XXIV OF THE DEATH OF GEIRBALD AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE LAMP OF AMON LANC

Thranduil Elven-king wished to honour Iglund, who was now Warleader of the Woodmen, for Iglund had been tutored in his halls, and was a friend to Caranthiel, and so he had gifted gold and gems to the Woodmen, and this gold was used to hire healers from Esgaroth, as has been told.

The Elves who bore these gifts were accompanied by Hanna, daughter of Halbrech, for she was intrigued by the Woodmen, and indeed all cultures, and wished to learn all she could. The Elves paid scant heed towards the Lamp of Balthi, for compared to Elven-lamps its light was dull, and it seemed to them to be naught but glass and wood, and they had seen blazing lamps of crystal. Yet Hanna wished to see it, for she wished to marvel at the possessions of men, and not just Elves.

She was granted permission to see it for but a while by Iglund himself, though she still wished to learn from whence it came, and whether men had managed to make such a lamp. Yet the memories of men are short, and the Woodmen keep no writings, and so none could tell her.

None, that is, until she went to Sunstead. For Hanna wished to tour all the settlements of men within Mirkwood, and Thranduil wished to pay homage to Ceawin now that the spirit of Vidugavia had been forced from him. In Sunstead, Hanna spoke with Geleswinta, who was one of the eldest of the Woodmen, and the most learned, for she had been a scholar of some skill in the ways of herbs, and yet also in history and lore.

There was much Geleswinta remembered, and yet in her dotage she remembered not that there were things she was not meant to say. So, she spoke of how a pilgrim in a grey cloak had once fetched the lamp from out of Dol Guldur itself and gifted it the Woodmen.

Hanna then told this tale to the Elves, thinking little of it, and the Elves in turn told their king, and it was as if a dagger to his heart. He had thought the Lamps of Amon Lanc long lost to him and his people, and if there was a chance to reclaim it, he longed to do so, yet if indeed the Lamp of Balthi was one of the lost lamps of Amon Lanc, that would mean that Gandalf had misled him. And Thranduil would not accept such treachery lightly.

He sent out Legolas to find Caranthiel and the rest of the Fellowship and bid them to come to his halls at once, that the mystery of this might be uncovered. Caranthiel bade Legolas speak to Iglund, for he was Warleader of the Woodmen, though he could give no firmer an answer than she would, for little educated he was in the history of even his own people.

Legolas advised him then that he should come to Thranduil’s Halls and answer the Elven- King’s questions. Iglund liked not to be interrogated so, but he was beholden to the Elves, and wished to know besides what had caused such seeming mistrust between friends. Legolas departed, and once he was gone, Caranthiel told the Fellowship of what she knew of the Lamp of Balthi, and that it was in truth one of the lost Lamps of Amon Lanc. The loss of those lamps had brought great sorrow to all the Elves of Mirkwood, for they had been among their greatest treasures, ere Amon Lanc was lost to shadow. The Fellowship agreed they should go at once to Thranduil, for they could ill afford to arouse his wrath, though not all agreed that Thranduil yet held claim to the lamp. Iglund saw that Thranduil had claim, yet he held that the Woodmen also had claim, for the lamp was their heirloom now too, for it had hung from the halls of Wuduseld for many lives of men. Ithilonnen thought that Thranduil had no right to reclaim the lamp, for many other Elven treasures had passed to the hands of men or Dwarves, such as Orcrist, or the spear which Valin had named Markhul. Caranthiel argued with him that those weapons of which he spoke were made in Gondolin, and no elf of Gondolin yet lived, while the Lamps of Amon Lanc had been the property of Thranduil when they hung there, though Ithilonnen thought little of this.

Upon the way, they came across an ailing band of outlaws who had been stricken with the plague. Caranthiel attended to them with her healing hands, and the rest of the Fellowship looked on in fear, for the plague was said to be most deadly, even to the Eldar whom illness did not normally touch. But this pestilence was made in the depths of Dol Guldur, and its reach was long, and its grip fearful. Yet many did survive the plague, especially when their spirits were high, and they were well tended to by the craft of a skilled healer.

Seeing the companions avoid them rather than gladly come and help put despair into the hearts of these outlaws, and seeing this and being shamed into action, Iglund and Ubar stepped forth and gave comfort to the outlaws, yet Ithilonnen remained distant and aloof, for he claimed he had not walked Middle Earth for the lives of so many men only to be struck down now by plague, and Irminsul spoke of how his children relied on him, and he would not risk himself to plague either. Eberwulf agreed to give some of his honey cakes to the victims of the plague, yet first he sought to direct his hound Ausgling to give them the cakes, and them he asked Ubar to give them for him, for he was happy enough to see others venture near to contamination, but not himself.

When the outlaws had been sufficiently treated by those who were kind enough to do so, they told of how they had been on their way to see Geirbald, who even then lay dying in an Outlaw camp, stricken with plague, and that he had not long to live. The Fellowship was saddened to hear this, yet they pushed on to Thranduil’s halls

The Fellowship came then upon the gates of the Elven-King, yet after all they had seen, a shadow lay heavy upon them, and the guards had been ordered to question all who sought to enter the halls and who had but the faintest trace of shadow upon them.

The guards questioned the Fellowship, and found they were not happy with the answers of Ubar and of Eberwulf. Instead, they bid them make their way to the dungeons to tarry there awhile as their companions spoke to Thranduil. There is no word in the tongues of men to convey what those dungeons are like, for they offered more comfort than many houses of the richest men. Yet Ubar scorned the dungeons for their name, and protested greatly, which offended the guards, who told them to instead camp far away from the entrance, where the guards might not see them or smell them.

Ubar scorned their words, and decried Thranduil as a wood-sprite, setting up his camp within eyesight of the guards to frustrate them, all the while loudly singing dwarven drinking songs. The Elven guards liked this not, and when Ubar had raised his tent, they shot straight through his guy-lines and collapsed his tent. Eberwulf took this for great sport, and laughed at the Elves, asking how far they could shoot. Within the halls, Thranduil’s court was assembled, and before all his courtiers Thranduil asked the Fellowship of all they knew of the lamp. The Fellowship longed to keep what they all now knew as a secret, and Iglund would only say that the tales of Woodmen do not tell where the Lamp of Balthi came from, but that he had heard tell of how Gandalf had given the lamp to the Woodmen. Caranthiel spoke in riddles, of how the lamp might have come from somewhere that was forgotten, or somewhere that was lost, or somewhere that was taken.

Thranduil understood her meaning, and he told the Fellowship then that he wished the matter dealt with quickly, and if possible, with some subtlety. He told them that if they brought Gandalf to him, he would reward them. If they did not bring Gandalf with haste, then he would be forced to dispatch Legolas, and if even that did not secure the Wizard quickly, then he would have no choice but to openly declare a hunt for Gandalf.

The Fellowship accepted this reluctantly, bar Ithilonnen who asked yet more questions of the Elven-King, asking why it would matter where the lamp was made, and why Thranduil considered it to be his property. When Thranduil would not answer, for he thought these questions to be foolish and impertinent indeed, then Ithilonnen said to the Elven-King what he had said to the Fellowship: that elves did not have any claim to treasures of their people which had been lost, and he decried Thranduil for taking Orcrist from Thorin, after Elrond had let Thorin leave Imladris with it in good faith. All this was taken as a sign of great disrespect to a king inside his own hall, yet Thranduil would not speak ill to one of Elrond’s warriors.

Iglund, Irminsul, Ithilonnen and Caranthiel left the halls then to find Eberwulf and Ubar unconscious and bound, for they had been driven to sleep by the Elf-lights of the angered guards, and Eberwulf and Ubar were released to their companions only by the intervention of Irminsul who vouched for them.

Caranthiel spoke then to the foxes of the forest, and learned that Gandalf was camped with the Outlaws, and was there to watch over Geirbald till he died. Geirbald had long led the Outlaws, and while he led them, he had sworn a mighty doom to hunt the Beast of Mirkwood and to always do it harm. While he led the Outlaws, there was an uneasy accord with the Woodmen due to his strength of character, and none lesser than Gandalf the Grey came to consider him as a friend. For Gandalf was concerned by the Beast of Mirkwood, and he came to Geirbald as an ally, seeing his dedication to fighting that evil, and Gandalf grew to admire him much.

Yet the lives of mortals are but fleeting, and it came to pass that Geirbald was stricken with plague. As it happened, Gandalf had come to Mirkwood at that time, and he had vowed to stay with Geirbald till the end.

The companions came in time to the camp of the Outlaws and found Gandalf and Geirbald there. The Wizard agreed he would come with the Fellowship to see Thranduil, but he had made an oath to Geirbald he would not break, to stay with him in the hour of his passing.

Geirbald most of all longed to rejoin the Woodmen and see Wuduseld one last time, and thus as his dying wish, he asked a boon of Iglund, that Iglund might see his exile lifted and see him returned to Wuduseld one last time. Yet this was no small thing to ask, for Geirbald had fled the lands of the Woodmen after a hunt for the Beast of Mirkwood, for by unhappy chance, one of the arrows he let fly had struck and slain his sister Geina, and ever since had he been known as Kinslayer. Yet Iglund agreed gladly, for he wished to bring Geirbald peace. The Fellowship knew not whether they should return to Thranduil at once, or else see to Geirbald’s wishes while there was still time, and in so doing risk incurring Thranduil’s wrath. Yet Caranthiel brought forth a lamp she had fashioned in the style of the Lamp of Amon Lanc. Silver and gold shone its crystals within, and much of her healing power the lamp contained, and with its light Caranthiel was able to stave off death for but a time and granted some life to Geirbald’s limbs. Miraculous indeed this was and bought the time they needed.

