“It’s not too late to turn back,” Drexel said.

A thick column of black smoke rose high overhead. I was afraid of the dragon but I had to know if Gnick and Gnelly were alive.

“Don’t you feel any responsibility at all?” Freya asked.

“Of course I do,” Drexel said. “It is my responsibility to stay alive.”

“I second that,” Chastity said.

“I want to know if my friends are alive,” I said.

“So do I, Telle.” Freya looked at me.

Sheesha barked. A figure ran toward us. A stilt girl with her clothes burned off of her naked body ran with her arms outstretched. Her charred black skin was cracked to reveal the glistening pink muscle underneath. Her mouth was open. She had lost her voice. I could barely hear her raspy wails as she ran past us and up the road. Her bloody feet were shredded on the gravel.

"Well we dont have to fear the worst anymore" Jenna said, "Now we know its definetely the worst."

"Can we start heading back to Barry's please, Freya?"

"Freya?"

We marched in silence toward the smoking town of Heedon Springs.

We approached the town gate. My stomach turned. A familiar stench hung heavy in the air. The smell brought me back to the days we spent on the raft while Ragnar lay dying. No guards were in sight. We walked into a cloud of smoke.

“I can’t see anything!” Someone cried out from the ruins of a smoldering house. “Help me!” Cried another. “I’m burning!” Shouts came from all around us. Black puddles of acid hissed in the dirt. I led the group through the part of town where Gnick lived. I tried to guess the way. The homes were all demolished. The smell of charred Gilmic pig was everywhere. We covered our noses and made our way through the ruined district.

“Did we do this?,” Freya said. Her face was pale as she looked at the destruction around us.

“Don’t be absurd.” Drexel rolled his eyes. “Unless you’ve grown some black wings…” He looked at her back. He poked a finger between her shoulder blades.

“Stop it!” Freya said. “This is no time for games.” She caught his wrist in a flash and held his hand in front of her face.

She released his hand.

“Where are you taking us, Telle?” She asked.

There were rows of rubble where there were houses once stood. There weren’t even screams. Everything in this part of town had been completely destroyed. All the ruins looked the same. I was about to give up when Sheesha began to trot ahead.

“Sheesha knows where we are,” I said. Sheesha barked and strained against her harness. I let up so she could run. She sprinted past the rows of smoking ruins. She turned down a strip of dirt. She bounded over a puddle of black acid. Suddenly, she stopped before a pile of melted stones and smoking boards. She whined and looked back at me. She sniffed at the pile. I climbed down off her back and walked to the ruins. A glint of metal shone from under some boards. I kicked back the broken pieces of wood. I reached down and picked up a brass knocker. It was a dog’s head with the ring in its mouth. Sheesha sniffed the doors. She sat back and let out a howl.

“This is where they lived,” I said. My eyes burned. I dropped the brass knocker into the dirt.

“I’m sorry Telle,” Freya said. She put her hand on my shoulder.

“That’s tough,” Drexel said. Even Drexel looked like he cared. We stood by the remains of Gnick’s home. Except for the hissing of the acid, there was only silence.

“Just a few days ago this place was full of life!” I said. Nobody said a word. I pulled out my idol of Kraken.

“A prayer for my friends,” I said. I bowed my head.

“Kraken, you are mighty. Your horn is strong. Bless this place. Look after Gnick and Gnelly in the afterdeath. Guide us Kraken, make us do your will. May your horn miss us.” I raised my eyes. In my heart I knew that Kraken would take care of them, even though they didn't have him in their lives. Even though I barely knew them, I wished I could see them again.

“My his horn miss us,” Jenna said. I led Sheesha back to what remained of the road. As we made our way past the rows of ruin, she pulled again at her harness. I tried to hold her back, but she barked and whined. I gave up and let her go. She raced ahead.

Sheesha jumped over a black pool of acid. She ran to the half-buried corpse of a gilmic pig. Its charred body lay in a yellow puddle of its own melted fat. Sheesha scratched with her paws at a pile of boards and stone rubble. I carefully made my way to her and pulled her harness.

