Part Thirty-one
The first thing travelers saw of the Wizard's Vale was the crown of the tall black tower, as they moved up the sloped riverbanks that led to the valley, settled in the southern end of the long high mountain chain that Elves considered the border between the east and the west. To Tsuki, this tower seemed unchanged and he began to fall behind the others and failed to urge Moon-halo onward.
He remembered His Master saying not to return.
Dale called to him. "Tsuki. You can come with us. There is nothing to stop you."
Tsuki wished there had been.
The Vale was changed from the time he had lived there. The first thing that they noticed in approaching was that the tower was very tall and every time more of it's length was revealed, there was still more slope to climb, but the second thing they, or any travelers, noticed was that there were many new stone buildings on the slope and many signs advertising in various languages and systems of writing that this was the Wizard Valley or Wizendale or some rendering of the place name, and that travelers should stay at their inns when visiting the ancient tower or the real Orc delvings or that they should buy gifts to take home.
All of that was before the Vale proper was reached. There was a stone wall with metal gates in it, but the wall was made of small stones and mortar, not of carved living stone as it had once been. The gate was small and made of bars that offered no defense against arrows. The guards at the gate and on the wall wore in livery of the High King and signs warned that no one should enter the Vale unescorted and that there were no tours after dusk.
Through the gate, Tsuki could see how the very terrain of the Vale had changed. Instead of a wondrous guard wall of solid stone with guardhouses and storerooms cut in it there were various stone and mortar buildings that seemed not unlike those at Ranger forts. Instead of ancient trees there were weak newly-planted saplings and pits in the ground. A river still flowed from within the valley, but the streams that fed it seemed to lie along newly cut paths, indicating the land had been much disturbed.
The only thing about the Vale that was the same was the tower. Everything else was destroyed and turned into an attraction for immigrants and children on educational outings.
"I am a Ranger out of River Forge," Gwindor said to the guards, "I do not ask to enter the Vale, as I am escort to this party of civilians, but I wish to inquire whether you have spotted a large party of Orcs coming from the west, and if not, to warn you that they are close and perhaps nine score."
"You are the messengers from The Brown?" the guard asked.
Tsuki raised his head. "Yes," he called, mainly to Gwindor.
"You are expected. We will open the gate."
"We're expected?" Dale whispered, "Who here is expecting us. Kato did not say it was the last stop."
"I suspect there is a Wizard in the tower, in fact, I believe I sense him rather strongly."
"You just told me the other night that you could not do that."
"But I do, now."
"Which could it be? If it is not the Brown, and the one you knew is dead, and we're supposedly on a mission for multiple Wizards...?"
"I am not certain, but if we see him, then we will know who dispatched Kato," Tsuki whispered.
"And if he asks what message The Brown sent?"
"If he is a Wizard, he knows now that there is no such message and invites us in without revealing his reasons to these Men."
"That's crafty. I knew there was at least one reason I did not like Wizards."
"I have heard several from your lips. Spawning Orcs, polluting the land..."
Dale looked intently at Tsuki and he stopped speaking. The next reason was understood: keeping boys in their tower as 'muses'.
"I think it was only the one."
"Yeah, the others probably have completely different fetishes," Dale hissed, "For all we know this one could prefer Halflings."
And so the gates of the Wizard's Vale were opened and their party was allowed to pass into the wide bowl-like valley with its central tower. The King's guards closed the gate behind them and several Rangers walked toward the gate from a small stone house nearby.
"I am Captain Erék," said one, "The commander of the Rangers here is Boró. Will you be friends and reveal your faces and your names?"
They all removed their hoods, even Duma, whom they had attempted to disguise by removing the lining of Laurel's cloak to make a thin grey cloak for him. When he removed his hood, his ears were covered by the scarf Dior had woven for Dale.
