The Book of Three

After a meager breakfast, Eilonwy ponders the sword she found. Taran wants to hold it, but she pulls it away. The scabbard is engraved with words, including a powerful enchantment. Fflewddur glances at them and says they’re just the usual warnings. Eilonwy reads them and translates their true meaning: “DRAW DYRNWYN, ONLY THOU OF ROYAL BLOOD, TO RULE, TO STRIKE THE…” (86). The rest has been mostly scratched out.

Eilonwy says Fflewddur isn’t much of a bard if he can’t read the ancient writing. Fflewddur admits that he’s not exactly a bard, but instead, a king of a vast territory. One of the strings on his harp suddenly snaps. He corrects himself and says it’s a very small kingdom, and he abandoned his throne to pursue his real passions. He did very well at bard school—another string breaks—or, rather, he did poorly at school and couldn’t join the bard guild. Taliesin, the chief bard, gave him the harp, which has a beautiful sound but seems to have string failures whenever Fflewddur stretches the truth about his own abilities.

Taran asks a “boon” of Fflewddur: He requests that the bard tell him the way to Caer Dathyl, and he also asks that Fflewddur escort Eilonwy to her people. Eilonwy protests loudly: She doesn’t want to be sent away to yet another dreary place for her education. She insists on joining the trek to Caer Dathyl. Taran finally agrees, mainly because there’s strength in numbers.

Gurgi says he, too, will follow along. Fflewddur agrees to join the trek and says he’s ready to fight to protect them. He declares that, in battle, he’s already overcome “walls of spearmen” (93). Six harp strings promptly break.

Taran suggests that Eilonwy ride the horse, but she refuses angrily, saying she can walk just as well as the rest of them. They load most of the weapons onto Melyngar. Fflewddur plots a course that avoids both the Horned King’s armies and the Annuvin realm of Arawn.

The four set out under a warm, sunny sky, but Taran feels edgy. Their odds don’t look good. He glances around and sees, far to the rear, two Cauldron-Born soldiers pursuing them on horseback. Taran’s group dog-trots for hours, trying to keep their distance. Day turns to night, and they continue. Eilonwy sleeps in the saddle. Near dawn, they stop to rest. Gurgi climbs a tree and says the soldiers are still chasing them.

The four travelers are hungry, and Taran and Gurgi search for sustenance. Taran finds some mushrooms; Gurgi finds a honeycomb in a tree but falls and injures his leg. He begs Taran to kill him before the soldiers do, but instead, Taran helps him back to the camp. They all share the honeycomb. Gurgi offers his to Taran, but Taran insists he eat along with the rest.

Near sunset, the travelers decide to make a stand against the soldiers. Eilonwy grabs a bow and arrows and hurries toward a tall rock. Taran runs after her; he tries to stop her, but she kicks at him angrily, knocks an arrow, utters an incantation, and fires the arrow high into the air. As it descends, it grows streamers that cover the riders like a giant spider web. They break through it. Frustrated, Eilonwy mutters something about getting the spell wrong.

Taran draws his sword to fight the horsemen, but suddenly they change direction and ride away. Taran guesses they reached the limit of the range they can travel from Annuvin. He compliments Eilonwy on her excellent attempt. She thanks him, but then decides he only cares about her magic and not her, and stomps away.

Late that night, as Taran relieves Eilonwy at the end of her watch, he tries to explain that he admired her effort against the horsemen quite as much as the magic she produced. She says it’s about time he said so, and then concludes that, as a pig-keeper, he doesn’t have to be mentally quick. He tries again, saying it’s good fortune to have with him “brave companions,” but this sets her off again: She accuses him of caring only for her usefulness.

At dawn, Gurgi’s leg has worsened. Taran finds local plants for a poultice to dress the wound. Fflewddur says they’ve been chased so far off course that they might as well simply cross the Ystrad River now and continue north. They walk quickly, Gurgi on the horse, and cross the river well before enemy troops arrive. They ascend into tall, pine-scented mountains.

Gurgi’s condition worsens. They make camp and tend his fever. He doesn’t improve; Taran worries they’ll lose him. The next day, they continue, but now a pack of wolves follows them just out of arrow range. The mountains block the travelers’ passage westward toward Caer Dathyl. Taran realizes that Melyngar knows her way home. They give her the lead, and she quickly finds a mountain pass they’d otherwise have missed.

Trying to keep up with the horse, they cross the pass. As they follow her down a ravine, a wolf appears on a ledge and springs at Taran.

