Barliman's Chat We resume our Two Towers chats a little later today in Hall of Fire and examine the clash of the mustered forces Rohan and the orc and Dunlendish legions of Saruman at Helm’s Deep.

Suddenly the clouds were seared by a blinding flash. Branched lightning smote down upon the eastward hills. For a staring moment the watchers on the walls saw all the space between them and the Dike lit with white light: it was boiling and crawling with black shapes. The Two Towers Bk III, Ch VII.

The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter VII: Helm’s Deep

News arrives that Saruman’s orcs have overrun the Fords of the Isen, scattering Erkenbrand’s forces. Gandalf tells Theoden riders to turn toward the ancient Gondorian fortress of Aglarond — known to the Rohirrim as the Hornburg.

The Rohirrim prove hard-pressed to defend the fortress against the reckless attacks of orcs. Aided as they are by the arts of Saruman, the orcs destroy a portion of the Deeping Wall and force the remaining defenders into mountain caves and the Hornburg’s tower keep.

But the Rohirrim must survive and repel Saurman’s forces if they are to even hope to aid Gondor against Sauron.

Would Theoden’s Eored have survived if they’d been caught on the plains? Does the king’s presence noticibly lift the morale of his warriors? What exactly is the nature of the “devilry” of Saruman? And how does the battle solidify Legolas and Gimli’s emerging friendship?

These are just a few of the questions we’ll be discussing, so join us later today (Sat June 1 at 6pm EST (New York time)) for what’s sure to be another engaging Hall of Fire debate!

Time zone conversions

Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help. Alternatively, check our Event Announcer for the correct time in your area over on Time and Date.

America:
6.00pm EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)

Europe:
11.00pm BST (London)
11.00pm CST (Paris)
1.00am EEST (Helsinki)

Asia-Pacific
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Brisbane
8.00am AEST (Sunday) Sydney, Melbourne
10.00am NZST (Sunday) Wellington

How long do your topic chats go for?

Our chats usually last an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation! However, our main room, #theonering.net is open 24 hours a day. We don’t always talk Tolkien there, but if you have a burning question, you’ll usually find one or two of “the regulars” up for a chat!

Where — connection details

Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.

Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.

Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire