The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Castle Maladil

piosenniel · 01-10-2003, 02:14 PM

‘Did you hear what the wizard said?’ Bird took Holly by the arm and tried to pull her away a space for a private conversation. Holly shook her off and continued drawing in the dirt with her long stick. ‘Stop that doodling!’ demanded Bird. ‘I want to talk about that bit he just said – the bells in tinkling strands of gold.’

‘Fetch me my small pack. The one with my drawing materials in it.’ Holly looked distractedly at Bird, then, crouching down, added a few details in the dirt with her finger tip. Muttering loudly about the mule-headed Hobbit, Bird brought her back the pack.

Holly rummaged through it until she found her hardest drawing pencil. Taking the much folded map from her vest pocket she smoothed it on the dirt beside the crude map she had drawn on the ground. ‘Look, Bird!’ she said, motioning her friend down beside her. ‘This map I have isn’t too off from what the grounds might look like. It’s just a little sparse in detail.’ She pointed to the map she had scratched in the dirt while listening to Gandalf speak.

‘Here on the west, is what he called the Outer Entryway. And then here must be the area called the Inner Courtyard.’ She penciled in both those place names with approximations of where they would be. Her pencil traced a line , left – right – left, and she drew in where the Stately Stables must have been, noting in fine print, ‘yellow cedar’.

‘Right here, Bird,’ she said, tapping the stable area with her pencil, ‘that’s where those “bells in tinkling strands of gold” would be.’ Holly rubbed the lobe of her ear, thinking. The rest of her map needed filling in – how best to do it. She pulled Bird up with her, scuffing the map in the dirt away with her foot. ‘Let’s go find Bethberry, and get her ideas on where the garden might be.’ She looked about for the woman, now standing across the camp from them, near the Elf.

Walking slowly in her direction, hoping to see the healer leave the vicinity of Nardol, Holly chattered on to Bird excitedly. ‘Perhaps later, if we approach him nicely, Gandalf will read us another page from Andreth’s book.’

Bird looked at her in amusement. ‘Yes, and perhaps that flame-headed Elf will ask me to dance!’

01-10-2003, 02:14 PM	#254
piosenniel Desultory Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pickin' flowers with Bill the Cat..... Posts: 7,779	‘Did you hear what the wizard said?’ Bird took Holly by the arm and tried to pull her away a space for a private conversation. Holly shook her off and continued drawing in the dirt with her long stick. ‘Stop that doodling!’ demanded Bird. ‘I want to talk about that bit he just said – the bells in tinkling strands of gold.’ ‘Fetch me my small pack. The one with my drawing materials in it.’ Holly looked distractedly at Bird, then, crouching down, added a few details in the dirt with her finger tip. Muttering loudly about the mule-headed Hobbit, Bird brought her back the pack. Holly rummaged through it until she found her hardest drawing pencil. Taking the much folded map from her vest pocket she smoothed it on the dirt beside the crude map she had drawn on the ground. ‘Look, Bird!’ she said, motioning her friend down beside her. ‘This map I have isn’t too off from what the grounds might look like. It’s just a little sparse in detail.’ She pointed to the map she had scratched in the dirt while listening to Gandalf speak. ‘Here on the west, is what he called the Outer Entryway. And then here must be the area called the Inner Courtyard.’ She penciled in both those place names with approximations of where they would be. Her pencil traced a line , left – right – left, and she drew in where the Stately Stables must have been, noting in fine print, ‘yellow cedar’. ‘Right here, Bird,’ she said, tapping the stable area with her pencil, ‘that’s where those “bells in tinkling strands of gold” would be.’ Holly rubbed the lobe of her ear, thinking. The rest of her map needed filling in – how best to do it. She pulled Bird up with her, scuffing the map in the dirt away with her foot. ‘Let’s go find Bethberry, and get her ideas on where the garden might be.’ She looked about for the woman, now standing across the camp from them, near the Elf. Walking slowly in her direction, hoping to see the healer leave the vicinity of Nardol, Holly chattered on to Bird excitedly. ‘Perhaps later, if we approach him nicely, Gandalf will read us another page from Andreth’s book.’ Bird looked at her in amusement. ‘Yes, and perhaps that flame-headed Elf will ask me to dance!’ __________________ Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.