In An Age Before – Part 327
Now two days after their return to Celenhár, the betrothal of Lord Dírhael and Lady Ivorwen was formally announced at the town hall on 15 Narquelië. It had taken that long for the notification and arrival of Chieftain Argonui, but by then, everyone in town had heard the joyous tidings. A celebratory mood had taken the townsfolk in a vise grip the afternoon of their arrival and the drinking had begun that very evening. So 'twas that from the night of the 13th 'til dawn on the 16th, there was scarcely a sober soul to be found. Also during that time, the healer acquired a cat, a bewildered but endearing creature that she took pity on and 'saved' from the drunken madness of the town.
Predictably, there had been an influx of people from the surrounding farms and hamlets. The best prepared of them had pitched a tent camp on the open land to the northeast outside the town, thereby becoming Hareth's temporary neighbors. The rest simply staggered from inn to tavern, mostly in jovial bands singing loudly and poorly, 'til they passed out so that the streets were littered with bodies dozing 'twixt bouts of celebrating.
Not a bit of regular business was done during those days, for the shopkeepers as well as their customers remained inebriated. Only some innkeepers and a grim contingent of Rangers remained sober enough to make sure that no large brawls or accidents, (like people falling out of windows or drowning in the river Idethol), ensued. The peace was preserved within reason, more or less. No claims were adjudicated and the chieftain was not called upon to pronounce any judgments.
Hareth had been both irritated and amazed at Celenhár when she compared it with Forndun. The endless clamor from the tent camp hard by her side yard through the days and nights had aggravated her no end. The constant caterwauling that lampooned singing, the drunken oratories, and the indiscriminate urination had reminded her of Orcs more than cattle and forced her to stop her ears with wool simply to have an hour's sleep. Then there had been the astonishing count of minor injuries from slips and falls, clumsy accidents, stupid pranks, and pointless dares. As oft as not, her patients had quaffed mugs of ale, belched expansively, and boasted to their drinking companions whilst she wound bandages 'round their wounds. So much for her sources of irritation.
Her amazement had come from not running out of her hangover cure 'til the final morn. Whereas she had expected to expend all she had brewed after a night of drinking, the townsfolk had simply kept drinking through three nights and two days and did no complaining 'til the third morn, the morn of the 16th. Then, once rumor of her cure had spread, her house had been mobbed with a line stretching from her door all the way to the town hall, and she dispensed the contents of her cauldron long ere the line ended. To those left out, she had prescribed willow bark tea and ordered them to drink jugs of water. Then she had cackled to herself at the disappointed looks on their faces, locked her door, and pretended no one was home.
Having taken counsel with Argonui, Lainiel, Gilbarad, Ivorwen, and Dírhael after meeting with Hareth and the wolf, Helluin had absented herself from the town on the 14th and remained away for the duration so far as anyone knew. She had been passing the healer's residence on her way to the woods to seek for Lind and the Laiquendi when she marked the wolf on one side of Hareth's fence and some drunks on the other. One of the group had waved a stick 'neath the wolf's nose and then flung it into the field past the tent camp. Not being a dog, the wolf had begun to growl and raise his hackles in irritation. When the Noldo had come 'nigh, he met her eyes with exasperation.
I am soon to bite someone and perhaps tear out their liver, he said. If these morons seek my attention, they should offer a piece of meat, not a stick. Do they think me a dog eager for such senseless play? Do I look like a hound to thee?
Nay, not at all, but they are Men and drunken Men at that, Helluin said to humor him. I am going to the woods in search of the Green Elves, pray join me? I shall be gone a couple days.
Gladly shall I join thee, bright one, he said. With a sarcastic sneer, he added, I wish not to cause these fine townsfolk to become a violent mob by not acting as they expect. Let us be off.
Helluin nodded in appreciation of his reasoning and then glared at the drunks 'til they shied away. The wolf easily leapt the fence and joined her. They quickly left the tents behind.
The farmers have rightly declined this land, littered with stones as 'tis, the wolf observed to Helluin. 'Twas the last of the afternoon and they were passing east towards the tree line that rose a half-mile east of Celenhár.
'Tis the town's graveyard wherein many past residents rest, the Noldo told him.
