Panic
"That blasted boy is late again," Miss Locke is muttering to her friends who are gathered around their meal. "The trouble he always seems to get himself into..." "It is getting dark soon. Do you know where he went?" "No idea. He usually wanders about somewhere. We'll start eating, shall we?" "Perhaps we should look for him," one of her friends suggests. "Oh, heavens, no, there's no need, he'll turn up soon enough."
Later that evening, the village is getting restless. Talieshin hasn't come home for dinner, and Master Adair's second son is missing as well. Aengus' parents didn't miss him yet, but notice his absence after they hear about the other missing boys. They form a search party but as it is dark and they don't know in which direction the boys went, or even if they went together, their efforts are unsuccessful.
It isn't until the following morning when Adair tells his father about the raft and their foolish plans to kill the monster, that they figure out where to start their search. A group of men follows him to the woods and they see an empty spot of flattened grass where the raft used to be. "It's gone, it was still here yesterday," Adair shouts. His worries for and anger at his younger brother are fighting for the first place inside his head. "Looks like they took it." "I can hardly imagine Talieshin being with them, though," his grandfather mentions. "Why is that? Don't all boys love adventure and glory?" Master Adair asks him. "Yes, yes, of course, but, well, our Taliesh wasn't friends with the other boys." He reckons it unwise to elaborate further on that particular subject.
Meanwhile, in the village, some of the fishermen have prepared a boat for the chase. They found, or rather didn't find, the missing nets and harpoons. "I hope they don't hurt themselves with it," one of the older fishermen mumbles. "Serves them right," his less forgiving neighbour says.
The boys sailed for most of the night, but eventually decided to go to shore and get some rest. Aengus took the first watch and the other boys went to sleep. Early in the morning, Rumple took the second one, and soon after they saw the first rays of the sun they continued their journey. They needed to make a head start.
They don't stop for breakfast but eat some bread on the raft. The journey, so far, is going pretty smooth. The river is calm and they have figured out how to manage the raft. The four boys are very pleased with themselves. Hostilities have ceased for the moment and they are chatting and admiring the shores on both sides. None of them notices that they are being followed by a pair of eyes on the nearest riverbank.
The magic practitioner and his men are approaching the source of the river, high in the mountains. This is the place where the Oracle dwells. She is both beautiful and dreadful. The Nahara Oracle is feared by many. Her knowledge of the world and her insight in minds and futures beyond measure. She is said to have contact with the river gods and will be able to appease them. That is what he hopes, he and his men.
The search party, consisting of some fisherman, villagers, and Adair ―who was determined to go, which his mother strongly opposed and his father deemed a good exercise or even punishment― is about to leave, when the merchants arrive. They bring more bad tidings. The beast has terrorised several villages along the riverside and is still at large, roaming their country. Although witness accounts still differ, the nature of the monster has been identified. Several people had seen the animal slay its victims and managed to stay hidden, or even escape. The creature is rumoured to be a Griffin. Why such a monstrous beast should suddenly appear in their towns is unknown to all. Griffins are famed for guarding treasure but do not generally have a connection to rivers or water. The news stuns the village and the search party is delayed. The village council wants to discuss the matter first.
