Dwarf population congratulating whomever it was who had found the lost highlander. They reached the village and, pushing through the throngs of Dwarfs blocking the way, made straight for the center of all the excitement. A ring of guards parted to let them into a small courtyard formed by buildings on the right and left and a high stone wall in the rear. On a long wooden table lay the motionless body of Menion Leah, his face pale and seemingly lifeless. A team of Dwarf doctors bent dutifully over the inert form, apparently treating him for some injury. Shea gave a sharp cry and tried to rush forward, but Balinor’s strong arm held him back as the warrior called out to one of the nearby Dwarfs.
«Pahn, what’s happened here?»
The solid–looking Dwarf, dressed in armor and apparently one of the returning search party, hastened to their side.
«He’ll be all right after he’s treated. He was found entangled in one of the Sirens out in the middle of the Battlemound lowlands below the Silver River. Our search party didn’t find him. It was Hendel, returning from the cities south of Anar.»
Balinor nodded and looked about for some sign of the rescuer.
«He left for the assembly hall to make his report,” the Dwarf responded to the unasked question.
Motioning the two Valemen to follow him, Balinor made his way out of the courtyard through the crowd and across the main street to the large assembly hall. Inside were the offices of the governing officials of the village and the assembly room, in which they found the Dwarf Hendel sitting on one of the long benches, eating ravenously while a scribe took down his report. Hendel looked up as they approached, glanced curiously at the Valemen and nodded briefly to Balinor, continuing to devour his meal without interruption. Balinor dismissed the scribe, and the three men sat down across from the disinterested Dwarf, who appeared both exhausted and starved.
«What an idiot, tackling one of those Sirens with a sword,” he muttered. «Got spunk though. How is he?»
«He’ll be fine after he’s treated,” replied Balinor grinning reassuringly at the uneasy Valemen «How did you find him?»
«Heard him yelling.» The other continued to eat without pausing. «I had to carry him almost seven miles before I ran into Pahn and the search party along the Silver River.»
He paused and looked again at the two Valemen, who were listening intently. The Dwarf appraised them curiously and looked back at Balinor, eyebrows raised.
«Friends of the highlander — and of Allanon,” responded the borderman, cocking his head meaningfully. Hendel merely nodded to them curtly.
«I’d never have known who he was if he hadn’t mentioned your name,” Hendel informed them shortly, indicating the tall borderman. «It might help matters if now and then someone would tell me what was going on before it’s happened, not after.»
He declined to comment further, and an amused Balinor smiled over to the puzzled brothers, shrugging slightly to indicate the Dwarf was irascible by nature. Shea and Flick were a bit uncertain about the fellow’s temperament and had purposely kept silent while the other two conversed, though both Valemen were eager to hear the full story behind Menion’s rescue.
«What’s your report on Sterne and Wayford?» Balinor asked finally, referring to the large Southland cities immediately south and west of the Anar.
Hendel ceased eating and laughed abruptly.
«The officials of those two fine communities will consider the matter and send along a report. Typical bungling officials, elected by the disinterested people to juggle the ball until it can be passed onto some other fool. I could tell five minutes after I opened my mouth that they thought I was crazy. They don’t see the danger until the sword is at their own throats — then they scream for assistance from those of us who knew it all along.» He paused and resumed his meal, obviously disgusted with the whole subject.
«I should have expected that, I suppose.» Balinor sounded worried. «How can we convince them of the danger? There hasn’t been a war in so many years that no one wants to believe it could happen now.»
«That’s not, the real problem, as you well know,” interjected the irate Hendel. «They simply don’t feel they should be involved in the matter. After all, the frontiers are protected by Dwarfs, not to mention the cities of Callahorn and the Border Legion. We’ve been doing it up to now — why can’t we keep doing it? Those poor fools…»
He trailed off slowly, finished with his statement and his meal, feeling tired from the long trip home. He had been on the road for almost three weeks, traveling to the cities of the Southland, and it all seemed to have been for nothing. He felt keenly discouraged.
«I don’t understand what’s happened,” Shea announced quietly.
«Well, that’s two of us,” Hendel replied sullenly. «I’m going to bed for about two weeks. See you then.»
He stood up abruptly and walked out of the assembly room without even a short farewell, his broad shoulders stooped wearily. The three men watched him go without speaking, their eyes fixed on his departing silhouette until it was lost from sight. Then Shea turned questioningly to Balinor.
«It’s the age–old tale of complacency, Shea. ” The tall warrior sighed deeply and stretched as he rose. «We may be standing on the brink of the greatest war in a thousand years, but no one wants to accept the fact. Everyone gets in the same rut — let a few take care of the gates to the city while the rest forget and go back to their homes. It becomes a habit — depending on a few to protect the rest. And then one day… the few are not enough, and the enemy is within the city — right through the open gates…»
«Is there really going to be a war?» Flick asked, almost fearfully.
«That is the question exactly,” Balinor responded slowly. «The only man who can give us the answer is absent… and overdue.»
In the excitement of finding Menion alive and well, the Valemen had temporarily forgotten Allanon, the man who was the reason for their being in the Anar in the first place. The by now familiar questions again flashed through their minds with new persistency, but the Valemen had learned to live with them over the past few weeks and all doubts were reluctantly shoved aside once more. Balinor caught their attention as he moved toward the open door, and they quickly followed.
«You mustn’t mind Hendel, you know,” he reassured them as they walked. «He’s gruff like that with everyone, but he’s one of the finest friends you could ask for. He has fought and outwitted the Gnomes along the upper Anar for years, protecting his people and the complacent citizens of the Southland who so quickly forget the crucial role the Dwarfs play as guardians of these borders. The Gnomes would like to get their hands on him, I can tell you.»
Shea and Flick said nothing, ashamed of the fact that the people of their own race could be so selfish, yet realizing that they, too, had been ignorant of the situation in the Anar before hearing of it from Balinor. They were bothered by the thought of renewed hostilities between the races, recalling their history lessons on the old race wars and the terrible hatred of those bitter years. The possibility of a third war of the races was chilling.
«Why don’t you two go on back to the gardens,” advised the Prince of Callahorn. «I’ll have a message sent as soon as I hear of any change in Menion’s condition.»
The brothers reluctantly agreed, knowing they had no other choice in the matter anyway. Before turning in that night, they stopped by the room where Menion was being kept, only to be told by the Dwarf sentry that their friend was asleep and should not be disturbed.
But by the following afternoon, the highlander was awake and being visited by the anxious Valemen. Even Flick was grudgingly relieved to see the other alive and well, though he solemnly intoned that he had correctly predicted their misfortune many days in advance when they first decided to journey through the Black Oaks. Menion and Shea both laughed at Flick’s eternal pessimism, but did not argue the point. Shea explained how Menion had been brought to Culhaven by the Dwarf Hendel, and then went on to relate the mysterious way in which he and Flick had been found near the Silver River. Menion was as mystified as they over their strange journey and could offer no logical explanation. Shea carefully refrained from mentioning the legend of a King of the Silver River, knowing full well what the highlander’s response would be to any speculation that involved an old folktale.
That same day, in the early hours of the evening, word reached them that Allanon had returned. Shea and Flick were about to leave their rooms to visit Menion when they heard the excited shouts of Dwarfs rushing past their open windows toward the assembly hall where some sort of meeting was about to begin. The anxious
