Taker Of Skulls(18)

The howl was answered first from the north and then from the south. Judging by the way it echoed Kormak thought there might be several packs of the monstrous wolves out there. They were coming closer.

“Sounds like they are hungry,” said Sasha.

“Maybe they smelled Karnea’s stew,” said Boreas. He looked hungry himself.

“It’s no joke,” Sasha said. “If those packs come out of the hills we’ll know all about it.”

“Then let’s pray to the Holy Sun that they don’t,” said Boreas.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kormak saw a large group of men approaching. “Looks like we’ve got other problems,” he said.

Otto lumbered along in the lead, followed by his crew. They all had spears and swords now. Knives were still at their belt. Otto had his hammer in his hand. He strode up to the fire, loomed over it and said, “I was wondering when you would show up. It seems like we missed you on the road last night.”

Boreas picked himself up off the ground. “What do you want?”

“Just visiting,” said Otto. “We wanted to make sure that you were all right. We would not want anything bad to happen to you. That stew smells good,” he said, sniffing the air.

“Would you like some?” Karnea asked innocently. “I don’t think there’s enough for all of you boys but we’ve got some to spare.”

Otto looked at her to see whether she was serious. Karnea smiled at him. He looked as if he was considering it but then shook his head. “You owe us money.”

“Like I said, I am willing to pay you something for your trouble,” said Karnea.

“You owe us more than a few pennies.”

“How much do you think is reasonable?” Karnea gave no sign of being intimidated. She sounded merely curious.

Otto looked as if he was doing sums in his head. Judging by his frown, it was not the sort of mental exercise he was good at. “Ten gold solars,” he said.

“You seem to have some problems with arithmetic,” Kormak said.

“Maybe. But I have no problems with smashing the heads of welchers.” At that moment, a chorus of howls erupted nearby. Mixed in were high-pitched tittering yells. Both were followed by screams and the sounds of violence.

Out of the gloom, Kormak could see great grey shapes of dire wolves loping.

“Wolves in camp,” shouted Sasha, hefting her pick.





Chapter Eight





DOZENS OF GIANT wolves raced in, yellow fangs glistening in the firelight, saliva dribbling from their lips. Their eyes reflected the light like demonic moons. Their jaws looked big enough to take off a man’s head at a bite. Their fur was patchy. Blotches of pale skin showed in places. They bore about as much resemblance to the sleek denizens of the Elfwood as a maltreated slum-bred cur did to a Sunlander Lord’s prized hunting hounds.

Mounted on the wolves’ backs were goblins. Their skins were greenish and scaly. They had bodies the same size as a child’s but their elongated arms and legs made them seem taller and reminded Kormak of a spider. Their eyes were much larger than a man’s in proportion to their heads, and bulged out like those of a frog. There was a ferocity in their gaze that outmatched even that of the wolves they rode. Their mouths were filled with rows of sharp, vicious teeth. Their ears were huge and bat-like and turned independently, twitching in the direction of any sound. Some goblins were riding two to a wolf, one guiding the beast, the other using its missile weapons.

The invaders raced through the camp, tossing darts at prospectors, stabbing with spears. Behind the wolves, hordes more of the small creatures scuttled in the shadows, long blades and short spears clutched in their long bony fingers, capering and shrieking as they watched their cavalry do its work.

A man went down with a spear through his chest. Otto turned just as a wolf sprang at him. He wedged his weapon in the beast’s jaws. The momentum of the creature overbore him and he landed on his back. The wolf’s rider lifted its spear and made to stab him in the chest.

Kormak’s blade cleared its scabbard and took off the goblin’s head. His return strike split the spine of the dire wolf. Still howling ferociously it fell, jaws attempting to close on Otto’s arm and his weapon.

Boreas clutched his hammer and glared around him. Sasha reached down and picked a brand out of the nearby fire. She began to whirl it around her head, fanning the flames to maximum incandescence. Karnea looked lost in thought, but not alarmed, simply as if she was trying to remember a difficult recipe or a complex poem. There was a look of concentration in her eyes. Her brows frowned over the frame of her glasses.

Kormak strode forward, slashing at the wolves and their riders. They parted around him seeking to escape his deadly blade. One goblin raised a dart and threw it at him. Kormak stepped aside. A high-pitched scream from behind him told him that the missile had hit another goblin.