"I will speak for the group," Gwindor said. He first introduced himself and then Lenaduiniel as his sister, but he gave no family name, only said they were of the Wood Elves. He used the same format for all the Elves, even Duma, saying that Galadhir, as he introduced her, was of the Grey Elves, Beryl of the Green and Dale and Duma of the Vale. Gwindor used only Common Speech and gave no terms that Elves identified themselves by, and spoke with such a tone of authority that before the entire group had been introduced the Captain was already trying to sort in his mind the various lines of Elves and was willing to believe that any strangeness of appearance he perceived must be explained by differences in Elvish customs from one to the next. "And this is Caerig Winnan, a merchant we are presently riding escort to, and these others are in his service."
"Nice to meet you, Captain Erék. You may call me Kato. And this is Fei Shih Long, Laurel Poe Redwitch and Tsuki Eru."
The Captain nodded, trying to not be confused by the string of foreign sounding names. Laurel's cloak concealed the eastern style clothing she lately wore and the symbols on her jewelry and her staff had been laid on the sled, so even if the Rangers knew the signs to recognize one of the lowland witches, Laurel did not seem one of them. Tsuki however did have a staff, only recently acquired. It was the heart of the larch tree Duma had felled, and though it was not yet shaped into its final form, it was smooth enough to handle. Except for the lack of long white beard, Tsuki's manner was entirely that of a Wizard.
"We prepared one of the houses for your party, but we did not know your full number or that there were women...your pardon...females among you. Will the...ladies wish to stay among the women here?"
Gwindor knew the prepared response and gave it, "Since they are kin to others among our party, there is no reason they cannot stay with us, but perhaps the women here would not mind if they visited with them."
The Captain seemed not to understand how Laurel might be kin to any other, but he did not ask about it. Lenaduiniel had said if one of their party spoke and made the introductions in specific manner and phrased requests in certain terms that they would likely not be bothered or questioned, because it was the way of good people to wonder, but not to pry into personal matters. And if they met people whose suspicion was greater than their courtesy, Lenaduiniel had suggested further responses. He understanding of diplomacy was not restricted to court behavior.
"Then I will show you to the house. The White Rider has the King's leave to assume authority over the tower at present and has ordered no one to enter unless summoned. I expect he will allow you time to wash and rest before sending for you...if your message is urgent, perhaps it will be sooner rather than later, but I have received no order as of yet, other than to greet your party."
The White, Tsuki thought, and he was certain Dale and Kato must also realize the significance of Erék's statement. It was not proof as such, for Wizards may have ways of traveling quickly in concealment and they did not know when The White had arrived here, but if he spoke to them then they would know what Wizards might be behind their orders.
They went first to the stables, which were close to the gate. The Vale itself was roughly a mile in diameter and so round that it seemed the steep walls had been carved out of the mountains in ancient times, though now in some places there was pitting and cracking significant enough to be seen from across the valley, like some force of nature had torn at the stone.
There was a kennel near the stables and large hunting and tracking dogs were there. Gwindor inquired with Erék about the dogs and explained that they had a quantity of horse meat, as one of their mounts had been so injured that they had been forced to kill it. Erék accepted the meat as a donation.
Duma had wandered close to the dogs. He had never seen dogs before, only heard of them. They were animals that were often in the company of Men, which could track Orcs by scent, and which tasted good, or so Duma had been told by Orcs. They growled and made bellowing barks when Duma went close to the fence they were behind.
"Pit demons," Dale cursed under his breath. "Dogs take better to Men than to Elves." He laughed as merrily as he could and then went to Duma and grabbed him by his cloak ties. "Tell them you mean no harm here and mean it. They can sense deceit," Dale hissed.
"This is a nice stable," Beryl said, trying to distract Erék.
"Perhaps they smell the meat," Gwindor said.
"Stone. A lot of stone buildings here. Dwarven, or Man-made?" Beryl asked.
