The Story of the Glittering Plain, Page 7

  CHAPTER VII: A FEAST IN THE ISLE OF RANSOM

  Hallblithe pondered his answer awhile with downcast eyes and said atlast: "Have ye a mind to ransom me, now that I have walked into thetrap?"

  "There is no need to talk of ransom," said the elder; "thou mayst go outof this house when thou wilt, nor will any meddle with thee if thoustrayest about the Isle, when I have set a mark on thee and given thee atoken: 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 theIsle, in this house mayst thou abide, eating and drinking and restingwith 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 wassilent a while, thinking what answer he should make; then he said: "Iwould 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, andthy cheer shall not be ill. Yet if thou wilt believe my word, it will bewell for thee to say as little as thou mayst to any man here, and thatlittle as little proud as maybe: for our folk are short of temper andthou knowest there is no might against many. Indeed it is not unlikethat they will not speak one word to thee, and if that be so, thou hastno need to open thy mouth to them. And now I will tell thee that it isgood that thou hast chosen to go to the Glittering Plain. For if thouwert otherwise minded, I wot not how thou wouldest get thee a keel tocarry 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 theGlittering Plain to-morrow; for thou wilt be good company to me on theway: 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, andthe 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 goodwishes shall be of avail to me. But now since all this may only be if Ilive through this night, and since my heart hath been warmed by the goodmead, and thy fellowship, and whereas I am somewhat sleepy, and it islong past noon, go forth into the hall, and leave me to sleep, that I maybe as sound as eld will let me to-morrow. And as for thee, folk, bothmen and women, shall presently come into the hall, and I deem not thatany shall meddle with thee; but if so be that any challenge thee,whatsoever may be his words, answer thou to him, 'THE HOUSE OF THEUNDYING,' and there will be an end of it. Only look thou to it that nonaked steel cometh out of thy scabbard. Go now, and if thou wilt, go outof doors; yet art thou safer within doors and nigher unto me."

  So Hallblithe went back into the main hall, and the sun had gotten roundnow, and was shining into the hall, through the clerestory windows, sothat he saw clearly all that was therein. And he deemed the hall fairerwithin than without; and especially over the shut-beds were many storiescarven in the panelling, and Hallblithe beheld them gladly. But of onething he marvelled, that whereas he was in an island of thestrong-thieves of the waters, and in their very home and chiefesthabitation, there were no ships or seas pictured in that imagery, butfair groves and gardens, with flowery grass and fruited trees all about.And there were fair women abiding therein, and lovely young men, andwarriors, and strange beasts and many marvels, and the ending of wrathand beginning of pleasure and the crowning of love. And amidst these waspictured oft and again a mighty king with a sword by his side and a crownon his head; and ever was he smiling and joyous, so that Hallblithe, whenhe looked on him, felt of better heart and smiled back on the carvenimage.

  So while Hallblithe looked on these things, and pondered his casecarefully, all alone as he was in that alien hall, he heard a noisewithout of talking and laughter, and presently the pattering of feettherewith, and then women came into the hall, a score or more, someyoung, 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 andhis shining war-gear, and ceased their talking and laughter, and drewround about him, and gazed at him; but none said aught till an old cronecame forth from the ring, and said "Who art thou, standing under weaponsin 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, andwent about their business hither and thither through the hall. But theold crone took him by the hand, and led him up to the dais, and set himnext to the midmost high-seat. Then she made as if she would do off hiswar-gear, and he would not gainsay her, though he deemed that foes mightbe anear; for in sooth he trusted in the old carle that he would notbewray him, and moreover he deemed it would be unmanly not to take therisks 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-bednext to that wherein lay the ancient man, and she laid the gear withinit, all save the spear, which she laid on the wall-pins above; and shemade signs to him that therein he was to lie; but she spake no word tohim. 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 fromhim, but not far.

  This while the other women were busy about the hall; some swept the floordown, and when it was swept strawed thereon rushes and handfuls of wildthyme: some went into the buttery and bore forth the boards and thetrestles: some went to the chests and brought out the rich hangings, thegoodly bankers and dorsars, and did them on the walls: some bore in thestoups and horns and beakers, and some went their ways and came not backa 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 hesat 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 satthere 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 afterthese were lit, a great horn was winded close without, and thereaftercame the clatter of arms about the door, and exceeding tall weaponed mencame in, one score and five, and strode two by two up to the foot of thedais, and stood there in a row. And Hallblithe deemed their war-gearexceeding good; they were all clad in ring-locked byrnies, and had steelhelms on their heads with garlands of gold wrought about them and theybore spears in their hands, and white shields hung at their backs. Nowcame the women to them and unarmed them; and under their armour theirraiment was black; but they had gold rings on their arms, and goldencollars about their necks. So they strode up to the dais and took theirplaces on the high-seat, not heeding Hallblithe any more than if he werean image of wood. Nevertheless that man sat next to him who was thechieftain of all and sat in the midmost high-seat; and he bore hissheathed sword in his hand and laid it on the board before him, and hewas the only man of those chieftains who had a weapon.

