Hallblithe pondered his answer awhile with downcast eyes and said at
last: "Have ye a mind to ransom me, now that I have walked into the
trap?"
"There is no need to talk of ransom," said the elder; "thou mayst go out
of this house when thou wilt, nor will any meddle with thee if thou
strayest about the Isle, when I have set a mark on thee and given thee a
token: nor wilt thou be hindered if thou hast a mind to leave the Isle,
if thou canst find means thereto; moreover as long as thou art in the
Isle, in this house mayst thou abide, eating and drinking and resting
with us."
"How then may I leave this Isle?" said Hallblithe.
The elder laughed: "In a ship," said he.
"And when," said Hallblithe, "shall I find a ship that shall carry me?"
Said the old carle, "Whither wouldest thou my son?" Hallblithe was
silent a while, thinking what answer he should make; then he said: "I
would go to the land of the Glittering Plain."
"Son, a ship shall not be lacking thee for that voyage," said the elder.
"Thou mayst go to-morrow morn. And I bid thee abide here to-night, and
thy cheer shall not be ill. Yet if thou wilt believe my word, it will be
well for thee to say as little as thou mayst to any man here, and that
little as little proud as maybe: for our folk are short of temper and
thou knowest there is no might against many. Indeed it is not unlike
that they will not speak one word to thee, and if that be so, thou hast
no need to open thy mouth to them. And now I will tell thee that it is
good that thou hast chosen to go to the Glittering Plain. For if thou
wert otherwise minded, I wot not how thou wouldest get thee a keel to
carry thee, and the wings have not yet begun to sprout on thy shoulders,
raven though thou be. Now I am glad that thou art going thy ways to the
Glittering Plain to-morrow; for thou wilt be good company to me on the
way: and I deem that thou wilt be no churl when thou art glad."
"What," said Hallblithe, "art thou wending thither, thou old man?"
"Yea," said he, "nor shall any other be on the ship save thou and I, and
the mariners that waft us; and they forsooth shall not go aland there.
Why should not I go, since there are men to bear me aboard?"
Said Hallblithe, "And when thou art come aland there, what wilt thou do?"
"Thou shalt see, my son," said the Long-hoary. "It may be that thy good
wishes shall be of avail to me. But now since all this may only be if I
live through this night, and since my heart hath been warmed by the good
mead, and thy fellowship, and whereas I am somewhat sleepy, and it is
long past noon, go forth into the hall, and leave me to sleep, that I may
be as sound as eld will let me to-morrow. And as for thee, folk, both
men and women, shall presently come into the hall, and I deem not that
any shall meddle with thee; but if so be that any challenge thee,
whatsoever may be his words, answer thou to him, 'THE HOUSE OF THE
UNDYING,' and there will be an end of it. Only look thou to it that no
naked steel cometh out of thy scabbard. Go now, and if thou wilt, go out
of doors; yet art thou safer within doors and nigher unto me."
So Hallblithe went back into the main hall, and the sun had gotten round
now, and was shining into the hall, through the clerestory windows, so
that he saw clearly all that was therein. And he deemed the hall fairer
within than without; and especially over the shut-beds were many stories
carven in the panelling, and Hallblithe beheld them gladly. But of one
thing he marvelled, that whereas he was in an island of the
strong-thieves of the waters, and in their very home and chiefest
habitation, there were no ships or seas pictured in that imagery, but
fair groves and gardens, with flowery grass and fruited trees all about.
And there were fair women abiding therein, and lovely young men, and
warriors, and strange beasts and many marvels, and the ending of wrath
and beginning of pleasure and the crowning of love. And amidst these was
pictured oft and again a mighty king with a sword by his side and a crown
on his head; and ever was he smiling and joyous, so that Hallblithe, when
he looked on him, felt of better heart and smiled back on the carven
image.
So while Hallblithe looked on these things, and pondered his case
carefully, all alone as he was in that alien hall, he heard a noise
without of talking and laughter, and presently the pattering of feet
therewith, and then women came into the hall, a score or more, some
young, some old, some fair enough, and some hard-featured and uncomely,
but all above the stature of the women whom he had seen in his own land.
So he stood amidst the hall-floor and abided them; and they saw him and
his shining war-gear, and ceased their talking and laughter, and drew
round about him, and gazed at him; but none said aught till an old crone
came forth from the ring, and said "Who art thou, standing under weapons
in our hall?"
He knew not what to answer, and held his peace; and she spake again:
"Whither wouldest thou, what seekest thou?"
Then answered Hallblithe: "THE HOUSE OF THE UNDYING."
None answered, and the other women all fell away from him at once, and
went about their business hither and thither through the hall. But the
old crone took him by the hand, and led him up to the dais, and set him
next to the midmost high-seat. Then she made as if she would do off his
war-gear, and he would not gainsay her, though he deemed that foes might
be anear; for in sooth he trusted in the old carle that he would not
bewray him, and moreover he deemed it would be unmanly not to take the
risks of the guesting, according to the custom of that country.
