The Bellringer

by William Timothy Murray

  Robby related the whole story starting from when Ullin showed up on the porch of their store in Passdale. He talked about the strange experience at Weepingbrook bridge, about the wolves, and how he discovered the bell room with its great bell, and how, when the wolves reappeared, he escaped through the iron door. Lastly, Robby told about the ghostly soldiers, or, rather, what he thought he had seen, for he was unsure of himself.

  "Were they real? Truly?" he asked.

  "Oh, yes," Ashlord said.

  "But who, or what, were they?" Robby asked. "And I recall you saying something to them."

  "Hmm. In good time," Ashlord said, taking a puff on his pipe and letting out a cloud of scented smoke. "Much of what you have told me I already surmised, and it is an amazing tale. And your adventure has touched events that run deeper and farther than you can imagine."

  Robby saw that the parcel was still unopened on Ashlord's lap, and he looked over at Sheila, who had been silent the whole while, occasionally stirring from her seat to tend the fire.

  "What do you mean?" Robby asked.

  "Let us keep the story in order," Ashlord said at last, "by having Sheila tell her part. She is more than my pupil. She has become my agent, so to speak, and my helper. You see, I have been expecting this parcel, which contains some various letters to me, and I have been worried at the lateness of them. So, on the morning that you set out from Passdale, I asked Sheila to go there to make inquiries about the post. Knowing that Ullin Saheed would be carrying these, I also knew that he would have other important errands. I suspected he might be pressed for time. So I thought to save him the trip to Tulith Attis by sending Sheila to meet him."

  "But I arrived too late," Sheila picked up. "Ashlord instructed me to make my purpose known to no one until I saw Ullin Saheed. I thought to meet him on the road on this side of the bridge, and I was to share a secret password with him so that he would know I am Ashlord's servant and the parcel would be safely delivered by me. When I came near to the Passdale Bridge, I saw the two of you coming together. I recognized him from Ashlord's description. I saw him take the other road as you came on toward me. So I climbed a tree and hid while I considered what to do.

  "It was not possible to overtake Ullin, and yet I could not make up my mind whether to return to Ashlord or else try to get some news from town about when Ullin might return. While I debated, you passed by my hiding place. I almost called out to you, but Ashlord instructed me not to tell anyone at all about my task. Well, I decided I should return to Ashlord, so I dropped out of the tree and picked up the road behind you.

  "It was not long before I had you in sight. I was sorely tempted to catch up to you, but, again, I remembered that Ashlord said no one should know my purpose, and," she glanced at Ashlord, then down at the floor, shrugging, "and I didn't think I could keep it from you if you asked. So I followed. I admit I was in more of a hurry than you seemed to be. And several times I thought you had seen me."

  "I never did!" Robby said. "But I wish that I had. Your company would have been welcome, and maybe would have saved us both a lot of trouble, as it turned out."

  "That is true," Sheila replied, nodding, "but how was I to know? At any rate, I did follow, never letting you leave my sight. When you came to Weepingbrook I could not believe you tarried there. Have you not heard the stories?"

  Robby shrugged and was about to say something when Sheila continued.

  "You must have, but either you put no credence in them or else have no fear of such things. I was sorely tempted to cry out at you when I saw you leisurely eat your lunch there. And you actually drew your knife!"

  "So? I needed to use it. What's wrong with that?" Robby looked back and forth from Ashlord, whose eyebrows raised as if waiting for Robby to answer himself, to Sheila who was looking at him with indignant surprise. "I don't understand."

  "Sheila assumes that the lore that she has been taught is known to all," he said. "But Men have lost much, in memory and elsewise, and few speak of such things as you have blundered into, Master Ribbon. Yet, your narrow escape, of which Sheila has told me, from the bridge at Weepingbrook is but one of many such wonders. You seem to have a knack for such blunders, and a gift for narrow escapes."

  "I don't know what you are talking about," Robby said. "At Weepingbrook, I mean."

  "You left this behind there," Ashlord reached over to the table and picked up the knife that Robby had left on the bridge.

