Piichi never screamed, not even when the centaur’s thorn-like teeth closed around his ankles. He shouted curses and hacked at the beast with his narubit, but not once did he cry out in pain. Neri held his bow at the ready, to give Piichi a clean and natural death, but he kept expecting the furious little goblin to break free. When he heard the first crunching of bones that hope died, and when Piichi dropped his sword Neri loosed a shaft directly through his skull. What sickened Neri most, was that the instant Piichi went limp, the centaur heaved him out of its mouth. Do they take pleasure in ending life? What mind brought these atrocious things into being? And why?

Ridzak had kept his head as other members of his gang were lost, but he seemed to have affection for Piichi. He went wild, hacking furiously with his bearded axe. Neri marvelled idly at the speed with which Ridzak swung his heavy weapon. He wished more than anything to join Ridzak’s tempestuous assault, but after dispensing his mercy on Piichi, Neri was pierced by the second centaur’s claws and a piece of it had broken off in his shoulder. The monster had hoisted him high in the air and was about to swallow him when his prince had come to his rescue, hewing the creature’s arm off at the shoulder. Argus and Vallus had arrived just as the second centaur plowed into the clearing, and Argus was crushed by a savage kick from the monster’s hind foot. Lobuhl took up the man’s mannarim sword and from that point on was the creatures’ bane; he slashed off claws, fingers, chunks of tongue, and pierced their bellies repeatedly.

The first centaur had already begun reproducing again when they came upon it. It was a hulking creature, almost double the size of the ones they’d previously encountered, and Neri found himself far more disturbed by the completeness of it than the sporadic placement of appendages on the others. For a creature so wrong in function to have such a manlike appearance was deeply unnerving. It even had a shock of dark hair and what resembled a scraggly beard. The eyes seemed permanently shut under its protruding brow, except for when it opened its mouth, then the thick folds of grey skin drooping from its brow peeled back and its eyes were bloodshot and crazed. Neri wished they were hidden within its mouth, as with the third of nine. Above the sagging grey brow and screaming red eyes was a trio of downturned antlers, each stained with dwarf, elf and goblin blood.

Four of his men were now dead, stabbed through the heart by hideously long fingers or crushed within unnatural bowels. Eight goblins lay dead, as well as Argus and a half dozen elves. Dathenyn had managed to drag Neri out of the fray when Lobuhl had cut him loose. She drew the shard of claw out with her knife and quickly dressed his wound. Her poultice burned him fiercely, and stiffened his shoulder beyond use, but at least she was in time to prevent infection. Sweat beaded on his brow, but he was spared the brutal deterioration of his flesh that some of his men had suffered. He was desperate to find a way to continue in the fight, but no weapons lay near him and at the moment he could barely move. Twice he had tried to rise to his feet. Once he was thrust back down by Vallus, and once by his own Prince. Still he kept searching the field with his eyes, desperate for any way to help.

The Grim Whimsey had closed en masse, and if it weren’t for them Neri knew they all would have been lost. The goblins swarmed over the centaurs, stabbing, lunging, hacking. Some out of either bravery or madness flung themselves into the centaur’s jaws, giving the others a chance to bring them down. It never worked, though.

The first centaur, papa snail, had the head, arms and shoulders of its next offspring protruding from its flank, and the partially born creature would lash out at attackers. It had called out with its haunting, moaning wail when first they closed in on it. So far only the one had responded, and it was enough. It had to be the first or second of their brood. It was huge, fourteen feet tall easily, and it had a rack of horns on its head. Its limbs were less long but more stout than the others, and it uprooted small trees and swung them like clubs. Neri thought with sadness at how few arrows came from the trees. The horned centaur had vaulted into the trees and pulled a number of the elves down, passing them through its body in mid air.

He could see the weariness in Dathenyn’s movement. Elves fought with an elemental fury, but they tired more quickly than dwarves. He thanked the star for the Grim Whimsey. They attacked in waves, one front assaulting while one rested, so that they were constantly fresh. Even still their numbers were gradually dwindling, and there was no regrouping or respite of any sort against these tireless foes.

After what seemed an agonizing eternity, a goblin fell dead against the tree he was propped against. He took the poor girl’s crossbow with his good left arm, and clenched his teeth as he forced his right arm to move. He fetched a handful of bolts from the dead goblin’s quiver, set one, cranked it back, and fired it directly into one of papa snail’s bulging red eyes. Its mouth snapped shut and a thick black ooze poured from its socket. It looked directly at Neri, ignorant of the army of assailants swarming about it, and began to deliberately plod toward him. The distraction worked. Dathenyn stuck her glaive into its jaw, hooking the blade firmly in what passed for bone. She then handed the haft of her spear to a pair of dwarves who stood nearby, and the three of them were able to pull its head down. Vallus and Lobuhl swung, but it reared up enough that only Vallus landed a quick slash on its throat. Ridzak whistled and he and a group of goblins all ran up the trees, then dove onto the creatures head, pulling it back down.

