Ralph and the Pixie

‘I, too, am troubled by the Prince’s words,’ Birin told him, ‘especially so, since it seems he has planned for this moment! A nameless dread comes upon me when I consider that Prince Cir, in his younger days, was known to have made long forays into the far regions of the North, where the Goblins dwell. The Thane attempted to track the villain, and even now, certain words of the Thane’s come back to me; words that he may himself not have understood the import of; that tracking Prince Cir was always made difficult and dangerous by the number and threat of Goblins!’

‘Prince Cir has slain many Goblins,’ the soldier said, somewhat defensively, realizing at once the import of Birin’s words.

‘Prince Cir,’ Birin said carefully, ‘has murdered many people, of all races.’

Meeting his eye unwillingly, the soldier nodded. ‘That would be like Prince Cir. What better way to cover his tracks?’ Then, sudden awareness causing his eyes to widen with fear and anger, ‘He knows every track and trail through the Northland Waik; he knows our positions, our strengths, our weaknesses, that which is defended, and that which is not-’

‘He knows, too,’ Birin added, ‘that under the present circumstances, which we ourselves have just helped precipitate, that our Northern defences will shortly be in disarray, and will subsequently collapse.’