A light rain had hit their tents, and the fire had burned a bit low beneath the shelter. More men from the local militia arrived, eager to help fight the satyrs. One or two skirmishes were fought with them in other places.

Yet nothing happened here. War seemed to be a mix of incredible boredom and terror. Luke wished they could get to the terror.

Word had come to them of hunts and sightings here or there. Tales of undead lurking in the fields had been heard now and then.

The crossbow rewound in Luke's hands as he overlooked the borders of the plantation. Scouts had been sent in, and madness seemed to have overtaken the satyrs, one more than usual. Having a battle was something he wanted to see, but watching this crossbow get pulled back was just as good.

How the gears on the two bolts pulled back, the chord stretching. How the arrow gleamed magnificently at the point. Would that he had a target before him.

"Are you sure these crossbows will be any use?" asked Joseph Korlac, shedding his green cloak.

"They're a dwarven invention, Joseph," said Luke. "I want to try them out.

"I assembled these myself from one Bags gave me as a gift."

"Oh, come on, Luke," said Peter. "There is no substitute for skill. These crossbows won't be of any use at all against supernatural creatures.

"And a well-trained warrior can usually outfight an amateur, even if they are disadvantaged."

"Speaking of which," said Rutger. "Are we sure about this?"

"We have to fight the satyrs," said Luke. "If we don't, we won't be credible as nobles. Whoever attacks us out here will raid someone else if we don't defeat them."

"Well do you think we can beat them, even if they show up?" asked Korlac, who had disliked the idea. "I'd much rather be hunting pirates."

"I hope so," said Luke. "There isn't anyone else who can do it. Lord Dunmoore has his hands full with the plague, and Sir Gabriel has gone. If we stop them now, we could drive back a full-scale incursion.

"We've got to do this, or we won't be able to look our people in the eye."

The others that had come with them readied the crossbows. Unfortunately, they were not as in shape as them, so Luke chose crossbows.

"We ought to fight them with swords," said Peter.

"No good," said Luke. "We'd be slaughtered; we're not experienced enough. Well, I'm not, and Edara and the others aren't. Father tells me that they will be coming out here over the ridge. We'll have our fight."

"You've... talked to him," said Korlac, nervous.

"Yes," said Luke. "I don't think he expected to hit the same kind of resistance. Now some of you are no good at swordplay, so hang back and let me hold them when it comes to melee. I spent my time in prison somewhat better.

"Let's lie low and wait."

"Jaina is coming!" said Rutger. "Look!"

"We must go to her aid," said Peter, grasping his sword.

"Man, your post," said Korlac. "She's well ahead of them; she'll make it."

And they lined the ridge with crossbows.

And wait, they did, and the spears thrown at Jaina went wide.

Luke took time to sketch out pictures of the Black Mountain and the forest's trees. Several others were not happy with the dust and the open sky. But Luke didn't begrudge them that; many others had already broken off to tend to their own lands.

Eventually, Jaina came into view. Her blonde hair was immaculate for one who had been through a wood, and she scaled up the slopes. The satyrs were behind and terrible, not like the satyrs that Luke had met with now and then, but really satyrs. Their eyes were wild, with scars and war paint on them, their bodies ritually deformed.

Luke shot one with his crossbow. A rush of joy came to him as his enemy toppled dead. "I got one! I got one!"

"Nice work," said Jaina, rushing past him and turning to summon a water sphere. "Celebrate after they're dead." Then she cast it down to smash back a crowd of them.

Several other cries of joy came from the other nobles as they fired. Many had come with them or joined them with bows and crossbows as time passed. Some were treating it as a hunting party.

"Beginners luck," said Bags, firing his crossbow twice and killing two, then reloading.

The others also fired down at the incoming horde, and one by one, they fell. Others stumbled over the bodies. Yet the satyrs advanced higher like a tide. They howled and screeched.

"Good work," said Korlac, firing a shot into one satyr, then another. "Draw your swords; they'll be on us."

"We'll charge and meet them down the hill," said Luke, smiling as he drew the blade.

And the others did too with mad joy. The men of Antion rushed down with cudgels and axes and whatever they could find.

"For my Father!" cried Luke. "For the God of Madness!"

And as one, the company charged downhill toward their enemy. The satyrs were tired from the run, and many died or were injured. Luke clashed with one, falling on them, driving it back, and cutting it down. Peter ran one through, then sliced down two more in short order while Edara dueled with another axe to sword. Korlac turned a strike and cut off the hand, then the throat. Anos and Gavkin struck down many with blows from hammer and flail, and the satyrs gave way before them.

