Krazgul Runeblade's Arc

Chapter 3 of 7

The troll's blue head still sat by the fire when Grizelda Hexwhisper came running. Smoke trailed from her coat charms. "The king heard," she said. "His beast is dead, so now he burns us. A raiding party rides from the dead woods. They will reach the huts by dark." She fixed her yellow eyes on Krazgul. "If the village burns, your warband scatters. No warband, no warchief." Krazgul looked at the huts, the fire pit, the goblins gripping their new spears. He could not hold crooked walls against riders. So he would not try. "We don't defend the village," he said. "We ambush them before they reach it." A thick goblin shoved to the front. Grak Bonecrusher. Scars crossed his chest, and he carried no shield, only a notched axe he kept slapping against his palm. He grinned with filed teeth. "Finally," Grak said. "I was tired of sharpening spears for nothing." The other goblins stepped back from him. Even standing still, he looked like he wanted to swing. Krazgul led them to a narrow gap in the dead woods, where the trees pressed close. He set spear-goblins on both ridges. He put Grak at the mouth of the gap, where the fighting would be worst. "You hold them here," Krazgul said. Grak's grin widened. That was answer enough. The riders came at dusk, torches high, screaming for fire and blood. Krazgul whistled. The smoke wolf slid from the dark and spooked the lead mount. Riders piled into each other. Spears rained from the ridges. Grak charged into the knot of them, axe swinging, and three fell before they understood the trap. Krazgul went for the leader. The leader swung a torch at his face. Krazgul ducked and drove both black daggers up under the ribs. The runes on his arms burned hot. The cosmic blades punched through. The leader dropped his torch and slid off his mount, dead before he hit the roots. The rest broke. Some ran. The wolf chased them into the trees. The torches scattered and died in the dirt. The village stood. Not one hut had burned. Grizelda crouched over the dead leader. She pulled a folded hide from his belt and opened it. Marks covered it, a map and rows of runes. "The king's seal," she said. Her finger traced a path. "He didn't plan to burn one village. These marks are a muster. He's calling every tribe to him." Grak wiped his axe and spat. "So we killed a raiding party. Good." "No," Krazgul said. He took the hide and stared at the gathering mark. The king would stop sending beasts now. He would come with an army, and he would come soon. Krazgul folded the hide and slid it into his belt. His warband had held. Now he had to reach the king before the king's tribes reached him.