The Roots of the Mountains<br />Wherein Is Told Somewhat of the Lives of the Men of Burgdale, Their by William Morris (best authors to read txt) 📕

talk more of this, but p. 254now I will but say, that whereas at first I needed but to win thy son’s goodwill, so that our Folk might come to life and thriving again, now it is come to this, that he holdeth my heart in his hand and may do what he will with it; therefore I pray thee withhold not thy love either from him or from me.’

He looked on her wondering, and said: ‘Thou art such an one as might make the old man young, and the boy grow into manhood suddenly; and thy voice is as sweet as the voice of the song-birds singing in the dawn of early summer soundeth to him who hath been sick unto death, but who hath escaped it and is mending.  And yet I fear thee.’

Therewith he kissed her hand and turned unto the others, and he gave unto Bow-may a hauberk of ring-mail of his own fashioning, a sure defence and a wonderful work, and the collar thereof was done with gold and gems.

But he said to her: ‘Fair damsel-at-arms, faithful is thy face, and the fashion of thee is goodly: now art thou become one of the best of our friends, and this is little enough to give thee; yet would we fain ward thy body against the foeman; so grieve us not by gainsaying us.’

And Bow-may was exceeding glad, and scarce knew how to cease handling that marvel of ring-mail.

Then to Wood-wise Iron-face gave a most goodly sword, the blade all marked with dark lines like the stream of an eddying river, the hilts of steel and gold marvellously wrought; and all the work of a smith who had dwelt in the house of his father’s father, and was a great warrior.

Unto Wood-father he gave a very goodly helm parcel-gilded; and to his sons and the other folk fair gifts of weapons and jewels and girdles and cups and other good things; so that their hearts were full of joy, and they all praised his open hand.

Then some of the best and merriest of the kinsmen of the Face, and Face-of-god with them, brought the Guests out into the street and among the booths.  There Face-of-god beheld p. 255the Bride again; and she was standing by the booth of a chapman and dealing with him for a piece of goodly silken cloth to be a gown for one of her guests, and she was talking and smiling as she chaffered with him, as her wont was; for she was ever very friendly of demeanour with all men.  But he noted that she was yet exceeding pale, and he was right sorry thereof, for he loved her friendly; yet now had he no shame for all that had befallen, when he bethought him of the Sun-beam and the love she had for him.  And also he had a deeming that the Bride would better of her grief.

CHAPTER XXXIV.  THE CHIEFTAINS TAKE COUNSEL IN THE HALL OF THE FACE.

Then turned Face-of-god back into the Hall, and saw where Iron-face sat at the daïs, and with him Folk-might and Stone-face and the Elder of the Dale-wardens, and Sun-beam withal; so he went soberly up to the board, and sat himself down thereat beside Stone-face, over against Folk-might and his father, beside whom sat the Sun-beam; and Folk-might looked on him gravely, as a man powerful and trustworthy, yet was his look somewhat sour.

Then the Alderman said: ‘My son, I said not to thee come back presently, because I wotted that thou wouldst surely do so, knowing that we have much to speak of.  For, whatever these thy friends may have done, or whatsoever thou hast done with them to grieve us, all that must be set aside at this present time, since the matter in hand is to save the Dale and its folk.  What sayest thou hereon?  Since, young as thou mayst be, thou art our War-leader, and doubtless shalt so be after the Folk-mote hath been holden.’

Face-of-god answered not hastily: indeed, as he sat thinking for a minute or two, the fair spring day seemed to darken about p. 256them or to glare into the light of flames amidst the night-tide; and the joyous clamour without doors seemed to grow hoarse and fearful as the sound of wailing and shrieking.  But he spake firmly and simply in a clear voice, and said:

‘There can be no two words concerning what we have to aim at; these Dusky Men we must slay everyone, though we be fewer than they be.’

Folk-might smiled and nodded his head; but the others sat staring down the hall or into the hangings.

Then spake Folk-might: ‘Thou wert a boy methought when I cast my spear at thee last autumn, Face-of-god, but now hast thou grown into a man.  Now tell me, what deemest thou we must do to slay them all?’

Said Face-of-god: ‘Once again it is clear that we must fall upon them at home in Rose-dale and Silver-dale.’

Again Folk-might nodded: but Iron-face said:

‘Needeth this?  May we not ward the Dale and send many bands into the wood to fall upon them when we meet them?  Yea, and so doing these our guests have already slain many, as this valiant man hath told me e’en now.  Will ye not slay so many at last, that they shall learn to fear us, and abide at home and leave us at peace?’

But Face-of-god said: ‘Meseemeth, father, that this is not thy rede, and that thou sayest this but to try me: and perchance ye have been talking about me when I was without in the street e’en now.  Even if it might be that we should thus cow these felons into abiding at home and tormenting their own thralls at their ease, yet how then are our friends of the Wolf holpen to their own again?  And I shall tell thee that I have promised to this man and this woman that I will give them no less than a man’s help in this matter.  Moreover, I have spoken in every house of the Dale, and to the Shepherds and the Woodlanders, and there is no man amongst them but will follow me in the quarrel.  Furthermore, they have heard of the thralldom that is p. 257done on men no great way from their own houses; yea, they have seen it; and they remember the old saw, “Grief in thy neighbour’s hall is grief in thy garth,” and sure it is, father, that whether thou or I gainsay them, go they will to deliver the thralls of the Dusky Men, and will leave us alone in the Dale.’

