Sorontar

Not a trace was left of the scout that disappeared, except a few drops of blood on the snow.

A hasty answer was, therefore, required to this urgent message. Lord Ambassador Parnard leaned back in his chair and gazed up at the ceiling for several minutes before reading the message again. He liked to avoid hasty answers whenever he could: they often resulted in errors of judgment.

The healers of Rivendell were especially skillful. Wanderers to the Valley found their stock of knowledge indispensable, and Parnard was no exception. Spurge was very good at making the swelling in his ankle subside, and as far as the injury from the bear-trap went, the good result was permanent, although the plant’s sap did not agree with him, making him hiccup, and induced a distressing feeling in the pit of his stomach.

When Parnard had sufficiently recovered from the shock so suddenly induced by the scholar’s gross and glaring indiscretion, he repaired to his office and feverishly set to work.

The Wood-elves generally conceive of their woods as their world, and the rare sight of stars shining through the branches of the trees is their great delight, for it is always dark in shadowy Mirkwood. Game animals are still plentiful in the northern part, and so the elves are comfortable and well provisioned with meat and skins. As they do not keep herds of animals, nor are they skilled at raising crops, having no cleared land fit for this purpose, the Wood-elves have abundant leisure time, which they spend in feasting, singing, dancing, and playing games.

The dangers one encounters on the leagues between the Lone-Lands and the Ered Luin, and the wretched aspect of the inhabitants cannot be understated. The principal way through the Bree-land is upon the old highway, built by one of their kings, and is long-neglected and crumbling away: it seems the people have retained nothing of the activity and energy of their ancestors, for good roads encourage trade into remote provinces, and this encourages industry and enforcement of order.

This day I came to the Bridge, hard by the Spire of Meeting, where my retinue gathered. There I saw three of the Fountain’s guards, with shields and spears in their hands, and beside them stood my clerk Sorontar, who carried a stack of papers, and was dressed all in somber black cloth, as if he were part of a mourning procession.