Meetings 4 Things are never that simple

For a second or two the wizard felt as if the words thrown so bitterly in his direction had knocked the breath from his body, as if he had been struck a blow in the stomach. He had not expected the sudden change in her for even her repeated apology for her threats to the king was, this time, cursory, almost dismissive. He was taken aback too by the tone of her voice when she spoke the king's name, the anger that vibrated in it and the bitterness etched into every syllable. Quickly he reviewed their exchanges of the last few minutes searching for a reason for her sudden outburst but he could find none; there seemed to be no reason for this sudden move to attack on her part, nothing that he recalled would be expected to change the grief and shock of just moments before. In fact he could find nothing that had not been said before, other, perhaps, than his comment on her desire to command Thranduil. It must be there that the source of this change lay, there could be no other explanation.

He felt bemused for he could imagine nothing that the Elvenking could have done to seed such anger in one of his own, even less could he imagine anything that he would have done. A king of men, or even dwarfs, might abuse one in her position in many ways but such things were alien to the minds and manners of the first born, and, king though he undoubtably was, Thranduil was above all things an elf.

But seeing this sudden change and hearing her tone he could understand why the king could not trust her fate to the forgiveness of his people. For looking at her now her demeanour did indeed speak of a deep anger that was close to hatred. If this had been her stance in that alley in Dale the he had no doubt that only his sword at her throat had prevented his guard from dealing out summary execution in the snow.

He watched her closely, saying nothing but taking in the arrogant tilt of her head, the cold hardness of her gaze and the quirk of her mouth that was so close to a sneer, and wondered again if this was the enemy at work. But, as before, he could not feel that particular malice that was the dark ones marker. Which left him with a hard decision, did he assume that she was more than usually adept at hiding that malice or that it was some other force motivated her so powerfully?

Yet that decision was for later, for now he had another to make and one he was not prepared for; her challenge must be answered in some way but being expected he had not planned how he might reply to it. Yet perhaps he should have done so for Thranduil's people were quick and clever and as a guard she had been trained not to give up easily. Moreover the question, if not the manner of its asking, was a fair one given their conversation. That being so perhaps there was little reason to assume any evil was behind it, for, considering all that had happened that day, had his own actions in seeking the Elvenking's help been so very different from hers? Perhaps it had not been, not in some ways, on the surface, yet in other, deeper, ways they were a considerable distance apart. Maybe it was asking too much of her to see the differences in their actions for herself, they both wanted to warn the dwarfs and given that she would discern no difference in nature of their requests. A sudden insight broke his confusion and he hid a smile, of course, and in her angry simplicity she would see that as marking her deed as right! Just as she had then, thinking of nothing more than her own desire and no further than her wish to see the bold eyed dwarf safe. For her the king's refusal to aid her in achieving that wish was nothing more than cold hearted cruelty.

But the truth was that nothing is ever that simple, and certainly not in the middle of a battle.

He heaved an inward sigh for the matter was laced with pitfalls and if they were to talk more on this matter he must be on his guard against assuming his own regret and grief were also hers. For it was clear now, in this unguarded moment, that her view of her own actions was peculiar for an elf and for one who was a guard; clear too that there was something deeply amiss in her relationship with Thranduil. What was less clear was the degree to which those two strands were intertwined.

For a moment longer he was silent, watching her through the haze of his pipe smoke, wondering how best to reply. It was not an easy choice; should he refuse to answer, wave the question away, or turn the challenge back on her, then again should he answer it honestly? If he chose the latter course would that help him decide upon her guilt or otherwise, and if she were guilty would any answer he gave provide some future benefit to Sauron? If he turned it away then how much insight into her thoughts and loyalties would he lose? He continued to stare at her in frowning silence as he weighed his course of action, noting that the hard line of her mouth and angry glitter in her eye did not change under his gaze, while all the time wishing that he had given more thought to the possibility of such a question on the way here.

In the end he decided that there was nothing to be lost by answering truthfully and perhaps something significant to be gained. If she felt herself not to be so alone in her fault he might see more into what had driven in her to desertion and treachery in the days before the battle, and perhaps a hint of why she had set an arrow at her king. Yes, answering her truthfully might give them a little common ground, though he would not pretend any forgiveness for her, nor would he belittle the difference in their actions. Nor would he hide the truth of what they both had done, the errors they had made, that day.

