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the passing of the grey company 1019
Aragorn’s own horse that they had brought from the North;
Roheryn was his name. There was no gleam of stone or gold,
nor any fair thing in all their gear and harness; nor did their
riders bear any badge or token, save only that each cloak was
pinned upon the left shoulder by a brooch of silver shaped
like a rayed star.
The king mounted his horse, Snowmane, and Merry sat
beside him on his pony: Stybba was his name. Presently
Éomer came out from the gate, and with him was Aragorn,
and Halbarad bearing the great staff close-furled in black,
and two tall men, neither young nor old. So much alike were
they, the sons of Elrond, that few could tell them apart:
dark-haired, grey-eyed, and their faces elven-fair, clad alike
in bright mail beneath cloaks of silver-grey. Behind them
walked Legolas and Gimli. But Merry had eyes only for
Aragorn, so startling was the change that he saw in him, as
if in one night many years had fallen on his head. Grim was
his face, grey-hued and weary.
‘I am troubled in mind, lord,’ he said, standing by the
king’s horse. ‘I have heard strange words, and I see new
perils far off. I have laboured long in thought, and now I
fear that I must change my purpose. Tell me, Théoden, you
ride now to Dunharrow, how long will it be ere you come
there?’
‘It is now a full hour past noon,’ said Éomer. ‘Before the
night of the third day from now we should come to the Hold.
The Moon will then be two nights past his full, and the
muster that the king commanded will be held the day after.
More speed we cannot make, if the strength of Rohan is to
be gathered.’
Aragorn was silent for a moment. ‘Three days,’ he murmured,
‘and the muster of Rohan will only be begun. But I
see that it cannot now be hastened.’ He looked up, and it
seemed that he had made some decision; his face was less
troubled. ‘Then, by your leave, lord, I must take new counsel
for myself and my kindred. We must ride our own road, and
no longer in secret. For me the time of stealth has passed. I