The wolf surveyed it carefully now, though he had come that way to hunt many times over the past year. The land was mostly flat 'neath a coat of coarse grass, spotted with a few clumps of shrubs and the occasional, isolated tree.
Either the town was once much larger, or it hath stood a very long time, he said, for their dead are many. Indeed, I wager they are more than the living.
It hath stood long indeed, Helluin agreed, and for well 'nigh all of that time, the Green Elves have watched over it. They watch over it still, as thou hast seen, heard, and smelt.
The wolf nodded to this, accepting Helluin's silent words. He trotted along now sniffing out the trails of game, much calmer for having left the town behind. In the distance, the sounds of the celebration were dimmed by the distance.
They came finally to the woods and the wolf saw that the broken and weathered stones continued 'neath the boughs and roots of the trees. He had seen them aforetime but had not realized their significance. Now he gave the Noldo a look as if to ask if these too had once been the graves of Men and Helluin nodded 'aye'.
Come, grey hunter, we have still a way to go, she said, moving 'neath the trees in the gloaming.
The wolf followed her, but now that they were no longer on open land where he could see at distances, his ears were pricked forward and he searched the shadows and boles with critical attention rather than sniffing out each scent trail as a hunter's indulgence. Helluin marked his increased wariness, and though she deemed them safer in these woods than they had been outside of Celenhár, she said 'naught, curious to learn when he would mark the Laiquendi.
Now Helluin surveyed the woods, sensing the presence of other fëar rather than just what her eyes could see, and so she marked the dim presences of nearby creatures as well as the more luminous presences of Elves. But the wolf marked also that which he could smell, and those tell tales came to him on the slight breeze that wafted inland from the distant Bruinen; cool, damp air to which scents clove. So 'twas that after a furlong he froze and turned to meet Helluin's eyes.
We are not alone, he said, somewhat ominously.
Nay, we are not. There are seven and thirty Green Elves within a furlong.
And one she-wolf with two pups two furlongs to the east.
These Helluin had not yet marked, for at that distance, the glows of their fëar were obstructed by too many trees. She nodded to the wolf and asked, Think thou that she is friend or foe?
The wind is before us and she knows not that we come. I smell her fear and desperation, but not the scents of a pack on her. She is a lone mother, hard pressed to feed two young as winter approaches.
She shall know that thou too art not with a pack, Helluin said to him and received a nod 'aye' in return.
She may be confused to find us together and may threaten us as we draw 'nigh.
I wonder what she must think of the Green Elves, for they are all 'round in these woods.
Perhaps they are as ghosts to her or give her a wide berth so that she deems them no threat.
Perhaps, Helluin said. Come, let us continue.
They had advanced no more than thirty rangar when Helluin marked the convergence of several Laiquendi with their path. She stayed the wolf and bid him await their welcoming party.
Shortly, a trio of Green Elves joined them, two ellith and an ellon silently materializing from the shadows 'twixt the tree trunks. They were unfamiliar to Helluin and she to them save by reputation. If they were surprised to find her in the company of the wolf, they gave no sign of it, meeting their eyes and addressing them in silence, both equally.
Mae govannen, Mórgolodh and Mithferedir¹ we are glad ye have come. I am Lasgíl², said one of the ellith. She gestured to the other elleth and the ellon in turn, saying, And with me are Hesuerin and Cúthalion³. ¹(Mithferedir, Grey Hunter = mith(grey) + feredir(hunter) I am electing not to change the –th to –s at the partition in this name; ref. Mithrandir. Sindarin) ²(Lasgíl, Bright Leaf = las(leaf) + gail(adj. bright/light) I am declining to change–s to –h at the partition of this proper noun, but the diphthong –ai becomes –í. Sindarin) ³(Hesuerin, Foggy Morn = hethu(foggy) + erin(morning) At the partition of proper nouns, the -th becomes –s. Cúthalion, Strong Bow = cú(bow) + thalion(strong, steadfast) This is a canon name where the –th at the partition is not changed to –s. Sindarin)
Suilaid nín, Lasgíl, Hesuerin, and Cúthalion, Helluin replied. We came hither seeking tidings and a moment's peace. They shared a grin at that.
