradhras very angry. While the Ents were trying to recover from the sudden knock out, the mountain was thinking up more plans. It sent a sudden snow storm to try to discourage the Ents. But since it was still only June, there weren’t many snow clouds it could gather, so the snow was only about two feet deep and averaging at fourteen feet the tall Ents could travel through it with ease. Discouraged and admitting defeat, Caradhras knew nothing could stop the Ents.
Now that the weather had cleared the Ents traveled much quicker, and reaching the foot of the mountain an hour before nightfall, brightened the spirits of all.
Looking around them Treebeard hoped that by the end of the next day they would be right outside Rivendell. Coming up behind Treebeard, Quickbeam asked, “What next?” Treebeard replied with a sigh and said, “I hope to be at Rivendell tomorrow night, but I have noticed everyone is about to collapse from exhaustion. I believe tomorrow we will rest and then move on the next day. You may go tell everyone.” Quickbeam did exactly what Treebeard told him to do. He walked throughout the Ents and told them the news. When he was done he was so weary he was sure he would collapse.
The next day passed quickly for the Ents. The day of moving on dawned bright and warm; it was just a day where you couldn’t be lazy. The Ents passed quickly through the land between the mountain and Rivendell. They were all eager to be in the warm gardens of the hidden valley and to see Galadriel’s kin for if they were anything like her, the Ents knew they would be welcomed.
As the sun was sinking over the horizon with a flood of orange and red, the Ents first saw the breathtaking beauty of Rivendell. Silently, they entered the quiet valley for they were speechless, the gardens and waterfalls were more beautiful than they could imagine. Suddenly, loud voices were singing from inside the huge house and elves were pouring out of it to meet their expected guests. Quickbeam gasped, for at the front of assembly was a tall ageless Elf, His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of stars. At once all the Ents knew that this was Elrond, the lord of Rivendell, for he was known to all good. Beside Elrond stood a somewhat familiar figure, and yet not at all familiar. He had white curly hair and wore trousers and a vest. Treebeard laughed, it was just a Hobbit, Merry and Pippin had spoken of an uncle of theirs who had gone to live with the Elves. Uncle... what was it? Bilbo, yes Uncle Bilbo. He thought to himself.
That night after much introducing, the Ents went among the trees to rest for the night. Quickbeam came up behind Treebeard and asked, “It was a grand night, was it not?” smiling Treebeard replied, “Well it was, we will have to leave soon though. But do not worry, perhaps we shall come back to this place before too long.” Three days later, Treebeard approached Elrond, “Lord Elrond,” he spoke slowly, “I am afraid the Ents time in Rivendell has to come to an end. I know that you of all people know and understand that. I feel we must depart your house before the week is spent.” “Yes, Treebeard you are right, I too feel that you are to leave my abode and keep to your travels.” Then Treebeard left to notify the rest of the Ents of their departure.
The days passed even quicker than before to the Ents. The day that the Ents left Rivendell started clear and enchanting.
The Ents passed quickly through the gates and over the bridge and past the ford. Heading straight towards the Trollshaws, Treebeard was determined to make the last half of their journey quickly and he hoped soon he would be reunited with his long lost Fimbrethil. With the Ents taking massive strides westward, it only took a few hours to make it to the Trollshaws. Walking through the dark and gloomy forest the treelike creatures soon came across three huge stone Trolls. Laughing at them, Elmheath remembered the story Bilbo had told him in Rivendell about how these very Trolls had wanted to eat him and a group of Dwarves.
It wasn’t long before the Ents were at the edge of the forest. Looking out on the bare land Treebeard knew it would take at least four days to travel across the exposed land with just a small river in front of them. But now it was growing dark and time for rest.
The next day passed uneventfully, as did the next few days. Pinetrunk was beginning to believe that no trees grew except for little shrubs until the edge of the world. When he told Elmheath that, Elmheath replied with, “Perhaps, but I sure hope not. I mean we are supposed to be heading to another forest, but I heard it’s not as large as ours though. But maybe more magical.”
Finally, after four days of traveling Treebeard noticed on the horizon line they were coming to marshes. Turning to Quickbeam, who had come behind him and also noticed the marshes, he stated, “Midgewater Marshes, Elrond mentioned these, he said we should not try to go through them, we shall go around them.” Treebeard had heard these marshes were as dangerous as the land they were on, and he did not want to take any chances.
The next morning as they woke up, the Ents could sense they were so close to their destination, only a few days to travel. Treebeard didn’t need to prompt anyone to hurry up because there was a sense of urgency in the air. It did not take long to pass beside the marshes, for they were not very large.
