78 - Information
Some time past midnight, a messenger who had ridden swiftly from Stony Bend was admitted to the Elvenking's council chambers, where most of the advisors had remained since the king had left. The messenger informed them that there had been battle, that the Elves had been victorious against the invaders from Rhun, and that Elluin was safe. He had, in fact, arrived only about an hour after the council sent Derion off with one of Elluin's personal guards, though they had not intercepted each other, according to the messenger's report.
The rider, Gwaumen, had been among the herb-picking party that first accompanied the queen to Stony Bend to help with the plague. Soronume was perhaps more persistent in questioning him than was quite proper, speaking for himself and his wife; he hoped the soldier would forgive a parent's concern. The council thus learned of the severity of the illness rampant in the settlement and the measures Elluin and the other Elves took in healing the townspeople with great success. Gwaumen then told of the sighting of the invaders from Rhun, the battle at the gates, and the fortuitous arrival of Thranduil and his army when the fight had already reached the doors of the chieftain's hall. He managed to keep his voice steady as he reported the death of six ellyn, including Captain Aurados, who died with both the king and queen at his side. As an afterthought, he added that Chieftain Borgel had died of the plague and would presumably be succeeded by his son Garren.
"How was the queen when you left?" Soronume asked, understandably shifting to a topic more dear to his heart, taking hold of his wife's hand as she sat beside him.
"As well as can be wished, my lord," the soldier answered with much more patience than someone who had been through such trials as he had with no rest had any right to display. "Last I saw of the Elvenqueen, she was coordinating the healers as they converted a stable into a space for the wounded, separate from the hall where she still oversaw the care of the victims of the plague."
Gwaumen looked into Soronume and Linalda's eager faces as he continued. "The queen was greatly distressed at having placed any of our people in danger with her decision to go to the Men's aid, and was clearly disconsolate after Aurados' death. But she rallied, and even though I left very soon after the battle, her name was mentioned in grateful reverence among the townspeople just as much as the king's."
Soronume nodded in understanding and thanked him.
"And my husband?" asked Lairien.
"The general is in his element, my lady," Gwaumen answered. "Not a scratch from the battle. He had already distributed orders for dealing with the aftermath when I left."
The Silvan adviser smiled, satisfied.
"Did you see the delegation from Rhun while you were on the road?" asked Raegdis.
"I did, my lady," Gwaumen confirmed obediently.
"And what did you make of them?"
Gwaumen shifted on his feet but kept his face blank. "It is perhaps unwise for me to answer, for others of their country were my enemy mere hours ago, threatening my life and that of my companions. But I did observe by starlight that their camp has some luxuries that would be difficult to quickly remove. They will be slow in resuming their journey to the palace in the morning."
"Will they wait there for news of their people who attacked Stony Bend?" Telior broke in.
"I do not believe so, captain," the soldier replied. "Those of the Rhun Men who escaped the settlement were galloping toward their home."
Several council members expressed their relief at this news. Telior promptly dismissed the tired soldier to rest.
"Perhaps we should all retire for a while, as well," Raegdis suggested to the circle of advisors. "Linalda has arranged for their accommodation; there is naught else for us to do without the king or queen's direction. We will carry out their requests the better after resting, once they arrive."
"When will they arrive?" Soronume asked.
"Lord Derion will reach them after dawn," Telior said. "If the king and queen are brief with their preparations and ride swiftly, they may reach us in the early afternoon. There will be a few hours, at least, between our sovereigns' return and the coming of the Rhun Men, if the delegation keeps the same pace."
Linalda sighed with a mixture of relief and disappointment. "Yes, let us retire for a while."
~.~.~
"Turiel! I've found you at last," Edlenel gasped, running into one of the palace pantries.
The Silvan looked up from where she was selecting a bag of grain to take to the talan where she trained her birds, observing the frenzied state of the queen's younger body servant with concern. "Edlenel, what is it?"
She did not spare a moment to catch her breath. "Naudeth sent me to find you. She heard the council members talk about how they have no idea of how they are supposed to entertain the travelers from Rhun without possibly offending them and provoking another attack, because we know nothing of their customs. Not even the queen herself would know more than anyone else, because that clan of Men has never ventured to the Gray Havens to treat with Lord Cirdan, and they were likely never even mentioned. So we were thinking, maybe one of the king's books might hint at something of the culture of Rhun that would be of help?"
"I know nothing of Rhun," Turiel protested.
"But we know of your…" Edlenel was hardly ever at a loss for words, but she decided to start again. "We thought you would know where we can find Pedirion, as he has taken charge of the library and might know a book that would have some useful information."
"Is he not in the library?" Turiel frowned, walking out into the passageways with Edlenel following on her heels.
