The White Horse Inn, Act III

[Umwë]

Lianda gave Eodwine a gloomy look and sat with a sullen expression on her face.

Umwë smiled a bit embarassed and sat down with Eodwine. Eodwine’s and Lianda’s little argue fortunately didn’t go so far, Eodwine interrupted it by ordering three ales for them.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble.” Umwë said and looked down in the wooden table.

“Don’t worry” Eodwine said and pounded him heartily in the back. “Now let us all enjoy the finest ale they can offer.”

Lianda nodded now, and seemed a lot more happy. Umwë smiled to her and took a sip the ale that the server had been coming with. It tasted delicious, he had never had any ale tasted like this.

“By Eru! This ale is the best I’ve ever tasted!” Umwë exclaimed with a quick laugther. He felt how his good mood came back, and he didn’t feel shy anymore.

“How long have you been around here?” Umwë suddenly asked and his head turned from Eodwine to Lianda constantly.

This is what living is for, he thought and felt relieved that Lianda didn’t seem so angry anymore. At least he thought so. Eodwine seemed to be in a good mood to as he swung his ale and sang a silly song that Umwë almost could understand.

[astarielle]

Lianda was laughing so hard inside she struggled to keep from falling off her stool onto the floor in a very unlady-like manner. Their little 'argument' amused her some what, probably more so than it should have done. Now joined by Umwë, Lianda tried her best not to let the ale have its way with her.

The mood in the Inn was somewhat more jovial and the sounds of conversation grew louder and the familiar clink of ale mugs more frequent.

“How long have you been around here?” Umwë suddenly asked and his head turned from Eodwine to Lianda constantly.

"Here in the Inn, or Edoras?" Lianda tried to recollect how long she had actually been in the Inn and exactly how many mugs of ale she had drunk, it had to be a lot of mugs as she could not get an answer to either. Lianda shrugged and had some more ale, prehaps that would enlighten her. "I can answer neither exactly as this fine ale has clouded my judgement, but i've been in Edoras less than a day.......i think...." Lianda continued.

Eodwine had obviously not heard the question as he was srepeating the same line to his ditty over and over again changing one or two words at a time. He had seemingly forgotten the next phrase, or was that just the ale showing through?

"May I ask you the same question? I'm pretty sure you'd be able to answer with a little more certainty!" asked Lianda smiling.

[littlemanpoet]

"I was just thinking of the moon," Eodwine said to his two drinking partners, and it has put me in mind of a song. I heard it from a fellow soldier, who insists that he had it from a halfling of the north. Quite an odd song really, and my memory may fail me. I goes like this."

"There is an inn, a merry ol' inn
'neath an ol' gray hill,
An' there they brew an ale so frothy
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one nigh' to have a swill.

"The ostler has a booted cat
that sings and combs its hair;
And up and down he squeaks and howls,
Now meowing high, now purring low,
now pawing at the chair."

"Tha' part never did make sensssse to meep!" Eodwine murmured out of the side of his mouth to Lianda, but ended on a hiccup.

"The lan'lord keeps a little hog
tha' 's mighty fond of artichokes;
When there's good cheer among the guests,
He cocks his ear at all the jests
and grunts until he smokes."

"A silly song, really. Who ever heard of a 'og smoking because of jokes? Or is it grunts until he chokes? Or sings to all the folks? Or snorts until he chokes?" Eodwine shrugged his shoulders and quaffed his ale.

Lianda was talking to Umwë, smiling. "May I ask you the same question? I'm pretty sure you'd be able to answer with a little more certainty!"

"Wha' ques'ion?" Eodwine asked.

"H-how long have you b-been here?" Umwë supplied.

"Jus' t'day! I came in wi' the dawn from the Gap of Rohan. An' you, Umdilay?"

"Umwë," the Elf corrected politely.

"Ssssorry."

[Alaksoron]

Korik came in from the stables and heard Eodwine's attempt at song, who was now quite drunk. Nevertheless, the song transported Korik to a time long past, when he had watched a hobbit singing that very song while standing atop a table at the Prancing Pony, in Bree. Korik made his way slowly to where Eodwine was sitting and sat down beside his friend, humming the tune to himself. It was quite a sight, the white-cloaked Elf beside the half-drunk man. Korik raise his lovely voice and sang the song, and everyone nearby stopped to hear the beautiful sound.

There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old gray hill,
and there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.

The ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays afive-stringed fiddle;
And up and down he runs his bow,
Now squeaking high, now purring low,
now sawing in the middle.

The landlord keeps a little dog
that is mighty fond of jokes;
When there's good cheer among the guests,
He cocks an ear at all the jests
and laughs until he chokes.

They also keep a horned cow
as proud as any queen;
But music turns her head like ale,
And makes her wave her tufted tail
and dance upon the green.

And O! the rows of silver dishes
and the store of silver spoons!
For Sunday there's a special pair,
and these they polish up with care
on Saturday afternoons.

The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,
and the cat began to wail;
a dish and a spoon on the table danced,
The cow in the garden madly pranced,
and the little dog chased his tail.

The Man in the Moon took another mug,
and then rolled beneath his chair;
and there he dozed and dreamed of ale,
Till in the sky the stars were pale,
and dawn was in the air.

Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:
'The white horses of the Moon,
They neigh and champ their silver bits;
But their master's been and drowned his wits,
and the Sun'll be rising soon!'

So the cat on his fiddle played hey-didle-diddle,
a jig that would rouse the dead:
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:
'It's after three!" He said.

They rolled the Man slowly up the hill,
and bundled him into the Moon,
While his horses galloped up in rear,
And the cow came capering like a deer,
and a dish ran up with the spoon.

Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;
the dog began to roar,
The cow and the horses stood on their heads;
The guests all bounded from their beds
and danced upon the floor.

