There was little time to celebrate the rescue of Sar or congratulate Leradien and the boy on their success. Graybeard announced they must make haste to Ched Nasad before Lolth’s army, now marching from there to Orlytlar, receives orders to reverse direction and turn back.
“Once they know we have Sar,” said Graybeard. “They will know freeing the satyrs will be our next step.”
“We cannot possibly get there ahead of them if they turn around now,” argued Amien. “At most, they are but four days’ march from Ched Nasad while we are seven.”
“If we take the river,” said the elves’ keeper, “we shall go faster. And the process of reversing the direction of Lolth’s army will be slower than you think. Without Lolth’s personal direction to guide them, they are very much unorganized. For today, at least, they shall continue to march this way, meaning, by tomorrow, they shall be five days’ march from Ched Nasad. If we hurry, we can beat them by traveling by water.”
So off the company went, following the river and wading in it to hide their tracks. It wasn’t long before they found a steeder ferry (Indeed! The same one they had taken before. Someone had returned it or, rather, ransomed it back to its owner.). Once they stole it again, they made good time down the river, traveling as far in one day as they could on land in two or more.
For the next two days, they floated downstream. During this time, the boy got to finally meet and know his keeper. Sar was rather like Graybeard in age and appearance, only older and more unkempt from his time in prison. His beard was wild and bushy and his hair more silvery. But, by the light of the boy’s elf lantern gem, his eyes were keen and bright and full of good spirits as well as interest in the boy, for each was drawn to the other.
“I have never seen you before,” Sar told him, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder in a way that felt most pleasant and reassuring. The keeper seemed to be able to look deep within him with his gaze. “But I knew your father,” he said.
“You knew my father?”
“Everyone did! He was the most famous horse rider in the land.”
“My father?”
“Your father. Don’t you know that?”
“I don’t remember him.”
“No. I see that you don’t. His name was Temlor. Your mother was an elf. Let me recall him for you.”
The old keeper closed his eyes as if deep in thought of some remembrance. “On the night of the attack,” he finally said, “he grabbed you and took you away from the battle. He took you down a creek…”
“Gold Creek?”
“Yes, Gold Creek. About halfway down, there was a cave on the left.”
“I know that cave! That’s Leradien’s cave!”
“He put you in it,” the keeper said, still remembering. “The drow were coming. They were close behind. He knew they’d never look for you there. Then he led the drow away. When he reached a safe distance, he turned around and faced them.”
“And then what happened?” The boy was entranced, waiting.
Sar opened his eyes, put his free hand on the boy’s other shoulder, and looked the boy sympathetically in the eye.
“He died bravely,” he said. “You can be proud of him.”
The boy was proud of him, knowing he had died saving him. He took comfort in that, and wished he could have known him. Yet then a curious, faraway look came into Sar’s eyes as if recalling more.
“There was someone else. Someone found you.”
“That would be Old Joe, a human.”
“Yes, a human. But there’s more.” A look of surprise and realization came to the old keeper’s face. “You were raised by elves!”
“Yes! My aunt! She took me in.”
“A satyr raised by elves? I’ve never heard of such a thing! I should think the gnomes would have raised you rather than the elves. It is not like elves to interfere in nature without giving it some very long, serious thought, possibly longer than your lifetime.”
“Graybeard made them do it.”
“Ah! Graybeard!” Sar said with a nod of understanding. “Yes! I can see that. He might. But to be raised by elves is still a wonder!”
“How is that you are a member of this company?” Sar now asked of him. “Until now, I thought all the satyrs were made slaves of Vhaeraun?”
“I am the captain of our company.”
“You?” gasped Sar in surprise.
“Graybeard is my advisor.”
“Graybeard?” Sar was now even more surprised, until the reason came to him. “Ah! Yes! Of course! He needed you to find me. He could not trust his own mind not to be seen through by Lolth, his split off. It seems Graybeard has done much for me while I was in prison. I owe him.”
“Actually, we did not know you were here.”
“Not know I was here? How? You rescued me!”
“We found you were there while rescuing another. So how,” the boy wanted to know, “were you put in prison? Did Vhaeraun capture you with the others?”
“No,” answered his keeper. “I came down here afterward to obtain their release from Vhaeraun. It was Lolth that captured me.”
“What does she want with you?”
“I imagine she wants no interference from me with her son’s plans to invade the surface and take everything east and west of the Mithril Mountains.”
“Why should she help him? Didn’t he try to kill her?” asked the boy.
“He did. Yet he is also Lolth’s only son. If she can let him banish himself to the surface to rule rather than kill him, she would let him do so.”
“What will you do now?”
“What I first came to do, free my satyrs.”
“That’s what we’re here for! You can join us. You can be our new leader!” said the boy.
“Leader? No, I don’t think so,” replied his keeper. “Fate has called you to be the leader of this company since the day you were born. I shall not interfere with that. Just follow your course to its end. You shall know when you have reached it.”
“But Graybeard is not my keeper. You are! You should at least be my adviser.”
Sar’s eyes, bright and keen, were like lanterns in the darkness, illuminating the hidden corners of the boy’s memories. Yet he did not jump to accept when he spoke, “Graybeard has done a good job of substituting for me in your regard. I shall not interfere with that either. If you make me your leader and we successfully free the satyrs, you shall be just a boy amongst two thousand satyr men. Here, you are a leader and even a captain of a keeper. It would be foolish for either of us to change that.”
