Birin sighed and gazed at the dark trail leading into the forest, as though gauging the risk. ‘Where the Periani are concerned, stealth will not avail us. We will proceed.’
It was so dark inside the forest that Birin ordered torches lighted. Once underway, it appeared to the refugees that they were traversing a great hall, which led from darkness to darkness. They heard and saw nothing over the sound of their own walking, the horses and oxen, and the groan of the wagons’ axles. But all around them was a feeling of watchfulness; of expectancy. They watched the wood for any sign, but in vain.
Riding beside Pran, Ralph asked in a whisper, ‘What are Sylphids and . . .’
‘Perians,’ Pran finished for him. ‘Sylphids are creatures of the air. They are Faerie, and very elusive, even to Elvish eyes. I do not think that you will see any.’
‘And Perians?’
‘Perians, or Periani, as some call them, are another matter,’ Pran replied. ‘Some believe that they are Faerie, but the kinship is tenuous, if at all. For my part, I believe they are closer to Men, though in stature they are small, like children. I have heard that they live in houses that are grouped into small villages; that they till the soil, and keep beasts; that they even drink spirits in taverns, and have an appetite for food and drink to be fairly marvelled at. They are a reclusive people but are extremely territorial, and often warlike to those who inadvertently trespass though their lands.’