"We did have aid from some Dwarves during our construction efforts, but the buildings themselves are all built by Men. Between the army of Orcs and Highlanders that Mad Wizard had feeding his war machine and the Tree-men that came to wreak their vengeance for all the pollution and felling of trees the valley itself and all the former structures, save the tower, were laid waste. There have been Men here since our High King took the Vale back for his people from the Tree-men who liberated it from the Wizard; it has been hard labor making the place safe for use. The Orc delvings go deep and some are filled with debris of the former structures and others with water. The ground has shifted since Rangers have been at work here. We allow pilgrims to enter during the day. They pay a modest fee and our King uses this money to fund the work here. The children pay nothing, as our King believes those who will lead in the future should understand the horrors of war and their history. We cannot control the activity of those in the settlement outside the valley so directly, but so far they have given us financial support willingly."
The distraction had worked very well and when Erék had finished the recent history of the Wizard's Vale, Duma and Dale were standing far from the dogs and another Ranger was helping Gwindor unload the meat from the sled.
Soon all of the horses were unloaded and the grooms were given instructions for their care. Dale went to one of the grooms and told him to put the two black horses together.
"You are certain, Master Elf? We usually separate the stallions from the other horses."
"Absolutely certain."
"Are you trying to breed them?" The groom asked skeptically, "If you are traveling and the mare is in heat, perhaps she should be alone in one of these stalls."
"Can you talk to animals?" Dale asked the Man at a whisper.
"No," the groom admitted slowly.
"Married?"
"Yes, but what-?"
"Trust me. The horses would not keep a Man from his wife, would they? Best to treat them in kind. It is what the animals wish."
"You...you understand the language of animals?"
"Not as fluent with domesticated animal languages...what is your problem?"
"My wife has this cat."
Dale laughed, then forced his face straight. "A tom?"
"Yes."
"Sprays all of your belongings or something like that?"
"Yes!"
"No problem with your wife's things?"
"No."
"You have three options. One: be subservient to the tom and be there at feeding time to give it food and pet it atop its head often and also give it treats such as cream or fresh fish. Two: have it gelded."
"You can do that to cats?"
"Not I. It is not the way of Elves to...geld. It is, however, possible. Third option: summon up a loud voice and next you find it misbehaving, yell at it and piss on its head."
"Relieve myself upon a cat? Are you...I mean...you are serious?"
"Bathe it after allowing it to suffer a while. It will show the cat you are the dominant male in the territory of your home. Or...try one of the other options." Dale shrugged.
The rest of the party had already lifted their luggage and begun to walk after Erék when Dale came from the stable. Some other Rangers were helping to move some of the gear, so only Dale's own belongings remained. He lifted his pack, bedroll, bow, and waterskin and hurried to join the others.
Erék was then explaining to the others that some Elves had been to the Vale during the next year to bring seedlings to them and to give aid in making the mud grow grass, trees and other plants again, but much of the work and the raising of edible crops had been done by Men.
"Word was sent to our cooks when you arrived. They will bundle food and bring it to your house. We do not have the richest stores or crops here, but you will have the best we have."
Gwindor assured Erék that the meal would be acceptable.
The house they were assigned was in the west of the Vale, near one of the streams that came seemingly from the rocks in the valley wall and ran south out of the Vale, beneath the wall. The building was longer than it was wide, one story and constructed mainly of stone, with a thatched roof. The door was made of wood, but the planks in it seemed recycled from some previous use. Glass panes in wooden frames were set into the masonry to make windows for the front of the building only.
Inside, there was a long room with white plastered walls and timber recycled from older structures supporting the roof. There was a table and two long benches and various styles of cots there was also one metal stove at the midpoint of the south wall. Erék told them wood was scarce now and that they used oil lamps for light and burned what wood and dry vegetable matter they had for warmth only on the coldest nights.
"We have uneasy peace with the Highlanders now, but they do bring wool and other goods across the fords to trade, so you will find plenty of blankets provided," Erék told them.
"Do you not use fire to cook?" Gwindor asked.
Erék laughed softly. The kitchens are equipped with stoves that make heat with some Wizardry. There were a few of the Mad Wizard's servants that surrendered when the Vale was taken and they knew how to operate and make such things, as their former master had demanded it. Others have learned the nature of some of the workings. The King's guard here are very careful about what Wizardry is put to use. They assure us no dark Wizardry is used, though many Men question this when they first see the chambers of relief and bathing. I will show you."
