[Thinlómien]

Modtryth

Modtryth had been watching the task path race with the boys. They had been enthusiastic and cheering for their favourites: Javan and Dan. Modtryth wasn't still quite comfortable with their fascination with the weird woodman, but she decided rather to keep an eye on the situation than act or judge too rashly.

"Garmund! Garmund! Cnebba! I found a bug!"

Léoðern dashed towards the boys, grinning and carefully shielding something in her hands. The boys exchanged glances and rolled their eyes, but went to see her bug. In a few moments they were at least as excited about it as Léoðern was. Modtryth couldn't help smiling.

She let her eyes travel from the children to other people. Everybody seemed happy or enthusiastic, except that there was a slightly pained expression on Saeryn's face. Her brother was talking to her and she was smiling to him in response, but Modtryth thought not everything was quite right. She wanted to go to see Saeryn's wound and ask her about it. She thought Saeryn would not lie to her about it just to comfort her, like she could do to her brother, not to mention Lord Eodwine and Rowenna whom she had just been talking with. She could not decide whether to go to see her, or not. The next event would be starting at any minute, probably.

Léoðern made the decision for her by coming to her. "See, Modtryth, I found a beautiful bug!" If Léoðern is with me, there is no chance of having a serious word with Saeryn, Modtryth thought. That will have to wait, then. She stooped to have a luck at Léoðern's bug. The girl was sheltering it so carefully that she could not see but a hint of radiant emerald green. "It is very beautiful," she said. "But now, the next game is about to start, so stay here with me. We can watch it together." Léoðern nodded and was about to sit down on the ground. "But first, let's go wish good luck to the boys - it's stone throwing that's next!"

Léoðern's eyes widened and she turned to the boys' direction with a beaming smile. Still sheltering the bug, she ran to them, Modtryth in her wake. The boys were standing together where Léoðern and her bug had left them, talking about something in low voices. They fell silent when Léoðern and Modtryth arrived. "Good luck!" the girl said and gave both of the boys a kiss on the cheek. The boys exchanged glances and Modtryth could see they were nervous. She patted their shoulders and ruffled Cnebba's hair.

"Mum!" Cnebba exclaimed, fingering his messy hair.
"Good luck, darling," Modtryth said and smiled. "Good luck to you too, Garmund. I'm sure it will go fine with both of you. Now, off you go, the other contestants are waiting for you!"


~*~


Stone throwing

Harreld, Erbrand, Balvir, Wilcred, Garmund and Cnebba were standing in the clearing. Harreld and Erbrand were stretching the muscles in their arms and shoulders after the heavy task-path race. Balvir and Wilcred were talking in low voices. Garmund was looking around, trying to catch a glimpse of his father. Cnebba was plucking grass.

Lithor arrived with a wooden bucket filled with small but heavy stones.
"Are we ready to start?" he asked.
"Matrim is missing," Balvir pointed out.
"I'm coming!" the liutenant called from distance, wiping ale from his moustache with a self-ironic smile on his face. There was general laughter as he took his place among the other contestants.

"Now that everybody is finally here," Lithor (who had arrived just a moment ago himself) said, grinning at Matrim, "we may start. The rules are simple. Here are the stones," Lithor said, pouring them all on the grass, "and here's the bucket."

He waited that all the contestants had nodded in approval before he continued. "I will take this bucket here. Each of you has two tries to get a stone in the bucket - youngest first, oldest last. If you can't get one in, you're out of the game. After each round, I will move the bucket farther. The one who drops out of the game last, wins. Questions?"

There were none, so the game began. Cnebba was clearly nervous, but the first distance was short and he had a good aim, so he got the stone in at his first try. Grinning rather smugly, he made way for Garmund. He did not succeed at his first try, and was seemingly displeased with that. "Who's next?" grey-bearded Wilcred asked. "Not me by any means," he added with a wry smile. Matrim and Erbrand exchanged glances. "You may go first, good master," the Gondorian said. Erbrand hesitated a little, then nodded and picked a stone. Balvir cast an unreadable glance at his liutenant, who returned it with a smile.

Erbrand's stone hit the target beautifully, and so did Matrim's after him. Harreld was weighing the small stone in his hand and cast it, accurately but with too much strength. The pebble hit the inside of the bucket and knocked it down, spilling all the stones around. Everybody was laughing, even Harreld. "Is that acceptable?" Balvir asked Lithor. The Eorling shrugged and smiled. "The aim is to get the stone inside the bucket. It wasn't forbidden to knock the bucket down." There was more laughter, and Lithor went to pick the bucket up for Balvir and Wilcred. The two soldiers succeeded easily, and so did Garmund at his second try.

"That was seemingly all too easy for the brave men of the hall!" Lithor announced when he took the bucket and moved it some five feet further away. "Now you may try this."

