hath the sword of Welleran!'

And Rold came to the mouth of the ravine, and there the voices of
the people woke him. And Rold knew nothing that he had done in his
sleep, and looked in amazement at the sword in his hand and said:
'What art thou, thou beautiful thing? Lights shimmer in thee, thou
art restless. It is the sword of Welleran, the curved sword of
Welleran!'

And Rold kissed the hilt of it, and it was salt upon his lips with
the battle-sweat of Welleran. And Rold said: 'What should a man do
with the sword of Welleran?'

And all the people wondered at Rold as he sat there with the sword
in his hand muttering, 'What should a man do with the sword of
Welleran?'

Presently there came to the ears of Rold the noise of a jingling up
in the ravine, and all the people, the people that knew naught of
war, heard the jingling coming nearer in the night; for the four
armies were moving on Merimna and not yet expecting an enemy. And
Rold gripped upon the hilt of the great curved sword, and the sword
seemed to lift a little. And a new thought came into the hearts of
Merimna's people as they gripped their grandsires' swords. Nearer
and nearer came the heedless armies of the four Kings, and old
ancestral memories began to arise in the minds of Merimna's people
in the desert with their swords in their hands sitting behind Rold.
And all the sentinels were awake holding their spears, for Rollory
had put their dreams to flight, Rollory that once could put to
flight armies and now was but a dream struggling with other dreams.