“Come on girl. You can eat later,” I said. I pulled at her harness. She whimpered. As I led her back to the path, she kept craning her neck to look back at the pile.

“Only a dog could think of eating at a time like this,” Drexel said.

“Quiet!” Jenna said. Her ears were cupped.

“What is it?” I asked. I looked at the sky for any sign of the dragon.

“Shhh…” Jenna said.

“Ooooh.” There was a groan from under the boards.

“Someone is in there!” Freya said. She sprinted to the pile in a blur. She pulled boards and stones off the heap. Sheesha barked. Chastity and I ran over to help. A hand appeared, then an arm. The fingers wiggled. We all pulled off boards and rocks. With a grunt, Freya pulled a bearded and round man the heap. He was pale with dust. He coughed deeply. He spat onto the ground in front of him. He was the thick, short man I’d seen when I went to Gnick’s.

He looked at the corpse of the gilmic pig next to him.

“Poor Bertha,” he said. He looked up at Freya. He twisted around.

“My uncle…” He pulled at a few boards.

“I’m sorry,” Freya said. Her face looked strained. He turned back to face Freya.

“You didn’t find anyone else?” He asked in a deep voice. He wiped his face with his hands and coughed. He shook his head and reached out his hand. Freya grabbed his wrist. She leaned back as he pulled against her arm and got to his feet. He was just a bit taller than me but twice as thick.

“My cousin,” he said. He pulled at the boards around him. “His house.” He looked at the wreckage. A piece of metal shone in the dust.

He reached into the rubble and pulled out a long, heavy chain. “Is she gone?” He asked.

“Is who gone?” Freya asked.

“The bitch dragon,” he said. He wrapped the chain slowly around his right arm. Every other link was barbed with sharp metal hooks.

“She’s gone,” Drexel said.

“Lucky for her I guess,” he said. Drexel looked at Freya.

“They call me Grundy.” The stocky man said. He held out his hand. “Thanks for yanking me out of that mess.” He nodded to the pile.

“What happened?” I asked.

“What does it look like? That bitch of a dragon went on a tear!” He said. He carefully wrapped the last links of the chain around his arm. “I’ve lost everything,” he said. He made a fist around the end of his chain.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Wasn’t your fault,” he said. He kicked a board in front of him. It shot backwards with a crack. He was strong.

“I never should have let my cousin talk me into moving here,” he said. He pulled at the scraggly beard that hung from his chin. Bits of stone and wood fell from his beard.

“I’m going to find that lizard and kill her for what she’s done,” he said.

“Of course you are,” Drexel said. “Good luck with that.” He walked toward town. He stopped when he realized nobody was following. He stared back in disbelief.

“Do you know why she did this?” Freya asked.

“Dragons don’t need reasons,” he said. Freya frowned.

“And you’re just going to find that dragon and deal with her yourself?” She asked.

“You’re damn right I am,” he said. “I’ve got nothing to lose. He looked down at the spiked chain. “I’ll see how she likes this,” he said.

“Noble intentions,” Freya said. “But don’t you think you’ll end up like this?” She poked her toe at the melted corpse of the gilmic pig.

“Might,” he said. He sat on a stone and held his head in his hands.

He looked around. “Dont seem to matter.”

“You didn’t find anyone else?” He asked. The acid hissed around us.

“Guess I’m lucky I made it.” He fingered the chain around his arm.

“What are you folks doin’ around here anyway? Tourists don’t come out this far.” He asked.

“Did you know Gnick and Gnancy?” I asked.

Huh?” He looked up from his chain. “You mean them dog keepers?”

“Yes.” I pointed to Sheesha.

“Their mutts got out and scared my pigs from time to time,” he said. He looked down the road at the rubble of their house. “Still, it’s a shame,” he said. “I suppose you knew ‘em?” He asked. I nodded. The first flies began to crawl on the pig’s corpse.

“Did I thank you for pulling me out of that?” Grundy asked.

