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ground. Saruman provides flour and
grain milled aboveground. The Orcs
make ale from a portion of this, and
casks of this thick brew are stacked
here as well.
The western storeroom contains
arms and armour forged in the underground.
Breastplates and greaves hang
here, as do helms and shields, and
swords and axes and short, broadbladed
spears.
The third, south-east storeroom
holds other durable goods,
as well as overflow from the other
two storerooms. Coils of rough rope
are stored here, hinged iron ladders
for scaling walls, and short
stout battering rams with iron heads
and thick leather straps. Heavy
metal traps are stacked carefully, for
use in mangling horses or other
steeds. Torches are piled next to
heavy iron lanterns. Thick metal
grappling hooks hang from the
rafters, waiting to be cast over walls
and doors. All of this gear is intended
for war, and as Saruman’s ambitions
grow, this storeroom becomes
more full.
forges
The heart of Isengard’s underground
is its forges, a series of giant
caverns under the basin wedge before
the Second Portion of the ringwall.
The forges are relatively close
to Orthanc, and a single long corridor
leads from the Long Stair’s Foot
directly to the largest of these chambers,
opening on a gallery above the
work floor where Saruman may stand
to witness the weapon, and armourmaking
process.
The largest of the monstrous
forges stands fully one hundred feet
high, fashioned of black iron with
rivets the size of an Orc-fist. Each
can produce enough iron in a single
batch to fashion twenty breastplates
and ten broadswords. They require
massive amounts of fuel, and for
this the trees of Isengard are being
torn down, their trunks and thick
branches feeding the forges’ fires.
Coal is also used, mined from the
mountains and carted here at every
hour, for the forges of Isengard are
never silent and never still. Orcs tend
the fires with long iron-tipped poles,
churning the coals, always feeding
more fuel with wide shovels.
The Fortress of Iron
Alongside each forge, towering
iron racks hold heavy stone moulds
for breastplates, greaves, gauntlets,
helm, shields, swords, axes, and spearheads.
Each set of moulds has heavy
iron loops and massive Orcs, four to a
side, use hooked poles to catch these
loops, and carry them to and from the
rack. Once cracked open, the newlyforged
implements are removed with
wood-handled tongs and cooled in
long, wooden troughs of water.
After cooling, the armour and
weapons are carried to anvils, some
of which are located in the same
chambers as the forges themselves,
others of which are located in smaller
rooms nearby. Here Orc-blacksmiths
work the metal, hammering cutting
edges onto blades, fastening handles
and guards and hafts to weapons, and
adding rivets and straps to armour.
Any piece that shatters, refuses to
take an edge, or cannot be fitted is
tossed onto the scrap pile to be melted
down and re-moulded.
The skilled blacksmiths are among
the most respected Orcs, and command
instant obedience from every
Orc except the most senior. Of course,
those blacksmiths who turn out inferior
work are killed and replaced, so
only the most strong and crafty are
Orc-blacksmiths for long.
Before his disappearance, Khidiz
(see page 76), Saruman’s Master of
Craft, kept a suite of small chambers
off the largest of the forge chambers.
In the days before the War of the
Ring, they have been unceremoniously
converted to store the tools
of craftwork.
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