Crossing the Plains of Rhovanion
A bit later, when every is done eating or nearly so, Radagast tells Jak about the amulet and everyone about the Red Mountains and the Sea of Rhun.
"The Ents in northern Mirkwood were in danger. I could sense it, but not the cause. Several of the Keepers were with me, so we hurried to the Ents aid."
"By the time we got there, they were nearly dead, dying from some sort of disease. When we tried to get close enough to cure or aid them, a... creature rose up out of the contaminated ground. It was called a Plaguire... a type of living spell."
"If too much power is channeled into a spell, especially if the caster is even a tad off kilter, the spell... sort of backfires... turns into ball of spell energy that takes on a semblance of life."
"Someone figured out a way to control the Plaguire and sent it after the Ents. The misfired spell, of course, was 'Plague'. The Plaguire had this amulet. The amulet had a sliver of Entwives in it, allowing the Plaguire to use to find the Ents."
"The Ents themselves, and the rest of us, have long thought the Entwives dead or destroyed, but these slivers were less than two years old!"
"So that is why we now seek the Entwives. After all these years, we have proof that they may still be alive!"
"As for the Orocarni--the Red Mountains, little is known of them. It is thought that the Lost Dwarven Clans once lived there, and may still be there. They are volcanic and rich in minerals and metals that the volcanoes spew up onto the surface, thus making them easy to mine."
"These materials have been used to forge weapons and armor that the Dark Men of Rhun wielded in the Last War. Should we encounter any of them on our journey, expect them to be well armed and armored."