Book Two Eären's Task
ii Confidings
Eären went to the Healing Houses on the morrow straight after breaking her fast, and Erestor and Alrewas greeted her. Erestor showed her round the houses, where she saw many sick. Some were recently brought in and needing a great deal of care, while others were on the way to recovery, and were out of bed helping others less fortunate than they. Alrewas showed her the Remedies Room, for which he had responsibility. It was a vast room along the back of the Houses, filled with shelves upon shelves of medicines of all kinds, as well as tubs and sacks and vats of all kinds.
"Here in our kitchens we brew and keep quaravas "said Alrewas, opening the lid of one of the vats. " We use it both for healing and keeping health."
"It is a remarkable drink, " said Eären, "for since I began to drink it every day I have seldom felt so well and full of energy!"
Alrewas smiled.
"It is seldom that one of men kind is permitted to eat our food and drink our drink for so long," he said. "Do not be surprised, Lady of Gondor, if it has unlooked for consequences! But you are a lady of Númenor, I think, and your blood is already mingled with that of the elves from ages past."
"So Aragorn said," she said thoughtfully. "It is said of my brother Faramir also, I believe. Yet not of Boromir. Is that not strange?"
"Perhaps," said Alrewas imperturbably. "Yet families may differ in unexpected ways."
They returned to the main part of the houses, and Erestor now took her with him as he made morning rounds of the rooms of the sick, explaining as he went what he did, and why – though some parts he tactfully kept until they were out of earshot of the patients! Eären was struck by the fact that all treatments were gentle and intended to avoid recurring shock to the system. Even in extreme cases – for example, broken legs – no harsh jarring or pulling of the body was permitted. Rather, a slow and careful manipulation of misplaced joints took place, inch by inch, in which the patient was as little conscious as possible of what happened to him. In this, the 'sleepy drinks' to which Lord Erestor had referred were invaluable, for their potency would render the stoutest woodman insensible for hours, or even days at a time, and when he woke he would know nothing of what had caused his healing.
By midday, Eären had absorbed a good deal of the routines of the Houses, and Lord Erestor bade her go and take some nourishment in the hall when the noon bell rang, and return to begin work in the afternoon. After her break, he began to give her various tasks to do, at first simple things like fetching medicines, or washing down the bodies of the sufferers. Towards the end of the day, Erestor gave her a minor wound to cleanse and anoint with a particular ointment, which she found she was able to accomplish without difficulty. She was not squeamish about blood, broken bones or torn body tissues – for she had assisted at foaling, and cared for wounded animals, from being young. At dusk, shortly before the supper bell rang, Erestor came to find her, and said, "A good day's work, Lady of Gondor! Thank you for your patience, and I hope I have been a useful teacher. Until tomorrow, then?"
Eären washed and went straight to her supper, which she ate with relish that night, feeling that her life had taken a distinct turn for the better.
Thenceforward, she went to the Healing Houses every day, and the elves soon saw her formidable energies displayed, for she worked tirelessly to learn all she could from the two masters of healing lore to make the patients as comfortable as possible. Indeed, so strenuous and devoted was her labour that Erestor soon began to warn her of doing too much! Often he would come to her, when she was busy and her hands were full of a difficult case, and insist that she take a break and go for her usual walk down the valley, saying, "The sick are not helped if the healers fail! Go now, and take some care for yourself. The sick will be here when you return!"
In fact, she came to value the gentle Erestor greatly, not only for his great skill and insight into healing, but as a friend who cared for her, even as he cared for the sick. She found too that he had a great sense of humour, and many times, he saved her from greater distress in their work by his cheerful ability to see the amusing side of most things. They had many pauses for mirth about their work each day, in the corridors of the house. Alrewas, dark and more silent, was nevertheless a great source of strength, though less given to idle chat. She found, however, when she knew him better, that he had infinite compassion and tenderness for the sick, and was a bottomless store of knowledge and support in the work.