  "I picked it up after I saw you flee the bridge," Sheila added.

  "I did not flee," Robby stammered. "Only, only—"

  "Only you forgot your knife," Sheila retorted.

  "Did you know this knife was made in Duinnor?" Ashlord asked, handing it to Robby. Robby looked at the blade and shook his head.

  "No," he said seeing for the first time the small markings on the base of the blade. "It came in a case of trading goods awhile back."

  "Well, more about it later," Ashlord said, waving his hand in dismissal of the current subject. "Let Sheila continue."

  "There's not much more to say after that," she resumed. "It wasn't until you were nearly at Oldgate that I thought you might be going to Tulith Attis and carrying dispatches from Ullin. I couldn't be sure so I kept low and continued to follow. But the land between here and Oldgate is open, with little cover, and I had to linger a far ways behind you. When you took the North Road around Tulith Attis, instead of coming to the east, I was confused. I thought maybe you were lost or else you were on some other errand. Anyway, in the storm I lost sight of you several times as you neared the bridge. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw you go across the bridge. Then I saw the wolves coming between us. By the time I got near enough to use my bow, you had disappeared. I killed three of the wolves, but there were more than I had arrows so I could not cross the bridge to follow you. Still, I called out to you, but the storm was so loud and the noise of the wolves, too, that I barely heard my own shout. I myself was chased by the wolves and managed to kill four more before reaching the safety of this house."

  "She told me what had passed," Ashlord picked up, "and we immediately set out to find you. We searched as far as the bridge, but saw no sign of you, nor any signs of wolves, except the carcasses of those Sheila dispatched. Thinking that you might have come back this way, missing us in the dark, we were nearly back here when we heard the tolling of Tulith Hammer, for so the legends call the bell you discovered."

  "Won't you please tell me what happened?" Robby pleaded. "Why did the bell ring? What was that room where it hung? And who where those soldiers, and what did they want with me?"

  "There is much to explain, indeed," Ashlord said, rising from his chair. "And since the rain allows for little else this day," he said peering through a foggy window then turning back to Robby, "the telling of whys and wherefores is the least we can do. However, you come into the middle of a tale that has not yet been finished in its making. Indeed, wherever I choose to begin the tale would even be in itself starting after the beginning, since its very beginnings are lost to all memory."

  Robby closed his eyes trying to follow the meaning of Ashlord's speech. After a moment, he stopped trying to untie the riddle of the odd man's words and opened his eyes. Ashlord was holding a metal box out to him, about two hands wide and about as deep. It was made of copper, and its hinged lid was shut with a clasp that had a lock made into it.

  "Could you open that for me while I fetch something?" Ashlord asked. Robby took the box and looked at Sheila, who shrugged. While Robby looked at the box, Ashlord rummaged through some papers on a nearby table.

  "What I wouldn't give for a thimble of True Ink!" he muttered.

  "Pardon me?" Sheila asked.

  "Nothing. Nothing. Just talking to myself."

  Robby fingered the lock and tugged gently on the lid. There was a light click and the lid opened. The only thing inside was a small key, which Robby removed.

  "Ah, thank you." Ashlord said taking the key and the box. "I've been trying to open that box
for ages." He closed the lid and put the box on the table. "Just needed the right touch, I suppose," he added, looking at Robby with a mischievous glint in his eye as Certina landed on his shoulder. Cocking his head to look at the creature, he nodded and offered the key to her. She promptly took it in her beak and flew off.

  "Now, where were we?" he said, sitting back down. "Oh, yes! Well, an explanation. Hmm. Where to begin?"

  Ashlord sat back in his chair and gazed at the ceiling for a long moment. Robby saw nothing very interesting up there.

  "I suppose you have heard of Faerum?"

  Robby perked up.

  "The mythical land where the Faere Folk are supposed to have come from?"