But a satyr cleaved down a man as he charged too recklessly. Another fell to a spear thrust before his comrade avenged him. But, even so, the tide was falling back.

And then came a stench of death, and out of the trees came many more satyrs. And with them were many that were already dead. Their rotting carcasses were animated and halted in their decay. They rushed forward in silent rage. Men flinched back, but Peter and Rutger charged forward and Anos and Gavkin with them.

Soon all the others did, and the battle was joined.

Luke was dueling with a satyr back and forth. His first time in battle, and it was great. The feel of blood rushing, the screams of rage, his sword darting back and forth in the light. An undead came at him from behind, but Bags cleaved it down with an axe. Rutger cut down two as a peasant was overtaken and had his throat torn out. Then, rising again as undead, they met their fellows.

The sword Luke parried his foe and ran him through with a smile. An undead leaped at him, frothing with puss from one eye. Warding it off with a shield, he slashed it down. But the satyr he had just killed rose again, and he also had to cut it down. Similar scenes played out around him, and more undead were coming. Gavkin hewed many with his hammer as Anos' mace smashed down three, and light emanated from his shield.

It was everything he'd ever dreamed of.

Driving his sword through a satyr, he clashed swords with one another as it raised a sword to kill comrades. Several of his comrades screamed, shot wildly, and ran. Others held their ground and continued to fight in a knot. Korlac was fending off an onslaught, deflecting blades with deft moves of his sword. Yet he couldn't hold forever, and Luke went to his aid. Edara went with him, cleaving the skull of an undead.

For a time, they fought together, and Luke cut down another, smiling as he did it. Korlac disarmed a satyr and sent him running. Another he slashed the throat off as it came at him. But Luke saw one of the peasants with him stabbed by an undead and rising again. As the satyrs fought on, more began to fall. He tried to shield a peasant with his armor, but the man was too aggressive. Another cut down a satyr while Peter hewed down one after another.

Peter fought with a magnificence Luke had not seen. He struck down one after another, even as more came. Then, driving them down, he nearly pushed them back, and they followed. Yet soon, he came against stronger satyrs, and their blades went him back. Soon there were dozens of bodies at his feet, forming a bulwark by which they rallied.

"Peter, get back!" said Luke.

Peter hewed down one and nodded.

Scaling up the hill, they rushed to cover him. But a satyr hurled a spear that caught him in the back, and he fell to the ground. Luke cried out in denial and anger, drew his crossbow, and fired it to catch the satyr in the heart. The rest hurled spears, which went wild and fled.

"I got him!" snarled the satyr as he fell dead. "I got him!"

Of course.

Peter had killed many of their kind, more than any of the others. To these satyrs, Peter had been the villain. Would he live?

Another one of Father's lessons and a bitter one.

Should Luke have stayed on the hill? Unfortunately, it was too late to know.

Then a chimera came leaping, bounding out of the trees, and fell on the satyrs from behind. It breathed fire into them and tore them apart. The satyrs turned to fight it, while others battled the nobles. One of the nobles who came with them was cut down before Luke, and another had his heart pierced.

"Is he alive?" said Luke. "Peter!"

A satyr was over Peter with a knife. Luke struck him dead with his blade and kneeled by him. Edara was over to one side, rushing toward him.

"Keep up..." Peter halted. "Keep up the quest...

"Save Antion."

Alasa reached him and began tendings his wounds by magic, but Peter did not speak again. Looking around for his shield, Luke saw no sign of it.

The chimera was gone as suddenly as it had come.

But Peter was still, and Edara was at his side, trying to heal him with her power. Many of the nobility were fallen as well or had their wounds tended. Many peasants and servants had died as well. Even if Peter lived, how many others had fallen here? He saw someone much like himself mourning a fallen friend who would be just as important as Peter.

"... That's sixteen of us dead," said Alasa, who had stayed behind to heal.

Korlac looked at the boy.

"Taran," said the boy, who had a nondescript appearance and a wound on his scalp. His tunic was slashed, and his face was bloody. "He was trying to protect me when I fell."

Had Peter traded his life? Or could have survived? Or was he alive? Did it even matter? There were any number of others who had died. Even if the Peter Luke knew was dead, there was another who was alive. And vice versa.

It would be as if he was in one room and Luke was in the next. And in sixty or so years, all of them would go into that room. And they'd return to another life and tell stories about it later. And wonder if the stories were just a game they'd made up.

