Once they gained the Crossroads, turned to the right at the intersection and began making their way east, the Thane, with Finli at his side, dropped back to speak with Doc.
‘There are a few matters I now must now tell you of,’ the Thane said to Doc. ‘You I am sending with Finli to find Birin and the others. Most of the soldiers and I will be leaving you soon.’
Doc considered the Thane blankly. ‘Why?’
‘We must retrieve the Elf Lore,’ the Thane told him. There was something about the Elf’s grim disposition as he said this that Doc found alarming. Seeing this, the Thane said, ‘The simple truth is, that if we do not retrieve the Lore, we are done for. All of us. It could well be that even your world will not be safe.
‘There is still much you do not know concerning the Elf Kingdom and its Lore,’ the Thane continued. ‘I will tell you of these things now.
‘All work on the Lore ceased many years ago, when it reach the point where it had surpassed all control. No one dares wield it. Not even the Loremasters. Their sole preoccupation has been to tend that part of the Lore which concerns the Elf Kingdom, something they cannot do forever.