Yet his own pain and guilt regarding the matter had not entirely disappeared and he did not want to speak of this, and so it was with a deep frown and the look of one biting on something sour that he replied.

"Thranduil is great king and a kindly lord and neighbour, why would I wish his death? I have already told you that I would deem his loss a great blow to his Realm and also to the men of the Lake and Dale for he is an important force in this area and pivotal in its security and prosperity. I would never seek any harm for him. As for our importuning of him being the same, well it is true that we both sought the same action, that he would send an elven company to Ravenhill, but there the likeness between our interventions ends, or so I believe. If you do not see the difference, and it seems you do not, then I will explain it willingly."

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, and uncomfortable they were too! When he started speaking it was slowly as if each word was being weighed before it was uttered.

"It is true that I asked him to send warning to Thorin on Ravenhill when I heard the news of Bolg's approach, but I did not demand it nor did I seek to command him as you did, and I did not do it with an arrow levelled at him or with any other compulsion. Nor did I treat him with anger and contempt when he denied me, nor seek to belittle his reply, for he is a king and he had many considerations to balance in his decision. This I knew, and though I was disappointed at his response and had hoped for something else I understood the cause of it."
He drew a deep breath his frown becoming close to a scowl, yet he spoke softly
"But you are right that my request was in all but tone the same as that you later demanded, and I was as wrong in requesting it as you were in demanding it."

Even as he answered his mind was slipping back into the past, to that ruined city with the snow flying and the sounds of battle sitting shrill and terrible upon a wailing wind. Back to the moment of his realisation of what he had done, to the understanding of an unforgivable fault on his part.

It had come to him in the moment he had watched Bilbo Baggins set off to carry his warning to Ravenhill. Gandalf remembered his own thoughts and feelings at the hobbits actions as well as if had been just a day that had passed. First there came horror at the very suggestion that he should go, then the outrage at the idea of it and the bitter certainty of his burglar's death. He had tried to stop Bilbo leaving but the hobbit had prevailed taking no more time in argument simply turning away and disappearing out of sight, as he disappeared there came upon him a desperate fear and a sense of helplessness and loss. For a moment he had been frozen he recalled, almost overwhelmed by his sorrow and regret. Bilbo had gone to warn Thorin and he would probably not come back.

Then, from nowhere, had come a sudden realisation of what had just happened, of what he had done, and it had robbed of all breath and thought for a moment. He heard his own words come back to him, the words spoken as the hobbit had asked why he should not go, words hard and angry and that exposed so very clearly his expectation of what would happen to those who went to Ravenhill, 'because they will kill you'. Bilbo would move quickly and quietly he knew, slipping from shadow to shadow like the burglar he had named him, and yet he had not expected him to survive mounting the Watchtower and he had grieved for it. Without any warning, and before he could think about what to do next, there came a small cold voice in his head. 'But that risk of death did not stop you from seeking from the Elvenking a whole company to warn the dwarfs, many if not all of whom would probably share the fate of that hobbit'. The words cut through the clamour of the wind and halted him where he stood.

He recalled that he had stared up at the leaden sky reeling at the bitter insight that though he knew fear and regret for the hobbit he had felt none of that for the elves he would have had sent on the errand in that hobbits place. No wonder their king had been so bitterly angry, for in that dark moment the wizard had understood that he had sought to buy Thorin's warning, a dwarf he knew well and who had set upon this course, with the blood of others, and with no counting or balancing of the cost. How many would have died in the attempt to warn that few upon the Watchtower, and had he given that a single moment of thought?

"I have spilled enough elven blood in defence of this accursed place" He heard Thranduil's words again, no mistaking the pain within them, and the knife of grief and regret had bitten deeper into him. For of all those present that day only the Elvenking had seemed to feel grief for those who had been lost as the battle raged. Only to him had they seemed something more than pawns to be moved to an advantage. Later he would know that was not a true assessment, for Bard would deeply mourn his losses, as would Dain, but at that moment the gulf between his own conduct and Thranduil had seemed vast and simple.

For uncounted moments that understanding had taken all heart from him, he had felt old and tired and leaning back against a broken wall he had gone on staring at the skies and wondering at himself. He had demanded that Thranduil send his elves into danger so easily and with so little hesitation and yet when one he valued had offered freely to do the same he had felt only outrage at the idea of it. Yet why should he, it could not be for any more doubt about the outcome for the truth was that a warning required no more than one to carry it, nor any great military skill, so why not the hobbit?

