The Last Satyr: The Company is Formed Part 1

The next day, they were summoned before the High Council of Elders again, the woman doing the speaking for the others.

“We have decided on what we believe is the best course,” she began. “From here, you can leave by canoe with a company of elves. The trip is downstream, so it shall be fast and easy. Three days’ journey from here is Talmuth Bridge, built by the dwarves for us long ago. On the opposite side of the bridge stands a human guard over the road to the Land of the Rim Riders. We shall turn you over to their guard for safe delivery to their king. That which has followed you should not be able to keep up on land for the river runs fast, although we are not certain of that, for it is very fast itself and constantly eludes us. Once you are across, the company shall set up a guard on our side of the bridge against that which follows you, which must almost certainly pass over that same bridge. They shall delay it as long as possible.”

“To delay it as long as possible is to not delay it at all,” said Graybeard. “For that is impossible. You shall set up no such guard. As I have told you before, let it pass. This is not something for anyone to tangle with—least of all elves—for we are discussing demons of the deep. If you attempt to stop it, no good will come of it. It will stop at nothing.”

“But it hunts you, our keeper.”

“It doesn’t hunt me,” said Graybeard with certainty. “It hunts the boy.”

The other members of the company all looked at the boy who resisted fainting, woozy though he became. He remembered the thing that had followed him down to the lake and how its eyes had been upon him and not the others. Was it Olga? Lolth? The displacer beast? Or some awful black blooded creature of the Fell?

“Unless you would lose good elves on a satyr’s account,” stated Graybeard, “post no guard and let it pass. It is not just advice. It is an order.”

His words lingered in the air, like echoes from a forgotten age, hanging on the edges of the elves thoughts.

Now the boy had an entirely different opinion on this. He was quite willing to sacrifice all the elves in the entire world at the bridge so that it did not pass. Yet he kept his opinion to himself, as he could see these Grey Elves would not agree with it against Graybeard’s will.

“Very well,” she said, “but we have offered.”

“The offer is most appreciated, for it would require only the bravest of elves to face this creature and with little hope of victory,” conceded their keeper. “That any of your folk volunteered to do so on my account is not taken lightly by me.”

“We all volunteered,” said the one on the left, “every single one of us.”

“Then I can only hope that I am worthy of your offer of self-sacrifice. But no harm will come to me by that which follows us. On this, I insist upon your trust.”

The others of the company cast uneasy eyes towards the boy, who was very much aware of it. They obviously wondered why he was of such importance.

Yet they changed subjects.

“We shall re-provision your packs,” said the one on the right, “that you might travel for as many days as possible with food that does not spoil. We shall give you lembas bread as well as crystal gem lanterns by which to see underground for your return trip.”

“Canoes, food, armed men, elf lanterns,” responded Graybeard. “What else can an old fool like me ask for except—oh—a keg of mead? You wouldn’t deny me that, would you?”

“You know we don’t make it.”

“But I know you drink it.”

“You shall have it.”

“In which case I am content.”

The satyr’s company now took their leave of the Council and immediately surrounded Graybeard.

“What is this about something that follows us?” they all demanded of him.

“You already know of it,” said Graybeard. “It followed us into the mines, remember?”

“And it follows us still?” asked young Joe.

“According to the Grey Elves’ reports—yes,” replied the old keeper.

“And you know it wants the boy?” asked Amien. “How?”

“Who else amongst us would it want? You? Marroh? Young Joe? We know a displacer beast already hunts him. It is a creature of the drow and the drow are ruled by Lolth.”

They considered that. It was true. None of them could think of a reason why it would want any of them. It had to be the boy. That made the boy even more frightened.

“Why do you say this?” demanded Amien in realization. “Can you not see you terrify the boy?”

“He deserves to know. Or do you think I should keep it from him? He is my captain and I am his intelligence officer. It is my duty to inform him.”

“But you know what hunts him,” said Ronthiel. “Belam called out Lolth's name before he died, remember?”

“I shall always remember Belam,” said the keeper. “But, unless I miss my guess, we are still seven and that is our lucky number.” He turned towards the boy. “It is your decision. Do we go on or abandon our quest here?”

All eyes again turned to the boy waiting on his command. The last thing the boy wanted to do was to turn around and go back with that thing behind him.

“If we go back,” the boy said, “it will find us.”

What he meant was it would find him.

“And, if we stay on foot,” he added, “it will overtake us.”

He meant they should take the offered canoes and leave it behind. But he made no mention of this, for it meant nothing to the others. The boy’s best chance of survival was to cross the bridge ahead of the thing that followed and get horses and then leave it behind.

“They say we shall leave this thing behind if we travel by canoe,” he added, “moving by both day and night. Then once we get horses, we can leave it behind us again.”

“So your desire is that we go forward?” asked Amien.

“That was the original plan. Is there another idea?” said the boy, hoping no one spoke.

There wasn’t. To his relief, no one answered. Silence befell them. They would cross the bridge and leave the creature behind with horses. They could not argue with that.

“A wise decision,” said Graybeard. “I agree. And, once we have horses, we can approach the drow caves faster than their bats can scout us just as the boy foresaw.”

And outrun that thing which was behind.

So it was agreed. They would leave that night, at midnight, under the cover of darkness, such that whatever followed them might be caught unawares.