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1024 the return of the king
the Men of the Mountains to fulfil their oath, and they would
not: for they had worshipped Sauron in the Dark Years.
‘Then Isildur said to their king: ‘‘Thou shalt be the last
king. And if the West prove mightier than thy Black Master,
this curse I lay upon thee and thy folk: to rest never until
your oath is fulfilled. For this war will last through years
uncounted, and you shall be summoned once again ere the
end.’’ And they fled before the wrath of Isildur, and did
not dare to go forth to war on Sauron’s part; and they hid
themselves in secret places in the mountains and had no
dealings with other men, but slowly dwindled in the barren
hills. And the terror of the Sleepless Dead lies about the Hill
of Erech and all places where that people lingered. But that
way I must go, since there are none living to help me.’
He stood up. ‘Come!’ he cried, and drew his sword, and it
flashed in the twilit hall of the Burg. ‘To the Stone of Erech!
I seek the Paths of the Dead. Come with me who will!’
Legolas and Gimli made no answer, but they rose and
followed Aragorn from the hall. On the green there waited,
still and silent, the hooded Rangers. Legolas and Gimli
mounted. Aragorn sprang upon Roheryn. Then Halbarad
lifted a great horn, and the blast of it echoed in Helm’s Deep:
and with that they leapt away, riding down the Coomb like
thunder, while all the men that were left on Dike or Burg
stared in amaze.
And while Théoden went by slow paths in the hills, the
Grey Company passed swiftly over the plain, and on the next
day in the afternoon they came to Edoras; and there they
halted only briefly, ere they passed up the valley, and so came
to Dunharrow as darkness fell.
The Lady Éowyn greeted them and was glad of their
coming; for no mightier men had she seen than the Dúnedain
and the fair sons of Elrond; but on Aragorn most of all her
eyes rested. And when they sat at supper with her, they talked
together, and she heard of all that had passed since Théoden
rode away, concerning which only hasty tidings had yet