As his fear and sorrow for the hobbit vibrated within him it had occurred to him to wonder why, what was the difference? Had he truly judged the lives of those elves of less importance than a hobbit, of less value than a dwarf who would be a king of a mountain of gold? Or was it because the elves the king sent would have been faceless and nameless to him, hidden behind their armour, where as his burglar was not? Or had it been because he could consider the death of those elves as being on their king's head not his own? Either way the answer was cowardice and that realisation had filled him with a shame that still had not left him. He had resolved in that moment never to err in such a way again.

Nearly eight turns of the year later and still that picture was engraved in his memory, and its power to shame him did not abate, and sometimes on dark nights it came back to him to haunt his sleep. As he remembered it now he wondered if that was why she had found it so easy to demand the king sent her comrades to risk all for for her dwarf, because she shared that same cowardice, because by doing so she could lay the responsibility for what ever came of it on the king she seemed to hate, further strengthening her belief in her own virtue?

Her voice, suddenly grown strident called him back to the present.
"Wrong? How was it wrong? You too knew that those on Ravenhill would die if they were not warned."
He sighed and looked at her with grief in his eyes.
"Did ? Perhaps, but if I did then I also accepted the probability that those sent to warn him would also be killed. Would that sacrifice have saved Thorin and his nephews? I do not know, nor did I then. A grand gesture some might say and yet it was cowardice on my part for I sought to pass on the responsibility for their fates, the responsibility for their success or failure, for their very deaths, to another. As, also, did you. I have sworn I will not do that again."
He saw the anger in her eyes grow but gave her no chance to challenge him or justify her actions instead continuing as if he had seen nothing.
"Like you I could have gone alone to warn them, but I did not. Bilbo did not hesitate. Instead I, we, demanded others be sent into the danger and that another took the responsibility for sending them"

Her anger was now almost palpable and her voice as she replied was close upon a snarl.
"But why should he not? Were the lives of the dwarfs of less value than his?"
Gandalf's look sharpened and he spoke in a musing tone.
"Then you did expect him to go, or why else should the value of his life come into the matter?"
She drew back as if he had prodded her with a sharp stick and coloured slightly.
"I do not recall thinking that." Her voice was cold but there was worm of unease wriggling in it.
The wizard shrugged.
"Perhaps you did not but is that of any account? Were the lives of your dwarf and his companions of more worth than those we both knew would die in warning them? You seem to have judged them so, as maybe I did in my error."
She gave him a look of angry outrage.
"That is not so! I made no such judgement." She saw his sceptical look and hurried on. "Nor do I regret trying to save the dwarfs from slaughter."

He gave her a narrowed eyed look at that.
"Did you seek to try and save them? Is that truly the case? If Legolas had not said he would go with you, as I am told he did, would you have considered taking the risk yourself as the hobbit did? You gave no sign of it. Legolas gave you no way out of the task once he had spoken but until that moment you had demonstrated no intention to carry the message. Yet you would not have been missed from a battle in which you had played no part had you gone when first you learned of the danger, while a whole company most certainly would have been missed. A gesture then for you too, fine words and empty posturing, nothing more it seems, on both our parts."

The fury in her was now driving out all restraint and he knew her next words would be another hot denial, so he gave her no time to make it.
"A gesture as I said and yet for what gain? Would Bolg have attacked Ravenhill when he arrived, I did not know, no more did you. Even if he did Thorin had chosen his course of action freely, the others went with him by love of king or kin or both. But that would not have been so for those ordered on a pointless act for another's' wish. For love of their king his company would have obeyed his command but they must have wondered at that command and why he sent them into danger for so little gain when all about them battle raged both in the city and on the plain."

"Pointless! You say that saving them would have been pointless, you who sent them here!" The words came out as steam from a fast boiling kettle.
He nodded ignoring her bitter tone.
"Yes, I say now that I was wrong in my request to send an elven company up Ravenhill, as we both wished King Thranduil to do, I say now that it would have been pointless, though I did not see that when I made the request."
"You say that you were wrong!"
There was disbelief in her voice and he realised that her earlier repentance for her actions was far from being complete. He sighed and looked at her with open sorrow.
"Yes I was wrong, to ask it, and also mistaken in the value of such an act. Pointless it would have been for if Thorin was in any place where he could be warned he would have also been able to see the advancing hoard and to take measures to conceal himself."
He saw the scorn and denial in her face and he sighed again, was it that she didn't understand or that she could not allow herself to do so? For the understanding would be as bitter for her as it had been for him.