Indeed, we have some of each for ye, Cúthalion said, as ye stand to miss so boisterous a celebration. Helluin cocked a brow to him, bidding him elaborate. The ellon turned first to the wolf.
Mithferedir, thy kin feast in the Cold Fells, after having joined in our labor to diminish the Yrch of the Hithaeglir. They were well when last we heard tidings of them, that being now four dawns past.
Gladdened for that news, the wolf dipped his head to the Green Elf in thanks. 'Twas a relief to know his younger brother and sister were well.
'Twas a surprise to me to learn that thy people now hunt with wolves, Helluin said. Has the practice become widespread?
Nay, it hath not, Lasgíl said. Three scouts known to thee went in search of a pack that might adopt one or more of the wolves from Forndun and then arranged for two to join a pack in the Cold Fells. They have hunted Yrch together there since Súlimë last.
Yet the tale is stranger still, Hesuerin said, for Mielin, Lágrandir, and Anthrín have joined the pack for a time, taking orders from its alpha and honoring the pack's ways.
Helluin's mouth dropped open in shock at that, yet she recalled that when she had asked them if the wolf packs of the Angle might adopt refugees, Lágrandir had said, In truth, we know not as we have never sought to join a pack. It seemed that the pack had adopted the younger two wolves and the three scouts as well. Yet she realized that their service to the current alpha would be the matter of but a few years, a short span in the lives of Elves. And had she not hunted with an alpha's blessing in the Weather Hills and then shared her kills with his pack?
I see, said Helluin, and I wager they shall learn much. At least some Yrch shall die during their tutelage. The Green Elves grinned and nodded in agreement to that.
The wolf then looked to the Green Elves and asked, I have marked the scent of a lone female with two pups to the east. Know ye 'aught of her?
Only that she came hither in late Cermië when her pups were old enough to follow, Hesuerin said.
We trouble her not, nor have we spoken, Lasgíl said. She avoids us and we give her and the pups their space.
We call her Dúlum¹ for her rare black coat, Hesuerin said. ¹(Dúlum, Nightshade = dú(night) + lumb(shade) In proper nouns, the final -mb becomes –m. Sindarin)
Ye have come to unusual times, mellyn nín, Helluin said, and received nods of agreement from the Laiquendi, though from their expressions, she suspected there was more.
We have indeed, and yet that is not why we are so glad for thy presence, Mórgolodh, Cúthalion said. At Helluin's questioning raise of an eyebrow, he added, We have been visited of late by an apparition most peculiar, a Misteth Miog¹. ¹(Misteth Miog, Straying Cat = misto-(v. stray) + -eth(gerund suff., straying) + miog(cat, m) Sindarin)
The look of confusion on the Noldo's face prompted Lasgíl to add, We are not sure if he is truly a cat at all. She shrugged and said, He looketh much like a housecat, but thou shalt see, should he grace us with his presence…in part or in whole.
I ken ye not, Helluin said, what know ye of his tale? But the Laiquendi had no answers.
Aforetime, he spake…strangely, Cúthalion said, shaking his head at their inability to explain.
Now wholly captured by her curiosity, Helluin joined the Green Elves as they led her through the woods to the site of their prior encounter with the Straying Cat. The wolf did not accompany them.
I have no interest in meeting a cat of any kind, he had said. I shall go to greet this wolf mother.
I wish thee a peaceful reception then, grey hunter, the Noldo said in parting.
The Elves continued for the better part of a mile to the north. In character, the woods remained unchanged with terrain only differentiated by the petering out of the ruined headstones in the last half-mile. The kinds of trees were the same over that relatively short distance. During that time, they maintained their stealth and spoke no words. The Laiquendi had no more to tell and the Noldo's curiosity only increased. 'Tis not like they have not known every creature in these lands for two Ages, after all, she thought.
Now they came to a vast common oak with sprawling canopy and ancient trunk, unshapely but majestic, that stood amidst ferns in an open space, as if the neighboring trees had drawn back in homage. It seemed that upon a time many centuries past, the tree's crown had been struck off by lightning and it had grown laterally thereafter such that it spread misshapen now, with boughs as thick as the boles of lesser trees diverging at odd and unexpected angles. Some of these were horizontal, a few procumbent, dragging their undersides on the leaf mould. Helluin reckoned the base of the trunk was no less in thickness than three rangar or just less than half-again her own height.
