[Belin]

Kadwyr had done his job. The Uruks were here. He called to his company, squawking and harrying to get them out of the battle--Orcs were not known for their care in distinguishing friend from foe—-and vaguely noticing, with surprise, how many of Krikaw’s followers were still in the midst of the melee. Well, that was his business. He had enough to do with distracting his own. Korag, the liar, had interested several of the more zealous youngsters in the torment of the horses, and in their taunting, absorbing dance around heads and hooves had failed to notice the larger doings of the battle. Kadwyr snapped briefly at Korag and at one or two others who had landed on the outer fringes of the fight as soon as Kadwyr began to pull them out, having decided that it was already time to claim their prey.

Leaving Eschkor to gather the last of the stragglers, Kadwyr swept upward to join the others in their circling, more or less watching the back and forth clash of the battle. So inelegant, he thought, compared to his own work. He glanced away, toward where the others were, wondering how soon they should rejoin Akaaw—and there was that rider again. They’d only stopped one of the two, after all.

Kadwyr’s bright eyes looked further still, and he realized, finally, the answer to his question.

There were more of them, or the same ones, riding from some other skirmish, or some other part of this one, and it was toward them that he rode.

Instantly, Kadwyr dove toward him, adapting without criticism the tactics of Korag. He wasn’t far. The wings beating around its head and the claws grazing its soft nose threw the horse into a panic to equal Kadwyr’s own. He hardly heard the rider’s groans silenced by the sharp hooves of the horse over the chorus in his mind of I knew it, I knew it, I knew it—but if they see us?

Horrified, he wheeled back, calling, “Down! Back!”

Croaking, confused, Kadwyr’s company nevertheless moved off toward where they had left the others, much to his relief. The strawheads could find their way yet, perhaps, but Akaaw could never say it was his fault.

[ January 09, 2003: Message edited by: Belin ]