The wolf lands on the boy, grabs his arm, and holds him. Fflewddur, too, is held down, while a third wolf guards Eilonwy. A robed man appears, large and powerfully built but with white hair and a long, gray beard. He wears a golden, bejeweled band around his head. He signals the wolves, who return to him.

The man knows Melyngar. Taran says he must be Medwyn, of whom Gwydion spoke. Medwyn leads them out of the ravine to a beautiful, sunlit alpine valley. Cows graze on lush grass near cottages and a blue lake. A fawn appears, rambles over to Medwyn, then nuzzles Eilonwy’s hand. Medwyn lifts Gurgi from Melyngar’s saddle and carries him into a large cottage. Chickens peck nearby, and Taran recognizes them as the escapees from Caer Dallben.

Medwyn brings the visitors a large basket filled with cheese, fruits, and milk. Bears breakfasted with him, and the cottage is a mess, so he offers the cow shed as shelter, where plenty of straw provides bedding. The travelers find places near an already-snoozing bear, and soon Eilonwy and Fflewddur are asleep.

Taran walks to the lake, where otters play and fish jump. Near the cottage grow flower and vegetable gardens. Suddenly, the boy longs to be home pulling weeds. Medwyn appears and says Gurgi is out of danger. Taran admits that he once disliked Gurgi but now respects him. Medwyn says all creatures earn our respect once we understand them.

Medwyn warns that Arawn would subjugate animals and humans until they wished for a merciful death. Medwyn’s valley is a sanctuary for all animals; he protects them from the hurtful ways of mankind. He worries, though, about Hen Wen. Of all places to run to, she would have come to him, but he’s heard nothing of her. He fears the worst.

Medwyn treats the visitors to dinner at his cottage. An eagle perches on the back of his chair while the wolves lounge at his feet. The guests enjoy the meaty dishes and are surprised when he tells them that everything is made from vegetables.

Taran steps out into the evening. Medwyn finds him and says that “you are of the few I would welcome here” (124). Taran admits he’d love to stay, but he must fulfill his duties.

In the morning, Gurgi is healed, bathed, and combed. He’s eager to continue the journey. Medwyn packs their saddlebags with food and gives them warm cloaks. He describes a mountain route that will help them regain the time they’ve lost. It’s a dangerous passage, but Taran and the others agree to try it.

The group walks north for hours through the mountains, and then rests for the night beneath an overhang. Fflewddur plays his harp. The tune is beautiful and sounds almost like singing.

The next day, the travelers walk through a windy rainstorm and get soaked. They reach a dark lake. Taran decides it’s quicker to cross the lake valley than skirt it through the sheer mountains as Medwyn advised. Eilonwy objects: Medwyn would have directed them past the lake only if he thought it safe to do so. Taran, impatient, overrules her.

They skirt the black waters but get pulled into the lake. A strong current carries them to the center, where a whirlpool pulls them under.

The group finds itself sprawled in a grotto. Melyngar’s saddlebags and stored weapons are lost; all that remains are the single swords that each carries. Eilonwy scolds Taran for getting them into this mess. He admits he was wrong and promises to find a way out.

Suddenly, someone puts bags over their heads. Eilonwy screams; the group struggles but gets hustled along. Their head covers are removed, and they find they’re in a tall, well-lit room surrounded by “half-a-dozen squat, round, stubby-legged warriors” armed with axes and bows (135). A bearded, grouchy royal, seated on a stone throne, shoos away the guards. He’s Eiddileg, king of the Tylwyth Teg, the Fair Folk, called by humans “the Happy Family, the Little People, or whatever other insipid, irritating names you’vet put on us” (137). He accuses Taran’s group of deliberately trespassing. They protest that it’s a mistake and that the lake pulled them in.

Briefly, a crowd bursts into the throne room. They include little people, tall people, fish-like people, and winged people. The king pushes them back out. He bemoans how outsiders never appreciate his realm’s hard work and lovely artistry but instead try to force his people to reveal treasure or grant wishes. Outside the room, a choir rehearses; it sounds beautiful.

Taran requests safe passage out, but Eiddileg insists that they must remain in Tylwyth Teg forever. Taran and Fflewddur draw their swords, yet their arms can’t wield the weapons. The king offers to negotiate. Taran explains their quest, but Eiddileg says humans took Prydain from the Fair Folk long ago and drove them underground, and he owes them nothing. Eilonwy accuses him of being conceited and selfish. He says: “What do you want, my life’s blood?” (142) In a rage, he tosses off his cloak and hurls his finger rings everywhere.

