Clement spake to him and said:  “This is the young knight who is minded to seek further east to wot if it be mere lies which he hath heard of the Well at the World’s End.”

The new-comer lowted before them again, and said in a small voice, and as one who was shy and somewhat afeared:  “Lords, I can tell many a tale concerning that Well, and them who have gone on the quest thereof.  And the first thing I have to tell is that the way thereto is through Utterness, and that I can be a shower of the way and a leader to any worthy knight who listeth to seek thither; and moreover, I know of a sage who dwelleth not far from the town of Utterness, and who, if he will, can put a seeker of the Well on the right road.”

He looked askance on Ralph, whose face flushed and whose eyes glittered at that word.  But Clement said:  “Yea, that seemeth fair to look to:  but hark ye!  Is it not so that the way to Utterness is perilous?” Said the man:  “Thou mayst rather call it deadly, to any who is not furnished with a let-pass from the Lord of Utterbol, as I am.  But with such a scroll a child or a woman may wend the road unharmed.”  “Where hast thou the said let-pass?” said Clement.  “Here,” quoth the new-comer; and therewith he drew a scroll from out of his pouch, and opened it before them, and they read it together, and sure enough it was a writing charging all men so let pass and aid Morfinn the Minstrel (of whose aspect it told closely), under pain of falling into the displeasure of Gandolf, Lord of Utterbol; and the date thereon was but three months old.

Said Clement:  “This is good, this let-pass:  see thou, Ralph, the seal of Utterbol, the Bear upon the Castle Wall.  None would dare to counterfeit this seal, save one who was weary of life, and longed for torments.”

Said Ralph, smiling:  “Thou seest, Master Clement, that there must be a parting betwixt us, and that this man’s coming furthers it:  but were he or were he not, yet the parting had come.  And wert thou not liefer that it should come in a way to pleasure and aid me, than that thou shouldst but leave me behind at Goldburg when thou departest:  and I with naught done toward the achieving my quest, but merely dragging my deedless body about these streets; and at last, it may be, going on a perilous journey without guiding or safe-conduct?”

“Yea, lad,” said Clement, “I wotted well that thou wouldst take thine own way, but fain had I been that it had been mine also.”  Then he pondered a while and said afterwards:  “I suppose that thou wilt take thy servant Bull Shockhead with thee, for he is a stout man-at-arms, and I deem him trusty, though he be a wild man.  But one man is of little avail to a traveller on a perilous road, so if thou wilt I will give leave and license to a half score of our sergeants to follow thee on the road; for, as thou wottest, I may easily wage others in their place.  Or else wouldst thou ask the Queen of Goldburg to give thee a score of men-at-arms; she looked to me the other day as one who would deny thee few of thine askings.”