Erék walked them to the back of the room, where a narrow hall ran along the south wall and led to several small rooms set opposite and to another space at the back of the house. "There is where laundry and work is done," Erék said of the rear chamber. He opened the door that was last in the hall, and only those closest to him could see within, as their party was large and the hall narrow.
"This, if you can believe it, is an indoor outhouse or latrine. You see? There is the seat. And when this rope is pulled, water flushed the waste away. There is very little foul air here."
"Where does it wash the waste to, exactly?" Dale asked, from further down the hall.
"Through some large pipe and beyond the house and to some field of gravel buried in the ground where waste is dispersed."
"I wager there is a shower. Is there?" Tsuki asked. He opened the door nearest the front room. "With mixed hot and cold water? Probably that small door between chambers gives access to pipes and boiler." Tsuki went into the bathing room. "This is wonderful. The fixtures themselves are not near so well crafted as those in the tower, but the workings are the same."
"Forgive me for not realizing...that is...so many people are puzzled by the devices," Erék said.
"I see no problem," Tsuki said, facing out from the bathroom. "I recognize these workings, so I will be able to explain them to my companions, if they are strange to them. I thank you for the effort."
"Then...I will leave you. Food should be brought to you soon. I must ask that you do not wander the Vale now it is dark. If there is some great need or you have trouble here...do you have lamps of some kind? There are some near the cots I think."
"We have lanterns," Kato replied.
"Yes...then, go at least two together with a light and go to the building that has a blue light burning outside its door, near the gate. The guards there will know how to help or who to send for."
When Erék had left them the party went about claiming cots. Duma checked the stove, went outside, came back with some broken pieces of the sled and started a fire in the stove. Kato put his things on one of the cots. "I like a warm fire myself," he told Duma, "You can have that cot there and I will have this one."
Duma shrugged and continued tending the stove. Dale took a cot across the room from him and Tsuki and Gwindor those either side of him. Beryl took the cot beside Kato and Fei that between Duma and the door. Laurel made her bed next to Tsuki and Lenaduiniel and Galadhiel took the cots the other side of Gwindor's.
Tsuki showed the three ladies how to operate the Wizard bathroom fixtures and then they took their turns washing. The food arrived as they were bathing and those who were not in the bathroom sat at the table and benches to eat. The food was good and the cooks had either by chance or design prepared and packaged the meat separately from the other foodstuffs, so that the Elves did not need eat it. Duma, Dale and Kato gladly accepted extra shares of meat. Kato and Duma both ate as much food as they could find and even went into the party's own stores.
Duma seemed quiet again. Actually, it was his first time inside a house. He had seen houses and knew their purpose, but only lived in caves and ancient Dwarven halls and much less of the time outdoors. He understood the stove very well, it was a thing to contain fire and somewhat familiar. He understood knives and plates already, but not the eating sticks half the party preferred to use.
Once they had finished eating, some others began turns washing and the rest made their beds or made inventory of their belongings, or took up some work. Tsuki had decided to wait until he had a clear vision of what his staff should look like to do further work to it, but since they did not need the sled anymore and larch wood was rather easy to work with, he brought in some pieces to make items for trade. He had already made a new comb for Dale and some eating sticks that Duma neglected in short breaks along the way.
Beryl occupied himself with his plants and foraged herbs. He kept two baskets for transporting plants, one had an insert of copper that was made watertight and was used for transporting whole plants in water, so that they would remain alive and fresh for use or transplanting. The other basket was lined with cloth and used for collecting parts of plants. Often he tended the live plants or used the parts of plants to make products for their use. Laurel's cot was across from Beryl's and she was always interested in his knowledge of herb lore and so she took her own foraged items and went to work with him.
Kato began making a list of items they should acquire to continue their trip and asked the others to suggest items they needed or things they had to trade. Tsuki said they should try to find some bicarbonate of soda, as they had used his previous supply in making tooth polish and it had all been used.