“You’re welcome,” Drexel said.

“Twenty years of putting up with that high-altitude attitude and look what it got him.” Grundy swatted a stenchfly.

“Who?” I asked.

“My uncle.” He smashed a stenchfly against the haunch of the pig. Green guts spurted onto the burnt fur of the pig.

“’Come to Heedon Springs. There’s work for swineherds.’ He told me. He forgot to mention that if you ain’t a stilt you have to live with the rest of the riff-raff.” He flicked the fly off the pig and into a puddle of acid. It vanished in a puff of steam.

“Come with us,” Freya said. She shot a look at Drexel before he could object.

“That’s mighty fine of you, but what makes you think I want to?” Grundy smiled.

“We have a way of picking up strangers who have lost everything,” Freya said. She looked at me. She smiled wearily.

“Yes. Come with us Grundy,” I said. “We’re going to hunt some smoogers.”

“Is that right?” He said. “What’s a smooger ever done to you?” He asked. Everyone looked at me.

“You don’t want to know,” I said. My voice was steady and low. Grundy looked at the others and back at me.

“I can mind my own business. But, I reckon I owe you a favor.”

"We're not going to hunt goblins." Freya said, "We're trying to find this Dragon, just as you are"

"You don't still seriously think you can talk to it?" Drexel asked.

"I'll do to it whatever I have to" Freya said.

"You're crazy!" Chastity said.

"Freya," Jenna said, "You're a little emotional right now, and naturally so. But surely you can see that we are powerless against that beast, no matter why it did this. Lets head back to Barry's and see what he thinks."

"I can't go there and watch you all get more massages" Freya snapped, "I'm sick of it. We have to take some kind of action."

"So lets get some smooger action!" I shouted.

"Freya you know the goblins are still threatening the west road, chances are the Dragon didnt swing by and melt them too", Chastity said

"Exactly!" I said. "This is our chance to make a difference, just like Barry said!"

"We can't touch that dragon," Chastity continued, "but would it make you feel better to go teach some yellowtoed road bandits the error of their ways? Did you see that poor, bloodied rich couple at that gate when we came into town? The goblins did that to them! Suffering is suffering..."

"Yeah!" I agreed, "Lets go make em suffer!"

Freya frowned.

"Them goblins never attack anybody but rich stilts on that road, you know" Grundy advised.

"That does not excuse them" Freya said.

“You’d be doing us that favor if you could help us stop them, Grundy,” Chastity said.

“Well, i suppose I can do that,” he said. "I got no love for Bandits to be sure."

“You do it then? You’ll take us to the Goblins?” Chastity asked.

“Got nothing better to do. My house and my livelihood are gone. The stilts aren’t going to help me out." Grundy stood up. He spat once more in the dirt. His face was ruddy. Deep lines ran across it. The only smooth skin was stretched across his bulbous nose. The wrinkles in his skin were filled with dirt, making him look old and tough.

As we walked down the dirt road we left the swineherd district behind us. Grundy didn’t look back. Thick smoke hung in the air. We passed blackened corpses. Their shrunken skin pulled their mouths into sickening smiles. A smoldering rickshaw lay on its side. The driver’s corpse was barely ashes. The bodies of the riders were tangled together in a melted pile. We covered our faces and walked solemnly past the carnage. Grundy didn’t flinch.

“Where are you from?” I asked. Grundy turned his head.

“Way up North. My people are far past this flatland,” he said. “There’s high country up there once you get out of this Twaddle mess.”

“What kind of people are you, exactly?” Jenna asked.

“We're Rightsizers. Around here they call us thickmiddles, knobnoses, and dwarves,” he said.

“You’re in stilt country so you might get used to it,” Freya said.

“Watch your language, Freya,” Chastity said. She pushed her mouth into a pout.