“MOVE!” Lubul bellowed in a voice that startled even Neri. The goblins leapt away and he and Vallus relieved the creature of its loathsome head. They all quickly went to work chopping away at its body while it writhed and flopped about. The partially reproduced centaur fortunately went limp, but the other beast came instantly to its sire’s rescue. It stuck a long pair of fingers at Ridzak from behind. Somehow the goblin dodged the claws, but was caught in the monster’s grasp and pulled directly to its mouth. A dozen goblins all attacked at the creatures arm, clinging to it as well as stabbing and slashing at it. The shoulder where Lobuhl had struck earlier had regrown enough of an arm to grab Ridzak with, and his entire gang had taken to saving him from the creature’s maw.

Neri growled in pain as he set another bolt, cranked it back, and then turned to aim. He managed to put it in the centaur’s neck without harming any of the Whimsey. Ridzak was not going down lightly, either. He squirmed like a fish in a net, and somehow managed not to lose his axe. Whenever he could, he would plant its head deep into the centaur’s skull,wrench it out, then hack again.

It seemed a losing battle, though. Neri lamented as he fired bolt after bolt to no avail. Papa Snail was too quick to reform for any of his or Dathenyn’s soldiers to come to the goblin’s aid, and they were one by one being pierced or crushed as they battled to save their boss’ life. Neri admired the love and loyalty Ridzak had from his gang. He wondered if his Owl Guard would fight as fiercely to save him.

At the exact moment he ran out of bolts, the centaur had one of Ridzak’s feet in its mouth. Neri wished he had one more bolt, so he could give Ridzak the same mercy he gave Piichi. Flames roared as the others set papa snail ablaze, and Dathenyn came sailing out of the air onto the living centaur’s back, burying her glaive deep between its shoulders. It ignored her, inching Ridzak bit by bit further into its jaws. Both his feet were in its mouth now. He hacked and slashed with his axe, and his gang stuck their swords in the centaur’s gums, trying to wedge it open. The big goblin with the ram skull helm managed to pull one of his feet loose, but the centaur then wrapped its tongue around the goblin’s neck and snapped it. One of Ridzak’s girls took the big goblin’s place, with no thought of herself, and she too suffered the same fate.

Ridzak began shouting orders for his people to retreat, which they ignored. Dathenyn drove her glaive deeper still into the creature’s back, but to no avail. That’s when the Den Mother came. She appeared suddenly, running at first on all fours like a wolf, and with blinding speed she stuck a weapon that looked no more than a long metal spike into a few specific points in the monster’s neck. The beast froze still and she leapt into its mouth,and with astonishing strength she used her entire body to open its jaws. Ridzak pulled his feet free, tossed the Den Mother aside, and clove the creature’s head in two with his axe. The Grim Whimsey then attacked the centaur as saber fish attack a bleeding animal. In a few savage moments they had it minced and burning.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Neri almost fainted from relief and exhaustion. Dathenyn had come to him, but he told her brusquely to see to her own. His prince helped him to his feet, and together they ordered their survivors to gather their dead. Vallus wept quietly while holding Argus in his arms, then kissed him gently before setting him ablaze. The Whimsey had a more callous way, whistling and singing as they tossed their dead onto a pile. They did hold hands in silence as their comrades burned, though, and Neri could have sworn he saw tears on Ridzak’s cheeks. Dathenyn and her survivors carried their lost ones aloft into the trees. She signaled to Neri with her eyes that would have to return to their nearest outpost for supplies and reinforcements. He nodded back, then with a gesture to his hurt shoulder thanked her for her care.

When the dead had been attended to, the leaders gathered: Neri, Lobuhl, Vallus, and Ridzak along with a trio of his lieutenants. The Den Mother sat against a tree stump, looking mindlessly at the dwindling flames of the centaur pyres.

“Nashvatuk,” Neri said. She turned to him slowly and blinked. “It’s over.” He stood to the side and gestured for her to join them. She cautiously rose and walked to Neri’s side.

“So ees Nashvatuk,” she said quietly, her head hanging low.

Neri reached up and scratched behind her ear. “That’s right. You’re Nishta now.”

She turned her long head and looked in his eyes. “I be your Den Mother?”

Lobuhl laughed heartily. “Women of every kin want this handsome boy.”

One of Ridzak’s female lieutenants ran her fingers through Neri’s hair. “It’s his pretty yellow locks.”

Neri laughed along with the others. It felt good to share some mirth after their ordeal. Such was the soldier’s way. Death was part of their lives, and they honored no one by dwelling long in grief. He gave Nishta a final pat and asked her how she came upon them.