His mind slipped back in time again recalling the feeling of cold that had nothing to do with the flying snow as he had set off after Thranduil down the ruined street calling on him to him to reconsider, to send a few skilled scouts who might move more quickly if a company could not be spared. The Elvenking had ignored him, seemed not hear him, instead conferring with his guard as his long strides took him further and further away. In the end the wizard recalled that, unable to put aside his anxiety for the hobbit despite his recent doubts, shouted at the retreating king
"Can you spare no one? Surely you can find one or two. Why will you not give any help, did Thorin insult you so terribly?"

The Elvenking had turned in bitter exasperation at that.
"As I said before the mountain, Oakenshield was mad, only a fool sets store by the insults of the mad."
"Why will you not give them any aid then?" the memory of Bilbo drove him to demand.
Thranduil had stared down at the fast whitening ground.
"Have you ever fought in a battle such as this Gandalf, against such a foe?" he had asked wearily
Gandalf recalled that he had stared at the king for a moment then shook his head and replied.
"No, I have not. How could I have done so, there have been no such confrontations in this age. But what does that matter!
The armoured shoulders of the king rose and fell in a deep and sorrowful sigh
"I have fought in such battles before and you may believe me when I say that it matters because you are thinking only of what you wish to do and not what the enemy will do. Nor what is best for the fight."

There had been a moment of silence as he had drawn closer to the elf king and his guard, the voice inside his head began mocking him again, 'listen, put aside your own grief and listen'.
"What do you mean?" he had asked.
Thranduil had sighed again and spoke slowly
"There is a little time before Bolg can be here, not as much as would be wished but some. In that time we must make our plans. In that time matters on Ravenhill may change, though I doubt that you know what they are now."
Gandalf recalled that he had shrugged, but also that he had felt a sudden sinking in his stomach for it was no less than the truth.

Thranduil was still staring at the snow as he continued.
"But even assuming Bolg's army arrives soon, though Gundebad is far away, Ravenhill is built as a place of watching and so Oakenshield and his companions will be well placed to see them long before they are here, As for Bolg, what will he do when he arrives? If this has been planned, as you maintain it has, then he will be acting under Asog's order and will believe Ravenhill to be already in their possession, for such was their plan and it is there they set their command. They know we do not have the force to oppose them both on the plain and in the city and also storm those heights and so they have no reason to believe their dominion there is ended. Their plan was to divide our forces and for the moment they have succeeded and as such Ravenhill will be of little interest to them. As for those already fighting, well I doubt any had the leisure to see Oakenshield set off for the place, or to tell others if they had. No, Bolg will arrive with his force, so you say, and with the object of taking the mountain and its contents. His will seek to destroy us, elves, men and dwarfs, as quickly as he may."

Gandalf recalled how the fear had eaten into him at the mention of Bolg and he wondered what Bilbo was doing as they stood her conversing in the cold, it had got the better of him again and he pressed Thranduil further.
"What you say may be true but how does that matter? Why should they not be warned?"
The king had looked up then containing his exasperation with a visible effort.
"Provided the dwarf and his kin keep from waving a triumphal banner in his direction, or some other such foolish thing, Bolg will not bother with Ravenhill until he has secured his objective, us defeated, dead or enslaved, and the mountain and its treasure his. Until then his eyes will remain fixed upon the plain and the mountain. Only the war bats might see it differently but I doubt they will know to look, or understand what they see if they do, if this was indeed planned then they will have been kept hungry ready for the battle and their interest will only be in the blood already being spilled."
The wizard remembered how the image of the hobbit cowering beneath those bats had risen in his mind and he had replied angrily.
"You cannot be sure of that."
The king had shrugged.
"Nothing is certain in war but even if Bolg were to look up what would he see? Very little I would wager. There are many places for Oakenshield and his companions to seek refuge and remain hidden, the dwarf is small and Ravenhill is high and Orc eyesight is not as good as elves. Of course if they have already engaged with Asog then no manner of warning will save them. But they will be safe from the new forces, certainly safer than we are, unless Bolg's attention is drawn to an enemy presence on Ravenhill, "he gave the wizard a hard look, "which a company of elves in armour most certainly would do."

