Escape from the Court

Ged refuses the stone, and Benderesk, enraged, tries to transform Serret into a hideous creature. Ged stops him with a single word. Serret, now revealed as a witch, leads Ged in a desperate escape. She uses a deadly spell on the servants who try to stop them. They flee through the enchanted gate. Outside, Ged finds the body of his otak, Hoeg, dead in the snow. The servants of the Stone, black, bat-like creatures, attack them. Serret transforms into a gull and flies away, but the creatures pursue and kill her. Ged, filled with rage, transforms himself into a great hawk and flies eastward.