Gnolls.
Mika's heart sank like a plummeting rock as he pulled the grey up hard. But the grey wasn't having any of it. Head down, driven beyond fear into a fear-induced madness, he seized the bit between his large yellow teeth and, ignoring Mika's command, galloped on.
It didn't matter in the slightest that two large gnolls, each standing seven foot tall and weighing at least three hundred pounds, stood directly in his path. The grey did not discern that they were covered with shaggy hair and had low jutting brows. Nor did he care that they had massive jaws filled with sharp teeth that inspired fear in the most reckless of men. None of that mattered to the grey, for they were dressed in leather tunics and had man- like shapes. To the grey, they appeared as humans. Big humans.
What did matter was that the grey was being pursued by hyenas. The grey understood hyenas and still bore scars on one flank from a hyena attack suffered when he was a mere colt still running free on the plains. He had survived, but many of his band had not. The stink of urine, blood, and carrion clung to the hyenas and filled the grey's nostrils, reminding him of that day of death so long ago. He ran from them with the fear of madness, and it mattered not that man-things stood in his way.
Screaming his fear of the hyenas and his hatred of humans, the grey put down his head and charged.
The gnolls were startled. Clearly, they did not expect such a thing to happen. Nothing ever attacked them by choice! The gnoll on the left narrowed its eyes and lowered its sword, bracing the hilt against its body. The gnoll on the right appeared slightly less certain, but following its companion's lead, planted its feet firmly on the rocky trail and raised its battle axe above its head.
'No! No! Stop!' screamed Mika, yanking on the reins in desperation. But the grey ignored him and barreled into the gnolls at full speed.
The gnoll that stood directly in front of them was crushed beneath the grey's hooves, its hard skull splitting like an overripe yarpick fruit, its squat body mangled beyond gnoll-mother recognition. But not before it had driven its sword into the grey's chest.
Even now, impaled on the awful blade, the grey wreaked death, unleashing his old hatred of man on the second man-thing that stood there, still holding the battle axe overhead, too stunned to move. That small hesitation was the gnoll's undoing, for the grey lashed out with one sharp-edged unshod hoof and opened the leather-clad figure from breastbone to navel.
The gnoll looked down, unbelieving, as its intestines slid out of its belly in slow, sinuous, slimy loops. It dropped its arms, the axe forgotten, and tried to replace its guts, stuffing them back into a cavity that now seemed too small to hold them.
The gnoll stared down, its eyes wide with pain and disbelief, and for a second, its eyes met Mika's. Mika almost felt sorry for the creature, but then it no longer mattered, for the grey, feeling the cold steel twisting in his vitals, stumbled and went down, driving the sword still further into his body. But as he did, he carried the gnoll with him, its face crushed between his strong square teeth.
Mika had no time to be thankful for the death of the gnolls, for hard on his heels came the pursuing hyenas. The roan reared and screamed, and the salty stink of blood, both horse and gnoll, lay pungent on the cold night air,
Mika clung to the reins that dangled from the roan's bridle as he disengaged himself from the dying grey. He was thankful that the grey had not fallen on his side and pinned him beneath his great weight. He was certain that the grey would have done so, had he thought of it, carrying his diabolic hatred of man beyond him into death.
Mika scrambled to his feet and tugged the roan's head down as he attempted to mount, but the roan reared hysterically, screaming in fear and clawing out with his sharp hooves, refusing to be calmed as the hyenas slunk closer. The princess was dangling securely, still asleep, blithely ignorant of what was going on around her. Mika shoved her forward and swung behind her on the roan's back. He gave the horse a vicious kick. Still he reared and bucked but did not move forward.
Tam leaped in front of the hyenas, positioning himself in front of Mika, shielding the roan from the hyenas. Mika fought to bring the horse under control, hoping that the four predators would not be too much for Tam to handle.
Tam dropped his head and raised his dewlaps, exposing his black gums lined with sharp teeth, capable of killing even a hyena. He stalked forward on stiff legs, emitting a harsh, deep, guttural growl full of menace that would have sent a lesser creature running in fear for its life.
