CHAPTER XXI: OF THE FIGHT OF THE CHAMPIONS IN THE HALL OF THE RAVAGERS
Now it is to be told that the chieftains came into the hall that nightand sat down at the board on the dais, even as Hallblithe had seen themdo aforetime. And the chieftain of all, who was called the Erne of theSea-eagles, rose up according to custom and said: "Hearken, folk! this isa night of the champions, whereon we may not eat till the pale bladeshave clashed together, and one hath vanquished and another been overcome.Now let them stand forth and give out the prize of victory which thevanquished shall pay to the vanquisher. And let it be known, that,whosoever may be the champion that winneth the battle, whether he be akinsman, or an alien, or a foeman declared; yea, though he have left thehead of my brother at the hall-door, he shall pass this night with ussafe from sword, safe from axe, safe from hand: he shall eat as we eat,drink as we drink, sleep as we sleep, and depart safe from any hand orweapon, and shall sail the sea at his pleasure in his own keel or inours, as to him and us may be meet. Blow up horns for the champions!"
So the horns blew a cheerful strain, and when they were done, there cameinto the hall a tall man clad in black, and with black armour and weaponssaving the white blade of his sword. He had a vizard over his face, buthis hair came down from under his helm like the tail of a red horse.
So he stood amidst the floor and cried out: "I am the champion of theRavagers. But I swear by the Treasure of the Sea that I will cross noblade to-night save with an alien, a foeman of the kindred. Hearestthou, O chieftain, O Erne of the Sea-eagles?"
"Hear it I do," said the chieftain, "and I deem that thy meaning is thatwe should go supperless to bed; and this cometh of thy perversity: for weknow thee despite thy vizard. Belike thou deemest that thou shalt not bemet this even, and that there is no free alien in the island to drawsword against thee. But beware! For when we came aland this morning wefound a skiff of the aliens tied to a great spear stuck in the bank ofthe haven; so that there will be one foeman at least abroad in theisland. But we said if we should come on the man, we would set his headon the gable of the hall with the mouth open toward the North for a tokenof reproach to the dwellers in the land over sea. But now give out theprize of victory, and I swear by the Treasure of the Sea that we willabide by thy word."
Said the champion: "These are the terms and conditions of the battle;that whichso of us is vanquished, he shall either die, or serve thevanquisher for twelve moons, to fare with him at his will, to go hiserrands, and do according to his commandment in all wise. Hearest thou,chieftain?"
"Yea," said he, "and by the Undying King, both thou and we shall abide bythis bargain. So look to it that thou smite great strokes, lest our halllack a gable-knop. Horns, blow up for the alien champion!"
So again the horns were winded; and ere their voice had died, in from thebuttery screens came a glittering image of war, and there stood the alienchampion over against the warrior of the sea; and he too had a vizardover his face.
Now when the folk saw him, and how slim and light and small he lookedbeside their champion, and they beheld the Raven painted on his whiteshield, they hooted and laughed for scorn of him and his littleness. Buthe tossed his sword up lightly and caught it by the hilts as it fell, anddrew nigher to the champion of the sea and stood facing him within reachof his sword. Then the chieftain on the high-seat put his two hands tohis mouth and roared out: "Fall on, ye champions, fall on!"
But the folk in the hall were so eager that they stood on the benches andthe boards, and craned over each other's shoulders, so that they mightlose no whit of the hand-play. Now flashed the blades in the candle-lithall, and the red-haired champion hove up his sword and smote two greatstrokes to right and to left; but the alien gave way before him, and thefolk cried out at him in scorn and in joy of their champion, who fell toraining down great strokes like the hail amidst the lightning. But sodeft was the alien, that he stood amidst it unhurt, and laid many strokeson his foeman, and did all so lightly and easily, that it seemed as if hewere dancing rather than fighting; and the folk held their peace andbegan to doubt if their huge champion would prevail. Now the red-hairedfetched a mighty stroke at the alien, who leapt aside lightly and gat hissword in his left hand and dealt a great stroke on the other's head, andthe red-haired staggered, for he had over-reached himself; and again thealien smote him a left-handed stroke so that he fell full length on thefloor with a mighty clatter, and the sword flew out of his hand: and thefolk were dumb-founded.
Then the alien threw himself on the sea-champion, and knelt upon him, andshortened his sword as if to slay him with a thrust. But thereon the manoverthrown cried out: "Hold thine hand, for I am vanquished! Now give mepeace according to the bargain struck between us, that I shall serve theeyear-long, and follow thee wheresoever thou goest."
