the only one of the group who had seen more than thirty winters. Two of the farmers looked as if they had not yet seen twenty, and one of these didn't even show the stubble common to the road-weary faces of the others.
'Ilmater's tears!' one of them cried in surprise as the group neared. If the sight of a dark elf was not enough to put them on their nerves, then the presence of Guenhwyvar certainly was.
The man's shouted oath startled Guenhwyvar. The panther must have thought the plea to the God of Suffering a threat of some kind, for she flattened her ears and showed her tremendous fangs.
The man nearly fainted, and a companion beside him tentatively reached for an arrow.
'Guenhwyvar is a friend,' I explained. 'As am I.'
Tharman looked to a rugged man, half his age and carrying a hammer better suited to a smithy than a war party. The younger man promptly and savagely slapped the nervous archer's hand away from the bow. I could discern already that this brute was the leader of the group, probably the one who had bullied the others into coming into the woods in the first place.
Though my claim had apparently been accepted, the tension did not fly from the meeting, not at all. I could smell the fear, the apprehension, emanating from these men, Tharman included. I noticed the younger farmers gripping more tightly to their weapons. They would not move against me, I knew-that was one benefit of the savage reputation of my heritage. Few wanted to wage battle against dark elves. And even if I had not been an exotic drow, the farmers would not have attacked with the mighty panther crouched beside me. They knew that they were overmatched, and they knew, too, that they needed an ally, any ally, to help them in their pursuit.
Five men, farmers all, poorly armed and poorly armored. What in the Nine Hells did they expect to do against a band of twenty monsters, ogres included? Still, I had to admire their courage, and I could not discount them as foolish. I believed that the raiders had taken prisoners. If those unfortunates were these men's families, their children perhaps, then their desperation was certainly warranted, their actions admirable.
Tharman came forward, his soil-stained hand extended. I must admit that the greeting, nervous but sincerely warm, touched me. So often have I been met with taunts and bared weapons! 'I have heard of you,' he remarked.
'Then you have the advantage,' I replied politely, grasping his wrist.
Behind him, the sturdy man narrowed his eyes angrily. I was surprised somewhat; my benign remark had apparently injured his pride. Did he think himself a renowned fighter?
Tharman introduced himself, and the tough leader immediately rushed forward to do likewise. 'I am Rico,' he declared, coming up to me boldly. 'Rico Pengallen of the village Pengallen, fifteen miles to the south and east.' The obvious pride in his voice caused Tharman to wince and set off silent alarms that this Rico might bring trouble when we had caught up with the monsters.
I had heard of Pengallen, though I had only marked it by its evening lights from a distance. According to Bruenor's maps, the village was no more than a handful of farmhouses. So much for the hopes that any organized militia would soon arrive.
'We were attacked early last night, just after sunset,' Rico continued, roughly nudging the older man aside. 'Ores and ogres, as we've said. They took some prisoners-'
'My wife and son,' Tharman put in, his voice full of anxiety.
'My brother as well,' said another.
I spent a long while considering that grim news, trying to find some consolation I could offer to the desperate men. I did not want their hopes to soar, though, not with ogres and ores holding their loved ones and with the odds apparently so heavily weighted against us.
'We are less than an hour behind,' I explained. 'I had hoped to spot the group before sunset. With Guenhwyvar beside me, though, I can find them night or day.'
'We're ready for a fight,' Rico declared. It must have been my expression-perhaps it was unintentionally condescending-that he did not like, for he slapped his hammer across his open palm and practically bared his teeth with his ensuing snarl.
'Let us hope it will not come to a fight,' I said. 'I have some experience with ogres and with ores. Neither are overly adept at setting guards.'
'You mean to simply slip in and free our kin?'
Rico's barely tempered anger continued to surprise me, but when I turned to Tharman for some silent explanation, he only slipped his hands into the folds of his worn traveling cloak and looked away.
'We will do whatever we must to free the prisoners,' I said.
'And to stop the monsters from returning to Pengallen,' Rico added roughly.
'They can be dealt with later,' I replied, trying to convince him to solve one problem at a time. A word to Bruenor would have sent scores of dwarves scouring the region, stubborn and battle-ready warriors who would not have stopped their hunting until the threat had been eliminated.
Rico turned to his four comrades, or, more accurately, he turned away from me. 'Guess we're following a damned drow elf,' he said.
I took no offense. Certainly I had suffered worse treatment than the blustery insults, and this desperate band, with the exception of Rico, seemed pleased enough to have found any ally, regardless of the color of my skin.
The enemy camp did not prove difficult to locate. We found it on our side of the river, as twilight settled on the land. Conveniently-or rather, stupidly-the monsters had set a blazing fire to ward off the winter night's cold.
The light of the bonfire also showed me the layout of the encampment. There were no tents, just the fire and a few scattered logs propped on stones for benches. The land was fairly flat, covered with a bed of river-polished stones and dotted by boulders and an occasional tree or bush. Pig-faced ore sentries were in place north and south of the fire, holding crude, but wicked, weapons in their dirty hands. I assumed that similar guards were posted to the west, away from the river. The prisoners, seeming not too badly injured, huddled together behind the blaze, their backs against a large stone. There were four, not three: the two boys and the farmer's wife joined by a surprisingly well-dressed goblin. At the time, I didn't question the presence of this unexpected addition. I was more concerned with simply finding a way in and a way out.
'The river,' I whispered at length. 'Guenhwyvar and I can get across it without being seen. We can scout the camp better from the other side.'
Rico was thinking the same thing-after a fashion. 'You come in from the east, across the river, and we'll hit them hard on this flank.'
His scowl widened as I shook my head. This Rico just did not seem able to comprehend that I meant to get the prisoners without an all-out fight.
'I will get at them from across the river with Guenhwyvar beside me,' I tried to explain. 'But not until the fire has burned low.'
'We should go at them while the light is bright,' Rico argued. 'We aren't like you, drow.' He spat the word derisively. 'We can't see in the dark.'
'But I can,' I retorted rather sharply, for Rico was beginning to bother me more than a little. 'I can get in, free the prisoners, and strike at the sentries from behind, hopefully without alerting their fellows. If things go well, we will be far from here before the monsters even realize that their prisoners are gone.'
Tharman and the other three men were nodding their agreement with the simple plan, but Rico remained stubborn.
'And if things do not go well?'
'Guenhwyvar and I should be able to keep the monsters confused enough so that you and your freed kin can get away. I do not believe that the monsters will even attempt to pursue you, not if they think that their prisoners were stolen by dark elves.'
Again I saw Tharman and the others nodding eagerly, and when Rico tried to find a new argument, the older man put a hand firmly on his burly shoulder. Rico shrugged it away, but said nothing more. I did not find much comfort in his silence, not when I looked at the hatred deeply etched on his stubbly face.
Crossing the half-frozen river proved easy enough. Guenhwyvar simply leaped across its width. I followed, picking a careful path along the ice. I did not want to depend wholly upon such a fragile bridge, though, so I chose a course to the opposite bank that offered the most prominent stones.
My new perspective on the enemy camp from across the river revealed some potential problems-more