There had been another moment of silence Gandalf recalled before he had answered.
"Oh, I see."
The hard look on Thranduil's fair face did not soften.
"Do you? Yet it does not change your mind I can see it in your eyes, but now is not the time to consider why that is. I will say nothing more on the matter other than if you must warn the dwarf then it must be by stealth for the sake of all, and not by force. Yet if the dwarf still lives, and if he is any kind of warrior, I see little point in a warning for I do not doubt that he will see Bolg's approach as soon as any could reach him with it. Ravenhill is a watchtower after all and its purpose is to allow its occupants to see over distance and give early warning of invaders."

Gandalf recalled how the anger had surged through him then, anger at himself and not only for his continued demands, or his desire to have Thranduil take responsibility for Thorin's plight, but anger that he hadn't though about it as a leader should and so Bilbo had risked himself for nothing

He looked at her and for the first time wondered if things would have turned out differently if she had stopped to think, or had asked her king why he would not help, rather than following her own feeling and need. It would be painful for her to consider but he was not of a mood to allow her part to pass unremarked.

"Which is, of course, just what did happen." He said softly. "You provoked Legolas to another empty gesture and you and he set off for Ravenhill with fire in your blood and no thought of stealth or of the consequences. You because of the dwarf, and him because of you. Both blinded by your own desires and yearning, by your own weakness. There was no care in your leaving Dale or in your approach to Ravenhill and as a result Bolg's attention was captured and we know what followed from it. How bitter must that moment have been for Thranduil when Legolas said he would go with you and his father knew what would follow from it. Perhaps you find pleasure in that but I cannot. Thorin may well have died regardless but would others still live if you had not done as you did".

"I wanted him to live." She said in a small voice though the hard look was still upon her face. "I did not think of more than that. Nor do I see how that was wrong."
She slumped and the arrogance of a moment before seeped away, the sorrow in her once more coming to the fore.
"Why would the king not help, why did he speak to me as he did, of how they would die anyway?"
Gandalf sighed.
"Because it was the truth; and he was in the middle of a battle that might end more than a dwarfs life. He knew they had made their choices and why, unlike you and me he is indeed a warrior and if you had asked him I think he would have said that he respected those choices. As for your hopes, well he knew too that there could be no future for you with a dwarf. Nor could there be, for he would die in little more than a blink or two of an elf's eye, and there would not even be children to keep your grief at bay."
She shook her head.
"Perhaps. Today, tomorrow, or a hundred years. What does it matter, they are mortal. That is what he said."
"As I said he spoke nothing other than the truth, hard though it might seem, he sought to bring you back to who you had been, though perhaps his manner of speaking was a little brutal. But then as I have said he was in the midst of a battle he had not sought, nor even anticipated."

Memory overtook him again and he shook his head in sadness.
"At that time he was outnumbered by the enemy, with many dying to keep the evil at bay, with the blood of your kin staining the snow and the piles of bodies mounting, time was short and perhaps he thought your sensibilities counted for little, and their death would be just a few more on an already terrible tally. Nor can you say he was wrong in what he said. Given what was happening all around him why should their deaths matter more than any other? Men were dying in the City, Dain's dwarfs were dying on the Plain, Elves' were dying in both, so why did those few dwarf deaths on Ravenhill matter so very much? Why was saving them worth others dying?" He said dryly.
"They did matter." There was the hint of anger again.
Curiosity surged in him.
"More than all the rest? Why, because you wished one of the saved for your own? Was it that that set your hand upon the arrow? That he did not consider what you felt, and the one you felt it for, to be more important than all else?"

"No!" The denial was swift but for a moment that shadow he had sensed before slid through her eyes. "But I could not let him do nothing when they were in danger."
"No more danger than those fighting in the city or at the foot of the mountain though, and with more chance of avoiding it. A danger of their choice and making too." he said mildly. "Would you dishonour their actions by holding them ill thought through or reckless? I wonder what Thorin would have said had someone suggested that he needed elves be sent to warn him."
She gave him a disdainful look.
"I do not know what Oakenshield would have thought. Or those who followed him."
'Nor do you care, but for one,' the wizard reflected.
"The king spoke of them as if they were not worth his notice; as if they mattered less because they were mortal. I would not allow him to turn away again," she continued, "How could any defend that, even you?"