Nearer to the center of town, the burnt stretches shrank to random pockets of destruction. The shops and inns and all of the wealthy areas were untouched. Eventually, only the smell reminded us of what we’d seen, and the smoke pillars rising, just past the Inns to the east. The town center was completely unscathed. Only a handful of dazed tourists wandered among the stalls. There were only a few jugglers and entertainers about. The jugglers were having trouble keeping their balls aloft. A squad of the Town Guard marched past, much more orderly than last week.

“What are we doing in this part of town?” Drexel asked nervously.

“We’re on our way to the West Springs,” Grundy said.

“I’m not usually this direct,” Drexel said. “But, could we find a way to the springs that does not expose us to the Town Guard?” Drexel asked.

“What?” Grundy said.

“We need to avoid them.” Freya said.

“You folks in trouble?” Grundy asked. His eyes darted over Drexel.

“Trouble is a strong word,” Drexel said. “Let’s just say that we don’t get along with the guard.” Grundy stared at Drexel. Drexel flashed his teeth in a weak smile and picked at his cloak. Grundy looked over at the guards marching away and back at Drexel. He smiled.

“I don’t much get along with them myself,” Grundy said. Drexel laughed nervously. Grundy reached up to pat Drexel on the back. Then he led us down a side alley. We wound through the crowd. We passed into a part of town that we had not seen when we arrived.

Narrow side streets twisted between leaning buildings. A group of stilt children threw stones at a filthy dog. They didn’t look up as we passed. The street was paved with smooth, worn stones.

“This is the old part of town,” Grundy said. “They say this part of town is older than the springs resorts.” We passed tiny shops with colorful bottles. Other shops had ancient leather books on display, for outrageous prices. Hunched stilt women with their heads wrapped in colorful scarves wandered from shop to shop. On each corner were stilts with tan robes and bushy black eyebrows. They looked like the stilts we’d passed at the east gate.

“Them are monks from the Black Tang Monestary near the East springs. They keep the peace in some parts of town.” Grundy nodded toward two of the stilts. Their eyes were fixed on us as we passed.

"Why doesn't the Town Guard protect the entire town?" Freya asked

"They aint a proper Town Guard," Grundy said,"At least not like in most places. They're just a bunch of mercenaries that work for that big fat stilt, Falstaag."

"They're not government guards?" Drexel asked.

"Nossir, this town protects itself" Grundy said,

"Do they enforce Bupinder Government edicts?" Jenna asked

"I believe they do, not sure though, I just know all the duties are split up between the two private forces. Are you folks in trouble with the Government?"

"Thats kind of a long story" Drexel said.

"Don't matter none to me" Grundy said.

"So, Falstaag's mercenaries Black Tang's monks work together to protect the town?" Chastity was trying to follow the conversation

"Well I wouldn't go that far. The town guard steers clear of the monks,” He explained, then chuckled, "In fact, I do believe they hate each other quite a bit"

We wound past a small market. Skinned rabbits hung from a rope. A stilt girl stood in front of a table filled with tied bundles of leaves.

“Wait,” Freya said. She walked to the table.

“How much for the herbs?” Freya asked.

“A Heedontine for two.” The girl said. She looked at our group like we were lepers. She didn't look Freya in the eye. Freya grabbed two bundles and nodded to Drexel.

"These prices are outrageous" He said, and dropped a coin on the table.

“Did you see the dragon?” Freya asked the girl.

“Yes ma’am.” The girl said. She kept her eyes on her herbs.

“What happened?” Freya asked.

“Orka flew right up and landed over there,” she said, pointing back towards the middle of town" The girl was trembling, "I ran up and peeked through those buildings. Grundy grumbled. The girl’s eyes flicked over Grundy and then returned to the table.

“Then what?” Freya asked.

“She sat down and crushed the town guard's booth! Then The big fat Captain of the Guard man walked up to her and talked to her!,” she said.

“What?” Grundy asked. He leaned on the table. “What was said?” He asked.

“I didn’t hear. But she left after that. Everybody was screaming!” The girl said. She was looking us all in the eye now. "I was screaming too and crying, but mommy said it would be ok and Orka just wanted to kill the kneebiters and kneebiterlovers"

Drexel coughed loudly.

