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.But finally the entire nation had massed, and with Pullog and Luskag in the lead, they began to march toward the dry valley near the center of the desert.The night before their arrival, they camped in a low, dusty bowl a dozen miles from the City of the Gods.But even from this far away they could hear the thunderous conflict raging through the desert night.“We are too late,” muttered Traj dejectedly.“We hear the world torn to pieces before us!”“Nonsense!” barked Pullog, surprising and pleasing Luskag with his encouragement.“We hear the sounds of battle joined, but we will arrive before a decision is reached.” The southern chief patted the hefty stone axe at his side, a plumastone blade given to him by Luskag.“Aye,” grunted Luskag, who had emerged as their overall leader, since it had been his initiative that had gotten thetribes together in the first place.“Though I sense that must make haste.”SO urgent was this sense that the dwarves broke camp without sleeping and trudged through the long night.At dawn, they arrived on the ridgeline surrounding the city of the gods.And they saw their enemy below.* * * * *“Watch your back!”Daggrande’s shout pulled Halloran’s attention around.The bloody tip of Helmstooth followed a split second later, plunging into the heart of the troll that had somehow slipped around him.Fortunately—and it was the only good fortune they had right now—the steep sides of the ravine kept most of their hulking attackers in front of them.Hal turned back to the pressing numbers there.Daggrande, his crossbow slung over his back, now hacked with the keen blade of his battle-axe.Jhatli, following the orders of the two soldiers, had fallen back, and now sent his arrows arcing over their heads into the monsters that crowded the bottom of the narrow ravine.Halloran didn’t have time to see if Erixitl and the two old men had disappeared from view.A heavy club descended toward his skull and he skipped to the side, striking off the arm that bore it.A green — taloned troll lunged for him, and he sent the beast crawling, legless, back to its compatriots.Daggrande hacked into the leg of another troll, crippling it.The stocky dwarf ducked nimbly away from yet another of the creatures, springing up beside Halloran to drive a third monster back with sharp chops of his own dripping blade.“Can’t.hold out.much longer,” he gasped.The bands of pluma around Hal’s wrists sustained him, driving his blows with tremendous force.The magic couldn’t overcome his own rapidly growing fatigue, however, but he roughly forced it away from his awareness.Hammering his weapon with brutal, mindless strength, hebashed and hacked and crushed the attackers in the apparently endless horde.“Go,” he panted.“Take the kid.see that others get to safety! I’ll hold them off.as long as I can!”With the fury of desperation, Halloran suddenly attacked, driving the whole pack of beasts away from him with a whirlwind series of blows.One troll, too slow to retreat, howled in agony as Helmstooth sliced open his gut.Daggrande, following, silenced the brute with one chop of hisaxe.“Can’t leave you now,” growled Daggrande.“Not when wejust got back together again!”“We’ve had some good fights, eh?” Halloran fell back slightly, catching his breath while the monsters recouped their courage.His throat tightened at the evidence of the dwarf’s loyalty.“ None better than this one.” The dwarf, too, gasped for air, then raised his axe in the face of renewed attack.A trio of massive trolls forced their way to the front of the monsters packing the ravine floor.Each held an obsidian-studded maca, and they loomed high over Halloran even as they crouched and advanced.A sudden shower filled the air over the ravine as shapes darted through the air like locusts, or driving rain.or arrows! Soundlessly, a volley of sharp missiles dropped from the high ground into the close-packed ranks of the trolls.The unseen archers launched another volley, and the attention of the monsters immediately shifted to this new threat.“Where are those corning from?” demanded Daggrande,astonished.“From our friends, whoever they are,” Hal answered,equally dumbfounded.The beasts howled in pain and chaos, turning their faces skyward in time to receive another volley of dark, stonetipped missiles.As the trolls plucked the arrows free and the bleeding wounds slowly closed, yet another shower sent stone tips digging painfully into monstrous flesh
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