As Frodo and Sam leave, a band of orcs captures Merry and Pippin and kills Boromir. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli decide to let the Ringbearer go and instead rescue Merry and Pippin. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the orcs as they run across the fields of Rohan toward Saruman's fortress at Isengard. They find evidence that the orcs of Sauron and Saruman have quarreled and that either one hobbit is still alive, but they begin to lose hope as they fall farther and farther behind. After three days of running with little rest, they meet a troop of the riders of Rohan. The horsemen's leader, Éomer, informs the trio that the orcs were destroyed on the edge of Fangorn forest, with no survivors. He lends them horses to continue the pursuit, but offers little hope that the hobbits escaped the battle.
Although treated roughly by the orcs, Merry and Pippin remain unharmed. When the Rohirrim attack, the hobbits run to the safety of the forest. They eventually make their way through the dense woodland to a stony hill where they meet Treebeard the Ent. This ancient being looks like a walking and talking tree and is the guardian of the forest. He does not particularly care about Sauron, but he takes the threat of Saruman very seriously. The wizard once cared for the forest and learned much from Treebeard, but now he chops down the trees to fuel the war machines of Isengard. Treebeard calls an Entmoot, a meeting of many Ents who decide to fight Saruman.
