The fellowship left Edoras in the morning with the cohort of 8 Rohirrim riders, horses, and Fretr. As they set out for Isengard they saw that the path was clear and barren ahead of them. It was easy to follow the path and they encountered no one on the day’s journey. The party was able to detect Orc and Warg tracks leaving off to the northeast during their journey. Hallamir was also able to detect that the Orc tracks seemed to join up with another troop of Orcs coming up from the south. The fellowship arrived at Isengard in the late afternoon and the Rohirrim informed the party that they would wait at the gate and guard the entrance. The party agreed and left their horses with the Rohirrim as they entered Isengard.

The fellowship saw that the wall surrounding Isengard had crumbled into disrepair and the courtyard was a barren wasteland. They discovered no corpses, bodies, or any soul living as they crossed the courtyard to the ruins of Orthanc.

As they approached Orthanc they could see the rubble of the tower lying outward from crater with four intact stairwells leading down – this confirmed the theory that the tower was destroyed from the inside. There was a minimal amount of rubble actually in the crater, most of the rubble had fallen outside of the crater. Hallamir studied the stairwells and selected the one with the least amount of rubble.

The Fellowship descended the stairwell and found themselves in a round room with four exits to the north, east, west, and south. The fellowship decided to explore the exit to the north first. As they progressed down the passage, the amount of rubble decreased and the passage seemed untouched by the end. The fellowship found that down this passageway were the barracks for seemingly hundreds of Orcs. They also found signs of recent use in both the kitchen and mess hall.

The fellowship continued back to the main room and chose to next explore the exit to the west. Arbun snuck down the passageway and found a set of metal double doors at the end. As Arbun was leaving to report on what he had heard, he heard sounds of grunting and effort behind the doors. The fellowship discussed whether to move on but ultimately thought it would be best to not turn their back on the room. The fellowship snuck up to the door to open it quietly but when they opened the door it screeched metal on metal that echoed throughout the entire dungeon. The ten Fury Orcs that were training turned at the sound and attacked. The Fury Orcs were training with spears and attacked from a distance and in close quarters. The Fellowship was able to eventually defeat the Fury Orcs. The party searched the Fury Orcs but found nothing of value. Jesoc searched the armor for signs of the white triangles but found none.

The fellowship decided to next explore the passage to the south. The discovered a row of cells that were all empty save one. The party discovered this cell was occupied by a lone female elf. She shared that her name was Aenwyn Leorieth and that she was captured by the Orcs while she was on a scouting mission. Aenwyn mentioned that the Orcs went mad trying to find the Palantir of Orthanc. Aenwyn shared that they couldn’t find the Palantir as she found it and sent it away to be hidden. The enraged Orcs returned to Dol Guldur and left her here to die.

The party found that the cell door was locked. Arbun was able to use his thief tools and successfully picked the lock.

Aenwyn was grateful and shared that she sent the Palantir with a messenger back to the Wood Elves realm. Jesoc asked Aenwyn if she knew what was in the remaining rooms to the south and she shared that these all were torture rooms. The Fellowship informed Aenwyn that they are here with a cohort of Rohirrim that are waiting at the Isengard main gate and that it would be safest for her to wait above with the Rohirrim. Aenwyn thanked them and made her way to the Rohirrim.

The Fellowship explored chambers down a western passage and found that they lead to three gruesome torture chambers where they found dead Trolls, Ogres, and Elves that were tortured to death. The party left the grisly scene and continued south.  

The southern passage came to an end with passages heading off east and west. These passages ended in single steel doors. The Fellowship heard commands being given from behind the western door so they decided to explore the eastern room first. The eastern door opened into a wide circular torture room covered in blood and sweat. Claw and teeth marks were gouged into the floor, ceiling, and walls. Finding nothing else the party continued to the western door.

The Fellowship opened the western door and found what had caused the gouges – a Carrion Crawler. The Carrion Crawler was being trained by two Orc Garroters. The Orc Garroters were emblazoned with half filled triangle insignias. Hallamir thought quickly and entangled the Carrion Crawler and one of the Orc Garroters. This made the battle much easier and the Fellowship took advantage. The party was able to defeat the Orc Garroters and moved on to attack the Carrion Crawler.

After multiple vicious attacks, Arbun unleashed a killing strike that landed between the eyes and the Carrion Crawler fell.

Arbun is awarded an inspiration for his heroic killing blow.

Jesoc carried the corpse of one of the Orc Garroters back to the main room to show to the Rohirrim.

The Fellowship decided to explore the final passageway to the east. They explored what seemed to be barracks for officers as they were more spacious. These barracks were totally empty but they soon heard a low growling yell come from a room to the south – “What is going on out there!”

Out of the officer’s mess hall came a huge Orc War Chief in chain mail adorned with a half coloured white pyramid insignia. A vicious battle ensued but the fellowship were up to the challenge. The Orc War Chief viciously swung his battle axe cleaving the air as it clanged into armour and the stone walls. The Fellowship was able to finally defeat him and gathered their breath. The party searched the Orc War Chief and found that his Battle Axe was a magically infused +1 axe that Kifak took for his own.

The Fellowship exited the underground tunnels of Orthanc and rejoined the Rohirrim to find Aenwyn waiting. Jesoc showed the Orc Garroter to the Rohirrim and the Rohirrim agreed to take the Orc back to Edoras.

The party camped for the night before setting out in the morning.