Cnebba and Garmund both failed at their first try. Erbrand, Matrim, Harreld and Balvir all got their stones in easily, but the veteran warrior Wilcred missed. Bad luck was the common conclusion, but Wilcred didn't seem to mind. The boys were far more nervous. However, when Cnebba's turn came, he was calm, if not a little pale, and with a beautiful throw, he got the pebble to the bucket. The crowd applauded and Cnebba flashed a grin to his friend. Garmund's face was stern, he had failed both his first tries now and he didn't want to be the first one to drop out of the game. He bit his lip, picked a pebble and threw it. The was a loud clop when the pebble hit the bottom of the bucket. The cheers he got were wilder than those that ensued after Wilcred too had hit the target.

On the third round, Cnebba succeeded at his first try. His relief was clearly seen in his grin. Garmund was not so lucky, and missed again. His frustration showed as clearly as Cnebba's delight. But he wasn't the only one who missed on the first round: Erbrand and Harreld both missed as well. There was tension in the air as the three competitors eyed each other. They all had a nagging feeling that they wouldn't all make it to the next round. And so it was. Garmund missed the bucket by inches. Erbrand got his pebble in. Harreld's pebble flew over the bucket and landed some two feet further away than it should have. Accepting their shared last place calmly, Garmund and Harreld joined the audience.

On the next round, Erbrand, Balvir and Wilcred all succeeded at their first try, while Cnebba and Matrim had to try again. "I'm sure you'll beat me," Matrim whispered to Cnebba when the boy was picking his next pebble. Cnebba offered the soldier a faint smile, but did not trust his words. He weighed the stone and hesitantly threw it, only to miss the bucket. He let out a disappointed sigh and made way to Matrim, who hit the target easily. "You'll beat me next time," Matrim promised easily and winked.

Next round, everyone succeeded: Matrim and Balvir at their first try, Erbrand and Wilcred at their second. Lithor moved the bucket once again. Wilcred shook his head at the distance. "I tell you, I'm not going to hit that," he said, smiling wryly. "I'm a swordsman, not a pebble-thrower!" "Nonsense, it's still very close," Erbrand said, returning the older man's smile. The veteran had been right, however - he missed the bucket both times, while Matrim missed only once and Erbrand and the seemingly undefeatable Balvir succeeded at their first try.

But even Balvir wasn't so undefeatable. On the following round, he missed at his first try, unlike the younger men. The competition was getting pretty tense, few were those who dared to bet what would happen.

Lithor moved the bucket. Erbrand picked a pebble and threw it. It missed. He gave way to Matrim. He too picked a pebble and threw it. It missed as well. Everybody was looking at Balvir. He chose his pebble carefully, weighed it and threw it. It looked as if it would go too far, but it hit the inside of the bucket and dropped in. The usually so calm soldier flashed a wolvish grin when the cheers and the applause burst out. "See you next round, boys... if you make it that far," he said. "I'll throw my pebble in the bucket and follow you to next round, for sure," said Matrim. "It's just Erbrand's turn first." Erbrand said nothing, just picked the stone that seemed best to him and threw it. It landed in the bucket and a smile lit Erbrand's face. "Outrageous," Matrim commented with a smile, but stooped and picked a stone. He stood there for a long time with the pebble in his hand, but finally, he raised his hand, aimed and let go of the pebble. There was the soft thud of a stone hitting grass.

When Matrim had left, only Erbrand, Balvir and the bucket at the distance remained. "Younger one first," Balvir said. "I know," replied Erbrand and picked a stone. He threw it, but it didn't go inside the bucket. Balvir nodded grimly and picked a stone too. It missed as well. Erbrand picked a new stone. "Your last chance," Balvir said solemnly. Erbrand nodded, giving the older man a gruff smile. "So is yours." He closed his eyes just for a while, raised his hand, aimed and threw. The pebble landed a mere inch away from the bucket. Balvir's face was expressionless. "I only win if I get the stone inside the bucket, otherwise it's a shared victory," he said as he stooped to pick a pebble. He didn't hesitate; he picked the stone and threw it in one concentrated movement. It made a beautiful arch in the air and landed, with a loud clop, in the bucket.

"We have a winner!" Lithor boomed as applause and cheers filled the air. Balvir grinned. "Truly, it was a great honour to compete with such a skilled man as you, Erbrand," he said, patting the younger man's shoulder. "It was a great honour to compete with you too, and no one else would have deserved the victory like you did," Erbrand replied, now smiling too.

"That was indeed a worthy victory," Matrim said as he joined in the congratulations. There was an amused glint in his dark eyes. "And now, people of Scarburg, you know you may always turn to valiant and skillful Captain Balvir of Gondor, if you're ever in need of a pebble-thrower."