“First I run, like you say. Then I go to pack, but they scare of me. So I run. Then I smell. Smell ironwood and dandelion, and lots of death cap. And I smell santur. Santur wild, ;ost mastur, need to be put down. I hear santur umbra howl for one and two baybees to come help, and I know you do good job, but I know seekrat. I know place to stab. One and two santur baybees too strong, need seekrat to stab.”

“Thank you,” said Lobuhl.

“I owes you all things,” said Ridzak. “Gnolls are off the schedule for the Whimsey now. No matter what the pay. Unlessenofcourse one of you lays their paws on us. That’s different.”

“Keel to leev,” said Nishta, “eetz da vay.”

“Are there any centaurs left, Nishta?” Vallus asked kindly.

“One. Sekunt baybee umbra make. She da wursht.”

“How so?” asked Lobuhl.

Nishta sniffed and let out a slow whine before speaking. “She mean, and she stay one piece. She not break. And seekrat not work good on her. She small, but she mean and not break. And she hungry.”

“Did she kill many of your pack?” Neri asked.

“She keel some. Erk keel more. Erk hide in grass, and keel us quiet. Follow us long time. Then hooman keel some, devarf keel some, ulf keel some, greenskins keel some. Everyone keel gnoll.”

“Dread Highness,” Neri said, “with your permission, I’d like to send a thrush to Moonveil and ask Dathenyn to give these gnolls asylum.”

“Have we any thrushes left?” Lobuhl asked. “Wult had the thrush cage on him, and he was eaten straight away. The cage may have been crushed in the battle for all we know.”

“I could try and find it.”

“Pack small now,” said Nishta, “and no santur. They hide, no scare any more. Maybe nobody keel gnoll now, ya?”

“And what about you?” asked Vallus.

“I find more gnoll like me, gnoll with no pack. I make new pack. I Nishta now, new Den Mother, find new Gosvag, new Den Father.”

Neri gave her scruff a long and gentle rub. “I wish you the best, Nishta.”

She eyed him furtively, darted her head in and gave his mouth a quick lick, then disappeared into the forest. The air was filled with laughter and mockery, which Neri could not argue against.

“Good thing Wolfsniffer’s gone,” said Ridzak, “or your Den Mother would be an elf’s cloak right now.”

“So what now?” Neri asked, eager to change the conversation.

“You and I had best head back to the mountain,” said his prince, “along with those we have left. We’ll carry our dead back to their families and give them proper rites. We’ll stop by Sholai on the way and send out patrols. This other creature needs to die, but at least it can’t split.”

“You heard the lady, there’s other packs,” said Vallus. “I need to meet with my captain before I act any further, and I’ll be sure to mention what I’ve learned here of the gnolls. I’ve never met one like Nishta.”

“Neither have I,” Neri said, not realizing how his words would sound after she’d offered to be his mate and licked his face. Laughter again filled the air. When farewells were said, the Grim Whimsey disappeared into the forest, off to replenish their numbers before searching for the seventh of nine.

“I hope she finds a new pack,” Neri said as they began their return to Obrus.

“I hope she doesn’t,” Lobuhl replied, with his typical bluntness.

“Why’s that, Dread Highness?”

“Like Vallus said, more packs means more centaurs. Odds are there’s another stallion, or umbra, as your den bitch called it. But there’s nothing we can do for now, other than warn our allies and triple our watch on the Coldwood.”

It was a long and somber journey back for the dwarves, and Vallus, who travelled with them part of the way. When at last they reached Obrus, Neri felt the burning and stiffness in his arm fade away to a dull throb. His muscle tissue had been damaged, but Dathenyn had saved his flesh from corruption, and him from losing an arm.

They came to an entrance used only by the military; a spur of rock north of the Trembling Path and the Horned Black Gate. A hole had been bored into the rock and lead to a tunnel that spiraled downward to an ohr-tempus. Neri took a last look at the Coldwood before going down. The day had turned to night and a cold wind came down from the mountain. He noticed passingly that the forest was lit with a red glow, as if it too were bleeding from the battle with the centaurs. He looked up into the sky at the source of the red glow; the strange wanderer that had shone itself so recently. Its red fire was reaching outward like fingers trying to grasp the world. Neri felt a sudden fear of the thing, and in his heart of hearts he could swear he felt malice coming from it.

Lobuhl patted his shoulder as he passed him and went into the tunnel. “I’ll see you at the wedding feast,” the Prince said as he vanished into the darkness beneath Obrus. Neri turned to follow and for an instant blue light glinted off the helms of the guards that flanked the tunnel. He looked back at the star and saw its blue core flickering, and where he had just felt fear, he at once felt calm.