She was clad in a white smock, whose hems were broidered with gold wire and precious gems of the Mountains, and over that a gown woven of gold and silver: scarce hath the world such another. On her head was a fillet of gold and gems, and there were wondrous gold rings on her arms: her feet lay bare on the dark grey wolf-skin that was stretched before her.
She smiled kindly upon his solemn and troubled face, and her voice sounded strangely familiar to him coming from all that loveliness, as she said: “Hail, Face-of-god! here am I left alone, although I deemed last night that I should be gone with the others. Therefore am I fain to show myself to thee in fairer array than yesternight; for though we dwell in the wildwood, from the solace of folk, yet are we not of thralls’ blood. But come now, I bid thee break thy fast and talk with me a little while; and then shalt thou depart in peace.”
Spake Face-of-god, and his voice trembled as he spake: “What art thou? Last night I deemed at whiles once and again that thou wert of the Gods; and now that I behold thee thus, and it is broad daylight, and of those others is no more to be seen than if they had never lived, I cannot but deem that it is even so, and that thou comest from the City that shall never perish. Now if thou be a goddess, I have nought to pray thee, save to slay me speedily if thou hast a mind for my death. But if thou art a woman—”
She broke in: “Gold-mane, stay thy prayer and hold thy peace for this time, lest thou repent when repentance availeth not. And this I say because I am none of the Gods nor akin to them, save far off through the generations, as art thou also, and all men of goodly kindred. Now I bid thee eat thy meat, since ’tis ill talking betwixt a full man and a fasting; and I have dight it myself with mine own hands; for Bow-may and the Wood-mother went away with the rest three hours before dawn. Come sit and eat as thou hast a hardy heart; as forsooth thou shouldest do if I were a very goddess. Take heed, friend, lest I take thee for some damsel of the lower Dale arrayed in Earl’s garments.”
She laughed therewith, and leaned toward him and put forth her hand to him, and he took it and caressed it; and the exceeding beauty of her body and of the raiment which was as it were a part of her and her loveliness, made her laughter and her friendly words strange to him, as if one did not belong to the other; as in a dream it might be. Nevertheless he did as she bade him, and sat at the board and ate, while she leaned forward on the arm of her chair and spake to him in friendly wise. And he wondered as she spake that she knew so much of him and his: and he kept saying to himself: “She drew me hither; wherefore did she so?”
But she said: “Gold-mane, how fareth thy father the Alderman? is he as good a wright as ever?”
He told her: Yea, that ever was his hammer on the iron, the copper, and the gold, and that no wright in the Dale was as deft as he.
Said she: “Would he not have had thee seek to the Cities, to see the ways of the outer world?”
“Yea,” said he.
She said: “Thou wert wise to naysay that offer; thou shalt have enough to do in the Dale and round about it in twelve months’ time.”
“Art thou foresighted?” said he.
“Folk have called me so,” she said, “but I wot not. But thy brother Hall-face, how fareth he?”
“Well;” said he, “to my deeming he is the Sword of our House, and the Warrior of the Dale, if the days were ready for him.”
“And Stone-face, that stark ancient,” she said, “doth he still love the Folk of the Dale, and hate all other folks?”
“Nay,” he said, “I know not that, but I know that he loveth as, and above all me and my father.”
Again she spake: “How fareth the Bride, the fair maid to whom thou art affianced?”
As she spake, it was to him as if his heart was stricken cold; but he put a force upon himself, and neither reddened nor whitened, nor changed countenance in any way; so he answered:
“She was well the eve of yesterday.” Then he remembered what she was, and her beauty and valour, and he constrained himself to say: “Each day she groweth fairer; there is no man’s son and no daughter of woman that does not love her; yea, the very beasts of field and fold love her.”
The Friend looked at him steadily and spake no word, but a red flush mounted to her cheeks and brow and changed her face; and he marvelled thereat; for still he misdoubted that she was a Goddess. But it passed away in a moment, and she smiled and said:
“Guest, thou seemest to wonder that I know concerning thee and the Dale and thy kindred. But now shalt thou wot that I have been in the Dale once and again, and my brother oftener still; and that I have seen thee before yesterday.”
“That is marvellous,” quoth he, “for sure am I that I have not seen thee.”
“Yet thou hast seen me,” she said; “yet not altogether as I am now;” and therewith she smiled on him friendly.
“How is this?” said he; “art thou a skin-changer?”
“Yea,
