The Kinstrife
Part
17
In
which Ilvren returns; we buy gowns from Morwen the Red's dress emporium; Pimm
buys drinks for everyone at the Eagle & Elf; Dringol
agrees to discuss Pimm's uncle Bergil's
alta-parma;
Celebrindor talks about his travels and ambitions, he
asks whether we know of a legendary artefact (Calvolului)
but when we demure he wields a Word of Power at the dinner table - an outrage!
Mid-morning
Ilvren gets back not long after us, having seen
her charge (whose name is Morwen, apparently – a dark
maid indeed) to safety. I hope she will be reunited with her family before
long.
Once at the Moonswan,
I send a formal invitation to Celebrindor, penned in
Brand's fine hand, for dinner tonight. Brand suggests we look up Morwen (it's a common name) 'the Red' this afternoon and
that sounds like a good idea so we all go, Pimm
leading the way as he knows that part of the city the best.
'Fashionable Dresses at Affordable Prices'
reads the slogan above Morwen's shop. I ask Aerin if
she couldn't do with a fine gown and she determines to acquire one. Ilvren would prefer a ship but Minas Ithil
is a little landlocked for that. I advise Aerin she may choose anything,
including accessories, under 15 crowns.
Finding something manwa-cóla ('ready-to-wear' for
those not versed in Quenya) sounds unlikely but we do find two items suitable
that almost fit Aerin and Ilvren and Morwen offers to make all the alterations and get the
dresses to the Moonswan in time for tonight for a
crown each.
I take the opportunity to introduce her to Pimm as Bergil's nephew. Morwen admonishes him for not visiting his uncle's
favourite drinking hole as the friends of his late uncle regard themselves as
quite a 'literary circle' and will want to meet their hero's heir.
While the conversation is on Bergil, I ask after the 'Mirror of Fire'. Morwen has never heard of the place but she never read Bergil's epic work (now mostly lost in a fire). She does,
however, remember that Bergil teamed up with Zorakathôr, an officer in the army, to mount a big
expedition to overthrow a coastal warlord in the Raj. They were shipwrecked on
the way back and only Bergil survived but he
scavenged enough from the flotsam to retire comfortably.
I wonder if Bergil's
literary friends might have read his alta-parma?
Now the boys want new clothes too so we
move on to a local tailor's but at least the lads buy their own, which is just
as well as theirs cost twice as much!
So we repair to the Eagle & Elf, Bergil's one-time local tavern, so that Pimm
can make the acquaintance of his uncle's friends.
There are several groups round the tables
but none obviously reading or spouting poetry so Pimm
introduces himself to the landlord as Bergil's nephew
and buys a round for everyone. It transpires that we missed the most recent
literary meeting last week but one drunken reveller reminisces about Bergil's lost masterpiece, about Gondor's
holy places. Bergil gave the manuscript to one Dringol who is currently working as a scribe in Heruvorn's office, writing permits. (Perhaps our library
permits are examples of his penmanship?) We meet him briefly, presumably during
his luncheon break, and he agrees to meet us tomorrow evening to discuss
publishing the late Bergil's 'insightful' masterpiece.
Back at the Moonswan,
Celebrindor's acceptance awaits us and I negotiate
with the landlord for a banquet costing 30 crowns. That should provide a
reasonably enjoyable repast for us all, while not being extravagant – it's not
as if we have to impress the man, after all.
The dresses arrive and the ladies emerge
from their respective rooms, looking suitably radiant (and I tell them so) as Celebrindor's arrival is announced. I greet our guest as
warmly as I can but I confess that something about his manner gives me the
shivers. He looks fair enough but I feel that something in his soul is foul. I
can see Ilvren feels the same, though if anyone else
picks up on it they hide it well. I recall Lonnya,
the librarian, saying as much herself.
In appearance, Celebrindor
is classic Dűnadan: black hair, grey eyes, and he
dresses to show it off in black velvet and grey silk (I'm in my preferred
colours of green for Miruvor and blue for Serni. He talks easily over aperitifs commenting upon the
lamentable impact of politics on trade.
I ask after his current profession and he
admits to being a 'freelance' engineer, freely admitting his frustration with
the failure of the Engineers' Guild to recognise his skills garnered in places
as far away as Tharbad and Arnor.
However, he has supporters in other guilds, less hidebound in their view of
what loyalty to the city might entail.
Brand asks after the most memorable places Celebrindor has seen. He had the fortune to see Osgiliath before its recent eclipse and the
Celebrindor then advises Brand to move to an architect's
guild, in view of his apparent interest, but Brand admits his interest lies
largely in tombs.
Celebrindor brings the subject around to why he wants
to meet me. He explains that it has been hard for him to make his living but Heruvorn has hired him as a consultant engineer to assess
the defences of Minas Ithil. Evidently a sense of
threat is not confined to Harad. Heruvorn
fears an assault from Rohan would rapidly overwhelm Osgiliath's shattered defences and their next obvious
target would be Minas Ithil.
Celebrindor expresses concern over a legend speaking
of a magical artefact hidden in the sewers that ensures the flow of water
within the city. Brand and I play dumb, denying that we found anything of
interest and that we were mostly absorbed with research in to the Tower of the
Moon.
Celebrindor continues to probe us as to whether we had
come across anything pertaining to the location of the artefact but we all
denied knowledge, all but Brand and me quite truthfully, but then he suddenly
blurts out ' Minas Ithil is in the foothills of
Mordor to keep watch over the servants of MELKOR'!
Some power in the way he stressed that name
swept over us; I had to grit my teeth and Aerin turned white as Celebrindor, sensing her distress, pressed his question
regarding knowledge of the whereabouts of the legendary artefact. Aerin gasps
that she knows nothing before swooning.
Enraged, I ordered Celebrindor
out, telling Pimm to see him from the premises; the
man is no gentleman! I felt Celebrindor had used some
sort of magic at the dinner table and Brand confirmed he had used a 'word of
power', and that the name Melkor implies he is a
follower of the Dark Lord.
We discussed what measures we should take,
whether I should challenge Celebrindor to a duel. In
view of the fact that I am inexperienced and that he might use the dark arts,
it would probably not be advised – Brand also points out that my father would
not approve. That and the fact that Celebrindor is
hardly my social equal persuades me to restrain my instincts.
Brand
feels the best revenge would be to find the artefact and secure it against Celebrindor's machinations. He is quite right, of course.