In An Age Before – Part 103
Chapter Seventy
The Third of the Seven – The Third Age of the Sun
Now for two more days Helluin and Beinvír continued upon their way towards the Emyn Angren. They had seen 'naught of the Maeras after leaving them, but wished them well. Ahead of them the dark line of highlands grew, gaining clarity of detail as the leagues passed underfoot. Low they seemed when compared to the White Mountains of the south or the Misty Mountains to the west. No snowcaps crowned their heights. Rounded too they were, weathered by Ages of winter freeze and spring thaw. As the Elves passed north, the wide grasslands of the Riders' homeland had become interspersed with stands of trees, and these became more numerous now, pine and birch and maple, rather than the willows and live oaks and poplars of more moderate climes. Indeed these lands were subject to harsh winters in some years and the heats of summer were diminished, for the Ered Mithrin had failed this far east, and blocked not so fully the chill fingers creeping south from the northern wastes.
The Elves had noted this on some level, knowing that on previous journeys more to the south, this time of year would have subjected them to thirst and discomfort such that cloaks were bothersome and campfires unnecessary save for cooking. Now instead the evenings took on a slight chill whilst the days were comfortable, even whilst walking at a good pace with their travel bags and arms. Though they were some thirty leagues south of the path they'd walked 'round the north of the Greenwood upon their way to the lands of the Riders, they were further to the east and the air was cooler even though 'twas early summer now and it had been early autumn then.
Upon their second nightfall after meeting Dágeleb and Celegield, the two ellith were sitting upon their bedrolls sipping tea. A hunters' fire of ruddy embers burned in a shallow trench, showing no flames, casting no shadows, and giving off well 'nigh no smoke. All seemed well, yet through the day a sense of disquiet had grown upon them; an unsettled air had drawn their attention, carried upon the breeze-blown whispers of rustling leaves and grass. Too, they had marked a subtle trembling in the earth, as of many feet walking heavily, though still at a fair distance off. These things they had spoken of to each other, mostly in silent, traded glances, leading to the conclusion that on the morrow, perhaps in the evening, they would find themselves 'nigh an unknown host.
Not Elves, Beinvír had said with certainty whilst looking Helluin in the eyes, for they tread without regard for the earth…indeed almost in contempt of it.
Aye, a good observation, meldanya, Helluin agreed, their gait speaks of un-concern, unlike the ignorance in which most Men walk. Indeed 'tis not wholly unfamiliar, these footfalls. We have heard their like upon a time and more than once.
In the Hithaeglir most oft, I reckon, the Green Elf declared.
Aye, and so I am ill at ease for what we have heard tell aforetime.
The king told us 'aught of his suspicions long ago. The morrow shalt tell us more, meldis nín, but for now 'tis to my rest I shalt go, saving the morrow's worries for the morrow.
Thou art wise as e'er, melethril¹, Helluin replied with a smile ere she lay back upon her ground cloth of tanned fish skins to look at the sky. Whatsoe'er the coming day should bring, the stars cared not upon this night. ¹(melethril, (f.) lover Sindarin)
Beside her the Green Elf lay back as well, and reaching out, clasped Helluin's hand in her own, the ghost of a smile shaping her lips as she felt her grip returned. Thus content she counted the stars, seeking for the blue flame that blazed from the heart of Ráca, 'The Wolf', (Canis Major). 'Twas her beloved's namesake that later Men would call Sirius¹. ¹(Sirius is the brightest star observable from earth, and it is a binary star. Comprised of Sirius A, blue-white and with a mass about double our sun, and Sirius B, a white dwarf with a mass equivalent to the sun, but crushed into a volume equal to the earth. The two revolve around each other every 50 years).
In the hours of darkness, Helluin reviewed what she had heard in the year 3410 of the Second Age. It left her with no certainties, but many suspicions.
"Dark art thy words, O Helluin, and dire art thy warnings…And even more unsettled am I now concerning other tidings I have heard. Know thou that there art other kindreds of our folk, ruled by the lords of other houses? One such house lies to the north in the Ered Mithrin, the Grey Mountains. That folk art not allies of ours, though of old they were, but yet neither art they our enemies."
"Could some of that house have made their way east, from the Ered Mithrin to the Emyn Angren? Such as they seek e'er after ores and gems and t'would be little stretch that such could be found thither," Helluin whispered to herself so softly that none save she who lay 'nigh could have marked her words.
