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How its eyes widened when Bradwarden stepped back, revealing the truth! So frightened, so caught off guard, was the creature, that it threw its spear - just a sharpened stick, really - to the ground How it scraht it by the throat and held it fast while his other hand caht on top of the squirrasp held the dead thing upright

"So ye came outta yer holes," the centaur said quietly, surprised, for, since the war had become a rout, few hts, withonly to run as far away as fast as possible Ni&039;estiel&039;s warning that the goblins were on the move only made him think that they had heard of the human settlement and had decided to run the other way, to the west and the farthest of the towns When he thought it over for a few moments, Bradwarden saw that the east-ward oblin and its kin had becoh to recover their wits The powries and giants were probably long gone, so the goblins had likely consolidated their ranks around a single leader, or a couple of strong figures

And nointer had co humans and hit at them hard, perhaps to steal some needed supplies

The centaur stood very still, all his senses tuning to the forest about him Gradually, he made out the telltale sounds of thethere Yes, they had co east, back toward Dundalis, obviously spoiling for a fight with the new settlers

And now, like the elves, like Elbryan and hilanced back over his shoulder; if his guess concerning goblin numbers in Weedy Meadoas correct, then Elbryan and the sol-diers were in for an unpleasant

"Dundalis has been reclaimed," Elbryan said to Shamus Kilronney as soon as they had conized all of Shanized him, so no introductions were neces-sary "You can soon report to your king that the Ti?" Sha deeper behind the question "Is Danube Brock Ursal not Nightbird&039;s king as well?"

It was the first tier, and frankly, he had no idea how to respond "My roots trace to Honce-the- Bear," he ad the reactions of Shamus&039; men to his every word "Yet I was born and have lived allDanube&039;s do carefully how he felt about the issue Was he indeed a citizen of Honce-the-Bear, oror what? he ue? Hardly But he had never considered Danube his king, nor, for thatthen, his expression perplexed "However youDanube and I are on the same side in this conflict," he added with a chuckle, and Shaer did not h seemed a bit strained

"And what of the present? " the captain asked a moment later "Dundalis has been reclaimed, but there is another town, is there not? "

"Two others," Elbryan corrected "Weedy Meadow, at present, is in the hands of a goblin band, a fairly strong contingent, we believe, but End- o&039;-the-World, the third and westernmost town, as far as we know, ree arrow thudded into the ground between the two riders, and both horses twitched and nickered The soldiers went into a frenzy, calling "To ar to turn their horses into a defensive line

And not a moment too soon, for before the fore ca as if fro and throwing their spears, running headlong at the group with an aggressive-ness Elbryan had not witnessed since he and Pony, on their way to St-Mere-Abelle, had happened upon a seely helpless merchant caravan east of the Masur Delaval

Before Kilronney&039;s soldiers were even set, one ht of two spears, and another lost his horse, the poor creature hit several tihtbird ed to get Tele to deflect the nized that his e, rolling over the weakest section of the goblin circle But they had not the tioblins were a their ranks almost before they had recovered froed Sy the closest goblin under pounding hooves, the ranger slashing down another as he rushed past Shaer was fleeing the fight, but as soon as he cleared that initial line, Nightbird turned Sy to see where he would best fit in

Shamus was relieved and admitted to himself that his fear was s about the ranger than any actions Nightbird had ever personally shown to him No time to analyze now, the captain reoblin spear pointedly reminded him! He batted the spear aside and leaned to strike, but he had to retract his sword to parry the swing of a spiked club Catching it successfully between two of the spikes, Shaoblin&039;s subsequent pivot prevented hi his blade and left hi thrust of the first monster&039;s spear

Sha

Shaoblin crumble down under the blow of another soldier&039;s sword, the shining blade creasing the goblin&039;s head and spraying crih, the oblins leaped fro him from his saddle

Shamus pulled free his sword and leaped his horse past the club-wielding goblin The creature s a deep gash, but the wounded anioblin&039;s chest that sent it flying to the ground

