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.Now that all three giants were on his trail, he no longer needed to make himself an easy target.Tavis reached the summit a few moments later, without the necessity of dodging any more boulders.Ahead of him lay the gray crests of dozens of hills, interspersed with shadowy black ravines similar to the one behind him.Out of every third gulch rose the yellow glow of a campfire.The scout did a quick count of the amber lights.Assuming that his three pursuers came from a typical campsite, he estimated that more than a hundred hill giants had encircled Cuthbert Castle.Tavis turned around to see that Meorf and Bhurn had already crossed the gulch and climbed halfway up the slope.Gragg was still picking his way up the rocky gulch, grumbling bitterly about his difficulties.The scout cursed the giant's stupidity.He had expected the brute to traverse the hillside instead of clambering up the treacherous gully bottom.Slipping around the trio would be much more difficult with one straggling behind.Tavis went over to a large boulder perched on the summit of the hill.Hoping to slow Meorf and Bhurn enough for Gragg to catch up, the scout pushed the heavy stone down the slope."So long, you oafs!"The scout did not linger to see if his plan worked.He turned and bounded down the other side of the hill, making as much noise as possible.After descending two dozen paces, he stopped and nocked an arrow, then quietly circled back to the summit and hid behind an unrulyhedge of juniper bushes.To his dismay, the scout saw Gragg standing in the gully below, gasping for breath and bracing himself against a tree.Meorf and Bhurn, on the other hand, were standing on the summit less than twenty paces away.Both giants were staring into the next dark gully, their eyes searching in vain for their quarry.Meorf growled in frustration, then slowly turned around to face Gragg.Tavis aimed his arrow at the giant's throat If the brute spied the secret tunnel on the opposite ridge, the scout would silence him before he could speak.Fortunately for Meorf, he was more interested in his rotund fellow than the opposite wall of the canyon."Stop wastin' time, Gragg!" he ordered."Stupid little fella get-tin' 'way.""Meorf and Bhurn go on," Gragg said."Gragg stay here, 'case little fella come back.""Come back?" Bhurn scoffed."Gragg lazy.Dekz not like.""Dekz not here." Gragg looked away from his companions."Gragg camp boss.Go catch little fella!"Bhurn kicked a rock down the slope, then turned to descend the other side of the hill.Meorf stayed long enough to snicker as Gragg jumped up to avoid the stone, then bounded after Bhurn.Gragg watched the summit for a few moments.When no more stones came bouncing down at him, he found a boulder large enough to support his broad posterior and settled in to wait.Tavis slipped out of his hiding place and crept silently down the hill, keeping his arrow pointed at the giant's back.He did not like killing in cold blood, but such things were necessary in war—and the ring of campfires encircling Cuthbert Castle left little doubt that the giants had come to make war.Tavis was about halfway down when Gragg's roving gaze fell on the open door to Cuthbert's secret passage.The giant thrust his head forward, then suddenly rose to his feet."Hey, Dekz was right!" he boomed."Them little fellas gots a secret tunnel! Bhurn, Meorf, come—" Tavis let his arrow fly.Gragg's command changed to a deafening shriek as the shaft drilled deep into his kidney.The giant stumbled forward, at the same time reaching behind his back to pluck the arrow from his body.His effort did not succeed, for Bear Driller was no ordinary bow.Tavis's mentor had shown him how to double-bend the weapon and reinforce it with dragon bone, so that any arrow fired from it struck with the force of a horse-driven lance.The shaft had passed into Gragg's kidney, fletching and all, and nothing short of healing magic could remove it now.The scout nocked another arrow and rushed down the slope.Although he would have liked to ask Gragg a few questions, the firbolg's intention was not to interrogate the injured giant.Kidney wounds were far too painful to allow questioning.Tavis was simply looking for a clean shot that would put Gragg out of his misery."Gragg, what all this screamin' for?"Tavis ducked behind a boulder, then glanced up to see Meorf standing on the summit"Where that secret tunnel?"Gragg tried to answer, but all that spilled from his mouth was a long wail of agony.The injured giant spotted Tavis crouching behind the boulder and stumbled away, urgentiy gesturing at the scout's hiding place."Tunnel there?" Meorf asked.Gragg shook his head, then collapsed into the gulch and began to thrash about, mad with pain.Meorf screwed his brutish face into an expression of utter puzzlement, then suddenly dropped into a crouch.He glanced over his shoulder."Bhurn come—"Tavis stuck his head up and loosed an arrow.He had a poor angle, so the shaft failed to pierce the giant's heartand simply buried itself in the rib cage.Meorf raised a hand to the wound, then his jaw went slack with surprise as he felt warm blood on his palm.Tavis nocked another arrow and stepped from behind his boulder.He needed a clean shot more than cover."Little fella hurt Meorf!" the giant bellowed.Meorf raised his club and launched himself down the slope.Tavis barely had time to pull his bowstring back, then his foe was upon him, club raised to strike.The scout loosed his arrow.A red dot appeared on Meorf's belly, and his eyes went blank.The club flew from his hands and bounced away, then the giant's immense bulk started to fall.The scout hurled himself aside, barely reaching the safety of his boulder before the impact of the dead body shook the entire slope.Tavis wasted no time on self-congratulations, for Bhurn would be coming, and the scout preferred not to give his foe the uphill advantage.He nocked another arrow and sprinted toward the summit, his lungs burning from the exertion of the battle.As the scout approached the top, he felt the ground shuddering beneath Bhurn's heavy steps [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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