CHAPTER XXXII. THE MEN OF SHADOWY VALE COME TO THE SPRING MARKET ATBURGSTEAD.
ON the morrow betimes in the morning the Westland chapmen, who were nowall come, went out from the House of the Face, where they were ever wontto be lodged, and set up their booths adown the street betwixt gate andbridge. Gay was the show; for the booths were tilted over with paintedcloths, and the merchants themselves were clad in long gowns of finecloth; scarlet, and blue, and white, and green, and black, with broideredwelts of gold and silver; and their knaves were gaily attired in shortcoats of divers hues, with silver rings about their arms, and shortswords girt to their sides. People began to gather about these chapmenat once when they fell to opening their bales and their packs, andunloading their wains. There had they iron, both in pigs and forgedscrap and nails; steel they had, and silver, both in ingots and vessel;pearls from over sea; cinnabar and other colours for staining, such aswere not in the mountains: madder from the marshes, and purple of thesea, and scarlet grain from the holm-oaks by its edge, and woad from thedeep clayey fields of the plain; silken thread also from the outer ocean,and rare webs of silk, and jars of olive oil, and fine pottery, andscented woods, and sugar of the cane. But gold they had none with them,for that they took there; and for weapons, save a few silver-gilt toys,they had no market.
So presently they fell to chaffer; for the carles brought them littlebags of the river-borne gold, so that the weights and scales were atwork; others had with them scrolls and tallies to tell the number of thebeasts which they had to sell, and the chapmen gave them wares thereforwithout beholding the beasts; for they wotted that the Dalesmen lied notin chaffer. While the day was yet young withal came the Dalesmen fromthe mid and nether Dale with their wares and set up their booths; andthey had with them flasks and kegs of the wine which they had to sell;and bales of the good winter-woven cloth, some grey, some dyed, andpieces of fine linen; and blades of swords, and knives, and axes of suchfashion as the Westland men used; and golden cups and chains, and fairrings set with mountain-blue stones, and copper bowls, and vessels giltand parcel-gilt, and mountain-blue for staining. There were men of theShepherds also with such fleeces as they could spare from the dailychaffer with the neighbours. And of the Woodlanders were four carles anda woman with peltries and dressed deer-skins, and a few pieces ofwell-carven wood-work for bedsteads and chairs and such like.
Soon was the Burg thronged with folk in all its open places, and all wereeager and merry, and it could not have been told from their demeanour andcountenance that the shadow of a grievous trouble hung over them. Trueit was that every man of the Dale and the neighbours was girt with hissword, or bore spear or axe or other weapon in his hand, and that mosthad their bucklers at their backs and their helms on their heads; butthis was ever their custom at all meetings of men, not because theydreaded war or were fain of strife, but in token that they were free men,from whom none should take the weapons without battle.
Such were the folk of the land: as for the chapmen, they were well-spokenand courteous, and blithe with the folk, as they well might be, for theyhad good pennyworths of them; yet they dealt with them without usingmeasureless lying, as behoved folk dealing with simple and proud people;and many was the tale they told of the tidings of the Cities and thePlain.
There amongst the throng was the Bride in her maiden’s attire, but girtwith the sword, going from booth to booth with her guests of theRunaways, and doing those poor people what pleasure she might, and givingthem gifts from the goods there, such as they set their hearts on. Andthe more part of the Runaways were about among the people of the Fair;but Dallach, being still weak, sat on a bench by the door of the House ofthe Face looking on well-pleased at all the stir of folk.
Hall-face was gone on the woodland ward; while Face-of-god went among thefolk in his most glorious attire; but he soon betook him to the place ofmeeting without the Gate, where Stone-face and some of the elders weresitting along with the Alderman, beside whom sat the head man of themerchants, clad in a gown of fine scarlet embroidered with the best workof the Dale, with a golden chaplet on his head, and a good sword,golden-hilted, by his side, all which the Alderman had given to it himthat morning. These chiefs were talking together concerning the tidingsof the Plain, and many a tale the guest told to the Dalesmen, some true,some false. For there had been battles down there, and the fall ofkings, and destruction of people, as oft befalleth in the guilefulCities. He told them also, in answer to their story of the Dusky Men, ofhow men even such-like, but riding on horses, or drawn in wains, an hostnot to be numbered, had erewhile overthrown the hosts of the Cities ofthe Plain, and had wrought evils scarce to be told of; and how they hadpiled up the skulls of slaughtered folk into great hills beside thecity-gates, so that the sun might no longer shine into the streets; andhow because of the death and the rapine, grass had grown in the kings’chambers, and the wolves had chased deer in the Temples of the Gods.
