Sure, as I wrote previously, I ran ahead of myself and ended up at Helm’s Deep already.  But I stopped before I went too far to go back and wrap up more of the tales of Rohan.

So, as I wrote, I went back to Edoras, carried water for Eowyn, bucked up her spirits, and made sure she was secure up in Dunharrow… though, I can see why so many in Rohan didn’t want to go.  The place is a dump.  I’ve been to rustic camps up in the Sierras in Boy Scouts in the 70s that were better outfitted than Dunharrow.  Anyway, Eowyn was setup there.

Eowyn the stern, Mistress of Dunharrow

From there I went down to the now empty-ish Edoras… the stable master has to sit there and wait for the White Hand to show up… and rode out into the green fields of Rohan to figure out what to do next.  I had a few threads still in my quest log and spent some time getting the people of Gapholt packed and ready to go.

Then there were a couple of landscape quests and I decided to pop a deed accelerator to finish up a few of the advanced slayer deeds while I was out there.  Eventually though I got back on track… or seemed to… as the quests were going light blue and green.  Time to seek Gandalf again.  I found him out on the road to Helm’s Deep, over the river but still within sight of Edoras.

The golden roof of Meduseld in the distance, though not as golden as the ring over Gandalf’s head

He sends me off towards Helm’s Deep to look for refugees and anybody else I find along the way, and sure enough there are some refugees hanging out on the side of the road practically within sight.  So I speak with them a bit.

You don’t have to live like this

They had their story to tell and task to check up on and I ended up off the road around the way through the fields, and then back up at the gate at Helm’s Dike where I ran into Theodan and his crew, all crowded up.

Lotta horse flesh there at the gate

I spoke to them, and ended up getting routed back out into the grasslands where, over a couple of knolls I ended up running into… well… them again.

Wait, how did you all get back here ahead of me?

I know it happened in that order because the screen shots are all time stamped.  If not, I could convince myself that it was the other way around… because I live in a world of cause and effect and linear time.  Not so, Middle-earth.

As I am standing there, pondering how I managed to get the sequence of events out of order… something you never have to worry about on Tralfamadore… someone rides up and tells Theodan that he has to ride to the fords of the Isen, where Theodred his son was slain a few posts back, to help Grimbold and Erkenbrand hold them against the forces of the White Hand.

And Theodan, down to clown, is all for it.  He is in a fell mood and wants his glorious ride against Saruman the betrayer.

But then Gandalf, who is there in the pack initially, rides up from the other direction… I think… he rode through here at one point… and says that he’s read the book and what the riders of Theodan need to do is get to Helm’s Deep pronto.

See, he pretty much says just that… only in a more wizardly way

Gandalf is convincing, and Theodan is once again set again to go to Helm’s Deep in order to meet the mass of Saruman’s army.

I ended up with some quest updates and needed to speak to Eomer, who was in the vanguard of the mounted warriors… and who is on the horse behind him in the saddle?  Gimli!

That dwarf gets around

And, honestly, at that point I was with a couple of riders in the back of the pack.

It means time is an illusion

I was given the job to go collect stragglers and find out what was going on.  That led me to the tale of Grimslade, where Grimbold was thane, but his wife shamed him out of the mead hall to go fight or something.  Then, once he was gone, she felt guilty about it.  But that was for later.  First I helped route the half-orcs who were loitering in the area, capturing their leader Dour Hal… no… seriously… who promised to call off the attack if we let him go free.

Of course, he then just showed up again to attack the place so I killed him as Elfhelm, who had been at the fords with Grimbold came back to tell what had happened… only he couldn’t just tell the story, I had to go play the story through in another mini battle where the game resets your UI and turns on world chat, which is a fate worse than the black tower.

But it was pretty brief and I saw Grimbold’s determination to stay and defend the burial mound of Theodred, who they sank in the ground right where he died, so maybe the Stag tribe in Dunland wasn’t alone in that tradition.

Grimbold’s motivational speaking tour was a bit of a flop

So that news went to his presumed widow.  But then, later on, after events unfolded, I ended up getting sent out to find him and he was still there.

Gandalf shows up AFTER I’ve slain the troll

And soon he’s back with his buddies and Gandalf having a little camp out in the woods somewhere.

I’m sure there is nothing better these guys could be doing…

I never did find out what he told his wife when he got back.

And then there was Marton, a settlement down below Gapholt, and on the path between the fords and Helm’s Deep… which was not spared the White Hand treatment in the slightest.

Marton from a nearby hill

That was a quest rich environment with a host or bads to kill, but eventually I was sent to go find where the survivors went.  They were up in a canyon behind the town where they were debating what to do.  I advised them to get to Helm’s Deep… because that was what the quest said I did… and even scouted out a safe route for them to take, but there was still debate as some of the survivors had done their own research and didn’t want to follow the thane’s wife, Agelwyn.  They want to go back to their homes.

So I did an escort quest to get them to Helm’s Deep, at which point Agelwyn asked me to check up on those who went back to Marton.  It did not go well for them.

I was able to ID the corpses

So that was that for Marton, after which it was back to Helm’s Deep… which is honestly pretty impressive.  It is probably the most impressive bit of Middle-earth I’ve visited so far.

Sure, Bree is nice and The Shire is quaint and Weathertop and Annuminas and all the other ruins are of more than mere passing interest.  Rivendell… well, it is a bit of a bore really, and Lothlorien is just so many trees done in a soft focus that makes it feel like porn.  Even Edoras is just a large settlement with the requisite mead hall, nice though that mead hall is.  Aside from Moria taken as a whole, and there are chunks of that that are awe inspiring, I have yet to come across a location as cool as Helm’s Deep.

Welcome to Helm’s Deep

I think a lot of that is due to the fact that you move around the place, get up on the ramparts, and see if from all angles.

Looking down the ramparts

The place is also alive with lots of NPCs moving around and gear strewn about and horses and weapons and a bustle of activity going on.

Inside Helm’s Deep

Basically, Turbine put a lot of work into making the place feel alive.

And, of course, most of the usual suspects have shown up.  Gimli and Legolas and Aragorn and Eomer and Theodan himself up in the main citadel.

The king of the horse clan

But we all weren’t suddenly hanging out there for a reunion or something.  Saruman and the White Hand were coming.  We were going to have to get out on the dance floor and defend our space.  However, I was reliably informed that things really don’t start going in Helm’s Deep until after midnight.