"Everything returns in a changed form," said Saul.

"What does that mean?" asked Edara.

"It is a philosophy," said Saul.

Luke looked at their bodies sadly and knew these pieces of flesh were not his fallen friends. This part was not glorious; many had been slashed and hurt. "...Well, some of us had to die. That's how war works."

"I'm alive," said Alera. "I'd judged I'd do better to heal the wounded. Let me see any injuries."

So many dead.

Most of the crossbow bolts had been spent, and now they had to gather the unbroken ones. To say nothing of dragging all the bodies up the hill for burial. It was a long labor, and the dead of the satyrs were burned in a heap with the undead.

Luke considered things. "Well, it makes sense. We have armor, and they didn't. Just because they had the same training didn't mean they'd do as well."

Rutger looked down. He had cut down many of them. "My brother is..." He faltered. "Peter is dead. He'd lost too much blood."

Luke fell silent, shifting. So Alasa couldn't save him. "I... I see.

"I'm sorry."

"He... he knew the risks," said Rutger, trying to stay composed. "This was a larger group than we expected. Mother and my sister Isabella will be heartbroken at this."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Go sit down and get a drink," said Luke. "Bags, get him some win.

"We'll take care of this."

Rutger nodded and moved away to drink.

Luke shifted. "We ought to raise a monument here. To Peter and all the other men who died here to stop them. They deserve it."

"It might inspire people and remind them the nobility are necessary," said Saul.

"Saul," said Luke. "Peter is dead?"

Saul had no outward reaction but seemed unsteady. "I understand, and I am sorry. However, many others are dead. As nobles, we must consider how to make this victory most effective.

"We owe it to the dead. Peter would not want his sacrifice to be in vain and-"

"Just stop," said Luke.

Saul obviously didn't care, but he seemed like he ought to care and was trying to simulate it. Luke supposed that was the best he could expect; House Marn was coldblooded when it came to it. Mother had found that out once or twice.

The dead of Antion had high cairns of stone built over them, and the villagers nearby came to pay respects. And the mound of satyrs killed burned to high heaven. Luke just waited, not sure what to do.

"At least we stopped these things," said Edara. "Luke was right. They'd have sacked a hamlet if we hadn't wiped them out here."

"Jaina, why were they attacking you?" asked Korlac.

"Failed negotiations," said Jaina. "They took me for easy sport, so I ran."

"What were these undead?" asked Korlac. "How did they rise like this?"

"I checked the bodies," said Jaina. "These satyrs have sacrificed themselves to the Withering. When they die, they will immediately rise as undead.

"Some sort of blood rite."

"These are not a kind of satyr, I know," said Bags. "They're shorter and stockier than most and tended to hunch their backs. They must have come down from the Black Mountain, so perhaps some clan grew in caves."

Gavkin had not attended the ceremony, for he and Anos were checking for tracks and standing guard. Eventually, they came back up. "There are tracks here, armored tracks that passed by lately. I believe that Lamech may have passed this way."

"Indeed," said Anos. "I sense lingering darkness here. Our enemy passed this way.

"It may be that this was done by his will."

"There is no proof of that," said Korlac. "He may simply have used the satyrs as cover. Crept into their shadow. It is often done."

"We shall learn after we find the blackheart," said Anos.

"Is it wise to go into the woods?" asked Jaina. "You don't know them."

"Wisdom is not the way of the Paladin," said Gavkin. "It is courage. And I have learned to navigate by faith."

Drinking water and eating quickly, the two headed off.

Luke stood on the hill, wondering at the near-miss Peter had. And he looked at the other people and realized that many of them had lost friends. People they had grown up with were slain in battle. All of them would be different after this.

"We're going to have to retrain," said Luke. "We can't let it end here. If we'd been aiming our crossbows properly and do this properly, all those people still be alive. All of you have brothers and sisters; that was one of the conditions of coming.

"But it's no good hunting bandits if we all get killed."

"We shouldn't have charged," said Bags regretfully.

"No," said Edara. "That was the right call. Charging down the hill in numbers and armor after a volley of bolts should have driven them in.

"We lost because they were better than us. We'd have been wrecked if Peter and Rutger hadn't been here."

"We didn't lose," said Luke. "Jaina is safe, and they didn't get any further. We achieved our goal. The people of that village saw what we did."

"Well, you're not going to like this," said Jaina. "I didn't want to say it before, with all that was happening. But there are bandits in the woods. They have prisoners taken as slaves. I think they have some kind of market. Taken in raids, apparently, someone is preparing for a large sale."

