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with its high grass stretching all around them, was familiar. He had seen it before; where, he could not
quite remember. He fingered Adaon's clasp at his throat. Suddenly, with fear and excitement, he
understood. His hands trembled at the discovery. Taran glanced overhead. A gray bird circled, glided
downward on outspread wings, then flew rapidly across the fields and disappeared from sight.
"That was a marsh bird," Taran said, quickly turning Melynlas. "If we follow this way," he added,
pointing in the direction of the bird's flight, "I'm sure we'll come directly to Morva."
"Well done!" cried the bard. "I must say I never would have noticed it."
"That's at least one clever thing you've done today," Eilonwy admitted.
"This is not my doing," Taran said with a puzzled frown. "Adaon spoke the truth. His gift is a precious
one." He told Eilonwy hurriedly about the clasp and the dreams of the night before.
"Don't you see?" he cried. "I dreamed about Fflewddur's harp--- and we found Fflewddur himself. It
wasn't all my own idea to go looking for a stream; it just came to me and I knew we would find it. Just
now, when I saw the bird--- that was in my dream. And there was another dream, a terrible one, of
wolves... That's going to happen, too. I'm sure of it. Adaon's dreams were always true. He told me of
them."
At first Eilonwy was loath to believe him. "Adaon was a wonderful man," she said. "You can't tell me it
was all because of a piece of iron. I don't care how magical it is."
"I don't mean that," Taran said. "What I believe," he added thoughtfully, "is that Adaon understood these
things anyway. Even with his clasp, there is much I do not understand. All I know is that Ifeel differently
somehow. I can see things I never saw before--- or smell or taste them. I can't say exactly what it is. It's
strange, and awesome in a way. And very beautiful sometimes. There are things that I know..." Taran
shook his head. "And I don't even know how I know them."
Eilonwy was silent for a moment. "Yes," she said slowly, "I believe it now. You don't even sound quite
like yourself. Adaon's clasp is a priceless gift. It gives you a kind of wisdom," she added, "which, I
suppose, is what Assistant Pig Keepers need more than anything else."
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Chapter 10
The Marshes of Morva
FROM THE MOMENTthe marsh bird appeared, Taran led the companions swiftly, following without
hesitation a path which now seemed clear. He felt the powerful muscles of Melynlas moving beneath him,
and guided the steed with unaccustomed skill. The stallion responded to this new touch on the reins with
mighty bursts of speed, so much so that Lluagor could barely keep pace. Fflewddur shouted for Taran to
halt a bit and let them all catch their breath. Gurgi, looking like a windblown haystack, gratefully
clambered down, and even Eilonwy gave a sigh of relief.
"Since we've stopped," Taran said, "Gurgi might as well share out some food. But we'd better find
shelter first, if we don't want to get soaked."
"Soaked?" cried Fflewddur. "Great Belin, there isn't a cloud in the sky! It's a gorgeous day--- taking
everything into consideration."
"If I were you," Eilonwy advised the puzzled bard, "I should listen to him. Usually, that's not a wise thing
to do. But the circumstances are a little different now."
The bard shrugged and shook his head, but followed Taran across the rolling fields into a shallow ravine.
There, they found a wide and fairly deep recess in the shoulder of a hill.
"I hope you aren't wounded," remarked Fflewddur. "My war leader at home has an old wound that
gives him a twinge when the weather changes. Very handy, I admit; though it does seem a painful way of
foretelling rain. I always think it's easier just to wait, and every kind of weather's bound to come along
sooner or later."
"The wind has shifted," Taran said. "It comes from the sea now. It's restless, with a briny taste. There's a
smell of grass and weeds, too, which makes me think we aren't far from Morva. If all goes well, we may
reach the Marshes by tomorrow."
Soon afterward, the sky indeed clouded over and a chill rain began pelting against the hill. In moments it
grew to a heavy downpour. Water coursed in rivulets on either side of their shelter, but the companions
remained dry.
"Wise master," shouted Gurgi, "protects us from slippings and drippings!"
"I must say," the bard remarked, "you foretold it exactly."
"Not I," said Taran. "Without Adaon's clasp, I'm afraid we'd all have been drenched."
"How's that?" asked the perplexed Fflewddur. "I shouldn't think a clasp would have anything to do with
it."
As he had explained to Eilonwy, Taran now told the bard what he had learned of the brooch. Fflewddur
cautiously examined the ornament at Taran's throat.
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"Very interesting," he said. "Whatever else it may have, it bears the bardic symbol--- those three lines
there, like a sort of arrowhead."
"I saw them," Taran said, "but I didn't know what they were."
"Naturally," said Fflewddur. "It's part of the secret lore of the bards. I learned that much when I was
trying to study for my examinations."
"But what do they mean?" Taran asked.
"As I recall," put in Eilonwy, "the last time I asked him to read an inscription..."
"Yes," said Fflewddur with embarrassment, "that was something else again. But I know the bardic
symbol well. It is secret, though since you have the clasp I don't suppose it can do any harm for me to tell
you. The lines mean knowledge, truth, and love."
"That's very nice," said Eilonwy, "but I can't imagine why knowledge, truth, and love should be so much
of a secret."
"Perhaps I should say unusual as much as secret," answered the bard. "I sometimes think it's hard
enough to find any one of them, even separately. Put them all together and you have something very
powerful indeed."
Taran, who had been thoughtfully fingering the clasp, stopped and looked about him uneasily. "Hurry,"
he said, "we must leave here at once."
"Taran of Caer Dallben," Eilonwy cried, "you're going too far! I can understand coming out of the rain,
but I don't see deliberately going into it."
Nevertheless, she followed; and the companions, at Taran's urgent command, untethered the horses and
ran from the hillside. They had not gone ten paces before the entire slope, weakened by the downpour,
collapsed with a loud roar.
Gurgi yelped in terror and threw himself at Taran's feet. "Oh, great, brave, and wise master! Gurgi is
thankful! His poor tender head is spared from terrible dashings and crashings!"
Fflewddur put his hands on his hips and gave a low whistle. "Well, well, fancy that. Another moment and
we'd have been buried for good and all. Never part with that clasp, my friend. It's a true treasure."
Taran was silent. His hand went to Adaon's brooch, and he stared at the shattered hill slope with a look
of wonder.
The rain slackened a little before nightfall. Although drenched and chilled to the bone, the companions
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