The Laiquendi came 'nigh, carefully searching the boughs. Seeing this, the Noldo too scanned the branches but marked 'naught untoward. Cúthalion appeared beside her and pointed to a thick, horizontal branch some two rangar above the ground.
'Twas just there that he came and went, the ellon said.
Came and went? Helluin questioned. In what direction did he take his leave?
In no direction and slowly, Cúthalion said in a helpless tone. The Noldo narrowed her eyes at him, suspecting that she was to be the butt of some jest she understood not. Let us wait, he said.
At this, Helluin threw up her hands and took a seat on a fallen log. She settled down there to await the appearance of some peculiar cat. The most charitable thought she could muster was that both lynxes and bobcats moved in silence and were quick enough to vanish in the space of a blink. The Green Elves joined her and she regarded them from the corners of her eyes. If they were intent on some practical joke, they gave no sign and she found that commendable.
I shall wait no more than two days, she decided as the last of the daylight faded.
They waited an hour and full night darkened the woods. During that time, they saw no cat of any kind and so they agreed to share a meal. The Green Elves offered smoked meat, a skin of wine, and some dried fruit. Helluin offered cheese, sausage, and rye bread from the town. They had just begun their meal when a voice from the tree interrupted.
"Cheese! I smell cheese! Lovely, lovely cheese!" claimed the unfamiliar voice.
Instantly they leapt up and turned to the voice. Sure enough, upon the same horizontal branch that Cúthalion had indicated aforetime lay a large, peculiar tabby. As Lasgíl had said, it looked much like a housecat, though 'twas easily triple the size of a typical mouser. Its coat included marmalade stripes upon a pale background made bluish in Ithil's filtered light. The cat gazed down at them with unnaturally large eyes of a clear, brilliant green. Helluin marked that its mouth displayed a disturbingly broad grin reminiscent of a cadaver's rictus, and alarmingly, it held far more teeth than any cat's mouth ought. It regarded them with the roving intensity of the insane ere returning its attention to the cheese.
"Pray offer a mad cat a bit of cheese lest it become madder still," it calmly cajoled, though if 'twas a warning, the delivery was one of beseeching rather than threat. Helluin reached down and took up the cheese, breaking off a chunk.
"I have no qualms in sharing some cheese with a cat," Helluin said, "but whyfor wouldst thou crave it, and art thou truly mad?"
The cat rose and leant towards the morsel, seemingly far beyond its center of gravity, sniffing it with a rapturous expression and said, "Know thou any cat that craves not a saucer of cream?" When the Noldo shook her head 'nay', it continued, explaining that, "Ten saucers of milk go to make one saucer of cheese. Therefore, I am greedy as well as mad. Still, were I to lap up ten saucers of milk, it should slosh most gruesomely in my stomach 'til my belly bitters¹ rendered it cheesy." ¹('belly bitters', undoubtedly the cat's description of stomach acid.)
That logic seemed sound and so Helluin nodded, accepting the cat's reasoning, but thought to repeat her question, for rather than mad, he seemed quite rational. The cat, meanwhile, had taken the cheese with a delicate bite, though his mouth had opened wide enough to engulf her hand. He chewed in unhurried fashion, savoring the cheese, and then swallowed. The cat looked blissful, and indeed, they marked that he now floated with his feet suspended close above the branch. Finally, he blinked, but did not settle, remaining buoyant in midair.
"We are all mad here," the cat finally deigned to answer. "I am mad. Thou art mad*."
"Thou art strange, but thou dost not appear angry," Cúthalion hesitantly said.
"I am stranger. Thou art stranger. Together, we are strangers," said the cat, widening its grim.
"We are indeed strangers, yet 'tis only because we know not each other's tales," said Helluin.
"Ahhh," said the cat, "my tail is long, and 'tis a tall tail as well." Indeed, the cat's tail then appeared to extend as he raised it vertically, straight as a Northman's spear. The Noldo groaned, realizing that she should have expected such a subterfuge. The cat grinned even wider as Helluin regarded him through eyes narrowed in irritation at his nonsense.
"How fine thou look whilst dressed in rage," he taunted her. "Thine enemies are fortunate thy condition is not permanent."
