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"Nay, be not afeard!" the giant rumbled. "I'll not smite thee now. Come and see!"
He doth wish them to look, Geoffrey thought. He doth wish to boast.
Borr looked down into the giant's cupped palm and his bream rasped in, harsh with dismay. " 'Tis Count Gly
"The same," Groghat laughed, "and I assure thee, I did not find it by the side of the road!"
Borr lifted his gaze to the huge face, trembling. "Hast thou then slain him?"
"What! Throw aside a counter for bargaining? Nay!"
Groghat laughed with contempt. "What would I do then, if the Duke and his horse and foot came against me, eh? What would I do now? Nay, ask!"
"What wouldst thou do now, if the Duke came against thee with all his horse and all his men?" Borr asked, quavering.
"Why, bid him, 'Hold, or I will slay them! Slay Count Gly
He holds them imprisoned! Cordelia thought, appalled.
We must rescue! Geoffrey clenched the nearest branch so hard his knuckles whitened.
"Hold fast," Kelly hissed, laying a hand on his shoulder. "He will not kill them, as thou hast now heard. No further harm will come to them—yet it might, to thee."
"Aye, quake!" Groghat laughed, "Tremble, and rightly! For 'tis I who rule this county now, and all must pay me tribute!"
"Aye, Groghat!" Borr was nodding so quickly it seemed his head might fall off. "All shall be as thou dost say, Groghat!"
"Be sure that it will," the giant rumbled. "Will you or nill you! Nay, be assured—I will not take all thou dost steal. Wherefore ought I? For then thou wouldst steal no longer, and I wish thee to—to keep garnering gold for me. Yet thou wilt give to me three gold pieces of each thou dost steal, and three of each four silver and copper, also!"
"Aye, Groghat!"
"Even as thou dost say, Groghat!"
"Be sure of it!" The huge club hissed through the air and slammed into Borr, sending him flying with a yelp. Groghat laughed as he tied the moneybag to his belt. "That will ensure thy memory! Forget me not! Now up, and away—the whole day lies before thee, and thou hast much stealing to do for me!" And he turned away, guffawing and beating the money-bag in time to his footsteps as he strode away down the road.
Borr and Croll hauled themselves to their feet, groaning.
"Here, then! Aid me with him!" Gran cried.
Borr turned, frowning at Morlan, then nodded. "Aye. He did, at the least, fight the ogre." He reached down.
"Not the arm—he hath broken ribs on that side," Gran cautioned. Together, they helped the moaning man to his feet.
" 'Twill heal, Morlan, 'twill heal," Gran soothed.
"Yet will we?" Borr muttered as they turned away. "We must now rob whether we wish to or not!"
"Oh, be still! Thou knowest thou didst wish to," Morlan groaned.
"Aye," Borr admitted, "yet to keep only one coin out of four!"
" ''Tis one more than thou wouldst have otherwise," Morlan growled. "But help me to a bandage and a bed! Then give me two days, and I'll aid thee in robbing again!"
And they went off down the road, grumbling and moaning.
"Nay, 'tis scandalous!" Geoffrey hissed, as soon as they were out of hearing. "Will the roads not be safe for any man now?"
"At the least, we know now why Count Gly
"Even so," Magnus said with a scowl. "There will be no government henceforth—he who hath seized rule, will do naught but take money!"
"'Tis outrage!" Geoffrey exclaimed. "The Count can no longer protect his people—and this giant will encourage bandits, not stop them!"
"No woman or child will be safe now," Cordelia whispered.
"Out upon him!" Geoffrey cried. "Let us slay this vile giant!"
"Nay, children, stay!" Kelly warned. "''Tis not a common man ye would fight now, but a monster!"
"And was that dragon a garden lizard?" Geoffrey countered.
" 'Gainst that dragon, thou hadst the power of the unicorn to aid thee—but what aid will she be 'gainst a fell man of that size? Nay, Groghat might catch and hurt her!"
"Oh, nay!" Cordelia cried, flinging her arms about the unicorn's neck.
Kelly pressed his advantage. "And thou didst have the Puck's magic to strengthen thine. Wilt thou not wait till he doth rejoin thee?"
"But this monster must not be left an hour, nay, a minute, to strike terror into our neighbors!"
"And who will take up the reins of governance when he hath dropped them?" Kelly demanded. "Nay, ye must free the count and his wife and children ere thou dost seek to battle the giant!"
"Why, then, lead us to them!" Geoffrey said.
"Thou carest not which battle thou hast, so long as thou hast battle," Cordelia scoffed.
"Thou dost me injustice!" Geoffrey turned on Cordelia, clenching his fists.
"'Tis true." Magnus slid artfully between them. "Thou must needs own, sister, that thy brother doth contain his hunger for fighting 'till he doth find a brawl that will aid other folk!"
"Aye, 'tis true," Cordelia sighed, "and here's a brawl that will aid them surely."
"Then let us to it!" With the children safely sidetracked, Kelly could let his own anger boil up. "The gall of him, to strike at a woman and babes! Onward, children! For we'll find and free that count, and he'll call up his knights! Then may ye aid him in making that giant into a doormat for the town gates!"
"Aye!" the children shouted, and followed the leprecohen.
The boys decided flying was faster, but Cordelia wouldn't leave her unicorn, so they flew down the road to either side of her, with Gregory perched astride the unicorn's neck just in front of Cordelia with an ear-to-ear grin, thumping the poor beast's withers and howling, "Giddyap! Giddyap!"
"Wherefore hath the beast come to tolerate him, yet not us?" Geoffrey called to Magnus.
His big brother caught the blackness of his mood and shouted back, "Mayhap because Gregory is so tiny. Contain thyself, brother!"
Geoffrey lapsed into a simmering glower.
Fess brought up the rear with Kelly dodging between his hooves and howling, "Ye great beast! Tread more softly!"
As they rode, clouds drifted across the sky, and the day turned gray. Kelly lifted his head and sniffed the air. "Sure and it's rain I'm smelling!"
"An analysis of local meteorological conditions indicates a high probability of precipitation," Fess agreed.
Thunder rumbled, not terribly far away.
"Ought we not seek shelter?" Cordelia asked.
"'Twould be wise," Kelly agreed, and swerved off the road into the trees. "Turn, Iron Horse! At the least, the rain will reach us less beneath leaves."
Thunder rumbled again, and the first raindrops sprinkled the road as the children turned to follow Kelly. They thrashed
their way through the underbrush at the side of the road. After fifty feet or so, the forest floor became relatively clear, as the deep shade of the towering trees cut off sunlight from the small growth. There were still roots and saplings, so the unicorn and the robot-horse couldn't really run. They hurried as quickly as they could, though, trotting. Kelly led the way, dodging saplings and vaulting tree roots.
" 'Tis a hut!" Geoffrey cried, pointing.
The children looked up, then swerved off after him with glad cries. The unicorn followed, responding to Cordelia's nudge.
"Nay, children!" Kelly cried. "Will ye not heed? There's something about that hut I like not!"
But the children ran blithely on.
He frowned up at Fess. "Hast thou naught to say? Do ye not also mislike it?"
The great black horse nodded.
Kelly ducked into a hollow at the base of a tree and dropped down, cross-legged, folding his arms. "I'll not move from here! Do as I do, ye great beast—will ye not? Let's bide here without, and watch and wait, so we can spring to their aid if they need us."