Therewith the alien champion arose and stood off from him, and the man ofthe sea gat to his feet, and did off his helm, so that all men could seethat he was the Puny Fox.
Then the victorious champion unhelmed himself, and lo, it was Hallblithe!And a shout arose in the hall, part of wonder, part of wrath.
Then cried out the Puny Fox: "I call on all men here to bear witness thatby reason of this battle, Hallblithe of the Ravens is free to come and goas he will in the Isle of Ransom, and to take help of any man that willhelp him, and to depart from the isle when he will and how he will,taking me with him if so he will."
Said the chieftain: "Yea, this is right and due, and so shall it be. Butnow, since no freeman, who is not a foe of the passing hour, may abide inour hall without eating of our meat, come up here, Hallblithe, and sit byme, and eat and drink of the best we have, since the Norns would not giveus thine head for a gable-knop. But what wilt thou do with thy thrallthe Puny Fox; and whereto in the hall wilt thou have him shown? Or wiltthou that he sit fasting in the darkness to-night, laid in gyves andfetters? Or shall he have the cheer of whipping and stripes, asbefitteth a thrall to whom the master oweth a grudge? What is thy willwith him?"
Said Hallblithe: "My will is that thou give him a seat next to me,whether that be high or low, or the bench of thy prison-house. That heeat of my dish, and drink of my cup, whatsoever the meat and drink maybe. For to-morrow I mean that we twain shall go under the earth-collartogether, and that our blood shall run together and that we shall bebrothers in arms henceforward." Then Hallblithe did on his helm againand drew his sword, and looked aside to the Puny Fox to bid him do thelike, and he did so, and Hallblithe said: "Chieftain, thou hast bidden meto table, and I thank thee; but I will not set my teeth in meat, out ofour own house and land, which hath not been truly given to me by one whowotteth of me, unless I have conquered it as a prey of battle; neitherwill I cast a lie into the loving-cup which shall pass from thy lips tomine: therefore I will tell thee, that though I laid a stroke or two onthe Puny Fox, and those no light ones, yet was this battle nought trueand real, but a mere beguiling, even as that which I saw foughten in thishall aforetime, when meseemeth the slain men rose up in time to drink thegood-night cup. Therefore, O men of the Ravagers, and thou, O Puny Fox,there is nought to bind your hands and refrain your hearts, and ye mayslay me if ye will without murder or dishonour, and may make the head ofHallblithe a knop for your feast-hall. Yet shall one or two fall toearth before I fall."
Therewith he shook his sword aloft, and a great roar arose, and weaponscame down from the wall, and the candles shone on naked steel. But thePuny Fox came and stood by Hallblithe, and spake in his ear amidst theuproar: "Well now, brother-in-arms, I have been trying to learn thee thelore of lies, and surely thou art the worst scholar who was ever smittenby master. And the outcome of it is that I, who have lied so long andwell, must now pay for all, and die for a barren truth."
Said Hallblithe: "Let all be as it will! I love thee, lies and all; butas for me I cannot handle them. Lo you! great and grim shall be theslaying, and we shall not fall unavenged."
Said the Puny Fox: "Hearken! for still they hang back. Belike it is Ithat hav
e drawn this death on thee and me. My last lie was a fool's lieand we die for it: for what wouldst thou have done hadst thou wotted thatthy beloved, the Hostage of the Rose--" He broke off perforce; forHallblithe was looking to right and left and handling his sword, andheard not that last word of his; and from both sides of the hall thethrong was drawing round about those twain, weapon in hand. ThenHallblithe set his eyes on a big man in front who was heaving up a heavyshort-sword and thought that he would at least slay this one. But orever he might smite, the great horn blared out over the tumult, and menforbore a while and fell somewhat silent.
Then came down to them the voice of the chieftain, a loud voice, butclear and with mirth mingled with anger in it, and he said: "What dothese fools of the Ravagers cumbering the floor of the feast-hall, andshaking weapons when there is no foeman anigh? Are they dreaming-drunkbefore the wine is poured? Why do they not sit down in their places, andabide the bringing in of the meat? And ye women, where are ye, why do yedelay our meat, when ye may well wot that our hearts are drooping forhunger; and all hath been duly done, the battle of the champions foughtand won, and the prize of war given forth and taken? How long, O folk,shall your chieftains sit fasting?"
Then there arose great laughter in the hall, and men withdrew them fromthose twain and went and sat them down in their places.
Then the chieftain said: "Come up hither, I say, O Hallblithe, and bringthy war-thrall with thee if thou wilt. But delay not, unless it be sothat thou art neither hungry nor thirsty; and good sooth thou shouldst beboth; for men say that the ravens are hard to satisfy. Come then andmake good cheer with us!"
