Elfhunter (50 page)

Gaelen bristled. "But I have
not
granted it,
nor have any of my companions. You do not rule my actions outside
of this realm, Lady, and right now I am not inclined to be thus
burdened with one such as Amandir. This gift was not yours to
grant." She drew herself up before Arialde, who, to her surprise,
smiled at her.

"Fair enough, Elf of the Woodland. But I would beg
you to reconsider. Amandir has a part to play in this, and you
cannot deny him his chance for vengeance. Search your heart and
tell me that you do not agree."

The Lady stared hard at Gaelen, who, to the relief of
Nelwyn, dropped her gaze and muttered something under her breath.
They did not need to challenge the Lord and Lady of the Lake, at
least not while within their realm.

After the Company had been fed and rested, they sat
listening to the haunting music of the Eádram, which filled the
starry skies and echoed amid the gentle whispering of the leaves in
the tall trees. Gaelen began to shiver, though the weather was
warm. Rogond placed her cloak tenderly about her shoulders. She had
been cold for much of the evening and could not seem to warm
herself. Rogond added his own cloak to hers, but she still could
not stop shivering.

Nelwyn had filled them all in on what had transpired,
and they were predictable in their reaction. Galador was shocked
that Gaelen would so defy Arialde. Rogond was angered at the
response of Amandir to Gaelen’s attempt to comfort him. They all
wanted to know what was meant by this "dark doom" that supposedly
lay heavily upon Gaelen, who muttered something under her breath
about being tired of confusing predictions and mysterious
pronouncements. Fima was the first to agree with her.

"Elves! If they cannot make themselves plain, they
should say nothing at all," he said, patting Gaelen’s shoulder.
"Don’t be concerned. I’ll warrant there is nothing much behind it,
probably just someone’s bad dream." He looked pointedly at Galador
as he spoke. "And I, for one, wish I had been there when you dared
stand up to the Lady. You were quite right that it was not her
place to grant Amandir’s request."

Rogond nodded. "Perhaps not the wisest course,
Gaelen, but certainly an honest one. And I will tell you one
thing—no Elf who thinks ill of you will I suffer at MY side, no
matter the decree of the Lady. Amandir had best relent if he wishes
to travel with us."

Nelwyn also stood in agreement. "The Company shall
remain devoted to its own," she said, "and will accept no one of
ill will toward any among us." Thorndil and Galador added their
voices in assent, and the six friends raised their glasses
together, vowing to defend the Company to the last.

Gorgon cried out in frustration as the pain of the
mirror hammered at his already exhausted brain. He had been trying
for several hours to perceive the goings-on in Tal-sithian, but he
could not see clearly, nor could he hear any but the barest
snatches of conversation. What was wrong? It had been bad enough
that the accursed mist had prevented him from knowing how to enter
the realm, but now he could not even see clearly in the mirror. His
powerful weapon was failing him even now. He grew dizzy and ill
with trying to make sense of the distorted images that flickered
across his vision and prayed that this did not mean that the power
of the mirror was fading for some reason. Without it, he would once
again be reduced to hiding and ambushing stray Elves by chance, and
all of his grand plans would be in vain. What would Wrothgar have
to say about this? Gorgon did not wish to consider it.

Ha! Having a bit of difficulty, are we?
said a
voice to his immediate left.

Gorgon was somewhat distressed to see that Gelmyr had
returned, still as dead as ever, his blue glowing face displaying
an ill-natured smile.

"Oh, go away, you wretched Èolo! I thought I had
banished you from my presence at last. You are the last person I
ever wish to encounter again. Why will you not leave me in
peace?"

Gelmyr shrugged.
I am here because you willed it,
whether you know it or not. I am very much looking forward to
watching you unwittingly planning your own downfall. I hope I don’t
miss anything
, he replied.

Gorgon turned from him, concentrating once more on
the mirror and the vague, unreadable images channeling through
it.