A soft sigh answered her.
"Thou art brooding, my love, and little rest shalt thou have of it," Beinvír admonished.
"I am sorry, beloved," the Noldo replied with some chagrin, "I knew not that I had spoken aloud."
"Bah," said the Green Elf. "'Tis only the last that has given voice to the upset that has ruled thee for many hours. I feel it like the tingling in a limb fallen asleep. Pray abandon thy bid to know the future, for t'will come whether thou know it aforetime or not."
To this the dark warrior chuckled. Her soulmate was indeed wise. Beyond her own attempts to attain knowledge of the future from her memories, wisdom dictated accepting the limits that her knowledge implied. Indeed all that came to pass had once been sung at Ilúvatar's feet by the Valar themselves ere Arda had come to be. Understanding this, she lapsed into a memory of her enduring friendship with an oft reborn king.
Now upon the morrow the twain set out again upon their path north. The hours passed pleasantly enough, for the day was fine, and yet 'neath all lay the apprehension of a meeting with a company of suspicious nature. Somewhat more than a furlong to the east, a pair of wild asses trotted past, heading in the opposite direction and giving them wary looks.
"Hast thou marked the presence of game, my love?" The Green Elf asked upon seeing them. She had stopped and watched the animals, noting their nervous demeanor.
"Indeed I have and more numerous than aforetime," Helluin answered grimly. "I wager 'tis not our luck as hunters that stands indulged by the Valar this day, for all I have seen art heading south."
Beinvír nodded in agreement. She had long since ceased searching for the smoke of a brush fire driving hence the game, and the season was wrong for southerly migrations. The cause, no doubt, was living.
"They flee some others," she said gravely, "that we alone march to meet."
Helluin nodded but said 'naught. The faint tremors in the ground were coming more clearly to her with each passing hour. Again they continued. More hours passed. Yet as afternoon failed and evening drew 'nigh the rhythmic beating ceased, to be replaced by a muddled tremor as of many wandering close together without purpose.
'Twas the last hour ere sunset when the two ellith topped a low rise and finally spied the source of the footfalls. Encamped ahead of them for the night 'cross two furlongs of flat land was an army of Dwarves. Helluin and Beinvír settled into grass to watch.
Now many were the campfires and many were the tents set thither. Pennants bearing a device of a mallet crossing a sickle upon a field of crimson fluttered from the tops of their center poles. The tents were set in small circles of six, arranged in three concentric rings about a group of three larger tents. Beyond the outermost ring, watch fires had been set and sentries paced amongst them.
'Twas a good site, Helluin thought, devoid of all but a few stands of scraggly trees that could provide approaching enemies with cover, and 'nigh one of the many small streams that laced the area. She marked the movements of soldiers beyond the watch fires, gathering the scarce deadfall to add to the piles already accumulated, whilst others filled water skins at the stream banks. Faintly on the scant breeze, the scent of roasted meat and baking bread drifted to her nostrils from a mess tent.
"I make their count 'nigh three and one half thousands," Beinvír whispered beside her.
"Aye," the dark warrior agreed, and then more softly she added, "I wonder why they art hither?"
"That, I deem, we must discover, for they march as to battle," the Green Elf replied.
Now the night passed in silence and the stars wheeled o'erhead as the hours came and went. In the camp the army slept, following their mess. Of revels there were none, for 'twas a cheerless host, its bearing somber. Whatsoe'er end these Dwarves marched to, 'twas no celebration or festival. All signs pointed to a force moving to war with morale grim rather than gay. Regular as clockwork did the sentries make their rounds, all in the ordered fashion of Dwarvish armies. Having learnt their timing, Helluin and Beinvír moved in the third hour past midnight.
Now swiftly 'twixt the pacing sentries they slipped, stealthier than a soft breeze and just as invisible to the eye. None marked them. Through the perimeter they came, finding their way amidst the tents, the snoring of the soldiers far louder than their footfalls. Not so much as a shadow fell upon a stretched canvas to tell a tale of their passing, and with the craft of the Laiquendi, they breached a tent in the innermost circle.