"My thanks," she replied, "and if my wrath qualifies me as mad, then so I am, though I confuse not madness with anger."
"I was both angry and mad upon a time," said the cat, "but that was long ago in halls of stone."
At this claim, Helluin raised her brow in question, bidding him continue.
"I was chief cat to a great king, but being a cat, I was not inclined to his every whim. So my wrath was taken from me and given to a lesser, a simpering spy, and I was freed of my gilt collar to follow my tail." He grinned. "I am sure thou know this spy. Thou hast met him aforetime, more than once, for he makes thee mad." Hearing these claims, the Noldo felt a suspicion growing like a spike of ice.
"What became of thy king, pray tell?" she asked.
"He was not 'my king' for I owned him not," he said, "yet 'tis told that he came to a dark end…indeed, 'tis said that his darkness is endless. 'Twas all quite long ago and I have not seen him since. His enemies ignored me, being 'only a cat' and that was well, for I could hardly afford to lose my head. Since then, I never get involved in politics."
"I see," said Helluin, "and I blame thee not. Politics is oft a thankless task, best left to kings."
"I agree, for the proper order of things is oft a mystery to me."
For a while then, Helluin pondered what the cat had said. His words had brought to mind some very old lore that had never been proven yea or nay, and yet aforetime she had seen mysteries long unsolved be solved.
Nimrodel's fate was revealed, her journey completed, and her Fading amended. Now I deem some insight has come for the ancient tale of Tevlido, once Melkor's cat, and the rise of Sauron. I wager the Great Enemy found his cat's attitude less than satisfying and so took his powers and gave them to a more faithful servant, Mairon…sometime ere he was thrown into the Void. It must have been very long ago, for we soon came to learn of Sauron. We learnt too that Sauron never favored cats, being a patron of Wolves, Werewolves, and Wargs instead. Perhaps 'twas the residue of an ancient rivalry…huh.
"What wouldst thou now, O mad cat?" she asked.
"I would be the cat of a cheesy town," he said, "Chester, Chuck E., and the Laughing Cow."
"I know those places not," Helluin said, confused.
"Well, some go this way and some go that way. But as for me, myself, personally, I prefer the short-cut. Only a few find the way, some recognize it not when they do," said the cat. "Some do not ever wish to." At that, the Noldo fell silent, and bereft of any rejoinder, handed over another chunk of cheese. This, the cat accepted and chewed with an ecstatic moan.
"Thou await the return of a king," the cat said after swallowing, and Helluin's mouth dropped open in shock. He gave her a knowing chuckle and added, "Of him t'will be said, 'not all those who wander are lost'."
"We do indeed await the birth of a king, a King of Eriador of the Line of Balar."
"Every adventure requires a first step," he told her, "and I should like to accompany thee to a cheesy town for to offer thee some advice."
"I can hardly stay thee if that be thy desire," the Noldo said, "but I shall not return to Celenhár for another couple days whilst 'tis in an uproar."
"They are having a party and they shall have cheese!" he exclaimed as he did a slow barrel roll in midair. Helluin nodded 'aye'. "I went to a hunting party once," he reminisced. "I liked it not. Terrible people. They all started hunting me!"
She wondered if that experience had been long ago, for she could imagine Celegorm and Huan hunting such a cat. Still, her immediate worry was the reaction of the townsfolk to this mad creature. As the wolves had not pushed them over the edge into mob violence, would a talking cat not test their nature and perhaps force them to resort to superstition to explain it?
"I am absenting myself from the celebrations 'til the party there concludes," Helluin told the cat, marking that parts of his body were becoming transparent. She could clearly see the moonlight on branches behind them. "I would not have thee persecuted by their madness."
"We are all victims in waiting," he said, as if mocking her concerns, "and as I said aforetime, I can hardly afford to lose my head. I shall go and visit Hareth, a healer who is not to be eaten."
Only the cat's head was still visible and his grin was wider than ever aforetime. Helluin's alarm rose at the thought of the disappearing cat drawing unwanted attention to the healer but a year after she had been accused of witchcraft and run out of her hometown. Not even in Celenhár would anyone believe that an over-sized, talking animal was normal.