“Trinda?” A Stilt woman walked out of the doorway behind the girl. She looked at us.

“Get inside,” she said without looking down. The girl ran into the doorway.

“What do you want?” She asked Freya.

“I’ll take six of those Rabbits and a sack of fishmice.” Freya pointed to a pile of small furry fish under the line of Rabbits. The woman stared at us as she wrapped the meat in burlap.

“Ten heedontines,” she said.

“Five!” Drexel said, "I can only take so much abuse!".

“Ten for treehuggers and thighbiters like you.” She looked us over. “Or I call the monks,” she said. “And you can tell them why you were harassing my girl. I don't know who you are but you sure aint tourists and I don't have to kiss your asses.” She stared at Drexel.

Drexel dropped ten coins on the table. "I could buy a restaurant with that in some towns" he said.

The woman snatched up the coins. Her lips parted to show her crooked teeth. We turned to go.

“I’ve heard what you freaks do with good human children,” she said. Sheesha snatched a fishmouse off the table and inhaled it with a gulp.

"Typical townies." Grundy said.

We wound through the old quarter of town until we came to a crumbling stone wall. A group of stilt children in rags played by the wall.

“It’s Theo the short and small.” A child said. He threw a rock. The stone shot past my ear.

“Short and small, short and small, drive them out, one and all.” The children sang. They picked up more rocks. Grundy unwrapped the chain from his forearm. He swung it in the air over his head. It whizzed through the air. He knocked a stone from the air. The chain nearly struck the stilt who threw it. The child shrieked and ran. Grundy stepped forward and roared. The others scattered and disappeared down the cramped alleyways around us.

“Brats,” he said. He wound the chain back around his arm. He walked to the collapsed part of the wall.

“My uncle said that this wall once circled the entire town,” Grundy said. “Back when the area was being settled.” He led us along the base of the wall. The air stank of urine. Sheesha stopped and sniffed every puddle of fetid fluid. There were many. I forced her past the nastier pools. Dank air blew from a dark doorway. Inside, a baby cried. Barking echoed down the dark alleys. Sheesha growled. We followed a narrow street until it ended at a crumbling wall. The stones were green with moss. On one side, the wall had fallen apart, or been knocked over. Black scorch marks fanned out from a wide hole in the wall. On the other side, nothing but brown grass stretched for as far as I could see.

We climbed over the rubble and through the hole. We left the dank air of the town behind us. The grass was up to my thighs as I rode on Sheesha. If I walked, I couldn’t see a foot in front of me. The grass reached over Grundy’s head, but he seemed to know where he was going. We followed him for an hour until we burst out onto a gravel road.

“The road to the West springs.” He announced. "You can see the Heedon Springs West Gate way down the road there. We're too far for the guards to come bother us now, though."

“This is the road where those stilts were robbed.” I said, remembering the couple who staggered through the town square.

“Yep. Lots of rich folks get into trouble on their way to the springs. Unless they hire the town guard to escort them,” Grundy said.

“Sounds like a comfortable arrangement,” Drexel said.

“What do you mean?” I asked

“Either the guards are hired, or the goblins get a piece,” Drexel said. Grundy frowned and nodded.

“What are the springs like, exactly?” Chastity asked, hopefully.

“Rich stilts come to the springs to soak their oversized bodies. Its real expensive to get into either one of em. They say the water can heal a wound or make a body feel young again,” he said.

“Does it cure wrinkles?” Chastity asked. She ran her hand over her forehead.

“Like I said, only stilts go there, sometimes other rich folk too I reckon, but mostly lanky planklegs like yourself. ” Grundy said. “I wouldn’t know.”

“I want to go!” Chastity said. “It sounds wonderful.”

“Some other time,” Freya said. I felt a sting on my neck. I slapped it and my hand came away with a spot of blood. Sheesha whined. Several small flies left red bumps on her neck.

“We might want to make camp,” Grundy said. “The flies come out at night.”