So she took his armour and his weapons and bore them off to a shut-bed
next to that wherein lay the ancient man, and she laid the gear within
it, all save the spear, which she laid on the wall-pins above; and she
made signs to him that therein he was to lie; but she spake no word to
him. Then she brought him the hand-washing water in a basin of latten,
and a goodly towel therewith, and when he had washed she went away from
him, but not far.
This while the other women were busy about the hall; some swept the floor
down, and when it was swept strawed thereon rushes and handfuls of wild
thyme: some went into the buttery and bore forth the boards and the
trestles: some went to the chests and brought out the rich hangings, the
goodly bankers and dorsars, and did them on the walls: some bore in the
stoups and horns and beakers, and some went their ways and came not back
a while, for they were busied about the cooking. But whatever they did,
none hailed him, or heeded him more than if he had been an image, as he
sat there looking on. None save the old woman who brought him the fore-
supper, to wit a great horn of mead, and cakes and dried fish.
So was the hall arrayed for the feast very fairly, and Hallblithe sat
there while the sun westered and the house grew dim, and dark at last,
and they lighted the candles up and down the hall. But a little after
these were lit, a great horn was winded close without, and thereafter
came the clatter of arms about the door, and exceeding tall weaponed men
came in, one score and five, and strode two by two up to the foot of the
dais, and stood there in a row. And Hallblithe deemed their war-gear
exceeding good; they were all clad in ring-locked byrnies, and had steel
helms on their heads with garlands of gold wrought about them and they
bore spears in their hands, and white shields hung at their backs. Now
came the women to them and unarmed them; and under their armour their
raiment was black; but they had gold rings on their arms, and golden
collars about their necks. So they strode up to the dais and took their
places on the high-seat, not heeding Hallblithe any more than if he were
an image of wood. Nevertheless that man sat next to him who was the
chieftain of all and sat in the midmost high-seat; and he bore his
sheathed sword in his hand and laid it on the board before him, and he
was the only man of those chieftains who had a weapon.
But when these were set down there was again a noise without, and there
came in a throng of men armed and unarmed who took their places on the
end-long benches up and down the hall; with these came women also, who
most of them sat amongst the men, but some busied them with the serving:
all these men were great of stature, but none so big as the chieftains on
the high-seat.
Now came the women in from the kitchen bearing the meat, whereof no
little was flesh-meat, and all was of the best. Hallblithe was duly
served like the others, but still none spake to him or even looked on
him; though amongst themselves they spoke in big, rough voices so that
the rafters of the hall rang again.
When they had eaten their fill the women filled round the cups and the
horns to them, and those vessels were both great and goodly. But ere
they fell to drinking uprose the chieftain who sat furthest from the
midmost high-seat on the right and cried a health: "THE TREASURE OF THE
SEA!" Then they all stood up and shouted, women as well as men, and
emptied their horns and cups to that health. Then stood up the man
furthest on the left and cried out, "Drink a health to the Undying King!"
And again all men rose up and shouted ere they drank. Other healths they
drank, as the "Cold Keel," the "Windworn Sail," the "Quivering Ash" and
the "Furrowed Beach." And the wine and mead flowed like rivers in that
hall of the Wild Men. As for Hallblithe, he drank what he would but
stood not up, nor raised his cup to his lips when a health was drunk; for
he knew not whether these men were his friends or his foes, and he deemed
it would be little-minded to drink to their healths, lest he might be
drinking death and confusion to his own kindred.
But when men had drunk a while, again a horn blew at the nether end of
the hall, and straightway folk arose from the endlong tables, and took
away the boards and trestles, and cleared the floor and stood against the
wall; then the big chieftain beside Hallblithe arose and cried out: "Now
let man dance with maid, and be we merry! Music, strike up!" Then flew
the fiddle-bows and twanged the harps, and the carles and queens stood
forth on the floor; and all the women were clad in black raiment, albeit
embroidered with knots and wreaths of flowers. A while they danced and
then suddenly the music fell, and they all went back to their places.
Then the chieftain in the high-seat arose and took a horn from his side,
and blew a great blast on it that filled the hall; then he cried in a
loud voice: "Be we merry! Let the champions come forth!"
Men shouted gleefully thereat, and straightway ran into the hall from out
the screens three tall men clad all in black armour with naked swords in
their hands, and stood amidst the hall-floor, somewhat on one side, and
clashed their swords on their shields and cried out: "Come forth ye
Champions of the Raven!"
Then leapt Hallblithe from his seat and set his hand to his left side,
but no sword was there; so he sat down again, remembering the warning of
the Elder, and none heeded him.