Now that tent held six officers, captains in charge of companies of warriors numbering six hundred, and one chosen at random jerked awake to the pinprick of a dagger 'neath his chin. Thence his dreams of riches gave way to terror. Filling his vision was a living fire, blue, and flickering from a pair of eyes that captured his spirit and paralyzed his limbs. He remained motionless whilst thoughts and questions came into his mind. When he thought to resist, 'twas as if the will that held him thrall tightened like a bench vise 'round his skull for to crush his very brain.
Speak to me in silence mind to mind, I command thee, a steely voice demanded in his head. It stooped not to naming any threat, and yet dire threat there was upon him. All he could imagine was that staying him hither for questioning stood one of their new o'erlord's unnatural agents…the God of Fire had sent forth one of his fell and rumored Nine to assay the quality of his resolve.
When he made to nod in agreement the vise tightened again so that he held still as stone, setting forth his capitulation in thought only. The vise relaxed a pace, allowing him to breath.
Whence came thee?
From the Bergûl Ayzn¹, he answered. ¹(Bergûl Ayzn, Khuzdul, IronHills, the Emyn Angren in Sindarin)
Whither go'st thou and thy company? The stern voice asked.
I know not the place, he began. Instantly the vise tightened and he would hath closed his eyes and shrieked in pain had he not been so constrained by the other's will. Not even a whimper of anguish could he make. About him his five tent mates slept on undisturbed. Desperate to relieve his suffering he cried out silently, we march east and south, to offer our service to the God of Fire!
The vise loosened somewhat and he would have gasped in relief had he been able.
Why go'st thou to serve this god?
Our service was demanded of our king, for an inspiration came to him, reasoning that 'tis fire that feeds the forge and 'tis therefore its god that stands most worthy of our worship. More hesitantly he added, many amongst us disagree, reverencing only Mahal.
One further answer was demanded of him.
Whence came this…inspiration?
'Tis said from the Voice of his Ring.
The blue fire was extinguished in an instant and all that he recalled ceased at that point 'til alarms woke him from a troubled sleep whose length he knew not. Of his dreams that night he spoke 'naught, for their march was secret, the Ring was secret, and his treason would have cost him his head.
"Damn it, they march thither to join the armies of Sauron," Helluin carped after they had left the camp behind and retreated o'er the rise they had first seen the army from. "God of Fire, indeed, accursed charlatan."
"And t'would seem their king holds one of the tainted Seven of Celebrimbor," Beinvír added, "and the Dark Lord whispers through it to corrupt his heart."
"Aye," Helluin agreed, "and with the same liar's tongue as e'er he had aforetime."
"Well, some mischief's sure to come of this, I wager," the Green Elf sighed.
"And we have not the numbers to stop them!" Helluin groused, shaking her head in disgust. "Nay, even were I to slay this king in battle this very night, t'would only be to see another take his place…and deliver his folk into thralldom."
To this Beinvír sadly nodded in agreement. T'would be the second house of the Dwarves that they knew of who had fallen into the Dark Lord's service.
Even more bitterly Helluin added, "mark my words, t'will be the Dúnedain of the South who shalt one day face weapons forged by those we have seen this night."
She proceeded thence to brooding, sitting silently 'neath a shrub just o'er the rise from the Dwarf camp. Beinvír sat watching her, wondering what bizarre plot she would hatch. The Green Elf then regarded the sky. From the positions of the stars she reckoned but an hour of darkness remained. Finally with a sigh she drew a scrap of horse jerky from her travel bag and slowly began to gnaw it for the sake of having 'aught to do.
'Twas some half hour later that Helluin blinked and her head popped up. She took a deep breath and then checked the sky, deeming the remaining time sufficient…barely.
"Helluin…" the Green Elf began, hoping they were to leave ere the dawn.
"Stay hither, beloved, and await my return," the dark Noldo calmly whispered, "I shan't be long."
And with that she rapidly crept back o'er the rise and down towards the encampment ere Beinvír could say 'aught to stay her.
The Green Elf groaned, but decided to wait as asked. She crept forward 'til 'naught but her eyes topped the rise, and thither she watched her lover's progress with growing suspicions and a sinking feeling. By the time she was certain, 'twas too late to amend her decision and try to follow Helluin. And so she watched as the single dark figure passed the sentries, slipped silently through the circles of the tents, and came at last to the three in the center. She saw Helluin enter the one from which the largest pennant flew, and then she held her breath for moments that felt as long as an Age. Finally she breathed a sigh of relief when her lover reappeared. Being honest with herself, the Green Elf reckoned that Helluin had been out of sight no more than half a minute. She continued to nervously watch 'til Helluin returned back o'er the rise.