Shaoblin horde was thick about therab-bing hands and swinging weapons at bay

Syer masterfully turned the horse He spotted one soldier in trouble immediately and started that way, but pulled up before Sy, turned to find another

The soldier, skewered through the chest by a goblin spear, tu lost his er, Tehty strokes He threw his leg over Sy the turquoise gemstone set in Synificent stallion, to guide the horse

A goblin tried to whip its club across, but Nightbird was already too close He ja theun, then bowled the creature over, stabbing once, to keep it down

Then he was standing over the soldier, Teoblins Left and right went the blade, picking off a thrusting spear and a slashing sword The ranger dug in one foot and wheeled about, Te across just in ti spear

Nightbird thought to go forward, to finish the suddenly unaroblin, and he even started that way - but only as a ruse to the two behind

He spun back and sidestepped, free hand grabbing the shaft of the spear as it stabbed past, turning the weapon harmlessly outward as he stepped forward Teoblin&039;s sword slash under the blade, lifting it high over the goblin&039;s head, and then sliding behind it to push it away A deft twist of the ranger&039;s wrist brought Tempest&039;s tip down and in line, and he advanced; the sudden thrust ofbi&039;nelle dasada, and the goblin fell back with a shriek, clutching its torn chest

On caoblin still attached The stub-born goblin wouldn&039;t let go, still had both hands tugging at it, when Teer turned fast and breathed a bit easier to find the soldier standing once oblin with the broken spear

But other monsters were all around and came happily at the two humans ere not on horseback

Syht the saddle and pulled hiht the hand of the soldier, pulling hioblins, surprised, skidded to a stop, but Nightbird paid them no heed They went by fast, and the soldier leaped fro into the saddle while Nightbird kept the goblins busy

Then the ranger turned back to the generalagainst the aer spotted a pair of goblins standing at the side, spears in hand and with several round at their feet Syoblin lifted its ar furiously, his back to the creature, and Nightbird realized he couldn&039;t get there in tioblin&039;s throw his way

The goblin went flying away suddenly The ranger nearly broke Sy up in his stirrups in startleain in an instant, head down and yelling, forcing the reoblin to concentrate on hi desperately to flee, even as it tried to throw The spear flew far wide of the er, who dis-patched the vulnerable creature with a brutal slash as Syoblin had been wounded, a s from its lower back Now his hopes soared; if Lady Dasslerond and the elves had arrived, the fight would soon be a rout!

Again the horse&039;s hooves dug in deeply, Syhtbird se arrow driven through its side

With only a glance up at the tree line, one that didn&039;t show hihtbird focused on Shale of goblins to get to his friend&039;s side

Blood covered the captain, but to Nightbird&039;s relief it was much more the blood of his ene his horse ahead, bowling down one goblin and knocking another off balance

Tempest took that stunned creature on the side of the head, flipping it head over heels to the now-bloody snow

"The day is ours!" Sha his sword so that his men would rally about hioblins, the better-are with each passing second

Another goblin went down under a flurry of swords and tra, their cries of terror helping drain even er&039;s delight, that running creature staggered once, then again, then yet again, as three elvish arrows laid it low

Nightbird charged back into the fray, Sy Te aside a weak club attack, then slashing down a second tioblin&039;s face Then over the other ent the blade, slashing down at a goblin battling another rider The blade ed, but its desperate htbird was quick to exploit as Syh the goblin&039;s shoulder, dropping it writhing to the ground, an easy finish for the other un The reoblins broke ranks and scattered back into the ave chase, ensuring that the creatures would not coer, dishtbird figured that the goblins would all be dead in a matter of moments anyway; Bradwarden and more than a dozen elves were nearby in the forest

Shae of Jierdan and Tyh all the war Jierdan, covered in blood, much of it his own, knelt beside his prostrate brother, working furiously to hold a wound closed But the tear across half the ore spilled out around Jierdan&039;s hands He cried out for his brother repeatedly, fought with the wound a bit longer, then threw his head back and screa for air, Jierdan fell back over Ty his face close to his brother&039;s as if to breathe life back into hi back and forth "Don&039;t ye die!"

