bon olivier (order #42065) 83.114.187.4 - Fan Modules - Free

side wide, low workbenches; potters
require wheels and kilns; and coopers,
leatherworkers, and others have
arrangements appropriate to their
specialties. One thing common to
all workshops and living spaces in
the Seventh Portion, however, is that
they are the most beautiful in all
of Isengard. Most rock and wood
surfaces have been chiselled over the
years with pleasing designs. Nearly
all the furniture is well-crafted. Tools
and implements are beautiful as well
as practical. Knobs, hooks, and other
items forged from black iron are often
cast to resemble leaves, flowers, or
animals. Over the years, and in all
of the fortress' historical periods, the
craftsmen housed here have been
most capable of making their dwellings
lovely.
When the Men of Gondor lived
in Isengard, the tradesmen of the
Seventh Portion sold their products
not only to the local lord but also to
the people of the vale beyond, setting
their own prices, paying a portion of
their earnings to the tower, and keeping
their profits. The Dunlendings
were more clannish, with everyone
working for the good of the family.
Saruman, however, claims ownership
of everything within Isengard, and the
tradesmen here produce their crafts
only for him, and, occasionally, for
those he designates. They receive no
money for their work, but are housed
and fed, and can requisition the items
they need from the stores of the Sixth
Portion, and from other craftsmen.
eighth portion:
stables
The final, Eighth Portion of the
ring-wall stands directly east of the
main gate, and contains stabling for
all of the horses of Isengard. (Warg
pens are located underground; see
‘Pens’ on page 53.) Most stabling
chambers are located close to the
interior face of the ring-wall rather
than deep within its stone. Many,
in fact, are long chambers with only
three walls, open for their length onto
the basin itself. This arrangement is
ideal for horses that might otherwise
become uneasy in underground confines.
Some open stables have wooden
fences that section the stables from
the open ground of the basin, but this
is not the rule. The stables of Isengard
are rarely full to capacity. Although
horses and other beasts of burden can
be useful for toil, Saruman has turned
his attention to other creatures of
labour—Orcs and Half-orcs.
t h e b a s i n
‘[A] great circle, somewhat hollowed like
a vast shallow bowl… . Once it had
been green and filled with avenues… .’
— The Two Towers
Within the ring-wall lies not only
the tower of Orthanc, but also
the great shallow basin that surrounds
3
The Fortress of Iron
it. This space measures a mile across,
and is almost perfectly round. It is
slightly bowl-shaped, but so subtly
that the incline is easy to miss. When
the Men of Westernesse first began
shaping Isengard this basin was filled
with ash, a fine loose grey dust that
floated upward with every footfall.
Dirt was laid atop it, and trees and
flowers planted. The ash provided
the soil with rich nutrients, and the
vegetation flourished.
When the Dunlendings claimed
Isengard, the flora grew wild and
untamed, the basin full of thick bushes,
dense plants, ponderous trees, and
tall grasses. They ignored it all, using
the roads to traverse the bowl. These
Men were warriors rather than farmers,
and had no interest in taming the
plant life.
When Saruman came to Isengard,
he brought a love of elegant order.
Wild shrubs were pruned, trees cut
back, grasses trimmed, and whole
sections reseeded with flowering
plants. Under his guidance, the basin
bon olivier (order #42065) 8