She seldom saw Elrond, who came only when a case of sufficient severity came their way. Then he would appear silently and spend some time in private commerce with the patient, withdrawing as soon as he had done his work, so that the sufferer would oftentimes have no knowledge that he had ever seen him. She never knew what he did, but saw prodigious results, which astonished her and excited her curiosity to know more.
After ten days, Eären was beginning to feel at home in her task, and much more contented in her heart. Her knowledge of the elvish tongue was also improving rapidly, for she would spend her free times in exchange of words and phrases with the elves who helped in the healing houses. They sometimes laughed at her pronunciation but were impressed by the speed and dedication of her learning. In fact, the tongue of the elves was not so far removed from that of High Gondorean, or Adûnaic, as it was known to scholars, and learning it was not as difficult as she had feared. She silently thanked her father's insistence on an excellent education as part of her upbringing – though she had often thought, at the time, that school was a convenient place for him to put her, when he was busy with matters of state! Still, the discovery of their common linguistic heritage reinforced once more that sense of connexion with the elves that had been drawn to her attention by Aragorn and others.
One day, as she was out walking during her morning break, at Erestor's insistence, the Master of Rivendell accosted her once more as she passed down the valley. He came towards her from the waterfall, where he had evidently been standing, looking into the river and its roaring, tinkling cascade.
"Mae govannen, my lady," he said, bowing. "May I join you a while?"
She made no demur, and he fell in beside her.
"Your work in the Healing Houses is appreciated, "he said now. " I have it from Erestor that you are an apt and hard-working pupil!"
"There is little you do not see in Imladris, Lord Elrond!" she said now, with a dimpling smile, feeling impish and inclined to tease him for once, rather than treat him with the serious gravity which he often elicited from those around him.
Elrond looked at her in surprise, catching her amused tone, and evidently unruffled by it. He responded, equally lightly, "It is a Master's task to see as much as he can in his realm!"
"Aye," she said, with a sigh. "Yet I am not accustomed to my heart being seen quite so readily!"
They paused at the waterfall, where the elves had cunningly bent beech wood saplings over on to the ground, and pinned them there, thus making a useful handhold down the valley side, which could be treacherous underfoot in wet or icy weather. Elrond leaned on the beech rail a moment, looking down at the foaming water.
"You do not wish me to know you?" he asked now, quietly, glancing sideways at her.
Suddenly their eyes met, the sea grey and the violet, and she had the most powerful sense yet of his looking deeply into her very soul. Part of her seemed to struggle with the feeling that he could intrude upon her at great depth, for it was uncomfortable. Yet another part wished to yield to it, and that took her aback. It was as though Elrond's knowing her might hold joys as well as perils!
After a while, she looked away – though he did not, she noticed.
"I do not know," she said truthfully. "For sometimes it seems good to me to be known, and sometimes I fear it."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"That is clear to me," he said, straightening up before her, a smile of some benevolence on his pale face. "Perhaps you were not always known as you deserved in your own land. The Lord Denethor, I think, had not the foresight he needed to see the quality of his daughter, being much taken up with the manly virtues of his sons, especially his elder son!"
Eären was taken aback by the shrewdness of this observation. Had he known her father, she wondered? The great age of the elves was often hard for her understand.
"That may be so. But it is hard to be a good father when war threatens," she said loyally now, making Elrond smile in rueful appreciation of her love of her father.
"That I can vouchsafe," he said, with a sigh. "If you spoke to my sons or my daughter on this theme, they would have much to tell you of the shortcomings of their father!"
Eären laughed, surprised and rather touched by his acknowledgement of his own failings, which she did not think entirely spurious – the remark had a ring of genuineness about it. They crossed the waterfall by unspoken consent, and walked out of sight of the valley for a while.
Looking round at the gloomy sweep of the heather-covered hills around them, she was moved to ask, "Is it safe for you to walk here, my lord?" For she could not but think that Elrond must be a prize strenuously sought by the Enemy.