Then there came into the hall slowly and mournfully three men-at-arms,
clad and weaponed like the warriors of his folk, with the image of the
Raven on their helms and shields. So Hallblithe refrained him, for
besides that this seemed like to be a fair battle of three against three,
he doubted some snare, and he determined to look on and abide.
So the champions fell to laying on strokes that were no child's play,
though Hallblithe doubted if the edges bit, and it was but a little while
before the Champions of the Raven fell one after another before the Wild
Men, and folk drew them by the heels out into the buttery. Then arose
great laughter and jeering, and exceeding wroth was Hallblithe; howbeit
he refrained him because he remembered all he had to do. But the three
Champions of the Sea strode round the hall, tossing up their swords and
catching them as they fell, while the horns blew up behind them.
After a while the hall grew hushed, and the chieftain arose and cried:
"Bring in now some sheaves of the harvest we win, we lads of the oar and
the arrow!" Then was there a stir at the screen doors, and folk pressed
forward to see, and, lo, there came forward a string of women, led in by
two weaponed carles; and the women were a score in number, and they were
barefoot and their hair hung loose and their gowns were ungirt, and they
were chained together wrist to wrist; yet had they gold at arm and neck:
there was silence in the hall when they stood amidst of the floor.
Then indeed Hallblithe could not refrain himself, and he leapt from his
seat and on to the board, and over it, and ran down the hall, and came to
those women and looked them in the face one by one, while no man spake in
the hall. But the Hostage was not amongst them; nay forsooth, they none
of them favoured of the daughters of his people, though they were comely
and fair; so that again Hallblithe doubted if this were aught but a feast-
hall play done to anger him; whereas there was but little grief in the
faces of those damsels, and more than one of them smiled wantonly in his
face as he looked on them.
So he turned about and went back to his seat, having said no word, and
behind him arose much mocking and jeering; but it angered him little now;
for he remembered the rede of the elder and how that he had done
according to his bidding, so that he deemed the gain was his. So sprang
up talk in the hall betwixt man and man, and folk drank about and were
merry, till the chieftain arose again and smote the board with the flat
of his sword, and cried out in a loud and angry voice, so that all could
hear: "Now let there be music and minstrelsy ere we wend bedward!"
Therewith fell the hubbub of voices, and there came forth three men with
great harps, and a fourth man with them, who was the minstrel; and the
harpers smote their harps so that the roof rang therewith, and the noise,
though it was great, was tuneable, and when they had played thus a little
while, they abated their loudness somewhat, and the minstrel lifted his
voice and sang:
The land lies black
With winter's lack,
The wind blows cold
Round field and fold;
All folk are within,
And but weaving they win.
Where from finger to finger the shuttle flies fast,
And the eyes of the singer look fain on the cast,
As he singeth the story of summer undone
And the barley sheaves hoary ripe under the sun.
Then the maidens stay
The light-hung sley,
And the shuttles bide
By the blue web's side,
While hand in hand
With the carles they stand.
But ere to the measure the fiddles strike up,
And the elders yet treasure the last of the cup,
There stand they a-hearkening the blast from the lift,
And e'en night is a-darkening more under the drift.
There safe in the hall
They bless the wall,
And the roof o'er head,
Of the valiant stead;
And the hands they praise
Of the olden days.
Then through the storm's roaring the fiddles break out,
And they think not of warring, but cast away doubt,
And, man before maiden, their feet tread the floor,
And their hearts are unladen of all that they bore.
But what winds are o'er-cold
For the heart of the bold?
What seas are o'er-high
For the undoomed to die?
Dark night and dread wind,
But the haven we find.
Then ashore mid the flurry of stone-washing surf!
Cloud-hounds the moon worry, but light lies the turf;
Lo the long dale before us! the lights at the end,
Though the night darkens o'er us, bid whither to wend.
Who beateth the door
By the foot-smitten floor?
What guests are these
From over the seas?
Take shield and sword
For their greeting-word.
Lo, lo, the dance ended! Lo, midst of the hall
The fallow blades blended! Lo, blood on the wall!
Who liveth, who dieth? O men of the sea,
For peace the folk crieth; our masters are ye.
Now the dale lies grey
At the dawn of day;
And fair feet pass
O'er the wind-worn grass;
And they turn back to gaze
On the roof of old days.
Come tread ye the oaken-floored hall of the sea!
Be your hearts yet unbroken; so fair as ye be,
That kings are abiding unwedded to gain
The news of our riding the steeds of the main.
Much shouting and laughter arose at the song's end; and men sprang up and
waved their swords above the cups, while Hallblithe sat scowling down on
their merriment. Lastly arose the chieftain and called out loudly for
the good-night cup, and it went round and all men drank. Then the horn
blew for bed, and the chieftains went to their chambers, and the others
went to the out-bowers or laid them down on the hall-floor, and in a
little while none stood upright thereon. So Hallblithe arose, and went
to the shut-bed appointed for him, and laid him down and slept
dreamlessly till the morning.