Ride? He motioned for her to approach him, and extended his hand. Though wide-eyed with fear, she allowed him to pick her up lightly and set her crosswise before him on his horse. The column immediately began moving forward again. She had seen other Pixies ride this way, Éha and Imalwain, but she had never done so herself.
‘Now then,’ said the Thane, ‘what is it that Elgar, leader of the Outcasts, has sent you to give me? A message, perhaps? Take your time. Perhaps begin by telling me your name.’
‘I am Satu,’ she said, a little less nervously. ‘Elgar has sent me to give you this thing he calls a “message.”’ She handed the Thane a small scroll, and as he unrolled and read it, she watched intently as though waiting for something to happen.
‘Thane of the Elves: you must leave the Elf Kingdom immediately. A great evil has been unleashed in the North, and is spreading quickly Southwards.
I have suggested to Pran a way to rescue your book of Lore, which he agrees is likely to succeed, and this he will take upon himself, so have hope!
In the meantime, I must warn you that you may have walked into a trap devised by the King. He has been stalking your movements, and I suspect Cir may be the bait.