With Saruman rescued by Sauron midway, Kael and the others felt heavy-hearted.
Sauron himself was already formidable enough. Now with Saruman added to the mix, their combined strength would multiply the difficulty exponentially!
Though Galadriel had banished Sauron earlier, Mordor remained his stronghold, a gathering place for all manner of dark creatures and fallen humans, a veritable den of evil that even Gandalf had never dared penetrate deeply.
The eastern regions had long been under Sauron's rule and influence, with Easterling and Southron tribes and kingdoms all part of his forces.
Now with the addition of Saruman, a powerful wizard skilled in mechanics and engineering who could breed and modify creatures, Sauron's might was magnified beyond measure. What had been a dire threat now became a shadow of doom over all Middle-earth.
Perhaps the only good news was that Kael had captured Saruman's staff and Ring of Power, depriving him of two powerful weapons.
They had also preemptively taken Isengard, disrupting Saruman and Sauron's plan to attack Rohan and Gondor from both sides.
Just as Kael and Gandalf prepared to leave for Isengard, the sound of hoofbeats arose in the distance.
Amid rolling dust clouds, an elite human army of over a thousand mounted soldiers approached; though awed by Smaug's massive form and dragon aura, their horses grew restless and dared not approach beyond a certain distance.
Only the leader's tall steed seemed exceptional, able to bear its rider within a hundred meters despite the dragon's intimidating presence.
Seeing the newcomer, Gandalf's eyes lit up as he walked forward, greeting him like an old friend.
"Your Majesty, Thengel, I trust all is well!"
The mounted figure removed his helmet, revealing a stern, weathered middle-aged face.
His gaze first fell on the dragon with a flash of awe, then lingered on Galadriel and Elrond with amazement, recognizing their elven nature.
He also noticed Kael standing with the two elves and nearly mistook him for an elf as well, if not for the lack of pointed ears.
Full of curiosity and complexity, he turned his attention to Gandalf approaching him.
"Gandalf, what transpired here?" His gaze swept over the massive crater and the obviously flood-affected Entwash River as he asked seriously.
"My soldiers reported enemy activity here. Why do I see only you?"
Gandalf's expression grew grave as he sighed.
"Something did occur here. Though I'm reluctant to admit this fact, Saruman the White of Isengard has betrayed us. He conspired with Mordor, attempting to invade Rohan and Gondor. We discovered his plot and tried to capture him, but Mordor's forces rescued him."
"What! Is this true?" Thengel was shocked, hardly believing it.
He had naturally heard of Saruman the White of Isengard. He never expected this wizard to betray them and collude with Mordor!
Gandalf nodded. "Saruman has been taken by Mordor. With his power, they will surely become even stronger. I hope Your Majesty will remain vigilant, increase surveillance to the east, and be ready to defend against Mordor's invasion at any time. Also, I'd like to ask Your Majesty to relay this message to Gondor's Steward in the south, so he too can prepare."
Concerning his kingdom's safety, Thengel immediately grew serious and nodded. "Thank you for the warning. I'll deploy more forces to guard the Anduin borders and strengthen our alliance with Gondor."
Gandalf smiled with relief.
Thengel before him was the sixteenth king of Rohan, having recently inherited the throne from the previous king, Fengel.
Though nearing forty, he was in his prime and naturally wouldn't allow his kingdom to be threatened.
Gandalf then introduced the others to Thengel.
"This is the Lady of Lothlórien, the beautiful Lady Galadriel."
With Gandalf's introduction, Galadriel nodded gracefully with a polite smile.
Thengel had never seen anyone so beautiful and noble, and he was both amazed and somewhat ashamed.
Especially those bright, profound eyes that seemed to penetrate the heart, making him dare not meet her gaze directly, fearing his baser thoughts might be seen.
He could only hastily look away, not daring to make eye contact.
"This is Lord Elrond of Rivendell, master of the last sanctuary west of the mountains."
Elrond nodded warmly and courteously.
Though Thengel maintained his royal dignity, he dared not be dismissive.
Finally, Gandalf smiled at Kael.
"This is Kael the Black-robed Wizard, also Lord of Weathertop, Hogsmeade, and Bree, as well as master of dragons."
Hearing this, Thengel looked at Kael in surprise. He hadn't expected this young wizard to be the dragon's master.
As King of Rohan, he had naturally heard of the Battle of Five Armies at the Lonely Mountain years ago and the Black-robed Wizard's reputation.