"Perhaps that would not be a wise course," she said, but only the cat's grin remained.
"I cannot know all things," the mouth full of teeth said as that last vestige grew translucent, "but Godlic is gone and I have always liked witches." Then he vanished completely. Helluin could not but shake her head and groan in exasperation.
"Well, that was…different," Cúthalion muttered.
"Different? T'will be a disaster," Helluin moaned. "I shall have to return to a mad town and seek to hide a mad cat. Now where has that wolf gone?"
By then, the grey hunter had met the black she-wolf. After leaving the Elves, he had trotted through the woods, making a great half-circle 'round the spot where his nose guessed the mother and pups were. His intention was to allow her to catch his scent before he approached, and to do that, he had needed to get upwind of her, which meant closer to the Bruinen. Once there, he sat and waited a while, letting the slight breeze drift over him. Finally, he advanced slowly and carefully, seeking no cover and allowing his footfalls to make sounds that sharp ears could hear.
Close to the riverbank, he passed a great, shaped stone and sensed some of the green ones, but they made no attempt to greet him and he passed them by. After another thirty rangar, he crossed a trail of tracks, just a dozen fresh paw prints leading in both directions on a bare patch of earth, but 'twas enough for him to know he was close. There he stopped and softly woofed as he might when returning to his pack's lair.
The wolf received no reply, but he knew that if she were as close as he reckoned, she would have heard him, and so he gave her time to leave her pups and take a defensive position 'twixt them and he. He heard no movements, but he did not expect to. She would move carefully and as silently as she could in hope that any threat would pass her by unaware, or at worst, would have no clue whence she had come.
When, after what he deemed a sufficient time based on his memories of his old pack's practices had passed, he moved forward ten paces and again sat and woofed. His advance was staggered apurpose, each increment announced and leaving time so that his appearance would be no surprise. He was neither stalking prey, nor was he intent on attacking a rival. Thrice he repeated those actions at prudent intervals 'til he marked a few boulders ahead, outcropped 'neath a mixed stand of trees. The deep shadows of night lay at their feet and no movement did he mark, but the scents of excrement and urine floated in the air. He was close, and so he waited, sitting upright, silent and still, but in plain view of the night-sighted.
Now it took a while, longer than he deemed prudence required, but finally a low growl came from the side and a dark shadow stalked carefully forward towards him. He turned only his head to meet the movement but remained otherwise still.
At seven rangar the she-wolf stopped, crouching in a posture of warning with ears laid flat and teeth bared, but not attacking. She knows I bring no pack and am not hunting her, he thought, and having given her no cause for defense, she is now more curious than 'aught else.
It seemed his assessment was true, for after a while, when her warnings went unchallenged by in voice or posture, she sat, carefully sniffing the air, yet still regarding him with her full attention. After what seemed a very long time but was no more than the sixth part of an hour, she finally met his eyes to speak.
Stay and come no closer, stranger. Who art thou and whyfor hast thou come?
Like thee, I am without a pack and came when I scented thee. I have not scented any others of our kind since the last leafing time.
I am not alone. My pack shall drive thee hence.
'Twas a bluff and they both knew it. Scents did not lie.
Bah, he said. Thou hast no pack, though thou art not alone.
Predictably, his allusion to her pups returned her to growling.
If thou art alone stranger, beware, for thou could disappear and none would be the wiser.
I have told thee I have no pack and that is true, but I am not alone. The bright one that accompanied me here and her green ones roam these woods. I count them friends. I count the healer and many in the town friends as well. Thou hast abode here but a season. Who shall miss thee should ill betide?
Silence followed and it lasted so long that the grey hunter thought no more would be said. She would not move ere he did, for to do so, she would have to either reveal her den or leave her pups. When they had both sat longer than was comfortable, he spoke again to her.
What befell thy pack? Save for me, my younger brother, and our sister, mine died of plague a year past.
The she-wolf remained silent for so long that he reckoned she would never speak. She would simply wait him out 'til he left her alone. If that was her judgment, then so be it. He could not compel her to speak and he had no interest in forcing 'aught else upon her. Finally, he gave her a nod, rose to his feet and turned away, back west to rejoin Helluin. In parting, he said only, Pray be well, thee and thy pups.
