[Nurumaiel]

Bellyn glanced over at Amroth and bit her lip in concern. "Liornung, Amroth hasn't woken yet."

"Nor would I," Liornung replied, his voice absent as he gazed up into the sky, "if I had been going as hard as he had." He said no more, which was odd. It was unlike Liornung to remain so quiet, but perhaps he had grown tired of talking so much during the past few days. As he gazed at the sky now, his thoughts wandered back to his family. His mother and his father, his sisters, his brothers, and all their children. His sister Heardbrim, especially, came to his mind. She was only two younger than he himself, and the most like him of all the others in his family. She had always adored him and looked up to him. She was quite interested in his music, as well. She had a lovely voice that harmonized with his well and when he visited her they would always sing late into the night. She had married a man called Godhererinc and had one child now... and another one coming! The first child was a little girl called Eorcanstan, who most sadly looked more like her father than her mother. Her father was a handsome man and she was a very handsome little girl, but Liornung had wanted her to look like his beloved sister. As he reflected he remembered that Heardbrim had always been a lovely cook.

The sun was beginning to set; the evening was growing dark. They should build a fire soon so they might cook their supper... Turning to Argeleafa, he asked her abruptly, "Can you cook?"

"Yes," she replied, instantly though she was apparently surprised at the blunt question. "My mother taught me how. Why is it you ask?"

"Perhaps Bellyn would like some help cooking tonight," Liornung said, getting to his feet. "I can build a fire, you can begin your cooking, and then I will tell you a story while you cook. Ædegard, I trust you will keep a close look on that boy and Amroth? Good, then we'll get started." He went here and there, gathering wood, and soon a little fire was blazing and the two lassies were cooking over it. It was then that Liornung sat down and began his tale.

"I would sing to you, you understand, save my hand. This story takes place when I was a boy, which was before the War, mind you. So you shan't be completely confused I'll tell you the names of my brothers and sisters. The eldest was my brother Indryhten, and then my brother Leofan, and then two twin sisters, Clæne and Scima. Their names meant 'pure' and 'light.' Lovely names, don't you think? The next was another lass, called Fealu. Then two more brothers, though not twins, called Hwonflod, and younger than him Sarig. The latter is myself. Then another girl, called Heardbrim, another girl called Freofaemne, and a boy called Geliefan.

"Now in this story all of us had been born except Geliefan. I was only a little boy, about five years of age, I think. My oldest brother was six and ten years. We were living in Edoras at the time. Now one day, Leofan decided to go out riding and some of us believed it would be a lovely adventure. Scima, Fealu, Hwonflod, and I all wanted to go. Leofan consented but we didn't own enough horses for all of us to ride, so it was two riders for each horse. Leofan rode by himself, Scima with Hwonflod, and I rode with Fealu. It is very important that you pay attention to was riding with who, because that is part of the story.

"We rode out as soon as we could get the horses ready, and we rode about five miles without anything of any interest happening. It was a lovely day, though, and Fealu and I sang some songs. Little children songs, you understand, not anything very bardish. After those first five miles, however, our song was interrupted by another song that was sung in a language we could almost understand. It was quite similiar to our Rohirric, you see. The song went...

"Min ridan in morgen mid fugol galan
ac min galan leoð gelic fugol.
Far fugol fleogan min fleogan
ac min ætstandan mid min lician.

"It was a wierd song, sung in a very blood-chilling tune. Yet the words were not frightening. I think they ran thus, 'I ride in morning when bird sing and I sing song like bird. As far as bird fly I fly and I stop when I please.' It made no sense to us but the most frightening thing about the song was the grammar." He looked at Bellyn's raised eyebrows and laughed. "Well, at the time the tune of the song itself was the most frightening yet now that I am older and reflect on the tune....