  But when these were set down there was again a noise without, and therecame in a throng of men armed and unarmed who took their places on theend-long benches up and down the hall; with these came women also, whomost 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 onthe high-seat.

  Now came the women in from the kitchen bearing the meat, whereof nolittle was flesh-meat, and all was of the best. Hallblithe was dulyserved like the others, but still none spake to him or e
ven looked onhim; though amongst themselves they spoke in big, rough voices so thatthe rafters of the hall rang again.

  When they had eaten their fill the women filled round the cups and thehorns to them, and those vessels were both great and goodly. But erethey fell to drinking uprose the chieftain who sat furthest from themidmost high-seat on the right and cried a health: "THE TREASURE OF THESEA!" Then they all stood up and shouted, women as well as men, andemptied their horns and cups to that health. Then stood up the manfurthest 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 theydrank, as the "Cold Keel," the "Windworn Sail," the "Quivering Ash" andthe "Furrowed Beach." And the wine and mead flowed like rivers in thathall of the Wild Men. As for Hallblithe, he drank what he would butstood not up, nor raised his cup to his lips when a health was drunk; forhe knew not whether these men were his friends or his foes, and he deemedit would be little-minded to drink to their healths, lest he might bedrinking death and confusion to his own kindred.

  But when men had drunk a while, again a horn blew at the nether end ofthe hall, and straightway folk arose from the endlong tables, and tookaway the boards and trestles, and cleared the floor and stood against thewall; then the big chieftain beside Hallblithe arose and cried out: "Nowlet man dance with maid, and be we merry! Music, strike up!" Then flewthe fiddle-bows and twanged the harps, and the carles and queens stoodforth on the floor; and all the women were clad in black raiment, albeitembroidered with knots and wreaths of flowers. A while they danced andthen 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 aloud voice: "Be we merry! Let the champions come forth!"

  Men shouted gleefully thereat, and straightway ran into the hall from outthe screens three tall men clad all in black armour with naked swords intheir hands, and stood amidst the hall-floor, somewhat on one side, andclashed their swords on their shields and cried out: "Come forth yeChampions 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 ofthe 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 theRaven on their helms and shields. So Hallblithe refrained him, forbesides 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 whilebefore the Champions of the Raven fell one after another before the WildMen, and folk drew them by the heels out into the buttery. Then arosegreat laughter and jeering, and exceeding wroth was Hallblithe; howbeithe refrained him because he remembered all he had to do. But the threeChampions of the Sea strode round the hall, tossing up their swords andcatching 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 andthe arrow!" Then was there a stir at the screen doors, and folk pressedforward to see, and, lo, there came forward a string of women, led in bytwo weaponed carles; and the women were a score in number, and they werebarefoot and their hair hung loose and their gowns were ungirt, and theywere 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 hisseat and on to the board, and over it, and ran down the hall, and came tothose women and looked them in the face one by one, while no man spake inthe hall. But the Hostage was not amongst them; nay forsooth, they noneof them favoured of the daughters of his people, though they were comelyand 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 thefaces of those damsels, and more than one of them smiled wantonly in hisface as he looked on them.

  So he turned about and went back to his seat, having said no word, andbehind 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 doneaccording to his bidding, so that he deemed the gain was his. So sprangup talk in the hall betwixt man and man, and folk drank about and weremerry, till the chieftain arose again and smote the board with the flatof his sword, and cried out in a loud and angry voice, so that all couldhear: "Now let there be music and minstrelsy ere we wend bedward!"

  Therewith fell the hubbub of voices, and there came forth three men withgreat harps, and a fourth man with them, who was the minstrel; and theharpers 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 littlewhile, they abated their loudness somewhat, and the minstrel lifted hisvoice 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 andwaved their swords above the cups, while Hallblithe sat scowling down ontheir merriment. Lastly arose the chieftain and called out loudly forthe good-night cup, and it went round and all men drank. Then the hornblew for bed, and the chieftains went to their chambers, and the otherswent to the out-bowers or laid them down on the hall-floor, and in alittle while none stood upright thereon. So Hallblithe arose, and wentto the shut-bed appointed for him, and laid him down and sleptdreamlessly till the morning.