He had gone not twenty paces when a yip and the sound of feet following caused him to halt. The black wolf came within four rangar and sat facing him.
Orcs…it was Orcs that killed my pack, she said, and he felt the mixture of lingering fear, bloodthirsty hatred, and sorrow that filled her.
They are good for 'naught else, he replied sympathetically. So say the bright one, the green ones, and the Rangers of Men. How did it come to pass?
I was litter-sister of the alpha's mate, but for the disfavored color of my coat, I was made omega and tasked to watch over the pups whilst the pack hunted. Our range was north, in the foothills of the mountains. 'Twas summer and the hunting had been good. Upon a time, Orcs came down from the highlands and demanded our service to their master, the old master that we had rejected. Our alpha refused.
I was in the den when I heard the howls and growls of my pack and the screeches of the Orcs. They fought but the Orcs were too many. After all had been silent for a day, I went and found my pack dead and many Orcs too, but not enough. Their trail led away, further into the lowlands. I could not follow. I had to guard the pups.
A fortnight passed and they grew strong enough to travel, so I brought them south, out of the hills. Here I have smelt no Orcs. Here I have found safety, and in these woods, just enough prey to feed them. They are from my sister's first litter. There should have been many more in many seasons to come. She fell silent and hung her head in helpless rage. Any possibility of avenging her pack was long past.
The hunting is better beyond the trees, he said. I have found far less prey scent in the woods.
She looked to him in surprise. The town of Men was barely over a mile away.
How dost thou avoid the hunters and herders of Men? How dost thou remain hidden?
I do not hide. I dwell in the town with a healer who is not to be eaten. As I said, they are friends.
But how can this be? Men have been foes forever, driving us from our ranges, hunting us, hunting our prey, and driving away what they do not hunt by changing the land into farms.
Men hunt the large animals, but seldom the small. Having no pack and only my own mouth to feed, I have not missed what I cannot kill, or the dangers of antlers and horns. Two rules only have I learnt to live in peace amongst Men. Threaten them not, nor take their livestock as kills. In the open lands 'round the town, I hunt coneys, hares, squirrels, partridge, pheasants, and grouse, and beside the river, ducks and geese.
It sounds a paradise for a lone hunter, but open land has ever been a hardship, for the color of my coat blends with 'naught. Worse, I should be forced to leave the pups in the den far behind.
To these concerns, he nodded in understanding. Wolves were grey for many reasons after all, for so Eru had made them. The black wolf would be more easily marked by her prey. Worse, winter approached. Game would be scarcer and against snow, she would be yet more clearly seen. Her fears for the pups would fade in time though, 'til by spring, they would be able to aid her in the hunt and soon after, seek prey for themselves. Yet they would have only her to teach them, and she had done little hunting in her old pack.
For the sake of thy lost pack, thy sister, and her pups, I shall aid thee 'til they are old enough aid thee themselves, he said. In winter last, I had no lack of meat, for in this land, one hunter can feed more than one mouth.
The she-wolf regarded him in surprise. Aforetime, only her pack had looked to her welfare. It was the way of a pack. In return, she had done her part for their welfare, even if not by hunting.
Why wouldst thou aid me, stranger?
In my pack, I was an omega and oft aided in the hunt. Oft was my aid given for the sake of my alpha's offspring. Now I have no pack, but I still have my skills. I would aid thee because for now, survival is the only way to strike against the Orcs we all hate. Perhaps one day, thy pups shall avenge their sire and his mate.
If thou bring meat, I shall be thankful, but never shalt thou come to the den. The pups are my mouths to feed and they are the last of my pack. Come no closer than where we first met.
To this, he easily agreed. The pups were all that remained to her of her pack and her role as their provider and protector was her only remaining link to what she had lost. Alas for her, in half a year she would likely lose that too as they became adults. If their coats were grey, and that was 'nigh certain, perhaps they could find a new pack to adopt them as his younger brother and sister had, but being a black wolf, no pack would ever accept her.
That is easily done, he said. One thing further I shall tell thee. Thou hast chosen the safest place in all these lands, for the green ones dwell in these woods and protect them. They know of thee and accept thee. Trouble them not should ye meet, for they intend thee no harm.