The mirror will not work in the great Elf-realms,
because you are using it for evil,
said Gelmyr.
I’m sure an
intelligent creature such as yourself has realized it
.
So
much for your grand plans! Did you really think you could gain the
downfall of Lady Arialde so easily? The Dark Power Himself has
failed in this task. How very prideful of you to have such a
hope!
He shook his head, his long, tangled hair matted with
blood, which appeared silver in the blue light.
I thought I
warned you about that, didn’t I? I’ll warrant my people won’t have
to do much to defeat you; your pride will do it for them!

"Tell that to Belegund and those wretched dwarves,"
growled Gorgon, wishing with all his heart that Gelmyr would
disappear and quit distracting him.

Ah, yes! Well, another victory for cowardice, after
all. And then you nearly choked the life out of the one person who
can aid you in accomplishing your purpose. How very savage and
predictable! You know she is quite bent on destroying you. They all
are. And they are gathering strength, Gorgon. You had better figure
out a way to lay them all low, and soon. Wrothgar expects a return
for His fine gift, and from what I have heard He does not suffer
disappointment well. No, indeed!

Gorgon then closed the mirror, taking a swipe at
Gelmyr, who was shaking his head and smiling ill-naturedly, mocking
Gorgon all the while.

"Begone, you dead, helpless, vanquished pathetic
excuse for an Elf!" Gorgon roared. "Begone and come to me no more!"
Then he sank heavily down upon his knees, exhausted by the mirror
and the effort of banishing Gelmyr, as the Elf ’s laughter faded
slowly from his hearing at last, and he was gone.

The Company remained in Tal-sithian for several
weeks, though Gaelen grew increasingly restive and anxious to set
forth toward the Greatwood. It would be a pleasant journey with
horses and fine summer weather to aid them, and Gaelen was looking
forward to seeing her home again. Nelwyn was likewise anxious, and
it was all Galador could do to keep her contained. She and Gaelen
spent endless hours provisioning themselves for the
journey—refitting their weapons, practicing with bow and blade.
Gaelen enlisted Fima’s help in training her to use his dwarvish
axe, which she wielded with her customary grace, though she lacked
Fima’s power.

They saw little of Amandir, though he still planned
to accompany them. Rogond had drawn him aside one morning, and
though courteous, Rogond was direct. He told Amandir that no ill
will toward Gaelen would be tolerated should the Company allow him
to proceed with them, and it might be best if he apologized to her
before they departed. Amandir returned Rogond’s courtesy, stating
that he did indeed regret his harsh words to Gaelen, but that the
feeling of her unwitting complicity with their enemy remained.
Rogond shook his head.

"You could not be more wrong, Amandir. She, of all
the Company, holds the most hatred of him. She has been the force
that has driven this quest. She will not give up until he is dead.
You cannot have a stronger ally!"

Amandir shook his head. "These things you say may be
true in your reckoning. I only know that some evil stalks her even
now. It grows less with time in the Sithian, but I fear it will
grow strong again once she leaves the protection of the Lady. And
many Elven lives will be lost—I know it, because I have seen it.
Now I ride with you because I know this enemy will not stray far
from your Gaelen; the road leading to him lies where she has
gone."

Rogond knew better than to scoff at Amandir, and he
was worried. "What have you seen, and where did you see it?"

Amandir then told Rogond of the fabled Stone of Léir,
now kept by the Lady, in whose depths many things could be seen. He
had looked into it three days before the arrival of Galador and
Nelwyn, at the request of Arialde. What he saw there had disquieted
him.

"I presume that a man educated in Mountain-home knows
much of the Stone’s history already," he said. "The terrible war
that surrounded the Third Uprising had begun because it was rumored
that Wrothgar would march on Mountain-home to overrun it and seize
the Stone for his own. The Stone was then moved to the Lake-realm,
for should its power be turned to the service of Darkness, the
consequences would be devastating."

Rogond nodded, for he did know quite a lot about the
Stone. It had been created by the Elf, Dardis, together with Léiras
the Asarla. Initially its use had been completely benevolent and
harmless; it enabled any who looked into its depths to re-live past
moments that had brought joy and contentment. It had been
especially useful in healing the troubled hearts of those damaged
by grief. When the Second Uprising of Wrothgar destroyed most of
the Èolar, the Stone had been taken to Monadh-talam under the
protection of Shandor and Liathwyn. Wrothgar did not yet desire it,
for its power at that time was of little use.