He had thought the Black-robed Wizard would be elderly like other wizards, not expecting a young wizard who could tame a dragon.
Each person before him was worth befriending, so Thengel immediately invited them all to visit the Capital, Edoras.
However, Galadriel and Elrond weren't fond of diplomacy and declined his invitation.
More importantly, they still had to deal with Saruman's remaining problems.
So Kael and Gandalf also politely declined.
To Thengel's regret, after bidding farewell, they departed on dragon and eagle, leaving behind Thengel and his Rohirrim soldiers watching with awe.
Soon, they arrived at Saruman's stronghold, Isengard.
Isengard was located at the strategic chokepoint between Rohan and Gondor, at the southernmost tip of the Misty Mountains.
It sat in an embracing valley, with its core being a fortress surrounded by circular walls, centered on the massive stone tower of Orthanc.
Isengard's position was strategically crucial, controlling the important north-south passage; from here one could threaten Rohan or constrain Gondor.
Saruman's choice of this place as his base could hardly avoid raising suspicions about his intentions.
Kael and the others descended into Isengard's fortress, now occupied by Ents who had used Huorns to destroy the outer walls and capture Saruman's followers.
To achieve his ambitions, Saruman had not only secretly bred Uruk-hai but recruited nearly a thousand humans, Rohirrim, Gondorians, and Dunlendings.
All were now prisoners of the Ents, held in cages woven from tree roots.
"Thank you for your help, Treebeard," Gandalf thanked the Ent leader.
Treebeard shook his head, his voice low and slow. "No need for thanks. Saruman has been cutting down surrounding forests for his metalwork. We naturally couldn't stand by."
After handing over Saruman's followers to Gandalf's group, the Ents returned to Fangorn Forest with their Huorns.
Leaving the caged prisoners for Smaug to guard, Kael and the others entered Orthanc Tower.
Orthanc was built by ancient Númenóreans, indestructible, and after centuries of Saruman's modifications and reinforcements, had become an offensive-defensive wizard's tower.
Looking at Orthanc, Kael couldn't help but marvel continuously.
Saruman truly deserved his reputation as Middle-earth's finest engineering expert. The entire tower had been modified to extreme solidity, with walls and floors inscribed with mysterious runes and the tower layered with spells, like both a fortress and a giant magical amplifier.
With Saruman inside the tower, he would be virtually invincible.
No wonder Gandalf and the others had lacked confidence in storming Orthanc together.
Inside the tower, the bottom level contained cells, storerooms, and armories, while the middle levels housed Saruman's laboratories.
The laboratory contained various test tubes, vials, and experimental apparatus. Kael even saw Saruman's crossbows, machinery, and gunpowder, making him secretly amazed.
Saruman was truly a research fanatic. Unfortunately, he'd taken the wrong path. If he'd continued on the right course, he might have accelerated Middle-earth's historical progress.
When Kael saw Saruman's library, his eyes immediately lit up.
An entire floor had been converted into a library, with bookshelves holding countless books and scrolls, too many to count.
Apart from Rivendell's archives, he'd never seen so many books.
Though eager to start reading immediately, Kael first took out Saruman's confiscated staff and Ring of Power.
Kael had no use for Saruman's staff and didn't plan to keep it, so he gave it to Gandalf.
Gandalf didn't refuse.
Then Kael carefully placed the Ring of Power on the table, avoiding direct contact throughout.
After all, this was a Ring of Power forged by Saruman under Sauron's guidance. Who knew if it might be corrupted by Sauron's power like the Nine Rings for Men and Seven for Dwarves?
If he rashly touched or wore it and became corrupted, regret would come too late.
Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel all approved of Kael's caution, being equally careful and vigilant as they examined the ring for hidden dangers.
Since Kael had disarmed the ring from Saruman, they all tacitly accepted it as his spoils of war.
But they were equally worried the ring might contain Sauron or Saruman's schemes. If Kael wore it unguarded and was influenced, that would be the greatest loss.
So all three very carefully and thoroughly examined the ring, using various detection methods multiple times.
Even when unable to detect anything, Galadriel volunteered to wear it herself to personally assess the ring's condition.
Finally, after Kael's long, anxious wait, Galadriel smiled and removed the ring, handing it to Kael.
"The ring bears no taint of corruption. You may wear it without fear," she declared solemnly. "Use its power wisely."
With trembling hands, Kael placed the Ring of Power upon his finger.