of Darda Erynian, we thought it might be to keep the Hidden Ones hemmed in, a way to keep them from joining in the struggle against the Foul Folk. Yet I now believe that it was because Modru knew of the silver sword, and he didn't want Galarun to be able to get it.'
Beau frowned in puzzlement. 'But the sword was fetched in spite of the Horde, not to say that it isn't lost now. And so why would he keep Foul Folk on this border if it's not to keep the Hidden Ones from joining the High King when the time arrives?'
'Come again?' said Farly. 'I got lost somewhere along the way.'
Beau sighed. 'If the Spawn were here to stop the sword from being fetched but utterly failed, then I ask you this: why are they yet still here?' Farly shrugged, but Beau continued: 'The only reason I can think of is to keep the Hidden Ones bottled up.'
Rynna slowly shook her head. 'I don't think they could do that, Beau. That is, if the Hidden Ones ever decide to march-which I doubt-there just aren't enough maggot-folk to block all the borders of Darda Erynian or the Greatwood and keep them penned in.'
'Regardless of why the Spawn are here,' said Tipperton, 'what are we going to do about the increased patrols and sentry posts?'
No one said aught for long moments, and finally Rynna cleared her throat. 'We'll just have to be extra careful… and from now on, none of our patrols should go without Fox Riders scouting ahead. I'll speak to Tynvyr on it.'
'I say, why don't we do something to cause them to pull some of their sentries down from the heights?' said Beau.
Rynna looked at Beau. 'Such as…?'
'Look, I'm tired of running and hiding and slipping aside, so how about we begin waylaying patrols? -Making them seem to vanish.'
Nix frowned. 'How would that help?'
Linnet's eyes lit with revelation, and she beamed at Beau. 'Oh, don't you see, Nix? By making patrols simply disappear, the others, they won't know what's happening. And they'll add more Spawn to each patrol in the hopes of thwarting whatever may come. And to do that, they'll have to take sentries and patrols away from the heights above.'
'Aha!' said Nix, grinning at Beau. 'A splendid deceit.'
Farly nodded and then added, 'I say, we could also send word to the Baeron watchers south and the Dylvana watchers north and have them join in making patrols, um, disappear. Perhaps it would clear out the Rjmmen Spur all the faster.'
All eyes turned to Rynna. 'On the surface it seems a good plan,' she said. 'Let me think on it awhile… as well as see what Tynvyr has to say.'
'Here they come,' whispered Rynna. 'Remember, if there are too many, let them pass. We want none to escape, for we would have all other Spawn remain in ignorance.'
Rynna then turned to Picyn and repeated her words in Fey. Picyn nodded, then sprang to the back of his fox and gathered shadow about and slipped away in the night.
Past the shoulder of the hill tramped the maggot-folk.
'There's one with a bugle,' said Rynna. 'Tip.'
Tipperton nodded. 'I see him. I'll try to take him before he can sound his horn.'
In that moment 'round the flank rode a Ghul on Helsteed.
'Barn rats,' spat Beau. 'A Ghul. We'll have to let them pass.'
Rynna nodded, and in the chill April night the stealthy Warrows withdrew.
Two nights later, Tip led his pony toward the eaves of the forest, two slain Rucks draped across the pony's back. Rynna, Beau, Linnet, Nix, and Farly followed, each of them leading ponies also burdened with dead maggot- folk. Into Blackwood they went, where down in the shadows Tynvyr hissed for them to stop. And they shoved the dead Spawn from the ponies and went back onto the wold to take up the remaining three Rupt yet lying where they had been felled.
They reached the point of the ambush, and working swiftly, pulled their own arrows from the corpses-thuck! thuck…! -though, heeding Tynvyr's warning, they left the small lethal shafts of the Fox Riders untouched for fear of their fatal barbs.
As Tip and Beau lifted a dead Ruck up onto the back of a skittish pony now steadied by Rynna, Nix and Farly took up a second slain Ruck and did the same as Linnet soothed that wee mount. The four buccen then turned to the dead Hlok and managed to heft the carcass over a third tremulous pony's back, while the dammen carefully scanned the ground-retrieving scimitars and cudgels and flails and helms and other such-and scuffed over soil stained with dark blood.
Again they returned to Blackwood, and again they shoved the corpses from the ponies to land with sodden thuds next to the others felled that night, Rynna and Linnet pitching down the Ruptish helms and weaponry as well.
They made one last trip back to the wold to see that all evidence of the ambush was gone, and when they returned to Blackwood, the arms and helms and bodies of the maggot-folk were no longer where they had been cast.
Over the next ten weeks, seven Rucken patrols were made to vanish in this sector alone, the Warrows and Pysks waylaying them and haling their corpses into Blackwood, where the Spawn no longer came.
Yet there were also ambushes which they abandoned, for a Troll or Ghul fared among the Spawn patrol, and these foe they shunned altogether-Ogrus being stone-hided, and Ghflls able to take dreadful wounds with little or no effect. And so to maintain the air of mystery-where maggot-folk simply disappeared with no cause evident-they let all such patrols pass unmolested.
Too, in the Greatwood to the south and Darda Erynian to the north, Baeron and Dylvana also waylaid patrols.
By mid-June as maggot-folk were pulled from the sentry posts to augment the vigilance along the eastern wold, Ruptish watchers became sparse along the Rimmen Spur, and Spaunen squads roved the ridges but sporadically, though Ogrus continued to wander along the high slopes and snuffle the air for spies. And so the patrols along the fringes of Darda Erynian and Darda Stor were strengthened, doubling and tripling in size, though the maggot-folk yielded even wider berth to these shadowy woods.
And although the Warrows and Pysks needed to exercise great caution when faring across the wold and in the heights above, still everything was going according to plan.
Summerday came-the summer solstice-and Fox Riders and Warrows alike celebrated together, unlike the ceremonies of the equinoxes, where the Pysks were guided by the moon rather than the sun.
For Pysks dedicated spring and fall to Elwydd, and they celebrated by Her light, holding their rites on the night of the full moon nearest each equinox.
But Summerday and Winterday were dedicated to Adon and the sun, and so the Pysks celebrated the solstices along with other Mithgarian folk…
… and now Summerday had come.
And it was on this day as well that the ground grumbled with a glad message sent from the aggregate of Eio Wa Suk nigh Bircehyll in the north: Crestan Pass had been freed at last, the Foul Folk driven away. Baeron and Dyl- vana were returning to Darda Erynian for a temporary rest, for war yet burned upon Mithgar, and their arms were needed elsewhere. Even so, even though they would yet be marching to war, still it was glad news indeed.
And so, in addition to a celebration of the turning of the seasons, and in addition to the Warrows celebrating the birthdays of everyone who'd had a birthday in the past year, Year's Long Day also became a victory celebration as well.
In the glade of the campsite, there was food and drink and singing and dancing, all to the lively melodies Tip and Rynna played-he on his lute, she on her pennywhistle- and the end of each tune was met with a resounding cheer. Song after song they played, throughout the afternoon. And as twilight fell Tipperton called wee Lark to him, the tot and Melli having come from the holding of the Springwater Warrows to celebrate Summerday. Lark was now