"Couldn't resist making a courtesy call?" Beinvír whispered. "Hast thou satisfied thyself by seeing this king?"
"Aye, I have seen this king, though if I have done them a courtesy, then 'tis a twisted one, I wager," the Noldo whispered back. From a pouch at her waist she withdrew an object and displayed it on her open palm.
"Gaaah!" Beinvír recoiled from the sight of it and couldn't help but choke.
Helluin chuckled.
"Rather than merely slay this king and know another would take his place and his Ring, I confiscated the accursed Ring myself."
Beinvír looked upon the heavy circlet of gold with its cold gem, sitting like a scorpion on her lover's palm, and she shuddered. The thing had once rested in the hand of the Enemy and still fairly reeked of his malice. She cast a questioning glance to Helluin and received a grim nod of confirmation.
"I took the Ring and neglected not to slay the king as well, for having once embraced Sauron's will, I deemed his spirit lost. E'er would lust of it hath ruled his heart, and the memory t'would have haunted him in waking and dreaming. Indeed I have become a thief, an assassin, and a liberator all in one night."
"And why am I not surprised?" Beinvír muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Come, let us away ere the deed's discovered," the Noldo said more urgently.
As if to prove her point, at that moment from the camp came shouting and wailing and cursing, and then a quickly rising tumult as the Dwarf army was rousted by the alarm.
"T'will be little time ere they deem the killer gone from their camp," Helluin said as she stood and offered her beloved a hand.
Beinvír let Helluin pull her to her feet.
"And whither shalt we flee?"
"To the west, of course," Helluin replied, calmly starting off in that direction.
Shaking her head, the Green Elf moved to follow.
"And so what shalt thou do with the Ring, Helluin?" She nervously asked shortly later. The sun was rising behind them now, sending their own long shadows before their feet. In the further distance a cloud of dust was rising as the army trampled all 'round the camp site in their search for the killer of their lord.
"In fact I am not sure," Helluin finally admitted after some moments of silence, "for those best suited to advise me art also those most at risk."
"In other words, we turn not our steps towards Khazad-dûm."
"Aye. I dare not bring such poison thither, and to Imladris as well we cannot go."
Now though the Dwarves searched far and wide, they had already trampled any possible clues. The stealth and the head start of the two ellith stood them in good stead, and they made their escape cleanly. Westward they marched at a rapid pace. After a week they stood 'nigh the east bank of Celduin, some seven leagues south of the long lake. Thither the water flowed both deep and wide even in summer, and with such strength of current as to make fording it afoot hazardous. 'Twas not the place to seek a crossing. For that they would needs make either a journey of unknown miles south to find a ford, or a full day's march north to the southern shore of the lake, whereat a settlement of Men maintained some boats.
"Think thou that thy action dissuaded the army from marching to Sauron's service?" Beinvír asked as she stood beside Helluin, staring out 'cross the water. She had marked that a persistent and somber mood had gripped the warrior, and now she sought to break its hold. "I recall thou said that the soldier thou queried claimed many were still true to Mahal."
"Whether yea or nay, I know not," Helluin answered, "and whilst many might have disliked their course, I believe many more would have followed their lord's will. I also believe that the murder of their lord and the theft of his Ring has joined them all together in the cause of vengeance. For so 'twas with my people long ago in Aman when Finwë was slain and the Silmarils taken. I know for certain only that they no longer bear an evil beyond their ken."
"Aye, that much 'tis true," Beinvír agreed, and after a pause she added, "and I should reckon it a great victory to deny to the Dark Lord an entire army with but one death."
"And I should deem it a greater deed to deny to Sauron the thralldom of a whole people, even at the cost of the murder of their king."
"Thou feel still some guilt o'er thy deed," Beinvír commented, looking the Noldo in the eyes. 'Twas not a question, for she knew her lover well. "'Tis needless, Helluin. Indeed thy action has brought the greatest good with the least loss."
Helluin nodded, though her eyes testified that she was only partially convinced.