Luke halted. "Well, we've got to go help them."

"We're not going anywhere, Luke," said Korlac. "We barely survived this. "

"They must be planning to sell them as slaves," said Luke. "But to who?"

"It must be one of the criminal syndicates," said Korlac. "But we can't keep fighting here. A direct is out of the question. We're not good enough."

Luke nodded. "Alright, Korlac, you get them to bury our dead. Then, Jaina and I will head down and see if we can seize the captives. If we can find out who exactly put them up to this and why we can arrest them."

"Don't attack them directly," said Korlac. "You can't take that many. Instead, go by stealth, or not at all."

"Stealth?" asked Rutger. "We're to go by stealth."

"'We're not going anywhere," said Korlac.

Luke saw a crossbow on the ground broken and kneeled by it. It had been shattered. "What happened to this?"

"A satyr tried to cut me down," said Edara. "So I threw it at him. I panicked."

"Do you know how hard these things are to make?" said Luke. "Bags, and I had to assemble all of them from scratch. Well, you can make your own after this.

"I'm not building you another.

"Let's go, Jaina. We'll free as many captives as possible and bring them back here. You'll stay here and be ready to support us. We'll need your help, Korlac, in interpreting legal stuff."

"Legal stuff?" asked Korlac, faintly offended.

"Yeah," said Luke. "Who might have done this? Who could have supported it? What rules is this all in violation of."

"Legal stuff?" asked Korlac, mortally offended.

"It beats the alternative," said Luke. He thought it would be insensitive to say he was having the time of his life.

There are at least four scores of them...

Luke went off as quickly as possible, heading down the rocky slope toward the trees. The echoes of madness led him up the slopes toward a distant firelight. Before he got to it, the stars came out, and he found an enclosure of rough and ready men drinking together. In cages, many people of Harlenorian descent and some furbearers were on the far side.

Looking at Jaina, they nodded.

"I'll keep them occupied," said Luke with his crossbow. "You get the people out."

"So why did we seize all these?" asked one.

"Eh, these are trouble-makers," said one. "People that won't be missed. We take them off the streets and get paid a decent sum by a Lord, then sell them for another sum. I hear they're already setting up new slave networks.

"Apparently, some distinguished citizens don't like these ones making businesses independent of nobility. So we're doing good work by taking them."

The bandit...

He was like Luke. He'd have done anything to get out and have some adventure and chosen to become a bandit. Would Luke have done honest work had he never been given the call to adventure? Or would he have abandoned it all to seek glory in this way?

He would like to think he would go to war.

But would he have? Would he have the noble character to do so?

It didn't matter in the end. These men had to die. And so he fired a bolt across the distance. It shot fast and true and caught his other self in the side of the head. The man fell dead to the ground, and Luke fired another bolt. Then, rewinding his crossbow, he moved to a different place as the bandits got undercover.

Firing two more times, Luke killed two more, watching them fall dead like puppets. Now they were panicking, and some were rushing out into the woods. These he allowed to escape, but one who was trying to unlatch the cage he shot. Then another. Soon all of them had fled.

He hoped they became good people, though Father laughed at that.

Getting to the enclosure, he found the cages open and the people released. "Are all of you alright?"

"Yes, Sir Atravain," they said.

"Just Luke," said Luke, feeling disgusted with his class.

But he was sure to get their names and identities of them. There were too many to record in his private notes. Recording a merchant's presence in politics was an excellent way to endanger them. It turned out that most of them were self-made men who had worked their way up in their own communities. Several other commoners were disconnected.

Yet none of the merchants here had taken loans from anyone other than local lords.

"Is that significant?" asked Luke as they went back.

"Possibly," said Jaina. "In the old days, a Lord would provide the money to get started. However, thanks to the increase in trade, there are what you could call 'Merchant Lords.'

"Merchants who are sufficiently wealthy that they can loan to others. Often the poorer Lords use them as a go-between. The Merchant Lords get certain rights in exchange. The ability to use trade and notification of options.

"With the prolonged peace brought by King Andoa, martial prowess became less critical.

"If these people are being targeted for using the old system, someone is trying to undercut them. Did you receive any offers before it happened?"

Most of them had received offers from the church. Bishop Rundas had arrived with armed men, eaten their food, and made an inferior offer. Then walked out afterward, and things had gone silent for a while. Luke wished he could record the merchants in question.