‘But,’ quoth he, ‘I know you, bold tillers of the soil, valiant scourersof the Wild-wood, that the worst that can befall you will be to die undershield, and that ye shall suffer no torment of the thrall. May theundying Gods bless the threshold of this Gate, and oft may I come hitherto taste of your kindness! May your race, the uncorrupt, increase andmultiply, till your valiant men and clean maidens make the bitter sweetand purify the earth!’
He spake smooth-tongued and smiling, handling the while the folds of hisfine scarlet gown, and belike he meant a full half of what he said; forhe was a man very eloquent of speech, and had spoken with kings, uncowedand pleased with his speaking; and for that cause and his riches had hebeen made chief of the chapmen. As he spake the heart of Face-of-godswelled within him, and his cheek flushed; but Iron-face sat up straightand proud, and a light smile played about his face, as he said gravely:
‘Friend of the Westland, I thank thee for the blessing and the kind word.Such as we are, we are; nor do I deem that the very Gods shall change us.And if they will be our friends, it is well; for we desire nought of themsave their friendship; and if they will be our foes, that also shall webear; nor will we curse them for doing that which their lives bid them todo. What sayest thou, Face-of-god, my son?’
‘Yea, father,’ said Face-of-god, ‘I say that the very Gods, though theyslay me, cannot unmake my life that has been. If they do deeds, yetshall we also do.’
The Outlander smiled as they spake, and bowed his head to Iron-face andFace-of-god, and wondered at their pride of heart, marvelling what theywould say to the great men of the Cities if they should meet them.
But as they sat a-talking, there came two men running to them from thePortway, their weapons all clattering upon them, and they heard withalthe sound of a horn winded not far off very loud and clear; and theChapman’s cheek paled: for in sooth he doubted that war was at hand,after all he had heard of the Dalesmen’s dealings with the Dusky Men.And all battle was loathsome to him, nor for all the gain of his chafferhad he come into the Dale, had he known that war was looked for.
But the chiefs of the Dalesmen stirred not, nor changed countenance; andsome of the goodmen who were in the street nigh the Gate came forth tosee what was toward; for they also had heard the voice of the horn.
Then one of those messengers came up breathless, and stood before thechiefs, and said:
‘New tidings, Alderman; here be weaponed strangers come into the Dale.’
The Alderman smiled on him and said: ‘Yea, son, and are they a great hostof men?’
‘Nay,’ said the man, ‘not above a score as I deem, and there is a womanwith them.’
‘Then shall we abide them here,’ said the Alderman, ‘and thou mightesthave saved thy breath, and suffered them to bring tidings of themselves;since they may scarce bring us war. For no man desireth certain andpresent death; and that is all that such a band may win at our hands inbattle to-day; and all who come in peace are welcome to us. What likeare they to behold?’
Said the man: ‘They are tall men gloriously attired, s
o that they seemlike kinsmen of the Gods; and they bear flowering boughs in their hands.’
The Alderman laughed, and said: ‘If they be Gods they are welcome indeed;and they shall grow the wiser for their coming; for they shall learn howguest-fain the Burgdale men may be. But if, as I deem, they be like untous, and but the children of the Gods, then are they as welcome, and itmay be more so, and our greeting to them shall be as their greeting to uswould be.’
Even as he spake the horn was winded nearer yet, and more loudly, andfolk came pouring out of the Gate to learn the tidings. Presently thestrangers came from off the Portway into the space before the Gate; andtheir leader was a tall and goodly man of some thirty winters, inglorious array, helm on head and sword by side, his surcoat green andflowery like the spring meads. In his right hand he held a branch of theblossomed black-thorn (for some was yet in blossom), and his left hadhold of the hand of an exceeding fair woman who went beside him: behindhim was a score of weaponed men in goodly attire, some bearing bows, somelong spears, but each bearing a flowering bough in hand.