"No. We were hoping he was with you," the body servant explained. "The queen's clerk Orthoril has started looking through the books, but she hardly knows what she is looking—"
"He must have gone to my talan," Turiel said, shaking her head. "He sometimes tries to catch me in time to share our midday meal. It would be a little early, if he is there. Let us make haste."
~.~.~
Pedirion sat on a high branch in a beech tree, a book open on his lap. He admitted to himself that he had been hiding here, unwilling to remain a moment longer alone in the empty library while he could feel the rest of the palace vibrating with tension. Everyone was on edge, it seemed, while Greenwood's sovereigns were absent and strangers approached. He simply had to escape for a while.
A stone's throw from his perch two trees over and a little further below, was Turiel's talan. He could spy it from here, and such joy sparked in his heart each time he saw it for the image it evoked in his mind.
Some might say there was nothing special in Turiel's appearance, as she had light brown hair and hazel eyes as was so frequently seen among Silvans, with average build, and features comparable in beauty to almost any other elleth. But there was still something unique about her that called to him. Turiel's feet never stepped more surely than when she was leaping from bough to bough in the canopy, her voice never more lovely than when she was coaxing a bird from its perch to alight on her hand. She spoke her mind without reservation in a way that sometimes perplexed, sometimes amused, but mostly delighted him. Her words and actions revealed a compassionate heart, a strong sense of duty, and a deep love of the forest. Pedirion was entirely fascinated by her.
A smile lingered on his face as he contemplated his lady, and he decided to abandon the pretense of reading. Closing his book and his gray eyes, he leaned his back against the trunk of the tree in which he sat. He would imagine her now as he saw her the day before, her bright eyes joyful as she called to him.
"Pedirion!"
What, was he dreaming already? He heard her as clearly as if—
"Pedirion, come down. The king and queen have need of you."
He finally realized that he was awake, and his heart thumped as he beheld Turiel on the forest floor. She looked at him steadily, having spotted him with her keen eyes though he was many feet up in the canopy. The urgency on his beloved's face spurred him to collect himself quickly, and he eagerly made his way down to her.
Pedirion was about to greet the other elleth he saw beside her—Edlenel, he remembered—when Turiel began. She was slightly impatient, his lady.
"What do you know of Rhun?" she asked him bluntly.
He crinkled his brow, but began walking back toward the palace at a brisk pace, with the two ellith at his heels.
"Not much, to be sure," he answered. "There has been very little interaction with those lands. What we do know largely comes from Dwarven reports, and Elves never think to write that down."
"There must be something," Edlenel now chimed in with a tinge of desperation. "I am sure that with all the books in that vast library, there is at least a mention of a custom or even a food preference. We just need any piece of information that the king and queen could use to ensure that the visit from the delegation of Rhun does not go poorly to the point of war."
"Yes," Pedirion agreed absently, running through the contents in his mind. "I believe there was an Elf of the Havens who interviewed one of the Avari who had traveled from there long ago. He was of the Noldor, and was studying the fates of the different kindreds of Elves after the War of Wrath. The book itself was first in King Gil-galad's library, and afterwards passed to Lord Elrond, which he removed with a great store of books and scrolls with him to Rivendell with Lord Cirdan's blessing. That was several hundred years ago, when he first felt the foreshadowing of the fall of Numenor. He feared battle in Mithlond, at first, and it broke his heart. Thankfully, he was never forced to fight against his brother's people.
"Now, you must understand," he continued, glancing at the ellith, "the lives of Men are brief and their cultures and tongues change swiftly. It may be the case that any information it may contain is now entirely irrelevant, as it was written two thousand years ago."
"Something is better than nothing," Turiel said.
"Perhaps." He decided not to elaborate on how what is considered offensive in a culture can also change across generations. "How much time do we have?"
"The king and queen should arrive in a few hours," Edlenel said, "assuming they left Stony Bend quickly after Lord Derion reached them. And the delegation of Rhun should be here just after sunset."
"Well, there's another thing," Pedirion murmured almost to himself. "They will want something to eat, I imagine…"
"I'm afraid we've lost him, Edlenel," Turiel said with a smirk. "Pedirion is wandering the pages of his mind."
"Let him do as he likes, Turiel," the body servant scolded. "Those wanderings may make all the difference in the success of this evening's meeting. I will begrudge our librarian nothing if he can be of any assistance."
"I don't suppose there will be anyone to help me?" Pedirion asked, joining the conversation again. "Someone who can read Sindarin well, and maybe Quenya?"
"I will find Lady Anarrima," Edlenel said. "She should know who can be of help, if she does not assist you herself. But you know most of the Sindar here are descended from the people of Doriath where Quenya was outlawed. The tradition has largely been kept here in Greenwood."
Pedirion sighed but made no answer. He was a long way from Rivendell.