So Hallblithe thrust his sword into the sheath, and the Puny Fox did thelike, and they went both together up the hall to the high-seat. AndHallblithe sat down on the chieftain's right hand, and the Puny Fox nextto him; and the chieftain, the Erne, said: "O Hallblithe, dost thou needthine armour at table; or dost thou find it handy to take thy meat cladin thy byrny and girt with a sword?"
Then laughed Hallblithe and said: "Nay, meseemeth to-night I shall needwar-gear no more." And he stood up and did off all his armour and gaveit, sword and all, into the hands of a woman, who bore it off, he knewnot whither. And the Erne looked on him and said: "Well is that! and nowI see that thou art a fair young man, and it is no marvel though maidensdesire thee."
As he spake came in the damsels with the victual and the cheer wasexceeding good, and Hallblithe grew light-hearted.
But when the healths had been drunk as aforetime, and men had drunk a cupor two thereafter, there rose a warrior from one of the endlong benches,a big young man, black-haired and black-bearded, ruddy of visage, and hesaid in a voice that was rough and fat: "O Erne, and ye other chieftains,we have been talking here at our table concerning this guest of thine whohath beguiled us, and we are not wholly at one with thee as to thydealings with him. True it is, now that the man hath our meat in hisbelly, that he must depart from amongst us with a whole skin, unless ofhis own will he stand up to fight some man of us here. Yet some of usthink that he is not so much our friend that we should help him to a keelwhereon to fare home to those that hate us: and we say that it would notbe unlawful to let the man abide in the isle, and proclaim him a wolf's-head within a half-moon of to-day. Or what sayest thou?"
Said the Erne: "Wait for my word a while, and hearken to another! Is theGrey-goose of the Ravagers in the hall? Let him give out his word onthis matter."
Then arose a white-headed carle from a table nigh to the dais, whoseblack raiment was well adorned with gold. Despite his years his face wasfair and little wrinkled; a man with a straight nose and a well-fashionedmouth, and with eyes still bright and grey. He spake: "O folk, I findthat the Erne hath done well in cherishing this guest. For first, if hehath beguiled us, he did it not save by the furtherance and sleight ofour own kinsman; therefore if any one is to die for beguiling us, let itbe the Puny Fox. Secondly, we may well wot that heavy need hath driventhe man to this beguilement; and I say that it was no unmanly deed forhim to enter our hall and beguile us with his sleight; and that he hathplayed out the play right well and cunningly with the wisdom of awarrior. Thirdly, the manliness of him is well proven, in that havingovercome us in sleight, he hath spoken out the sooth concerning ourbeguilement and hath made himself our foeman and captive, when he mighthave sat down by us as our guest, freely and in all honour. And this hedid, not as contemning the Puny Fox and his lies and crafty wiles (for hehath told us that he loveth him); but so that he might show himself a manin that which trieth manhood. Moreover, ye shall not forget that he isthe rebel of the Undying King, who is our lord and master; therefore incherishing him we show ourselves great-hearted, in that we fear not thewrath of our master. Therefore I naysay the word of the War-brand thatwe should make this man a wolf's-head; for in so doing we shall showourselves lesser-hearted than he is, and of no account beside of him; andhis head on our hall-gable should be to us a nithing-stake, and a tree ofreproach. So I bid thee, O Erne, to make much of this man; and thoushalt do well to give him worthy gifts, such as warriors may take, sothat he may show them at home in the House of the Raven, that it may bethe beginning of peace betwixt us and his noble kindred. This is my say,and later on I shall wax no wiser."
Therewith he sat down, and there arose a murmur and stir in the hall; butthe more part said that the Grey-goose had spoken well, and that it wasgood to be at peace with such manly fellows as the new guest was.
But the Erne said: "One word will I lay hereto, to wit, that he whodesireth mine enmity let him do scathe to Hallblithe of the Ravens andhinder him."
Then he bade fill round the cups, and called a health to Hallblithe, andall men drank to him, and there was much joyance and merriment.
But when the night was well worn, the Erne turned to Hallblithe and said:"That was a good word of the Grey-goose which he spake concerning thegiving of gifts: Raven-son, wilt thou take a gift of me and be myfriend?"
"Thy friend will I be," said Hallblithe, "but no gift will I take of theeor any other till I have the gift of gifts, and that is my troth-plightmaiden. I will not be glad till I can be glad with her."