  "Ah, well, Faerum is not mythical, it is not a land, but many lands, and they did not come from there. Faerum once was where we now sit, and it covered all the lands of the world from the sea to even the unknown places beyond the Westlands. All kingdoms were once part of Faerum, a vast empire of forests and fields, mountains and rivers. Faerum was here before Men came into the world, and, it is said, will be restored when Men are a faded memory. It is told, in legend and in song, that once the Faere people were given unto the earth and the earth to them, and that they were made by Beras, lord of all the gods, to be immortal and without sickness or trouble. That they needed not any sustenance but sunlight and shade, moonbeam and starlight, water and wind. And so they rejoiced in the earth and lived happily and in peace with all the creatures of the earth and with rock and river and in every place of the world above or below or upon the ground and within the waters of the rivers and streams, the lakes and the seas. Many ages passed uncounted. Eventually, Dragons appeared and multiplied their offspring across the land, making waste the forests and the fields and befouling the waters and the air. They made slaves to serve them, and it was they, those slaves, who became the Dragon People. It was in those days, so the songs go, that some of the Faere Folk first took up arms and learned the craft of war. They lay spells and enchantments upon most of the lands yet unspoiled by the Dragon people. But there was a sundering among the great houses of Faerum, for many chose not to wage war and deemed it an evil thing, and they shunned those who did the fighting. Chief among these was Aperion, King of the Faere, and he took away the peaceful ones of the Faerekind, though some have lingered, it is said, in hidden places of the world. But those who remained to fight against the Dragon People accepted their curse, calling themselves the Elifaen, meaning the Fallen Children. Sometimes they are called elves in the Common Tongue. There arose from them great warriors and armies, and they contended with the Dragon People for dominion over the earth. For many ages there was war and waste, and much of what the Elifaen sought to preserve was destroyed or lost. Many of the Elifaen died in battle or were taken as thralls, and their numbers dwindled, for they have very few offspring. The long wars with the Dragonkind sapped the Elifaen of their vitality, poisoned their hearts with hatred and shame, and, understanding what they had lost, they slowly became a forlorn people.

  "Then Men came to these shores in great ships likened unto floating cities, though where they came from has been lost to memory. Here they sought a home and a rest from an age of wandering upon the seas, and they built towns and farms, thinking the land free of inhabitants, for the watching Elifaen kept themselves hidden, at first. But the marauding Dragon People soon discovered Men and made war upon them, and the Faere Elifaen learned of the beleaguered newcomers and came to their aid. It was then that a great alliance was made between Elves and Men, and the Dragon People were defeated and driven from the lands. For many generations there was peace once again in the lands, and Men grew in numbers while the remains of the Faerekind, the Elifaen, continued to diminish. Many kingdoms of Men were established and many cities were built and much learning did the Elves and Men enjoy. But the spies and provocateurs of their enemy spread discord among the victorious and won over many who attacked the cities and lands of the Elifaen, slaughtering many. And so the Elifaen were falsely lured into war against Men and there was much chaos in the lands. But the Elifaen were no match for the fell warriors of the race of Men, and even as the armies of Men fought each other, the Elifaen ever suffered the worse brunt of all fighting. Until, many hundreds of years ago, the Dragonkind raised a mighty army, sweeping north and east across the world, laying waste the cities and lands of both races. So Elifaen and Men joined to face the armies of the Dragon People.

  "It was here, at Tulith Attis, that one of the greatest battles of those days was fought. The battle that took place here is a tale of itself. Suffice it to say that Tulith Attis, the last refuge of free peoples of this region, fell at last to the enemy, though it fell by betrayal, not by might. Yet that betrayal availed the enemy naught, and served as a noose about their necks. The enemy was delayed here in their effort to take the fortress, so gallantly was it defended. That delay was their ultimate doom, for, but a few days later, there took place another great battle along the banks of the Saerdulin when the combined armies of Duinnor, Glareth, and Vanara caught and surrounded the Dragonkind. It was a fierce battle beside the river banks, and the invaders were utterly defeated. However, new seeds of discord were sewn amongst Elves and Men to grow and fester to this very day.