Dale reminded Kato that they still had a hide and bones outside their front door and something should be done with them. He sat on the floor with Duma with his needles out and some pieces of leather, fabric and clothing he had thus far collected, various thread and cordage and the bundle of scavenged weapons and armaments.
Duma explained to Dale in rather short phrases and gestures what he wished Dale to help him make. "No sleeve here," he would say and, "make this part covered." Some of the others observed casually and thought Dale insane for allowing Duma to dress however he wished, but Dale was not overly concerned. Eventually people would realize Duma was not Elf or Man, even if not at this present stop in the Wizard's Vale. How Duma looked was not at issue, but how he acted. Dale thought he would feel more comfortable and behave better if he had say in his attire; it seemed a right most others had, unless they wore some livery. And, Dale thought, most Orcs did not cover their bodies much at all, so it should be thought quite positive that Duma desired to have pants and shirt and some sort of outer garment that fit him, even if the garment was unlike a jacket Men or Elves might wear but most alike to women's corsetry...if corsets were made of black leather.
Lenaduiniel came to sit near Dale and helped him with sewing and also
looked over the arrows he had taken. Duma was willing to wear shirts,
he said, only he insisted the shirts have no left sleeve. Unlike Dale,
he wanted his scars to show. "A one-sleeved shirt just seems silly
to me, perhaps something for an entertainer to wear," Dale said.
"Perhaps I could adjust both sleeves and attach them to the body
of the shirt with laces, as in this jacket. Then, if you insist, you might
unlace and remove only one sleeve."
"One sleeve for this."
"Yes. But, do you not want a bracer or anything on the other arm? Which hand is your better hand?"
"It would seem to make more sense if he is to be an archer, because there will be no loose fabric to interfere with the drawing or to catch the arrow," Lenaduiniel said, "but if he is to use a sword, often the left is the shield arm and is more protected and the right is the sword arm and kept unencumbered. I have bracers and wear them beneath the sleeves of my gown when I do not wish them to be seen."
"I used a bow before."
"Did you?" Dale asked.
"You have the build to be an archer," Lenaduiniel agreed. "perhaps you are stronger than you seem, but it takes significant upper body strength to wield a sword, ax, or spear effectively in combat; you cannot always rely on your opponent's speed or weight to work for you. You need strength to be an archer, but more you need keen vision and steady hands."
"I said you might have a sword, but if you do choose a bow, I would suggest taking some long knife or dagger. If an enemy ever charges you and gets close, you will not want to beat them with your bow and break it. You will, in that case, want to use their speed and weight against them and hold your knife blade in their path."
Duma took all the knives and daggers from the collection and tasted the blades and handles of each, examined them by eye and sniffed them. "This has best steel," he announced, selecting a long broad double-edged knife. Do not like handle." Duma looked to the other bladed weapons, including the swords for one that had a hilt that he liked.
"You can do that? Fit a blade to another handle?"
"Takes work. Difficulty of work depends on the weapons. It is easier than making blades. I cannot make the best kind of blades. You need a Master of Forge to do it. I can temper."
"I did not know Orcs knew how to temper steel at all. It used to be many orcs had bronze blades, but I know many now have steel."
"Yes, steel is better. Iron. Coal. Other metals make alloys with more shine. Bronze is copper alloyed with tin. Tin is more difficult to find. This blade has little shine, but is strong. Must be kept dry. Needs sharpening, yes?"
"Yes. Do you have a whetstone among your things?"
Duma dumped the contents of his pouch on the floor. He had, apart from dirty laundry and some soaps, mainly tools, which did include some stones for grinding and sharpening, as well as his rocks and trinkets. Duma lifted a whetstone. "This stone is good for blades. The round stones are better, but they do not fit in a bag."
"Grindstones that spin?" Dale asked.
"Yes. Those are better."
"Some of these rocks are pretty colors," Lenaduiniel said she lifted one that had a sort of blue color. In the light, its smoother sides shown brilliantly and in places the stone was transparent. Lenaduiniel gasped.
"Dark fire," Dale breathed, "Do you know what that is?"