Suffice to say all of these people are loyalists.

"They were going to sell our people back to us as slaves," said Edara. "And we'd never have even known."

"Perfect pretext for revolution," said Saul. "Which could be settled by gracious intervention on behalf of the church. I think that Bishop Rundas has been indulged long enough."

"No, we're not killing anyone!" said Luke. "We don't know he did that.

"For all we know, someone is trying to frame him up. You can't shoot Bishops on second-hand rumors and suppositions, Saul. If the church of Elranor isn't sacred, what is?"

"The High Priest is a powerful figure," said Korlac. "And assassinating anyone is unacceptable. I would not play the role of an assassin if Antion were falling around me.

"There will be no killing outside of law or battle."

Luke sighed, and they focused on burying the dead and getting the people back to the villages. Soon, he found the bodies buried. As he looked at the shallow graves, he realized he felt nothing at all. Massacre plodded off to hunt satyrs, and no one knew where she had gone.

They worked and worked, and eventually.

Suddenly, darkness fell over the sun, and turning around Luke saw a man walking toward him, a Blackguard. He could tell him at once by the aura of terror upon him. Luke had sensed his presence before in Castle Atravain, but now he saw him walking. A sword was in his hand, and the people shrank away.

"Lamech..." said Luke.

"Turn back now, noble, and you may remain unhurt," said Lamech.

"You can't tell me what to do here," said Luke. "This is my family's land, Lamech."

"And who do you think benefits by all this?" asked Lamech.

"I don't care," said Luke, drawing his sword.

"Luke..." said Edara. "You can't take this guy. I've seen him fight."

"No man may tell a Lord of Antion his custom," said Luke. "Go back, Lamech, and you may remain unhurt. There is no one around to report your presence."

"Then there will be no one to hear you scream," said Lamech.

"Korlac," said Luke. "Stay out of this."

Sword raised, Luke faced Lamech. The fiend raised his blade, and they faced one another. Then Lamech struck, and his sword lashed down like a bolt of thunder. Luke stepped aside, the blade wrent a crack in the earth, and the company leaped aside. Even as Luke struck at his shoulder, his enemy moved aside and nearly cut him in half. Their swords met, and Luke was thrown down, having the wind knocked from him.

As Lamech's blade descended toward him, Luke rolled aside, and the blade sank into the ground. The earth was rent and pitted by the blow, and Luke struck at the foot of Lamech. Yet Lamech stepped back, even as he prepared to strike again, and brought his sword down. Luke knocked it to one side and grabbed his hand to pull himself up and attack.

Lamech caught the blade in a clawed gauntlet.

Laughing, he swung his head forward and bashed Luke's head. His helmet rang as he fell backward to hit the ground. Luke heard Rutger cry angrily and saw Lamech turn to face him. Their blades met, and Edara came with an axe from behind. Alera went with a spear while Jaina cast some incantation, so Lamech had the ground grip his feet in place. Korlac walked behind with a crossbow, pointed it at his back, and began pulling the trigger.

Lamech shoved Rutger back with a roar of strength, cut Edara's axe in half, and broke Alera's spear. Rutger attacked again. Meanwhile, Edara switched to gripping the axe further up and attacked. Alara went at him with a knife, only to be backhanded back. Edara had her axe parried, and Rutger was kicked back.

Korlac fired two bolts when they were clear, and Lamech cut one down with a single blow. Another he caught in his bare hand and roared in triumph as he broke it.

Then Luke tossed his helmet and got Lamech in the head. Snatching up the sword of a dead servant, Luke rushed forward and leaped into the air. Descending, Lamech brought his sword up to meet them. There was a clash, and the sunlight gleamed off the blades to blind both as the sun rose.

Reeling back, both assumed stances, and Luke went on the offensive, attacking aggressively. Lamech needed to prepare for the strike and was forced to draw back gradually. Yet, in time, he rallied, and the moment was lost.

All of them were breathing hard now.

"Where is William Gabriel," said Lamech. "I have a business to settle with him."

"It doesn't matter even if I we told you," said Korlac. "He's with Jehair, one of the greatest trackers in the world. So even if we told you the route, they are sure to know your associates are after them.

"They'll blend into the wilderness. You'll never find them until long after this crisis has passed."

Lamech paused and laughed. "Ah, then where is Lord Dunmoore?"

"I wouldn't-"

"Luke," said Jaina. "You might beat him, but you'll lose friends. So let me handle this."

"Fine," said Luke.