The next step of their journey was to get around the town of Bree. Now before this, people were not a problem, not many humans lived on their path and those that did had lived in Rohan and the Rohirrim were grateful towards the Ents for putting an end to the dictatorship of Saruman the White.
Quietly, the Ents assembled for yet another meeting. Breaking the strained silence Quickbeam quickly suggested that they just walk around the town. If the townspeople noticed them and were frightened, that was their problem, not the Ents. Since this was by far the most straight forward suggestion that anyone had thought of, Treebeard agreed to it.
Within the next hour, the Ents had already passed the town. Thankfully, no one spotted them. Bypassing the Barrow-downs, the Ents entered the Old Forest just as the sun was setting. Looking around Quickbeam whispered, “This is not that bad. Why the Trollshaws were worse than this. Truly, I do not understand why Pippin warned us about this forest. Yet then again, the Hobbits were scared of Fangorn Forest.” Laughing Treebeard replied, “Why no Quickbeam, this place is much better then what Pippin described it as. Any place that Fimbrethil would live in just has to be nice. For our dear Entwives would not live in a dangerous or dismal place.” Then turning to the rest of the crowd, he shouted, “It is time we rest. This is where we shall stop for the night.”
Everyone woke bright and early the next morning, for they were all excited. Perhaps today they would see their long lost loves. Not sure which way to turn next, Treebeard consulted Quickbeam, for they had grown very close on the trip. “Which way do you think we should go?” Treebeard whispered to Quickbeam. “Hmm, south perhaps, for that is the center of the forest where jolly ol’ Tom Bombadil lives, he should know where the Entwives reside,” Quickbeam mused. “Of course Quickbeam, I simply forgot, Elrond did tell me that in Rivendell,” cried Treebeard enlightened. Turning southward, Treebeard chided himself for not remembering.
It took a few hours for the Ents to reach the middle of the forest, though it was not hard to find, for the Withywindle river flowed right past Tom Bombadil’s house.
Knocking on the door of the cottage Treebeard was not surprised when the door opened almost immediately. “Ahhh,” a buoyant voice cried out from the door, “You have come! I was hoping you would arrive soon. The Elves that came through here about a week ago told me you would be coming to see me soon.” The voice explained quickly, then turning from the door the little man called into the house, “Goldberry, dear, they have finally arrived!” Turning back to the guests at the door the man kept on talking; “Now I believe you are Treebeard. It’s no doubt you know who I am, and for those who do not know who I am, my name is Tom Bombadil! I would invite you in my house, but I am afraid you are a bit too tall, either that or my house is too small. Now, yes I know that you are not here to see me, though I hoped you would visit a bit, Gandalf has told me much about you and your forest. I love to hear about your forest. Dear me, I am afraid I have gotten rather off track.” He paused allowing Treebeard to add a bit, “Well as a matter a fact, I would like to visit with you for awhile, but it is true, that is not the reason for our trip. As the Elves probably told you, we are here because a certain friend of mine sent word that there had been sightings of Entwives in this forest. I felt it necessary to come because; we have been searching for our loves since they went missing back in the Second Age, when Sauron destroyed their gardens.”
Tom was quiet for a few minutes lost in thought, and then seeming to come back, he jumped up from his stump he was sitting on and cried, “Yes, what are we waiting for? I will lead you to them. I gave them permission to live in the south of the forest a couple hundred years ago. I mostly stay away from there, to give them their peace. But occasionally they come and visit with Goldberry and me.” With that Tom started down the path singing, "Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo! Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!"
The path wound around another turn, and a clearing came into view many, treelike creatures with golden hair wandered about well tended gardens. Giddy with excitement Treebeard ran up to one of them and cried, “Fimbrethil my dear, how I have missed you!” Beechbone ran up to another Entwife and cried, “Oh Elmerthil!” One by one each Ent was reunited with their long lost love. Smiling, Tom Bombadil left the Ents for their reunion.
Looking around Quickbeam spotted Elmheath with one of the younger Entwives, Willowleaf, smiling Quickbeam left his Mallormist just for a few minutes to see Elmheath. “This is why we came, Elmheath. Have you stopped complaining? Yes I did notice,” said Quickbeam. With that Elmheath apologized. Satisfied, Quickbeam walked back to Mallormist.
Treebeard asked Fimbrethil if the Entwives would return to Fangorn since Sauron was destroyed and Saruman was no longer a threat either. Fimbrethil replied, “We shall return with you, I think the others will agree that they wish never to part with you again.”
Smiling to himself, Treebeard thought, The journey of the Ents ended as a success.
