Ralph and the Pixie

The aide was taken off guard. ‘You mean to attack Cir’s army? At night? What of your plan to abandon the traitors to their fate, while buying us time to make our escape from the Kingdom?’

‘We will leave soon enough,’ replied the Thane. ‘but in the meantime, these fools are in such a precarious position, and have provided us with far too much light from their fires and torches to allow us to waste such an opportunity. They have been travelling far, and fighting long and hard now, and have had little rest. I intend that they shall have none. Besides, we will have a better chance of success in leaving the Kingdom with one less threat standing in our way.’

‘Halwyn! Captain!’ A nearby soldier got his attention and pointed towards the enemy. ‘There, at the rear, near to where the road widens, and that bluff above the road! Do you see it?’

Peering into the darkness, Halwyn thought he could see some sort of activity, though he could not be certain. It appeared as though many dark shapes were milling about in the dim firelight at the rear of Cir’s army. Gradually, a sound began to be heard, carried on the cool night breeze, a sound Halwyn was not sure how to interpret. A harsh horn sounded. Then another. The enemy was suddenly stirring like a nest of angry bees. The nearest Goblins seemed to be milling about in confusion, looking uncertainly at Mirrindale as though the attack had been sounded.