Then laughed the Erne, and the Puny Fox grinned all across his wide face,and Hallblithe looked from one to the other of them and wondered at theirmirth, and when they saw his wondering eyes, they did but laugh the more;and the Erne said: "Nevertheless, thou shalt see the gift which I wouldgive thee; and then mayst thou take it or leave it as thou wilt. Ho ye!bring in the throne of the Eastland with them that minister to it!"
Certain men left the hall as he spake, and came back bearing with them athrone fashioned most goodly of ivory, parcel-gilt and begemmed, andadorned with marvellous craftsmanship: and they set it down amidst of thehall-floor and went aback to their places, while the Erne sat and smiledkindly on the folk and on Hallblithe. Then arose the sound of fiddlesand the lesser harp, and the doors of the screen were opened, and thereflowed into the hall a company of fair damsels not less than a score,each one with a rose on her bosom, and they came and stood in orderbehind the throne of the Eastlands, and they strewed roses on the groundbefore them: and when they were duly ranged they fell to singing:
Now waneth spring, While all birds sing, And the south wind blows The earliest rose To and fro By the doors we know, And the scented gale Fills every dale. Slow now are brooks running because of the weed, And the thrush hath no cunning to hide her at need, So swift as she flieth from hedge-row to tree As one that toil trieth, and deedful must be.
And O! that at last, All sorrows past, This night I lay 'Neath the oak-beams grey! O, to wake from sleep, To see dawn creep Through the fruitful grove Of the house that I love! O! my feet to be treading the threshold once more, O'er which once went the leading of swords to the war! O! my feet in the garden's edge under the sun, Where the seeding grass hardens for haysel begun!
r /> Lo, lo! the wind blows To the heart of the Rose, And the ship lies tied To the haven side! But O for the keel The sails to feel! And the alien ness Growing less and less; As down the wind driveth and thrusts through the sea The sail-burg that striveth to turn and go free, But the lads at the tiller they hold her in hand, And the wind our well-willer drives fierce to the land.
We shall wend it yet, The highway wet; For what is this That our bosoms kiss? What lieth sweet Before our feet? What token hath come To lead us home? 'Tis the Rose of the garden walled round from the croft Where the grey roof its warden steep riseth aloft, 'Tis the Rose 'neath the oaken-beamed hall, where they bide, The pledges unbroken, the hand of the bride.
Hallblithe heard the song, and half thought it promised him somewhat; butthen he had been so misled and mocked at, that he scarce knew how torejoice at it.
Now the Erne spake: "Wilt thou not take the chair and these dainty song-birds that stand about it? Much wealth might come into thine hall ifthou wert to carry them over sea to rich men who have no kindred, noraffinity wherein to wed, but who love women as well as other men."
Said Hallblithe: "I have wealth enow were I once home again. As to thesemaidens, I know by the fashion of them that they are no women of theRose, as by their song they should be. Yet will I take any of thesemaidens that have will to go with me and be made sisters of my sisters,and wed with the warriors of the Rose; or if they are of a kindred, andlong to sit each in the house of her folk, then will we send them homeover the sea with warriors to guard them from all trouble. For this giftI thank thee. As to thy throne, I bid thee keep it till a keel comeththy way from our land, bringing fair gifts for thee and thine. For weare not so unwealthy."
Those that sat nearby heard his words and praised them; but the Ernesaid: "All this is free to thee, and thou mayst do what thou wilt withthe gifts given to thee. Yet shalt thou have the throne; and I havethought of a way to make thee take it. Or what sayst thou, Puny Fox?"
Said the Puny Fox: "Yea if thou wilt, thou mayst, but I thought it not ofthee that thou wouldst. Now is all well."
Again Hallblithe looked from one to the other and wondered what theymeant. But the Erne cried out: "Bring in now the sitter, who shall fillthe empty throne!"
Then again the screen-doors opened, and there came in two weaponed men,leading between them a woman clad in gold and garlanded with roses. Sofair was the fashion of her face and all her body, that her coming seemedto make a change in the hall, as though the sun had shone into itsuddenly. She trod the hall-floor with firm feet, and sat down on theivory chair. But even before she was seated therein Hallblithe knew thatthe Hostage was under that roof and coming toward him. And the heartrose in his breast and fluttered therein, so sore he yearned toward theDaughter of the Rose, and his very speech-friend. Then he heard the Ernesaying, "How now, Raven-son, wilt thou have the throne and the sittertherein, or wilt thou gainsay me once more?"