“We don't want to run into smoogers at night either,” I said.

“Lets try there.” Freya pointed at a house off in the distance. "No smoke from the chimney, it looks abandoned". I swatted bugs off Sheesha’s neck. My stomach growled. I was hungry. As we neared the house, I noticed the front stoop had collapsed. The structure was a ruin. We gathered in front of the sagging door.

"This could be a goblin nest" Drexel said.

“I’m not going in first,” Chastity said.

“I’ll go.” I climbed off Sheesha. I picked my way past the holes in the steps.

“Be careful, Telle.” Freya called out. I ducked under the fallen beam over the doorway and slipped inside. My nose stung. The stench was a familiar. The filthy floor was littered with ropy black smooger scat. I held my hand over my face and turned to go when a scratching sound came from directly above me. I stared at the ceiling. Something was up there. I stepped as quietly as I could. I made my way across the room to the stairway. Slanting shafts of evening sunlight cut through the darkness.

The stairs creaked under my feet. I stopped. The scratching continued. I pulled my dagger slowly from my belt and crept up the stairs. I reached the top and froze. The noise came from a room at the end of a narrow hall. I held my knife out in front of me and walked slowly down that hall. It was pitch black. The air reeked of smooger. At the end of the hall, I braced myself. I took a deep breath of foul air and jumped around the corner.

“Die smooger!” I yelled.

The animal in front of me turned its head. The flat, brown eyes of a small gilmic pig blinked. It was only the size of a horse. It’s brown and white fur was so thin I could see the pink skin underneath. The sickly pig turned back to the board it was gnawing and chewed. Piled wood chips surrounded it. How it had gotten up here was a complete mystery. The air reeked of sickness.

I looked down at my knife and laughed at myself. I turned and made my way out of the house.

“What was that hollering about?” Grundy asked.

“I thought a gilmic pig was a smooger,” I said.

“That’s no way to talk about a gilmic,” Grundy said. I laughed.

“We don’t want to stay there. There was smoogersign everywhere,” I said.

“Eeew,” Chastity said.

“I guess we’re out here for the night.” Freya did not look pleased as she slapped a fly on her neck.

Grundy built a fire with boards from the house. He threw some handfuls of grass on the flames. The grass shriveled in the flames. Clouds of smoke rose up from the hissing bundles. The bugs vanished. Freya pulled a pan from her bag and set it on the embers. There was sizzling and popping as Freya dropped the meat she’d bought at the market onto the pan. The rabbits shrank as their fat ran into the coals with a hiss. I tried not to think of the burnt corpses I’d seen that day.

When their skin turned brown and crispy, Freya pulled them from the fire. Their cavities were stuffed with the bundled herbs. Freya sliced their sides and stuffed herbs into the holes. She turned them over the fire. Her hands moved so quickly she didn't get burned. By the time she served us the food, we were all starving. Grundy shouted after his first bite.

“Ah!” He sat back, stunned. He looked straight ahead.

“Are you alright?” Chastity asked. Freya just smiled.

Grundy’s look of shock slowly turned to a smile.

“I never.” He chewed and swallowed. “Never in my life!” He said.

“Don’t talk,” Freya said. “Just let the Chau into your body. Accept it.”

He shoved more meat into his mouth. The air was filled with the sound of grunting. We smacked out lips and sucked our fingers. Sheesha ate an half of a rabbit in one bite. I ate two, they went down in a blur.

My stomach was so full that the leather lacing of my vest cut into my skin. I loosened it up a bit and lay back in the grass. The stars were spread across the night sky. Sheesha snored beside me.

“I’m still not in a smooger pit.” I thought to myself. I smiled and pulled the idol of Kraken out of my pocket. I rubbed tip of the horn with my thumb. I prayed.

“Thank you Kraken. Thank you for getting me out of there. Thank you for leading me to these people. Keep me strong when I kill smoogers, my your horn strike them.”