"Blue corundum. Very hard. Not as hard as diamond. Grey and black corundum can be crushed with harder crystals to make good abrasive for grinding and polishing. Wizards like blue corundum. They like red also. Makes good sharp tools, but not as good as diamond. I already have diamond tips."
Dale peered down at Duma's tools and then looked again at the stone Lenaduiniel held and then at the collection of rocks. "But..." Duma was walking around with a horde of uncut gemstones. "Tsuki, show him what is in your other purse."
"My other purse?"
"The one you do not show you have."
Tsuki sighed and took the purse from his case. He moved across the aisle and emptied the present contents onto the stone floor, revealing his collection of jewelry, many precious stones and gems and a quantity of gold coins stamped with images of now dead kings.
Dale picked up Tsuki's sapphire. "When they are like this, they are recognizable and valuable. Wizards are not the only ones who would give a reward for them. They are like...like money. Something you can trade for goods."
"It has been cut and polished. It is no good for Orcs. Elves like them, yes? They like the colors and shine and the light that bounces from the stone. This one...mine..." Duma took the stone from Lenaduiniel, "is larger. It could make two like that one." Duma held the uncut sapphire and looked at it closely. "No. Shape is not right. Maybe, one larger and one smaller. Some part is lost in cutting and polishing, makes tiny bits and dust, those parts are good for making a grinding surface maybe."
"And you know about this?" Dale asked. "You know how to do it?"
Duma put down the uncut stone and lifted one of his rings. "I made this."
"It is beautiful," Lenaduiniel said, "You truly made it from nothing?"
"From stone and metal from the earth, tools I found or made, fire, and various stones for grinding."
"But how? How did you know how?" Dale asked. "Orcs do not do this manner of work, not even for Wizards."
Duma shrugged as if he would not answer and then he saw that Lenaduiniel liked the ring of diamond and true silver, though it was slightly to large for her hands. "I did not know Orcs did not do such things until after I did it. I looked at some Dwarf tomes, but most of the work I learned by trial. There were lots of stones there, where I lived. Lots of stones and time to practice while tending fires. There were many trials before that one. I thought it would be lucky if I got the facets right, because I came close enough to see the pit demon when I found that stone. I went to get the metal..."
"A pit demon? It's true? You saw one there?" Dale asked.
Duma nodded. "Yes. It always was there, from before the Dwarves, but not always roaming free. It roamed the deep places all the time I was there, or…all the time until the Wizard slew it…before that, we Orcs survived by staying out of its way. I went deep to find the metal and I saw the glimmer of the stone; as I dug it out the demon heard my tapping and came. The stone fell out into my hand. I saw the demon and I-I was so scared. I ran from there as fast as I could and crouched behind the furnace for more than a day and was certain it was seeking me. It never came. I cut my hand on the stone, I clenched my hand around it so. There is still a scar."
"I do not think it got a clear look at you. A fire demon would have slain anything remotely Elven on sight," Beryl said calmly.
"Is the ring lucky?" Lenaduiniel asked.
"I do not think so. Maybe it is cursed. When I wore it later, my master said it hurt his eyes and that he would put my eyes out if he ever saw me wear it again. He would do it. He said he would cut out my tongue if I made a sound remotely like singing and he enjoyed my tongue much more than my eyes."
"He is not your master anymore," Tsuki said as he picked up the jewels that were his.
Lenaduiniel rose from the floor and went to her bed, where her pack was. She took Gib's leather toolcase from beneath her clothing and brought it to Duma. "Do you know what these do?" she asked, showing Duma the tools within.
"Dwarven tools," he said, "Where did you find a full set?"
"Likely where you found your tools, only the fallen Dwarf these came from was a...suitor. I think these tools are looking for one with the skill to use them, who can appreciate well-crafter things, and has a respect for female Elves. Perhaps I might allow you to use them on loan."
Duma cocked his head and looked at the case. Gib's tools were of fine quality and the set was large. Duma first questioned Dale with a glance and then looked to Lenaduiniel. "They did not come from bodies, they were old tools abandoned by Dwarves that ran from the demon," Duma whispered, then said, "What mean you, 'perhaps'? Is that an Elf's way of bargaining?"
