“It’s a female, and she's with cub,” Telgra pleaded while Hyden gathered momentum. “Just look at the swell of her belly.”
“Hyden looks like a snowball now,” Phen interjected with a chuckle. “He’ll be all right, Lieutenant. The bear won’t hurt him.”
Lieutenant Welch studied Phen’s expression. This was one of those moments the High King had warned him about. He had heard Hyden Hawk’s speech about protecting the bear if she was with cub, but by the gods, if Hyden were to die out here, what then?
“Bron Omea Hedge,” Hyden’s voice called out from across the valley as he somehow managed to stop his tumble. He was pointing up beyond the other companions. “Bron Omea Hedge!” he yelled again. Then, with a look over his shoulder, he half limped and half ran into the thick row of trees that lined the stream at the valley bottom. The bear was right on his heels.
“By Doon, what did he say?” Oarly asked.
“I think he said ‘brown over the ledge,’” Phen answered.
“He said ‘run!’” Telgra shook her head at the two of them. “Run over the ridge.”
“Why would he want us to run?” Phen asked. “Hyden needs our help. I’m not going to run. I’m going to help him. That bear can’t hurt me.” He stalked down into the trees on a line to where Hyden and the bear had entered.
“By the gods, King Mikahl was right,” Lieutenant Welch said excitedly. “You people are mad, or drunk, or both.” Even as he said the words, Lady Telgra darted off into the trees at a different point and in a different direction, but parallel to Phen’s route.
Oarly tried to climb onto a loaded pack horse, but only managed to pull the packs loose and fall into a heap in the snow. The loud sound of branches crunching underneath something large and heavy echoed through the afternoon. Lieutenant Welch reluctantly jumped off his horse to help Oarly. “Lead the horses up to the ridge,” he snapped at his men. “Hurry, we can’t stand to lose the pack horses.”
Jicks and the archers did as instructed. The lieutenant was glad he gave the order when he did, because just moments later his own horse bolted in terror when Hyden and the snarling bear came tearing out of the trees straight at them.
The lieutenant froze in shock. He’d never seen such a huge creature. Its wide, round head was as big as a horse’s rump, and its tiny black eyes were full of something akin to rage. Nevertheless, without hesitation, he drew his blade and stepped protectively over Oarly, who was struggling in the deep snow.
“No!” Hyden tried to change his course away from them. He knew, though, that it was too late. The lieutenant was committed to protect the dwarf. A sadness came over Hyden that nearly caused him to falter. The last thing he wanted to happen was for the bear to get hurt. He didn’t understand why Oarly hadn’t fled with the others like he had told him to. Now, disaster was impending as Hyden streaked past and the bear turned its attention to the other two.
It was hard to say who screamed louder: Oarly, the lieutenant, or Hyden.
“Dien,” a huge, bellowing voice thundered through the valley, overpowering all of them. “Sepan Leif! Dien! Dien!” the voice continued. Then in the unmistakable common tongue, the same voice said, “Stay your sword, man!”
To everyone’s amazement, the bear, which was right upon them, lurched and veered past. The lieutenant’s immaculately kept steel passed only inches from the creature’s skin. In fact, a tuft of fur came floating lazily down toward the wide-eyed, shock-frozen dwarf at his feet.
Hyden dodged and twisted. He had expected to hear the grunting collision of flesh on flesh, or the lieutenant’s armor crunching beneath the impact of the animal’s great weight, but he didn’t. Instead, he heard Borg. Not sure if the creature was still on his heels, he dove to the side and tumbled to a stop.
“Bahhh,” Oarly growled as he got to his feet.
Hyden shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs brought on by his tumble. His face was hot and stinging from where branches had raked and slapped it on his flight through the trees. His body was glazed in sweat, and now he was freezing, especially from his knees down where he was soaked from running through the stream.
Suddenly, Telgra’s shrill scream cut through the air. Phen called her name twice from inside the wooded area at the valley bottom and then let out a yell himself.
Just as Hyden was finally able to turn and look in that direction, a big, hot-breathed muzzle engulfed his face. There were teeth and wild eyes. For a moment he thought it was the bear, but it wasn’t. A huge, slobbering tongue sloshed across his cheek. The sensation, even the smell of the creature’s breath, was familiar. Huffa didn’t wait for his recollection. She pounced on him and began licking him as if he were a piece of salt rock.
The low, insistent growling of another pair of great wolves held Oarly’s attention. The terrified dwarf was on his feet now, his dagger in one hand, and a small hatchet in the other. The wolves weren’t growling at him, though. They were growling at the huge bear they were trying to herd away from the group.
“Urge her home, Oof,” Borg called from the top of a rocky precipice at the head of the valley.
Standing there, with his staff in hand, silhouetted by the clear blue sky, he looked thirty feet tall, like some dark-robed arctic god. He was only half that height, but to those who had never seen a full-blooded giant he was as imposing as could be. Even the white-furred great wolves looked huge.
Borg started striding down the slope in that long, loping gait that only giants can manage.
Telgra’s shrill shriek split the valley again, only this time it was tinged with delight, instead of terror. A moment later, she and Phen came out of the trees. She was riding one of King Aldar’s great wolves, while Phen was jogging along beside them. Both were grinning broadly.
Chapter 30
“Well met, Hyden Hawk,” said Borg, with a smile. Unlike the primitive-looking breed giants, Borg looked like a thrice overgrown man. While Oarly found this frightening, Phen and Lady Telgra were intrigued by his size. The soldiers had seen Borg when he was in Dreen, so to them, he was familiar. To all of them, his presence was both encouraging and a relief at the same time.
“I hope you're being sarcastic, my old friend,” Hyden said. He stood and ruffled the scruff of Huffa’s neck, then began brushing the icy debris off of his soaking wet britches.
“In those furred cloaks, I thought you were a pack of gremlets,” Borg laughed. “I almost let nature take its course. Only your bowman's horse bolting through the trees gave you away.”
“Thank you for intervening,” Lieutenant Welch said. “Come on down, lads. Hobble the horses and build us a fire. Sir Hyden Hawk will be needing some heat.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” said Hyden.
“They are beautiful.” Telgra looked up at Borg from the back of a young male great wolf.
“His name is Yip,” Borg replied, taking in her elven features. Her amber gaze made her look wild. “I think he likes you.” Borg’s eyes scanned the others but then stopped on Phen. After a moment, he burst into a deep, rumbling laugh.
Phen scowled up at him and then glared at Hyden.
“Ah, young Phen,” Borg sighed through his glee. “Hyden Hawk has told me much about you and your predicament.”
“It’s not funny,” Phen said.
“No, I suppose it’s not funny to you,” Borg agreed. The giant looked at the soldiers leading the hesitant horses back into the valley. Then he glanced around the area until he saw Oarly. The dwarf was staring up at him and shivering.
“Master Dwarf,” Borg said, bending at the waist to extend a hand down toward him.
Oarly looked unsure as to what to do with a hand that could cover his whole head as if it were an apple. Slowly he reached up, grabbed two of Borg’s fingers, and shook them in greeting.
“Let’s make camp here,” Hyden ordered from his place by the pile of deadfall that Jicks was trying to light. “I would like to visit my friend’s resting place, and I need to speak to the Southern Guardian alone.”