Tianwen·Magweth Pengolodh

I didn't hear anyone staying here.

The morning after the inspection, Alfwine had an unusual clientele.He and Pengolod had just washed their hands after breakfast when the group entered the shop.Pengolod hadn't expected to see the Dreweden in Romenna, and the Dreweden hadn't expected to see the Elves in Romenna either.Those short, dark-skinned people raised their eyebrows as they filed in, surprised but quiet.There were ten people standing at the counter, women and men, and two children.The adults all carried big bags.Pengolod recalled his discussion with Alfwine, and felt that these were the most beautiful Drew Edens he had ever seen. Although they were not tall, they were tall and straight, with dark skin and simple clothes. , but looks elegant.

One of them asked Alfwine: "Do you read and write?"

"Yes, sir."

The visitor reached out his hand and took out a seemingly ordinary letter: "How much does it cost to read this?"

Alfwine set a modest price.The man handed him the letter.

Alfwine began to read slowly and clearly: "I, Lolongir, Captain of the Kurukir, solemnly declare that my ship will deliver Mr. Tun-Nuri-Tun and his nine relatives safely to Middle-earth. Port Lyndon. The conditions of travel are laid down in the King's Decree, namely..." He read the rest.

Tun nodded: "Okay. We won't forget." He turned and said something to his relatives in a guttural and fluent language.Relying on his own experience in Middle-earth, Pengolod could hear some familiar words, but the speaker's accent was heavy and he couldn't hear the specific words clearly.They all nodded, picked up the bag that had been lying on the floor, and picked up the youngest child.Tun placed a small coin on the counter as payment for the service, and at the same time Alfwine dropped the letter.Alfwine frowned, and added earnestly: "I heard that Lolongir is a famous and good captain, but if he goes to sea now, he will either turn back as soon as he arrives, or he will have to spend the winter in Middle-earth. You may It's going to be a long time."

Tun Lang laughed loudly: "Okay. We are very happy that way. We will go to the south and find relatives from the past."

Pengolod said in surprise: "Sir, be careful. The road to the south is not easy, and there may be war and evil along the way."

Tun said firmly: "The sailors say that the Crown Prince loves boats. In this place, loving boats means not loving the forest. We are the inhabitants of the forest. The island under our feet is unstable. It is time to leave." Representative Tun This group trades, but may not be their leader.The rest of the people left the store one by one. A woman looked into Tun's eyes and tilted her head.Tun looked at Pengolod, it was clearly written in his deep eyes that he still had something to say, but he just nodded, ended the transaction, and left without saying anything.

Alfwine watched them go: "He is the most talkative of the Drew Eden. I guess they have also infected us with the customs of Númenor."

"We say in Beleriand that they are as stealthy as the dwarves, but they choose to live a dangerous life in the great woods, which is elf-like."

Alfwine replied: "In the final analysis, it is what Rosinziel said, the traveler's wind. This month and next month, when the wind is sunny, whoever has a place to go will definitely go .”

They were all silent, thinking about it.The wind blew some dry leaves into the store.Alfwine took a breath and was about to call Tom, but Pengolod said, "I'll do it, it's nothing." Then he swept away the leaves.

Alfwine complained: "Where did that kid go? I told him to go to the laundry, so he had to take a detour to the pier." When Ah Tang finally came back with the clothes basket, Alfwine immediately He dug in and rummaged, and dug out his best blue and yellow suit. "This is for tomorrow's wedding, isn't it?" Pengolod asked.

Ah Tang was still out of breath after finishing his errands: "I don't understand why you didn't marry that bookbinder's daughter, but he invited you to her wedding."

Alfred Winner replied: "He wanted to show off, to let me know what I missed when I rejected her."

"Do you regret it?" Pengolod asked.

"When I heard who she was going to marry, I didn't feel any regrets." The two of them once spent a night dissecting the scandal, and Ah Tang looked puzzled when he saw the two elders smiling maliciously. "No wonder her father is trying so hard to find balance. I'll have the last laugh, though."

"Because you want to take Rosenzil with you?" Ah Tang asked.