"Quite safe," he said serenely. "My elves watch every inch of this territory, though you do not see them. Look up, at that tall tree, about halfway up the hillside yonder. Do you see a tiny movement in the foliage?"
Eären strained her eyes to see where he pointed, and after a moment, she thought she saw a small movement of a branch.
"That is but one of many watchers," he said comfortingly. "My eyes reach further than Sauron imagines!"
She relaxed at once.
"I have more news for you, my lady," he said now. "Of the company of nine. My elves bring tidings that they tried to cross Chithaeglir by the Redhorn Pass, but that Caradhras the mighty has beaten them back."
"The snow was too heavy to make the crossing?" she asked anxiously, and he nodded gravely.
"Yet I do not think we have often had such heavy falls at this time of year. I suspect some treachery of Saruman. From all that Mithrandir told me, he has made a foolish choice, in cleaving to the Dark Lord and his ways. Ill will he be repaid for this choice! For Sauron rewards help with cruelty and betrayal!"
"But could Saruman really make the weather so inhospitable?" she asked in alarm.
"He has many powers still, for once he was a great wizard," said Elrond. "When they are turned to ill ends, who knows what destruction his powers may work? At any rate, the assault on the Redhorn Pass has failed. It remains to be seen what the travellers will do now."
"What is in your mind, my lord?" she dared to ask, feeling that perhaps she could ask more than she had risked hitherto, given his recent kindness and interest in her welfare.
"That they will attempt the mines of Moria," he said, his handsome face darkening a little. "My heart is uneasy, I own, for things have awoken there that it were better had slept! Nevertheless, let us hope that Mithrandir's strength is enough to lead them safely through. He is a wizard of great power, greater than is generally known."
"Moria!" Eären said, paling, for that place was only a dreadful name to her. She had heard her father speak of it sometimes, when he was in a mood to tell terrifying stories, after a late supper with guests in the Great Dining Room. He had told that a gate once existed, west of the mountains, now long closed, which led through by a long, dark, and winding way to the east and the vale of Nimrodel. At one time, he said, there existed great and beautiful cities under the mountains there, made by the dwarves, that were full of light and music. In this Age, however, all had fallen into ruin. Orcs had taken over the ways once lighted by the torches of the dwarves, and the passage under the mountains was unsafe to all but the most determined – or foolhardy.
"Come – let us not fear the worst!" said Elrond, reading her face. He took her hand and helped her over a series of low stepping-stones that forded a stream in their way. "You are looking better, I think, Lady of Gondor. I am glad you have found an occupation that suits you."
"I know not whether it suits me, my lord," she said now, with a rueful smile. "But I am always happier doing something than nothing, and Lord Erestor is a patient and wise teacher."
He nodded.
"Yes," he said, thoughtfully. "We left you too long in idleness – that was remiss!"
She said no more, feeling calmed by his honesty, and cheered by his kindness. They walked now in silence, returning after a while to the valley, where she resumed her work.
In the Hall of Fire, that evening, Erestor came and sat beside her in the breaks between singing and recitation, for they had had little time for serious talk during the day.
"You heard some news of the company today on your walk, Lady of Gondor?"
She nodded.
"Lord Elrond told me of their progress," Eären said now, thinking that she would have expected - evidently wrongly - that Erestor would know the news she knew. She readily told him what she had learned, adding, "But the passage of Moria seems fraught with dangers. I pray that they find a safe way!"
Erestor nodded, looking dismayed, for evidently the name of Moria struck horror into his heart also.
"And I!" he said, with heartfelt feeling, adding, "Moria has had an ill reputation these many years. However, Mithrandir is wise and knowledgeable in lore. If anyone can find a way through it, he can."
Studying her face thoughtfully, he added, "It is well that the Lord Elrond can confide in you."
Eären was somewhat taken aback, about to point out that two private talks did not necessarily constitute 'confiding!' Then she recalled the nature of them, and decided against the remark. She was about to ask whether he objected to that confidence, when the singing now burst forth once more, and their conversation was at an end.
72