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Originally Posted by Lhunardawen
The Rohirrim asked for their help, which they have freely given (though not in the way the Horsemen requested), and were willing to be killed if they failed.
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This is not my reading of the situation. If we look at what Ghan-buri-ghan actually says:
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'Dead men are not friends to living men, and give them no gifts,' said the Wild Man. 'But if you live after the Darkness, then leave Wild Men alone in the woods and do not hunt them like beasts any more. Ghan-buri-Ghan will not lead you into trap. He will go himself with father of Horse-men, and if he leads you wrong, you will kill him.'
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what comes across is that the Wild Men are
not giving their help freely, but rather because they've been hunted by the Rohirrim (possibly, for all we know, to the point of near extinction). When Ghan says 'if he leads you wrong, you will kill him.' I don't think he's freely offering his life as a pledge of his faithfulness, but simply stating a
fact, based on his experience of the Rohirrim he & his people have encountered. He's saying 'I
know you bloodthirsty horselords, you killers of my kin. If you hunt & kill us for no reason at the best of times, then I know for certain that if I mislead you now you'll kill me. I'll help you but please stop killing us.'
Basically, he's smart enough to know that there's no hope of survival if the orcs win, & little more if the Rohirrim win, but he's doing what he can for his people.