The High King

by Lloyd Alexander

  “Silence, you puny thing,” commanded the bard. “You’ve said enough and done enough.”

  “That’s right, lay all the blame on me,” sniffed Glew. “It’s my fault Gwydion’s sword was stolen, my fault the Cauldron-Born escaped, my fault every other disagreeable thing has happened.”

  The bard did not deign to answer the former giant’s whining outburst. Taran, having ordered the Commot warriors into the relative safety of the tunnel mouth, returned and stood beside the companions.

  “I fear Doli is right,” Taran said. “By attacking the Huntsmen we can only destroy ourselves. Our strength is slight enough as it is, and we dare not waste it. We have been long delayed, and already may be too late to aid Gwydion. No, we must find some means to make our way despite the Huntsmen.”

  Doli shook his head. “Still won’t answer. They know we’re here; they’ll know if we try to move. All they need to do is track us. For the matter of that, I’ll be surprised if we’re not attacked before dawn. Look to your skins, my friends. It may be the last time you’ll see them whole.”

  “Doli,” Taran said urgently, “you’re the only one who can help us now. Will you spy out the Huntsmen’s camp? Learn all you can of their plans. I know how you feel about turning yourself invisible, but …”

  “Invisible!” shouted the dwarf, clapping a hand to his head. “I knew it would come to that sooner or later. It always does! Good old Doli! Turn invisible! I’m not sure I can do it any more, I’ve tried to forget how. It hurts my ears. I’d sooner have my head stuffed with hornets and wasps. No, no, out of the question. Ask anything else you like, but not that.”

  “Good old Doli,” Taran said. “I was sure you’d do it.”

  After a further show of reluctance, which deceived no one except perhaps Doli himself, the crimson-haired dwarf consented to do as Taran had asked. Doli wrinkled his eyes shut, took a deep breath, as though making ready to plunge into icy water, and flickered out of sight. Had it not been for a stifled sound of irritable grumbling, Taran would not have believed Doli to be there at all. Only the faint click of pebbles stirred by unseen feet told Taran that the dwarf had moved from the tunnel toward the enemy lines.

  At Doli’s orders the Fair Folk troop took guardposts in a wide half-circle beyond the tunnel’s mouth, where their sharp eyes and ears could catch any threatening movement or sound. Taran was amazed at how still these warriors remained, silent and nearly as invisible as Doli. Their white garb made them seem no more than ice-covered stones or frosted hummocks under the moon, which had now begun to drift from behind the clouds. The horsemen drowsed among their steeds for warmth. Glew curled up nearby. Just within the tunnel Fflewddur sat with his back against the wall of rock, one hand on his harp, the other resting on the huge head of Llyan, who had stretched out beside him and was gently purring.

  Muffled in his cloak, Taran gazed once more in wonder at the mountainside where first had appeared Eilonwy’s signal light. “She is alive,” he murmured to himself. “Alive,” he whispered again and again, and his heart leaped each time he spoke the words. Gurgi would be with her, of this he was somehow sure. All his senses told him both companions had survived. Over the chill air came the baying of a wolf. There were other sounds, as of distant shouting, but they soon faded, and he gave them no thought, filled as he was with his new-found hope.

  Half the night had worn away when Doli flickered back into sight. The dwarf, too excited to complain of his buzzing ears, hurriedly beckoned Taran and Fflewddur to follow him. Ordering the horsemen to stand alert, Taran hastened after the companions. The Fair Folk warriors were already jog-trotting behind Doli, silent as white shadows.

  Taran at first thought the dwarf meant to lead them directly to the Huntsmen’s camp; instead Doli turned off a little distance before it and began scrambling up a slope rising high above the gorge.

  “The Huntsmen are still there,” Doli muttered under his breath as they climbed. “No wish of their own. We have some friends we didn’t know about—bears and wolves, dozens of them, all along the rim of the gorge. A band of Huntsmen tried to climb out. Good thing they couldn’t see me or I wouldn’t be here. But they were seen. The bears got to them first. Quick work they made of those villains. Bloody work, but quick.”

  “They slew a party of Huntsmen?” Taran frowned. “Now the others are even stronger.”

