Chapter Forty-two
Spring of the Silver Coin
Chapter Written by Angmar and Elfhild
An hour of hard riding up the river
valley took them to the deep well known as the "Spring of the Silver Coin."
Noted on maps and geographies as near the midway point of the Morgul Vale,
the life-giving fountain was one of the few sources of water which had not
been rendered undrinkable by the webs of magic which lay so heavily over the
vale. Though augmented by the recent rains, the silvery currents had their
source higher up on the slope, from whence they flowed and tumbled down a
series of ledges. Frothing and foaming, at last they splashed into a deep
pool at the base of the hill. The overflow sluiced out and then, running
beneath an ornately carved bridge, the stream twisted its way to the
Morgulduin.
Turning off the main road, the men rode along the stream until they reached
a sheltered meadow below the spring. The ground had been worn bare of
vegetation except for scattered tufts of dirty gray green grass and a few
scraggly bushes. Although the spring was a major source of water for
Sauron's troops passing through the valley, the land around it was
surprisingly well kept.
"Clean as a hound's tooth," Inbir remarked, his voice low, as he and Ganbar
unsaddled the horses. "You have to appreciate that."
"The territory west of the head of the Morgulduin is under the jurisdiction
of Minas Morgul. The Nazgûl are not fond of stepping in orc dung, especially
if their women are with them." His face convulsing in a wide grin, Ganbar
guffawed as he stripped the pack from the sweaty back of a bay gelding.
"Certainly not! Those illustrious lords do not want to dirty their fine
riding boots," Inbir agreed, patting the neck of a sorrel mare before
slipping a lead line into the ring on her halter. "I have heard that if the
slaves do not polish those boots until the leather gleams, the Nazgûl turn
the poor devils into a pile of smoldering ash!"
"I think that an exaggeration, my jolly friend, but now we best be quiet,"
Ganbar muttered under his breath. "Here comes the Captain, and from the
expression on his face, he must have a burr stuck up his arse."
Inbir followed Ganbar's gaze to see the Captain bearing down on them. "All
right men, enough of the levity," Ubri warned in a cold voice, his face
flushed with annoyance. "You need to finish with the horses quickly. The
Shakh is in a foul mood this evening, and he is impatient for his supper.
Talking will not get anything done, and there is much to be accomplished
before we can set up camp." The Captain ticked off on his fingers a list of
tasks. "...horses need to be cooled off before taking them to drink... fed
and then curried... sufficient supply of firewood gathered... campfires
built... food served... tea prepared... Is that enough to keep you busy,
men?" His gaze challenged them.
"Well, Captain," Ganbar interjected warily, "we could use a little help."
"Where are those slave girls?" Ubri asked, pointedly ignoring his
underling's suggestion. "Those two are rebels, obsessed with escape, and
slippery as eels. If you do not watch them constantly, they will run away
again." He frowned, his eyes narrowing into unpleasant slits.
"Captain, if you look up there," Ganbar pointed towards the hillside, "you
will see the maids near the spring. I sent them to gather firewood on the
slope a while back, and they have not been out of my sight once." He was
disgusted and angered when he saw the Captain's eyes gleam with lust as his
gaze fell upon the twins. "The Captain desires them," Ganbar worried to
himself, "but he dares not to touch a hair of their heads, for the Shakh
would have his testicles crushed and then impale him upon a stake." Ganbar
had come to think of the twins as poor lost waifs who needed a strong man to
watch over them. He would never let anyone know of this solicitous feeling,
though, lest he be accused of indulging these pretty little slave girls.
As the girls gathered dry kindling beneath the trees, they passed by a
boulder so large that it obscured the men's view of them. The captain
scowled, a look of alarm and suspicion on his face. "They are no longer in
our view now, Ganbar. Perhaps once again they have slipped from our grasp?"
he asked, disapproval in his voice.
"I think not, Captain. They are right behind that boulder." Ganbar called
out to the twins. "Girls, come around so that we can see you." The girls
quickly emerged from behind the boulder. "Resume your work gathering
firewood." A look of amused triumph in his eyes, he turned to Ubri, enjoying
the other man's chagrin. "Captain, you see the little houris are right where
I told you they would be. In my opinion, they have given up all hopes of
escape." He was barely able to hide the smug satisfaction in his voice.
"I will not be too sure that they will not try to escape again," Ubri
replied, feeling slightly flustered. Once again, he suspected that the other
man's intent was to make him look foolish. "But never trust them for a
second, and keep them under surveillance at all times until we return to
Turkûrzgoi and they are sold," he retorted, trying to salvage some of his
dignity.