"I believe the lady means that she will allow you to use the tools any time you wish, so long as you return them after use and do nothing to offend her," Dale explained.
"A reward in advance asks for betrayal."
Lenaduiniel nodded and wondered if that was Goblin proverb, "It is a gesture of friendship, a bribe at the worst. It asks for like treatment."
Duma clacked the stud in this tongue against his teeth then spoke again, "You want something? You give me tools so that I will make you pretty jewelry?"
"I do like jewels, but I do not wish for yours. As I see it, the war of Orcs and Dwarves was a long time ago and those mines belong to Orcs by right of conquest, as you found those jewels there and suffered some peril to obtain them, they are yours by all rights. The fortune may make your life much easier and I have no wish to make anyone's life difficult. I fear your life may yet have many more difficulties. Use the tools if they will help you, but return them to me in like condition if you are not using them."
"You give me something for nothing?"
"You say that to Lenaduiniel as if I give you nothing," Dale whispered.
"You say you are Chieftain of the Clan that spawned me, seemingly my own progenitor, and made a fair trade of Ugarit to regain me from another Clan. I am yours, and everything I have is a sign of your power. You cannot give to me without serving yourself."
Dale winced slightly and said nothing.
"Duma," Beryl said calmly; it seemed he was near always so collected, "Dale must claim to own you before other Orcs, so that you will both seem strong and save face with them and not be taken advantage of. If you are an Orc, he must claim it before you as well. If you are an Elf, however, then Dale is your father, and though a son's success and gifts may sometimes reflect on the father, a son is also free to make his own way and reputation. If you are an Elf and capable of taking care of yourself, then Dale may give you things simply out of kindness. If you are not capable of taking care of yourself, then you are a child and should show your father more respect, for he is the one that insures you are currently clothed and fed. The fact that Dale offers to make custom tailored garments for you may reflect his generosity, but rather than attack his motives, you ought to simply show gratitude, or in the future he may not feel inclined to be so generous."
Duma looked to the floor. Whenever Dale was upset by him Beryl made certain to tell Duma how he should act and that he should not attack or upset Dale. He was not the leader, Duma thought, but the others all listened to his words. This made Duma think that Beryl was old, though he did not know how one could tell with Elves, like an Orc who remembered many wars and had lived long enough to learn some valuable trade, like brewing medicine or making armaments. "Beryl is kind as Dale and Lena to share his wisdom with me," Duma said, "I know only Orc customs, not Elven. It is not as if there are writings on that subject left in the mines for Orcs to read."
"You read?" Dale asked.
"I read and write Common Speech in old style runes. That is what the Dwarves left to be found and what some Orcs were taught by their masters. I know some words of Dwarven and Elven, but only those that would be used for trade of stone and metal or had no commonly understood term within Common Speech. Those words I do not know how to read as Elves or Dwarves would say them."
"When I was younger, I only knew the old runes and read very little," Dale admitted, "The Vale Elves did not use the script of other Elves and sang to each other instead of reading or writing. I learned script and new dialects of Elven when I was in the care of other Elves."
"Which he speaks with an appalling accent," Tsuki teased.
"I ask for one more kindness," Duma said.
"What's that?"
"I wish Lena to choose my bow and if she please, teach me how best to use it."
"I guess she is a good archer."
"Wood Elves are some of the best archers. I will do what you ask."
Duma gathered his laundry, soaps and remaining clean undergarments. "Turn the red wheel for hot water," he recited.
"Correct, and the other wheel will be cold, you can make it warm by mixing the two."
"Do you suppose he would be the first Orc to use a Wizard bathing room?" Kato asked when Duma was gone.
"Never know with Wizards," Dale said bitterly.
"Maybe other sorts of Orcs would not be so bad if they bathed and polished their fangs," Kato laughed.
"And did not molest and eat Elves," Beryl added.
Kato imagined two large, washed, and oiled Orcs tucking a Wizard into
his bed at night and laughed some more.