Into the Forge

"Ry

And she looked up to see Tip waving madly.

With a wild whoop Ry

Tip reached the bailey at the same time Ry

And Tip caught her up and swung her about, and kissed her soundly, she kissing him just as fervently in return.

"Oh, my buccaran," she gasped, tears ru

"And I thought you wounded or worse," said Tip, his own eyes welling with joy. Then he gasped. "Buccaran. You called me your buccaran. Oh, my dammia, how did you know I loved you?"

She looked at him, her amber-gold eyes wide. "I've known it from the first moment I saw you. Did you not know it in return?"

While the Baeron bore their four slain kindred south into the Greatwood to lay them beneath leafy bowers, the Elves and Warrows built a great pyre at the edge of Darda Erynian for the remaining five dead: three Warrows and two Elves- a Lian and a Dylvana.

As they did so, Beau turned to Tip and said, "Lor', Tip, Warrows. Warrows killed in this war." And he burst into tears, Tipperton weeping as well. And Ry

And as the flames soared and the dead burned and the Warrows wept, Silverleaf and Aravan lifted their sweet voices and sang all the souls into the sky, while deep in the Greatwood, the Baeron stood in grim silence.

Evening fell, and in the twilight Ry

"Isn't it strange," said Ry

"What?"

"The river."

"How so?"

"The water continually flows and flows and yet it is always there; it is always the same, yet every moment it is new."

"As is our love, dear heart, as is our love."

Bone-weary-Tipperton from lack of sleep and worry, Ry

"We leave on the dawn," said Tip.

"I know," replied Ryn.

They came to her door.

"Stay awhile," she said.

A time later and at the request of Silverleaf, Beau went looking for Tip to have the buccan come and choose a pony. Beau walked to Ry

He softly knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again.

No answer still.

Perhaps they 're not in, bucco. Then again perhaps they are. Of course, they may be up on the battlements watching the stars and canoodling, for surely if they were in, either Ryn or Tip would answer.

Softly Beau opened the door. Tip and Ryn, fully clothed, were lying on her bed sound asleep spoonwise, Tip with his arm about her.

Softly Beau closed the door. I'll just pick out his pony myself.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Tip awakened to find Ry

She was unclothed.

Tipperton sat up, and without speaking she knelt on the bed beside him and gently unlaced his shirt.

And though neither had any experience, they made sweet and tender love and fell asleep once more in one another's arms.

Stay.

I ca

Come with me.

I ca

Wait for me.

Wait for me.

I will, my buccaran.

I will, O dammia mine.

And they made sweet, gentle love again.

Dawn came.

Horses and ponies were saddled and mules laden with gear and fare-grain for the animals, and rations for Li an and Waerlinga.

And Ry

As Tip accepted them he asked, "What are these?"

"Signal arrows," replied Ry

"Oh, Ryn, I have nothing to give you in exchange."

"You've given me yourself and that is enough. Just promise me you'll return."

"I will come when the coin is delivered," said Tipperton, placing the arrows in his quiver.

Ry

Tipperton took up his lute and tied it to the rear cantle and then stepped back from the pony and looked it over. All seemed ready. Then he turned to Ry

"Take care, my buccaran," she whispered back.

Tip glanced at Loric, and at a nod, they began walking the steeds across the bailey and toward the gate, Phais leading, Loric next, then Beau, with Tip and Ry

Through the jinking passage under the wall they went, the animal hooves aclatter upon the stone way, Tipperton dreading what was to come.

"She was right, you know," said Tip above the clack and chatter and echo of shod hooves.

"Who was right?" asked Ry

"Phais. She said that war sunders friend from friend and lover from lover, and although I always believed it was so, never did I think it would happen to me."

Ry

Somewhere above a horn sounded, its clarion call ringing down through the murder holes.

Ryn raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tip and took an arrow from the quiver at her hip. " 'Tis an alert, though not a battle cry."

Hastily, Tip retrieved his Elven bow from its saddle scabbard and set one of his own arrows to string, while Beau laded his sling.

They came out from under the wall and onto the pontoon bridge. Both Tipperton and Ry

A number of small boats laden with men and plied by oars came rowing upstream.

"What is it?" asked Tipperton, turning to Ryn.

"I don't know, but we'd better be ready for whatever comes."

Loric and Phais began backing the steeds toward the fortress walls, the mules protesting yet grudgingly moving hindward, balking now and then. "Back," called Phais. "Take shelter, for we know not what this portends."

But in that very moment in one of the boats a man stood and held up his empty hands and cried out: "Safe haven! Safe haven!"

"I don't like this one bit, Ryn. These are Rivermen."

Ry

"But Rivermen were adherents of Gyphon once, and who's to say they haven't fallen back on those evil ways?"

"Are the sins of the ancestors to be visited upon the descendants?"

"Oh, Ryn, it's just that I don't want to leave you in any danger."

"Tipperton, O my Tipperton, in times such as this no place is safe."

Even as Tipperton and Ry

At last Silverleaf signed that all was well, and arrows were placed back in quivers and bows unstrung.

Phais and Loric came to Tip and Beau and Ryn. "Vani-dar has granted them temporary sanctuary. Aravan is to go with a warband to Olorin Isle to see if their tale rings true, and if necessary across the river to Darda Galion beyond to discover what the march-ward has seen. In this mission as in all others, Ry