Rage boiled through Sha some outlet

"Ride to town and find a ht-bird say, and only after the ranger repeated hi to hie, a pair of goblins scra his heels in hard and his horse leaped away

"Shahtbird called after him, but it was obviously futile, for the captain didn&039;t even look back The ranger instructed another o and find Braumin, then he ran back to Symphony and took up pursuit of his friend

Sha the scratches and prodding his horse forward He couldn&039;t see the goblins any longer, but knew they were still running - in a straight line away froht The brush thickened about his le of pine branches, so Shaed on He cae of a narrow ravine, ten feet down - unless the snoas deeper than it appeared - and perhaps twice that across, with sides so steep that they did not hold h the snow, so down the captain charged, stu the other side He tripped over a stump just past the far lip of the ravine, but continued his wild scraain in a run, ignoring the bloody cuts on the knuckles of his sword hand and the cold nurove looo right through

But then he heard a groan and the sharp crack of bone, and he went ahead cautiously, pulling the branches aside, peering into the glooh the air and smashed into a tree Shamus&039; eyes widened when he looked back the other way and htly around a goblin&039;s throat, bending the creature backward, while the other hand, holding a huge cudgel, was raised above the centaur&039;s head

Shae attack, and the goblin&039;s skull shattered With what seemed to be no more than the flick of his wrist, the centaur sent this e bow - the largest bow Shamus had ever seen, and one that explained the enoroblin attack - and trotted off into the forest the opposite way, never looking back

A hand grasped Shaht of the centaur, nearly ju beside hi in hand

"There is another enemy in the forest," Shaoblins have scattered Let them run, my friend If they reh it seems far more likely to me that those who survive will run all the way back to their dark holes in the mountains"

"Another ene a curious look froerous by far"

"Giant?"

"Centaur," said Shaer back on his heels He looked past the captain and noted the closest dead goblin Shamus had seen Bradwarden, and the secret hadn&039;t even lasted until the soldiers had entered Dundalis

"No enemy," Elbryan corrected, his voice firm

"There is talk of a centaur outlaw," Shaion Few centaurs, I would guess, survive in this age"

Elbryan and Shaer understood that he wasa stand here that could destroy his friendship with the captain, that indeed could bring the two to blows, and mark him more clearly as an outlaw But he also understood that he was standing up for Bradwarden, so unjustly accused, Bradwarden, who his most trusted, dearest friends

"One and the sa the words "The cen-taur you have seen is Bradwarden, as taken to St-Mere-Abelle unjustly The centaur who fired the arrow into our midst to warn us of the attack was that same Bradwarden who is rumored to be an eneoblin band, a coan

"I have wounded to tend," Elbryan interrupted, and he turned and walked away

Sha while, considering all that he had seen He was an officer of the King, and an officer of the Bishop, and certainly not ee the justice or injustice afforded this centaur

The captain closed his eyes and re Certainly the ion, and the fact that he was obviously a friend of Elbryan, gave credence to the Bishop&039;s words

This warrior, Nightbird, this man he had known as ally and friend, was indeed the outlaho had invaded St-Mere-Abelle

By the ti was finished, and all wounded goblins had been put to the sword Now the soldiers were tending their oounds, and the ranger had to pause and draw a deep breath when he saw three bodies covered by cloaks

Many h this was not the first ti beside hih, by his estiher had not Bradwarden given the

But where were the elves? Elbryan wondered In searching the battle-field, he found only a couple of goblins who had been wounded by elvish arrows More than a score of monsters had ae as Roger had insisted, could have cut that nuot near the riders

It made no sense, nor did Elbryan understand why the elves - the finest scouts in the world, creatures who knew the ways and sounds of the forest better than any, centaur and ranger included - had not given

Still, Elbryan blaoblin encamp-ment, but had not believed these creatures would attack theoblins were on the move Thus, he and the newly arrived soldiers had been taken by surprise

And they had paid a heavy price

A short while later, Roger Lockless, Brau down the road with the rider the ranger had dispatched

A fourth man had died by then