  “Be that as it may,” replied Doli. “The bears and wolves can attend to them better than we can. I doubt the Huntsmen will attack tonight. They fear the animals. They’ll stay in the gorge until morning. And that’s where I want them. I think I’ve struck on something.”

  By this time they had reached the summit and had come to the rim of an ice-bound lake. At the sheer drop over the edge of the bluff, a frozen waterfall glittered under the moon; like fingers on a huge fist, vast icicles clawed at the steep slope, as though holding the lake in its frigid grip. A river of hard silver twisted downward toward the gorge where the Huntsmen were sheltering. Taran glimpsed their campfires glowing like baleful eyes in the darkness. Though he could not be sure, it seemed to him that shadowy shapes stirred among the rocks and stunted brush of the higher ground; perhaps the bears and wolves of which the dwarf had spoken.

  “There!” Doli said, “what do you think of that?”

  “What do I think?” cried the bard. “My old friend, I think you’re the one who left your wits in the mine. You’ve led us on a good climb, but I should hardly call this a moment to admire the beauties of nature.”

  The dwarf put his hands on his hips and looked at Fflewddur with exasperation. “Sometimes I think Eiddileg’s right about you humans. Can’t you see past your nose? Can’t you see at all? We’re nearly atop those ruffians. Free the lake! Free the waterfall! Let it go pouring down! Straight into the camp!”

  Taran caught his breath. For a moment, his heart leaped hopefully. Then he shook his head. “The task is too great, Doli. The ice will defeat us.”

  “Then melt it!” shouted the dwarf. “Cut branches, bushes, all that will burn. Where the ice is too thick, chop it away! How many times must I tell you? You’re dealing with Fair Folk!”

  “Can it indeed be done?” Taran whispered.

  “Would I have said it if I didn’t think so?” the dwarf snapped.

  Fflewddur gave a low whistle of admiration. “You think in large terms, old fellow. But it appeals to me. Great Belin, if we could pull it off we’d strike them all down at one blow! And rid ourselves of them once and for all!”

  Doli was no longer listening to the bard but was passing hasty orders to the Fair Folk warriors, who unslung their axes and, with all speed, began chopping and hacking at the trees, uprooting underbrush, and racing with their burdens to the lake.

  Casting his doubts aside, Taran drew his sword and hewed at the branches. Fflewddur toiled beside him. Despite the bitter cold air, their brows streamed; their panting breath hung in a white haze before their faces. At the frozen waterfall the axes of the Fair Folk rang upon the ice. Doli dashed among the warriors, adding to the pile of bushes and branches, dislodging rocks and boulders to form a straighter, swifter channel.

  The night was waning quickly. Taran stumbled in exhaustion, his cold-numbed hands torn and bleeding. Fflewddur was barely able to keep his feet. But the efforts of the Fair Folk never slackened. Before dawn the lake and the watercourse were piled high, as though a forest had overgrown them. Only then was Doli satisfied.

  “Now, we’ll set it alight,” he cried to Taran. “Fair Folk tinder burns hotter than anything you humans know. It will blaze in no time.” He whistled shrilly through his teeth. All along the lake the torches of the Fair Folk flamed, then arced like shooting stars as the warriors flung them into the pyre. Taran saw the first branches catch fire, then the rest. A fierce crackling filled his ears, and over it he heard Doli shouting for the companions to race clear of the blaze. A wave of heat like the breath of a furnace caught at Taran as he struggled for a foothold among the stones. The ice was mel
ting. He heard the hiss of quenched flames. But the fire, too high to be altogether extinguished, raged even more hotly. From the watercourse came the crack and groan of boulders shifting under the growing pressure of the rising flood. In a moment, like a gate ripped from its hinges, like a wall collapsing, the side of the bluff gave way, and through the channel burst a sheet of water carrying all before it. Huge blocks of ice thundered down the slope, bounding and rolling as if they had been no more than pebbles. The swift outpouring bore with it the flaming branches; above the streaming mass, clouds of sparks billowed and swirled, and the watercourse blazed all along its length.

  In the gorge below, the Huntsmen shouted and strove to flee. It was too late. The rushing waters and careening boulders flung back the warriors as they sought to scramble up the ravine. Screaming and cursing, they fell beneath the cascade or were tossed in the air like chips, to be dashed against the sharp rocks. A few gained higher ground, but as they did, Taran saw dark shapes spring to grapple with them, and now it was the turn of the waiting animals to take vengeance on those who had ever mercilessly hunted and slaughtered them.

