The day was long and strenuous for the band. No waylayers to be seen, but the weather had been dismally wet all day. However, the roads had been solid enough to ride on and no complaint could be made about the rate of their progress. Their lord was wrapped in a multiple blankets to protect him from the cold and hides were stretched across the wagon to shield him from the rain. The great capital of Edoras was in sight now, the outline of the great Golden Hall just visible in the gently falling rain. The group was thrilled to see the city; it would mean the end of their journey and a quick healing for their lord.
Eodwine had been conscience for a few hours, but too weak to speak. Balvir noticed tears in his eyes after Lithor wondered outloud to Wilcred about the nobles and Saeryn. To say the least, it put all the group in a sorrowful mood. Lithor kept insisting that his lord’s tears were from lack of sleep rather than for Saeryn, but the group new it was false.
“Still,” Lithor continued in a hushed voice. “Sleep would be best for him. Come, let us sing a song to lower his eyelids and raise our spirits. What shall it be?” Æđel was the one who suggested the song. Wilcred suggested that they change several of the characters.
Now Eodwine has to Edoras gone,
With a link a down and a down,
And there he met the proud hangman,
Was walking along the town
“O hail, O hail, O hangman,” he said,
“O save and you may see!
And what will you give to a silly old man
Today will your assistant be?”
“Some suits, some suits,” the hangman he said,
“Some suits I’ll give to thee;
Some suits, some suits, and copper thirteen
Today’s a hangman’s fee.”
Then Eodwine he turns round about,
And jumps from stock to stone
“By the truth of my body,” the hangman he said
“That’s well jumpt, thou nimble old man.”
“I was ne’er a hangman in all my life.
Nor yet intends to trade;
But curst be the he,” said bold Eodwine
“That first was a hangman made!
“I’ve a bag for meal, and a bag for malt,
And a bag for barley and corn;
A bag for bread, and a bag for beef,
And a bag for my little small horn.
“I have a horn in my pocket,
I got it from a man with a hood,
And still when I set it to my mouth,
For thee it blows little good.”
“O blow thy horn, thou proud fellow,
Of thee I have no doubt;
I wish that thou give such a blast
till both thy eyes fall out
The first loud blast that he did blow,
He blew both loud and shrill;
A hundred and fifty of King Eomer’s men
Came riding over the hill
The next loud blast that he did give
He blew both loud and amain;
And quickly sixty of King Eomer’s men
Came shining over the plain”
The plan had worked: Eodwine was asleep, and a good thing too. The rain came down harder than before. The horses became frightened and the wagon became sluggish in the mud. Wilcred and Balvir both alighted from their horses, giving the reigns to Lithor, and helped push the wagon up the hill to the gates.
“Who goes there,” cried the watchman upon the parapets.
“Travelers from the Middle Emnet, bearing their lord to be healed, for he is sorely sick.”
Three guards opened the gate and helped the wagon inside. While guards examining Eodwine, Lithor told them of their journey and of whom the sick man was. The guards promptly escorted them to a house, where they said they would receive assistance from a healer. The occupants of the house were both husband and wife. The soldier’s gently raised Eodwine’s litter from the wagon and brought it within the house as fast as they could without getting their lord wet from the now torrential rain. It was a small house, certainly not large enough to hold all of them. However, upon Lithor’s request, the healer and his wife made accommodations for Æđel (it would not be proper to have her lodge with three bachelors).
"I am sorry for the inconvenience," the healer explained, "but it is just not possible to keep all of you here. My house is small and your lord must need rest, it is simply not possible if you stay here."
"Are there any inns open. Perhaps the White Horse."
"No, they will be closed on a night like this. However, there is someone who might be able to help you. Athanar is his name. He was once a soldier like yourself and I am sure that would offer assistance to the King's lord in whatever way possible. He has ties to the King, something that will be useful to you: the King will need to hear of your lord's illness."
The healer gave the two instructions to Athanar's house and after seeing to their lord’s comfort and seeing that he was in good hands, Lithor and Balvir left Æđel to rest and Wilcred to keep the first watch. Once again, the two plunge into the rain soaked streets.