Sunday Supper in Rohan

The smell of freshly-cut pine mingles with hot baked barley bread and cherry pottage. The crackling of well-stocked fires, coupled with the sputtering of fresh wax candles, mingles with footsteps throughout the house. A fair voice rises from the counter, and the delicate mewing of a cat, appearing out of nowhere, welcomes everyone to the Sickle and Sword. 

Named in honor of Menelmacar and Valacirca—the star forms the Valar set into the sky to aid wanderers across Middle Earth—the Sickle and Sword is a wayhouse for travelers passing through the White Mountains. Midway between Edoras and Aldburg by the southern roads, it offers stabling and pasture for horses and beds for weary heads. Guests can stay for days or months at a time, as indeed many merchants do when waiting for the winter snows to melt and the mountain passes to clear. For others, there is space on the grounds for campsites and caravans, and a hot meal out of the kitchen, three times a day.

Melvuior, the broad, bald Gondorian who runs the wayhouse, can be seen about the house or on the grounds, but most often in the kitchen, his sleeves rolled up and apron splattered. He rises before the roosters to bake the day’s bread, and he’s the last to bed, just on the chance a guest should need a cup of midnight milk. His smile is a constant amongst guests, and when he has a moment’s rest, he fills his time with listening to his travelers’ tales.