Seeing this, Gandalf came with the Fellowship, and he returned to Thranduil’s Halls, where he spoke frankly to the Elven-King:

“I was worried that the Enemy — the real Enemy — would try to reclaim it if he knew exactly where it was, and how could his Eye not be fixed perpetually upon the halls of those who created it? The lamp is indeed a potent weapon against the Shadow. But the Woodmen have the greater need in the coming war. Yes, war. Sauron has declared in Mordor. Soon, soon as the Elves reckon it, but perhaps even as Men reckon it, he will loose his gathering forces upon Middle-earth. Dol Guldur is rebuilt, and evil things dwell there again. Mirkwood will be a battleground. If the Elves reclaim the lamp, then the Woodmen will doubtless be destroyed. It will make the Woodland Realm stronger for a while, but in the end it will be an island of light surrounded by a sea of darkness, and it will founder and fall at the last. But I agree that now the choice belongs to the Elves. I have urgent errands elsewhere.”

Gandalf turned then to leave, walking toward the gates, which only opened at Thranduil’s wish, yet the Elven-king lowered his head and the gates opened. Many Wayward Elves there were in those halls who wished to see the Lamp returned at once, that it might be hung openly in the forest beneath the Ancient Oak as a sign of the undimmed splendour of the Elves, and to them allowing Gandalf to leave was an outrage, and their voices rose up in anger, ere Thranduil silenced them with a mighty cry, and then with words of wisdom.

“I will not imprison a Wizard, even if he has wronged us — and his words, though bitter, were not without wisdom. I need counsel, and time to think.”

The Wayward Elves were still tumultuous, and Thranduil sent them all out, to discuss with the Fellowship alone. The fine words of Irminsul and of Caranthiel assuaged his pride, as did the assurances of Iglund that he would indeed like to return the lamp if he could.

Thranduil warned them that while time passed swiftly to his people, the matter of the lamp could not wait for ever, for the Silvan Elves he ruled were more dangerous and less wise than his folk who had lived in Beleriand, and he knew not what the Wayward Elves might do in time. He gave Iglund twelve years to decide, and at the end of that time, the Woodmen needs must return the lamp to the Elves, or else declare themselves to be Thranduil’s subjects and part of his realm, to honour and obey his word, that Thranduil might say the lamp still resided within the Woodland Realm.

Iglund had much time to think, yet he liked his decision not, for he knew it would not be popular. Yet his first test of leadership was to come much sooner, for it was at that time that Iglund returned to Geirbald, and brought him even inside Woodland Hall to fulfil his word, and declared that the name of Kinslayer would be stripped from Geirbald. He declared also that the next day Geirbald would be fairly tried, and the matter of his guilt settled once and for all. Yet there was but one witness to the death of Geina left alive, for the others who had been there that day had gone with Geirbald, and the lives of the Outlaws was oft short, and their deaths bloody.

Atarmud was one of the Elders of Woodland Hall, and though he was a kind man, he was outraged that Geirbald had been brought into Woodland Hall and swore that he would speak against Geirbald at the trial. For Atarmud had been betrothed to Geina when she died, and he had considered Geirbald closest of all his friends till the moment that Geina died.

Ithilonnen spoke to Atarmud and heard from him how Geirbald had wanted to hunt the Beast of Mirkwood, and how he had shown little caution, shooting wildly at shapes he could not clearly see, assuming them to the Beast. Ithilonnen’s heart was heavy to hear Atarmud’s sorrows, and though he saw that Geirbald had not intended it, and had laboured hard to atone for his mistakes, he agreed with Atarmud that it seemed that it was Geirbald’s arrogance for which his sister had died.

Irminsul heard that Atarmud oft went to the grave of Geina, which lay but a little distance from the walls of Woodland Hall. He went to the grave at night, and there he saw Atarmud speaking to a voice, and that voice told him that his betrothed rested uneasily since her brother had murdered her, and that Geirbald had abandoned his hunt for the Beast of Mirkwood and had never atoned for his sin.

For but a moment, Irminsul took this to be the voice of a ghost, as Atarmud did, till he saw the raven Eágbitar in the branches above, yet Eágbitar escaped when Irminsul emerged openly to the grave site. Atarmud would not relinquish his sorrow nor his hate, nor would he believe the voice to be anything than a ghost speaking truthfully.

Anger flared in Irminsul, and the strength of the ring he wore was fed by that anger, and the ring wielded great power through him. Darkness swirled around Irminsul and he became a thing of terror, and the next day, Atarmud went not to the trial, staying instead within his home. Caranthiel went to see Atarmud when he did not come to the trial and saw that he was terrified of a horror of which he would not speak, and she knew the shadow was descending on Irminsul.

With no voices to oppose him, Iglund declared Geirbald to be innocent, and the leader of the Outlaws spoke his last words in the hall which he loved: “The beast has taken everything from me. Three times I fought it, and three times I was defeated – but a foresight is on me now! The beast will die… in a place where there are no shadows… in a time when there is no hope… and its death… will be the doom of the Forest. It must be slain! It must die… all things must pass from this world.”

And outside Woodland Hall, where the Outlaws who had followed Geirbald waited, Eágbitar came to Valdis and whispered in her ear of what had happened, and how their plans could progress. For the son of Valdis, named Girion, was a boy now who would be a man in but a few years, and she sought to do all she could to gain power, that she might place him on the throne of Dale, and her schemes to consolidate her influence in the west of the forest were all to that end.