Parnard ran on, keenly alive to the new sights and smells of this new land – on and on, chanting an ancient song under his breath, in time to his paces.
Sing the joys of vagabonding,
All that’s beautiful travels far.
Elves have an inexhaustible stock of songs and ballads, but this air was rude and simple, consisting of only a few notes. It was one of the songs sung in the Greenwood when he was young. He had not thought of it for years. Why now did he remember it, singing it to himself?
Even the moon colored pearl
Must forsake the deep green levels –
He stopped, sniffing the air for a moment, and said, “Hum! I know that stink!” It reminded him of Lord Veryacano, or rather, his burned leg. He must be getting close to the others. Running up to the top of a high hill, he perched on a rock to drink water, and wash away the acrid taste from his throat. Below him, the sun was sinking, and the western horizon was growing hazy as rose-red faded to dusky purple. With great delight, he leisurely watched the moon show its pale face, beginning its slow ascent through the night sky, and the star-fires burst forth, one at a time. A glowing yellow brightness, a mere spark, kindled against the darkness, caught his admiring eye, and as he watched, it quickly surpassed the dying light. Straining his sight, he saw greyish-white clouds billowing up. “Smoke and ashes!” he cried. A large fire was burning down in the valley. He watched it for a while, but it was impossible to see anything more, not unless he were to travel that way, and there was no time – Lord Veryacano said he would not wait for him. He got to his feet and started on. Wait! - what was that sound, faint and thin on the rising breeze? He pricked up his sharp ears. It was a shrill, screaming noise, as of tiny fish-eagles on the shores of the Long Lake. That did not make any sense - there was no large body of water in this land; he did not need to look at his map to know that. Puzzling, he held his breath and listened harder, but heard nothing but the wind blowing through the grass.