"We halted our horses, all except Leofan who did not seem to care about the song, if he heard it at all. Seeing that he would not wait for us, we rode after him, closer to the the singing voice, which began the strange song all over again. Fealu grabbed my hand and held it tightly. She was older than me, of course, but she was a girl and wanted a boy to take care of her, even if he was younger than she. But that is not of any matter. As we rode closer to the voice (and then it seemed to me that Leofan had kept riding to see where the voice was coming from) it's song changed and it sang, 'Horse man come now, five they be, they come and hear me sing. Let they hear if they ride here they die.' That were the words in his song only he sang them this way...

"Eoh beorn nu, fif man beon
man cuman ac hieran galan.
Lætan man hieran gif man
ridan her man gefaran.

"Rather frightening, don't you think? Leofan abruptly turned his horse and said we were to go home now. Hwonflod and Scima followed him most obediently but I wanted to see who was singing that awful song. I was very adventurous even back then, you see. Leofan did not look back, neither did Hwonflod and Scima, so they did not see I was left behind. Fealu did not notice that they were leaving us until they were gone, because she had been staring in the direction of the song and had ears for nothing else. When she did see she became frightened and asked what we were doing. 'We're going to see who is singing that song,' I replied. She began to cry and told me she didn't wanted to go, but I told her she had no choice because she couldn't walk all the way home.

"I rode in the direction of the voice and it began singing the song louder and harder. I had some doubts myself... the voice had clearly said if we rode to it we would die, but I believed it wouldn't actually kill us. We had a horse, besides, and could ride away as fast as ever we wanted to. I confess it never occurred to me that the voice would have a bow, and so it was quite fortunate for us it didn't. When we reached the voice I was surprised and a bit disappointed. It was an old man sitting atop a rock. He was very small and very frail-looking, and he had hair white as any snow and cloud, but his eyes were dark. He seemed not to be armed except for a small dagger he wore in a belt.

"'Why did you come?' he shrieked when he saw us. 'I said that if you came you would die!' I could not answer, for I was suddenly as terrified as my sister was. The little man sat back and glared at us. 'You are just children. I cannot kill you,' he said. 'Yet your sister is very pretty looking and seems strong. She will come with me and be a servant to me.'

"As you can well imagine I wasn't going to let that old man make my sister into his servant, and so, sitting straight in my saddle, I looked him straight in the eye and said, 'No, sir, you shan't. My sister will come home with me.' Fealu had looked like she was going to start crying again but at my words she tightened her grip on my hand and didn't look as afraid.

"'What do you mean, I shan't?' the old man cried. 'It's either that or kill you both. What would you rather?'

"'It shall be neither,' said I.

"'Well then, seeing as your so determined, this is what we'll do. You are just a very little boy now but ten years forward on this day you must come to this rock again and come to my home and serve me for seven years. After seven years you can go home.'

"'And what shall you do to me if I do not?' I questioned him.

"'I shall come to your house to fetch you, and if you will not come even then I will take up my dagger and kill your family.'

"I decided the best thing to do was agree for the moment, and the old man let us ride home. I did not say a word of it to anyone and made Fealu swear she would remain silent, as well. Ten years passed and that day came again. I was quite aware that I was supposed to ride out to the rock and meet the old man but I had made up my mind that I should not, for I did not want to serve him for seven years, nor even one. Yet one day as I was rambling up and down the roads in Edoras the old man appeared as if from nowhere and confronted me with glinting eyes. 'Ten years are up, Sarig Eohlaford,' he said. 'You must come with me now.'

"'And what shall you do to me if I do not?' I questioned him again, and again he answered, 'If you will not come even now I will take up my dagger and kill your family.'

"I thought of my family and all my brothers and sisters. It would never do for them to be killed, and so I said, 'I will go with you, old man, and serve you for seven years.' He laughed triumphantly and then, taking up a scrap of cloth, covered my eyes and began to lead me away. 'You must not see the road to my home,' he said. 'No one has ever seen the road to my home except myself.'

"How long we went on I know not but at last we stopped and he pulled the cloth from my eyes and I found myself in a strange little cave. 'This will be your home for seven years, Sarig Eohlaford, and for those seven years you shall not leave this cave. If you leave this cave before those seven years are up you will serve me seven more years.'