The tall man stopped in the midst of the space, and the Alderman and theywith him stirred not; though, as for Face-of-god, it was to him as ifsummer had come suddenly into the midst of winter, and for the verysweetness of delight his face grew pale.
Then the new-comer drew nigh to the Alderman and said:
‘Hail to the Gate and the men of the Gate! Hail to the kindred of thechildren of the Gods!’
But the Alderman stood up and spake: ‘And hail to thee, tall man! Fairgreeting to thee and thy company! Wilt thou name thyself with thine ownname, or shall I call thee nought save Guest? Welcome art thou, bywhatsoever name thou wilt be called. Here may’st thou and thy folk abideas long as ye will.’
Said the new-comer: ‘Thanks have thou for thy greeting and for thybidding! And that bidding shall we take, whatsoever may come of it; forwe are minded to abide with thee for a while. But know thou, O Aldermanof the Dalesmen, that I am not sackless toward thee and thine. My nameis Folk-might of the Children of the Wolf, and this woman is theSun-beam, my sister, and these behind me are of my kindred, and are wellbeloved and trusty. We are no evil men or wrong-doers; yet have we beendriven into sore straits, wherein men must needs at whiles do deeds thatmake their friends few and their foes many. So it may be that I am thyfoeman. Yet, if thou doubtest of me that I shall be a baneful guest,thou shalt have our weapons of us, and then mayest thou do thy will uponus without dread; and here first of all is my sword!’
Therewith he cast down the flowering branch he was bearing, and pulledhis sword from out his sheath, and took it by the point, and held out thehilt to Iron-face.
But the Alderman smiled kindly on him and said:
‘The blade is a good one, and I say it who know the craft ofsword-forging; but I need it not, for thou seest I have a sword by myside. Keep your weapons, one and all; for ye have come amongst many andthose no weaklings: and if so be that thy guilt against us is so greatthat we must needs fall on you, ye will need all your war-gear. Buthereof is no need to speak till the time of the Folk-mote, which will beholden in three days’ wearing; so let us forbear this matter till then;for I deem we shall have enough to say of other matters. Now,Folk-might, sit down beside me, and thou also, Sun-beam, fairest ofwomen.’
Therewith he looked into her face and reddened, and said:
‘Yet belike thou hast a word of greeting for my son, Face-of-god, unlessit be so that ye have not seen him before?’
Then Face-of-god came forward, and took Folk-might by the hand and kissedhim; and he stood before the Sun-beam and took her hand, and the worldwaxed a wonder to him as he kissed her cheeks; and in no wise did shechange countenance, save that her eyes softened, and she gazed at himfull kindly from the happiness of her soul.
Then Face-of-god said: ‘Welcome, Guests, who erewhile guested me so well:now beginneth the day of your well-doing to the men of Burgdale;therefore will we do to you as well as we may.’
Then Folk-might and the Sun-beam sat them down with the chieftains, oneon either side of the Alderman, but Face-of-god passed forth to theothers, and greeted them one by one: of them was Wood-father and histhree sons, and Bow-may; and they rejoiced exceedingly to see him, andBow-may said:
‘Now it gladdens my heart to look upon thee alive and thriving, and toremember that day last winter when I met thee on the snow, and turnedthee back from the perilous path to thy pleasure, which the Dusky Menwere besetting, of whom thou knewest nought. Yea, it was merry thattide; but this is better. Nay, friend,’ she said, ‘it availeth theenought to strive to look out of the back of thine head: let it be enoughto thee that she is there. Thou art now become a great chieftain, andshe is no less; and this is a meeting of chieftains, and the folk arelooking on and expecting demeanour of them as of the Gods; and she is notto be dealt with as if she were the daughter of some little goodman withwhom one hath made tryst in the meadows. There! hearken to me for awhile; at least till I tell thee that thou seemest to me to hold thinehead higher than when last I saw thee; though that is no long timeeither. Hast thou been in battle again since that day?’
‘Nay,’ he said, ‘I have stricken no stroke since I slew two felons withinthe same hour that we parted. And thou, sister, what hast thou done?’