But hyenas feared little and certainly not a lone wolf. Spitting out their own eerie cries that prefaced a clash, their short bear-like faces with upturned blunt noses seemed to grin in appreciation of the feast to come. Their ungainly bodies leaned forward in hump-backed anticipation. Their spotted, mangy fur and leering expression gave them a comedic look, but as they spread out around Tam and began to circle, Mika was in no way inclined to laughter.
Their actions caused Tam to circle as well, but no matter which way he turned, one of them was always at his back. If he advanced, jaws snapping ferociously, the hyena behind him slashed out with razor-sharp teeth.
They harried Tam back and forth between them, cutting, slashing, nipping, biting. And always when he attacked, they were not there, sliding away from him like ghosts. Had he been able to grasp one, he would have found himself holding nothing but loose folds of skin that swung loosely in his jaws. This worked to the hyenas' advantage, for while the wolf was futily biting excess skin, the hyena would twist around and seize the wolf in its powerful jaws. This was the beginning of the end, for the hyena's jaws were extremely strong, and once they bit down, they seldom let go. While he held on, his companions would rip the victim to shreds before it even realized its desperate plight.
Tam was bleeding from a dozen wounds before Mika succeeded in bullying the roan through the circle of vicious hyenas. 'Go, Tam, go!' he hollered, leaning down and lashing his sword at the hyenas.
Tam turned and ran, leaping over the carcass of the grey and the mangled gnolls. Mika skewered one of the hyenas on his sword, then flung it, still yapping, into the midst of its companions.
Another of the hyenas leaped for the soft unprotected swell of the roan's belly, but Mika swung and sliced its head off neatly. Hot blood spurted from the stump of the thick neck, drenching his leg and the roan's side. The two remaining hyenas were momentarily distracted by their fallen comrades, which they tore into with ravenous hunger. Mika kicked the roan harder as they plummeted over the peak, the shrill shrieking of the hyenas loud in his ears, as he caromed down the opposite side of the ridge. The hyenas were left behind, feasting on their own dead and wounded.
Mika gulped as the pale moonlight illuminated the sheer slopes below them, throwing the sharp upthrust boulders, the smooth sliding scree, and abrupt cliffs into contrasts of black and white. Tam, torn and bleeding profusely, teetered on the edge and looked up at Mika with stricken eyes before plunging downward.
The roan quivered beneath Mika as he tried to steer him across a deceptively smooth expanse of gravel that appeared safer than the alternative, a rocky stretch of ground strewn with fist-sized stones. A sudden nameless intuition caused him to drop the reins, allowing the roan his head, allowing him to make his own choices.
The roan swerved at the last moment, avoiding the smooth talus, choosing instead, the rocky ledge above it. As he jumped, the weight of his impact dislodged a small stone which fell onto the gravel below. Instantly, the whole mass started to slide, moving faster and faster, picking up speed and sweeping everything in its path before it as it thundered down the dark slope.
Mika had only a moment to view the catastrophe before the roan leaped again, plunging down the ridge from one tenuous bit of safe footing to the next. Had Mika not given the roan its head, they too would now be at the foot of the slope, buried beneath tons of rock arid gravel.
Mika shuddered and held onto the pommel tightly. Tam raced to keep up with them, blood streaming darkly from a multitude of wounds. Mika could see that Tam was tiring, but there was nothing he could do. Their only hope was to keep going until they reached the bottom.
Because of their great speed and the extreme steepness of the incline, they reached the bottom in a fraction of the time that it had taken them to climb its opposite side.
The bottom was a wide ravine that held a goodly amount of water and was shielded by a dense overhang of spruce trees.
The roan came to a stop on the far bank and stood, all four legs outstretched, braced stiff-kneed, head down, and blew great sobbing breaths, flecked with white foam. His sides heaved with effort, and his body was drenched with sweat.
