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.Savagely the dwarf attacked the troll, his blade delivering a hailstorm of blows.He left the troll a mangled mass on the grass, while the last rank of the reserve company stopped to shower the corpse with oil and touch a flame to it.In moments, a pyre of stinking black smoke marked the demise of the troll.Around Daggrande, other veteran soldiers attacked with halberds or long, two-handed swords.The trolls fought back savagely, and many a brave warrior fell before their talons or drooling, wicked fangs.But the persistence of the dwarf’s company, coupled with their skillful use of fire, finally began to drive the trolls back.Daggrande knew the breach had been stemmed—for now.Behind the dwarf, Grimes saw one of the monstrous regiments swing wide of the defenders’ line, starting a great wheel around the entire flank.“Charge!” Grimes cried, gesturing with his sword.The horsemen, in five companies of twenty, surged into a broadline.Lances lowered, they plunged into the regiment of ores, scattering the creatures beneath their hooves, breaking them into panicked remnants.The ogres stood firm, clubs upraised, before the rush.But the deadly lances found these, and many a hulking monster shrieked in mountainous pain before falling to the earth before a charging rider.Desperately the dying monsters struggled to hold their torn bodies together as the last remnant of their life fluid seeped over the ground.The horses wheeled and rode back, wracking the regiment again, trampling the survivors beneath the crushing hooves.The surviving ores broke and fled toward the shelter of the jungle.Grimes, minus a few of his riders, pulled the horsemen back behind the line.Another regiment pressed forward, pushing around to the roar of the village of Nayap.Payit spearmen resisted.them courageously, even felling several ogres with their long, obsidian-tipped weapons.But then a dozen trolls ripped into the center of the warriors’ line, and in moments, the whole company fled in disorder.Howling in triumph, the monstrous formation rushed to fill the gap and encircle the village.But then a small form darted across the sky, soaring over the onrushing beasts.Pryat Devane rode his flying carpet at high speed, bringing the little platform to a sudden stop when he reached a position a hundred yards in front of the charging regiment.“By the power of Helm, I call a plague upon you!” he shouted, raising his metal gauntlet and pointing to the first monstrous rank.In the next moment, the buzzing, hissing, and clicking of millions of insects rose across the plain, competing with the din of battle in its intensity.Immediately the leading ogres howled in pain and surprise, slapping at their skin and twisting grotesquely in an effort to escape.Wasps, bees, hornets, flies—all manner of stinging insects flew among the monsters, and instantly the momentum of the attack vanished.All the beasts could think about was escape, and the entire regiment dissipated as the creatures raced in every direction to escape the insect plague.Some ofthem tumbled through the ranks of a neighboring regiment, one that pressed against Nayap itself, and for a little while the weight of that savage attack eased.For long, bloody minutes, the battle stood in terrible balance.Humans, ores, dwarves, ogres, halflings, horses, and trolls, all bled into the dark earth, beneath the encloaking clouds that blacked out even the slightest glimpse of stars or moon.Hundreds of lives expired.Companies of ores or humans, decimated by battle, turned to flee.Others on each side expanded their fronts to cover gaps thus exposed.An exhausting, costly equilibrium held along the front.Then another horrifying sequence of whistles and bellows erupted from the forest.The din of the battle faded to insignificance against the cacophony of fresh strength symbolized by that throaty, hungry roar.More hulking shapes emerged from the forest, their shadows spreading across the savannah.Another powerful wave of destruction, they pressed toward the cringing shore as Hoxitl throw another ten regiments into the fight.* * * » *Erixitl stumbled forward, helped by Colon and Halloran.They made their way slowly down the shore toward Twin Visages on foot, since the ground in places was too rough for safe travel by horseback.Jhatli led Lotil by the hand.They followed the coast, since all the paths through the jungle from Ulatos to Twin Visages were obscure and difficult to follow.The shoreline route took longer but was far more certain [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]