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Earendil and Kaito also dismounted and led their horses, though Tinuviel remained mounted with Regan in her lap. Nathaneel and Merk led them all to the group, calling out to their families in their native tongue.

Half an hour later, everyone was sitting around the fire, and the Rovers were treating them all to a wonderful meal of fresh meat and freshly baked bread. There was also smoked fish, which made Kaito quite change his mind about the Rovers - though he still thought that they were quite similar to gypsies.

The men were eating with the guests while the women kept on cooking and serving, and Regan was running around with the Rover children while Tinuviel looked on.

One of the Rover boys, about the same age as Lin, sat down next to her with a plate of food. The Rovers were much like the Southland Elves in appearance - dark skin and black hair, though the men kept their hair shorter than their shoulders. The boy, who had been introduced as Levi, sat next to Lin and smiled at her.

"So tell me," he requested, his voice almost accent-free, "how does a young human girl end up traveling with elves? A bit rare, even in this area."

The boy (young man) smiled at Lin. "Then you and your family have something special," he told her honestly. "Most humans have nothing te do with the elves, and the elves are usually happy te ignore and be ignored. Myself, I've always liked them," he added hastily, hoping he hadn't made it sound otherwise. "Our families have always traveled the elven lands, and never had any trouble with them. Even been helped by them a time or two. Obviously, we have te be careful of them, not all elves are good ... but we haven't had trouble yet."

Levi nodded. "People are people, no matter where they be," he murmured. "Or who they be. No race can be lumped into a single image. There be many good elves, but there be some bad ones, too. Same as there be good humans and bad ones. There be good dwarfs, too, I'm sure, even if we never hear of those ones."

He scraped his plate clean and smiled at Lin. "We've even seen a few dwarfs in our travels. They're a right nasty piece o' work, but then, they're really suck in a bad place. Canna say that I blame them too much. I'd be right miserable in a place like that, too."

Levi smiled at Lin again. "Be glad you haven't seen them," he murmured. "It sounds awful te say, but they're powerful nasty people ... but aye, we've been everywhere in the Four Lands, at one time or another." He cheered up a little. "I was born in the Westland, actually, just a few miles south of Chansond'eau. We've been traveling my whole life ... but that's what Rovers do, they rove the land."

He chuckled. "Anyways, me sister, playing there with the wee elf girl," he nodded to where Regan was playing with some of the younger children, "she was born in the Southland. Human part, one of the rare times we were actually there. I don't know that any of us were born in the same place."

Levi had to think about that question. "Well ... I mean, I like it everywhere, mostly," he admitted, "but ... I suppose it depends on the time of year. In the winter when it's cold, I like the Southland - elvish half, it's so much more peaceful and there's no snow. But in the summer, I have te say that the Westland is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. And the elves there ... they're so different from the elves down here. A bit less acceptin' of humans, perhaps, but they don't give us any grief."

He paused. "I'm not too fond of the cities, but Chansond'eau is a beautiful place," he added. "Nothin' like what you might imagine. Down here, cities are nothing but buildings ... but Chansond'eau is centered around the waterfall, and when you're there and it's quiet enough ... the water just sings ..."

Levi smiled warmly. "It is," he agreed in a murmur. "The most beautiful place I've ever seen or heard of."

He set his plate aside and leaned back in the sand, watching Lin thoughtfully. "What about you?" he asked. "What's the most beautiful place you've ever seen?"

Levi blinked at Lin in amazement. "You can get in there without being killed?" he asked incredulously. "How do you manage that? They kill any humans who come hear them ... people say there's some Maiar living there, and that they'll do anything to keep others away ..."

The fear in his eyes was genuine. "How do you- what - what's it like? Are the stories real?"

"About the Maiar!" Levi replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Are they really there? Why does everyone who goes there never come back the same? Is there really a human that never gets old? How can you visit there and still be alive when almost everyone else is killed?"

There was a desperation in his voice, as if he were dying to know the answers, and not only out of curiosity.