  Silence fell over the gorge. In the dawn light Taran saw the glint of the dark water that had flooded the ravine. Some of the branches still burned, others smouldered, and a gray mist of smoke hung in the air. A rattle of stones behind him made Taran spin about and snatch his blade from the scabbard.

  “Hullo!” said Eilonwy. “We’re back again!”

  “You have an odd way of welcoming people,” Eilonwy went on, as Taran, his heart too full to speak, stared speechless at her. “You might at least say something.”

  While Gurgi, yelping joyfully, tried to greet everyone at once, Taran stepped quickly to Eilonwy’s side, put his arms about her, and drew the Princess close to him. “I had given up hope …”

  “A silly thing to do,” Eilonwy answered. “I never did. Though I admit having a few uneasy moments with that ruffian Dorath, and I could tell you tales you wouldn’t believe about wolves and bears. I’ll save them for later, when you can tell me all that’s been happening to you. As for the Huntsmen,” she continued, as the reunited companions made their way to the tunnel, “I saw the whole thing. At first I hadn’t any idea what you were up to. Then I understood. It was wonderful. I should have known Doli had a hand in it. Good old Doli! It looked like a river of burning ice …” The Princess stopped suddenly and her eyes widened. “Do you realize what you’ve done?” she whispered. “Don’t you see?”

  “Know what we’ve done?” laughed Fflewddur. “Indeed we do! We’ve rid ourselves of the Huntsmen, and a good job it was. A Fflam couldn’t have done better. As for what I see, I’m more pleased with what I can’t see, if you take my meaning, namely, not a sign of those villains.”

  “Hen Wen’s prophecy!” Eilonwy cried. “Part of it’s come true! Have all of you forgotten? Night turn to noon and rivers burn with frozen fire ere Dyrnwyn be regained. Well, you’ve burned a river, or so it seems to me. Frozen fire could just as well mean all that ice and flaming branches, couldn’t it?”

  Taran looked closely at the Princess. His hands trembled as the words of the prophecy echoed in his memory. “Have you seen what we ourselves did not see? But have you not done as much as we did? Without realizing it yourself? Think! ‘Night turn to noon.’ Your bauble made daylight of darkness!”

  It was Eilonwy’s turn to be surprised. “So it did!” she exclaimed.

  “Yes, yes!” shouted Gurgi. “Wise piggy told the truth! Mighty blade will be found again!”

  Fflewddur cleared his throat. “A Fflam is always encouraging,” he said, “but in this case I should remind you, the prophecy also said Drynwyn’s flame would be quenched and its power would vanish, which leaves us no better off than we were, even if we did manage to find it. And I also recall something about asking mute stones to speak. So far I’ve heard not a word from any of the stones here, though in the matter of boulders and rocks, there’s hardly a short supply. The only message they’ve given me is that they’re hard to sleep on. Moreover, if you want my opinion, I’d say don’t trust prophecies in the first place. It’s been my experience they’re as bad as enchantments and lead only to one thing: trouble.”

  “I do not understand the meaning of the prophecy myself,” Taran said. “Are these signs of hope, or do we deceive ourselves by wishing them to be? Only Dallben or Gwydion has wisdom to interpret them. And yet I can’t help feeling there is some hope at last. But it is true. Our task is no easier than it was.”

  Doli grimaced. “No easier? It’s impossible now. Do you still mean to gain the Red Fallows? I warn you the Cauldron-Born are far out of reach.” He snorted. “Don’t talk to me about prophecies. Talk about time. We’ve lost too much of it.”

  “I have thought long about this, too,” Taran answered. “It has been in my mind ever since the tunnel fell. I believe our only chance is to go straight across the mountains and try to hold back the Cauldron-Born as they turn northwest to Annuvin.”

  “Slim hope,” Doli replied. “The Fair Folk can’t venture that far. It’s forbidden land. That close to Arawn’s realm, Fair Folk would die. Gwystyl’s way post was nearest to the Land of Death, and you’ve seen what it did to his digestion and disposition. The best we could do is to put you well on your way. One of us might go with you,” he added. “You can imagine who that is. Good old Doli! I’ve spent so much time above ground with you humans that being in Annuvin can’t harm me.

