Those rotten skunks were everywhere now. Sometimes it seemed like it would be wise to suspect your own frail old granddad of sympathy for the Nameless One, even if he wouldn’t normally harm a fly. And the stronger the rebel magician became, the more supporters he acquired among humankind.
Someone pounded hard on my door and I trained the crossbow on it just in case.
“Harold, it’s Kli-Kli! Open up, quick!”
The voice certainly sounded like the one that belonged to the king’s jester.
The battle was moving quite rapidly in my direction and if the little goblin really was outside my door, he could be in big trouble pretty soon.
I hastily opened the lock.
“I’m not alone, don’t shoot!” shouted Kli-Kli, darting past me into the bedroom like a little green mouse, with two shadows following straight behind him. They were a little bit bigger than the goblin, but a lot smaller than me.
“Close the door,” said the goblin. It was a good idea. “Deler, let’s have some light.”
I did as I had been told and turned the key, wondering if we ought to barricade the door with furniture.
A small flame flared up, and then a torch, illuminating the faces of my visitors. The jester was without his cap with the bells and his expression was unusually serious and intent. There was a dark, shallow scratch on Kli-Kli’s cheek and he was clutching an ax in both hands. Standing beside the jester was Deler, holding the torch in one hand and a double-edged poleax in the other. It had a vicious-looking half-moon blade. Unlike the goblin, the dwarf didn’t look disheveled. Even the hat with the narrow brim sat on the short fellow’s head as if it were a part of him.
The third visitor was Hallas. The gnome paid no attention to me, as if he were simply visiting his home in the Steel Mines, and ran across to the window and looked outside. He casually leaned his battle-mattock against the wall.
“This is Master Harold,” said Kli-Kli, introducing me to the warriors.
Deler politely doffed his hat; the gnome simply nodded.
“What’s happened, Kli-Kli?”
“An attack! They were trying to get through to the king, but the guards suspected something was wrong and the sparks started flying!”
“And the rotten skunks have really got cheeky!” Deler boomed. “They’re dressed up in guards’ uniforms.”
“But who are they?”
“Crayfish,” the gnome said, and spat, without turning away from the window. “Creatures of the Crayfish Dukedom. And probably other supporters of the Nameless One from among your townsfolk!”
He pulled a face that suggested he cared no more for the townsfolk of Avendoom than he did for gkhols.
“Anyway, listen, Harold,” the jester started gabbling. “One of those units is moving down the corridor toward us. Alistan’s lads are holding it up, but still falling back, the numbers are too uneven. We have to help them.”
A din as loud as the one in the corridor suddenly broke out below the window.
“Those lads are done fighting.” Hallas chuckled and slammed his fist down on the windowsill in an excess of enthusiasm. “The guards have threaded the lot of them on their spears.”
“Come away from the window, you bearded fool!” the dwarf shouted excitedly. “We have to give the others a hand now!”
“Fool yourself!” the gnome retorted to his partner, but he came over to us, picking up his mattock on the way.
“How can we help them, Kli-Kli?” I asked, pulling on my shirt and ignoring the argument between the two Wild Hearts.
Four of us against that number of men? And not forgetting that two of us didn’t even know how to hold a weapon properly. Or were the dwarf and the gnome so good that they didn’t need me and the goblin?
“The guards are falling back and those skunks are following them. As soon as the killers are past our door, their backs will be exposed. And that’s when we’ll strike.”
“They’re getting close already,” said the gnome, listening to the battle with his ear pressed against the door.
My face must have betrayed too skeptical an opinion of the goblin’s crazy plan, because Kli-Kli added: “Harold, use your brains! You’ve got bolts loaded with fire magic and ice! If we blast them from the rear, it will really make a difference!”
“How do you know what I’ve got?” I asked, already unloading the crossbow, removing the ordinary bolts.
After a moment’s hesitation, I flung the bag with the rest of the charges over my shoulder.
“I had a rummage in the things your dwarf tradesman brought with Stalkon’s ring,” Kli-Kli replied, not embarrassed in the least.
“Just a little farther!” Deler had joined Hallas and was frozen beside the door, holding up the torch and his poleax at the ready.
“Gentlemen, don’t get in the way,” I warned the Wild Hearts. “Or you’ll catch it from my bolts, too.”
“Magic!” said the gnome, pulling a disdainful face.
“Don’t you be so clever,” Deler told him. “Whatever you say, Master Harold. And if this wiseacre tries