  "After the battle was over and the burial mounds were raised, there was a terrible blight upon these lands for many years. In that age, before the battle, even, the river that flowed behind this fortress was changed in its course. It took a new path for many miles between what is now Passdale and Barley. Along that stretch, it is now called the Bentwide in the Common Tongue. Eventually, people once again came to live in these parts and scattered villages grew up. Yet ever has there been a wariness of Tulith Attis, and few dare come this way. The eastward road, once a highway of trade and commerce, now lies abandoned and lost in the Forest Mistwarren, which surrounds the Boggy Wood. And it is said the Boggy Wood still carries the curse laid upon it by the Dragon People."

  Ashlord sighed heavily and tapped out his pipe into the fire. Sheila sat quietly and Robby stared at the fire in thought. He already knew some of what Ashlord related, at least in broad strokes. Who didn't? Ashlord was obviously very learned about such things, much more so than Mr. Broadweed, the schoolmaster. Robby was unsure what all this had to do with his errand. He waited patiently for Ashlord to continue, but once more the man seemed lost in his own thoughts.

  "So what was this place? I mean originally?" he ventured at last.

  "A stronghold overlooking the bridge, originally," Ashlord said. "But in latter days it was a garrison town, and the abode of the Elifaen Prince Heneil and the House of Fairfir. It was he who built the circle room and made from it a way to the river. From here, boats could easily ply down the old river southward to the sea and many sailed up from there, for the river narrowed just between the landing and the bridge. It was Prince Heneil who reached an accord with the Men of this region and gathered the people together in haven against the approaching armies. And it was he who sealed the great iron door against the attackers.

  "You see," Ashlord went on, "it was a trap laid to catch a traitor. For Heneil knew there was a plot brewing against him, but knew not who the agent was. He knew that one of the Elifaen, those who have Faere blood, could open that door, but any that did so would find themselves beset by the stone warriors in the Bell Room. It was they you heard behind you, slaughtering the wolves that chased you. And as another trap, he devised the great bell to toll, summoning his warriors from the field to the summit where the women and children took refuge, guarded by Heneil's most trusted men. In stone he set them, to stand guard needless of food or drink, hidden by a covering likened unto columns of stone. Their awakening signal was the tolling of the great iron bell, and their duty was to slay any intruder. But never were they called, and the families they were to guard had a gruesome fate. This much I can say: when you opened the door to escape the wolves, you rang the Great Bell, and you awoke much in this hill. And perhaps elsewhere, too. Narrowly did we arrive in
time to save you."

  "What did you say to him? The captain that came from the stone. I've never seen the likes of him or his fellows. Fearsome they were, yet—"

  "Beautiful?" Ashlord finished. "Yes, handsome and fell. Elifaen of Heneil's household, from the Time Before Time, when the world was made."

  "What did you say to the captain?"

  "I challenged him to stay his hand, and I told him the battle was over."

  "I think you said more than that," Robby stated.

  "Well, yes. He did not believe me at first. You see, it was as if only a moment had passed since he and his men were spellbound. I explained to him that the battle had been lost at great cost and that the war was long over."

  "What was it that he kept saying as he left?"

  " 'All for nothing.' "

  Robby fidgeted in his chair. Outside the rain battered and the wind continued to blow.

  "So, where did he and his men go?"

  Ashlord shrugged.

  "None can say where the spirits of the past may go, nor when they may come again."

  Robby sighed, not very satisfied with the answer. "All of this is hard to believe," he said, shaking his head. "There's something not right about all this."

  "Don't be troubled by the tales of an old man. Many reasons may yet be found for your adventures," Ashlord said. "Maybe what you need is more rest, Master Ribbon. And perhaps I need more time to think things over."

  Ashlord's eyes, black as coal, glittered in the firelight as he smiled kindly at Robby. Robby realized that though the food and ale had relaxed him, he was still very tired.

  "I have to admit, I am still pretty sore," Robby said standing up.

  "We will eat again after awhile, and maybe then you'll have more questions," Sheila said going to the door. "I'll get more firewood from the shed."

  "And I would like to take a look at these letters that you went to so much trouble to deliver," said Ashlord. "I think you should lie down and rest awhile more."