The Grey Pearl (Of Caladuin: Volume Two)

3

After helping Eldacar and Tarannon with their questions, Caladuin begrudgingly followed them to Círdan's Halls. They led him through the narrow streets of Northshore, past windows glowing with diffuse white light, over cobblestones worn shiny by time. They turned a corner and the guards paused to let two Dwarves pass. They glanced at Caladuin as he stood aside. Despite the drinking and brawling, the Naugrim were highly regarded in Eglarest and would be until the walls were finished.

Another turn led them onto the main street of the north quarter. They kept to the side as a convoy of wagons trundled along the street. The thoroughfare opened onto the market square, with its colonnades of round arches and slender, twisted columns, lit by countless pale lanterns hanging from the whispering birch trees. Hundreds of Falathrim were gathered outside the taverns. Fishers and farmers drank ale at small tables, regaling each other with the events of the eriel. The more prosperous-looking citizens sat in elegant groups under the trees, sipping wine, laughing, softly singing. A dozen or so gulls chased each other over the rooftops, on their way to roost. Beyond, the pale domes of Círdan's Halls loomed over the city.

At the far side of the square, the main street continued up and along the hillside in long zigzags. But the guards took the more direct route of the wide stair that climbed straight up to the Lordsgate.

Two more guards welcomed them as they strode through the gates into the courtyard. Fireflies hovered and flashed above the blue-grey grass and among the dark trees beneath the walls. Helluin, brightest of stars, hung above the central dome of the Halls like the many lanterns that lined the white stone paths. In those years, the passing of time was marked in erielin, the star-rise of ice-blue Helluin. Soon she would sink below the rooftops before rising again in the south.

They were met at the doors by a footman, whose name Caladuin could never remember. They all exchanged pleasantries as Caladuin started the routine of handing over his bow and quiver and his hunting knife. He untied his cloak and draped it over the footman's outstretched arms. The footman glanced down at the garment then glowered at Caladuin as he stood aside.

Eldacar and Tarannon led Caladuin past a large mural depicting the city of Alqualondë and along the hallways of the west wing past the dining room. Cooking smells rose up from the kitchens below: roasting meats, fresh bread, stewing fish. Caladuin hadn't eaten since his return to the city and his mouth watered.

He followed the guards further into the west wing and soon arrived at an antechamber with a small, babbling fountain and a skylight.

"Wait here," Tarannon grunted. The two of them walked on and through the far door. Somewhere above him the soft music of a lyre began haltingly and then stopped.

After a while, the guards reappeared and passed through the antechamber, ignoring Caladuin completely. He felt like walking after them. He wandered over to the far doors, which the guards had left wide open. In the chamber beyond, Lord Círdan stood by a large window, gazing across the city. The lighthouse at Cape Elgirion, some ten leagues to the south- west, was marked by a pale dot, shining steadily in the deep blue darkness. Recently it was also being used as a watchtower.

Starlight flooded through the window whose beading cast an intricate shadow on the tiled floor: a scene of three ships riding a high sea.

Círdan half-turned his head but then went on staring through the window upon his city and the sea beyond. His blue tunic almost reached his knees and was fretted with silver thread that caught the starlight. At his forehead he wore a simple circlet, half hidden by the thick silver hair that hung in loose, curled locks over his ears, as was the fashion in the Havens in that time.

"The walls of the city grow high," Lord Círdan said at last. Caladuin wasn't sure if he should say anything.

"The masons of Nogrod are tireless." Círdan again turned his head. "Come, see."