The Riders of Rohan - Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas keep up a fast pace in pursuit of Merry and Pippin. They follow their course into Rohan where the Rohirrim live. They come upon some slain Orcs and deduce there is internal strife among the Orcs in the group, some of which are from Isengard, ruled by Saruman, and some from Mordor. As Aragorn says, "the enemy brought his own enemy with him."

At one point, Aragorn follows some signs to the side of the path trodden by the Orcs, and finds the clasp of one of the cloaks given to them by Elves. He believes Pippin dropped it on purpose, hoping it would be found. The three pursuers find this heartening.

After a few days of the chase, they encounter a group of men on horseback—the Riders of Rohan. Éomer, their leader, is suspicious, but also awed by Aragorn's ancestry. The Riders are unable to give them news of the hobbits, but eventually Éomer lends them horses, and they continue to search for the hobbits.

At the edge of Fangorn forest, they make camp for the night. A mysterious old man appears as they sit by the fire, and shortly afterward they find their horses have been let loose. They think it possible the man was Saruman.