"Captain, I will be most vigilant in that duty." Ganbar let his gaze roam to
the two young Rohirric beauties before he turned back to Ubri. "This day has
been a most strenuous one, filled with sights and happenings which a simple
man such as myself has difficulty understanding." An expression of weariness
crossed over his face as he slumped. "The very thought of it brings a pale
of more calamity upon our heads." His eyes went to Inbir, who supported him
with a nod of agreement. Drawling out his words, Ganbar continued. "Maybe
the reason Inbir and I are a little behind tonight is because we are both
fatigued and worried about our circumstances. We could always use some
help... but only to finish the task quickly and keep the Shakh's bile down."
He rubbed his clean-shaven chin reflectively. Inbir, who held the lead ropes
to two of the horses, kept his eyes trained on both men, careful not to let
his eagerness to be rid of Captain Ubri show beneath his impassive mask.
Ubri looked sharply at the tall man, but then his tense expression relaxed
into a condescending smile. "Why, certainly, Ganbar, you know I am always
willing to lend a hand to such hard-working men as the two of you. You
should have come to me sooner, and we would have settled this matter. I am
always glad to help my men whenever I can... you can always count on me. But
let us get this work done as quickly as possible, for if we do not, the
Shakh will roast my balls." Hoping the men would laugh at his humor, he gave
them a broad, insincere smile, but the other two only nodded politely.
"Aye, Captain. The work will be completed faster than the time it takes for
a baby-faced dancing boy to pull down his pantaloons for the first patron
who offers him a silver coin," Ganbar remarked good-naturedly.
"By the sweet breath of the Goddess, Ganbar, your humor is rank!" Inbir
exclaimed, and then added, "Do you really think we could move that fast?"
"All right, men! We are only wasting time with this sort of talk!" Ubri
interrupted, his stiff smile fading at the certainty that the men were in a
plot to ridicule him. "Now with my assistance, we can set to work. Inbir,
you will dig the fire pit, and after the slave wenches have brought
sufficient kindling, you will build a fire. Ganbar and I will finish with
the horses." His smile so contrived that his face appeared to be in pain, he
put his hand companionably upon Ganbar's shoulder and then moved to the
picket line. Glad that he was finally leaving their company for a while, he
unhitched a horse and walked away with the beast. The animal snorted and
stamped its hoof, shying sideways, suspicious of the ill will he sensed in
the Captain. His face dark with anger at the unruly horse, Ubri roughly
jerked the animal's halter, sending the beast into even more of a dither. As
the gelding jumped forward, one of his large hooves came down squarely on
Ubri's foot.
"Oh, damn!" he screamed, grabbing his knee between his hands and frantically
hopping on one foot. "The damn, intractable beast has broken my leg! He
ought to be destroyed!"
His eyes rolling towards the heavens in a look of resigned protest, Ganbar
rushed over to the injured man, but Ubri refused to let him have so much as
a glance at the injury. "No, no, it will bring me too much pain," Ubri
protested. "If I can rest a while and have a goblet of wine, my foot will be
as good as new." Leaning on Ganbar's shoulder, Ubri hobbled over to a large
oak, where Inbir had spread a carpet beneath its branches.
"Oh, the wretched pain! How it hurts!" Ubri whined as Ganbar gingerly
lowered him to the ground. "Now, Inbir, if you would aid me in removing my
boot... Yes, yes," the Captain sighed. "That feels so soothing. Now, my good
fellow, if you would only bring me a cushion..."
With a barely suppressed snort of disgust, Ganbar turned and walked back to
the horses. "So much for Ubri's help," he thought. "The malingering bastard
has nothing more than a bruise! He is only pretending that he has been hurt,
hoping to get our sympathy and freeing himself of being any use at all to
us."
After the commotion had died down, a sound far more pleasant than Ubri's
nasal whine claimed the men's attention. "Master Ganbar," a clear young
voice called down from the hill, "my sister and I are very hot and thirsty,
and so we beg upon your kindness to allow us to have a drink from the
spring." As it had happened more and more frequently of late, Ganbar felt a
tug at his heart when he heard that pleasing girlish voice.
"As long as you hurry, I see no harm in it," Ganbar answered gruffly,
keeping the sweep of warm emotion out of his brusque reply. Inwardly he
flinched when he caught the sour look in the Captain's eye. Sitting on a
green, red and gold carpet, Ubri propped his back against the tree while he
rested his foot upon a cushion. Inbir gave the malingering Captain a goblet
of wine before he was dismissed with a nod. Esarhaddon walked over and sat
down nearby. Soon both men's heads were nodding in a deep discussion. "No
doubt the Captain will tell our master what unscrupulous scoundrels Inbir
and I are, and that somehow we are responsible for causing the horse to step
upon his foot," Ganbar thought to himself, resenting Ubri and his
underhanded ways.