Thou speak of the ghosts? They are alive, thou say? I mark them sometimes from the corners of my eyes, but have ignored them, thinking them only spirits.
Pray continue thus then. I deem that no ill shall come of it. I have spoken with them at whiles. Three of them found a new pack to adopt my younger brother and sister.
The black wolf was again surprised by his words, but she had no wisdom to gainsay him. It seemed that his understanding of the world was different, or perhaps the world here was different from her old pack's hunting range. Had there been ghosts there too? She knew not. On two legs, she only knew of Men and Orcs.
I thank thee for thy words, she said. This land is much different from my pack's range, but only its safety is important and I have marked no threats. Ere he could reply, she turned and loped back into the darkness. Amidst the shadows, she vanished in the blink of an eye. Her black coat had value, for 'naught created by the One was in vain.
The meeting had gone as well as the grey hunter could have hoped. Indeed, he had half expected to be attacked. With a sigh for the fate of her pack, he turned and made his way to where he had last seen the Elves.
Now upon his return after following their scents, he marked at once that not all was well. The bright one and the three green ones were standing still before a great oak whilst staring at 'naught. He looked carefully and sniffed carefully but saw and scented no others. Still, whatever had come to pass in his absence had left the Laiquendi confused and Helluin depressed. This was clearly revealed by their postures, and how Helluin was groaning, wringing her hands, and shaking her head. He offered a soft woof to announce his presence and edged around into her view, meeting her eyes.
Ahhh, thou hast returned, Helluin said. Didst thou meet this lone black wolf?
Aye, and I have learnt her tale, he said. She protects two pups born of her late alpha's mate, but her pack is lost, slain in a fight with Orcs in their range that lay in the uplands to the north.
That could be 'nigh where thy brother and sister now hunt, she said, and he nodded 'aye'.
It could be just so, but what seemed odd is that the Orcs demanded that her pack serve their master, and when the alpha refused, they fought. Some were slain on both sides, but she said the Orcs were too many. At least a few of them survived and bore their livers away from the battle.
A shame that, but perhaps the Rangers or the Laiquendi have shot them by now.
I hope 'tis so. She came here where there is no scent of Orc and now hunts for them, but only in the woods for she fears the townsfolk. 'Til the pups can help fend for themselves, I shall bring her meat when I can. But what of thee? Did ye meet the Straying Cat?
Aye, he appeared before us begging cheese and offering peculiar words, Helluin said. 'Twixt his lines I learnt somewhat that clarifies a rumor from ancient lore, or at least, I believe that I did. She shrugged. Recalling their conversation gave her a headache.
So he is a loremaster then? the wolf asked, also a bit confused now.
Nay, he is not. I deem him the residue of a great evil, but Morgoth took his power and his rage and gave them to his favored lieutenant, Sauron, the master that the Orcs serve. If I am correct, the Straying Cat was once Tevlido, the Great Enemy's Prince of Cats, but that was long ago and now he is simply mad.
The names meant little to the grey hunter for they were from Ages ere his time, but he saw how horrified the bright one was, contemplating that revelation. Whatever power had once dwelt in this Tevlido, it now resided in Sauron, master of the Orcs that had killed the she-wolf's pack.
What became of this mad cat? Did ye slay him? Is he gone at last?
We slew him not for he is no longer evil, yet perhaps he may still bring trouble. He vanished before our eyes, intending to join Hareth, for he said he liked witches.
He hath gone to Celenhár?
That is what I believe, Helluin said, and I fear that by his outlandish appearance and unnatural comportment he shall cause the townsfolk to panic and condemn Hareth as a witch.
We must go to her! We must stop him! he exclaimed in alarm.
The wolf franticly shifted on his feet and could barely keep his eyes on her for his growing anxiety. He wriggled and shook, and indeed, he behaved much like an excited dog. Seeing him thus, the Noldo could imagine few scenes more remarkable to a town full of drunks than a furious wolf chasing a giant, floating cat that talked nonsense and disappeared before their eyes. Celenhár would be in an uproar greater than when Galor had revealed that he was King of Eriador. And Hareth would be fortunate to be run out of town rather than burnt at the stake.
*Readers may notice that some of the cat's dialog is paraphrased or quoted from the Cheshire Cat character in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865).
To Be Continued