Liathwyn had been so grieved at the loss of her
people that she relinquished her spirit, and she was accepted into
Elysia, the Elves’ eternal home. But Lord Shandor, mightiest of the
Asari, could not follow her there, and he loved her so deeply that
his great spirit was broken.

He grieved long and bitterly for his beloved and at
last sought relief by gazing into the Stone, where he could re-live
his happy years with Liathwyn. But memories are only reminders of
what can no longer be, and Shandor’s attempts to escape his grief
and to heal himself were of little avail. It was said that he gazed
so long and with such longing that at last he was drawn into the
crystal. His body remained outside and has never withered, though
it is without life. It is kept in a tomb of glass beneath
Monadh-talam, for Shandor is the father of Lady Ordath, who rules
that realm.

When the mightiest spirit in Alterra entered the
stone, its power grew very great. It became at once the most
magical and potentially the most dangerous object remaining in the
world. Its use now is strictly governed by the Lady Arialde, and to
look into the Stone outside the grace of the Lady is to court
disaster. Shandor is a powerful but bitter soul, grieving for his
beloved Liathwyn with whom he cannot be reunited, and in his
wounded state he cares not for the pain of others. The visions he
sends to those who should not behold them can drive them mad. Yet
Shandor can, if he chooses, reveal the destiny of those who seek to
learn it.

"It is difficult to imagine the terrible advantage
that would be gained should such a power fall into the hands of
Wrothgar," said Amandir. "He would be able to know the minds and
deeds of his enemies, and discover the outcome of battles ‘ere they
were fought. The forces of Darkness have not yet discovered the
present whereabouts of the Stone, but as they slowly regain their
strength this would become more likely, and there might come a day
when we will need to defend our great treasure to the last. I
believe Gaelen is somehow aiding the enemy. I gained this insight
from gazing into the Stone." Rogond was disquieted, for he had been
taught that visions perceived in the Stone were true. He was not
the only one who wondered about the meaning of Amandir’s
vision.

Not far away, Nelwyn had paused on her way to find
Gaelen as she overheard Rogond speaking to Amandir. Intending at
first to make her presence known so that she might add her voice in
support of her cousin, she now hung back in the shadows, listening
to Amandir’s tale of his encounter with the Stone. Lady Arialde had
said that she had shared Amandir’s concern—did she know of his
vision? Fima probably knew of such matters; Nelwyn decided to ask
him later. She remained still and silent until Rogond and Amandir
departed, after Rogond had reminded Amandir that he still needed to
set things right with Gaelen.

Nelwyn went back to their quarters in search of Fima,
but instead found Gaelen preparing to ride. She had been granted
permission to go to the mainland and ride Siva over the plains
surrounding the lake, and she invited Nelwyn to join her. Though
the past weeks had been enjoyable, Nelwyn compared them to being in
a beautiful, very comfortable cage. She rejoiced as she readied
herself for this excursion, and she and Gaelen went forth
together.

Once they had gained the far shore, they called for
the horses, reveling in their freedom as they rode, truly
unfettered for the first time since the Company had divided. The
weather was clear and warm, though there was the promise of rain in
the coming evening. At last they met a group of Elves traveling
toward the foothills where flowed the cold stream in which Gaelen
had healed herself after her last encounter with Gorgon. A few of
the Elves were planning to relieve the guard there, and several
brought fishing nets and baskets with them, for there were huge
dewberry bushes growing on both sides of the stream nearby, and the
berries would be prime for picking.

They greeted Gaelen and Nelwyn warmly once they were
recognized. Having little to fear in the daylight, they bore only
light armaments, and they spread their cloaks upon the grass,
inviting their guests to join them in an early meal. Gaelen was
disinclined at first, until a jar of honey appeared beside the
bread, cake, and fruit the Elves had laid out. She and Nelwyn swung
down from their horses without another word, and they spent nearly
an hour feasting and making merry with the lighthearted Elves of
the Lake. Songs were sung then, as the sun rose high in the blue
sky. One of the Elves sighed and looked at the towering white
clouds that were beginning to make their way toward them from the
west.