She said: ‘The grey goose hath been on the wing thrice since that,bearing on it the bane of evil things.’
Then said Wood-wise: ‘Kinswoman, tell him of that battle, since thou artdeft with thy tongue.’
She said: ‘Weary on battles! it is nought save this: twelve days agoneneeds must every fighting-man of the Wolf, carle or of queen, wend awayfrom Shadowy Vale, while those unmeet for battle we hid away in the cavesat the nether end of the Dale: but Sun-beam would not endure that night,and fared with us, though she handled no weapon. All this we had to dobecause we had learned that a great company of the Dusky Men wereover-nigh to our Dale, and needs must we fall upon them, lest they shouldlearn too much, and spread the story. Well, so wise was Folk-might thatwe came on them unawares by night and cloud at the edge of the Pine-wood,and but one of our men was slain, and of them not one escaped; and whenthe fight was over we counted four score and ten of their arm-rings.’
He said: ‘Did that or aught else come of our meeting with them thatmorning?’
‘Nay,’ she said, ‘nought came of it: those we slew were but a strayingband. Nay, the four score and ten slain in the Pine-wood knew not ofShadowy Vale belike, and had no intent for it: they were but scouring thewood seeking their warriors that had gone out from Silver-dale and camenot aback.’
‘Thou art wise in war, Bow-may,’ said Face-of-god, and he smiled withal.
Bow-may reddened and said: ‘Friend Gold-mane, dost thou perchance deemthat there is aught ill in my warring? And the Sun-beam, she naysayeththe bearing of weapons; though I deem that she hath little fear of themwhen they come her way.’
Said Face-of-god: ‘Nay, I deem no ill of it, but much good. For Isuppose that thou hast learned overmuch of the wont of the Dusky Men, andhast seen their thralls?’
She knitted her brows, and all the merriment went out of her face at thatword, and she answered: ‘Yea, thou hast it; for I have both seen theirthralls and been in the Dale of thralldom; and how then can I do lessthan I do? But for thee, I perceive that thou hast been nigh unto ourfoes and hast fallen in with their thralls; and that is well; for whatsotales we had told thee thereof it is like thou wouldst not have trowedin, as now thou must do, since thou thyself hast seen these poor folk.But now I will tell thee, Gold-mane, that my soul is sick of thesecomings and goings for the slaughter of a few wretches; and I long forthe Great Day of Battle, when it will be seen whether we shall live ordie; and though I laugh and jest, yet doth the wearing of the days wearme.’
He looked kindly on her and said: ‘I am War-leader of this Folk, andtrust me that the waiting-tide shall not be long; wherefore now, sister,be merry to-day, for that is but meet and right; and cast aside
thy care,for presently shalt thou behold many new friends. But now meseemethoverlong have ye been standing before our Gate, and it is time that yeshould see the inside of our Burg and the inside of our House.’
Indeed by this time so many men had come out of the street that the placebefore the Gate was all thronged, and from where he stood Face-of-godcould scarce see his father, or Folk-might and the Sun-beam and thechieftains.
So he took Wood-father by the hand, and close behind him came Wood-wiseand Bow-may, and he cried out for way that he might speak with theAlderman, and men gave way to them, and he led those new-comers close upto the gate-seats of the Elders, and as he clove the press smiling andbright-eyed and happy, all gazed on him; but the Sun-beam, who wassitting between Iron-face and the Westland Chapman, and who heretoforehad been agaze with eyes beholding little, past whose ears the words wentunheard, and whose mind wandered into thoughts of things unfashioned yet,when she beheld him close to her again, then, taken unawares, her eyescaressed him, and she turned as red as a rose, as she felt all thesweetness of desire go forth from her to meet him. So that, heperceiving it, his voice was the clearer and sweeter for the inward joyhe felt, as he said:
‘Alderman, meseemeth it is now time that we bring our Guests into theHouse of our Fathers; for since they are in warlike array, and we are nolonger living in peace, and I am now War-leader of the Dale, I deem itbut meet that I should have the guesting of them. Moreover, when we arecome into our House, I will bid thee look into thy treasury, that thoumay’st find therein somewhat which it may pleasure us to give to ourGuests.’