"Don't talk like that," said Alfwine sternly. "It's not a casual thing to take a woman to another wedding. I don't think I'll have to wait until the business is still booming in a couple of years before I can get it." Have the last laugh."

"Well said," Pengolod murmured.However, when Tom finally went to put away the remaining clothes, Pengolod took a look at Alfwine.

Alfwine seemed overly enthusiastic: "You have lived twenty lifetimes, it is impossible to lie to you. My feelings are more complicated than what I told that child, but in essence I am sincere."

The next day, Alfwine went to find her at Rosenzil's residence, bringing crystal as a wedding present and wine as a banquet present.He left one of his crutches at home, and did not bring his apprentices, the former to free a hand to hold Rosenzir, the latter to help Pengolod.Until Alfwine returned, Pengolod would go about his business.

The only business Pengolod did in place of Alfwine was naming the baby of an awed porter.As the afternoon passed, Ah Tang seemed to revert to his old ways and became restless.He began by drawing a map, then wrote something, but refused to show Pengolod.Then, he offered to help in one breath, and after being told that he didn't need it, he asked to sit in the yard.He sat for 15 minutes and came back, trying again to do his beginner's work.Pengolod couldn't bear to see him practice with scraps of paper, so he gave him a blank sheet of paper.The child became visibly bewildered and almost knocked over the ink bottle onto the paper.

Pengolod smiled: "I swear, I had the same reaction as you when my teacher first gave me a piece of fine parchment. There is only one way to deal with it, and that is to use it as ordinary shredded paper for practice." .” After saying this, he sat back and pretended to concentrate on writing his own things.Ah Tang thought no one was paying attention, so he drew a reasonable map.Pengolod waited until Tom's pen was separated from the paper by a considerable distance before saying, "That looks good. That's about the time when Alfwine let you go out for free, right?"

Ah Tang twisted the quill in his hand.He stammered, "Yes, sir, but if you're not busy - but you seem to be - I should like to hear you tell a story about Middle-Earth."

To be so venerated is like drinking strong wine; no matter what the intention, whether the wine is good or bad, it makes people dizzy.Pengolod asked, "About what?"

Ah Tang was stunned by the success for a second, and then said: "I don't know. Don't tell the story that everyone is familiar with. Tell a story that you have experienced. Such as palaces, treasures, dragons, and battles. "

Pengolod recalled the request made by Cirjatan on the king's bench, and couldn't help smiling: "It's really a prince's taste. I'm not in the mood to talk about dragons, but I can meet the rest of the requirements."

"Could we go out and sit under that tree in the yard? That would be, uh, more, uh, fairy-like."

"It's cooler, too," agreed Pengolod.It was getting late, and the west slanting sun was baking the shop.

"I, uh, I'm going to make some preparations!" Ah Tang ran out without grace at all, as if he had grown an extra leg.Pengolod closed the dead shop while wondering how to prepare a tree.But he knew it as soon as he was in the yard.Ah Tang not only dragged a large stool under the shade of the tree, but also built a large canvas awning: "Because there are bird droppings on the stool."

"You are so considerate. You have learned a lot from Alfwine." Pengolod sat down, and Tom sat on the ground in front of him.The child is always in that inattentive way, looking left and right at the tree and the ground before getting serious.There were still some distractions in the yard, a few housewives gossiping by the well, some seagulls fighting over crumbs.Pengolod dismissed all distracting thoughts and began to tell.But facing this listener, the process he told was unexpected.

****

"If you want to hear about treasures, I will tell you of the more recent days, the days of this Second Era of the world. After the Great War of Wrath, I joined Gil-Gallard under his command We had a place in the court of our High King. We lived in Lindon for 100 years, during which time it became the pearl of Middle-earth, where the old elves lived in great numbers. I have a place in the court of our High King, and another So did a scholar named Eristor. He was older and married, so he was surprised when I won a higher position than him at court."

"Why you and not him, sir?" Tom asked.

"Good question. He is as proficient in many of the skills required for that controversial position as I am. However, some time before the founding of Linton, the elves split into different factions, and later the factions merged, but I stood by from beginning to end. It doesn't look too good on Gil-Gallard's side, and Aristor doesn't at one stage. Aristor has a special