Veryacano finished writing the last of the four copies of the letter and he stamped it with the signet bearing his coat of arms before signing it. As Parnard and Estarfin watched, he placed it into an envelope, poured a bit of molten wax on the closed envelope and impressed it with his personal coat of arms as well.
He then handed the letter to Parnard and said:
‘‘Here is the last of the letters. One of them is to be delivered to Lord Champion Kalluin in person. Not anyone else, only him. The second is for Lady Elisbeth of the Warband. The third is for Lord Earinlin of Loth-i-Lonnath. The last one, is for none other than Lord Elrond himself. Make sure that they all receive these letters please.’’
After a brief pause, he went on:
‘‘You may also announce these news to the gatherings around the valley if you see fit.’’
‘‘Yes, lord I shall deliver the letters at once!’’ Parnard replied. Veryacano then turned to Estarfin.
‘‘As you know, we never managed to recover Lord Anglachelm’s sword. That is why a new one must be forged. You, along with Celephindir are the finest smiths we have.’’
Veryacano took the large roll of parchment from the table and handed it over to Estarfin.
‘‘This contains the drawings of the new sword I am commissioning to you. You will go to Imladris with Parnard and start working on this sword immediately. It is very similar to Lord’s old sword but it must be of even better quality if it is to replace his old sword, for Lord did place a great value upon it. It has an elegantly decorated hilt and handguard as you can see on the drawing, so you might want to ask for help from the crafters in the valley.’’
Estarfin opened the parchment and carefully inspected the charcoal drawings of a graceful looking greatsword. It had a broad blade with a single large groove in the middle, a long hilt with a swan head carving on the pommel and a wide handguard etched with swan wing carvings. Eventually he spoke:
‘‘How soon do you need it ready lord?’’
‘‘We set out in four days and two days for the road, give or take. It should be ready upon Lord Anglachelm’s return.’’ Veryacano replied.
‘‘It will be difficult, but we will manage, lord.’’ Estarfin nodded as he rolled the parchment.
Veryacano then took from his belt a large pouch and sound of coins inside it were heard as he placed it on the table.
‘‘Use these to pay for the materials. I trust I don’t need to tell you that it must be of the finest steel and bronze.’’ Veryacano felt the need to add.
Estarfin said nothing in return but nodded firmly. He took the pouch of coins from the table and was about to take off when Veryacano spoke again:
‘‘Oh, and tell Nirhen she is to go with you. I do not think she likes it here anymore than you do. Besides, who knows what might be lurking in the mountains? She will be happy to depart either way.’’
Estarfin and Parnard both nodded once again and took off, leaving Veryacano sitting alone on the high flet overlooking the fountains of Caras Galadhon.