The memory of that day surged into the wizards mind, Bilbo setting off alone up Ravenhill without hesitation, of Bard and his people falling back before the onslaught leaving some far younger than her dwarf lying in the snow, and of Thranduil with orc blood on his face and his sword and with grief in his eyes. Now rage stirred in the wizard and he seemed to grow, his presence filling the room, his expression hardened to stone, his eyes becoming back stars, even his voice altered; all the power and authority of an Istari echoing in it.
"Turn away you say, from what did he seek to turn away you foolish child? Thranduil came into the city to defend it, he brought elves into the city to defend it, and he risked himself, his life, to defend it. To defend men, who are as much mortal as any dwarf. How then can you say he judged them worthless because of their mortality? Did you do half as much? Except for the one you wished for that is. Except for that one did you risk anything at all? Was that bow of yours ever drawn to defend a fleeing man or an elf about to be overpowered? Did you spend any arrows in helping or protecting those around you as you had sworn to do? I doubt it, for you had arrows enough to threaten your king. Did you as much as draw a blade in the time between arriving from Gundebad and accosting the king? If so then tell me where and for whom."

She looked away as if unable to meet the fire burning in his eyes.
"No, I confess that is the case and I know that it might be seen as lacking in honour."
"Might be seen as! How could it be seen any other way, there were skirmishes everywhere it must have been hard for you to miss them! You were a guard, and armed, any elf would have expected help from you, how many did you disappoint and leave to their fate!"
She shook her head, pain in her eyes.
"I know this and it never leaves me. But there was no time! I had to find the king and get help for the dwarfs on Ravenhill!"
He nodded with bitter humour
"So you stayed safely away from the battle until you found him conferring with his guard. Legolas too I suspect, him with the desire of helping you. No wonder he left immediately, no wonder he couldn't face riding back to the forest with his father's host. How that must eat at him still. Indeed I know that it does. Like me he has sworn that will never occur again. Have you?"
She swallowed hard and shook her head.
"As I have said it never leaves me. Do not think I have gone unpunished or that the penance given me by the king is the only one I serve. But I swear to you there was no evil in my heart when I sought a warning for them, nor was there any intention to kill the king."
The wizard gave a small smile.
"Oh I think there was evil in your heart, I cannot see how that can be denied, evil towards the one who had been as a father to you, in whose house you had been given refuge, and who was your king. Evil and a lack of care for all but the one that interested you. But that is a matter for you to face and I cannot help you with that. My only concern is whether the evil was less personal than that."

Tauriel sighed softly.
"If there was such evil then I am punished for it as I have said."
She pulled a stone token from her pocket and held it out towards him with some reluctance and confusion in her face. She spoke softly sounding on the edge of tears.
"This is a copy of one that he gave me, the King made me hand that back to his mother who had given it to him. I carry this in his memory but that is all there is to remind me, for I find that I can no longer hear his voice or see his face. He gave his life because of me and I saw it happen and yet I cannot remember the look on his face as he died. I am an elf, the years that have passed are as nothing to me and yet the memory of the one who gave me this has already deserted me. This is my punishment for by it I know that for all I did and said, and for all it cost, my love was not real. I also understand that the king knew this and his words to me atop Ravenhill were kindness and no more. A kindness that perhaps I did not deserve. This knowledge I must bear until Arda is remade."

He looked at her in silence turning her words over in his mind. If she spoke truly then she was no servant of the shadow for they would harbour no such thought or grief. Yet her words may be just that, words and she had shown herself to be practiced in fine but empty words. Yet it was not a device he would have expected such a servant to use. He let his mind wander towards her again and all he felt was loss. He shook his head and the fire disappeared from his face and his voice.
"Very well," he said wearily, "I think we have said all that is needed for the moment. Go about your business as you have done since the battle but take care to heed the king's warning, for Dain might yet seek you out to pay for the injury he considers you inflicted upon his line."
She nodded.
"He has mentioned this to me and though I do not understand the offence I will observe his strictures. But what of you my lord, what is your verdict upon me? What will you counsel the king to do? Or do you have more questions for me to answer?"
"No more questions for now. I need to smoke a pipe or two over the things you have already told me. After that I may have more to ask you, or I may not. Go now and rest, in time we may speak again though perhaps not until I return to Dale again."
She nodded and rising she bent her head in salute and left.

He watched her go with a heavy heart.