With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke!
the cow jumped over the Moon,
And the little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
with the silver Sunday spoon.

The round moon rolled behind the hill
as the Sun raised up her head.
She hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise
they all went back to bed!

[littlemanpoet]

Eodwine quieted and listened to Korik sing. His head seemed to clear, and he listened with delight. When Korik finished, Eodwine joined the others in applause.

"Well sung, Korik, my friend!" Eodwine said. "And your words were much better than what I learned. Thanks for that! We must have it again!"

"Not this minute, Master Eodwine. Singing has made me thirsty, and I have not had as much to drink as you. So I would have one of these ales that are supposed to be the best in the land."

[Umwë]

"Wha' ques'ion?" Eodwine asked.

"H-how long have you b-been here?" Umwë supplied.

"Jus' t'day! I came in wi' the dawn from the Gap of Rohan. An' you, Umdilay?"

"Umwë," the Elf corrected politely.

"Ssssorry."

"No problem." Umwë said and bowed. He took another gulp of his ale. Eodwine seemed fuzzy and quite drunk. Umwë glanced at Eodwine's ale. I wonder how many he has been drinking today, he thought and his gaze turned to a person, who he believed was a man, that entered and sat down beside them.

Suddenly he started to sing, and Umwë sat as he was enchanted by the song. His eyes became glassy and he drew a deep sigh.

There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old gray hill,
and there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.

The ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays afive-stringed fiddle;
And up and down he runs his bow,
Now squeaking high, now purring low,
now sawing in the middle.

The landlord keeps a little dog
that is mighty fond of jokes;
When there's good cheer among the guests,
He cocks an ear at all the jests
and laughs until he chokes.

They also keep a horned cow
as proud as any queen;
But music turns her head like ale,
And makes her wave her tufted tail
and dance upon the green.

And O! the rows of silver dishes
and the store of silver spoons!
For Sunday there's a special pair,
and these they polish up with care
on Saturday afternoons.

The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,
and the cat began to wail;
a dish and a spoon on the table danced,
The cow in the garden madly pranced,
and the little dog chased his tail.

The Man in the Moon took another mug,
and then rolled beneath his chair;
and there he dozed and dreamed of ale,
Till in the sky the stars were pale,
and dawn was in the air.

Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:
'The white horses of the Moon,
They neigh and champ their silver bits;
But their master's been and drowned his wits,
and the Sun'll be rising soon!'

So the cat on his fiddle played hey-didle-diddle,
a jig that would rouse the dead:
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:
'It's after three!" He said.

They rolled the Man slowly up the hill,
and bundled him into the Moon,
While his horses galloped up in rear,
And the cow came capering like a deer,
and a dish ran up with the spoon.

Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;
the dog began to roar,
The cow and the horses stood on their heads;
The guests all bounded from their beds
and danced upon the floor.

With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke!
the cow jumped over the Moon,
And the little dog laughed to see such fun,
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
with the silver Sunday spoon.

The round moon rolled behind the hill
as the Sun raised up her head.
She hardly believed her fiery eyes;
For though it was day, to her surprise
they all went back to bed!

"Bravo!" Umwë exclaimed and clapped his hands. He felt even more joy now and the ale tasted really good.

"I am Umwë" Umwë said to the man and bowed with a smile.

"Korik is my name!" Korik replied with a smile.

"The song was beautiful! It reminds of the glorious days I have been spending in Lórien." Umwë said.

"It glads me that you enjoyed it." Korik said softly.

All the happy memories came back to Umwë. and for once, it wasn't sadness that he felt when he got reminded of Lórien. He actually felt happy and thankful for all the good days.

"By the way Eodwine. I came this morning, so not even a day have I spent here yet. But I look forward at a long and happy stay, as my company so far has been most pleasant!" He grinned to them all and raised his mug of ale and said with a smile "Cheers for all the happy moments life has to offer!"

"Cheers!" the others said in agreement and raised their mugs of ale.

Umwë now turned to the new person that had joined them, Korik. "So you have just arrived, friend Korik?" Umwë asked and awaited his reply.

[Bêthberry]

Light from lanterns and candles and fireplaces flickered out from the latticed windows of The White Horse and illuminated patches of the ground almost in time to the music that emanated from the Horse. Cheers and voices and laughter competed with the sounds of flute and harp as well. Bethberry could almost imagine the sign of the Horse swaying in time with the entertainment. She could not see any sign of the nightwatchman she and Aylwen had hired, but for the time being she satisfied herself with the thought that Osric could well be making his rounds on the other side of the Inn. She stabled her horse quickly and quietly, the ostler himself likely having dinner with his family or seeing the bairns to bed.

Lifting the heavy iron latch, Bethberry swung the front door open and stepped inside, her eyes temporarily blinded by the light and her senses overcome by the heady aromas and warm air of the inn. No one had as yet caught sight of her, so she quietly strode in, leaving her bags near the front desk, by her old room which now was Aywlen's room. Maercwen caught sight of her and nearly called aloud, but Bethberry, with a grin, but her finger to her lips and cautioned silence. She gave the girl a hug and whispered to her that it was good to be back and then walked calmly into the Great Hall with a tankard in her hand.

"What's this covering of the same song over and over?" she asked with mock sterness, as she caught the eye of new bards. The older children ran to her, crying out her name and jumping up on her nearly as if she was a tree to climb.

"Hold your horse, Deman and Fierlan," she laughed as she gave each a tight hug and a ruffling of their hair. "It's a good thing I at least am still steady on my feet."

Osric the old warrior harrumped at this and attempted to rise to welcome her whereas Lianda, Umwë, Eodwine and Korik seemed to reel around each other and stared at her blinkingly. It could not be denied that the sound of a belch or two punctuated the welcome.