Kagonesti

Hoofprints appeared in the dust of the trail, advancing steadily closer. The warrior stared, but he saw no horse, no rider-nothing! A faint shimmering obscured the trail, as more and more puffs of dust floated upward. But how-when there was still nothing to see? Yet something was undeniably there, advancing up the trail. Iydahoe caught the unmistakable smell of horses, and he knew that he couldn't be wrong.

But why couldn't he see? There was only that shimmering-like a cloudy presence, an essence of something that was solid but invisible.

Iydahoe stood, bursting upward from the concealment of the bush. He heard a horse whi

The horse gave a shrill cry of pain, and more curses were added to the din. Iydahoe heard a sharp, powerful word cut through the chaos and, abruptly, the screening cloak was removed and a column of horses and riders blinked into sight. The lead mount had bucked off its rider, and now that skittish horse blocked the others from moving up the trail.

Second in line rode a strangely garbed man clad in long gray robes. That fellow pointed at the wild elf and shouted-"There he is! Kill him!"

Iydahoe recognized the voice, knew that this was the man who had spoken before, whose single powerful word had broken the screen of invisibility. With a shiver of apprehension, the warrior knew that he faced a wizard.

The first man struggled to remount, hampered because he had instinctively drawn his sword. Other riders pressed forward, tightly packed on the narrow trail. These Istarian legio

Iydahoe slipped backward, rising to a crouch when he was out of sight of the trail. He raced through the underbrush toward the village. After two dozen paces he stepped back onto the trail, since the bends in the winding path would conceal him from the humans and the broad track would save him precious seconds on his race to warn the tribe.

Then sounds of violence rocked through the trees, and he knew he would be too late. Terrified screams rose from the unseen village, splitting the pastoral forest air, while hoarse shouts and the clash of steel against steel told him that there were more humans than just the party advancing up the trail behind him. Kagonesti war cries mingled with crude commands and grim shouts of triumph. Loud hoofbeats now pounded to the rear, and he knew that the horsemen had heard the sounds of battle and wasted no time as they raced to the fighting.

Iydahoe burst into the village clearing, his knife in his hand, a furious war cry shrieking from his lips. Yet his worst moments of bleak imagination could not have prepared him for the sight that met his eyes.

A line of legio

Other humans, carrying spears and swords, rushed into the village from the right, and, though Kagonesti warriors killed several of these, the others rushed headlong into the clusters of lodges, brutally cutting down those elves who tried to scramble out the low-arching doors. Ber- riama, she who was to marry Kawllaph, ran screaming toward the slain body of her beloved-then she, too, fell dead, pierced by a legio

Whooping madly, Tarrapin raised his sword and charged the line of footmen. His blade clanged off the armored shoulder of a human, and in the next instant the chief's body was pierced by numerous lstarian blades.

A number of elders sought shelter in the woods, but as the wild elves hobbled toward the trees many silvery missiles sparkled in the sun-steel-shafted arrows! A deadly volley slashed out, missiles ripping through many a frail and weathered body. A second volley rattled, and dozens of Kagonesti lay on the ground, dead or rapidly dying. More legio

Puiquill and a cluster of girls huddled behind the wreckage of their ta

"Bakall!" shouted Iydahoe, pointing toward the cowering elves at the ta

Staring wildly, either from madness or shock, Bakall saw a legio

Iydahoe heard a scream and twisted to see Moxilli ru

"This way!" the young brave shouted, and the terrified maiden met his eyes with a look of frantic pleading.

In the next instant he heard the sound of a heavy crossbow. The bolt caught the young Kagonesti woman in the side, tearing through her chest, the bloody tip erupting from her rib cage. Flung off her feet by the force of the shot, Moxilli was cast to the ground where she lay motionless in a growing pool of blood.

Iydahoe wailed his fury, striking down a nearby human with the keen edge of his knife. Villagers ran toward him, toward the path to the marsh, and he remembered the horsemen pounding up the trail behind him.

"Not here. More humans come from the marsh! Into the woods!" he cried, desperately waving his arms.

Abruptly horses surged into the village and Iydahoe was knocked to the ground by a blow to his head. Stu

Bleak with despair, his skull ringing from the force of the blow, Iydahoe lumbered groggily to his feet and shook his head to clear the sudden fog. He looked toward the drying racks to see Puiquill stand courageously as a man charged forward. The fellow cut her down with a single blow, kicking her corpse to the side as he turned toward the huddling children. Bakali, with a shriek of rage, stabbed upward, but the man knocked the youth aside with a contemptuous laugh. Gri

Somehow Iydahoe's feet obeyed his mind, and he sprang toward the drying rack, raising his knife in time to deflect the man's powerful blow. With a grunt of surprise, the legio

More men turned toward the tiny knot of young Kagonesti, while horsemen continued to pour into the camp from the marsh trail. Behind the drying racks plunged a narrow draw leading down to the water, and though normally the ravine was too tangled for anyone to think of going there, now it seemed the only chance.