Unexpectedly turned into a cat, Kat falls into Middle-earth with the mission to prevent a death. In a feline form she can only communicate with the elf Legolas - and that he is such an attractive specimen is certainly not helpful...
A humorous (but...
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"The important thing about adventures, thought Mr. Bunnsy, was that they shouldn't be so long as to make you miss mealtimes."
― Terry Pratchett, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents
28. Saruman's Voice
In the morning the journey continued. Legolas wore an exceedingly smug smile as he rode, and Kat racked her brain to come up with a suitable revenge, but the vivid images of him shirtless made it hard to think of anything else. Darn elf!
Too soon, however, the nature around them changed and Legolas' good mood waned. The road became wider, paved with square and snug fitting stones, and beyond the street old stumps showed where there had once been a forest. The closer to Isengard they got, the wider the stone-landscape became.
Abominable. What has he done? Legolas sounded horrified.
Kat consciously looked down, not knowing what to reply. This was a common sight in her world; both paved streets and cut-down trees. In her country, pine and fir fields had replaced most of the natural forests, and every once in a while the land owner would clear them completely. And then there were all the asphalt roads... It struck her that Legolas would hate to visit her home. Absolutely hate it.
After a while they saw signs of a recent flood; puddles on the flagstones and gutters filled to the brim, and the air grew misty. When the fog cleared, everybody stopped to stare at the panorama unfolding before them. Isengard had turned into a lake, full of debris, and in its center stood Saruman's black tower like a lone skyscrape in a dystopian movie. Something terrible had happened here, that much was clear. Saruman had been defeated – with water!
Legolas shaded his eyes, staring at a set of twisted, broken doors. Then he laughed with delight. "It is Merry and Pippin!"
Indeed, it was. The hobbits were lounging on the rubble, relaxed and easy, with clouds of tobacco smoke billowing from their pipes. It looked like they had just enjoyed an abundant picnic, for cleared plates, cups and wine amphoras were spread around them in disorderly stacks.
When the king came closer, Merry rose and bowed. He held an eloquent greeting speech, and Kat noticed with relief how healthy he looked, and Pippin too. Either the orcs had treated them better than she had feared, or they had healed extraordinarily fast.
Feigning annoyance though his eyes were damp with feeling, Gimli scolded the hobbits for leading him on a two hundred-league hunt over fields and through forests, fighting battles and evading death, while they sat here idle, indulging themselves. "Smoking! Where did you come by the weed, you villains? Hammer and tongs!"
"I would sooner learn how they came by the wine," remarked Legolas, grinning widely.
Pippin had been lying on his back pretending to sleep. Now he opened an eye, and said that their friends apparently hadn't become smarter after they parted, for here Merry and he sat victorious on a battlefield, surrounded by loot from the losing side. "And yet you wonder how we came by a few well-earned comforts?"