"Lamech," said Jaina. "Dunmoore took the main road and plans to wait there until William goes by."

"... That's a bit of a boring and predictable tactic," said Lamech.

"How do you-" began Luke.

"I listen to doors," said Jaina.

"He has a company of knights with him," said Jaina. "I can show you a method by which you can lure William to you. But in exchange, you have to let these live."

Lamech halted and shifted his sword. "Very well.

"I appreciate your assistance."

"You're an excellent swordsman," said Saul.

"Thank you, I've had to work to make up for an ill-treated youth," said Lamech, sheathing his sword. Though he was younger than most of them. "I would call your performance passable, but that would be generous for commoners.

"Any Haldrenians militia would make mincemeat of you."

"Antion does not like violence as a first solution," said Luke.

"Then you won't get a chance to use it as a second," said Lamech. He paused. "I don't usually pursue this matter, but I'm unlikely to get another chance.

"Have you ever met a noble with six fingers on his left hand?" The question was posed almost as an afterthought. Luke wondered about that.

"Do you actually care?" asked Luke.

"I pursue it out of obligation," said Lamech. "I became a Blackguard as a means to gain power. Vengeance on the one who murdered my Father was the excuse for doing it.

"Have you or not?"

"Well, I've never met anyone like that," said Edara, getting a sword from a servant. "I doubt they'd answer even if they did."

"I would not tell you even if I knew," said Korlac.

No one said anything.

"You've been here as a protege to Arkan for years," said Saul. "If you wanted to know, you'd know already. So what is your purpose?"

"More an excuse than a purpose," said Lamech. "Blackguards who achieve their goals don't like it when they do or are killed shortly after.

"It was a good fight." And standing up, he walked off. Jaina nodded to them and hurried off, cloak billowing behind her.

It was around this time that the Paladins Gavkin and Anos returned. They came marching up the path and found them there where they were speaking. Luke looked up to see them and rose to greet them. He wondered if Lamech had chosen to attack specifically while they were gone.

"There has been a battle here," said Anos. "Luke Atravain, what has happened?

"Who has attacked you and your companions here?"

"A Blackguard called Lamech," said Rutger. "He set on us after the battle was joined."

"Then we are here on a common purpose," said Gavkin. "We hunt him as well."

"We're not going to hunt him," said Luke, almost laughing. "He thrashed us as it is."

"We've got to do something about this, Luke," said Edara.

"She's right," said Rutger. "That man is going to come back sooner or later. If not for revenge, then because Lord Kern is in his memory and has power."

"Lord Kern?" asked Luke.

"Yes," said Rutger. "He has six fingers on his right hand. I saw him."

"The old revenge curse," said Bags, who had been healing injuries.

"That's nothing but a myth," said Korlac. "Anyone can kill someone's Father; we've been doing it since we went on campaign.

"And anyone can seek revenge. Most nobles go into battle at some point, and revenge is an ancient art form. So most of them eventually face a revenge plot, and having six fingers is memorable.

"It's an ancient tradition with a long and glorious history. One Antion has been trying to get away from." And he explained everything.

"We must go after him at once," said Anos. "Lord Dunmoore has ordered him slain."

"We can't just leave this place, though," said Luke. "Look around you.

"Look at what is happening here. Lamech didn't kill any of us, and the villages are in chaos. They need men like you Gavkin, especially with Peter gone."

"Luke is right," said Rutger. "My brother gave his life to protect the people of Antion.

"Not so Dunmoore and Lamech can settle a personal score. You are Paladins."

"We have orders," said Gavkin. "Lamech has committed deplorable crimes. He must be brought to judgment."

"But is he doing anything now?" asked Bags. "We've got pressing things here. Last we heard, he was heading straight to fight Dunmoore, who might kill him anyway.

"Besides, if I were Lamech, I'd set a trap for you down the road."

"Dunmoore did not know the full extent of the situation down here," said Saul. "It may well be far worse than he realized. He will understand if you turn aside to help these people."

"...They are right, Gavkin," said Anos. "Lamech has a head start. And he surely has minions out there. He shall surely lead us into a trap if we follow him now.

"We delay our quest to deal with these satyrs and hogs."

Gavkin paused. "...It pains me to submit to such humiliation.

"But in the end, we must follow the will of Elranor."

So Gavkin and Anos stayed their hand and continued to heal. And Peter was dead.

Where had these undead satyrs come from?

Somehow, Luke doubted he'd ever find out in this adventure. He was beginning to think he was a side character in his own story.