Said Iron-face: ‘Thou sayest well, son, and since the day is now wornpast noon, and these folk are but just come from the Waste, thereforesuch as we have of meat and drink abideth them. And surely there iswithin our house a coffer which belongeth to thee and me; and forsooth Iknow not why we keep the treasures hoarded therein, save that it be forthis cause: that if we were to give to our friends that which weourselves use and love, which would be of all things pleasant to us, ifwe gave them such goods, they would be worn and worsened by our use ofthem. For this reason, therefore, do we keep fair things which we usenot, so that we may give them to our friends.
‘Now, Guests, both of the Waste and the Westland, since here is noGate-thing or meeting of the Dale-wardens, and we sit here but for ourpleasure, let us go take our pleasure within doors for a while, if itseem good to you.’
Therewith he arose, and the folk made way for him and his Guests; andFolk-might went on the right hand of Iron-face, and beside him went theChapman, who looked on him with a half-smile, as though he knew somewhatof him. But on the other side of Iron-face went the Sun-beam, whose handhe held, and after these came Face-of-god, leading in the rest of theNew-comers, who yet held the flowery branches in their hands.
Now so much had Face-of-god told the Dalesmen, that they deemed they allknew these men for their battle-fellows of whom they had heard tell; andthis the more as the men were so goodly and manly of aspect, especiallyFolk-might, so that they seemed as if they were nigh akin to the Gods.As for the Sun-beam, they knew not how to praise her beauty enough, butthey said that they had never known before how fair the Gods might be.So they raised a great shout of welcome as the men came through the Gateinto the Burg, and all men turned their backs on the booths, so eagerwere they to behold closely these new friends.
But as the Guests went from the Gate to the House of the Face, going veryslowly because of the press, there in the front of the throng stood theBride with the women of the Runaways, whom she had caused to be clad veryfairly; and she was fain to do them a pleasure by bringing them to sightof these new-comers, of whom she had not heard who they were, though shehad heard the cry that strangers were at hand. So there she stoodsmiling a little with the pleasure of showing a fair sight to the poorpeople, as folk do with children. But when she saw those twain going oneach side of the Alderman she knew them at once; and when the Sun-beam,who was on his left side, passed so close to her that she could see thevery smoothness and dainty fashion of her skin, then was she astonied,and the world seemed strange to her, and till they were gone by, and fora while afterwards, she knew not where she was nor what she did, thoughit seemed to her as if she still saw the face of that fair woman as in apicture.
But the Sun-beam had noted her at first, even amongst the fair women ofBurgstead, and she so steady and bright beside the wandering timorouseyes and lowering faces of the thralls. But suddenly, as eye met eye,she saw her face change; she saw her cheek whiten, her eyes stare, andher lips quiver, and she knew at once who it was; for she had not seenher before as Folk-might had. Then the Sun-beam cast her eyes adown,lest her compassion might show in her face, and be a fresh grief to herthat had lost the wedding and the love; and so she passed on.
As for Folk-might, he had seen her at once amongst all that folk as hecame into the street, and in sooth he was looking for her; and when hesaw her face change, as the sight of the Sun-beam smote upon her heart,his own face burned with shame and anger, and he looked back at her as hewent toward the House. But she saw him not, nor noted him; and nonedeemed it strange that he looked long on the Bride, the treasure ofBurgstead. But for some while Folk-might was few-spoken and sharp-spokenamongst the chieftains; for he was slow to master his longing and hiswrath.
So when all the Guests had entered the door of the House of the Face, theAlderman turned back, and, standing on the threshold of his House, spakeunto the throng:
‘Men of the Dale, and ye Outlanders who may be here, know that this is ahappy day; for hither have come to us Guests, men of the kindred of theGods, and they are even those of whom Face-of-god my son hath told you.And they are friends of our friends and foes of our foes. These men arenow in my House, as is but right; but when they come forth I look to youto cherish them in the best way ye know, and make much of them, as ofthose who may help us and who may by us be holpen.’
Therewith he went in again and into the Hall, and bade show theNew-comers to the daïs; and wine of the best, and meat such as was tohand, was set before them. He bade men also get ready high feast asgreat as might be against the evening; and they did his biddingstraightway.
The Roots of the Mountains Page 33