Bearers of the Black Staff

“The boy is still learning, but I think he is good at his studies,” Sider Ament offered suddenly. “I would not have brought him along if I did not value his advice and appreciate his insight.”


“That’s good enough for me,” Esselline said. He shifted his gaze back to the Gray Man. “You have settled on what needs doing, it appears. You seem to have thought it through carefully.”

“As carefully as I can,” the other replied. “Though I don’t claim your ability when it comes to tactics. I need your help, Hadrian. I can’t do enough to keep the enemy out by myself. Even with the northern villages and the Elves, we will be overrun. We need your army to aid us. We need everyone to stand together against this threat. Because, in all likelihood, it is only the first of many, now that the walls are down and we are exposed. We had better set a good example right away or we are likely finished.”

Esselline nodded slowly. “It will be done, then. I’ll dispatch a force to Declan Reach. I’ll lead it myself. I will do what I can to bring the others with me, but I can’t promise they will respond as you might like. They will want to make certain of the passes south, first. You know that.”

“I do. But if you come and no one else does, we are still a hundred times better off than otherwise.”

“Undoubtedly.” Esselline smiled. “Are you happy now?”

Sider glanced at Panterra and winked. “Happy enough,” he answered.



TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER, they were camped in a glen a day’s journey south of Glensk Wood. Twilight had settled in and the last of the day’s light was fading west as they went about preparing dinner. Sider arranged deadwood in a pit, thinking back to his meeting with Hadrian Esselline.

“Do you think any of them will come?” the boy asked suddenly, as if reading his mind. “Besides Esselline?”

Sider nodded absently, still looking away. “A few will be influenced by his decision; they might join him.” He shrugged. “Hard to say, though. Glensk Wood had better plan on defending its own boundaries.”

He glanced at the boy, who acknowledged his words with a cursory nod. “Seems they would want to do more. Why do they think we would go to all the trouble of coming down there to warn them if it were not as important as we say it is?”

Sider struck flint to stone, sparked the fire, blew gently on the tiny flame until the wood was burning, then rose and joined the boy where he was sitting. “It’s not that simple,” he said.

“Why not? It seems that simple to me.”

He’s so young, Sider thought, taking in the smooth face and strong features. Like I was when the old man came to me that first time. I didn’t know anything of the world, and this boy knows not much more for all that he is a Tracker and has the skills of a survivalist. He still doesn’t know how life can turn you around and twist you about and do with you what it will.

He folded his long, lean frame forward, looking down at his boots as he spoke. “Not much that seems simple ever is—more so here than in most cases, I might add. There are alliances, both public and secret, that dominate the thinking of the leaders of Men and Elves alike. There are antagonisms between families and towns that have not been forgotten even after centuries, and these play a part, too. What on the surface seems obvious and clear is mired in chains of details that are interlinked and sometimes unbreakable.”

He looked at the boy. “A danger from without threatens, a clear and present danger, and the need is apparent to those of us who live apart and can reason it through. But most don’t live like you and I. They are part of a larger community of family and friends and fellow citizens, and a wide range of considerations governs their actions. They are much more concerned about not doing the wrong thing than doing the right. They take their time because they are afraid of making mistakes that will undo them. As I said, it is complicated.”

The boy nodded, brushing at his lank hair where it fell across his face. “I guess.”

The Gray Man considered him. “How would you like to become someone who could make a difference in all of that?”

The boy blinked. “What do you mean? Make a difference how?”

“Place yourself in a position where you could speak to everyone about the things that need doing, that might have life-altering consequences for everyone, and see to it that the right choices are made. Would you be interested?”

“No one can do that. Not even you.”

Sider Ament smiled. “Sometimes, I can. And sometimes is enough to keep me trying.”

“But I’m not you. I’m just a Tracker.”

“Not just a Tracker, Panterra. You are much more than that. You are special at what you do; you are gifted and skilled. I wasn’t exaggerating when I told Esselline I had good reason for bringing you along with me. I haven’t met another with your talent in all the time I’ve been walking the valley and warding its passes.”