Gurgi enters, holding two guards. He announces that Hen Wen is in residence. 

Taran and Eilonwy scold the king. He insists that Hen Wen was merely rescued from pursuing Horned King soldiers and brought through tunnels to the Fair Folk stronghold. At first, Eiddileg refuses to release the pig, but Taran and Eilonwy appeal to his sense of honor, and he relents. They ask for provisions, weapons, and a guide; Eiddileg again flies into a rage but calms down and agrees. Eilonwy gives him a kiss on the head; he shoos them away but beams.

Outside the throne room are vast, high-domed corridors lit with bright jewels, below which lie lakes and meadows and homes. They go to a pig pen where they find Hen Wen, who squeals with delight—”Hwoinch!”—runs to Taran, and nearly knocks him over with affection.

They meet their guide, Doli. He’s short, squat, powerful, and ­­well-armed. He’s also grumpy, but he leads them to a steep staircase carved in a rock face, and they climb up the cliffside to a dark passageway that ends at a waterfall. They ford a stream and step out into open hills.

Doli is superb as a guide, but he doesn’t think much of his charges. As they walk, if anyone speaks to him, he takes a deep breath and holds it. Confronted, he explains that he’s the only member of his family who can’t disappear by holding his breath. Instead, he must cut gems and decorate blades. The group tries to encourage him about these remarkable skills, but he dismisses them with a “Humph!” and tries again to hold his breath.

They camp, and Hen Wen sleeps with her head on Taran’s chest, snoring into his ear. The next day, Taran wonders if there’s a way to obtain information from Hen Wen without the letter sticks that Dallben uses. Eilonwy whispers a spell to Hen Wen, who listens patiently and then ignores her. Taran gives up.

Hiking along, they hear faint screeching. It’s a baby gwythaint, caught in a thorn bush.

Doli and Fflewddur want to kill the dangerous bird, but Taran refuses to harm it. Carefully, he extracts the small creature from the bush’s thorns. It tries to strike at him but is too weak. Eilonwy makes a straw bed for it while Gurgi heats water. Taran finds some herbs; Hen Wen roots out some as well. Taran makes a healing brew, dips fabric into it, and squeezes drops into the bird’s mouth. He applies a poultice to the fledgling’s wounds.

Taran also tries to make a cage for the bird so it can travel with them. Doli objects to the entire project, but builds an excellent cage from saplings. They place the bird inside the cage and resume their hike. At their next camp, the gwythaint is hungry and snaps eagerly at the food they give it. Fflewddur tries to pet it but gets snapped at; he wanted the bird dead, and the creature seems to know it. Taran, though, can scratch its head, and Eilonwy feeds it without trouble.

The next morning, the cage is empty. The bird slashed through the sapling bars and escaped. Doli says the gwythaint is probably back with Arawn, reporting on their trek. Taran is mortified.

The group descends into the Ystrad plains under a dusty, windy sky, then peers over a ridge and sees the army of the Horned King, who turns and looks up at them. They pass out weapons and hurry onward. Hen Wen, frightened, lags behind, then disappears. They’re about to search for the pig when they hear shouts and the blare of a horn. A patrol has found them.

Horsemen, lances pointed, gallop toward them. The group fires arrows at them and kills one. The soldiers circle them; Doli’s arrow finds another, and the rest gallop away. Fflewddur says the horsemen are going for reinforcements. Taran wants to search for Hen Wen, but the others talk him out of it. They hurry away and camp in a copse in the valley. In the morning, they see that the army is close to Caer Dathyl.

Taran decides to race ahead and confront them at the gates of the caer. A squad of soldiers ambushes them; Fflewddur shoves Taran and Eilonwy toward the horse and tells them to escape. Taran and Eilonwy jump on Melyngar and she gallops forward, straight through the army’s vanguard. Taran’s sword slashes at attackers, and they get through.

The Horned King races after them, his black horse gaining quickly. He bumps against them, and Taran and Eilonwy tumble off Melyngar. The evil king dismounts and rushes toward them. Taran raises his sword but the king slashes down and breaks it. Taran grabs the Dyrnwyn sword and scabbard from Eilonwy and tries to pull it out. It emerges in a blaze of lightning that knocks him over. Eilonwy leaps on the Horned King who tosses her aside.

A voice erupts behind the Horned King, who suddenly bursts into flame. Taran covers his face. The ground rumbles and splits. Taran loses consciousness.