Loyalty: A Tale in Three Voices by grey_gazania

Part I, Chapter VII (Caranthir)

FA 463
 
I received answers from Maitimo and Findekáno a few days later. Findekáno's was unusually short: If they're friendly, let them stay. Not even a greeting. It wasn't like him, and I wondered how badly things were going in Hithlum to make him so terse. But Maitimo's letter was only slightly longer.
 
To Caranthir Feanorion lord of Thargelion greetings from your brother Maedhros head of the House of Feanor, lord of Himring.
 
The Dwarves of Belegost have sent me similar news. They say some of these Men are friendly, while others are not. Keep Bór and Ulfang where they are for now, so long as the Dwarves permit it. I trust your judgement, but I would like to meet them for myself before I come to a decision. I should arrive within the week.
 
With love,
 
Maedhros
 
Well, then. We needed a system of communication, and we needed it before Maitimo arrived. He’d object to having middlemen in our business, particularly middlemen with whom we were cordial at best and whom we grudgingly tolerated at worst. It was time for Nâr to go.
 

***********

 
It turned out that I was a little too hopeful. None of the East-Men were fully fluent by the time Maitimo reached us; the closest was the girl who had come to the initial audience, but even she still needed help from Nâr now and again. It amazed me how long it took Men to learn things when their lives were so short, and in my more frustrated moments I couldn't help wondering why Eru had bothered to create such a slow-witted race to start with. Haleth seemed like an anomaly, someone on the far end of the normal distribution curve.
 
"Did you receive King Fingon's answer?" Maitimo asked once we had greeted each other, his hug just a tad too tight as usual.
 
"I did." I glanced up at him and asked, "Do things go ill in Hithlum? His message was very brief."
 
"Things are as well as they can be. They're still recovering from last year's attack."
 
"I see." That wasn't it at all, I could tell, and that left only one possible answer: Findekáno was fighting with his wife again. He loved Ianneth; I didn't doubt that. But he also loved my brother, and the resulting snarl of emotions burned like nettles in all three of them. I had no desire to go digging around in that mess, so I let the subject drop. Maitimo's relief was palpable.
 
"So," he said. "Tell me about these Men. I've been thinking of granting them a place in Lothlann. They could help us retake and hold the Gap."
 
“As far as I can tell, the two main Houses are the House of Ulfang and the House of Bór. You'll be meeting them both this afternoon. I’d say about half these people are Ulfang’s and a third are Bór’s. The rest…” I shrugged. “They’re smaller tribes. The Naugrim don't speak their languages, but some of Bór and Ulfang's people do. That's the only way I've managed to communicate with them so far, through two interpreters at once. But it's ripe for misunderstanding, so I hope somebody masters Sindarin soon. They're certainly taking their time about it."
 
Maitimo laughed. "Have patience. They'll get there eventually. Men don't learn these things as easily as we do, especially the grown ones."
 
"That's true enough. There's a girl who's doing fairly well; I'd lay money that she'll become their interpreter once the Naugrim leave. I think she's kin to either Bór or Ulfang, but damned if I know which or how. She'll probably be there tonight. The Dwarf, Nâr, he tends to drag her around with him." Not someone I'd trust a child with, but then, I didn't trust Nâr at all. There was something sly and smooth about him that I couldn't quite explain, but I didn't like it. Still, he was necessary — for now.
 

***********

 
We met with the Men later that day, after Maitimo and his men had refreshed themselves. As I suspected, the girl was there, along with Ulfang and Bór and their sons. Nâr introduced her as Tavoreth Ulfastiel — making her Ulfang's granddaughter — and told us that she would be our primary interpreter that day. She was nervous. I could see it in her wide eyes and quickened breath, and feel it prickling in the pit of my stomach. Maitimo intimidated all of them far more than I had. Between his height and his hair, his missing hand and the fire in his eyes, Maitimo intimidated just about everyone, Man, Dwarf, or Elf. I think the mildness of his voice as he questioned them was the only thing keeping them from turning tail and running.
 
"Why have you and your people come here?" he asked, once introductions had been made. The girl relayed the same events that I had been told: floods, disease, failed crops. A search for a better life. They were seeking what all the other Men had sought, and I sensed no deception as she spoke. She had to refer to Nâr a few times, but in general she performed adequately, and Ulfang and Bór answered our queries without hesitation.
 
At least, they did until Maitimo asked his final question. "If we grant you lands," he said, "will you swear fealty to us? Will you support us in our war against the forces of Morgoth?"
 

The two men were silent, each eyeing the other. Bór said something, softly, and Ulfang answered. Neither Nâr nor Tavoreth offered a translation as they conferred. I wondered at the amount of sway Ulfang seemed to have over Bór. They were clearly allies, equals in name, but perhaps it was Ulfang's age that granted him a greater say. Now and again one of their sons chimed in, and I heard our names scattered throughout the conversation. They were uneasy, afraid, and they spoke at length before appearing to reach a decision. Finally, they turned back to face us. Bór spoke, standing straight and firm, his posturing masking his reservations. 'We will," he said in halting Sindarin. "To Lord Maedhros loyalty we swear."

 
We waited in silence for Ulfang to do the same, but it was Tavoreth who spoke. "Our people will swear loyalty to Lord Caranthir, but we ask one thing," she said. "We ask leave for the Rikíshim to govern our own affairs. My people ask to obey our own laws among ourselves."
 

I glanced to Maitimo, who gave me a barely perceptible nod. This is your decision, his face said. Tapping my fingers on the arm of my chair, I mulled the request over. It seemed reasonable. They weren't asking us to obey their laws, only for their laws to apply to their own internal issues.I didn't want to be Thingol, forcing my own morals onto people who were not my own.

 
"So long as your laws do not offend the nature of the world," I said, and Ulfang and his sons glanced at one another.
 
Slowly, Ulfang knelt down. "To you we swear loyalty," he said, his sons echoing him.
 
"Rise," Maitimo bade them. "My brother and I shall discuss which lands you will be given. Remain where you are while you await our decision."
 
They made their odd bowing gesture and, at Maitimo's dismissal, departed into the evening.