So news was brought to the King that the two prisoners would go down
to Merimna.

That evening the watchers led them to the mountain's edge, and
Seejar and Sajar-Ho went down towards the plain by the way of a deep
ravine, and the watchers watched them go. Presently their figures
were wholly hid in the dusk. Then night came up, huge and holy, out
of waste marshes to the eastwards and low lands and the sea; and the
angels that watched over all men through the day closed their great
eyes and slept, and the angels that watched over all men through the
night awoke and ruffled their deep blue feathers and stood up and
watched. But the plain became a thing of mystery filled with fears.
So the two spies went down the deep ravine, and coming to the plain
sped stealthily across it. Soon they came to the line of sentinels
asleep upon the sand, and one stirred in his sleep calling on
Rollory, and a great dread seized upon the spies and they whispered
'Rollory lives,' but they remembered the King's axeman and went on.
And next they came to the great bronze statue of Fear, carved by
some sculptor of the old glorious years in the attitude of flight
towards the mountains, calling to her children as she fled. And the
children of Fear were carved in the likeness of the armies of all
the trans-Cyresian tribes with their backs towards Merimna, flocking
after Fear. And from where he sat on his horse behind the ramparts
the sword of Welleran was stretched out over their heads as ever it
was wont. And the two spies kneeled down in the sand and kissed the
huge bronze foot of the statue of Fear, saying: 'O Fear, Fear.' And
as they knelt they saw lights far off along the ramparts coming
nearer and nearer, and heard men singing of Welleran. And the
purple guard came nearer and went by with their lights, and passed
on into the distance round the ramparts still singing of Welleran.