"Master," the voice pleaded again, more insistent this time, "our feet ache
and are very sore. May we bathe them in the cooling waters?"
"Aye, go ahead, but make haste, for the Shakh craves his supper!" Ganbar
shot back impatiently.
"Yes, Master, we will be quick," the dulcet voice replied, and Ganbar felt
his soul wrench with longing. "I am as big a fool as Inbir for desiring what
I can never obtain!"
"You are far too lenient on them, Ganbar!" Ubri's harsh voice growled, his
face pinched and unpleasant. "Too much easy treatment will be the ruination
of a slave!"
"And too harsh treatment will ruin them even quicker..." Ganbar looked the
other man straight in the eyes.
"You are growing soft in your old age, Ganbar," the Captain muttered
irritably, turning away.
***
"Well, Elfhild, are you trying to wrap
that Southron around your finger?" Elffled smiled saucily as she dropped her
arm-load of firewood near the spring. "If that is your intention, you are
certainly doing a good job. Soon he will be eating out of your hand like a
pet dog!"
Elfhild eyed her sister coldly. "You are shameful, you know?" She pointed
accusingly at the other girl. "I have no interest in any of these men, and I
would never knowingly do anything to attract their attention!"
"Well, I would," Elffled grinned as she slipped off her boots and rolled
down her stockings. "Flattering these people and making them feel important
is the only way we can survive, dear sister." Absentmindedly biting her
lower lip, she gingerly stuck her toes in the water, testing its
temperature. "Besides, I have seen the way you look at the Shakh Huzziya
when you think no one is watching, the way you have looked at him from the
first moment you ever saw him. You fancy him, but you are just too vain and
stubborn to admit it." Giggling, she gave her foot a little kick, watching
as a spray of glistening droplets flew up in the air and splashed back down
into the pool.
Elfhild blushed furiously. She had not realized that her furtive studies of
the handsome Southron's physique had been so obvious. "I do not fancy the
slaver!" she retorted hotly, her lovely brow wrinkling into a frown. "I just
feel that it is wise to keep an eye upon one's enemies." Her voice took on a
hurt, defensive tone. "If slavery must be my lot in life, then I hope I will
be the lowest farm worker mucking out the barns - anything to escape the bed
of one of these men! They are our enemies, you know, and have been for
generations!"
"They do not have to be enemies." Elffled looked away from her sister and
stared at the softly rippling surface of the water. "Perhaps if the right
one ever found us, we would be happy." She paused, her eyes soft and
reflective. "Anyway," she tossed her long, golden hair, "I do not intend to
spend the rest of my life as a menial slave, gathering firewood for some
greasy old shakh whose breath reeks of stale wine and whose flatulence makes
me retch."
"Oh, let us stop talking about it!" Elfhild exclaimed, throwing her hands up
in the air. "Let us have some small moment of peace and serenity. That is
all I ever wanted!" Changing the subject abruptly, she gestured towards the
spring. "Just look at the water! How perfectly clear it is!" Kneeling down,
she dipped her cupped hands into the spring and brought them to her mouth,
relishing the cool, pure taste of the liquid. "And how refreshing!"
Elffled reached down and tossed a smooth pebble into the water. She leaned
forward, watching as the stone sank. "No matter how crystal clear the water
is, I cannot see the bottom," she remarked, studying the spring.
"It must be very deep indeed," Elfhild commented, and then her eyes caught a
splash of color along the steep, rocky bank above the spring. "Oh, look,"
she pointed, "wild roses! What lovely treasures to find!"
"Oh, let us go see them!" Jumping up, Elffled took her sister's hand and led
her over to a tangle of rose brambles which grew in the dry, pebbly soil
beneath a tall pine. Other briars grew upon the slope, and the sisters
carefully watched where they stepped, for they were both barefoot. Beyond
the pine needle-covered ground, grasses shot up green stalks to meet the
sun, and cheerful daisies grew profusely. Though the sisters did not know
yet what an oasis was, they would have compared the tranquil spring to one,
for it was a haven of tranquility in the midst of a frightening land.
A shout from below startled the twins and destroyed their short-lived
solace. "Time to go," Elfhild's face twitched in a regretful half-smile. She
bent down to pick a rose, carefully pinching off the stem and avoiding the
tiny thorns. As she brought the soft pink blossom up to her nose, the
delicate petals dropped off one by one and were borne upon a sudden light
breeze. Fluttering down into the rippling waters of the spring, they floated
upon the glassy surface like tiny pink boats. Sighing, Elfhild picked up her
bundle of firewood and headed back down the hill, casting a backward glance
at the beautiful spring and the ephemeral rose blossoms.
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