Thereafter he himself spake, and the sound of his voice was strange tohim and as if he knew it not: "Chieftain, I will not gainsay thee, butwill take thy gift, and thy friendship therewith, whatsoever hathbetided. Yet would I say a word or two unto the woman that sittethyonder. For I have been straying amongst wiles and images, and mayhappenI shall yet find this to be but a dream of the night, or a beguilement ofthe day." Therewith he arose from the table, and walked slowly down thehall; but it was a near thing that he did not fall a-weeping before allthose aliens, so full his heart was.
He came and stood before the Hostage, and their eyes were upon eachother, and for a little while they had no words. Then Hallblithe began,wondering at his voice as he spake: "Art thou a woman and myspeech-friend? For many images have mocked me, and I have beenencompassed with lies, and led astray by behests that have not beenfulfilled. And the world hath become strange to me, and empty offriends."
Then she said: "Art thou verily Hallblithe? For I also have beenencompassed by lies, and beset by images of things unhelpful."
"Yea," said he, "I am Hallblithe of the Ravens, wearied with desire formy troth-plight maiden."
Then came the rosy colour into the fairness of her face, as the risingsun lighteth the garden of flowers in the June morning; and she said: "Ifthou art Hallblithe, tell me what befell to the finger-gold-ring that mymother gave me when we were both but little."
Then his face grew happy, and he smiled, and he said: "I put it for theeone autumntide in the snake's hole in the bank above the river, amidstthe roots of the old thorn-tree, that the snake might brood it, and makethe gold grow greater; but when winter was over and we came to look forit, lo! there was neither ring nor snake, nor thorn-tree: for the floodhad washed it all away."
Thereat she smiled most sweetly, and whereas she had been looking on himhitherto with strained and anxious eyes, she now beheld him simply andfriendly; and she said: "O Hallblithe, I am a woman indeed, and thyspeech-friend. This is the flesh that desireth thee, and the life thatis thine, and the heart which thou rejoicest. But now tell me, who arethese huge images around us, amongst whom I have sat thus, once in everymoon this year past, and afterwards I was taken back to the women'sbower? Are they men or mountain-giants? Will they slay us, or shut usup from the light and air? Or hast thou made peace with them? Wilt thouthen dwell with me here, or shall we go back again to Cleveland by theSea? And when, oh when, shall we depart?"
He smiled and said: "Quick come thy questions, beloved. These are thefolks of the Ravagers and the Sea-eagles: they be men, though fierce andwild they be. Our foes they have been, and have sundered us; but now arethey our friends, and have brought us together. And to-morrow, O friend,shall we depart across the waters to Cleveland by the Sea."
She leaned forward, and was about to speak softly to him, but suddenlystarted back, and said: "There is a big, red-haired man, as big as anyhere, behind thy shoulder. Is he also a friend? What would he with us?"
So Hallblithe turned about, and beheld the Puny Fox beside him, who tookup the word and spoke, smiling as a man in great glee: "O maiden of theRose, I am Hallblithe's thrall, and his scholar, to unlearn the craft oflying, whereby I have done amiss towards both him and thee. Whereof Iwill tell thee all the tale soon. But now I will say that it is truethat we depart to-morrow for Cleveland by the Sea, thou and he, and I incompany. Now I would ask thee, Hallblithe, if thou wouldst have mebestow this gift of thine in safe-keeping to-night, since there is an endof her sitting in the hall like a graven image: and to-morrow the waywill be long and wearisome, What sayest thou?"
Said the Hostage: "Shall I trust this man and go with him?"
"Yea, thou shalt trust him," said Hallblithe, "for he is trusty. Andeven were he not, it is meet for us of the Raven and the Rose to do asour worth biddeth us, and not to fear this folk. And it behoveth us todo after their customs since we are in their house."
"That is sooth," she said; "big man, lead me out of the hall to my place.Farewell, Hallblithe, for a little while, and then shall there be no moresundering for us."
Therewith she departed with the Puny Fox, and Hallblithe went back to thehigh-seat and sat down by the Erne, who laughed on him and said: "Thouhast taken my gift, and that is well: yet shall I tell thee that I wouldnot have given it to thee if I could have kept it for myself in suchplight as thou wilt have it. But all I could do, and the Puny Fox tohelp withal, availed me nought. So good luck go with thine hands. Nowwill we to bed, and to-morrow I will lead thee out on thy way; for to saysooth, there be some here who are not well pleased with either thee orme; and thou knowest that words are wasted on wilful men, but that deedsmay avail somewhat."
Therewith he cried out for the cup of good-night, and when it wasdrunken, Hallblithe was shown to a fair shut-bed; even that wherein hehad lain aforetime; and there he went to sleep in joy, and in good likingwith all men.