‘This is no less than sooth,’ said the Dale-warden, ‘never have men gone forth more joyously to a merry-making than all men of us shall wend to this war.’

‘But,’ said Face-of-god, ‘of one thing ye may be sure, that these men will not abide our pleasure till we cut them all off in scattered bands, nor will they sit deedless at home.  Nor indeed may they; for we have heard from their thralls that they look to have fresh tribes of them come to hand to eat their meat and waste their servants, and these and they must find new abodes and new thralls; and they are now warned by the overthrows and slayings that they have had at our hands that we are astir, and they will not delay long, but will fall upon us with all their host; it might even be to-day or to-morrow.’

Said Folk-might: ‘In all this thou sayest sooth, brother of the Dale; and to cut this matter short, I will tell you all, that yesterday we had with us a runaway from Silver-dale (it is overlong to tell how we fell in with her; for it was a woman).  But she told us that this very moon is a new tribe come into the Dale, six long hundreds in number, and twice as many more are looked for in two eights of days, and that ere this moon hath waned, that is, in twenty-four days, they will wend their ways straight for Burgdale, for they know the ways thereto.  So I say that Face-of-god is right in all wise.  But tell me, brother, hast thou thought of how we shall come upon these men?’

‘How many men wilt thou lead into battle?’ said Face-of-god.

Folk-might reddened, and said: ‘A few, a few; maybe two-hundreds all told.’

‘Yea,’ said Face-of-god, ‘but some special gain wilt thou be to us.’

p. 258‘So I deem at least,’ said Folk-might.

Said Face-of-god: ‘Good is that.  Now have we held our Weapon-show in the Dale, and we find that we together with you be sixteen long hundreds of men; and the tale of the foemen that be now in Silver-dale, new-comers and all, shall be three thousands or thereabout, and in Rose-dale hard on a thousand.’

‘Scarce so many,’ said Folk-might; ‘some of the felons have died; we told over our silver arm-rings yesterday, and the tale was three hundred and eighty and six.  Besides, they were never so many as thou deemest.’

‘Well,’ said Face-of-god, ‘yet at least they shall outnumber us sorely.  We may scarce leave the Dale unguarded when our host is gone; therefore I deem that we shall have but one thousand of men for our onslaught on Silver-dale.’

‘How come ye to that?’ said Stone-face.

Said Face-of-god: ‘Abide a while, fosterer!  Though the odds between us be great, it is not to be hidden that I wot how ye of the Wolf know of privy passes into Silver-dale; yea, into the heart thereof; and this is the special gain ye have to give us.  Therefore we, the thousand men, falling on the foe unawares, shall make a great slaughter of them; and if the murder be but grim enough, those thralls of theirs shall fear us and not them, as already they hate them and not us, so that we may look to them for rooting out these sorry weeds after the overthrow.  And what with one thing, what with another, we may cherish a good hope of clearing Silver-dale at one stroke with the said thousand men.

‘There remaineth Rose-dale, which will be easier to deal with, because the Dusky Men therein are fewer and the thralls as many: that also would I fall on at the same time as we fall on Silver-dale with the men that are left over from the Silver-dale onslaught.  Wherefore my rede is, that we gather all those unmeet for battle in the field into this Burg, with ten tens of men to strengthen them; which shall be enough for them, along with the old men, and lads, and sturdy women, to defend themselves till help comes, if aught p. 259of evil befall, or to flee into the mountains, or at the worst to die valiantly.  Then let the other five hundreds fare up to Rose-dale, and fall on the Dusky Men therein about the same time, but not before our onslaught on Silver-dale: thus shall hand help foot, so that stumbling be not falling; and we may well hope that our rede shall thrive.’

Then was he silent, and the Sun-beam looked upon him with gleaming eyes and parted lips, waiting eagerly to hear what Folk-might would say.  He held his peace a while, drumming on the board with his fingers, and none else spake a word.  At last he said:

‘War-leader of Burgdale, all that thou hast spoken likes me well, and even so must it be done, saving that parting of our host and sending one part to fall upon Rose-dale.  I say, nay; let us put all our might into that one stroke on Silver-dale, and then we are undone indeed if we fail; but so shall we be if we fail anywise; but if we win Silver-dale, then shall Rose-dale lie open before us.’

‘My brother,’ said Face-of-god, ‘thou art a tried warrior, and I but a lad: but dost thou not see this, that whatever we do, we shall not at one onslaught slay all the Dusky Men of Silver-dale, and those that flee before us shall betake them to Rose-dale, and tell all the tale, and what shall hinder them then from falling on Burgdale (since they are no great way from it) after they have murdered what they will of the unhappy people under their hands?’

Said Folk-might: ‘I say not but that there is a risk thereof, but in war we must needs run such risks, and all should be risked rather than that our blow on Silver-dale be light.  For we be the fewer; and if the foemen have time to call that to mind, then are we all lost.’

Said Stone-face: ‘Meseemeth, War-leader, that there is nought much to dread in leaving Rose-dale to itself for a while; for not only may we follow hard on the fleers if they flee to Rose-dale, and be there no long time after them, before they have time to stir p. 260their host; but also