The ferry bumped the shore in the dark.
“Everyone off!” ordered Graybeard. “From here on we walk to Ched Nasad.”
Commander Elisha stepped out from her headquarters beneath her army’s flag of Orlytlar. Outside, and standing in the square, was an absolutely enormous black spider with a beautiful drow woman’s head with white hair.
“Greetings, Lolth,” said Elisha with a low bow. “How can I serve you?”
“What is this I hear of an attack upon this city?”
“Men of the North led by Graybeard and King Grendel surrounded us,” explained Elisha.
“And where are they now?”
“We don’t know. We send out patrols every day but they find nothing.”
“That is because there is nothing to find!” answered Lolth angrily. “Men of the North cannot see in the dark! If they were nearby, you would see torches! Do you see any torches?”
“No,” said Elisha. “But we captured one of them.”
“Where is he? I shall torture and interrogate the truth out of him!”
“He escaped, my Queen.”
“He escaped? Who allowed him to escape?!”
“The orc captain of East Prison,” replied Elisha. “I have ordered him thrown into one of his own cells as punishment.”
“That fool again? Your punishment is too kind! This man of the North, you captured? Did you learn anything from him before he got away?” demanded Lolth.
“He told us he served Graybeard and King Grendel. There was also a bright flash of light that dazzled the orc guards of the east wall and an attack made there. I concluded that originated from Graybeard’s staff.”
“You concluded correctly,” said Lolth. “When was the last enemy sighting?”
“Two days ago, when we captured the black widow drider and her companion, the boy satyr.”
“You captured them? Good! I shall torture and interrogate them!”
“I am afraid they too escaped.”
“What?!!” exploded Lolth in incredulous fury. “You have lost three prisoners?!!”
“We have lost four prisoners.”
“Four?!” Bellowed Lolth. “Who was the fourth?!”
“Sar,” said Commander Elisha.
Lolth’s face changed from beautiful to hideously ugly, and her gigantic spider body shook with wrath and anger. A scream of anguish and wild fury erupted from her.
“No! This cannot be!” she raged.
Elisha waited for her queen to finally end her violent throes and then asked.
“Shall I have the orc captain brought to you for torture and execution for their escape?”
“Yes!” snarled Lolth. “I shall at least have the pleasure of feeding on his carcass until our army at Ched Nasad reports the capture of Sar and Graybeard!”
Elisha blinked and she looked startled.
“But our army is no longer at Ched Nasad,” she said.
Lolth stared at her blankly.
“What do you mean?” she asked slowly. “I ordered you to put your troops there!”
“I did,” explained Elisha. “I sent the troops there to capture Graybeard as you ordered. But, when Graybeard showed up here and surrounded the city with Men of the North, I recalled them.”
Lolth stared at her.
“Where are the troops now?” she slowly wanted to know.
“A day’s march away from here,” answered Elisha.
“You fool!” cried Lolth. “For the last two days, you have found no trace of the enemy outside the gates and yet you lack the common sense to understand why?”
“Why?” asked Elisha, trying to hide the shaking fear in her voice.
“You have been nothing but a pawn in his game of chess. Graybeard did not come here to capture the city. He came here to free Sar! Now that he has him, he is on his way to Ched Nasad to free the satyrs!”
Commander Elisha immediately turned to her personal messenger.
“Send a dire bat rider to our approaching army,” she ordered. “Tell them to turn around at once and make back for Ched Nasad and cut it off from the enemy!”
One of Lolth’s great forelegs whipped out, cutting the drow messenger in half.
“You’re through giving orders!” she decreed. “Let your successor give it! It is too late for you! The two keepers shall easily reach Ched Nasad before your army can now. You have failed me! And you know the punishment for failure!”
“I accept my death,” Elisha replied, bowing.
“Your death?” demanded Lolth and then laughed. “Who said anything about your death?”
Lolth turned to the high priestess of the city and gave her commands.
“Summon a spider demon for Commander Elisha. Make a drider of her!”
Upon hearing this, Elisha instantly tried to draw her sword intending to kill herself before anyone could carry the order out. But the other drow nearby prevented her suicide. A panicked Elisha now begged for mercy and a quick death; the worst possible thing for her to do, as this was exactly what Lolth wanted. Elisha’s pleadings would become an example for others.
Lolth ruled by fear and not mercy. She wanted all to witness Elisha’s fear and the drow commander was now going wild with providing it. All who watched would see for themselves the price of failing their queen.
“Summon the spider demon!” repeated Lolth. “Call out the entire city to watch it eat her legs off! For the next twelve hours, all shall be made to watch her pain! Let all of you learn not to fail me as she has!”
To Lolth, the ultimate punishment was to turn some poor soul into a monster like herself and then give them demon blood to warp their minds so that they might experience the same utter chaos she did while trying to stave off their primal spider urges. Yet while it would render Elisha mad and insane with utter depravity, Lolth greedily welcomed the primal urges, already having just such a mind herself. It suited her diabolical desires perfectly. Yet what Lolth truly relished being, Elisha would forever revolt to become. It made Lolth smile to know Elisha's fate.
“No-ooooooooo!” screamed Elisha frantically at her fate. “No-ooooooo!!”
But Lolth was no longer listening. She was passing through the gates of the city and heading towards Ched Nasad as fast as her eight legs could carry her.
“No longer do you deal with my incompetent subordinates, Graybeard!” she cried. “Now you deal with me!”
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