"Not again could I make the mistake I made with Tindomul," Helluin replied. "I have no doubt that 'twas right so far as any of the living can know, for none can foretell if this king's death truly changed the final course of his people. Yet to do 'naught would have been to accept the destiny he had chosen for them all; a dark road through servitude to death or worse. I have less quarrel with that…I wonder only concerning that king's fate beyond this life and that I have made it void fore'er."
Slowly the realization came upon the Green Elf. Helluin felt little guilt for the necessity of having slain the Dwarf king. 'Twas rather how she had accomplished it.
"I know the fathers of the Seven Houses of the Dwarves art destined to be reborn to their people. Four times has Durin been Lord of Khazad-dûm. Think thou also that this king was a father of his people?"
To this question, Helluin could only shrug. She had moved silently and struck whilst her victim still slept, for to wake him would have been to wake the camp. For more subtle queries there had remained no time, and so no questions had she asked of him. She knew not his name. Indeed she knew not the names of any of the Fathers of the Dwarves save Durin only.
"If 'twas his fate to be born again, then I fear I have taken it from him. His spirit shalt come ne'er again to that house wherein Aulë gathers his children, for I clove his neck with the Sarchram."
Beinvír could only nod in understanding, and now too, she understood her lover's guilt. To take a life with that weapon condemned the slain one's fëa to the Everlasting Void.
"Thou fear that for a good cause this day thou may have done an unassuagable ill."
"Aye. To save that army from service to Sauron, I may have doomed an entire house. Even if he left an heir, his folk have lost more than a king. Bereft now of their founding lord, of his status and inspiration, they shalt likely dwindle. It may take a thousand years ere they falter at the last, lordless and impoverished, and perhaps finally reduced to the status of the Noegyth Nibin¹. And yet I could do 'naught else. This king wore upon his hand a Ring gifted to him by the Dark Lord…as did Tindomul of Umbar aforetime. Upon that day at Pelargir I failed, slaying him in body only with my sword and delivering to the Great Enemy a lord for his Nazgûl. I could chance not the like to happen again." ¹(Noegyth Nibin, Petty Dwarves Sindarin)
Together they stood silently beside the flowing waters of Celduin, each deep in her thoughts. A soft breeze blew. All 'round them things grew. O'erhead Anor gifted Middle Earth with warmth and light. In Aman, no doubt, Helluin's deed was known. Finally Beinvír looked up at her beloved and spoke her peace.
"If there be 'aught of wisdom for those of us who dwell upon these Hither Shores," the Green Elf softly said, "then 'tis that all has been foreseen by the One in the Song. With faith and hope we must endure, for from Ilúvatar 'naught is hid. Mayhaps that house shalt stand; mayhaps it shalt fall. Yet for better or for worse, Helluin, their fate was decreed long ago and thy deed was meant aforetime. Take comfort in that."
For long moments Helluin remained silent ere she spoke. At last she turned to look back at Beinvír and said, "then comfort too must I take in knowing that I was meant to become the guardian of this Ring…for a time."
But for the life of her, she couldn't yet fathom what an Elf would do with a Dwarf's Ring that bore at its heart some fraction of Sauron's malice, save destroy it…somehow.
For a while longer they stood thither upon the river bank, unmoving, staring out o'er the rushing waters. Yet finally they turned to each other to decide whither they would go. Beinvír eyed the sun, noting that 'twas starting its daily journey into the west. Afternoon was passing and the light seemed lessoned. Unbidden, she shivered.
Helluin marked her lover's change of mood. Carefully she sensed their surroundings for danger, yet she felt 'naught lurking 'nigh. The breeze, still soft and warm, had begun a whispering, as of the gathered mumblings of many miles of grass stalks passing simple words 'twixt sleepy minds. 'Twas the faint rumor of some far away deed, whose ripples spread and weakened with the distance and the telling. The message was faint, aye, but 'twas a message still. Helluin listened more closely.
Prestas…prestas bo tilch limb, it said, e-nkelvar dregar¹. ¹(Prestas…prestas bo tilch limb, it said, e-nkelvar dregar. Trouble…trouble on many legs, it said, the kelvar flee. = presto-(trouble) + -as(obj suff n. on v.) + bo(on) + tilch(feet, pl of telch) + limb(many), + e-nkelvar(en, def art, the)+ kelvar(animals) + dregar(3rd pers pl v, drego- + -ar, they flee). Sindarin)
To be continued