  “Yes, I’ll go with you,” Doli went on, scowling furiously. “I see nothing else for it. Good old Doli! Sometimes I wish I didn’t have such an agreeable temper. Humph!”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The Enchanter

  Like a weary child, the old man hunched over the book-strewn table, his head upon his arm. Across his bony shoulders he had flung a cloak; the fire still flickered in the hearth, but the chill of this winter sank into him more deeply than any other he could remember. At his feet, Hen Wen stirred restlessly and whimpered in a high, plaintive voice. Dallben, who was neither altogether asleep nor awake, reached down a frail hand and gently scratched her ear.

  The pig would not be calmed. Her pink snout twitched, she snorted and muttered unhappily and tried to hide her head in the folds of his robe. The enchanter at last roused himself.

  “What is it, Hen? Is our time upon us?” He gave the pig a reassuring pat and rose stiffly from the wooden stool. “Tut, it is a moment to pass, no more than that, whatever the outcome.”

  Without haste he took up a long ash-wood staff and, leaning on it, hobbled from the chamber. Hen Wen trotted at his heels. At the cottage door, he pulled the cloak tighter about him and stepped into the night. The moon was at its full, riding distant in a deep sky. Dallben stood, listening carefully. To another’s ears, the little farm would have seemed silent as the moon itself, but the old enchanter, his brow furrowed, his eyes half closed, nodded his head. “You are right, Hen,” he murmured. “I hear them now. But they are still far. What then,” he added, with a wrinkled smile, “must I wait long for them and freeze the little marrow left in my bones?”

  Nevertheless, he did not return within the cottage but moved a few paces across the dooryard. His eyes, which had been heavy with drowsiness, grew bright as ice crystals. He peered sharply past the leafless trees of the orchard, as though to see into the shadows entwining the circling forest like black ivy tendrils. Hen Wen stayed behind, sitting uneasily on her haunches and watching the enchanter with much concern on her broad, bristly face.

  “I should say there are twenty of them,” Dallben remarked, then added wryly, “I do not know whether to be insulted or relieved. Only twenty? It is a paltry number. Yet more than that would be too cumbersome for the long journey, especially through the fighting in the Valley of Ystrad. No, twenty would be deemed ample and well chosen.”

  For some time the old man stood quietly and patiently. At last, through the clear air, a faint sound of hoofbeats grew more insistent, then stopped, as if the ri
ders had dismounted and were walking their steeds.

  Against the dark tangle of trees where the forest rose at the edge of the stubble field, the darting shapes could have been no more than shadows cast by the bushes. Dallben straightened, raised his head, and blew out his breath as gently as if he were puffing at thistledown.

  In an instant a biting gale shrieked across the field. The farm was calm, but the wind ripped with the force of a thousand swords into the forest, where the trees clashed and rattled. Horses whinnied, men shouted as branches suddenly lashed against them. The gale beat against the warriors, who flung up their arms to shield themselves from it.

  Still, the war band pressed on, struggling through the wind-whipped forest and at last gaining the stubble field. At the onset of the gale, Hen Wen, squealing fearfully, had turned tail and dashed into the cottage. Dallben raised a hand and the wind died as quickly as it had risen. Frowning, the old man smote his staff on the frozen turf.

  Deep thunder muttered, the ground shuddered; and the field heaved like a restless sea. The warriors staggered and lost their footing, and among the attackers many fled to the safety of the forest, hastening to escape, fearful the earth itself might open and swallow them. The rest, urging each other on, drew their swords and stumbled across the field, racing toward the cottage.

  With some vexation Dallben thrust out his arm with fingers spread as though he were casting pebbles into a pond. From his hand a crimson flame spurted and stretched like a fiery lash, in blinding streaks against the black sky.

  The warriors cried out as ropes of crackling flame caught at them and twined about their arms and legs. The horses broke loose and galloped madly into the woods. The attackers threw down their weapons and tore frantically at their cloaks and jackets. Howling in pain and terror, the men reeled and plunged in full flight back to the forest.