"It seemed a hard fate to face, being confined to that little cave for seven whole years but I realized the more patiently I bore it the sooner I would be out. For a year I served him, doing whatever he said, whether it be scrubbing the cave floor or washing his clothes, and never a glimpse of the outside did I see once. He went out every night, but to prevent me from escaping he would give me with my supper a cup of wine which made me sleep until the next afternoon when he returned. He would always watch me keenly to make sure I did drink it, but one night he neglected to do this and I poured the wine out under my mattresses where he would not see it. I then pretended to fall into a deep sleep. When he was gone I crept out of my bed and followed his tracks until I came to the rock where I had first met him, and he was dancing on top of it, singing,

"Every night boy sleep
while I go out and sing song.
For seven years he serve me
and when those years gone I kill him.
Yet he could leave now
if he would defeat me in duel.

"I returned to the cave as quietly as I could and as quickly, for it took some thinking to remember how to get there, but when I reached my bed I realized I was the only one besides the old man who knew where the cave was. I climbed into my bed and let myself sleep until the afternoon when he returned and woke. I worked throughout the day and until evening, thinking how I would soon be free for I thought nothing should be easier than defeating the old man in a duel. He was so frail he surely could not even lift a sword, let alone wield one with skill enough to defeat me.

"That evening he brought me my supper and the cup of wine and sat down to watch me eat and drink. I ate all my food but when I came to the cup of wine I dashed it the gruond. The old man sprang to his feet, his eyes flashing, and cried, 'Drink it, Sarig Eohlaford, or I will make you serve me seven more years!'

"'I shall serve you not a day more!' I cried. 'I challenge you to fight me with sword, old man, and if you lose you are bound to release me from your service.'

"The old man seemed to pale when he heard this but he left the room. Soon he returned with two swords, and giving one to me, said, 'Sarig Eohlaford, you know that if you defeat me in a duel you are free to go whenever you please. I do not know how you learned this, but you will not defeat me. And mark this... if I defeat you there is a condition you must follow. You will be bound to serve me for all your life.'

"I laughed at him and agreed, and we began our duel. He sprang forward with such agility and grace that I was taken aback and barely managed to avoid being cut to pieces. I defended myself desperately, time and time again being driven aganist the wall and narrowly escaping his strength-filled and sly blows. At last I began to grow weary and thought how I would spend the rest of my life within that cave, never seeing my family again. I would never see my little sister Heardbrim, who was my pride and delight. This thought drove me into a deep sorrow and then in a sudden rush courage flowed into me and I determined to defeat this old man and return to my family. I began to fight like a madman and soon had him against a wall. He defended himself most skillfully but at last the point of my blade found his swordarm and drove into it, and with a cry he dropped his sword. I kicked it from his grasp and put my own sword to his throat. He glowered at me for sometime, then at last said, 'You are released from my service, Sarig Eohlaford.' And then the sword in my hand vanished and I found myself holding thin air. I turned to leave and felt his foot on my back, pushing me forward. 'Get out of my sight!' he cried in great anger, giving me a hearty kick that sent me all the way out the cave door. When I saw the sunlight I began to run as fast as ever I could, for I didn't want to give him time to change his mind.

"When I returned to my family there were many festivities to celebrate my homecoming and I told them I had merely been lost somewhere in a strange land. I lived there in Edoras with my family until the day I left to become a wandering fiddler. And that ends my tale."

Bellyn was staring at him with wide eyes. "It was the strangest tale I've ever heard, Liornung," she said. "Is it all true?"

A mischievous grin flashed across Liornung's face and he shook his head. "You are too wise, Bella," he said. "Not, it was not true. That day the only exciting adventure we had was when Fealu and I fell off our steed, and when I was ten and five years of age I had no such adventures. But it was a lovely tale and I thought I'd tell it."

Argeleafa was smiling. "Supper is ready," she said. Liornung scrambled over to the fire and looked with delight and the food, crying, "You two young lassies are true cooks, if ever there were cooks in the world." Then, turning his eyes towards Amroth and the boy, added in a warm tone, "Come sit with us, lad, and eat some of this food."