I looked at the idol. I ran my thumb over the tip of Kraken’s horn. I was overwhelmed with the events of the day. “What is your plan for me?” I asked. There was so much I didn’t know. I brought the idol up close to my lips. “One thing is clear.” I said, low enough that no one else could hear me. “You have gotten me through this all for a reason, and I owe you everything. From now on, everything I do with my life, Kraken, I do for you. All I ask is that you keep watch over my Mother. And Gnick and Gnelly, and Gurdy's family, Cloda, and Gneal. And Ragnar. And give that Jehosephat a hard time, please. All this shouldnt be much for you, your greatness.” I pressed my thumb onto the tip of his horn until it pricked my skin. I pulled my thumb back. A bead of blood appeared. I licked the blood off my thumb.

“I will kill smoogers,” I vowed. After my years in the pit, my patience had paid off. I had waited so long for this. I closed my eyes and slept with my head against Sheesha’s belly and Kraken in my right hand.

“Goblins!” Grundy’s shout pulled me out of my sleep.

“What?” I rubbed my eyes. The sun was just coming up. The dawn sky was blood red.

“Chastity’s missing,” Freya said.

“She was carried off,” Drexel said. Our camp was a mess. Rabbit bones were piled near the fire. The grass where Chastity had slept was still matted down. I thought of Chastity in a smooger pit.

"Wasn't somebody on watch duty? We figured the smoogers might try something!" I said.

"Chastity was on watch" Freya said. Drexel put his head in his hand.

“We’ve got to find her!” I shouted. I pulled out my dagger. Sheesha barked.

“Stop panicking,” Freya said. Her face was drawn. “We don’t know that Chastity was taken by goblins.”

“Chastity is missing, that much we know.” Jenna walked to where Chastity had slept.

“I don’t see any signs of a struggle,” she said.

“If goblins had taken her, we would have been awoken,” Drexel said.

“I think so too,” Freya said. “So where is she?”

“Why would she just sneak off?” Grundy asked.

“To go to the springs.” Drexel said.

“I’ve got an idea,” I said. I pet Sheesha. Her bald skin was clammy under my palm.

“I bet Sheesha can track her.” I led Sheesha to last place we’d seen Chastity. “Smell girl. Smell!” I doubted she knew what I meant, but I rubbed her face in the grass. She barked. She sniffed the grass. “Good girl!” I rubbed her neck.

“Give her something,” I said. Freya pulled some of last night’s dinner out of a sack and tossed it to Sheesha. She gulped it down and jumped on Freya. Freya struggled to stay standing.

"No Sheesha, Smell! Smell!" I dragged her back and rubbed her face in the grass again. Sheesha sniffed and took a few steps toward the gravel road.

“That’s it, girl!” I said. The others followed. I jumped up onto Sheesha as she smelled the grass. She ran toward the road. I squeezed her sides to hold on. She walked down the road for just a few minutes and then stopped. In the grass across the road was a blue piece of silk.

“That’s from her dress!” Freya said. She examined it and then held it in front of Sheesha’s nose. She gave Sheesha another piece of meat.

Sheesha barked and jumped into the high grass on the other side of the road. Everyone ran to keep up. Grundy was left behind. Sheesha tore through the grass. She zig zagged a few steps and then ran straight. The road was just in sight behind us. Sheesha stopped. She looked to her left and then her right. She awkwardly walked us backwards a few steps.

“What’s she doing?” Freya asked.

“Maybe she’s lost the scent,” I said. Sheesha froze. She stuck her nose into the air and sniffed. Then she looked up at me and whined.

“I think I hear something.” Jenna said in a very low voice. A grunt came from somewhere in the grass. Then another. A wooden spear appeared in the ground in front of Sheesha. She jumped and nearly threw me to the ground.

“Smoogers!” I shouted. Freya spun around.

“Broiling flame, Boiling oil!” She shouted. With two smooth motions, Her right arm caught and broke the shaft of a spear in mid-air. I pulled the lance that Shickle had given me from its sheath. I looked from side to side. Grundy was just catching up to us. Drexel was nowhere to be seen. On Sheesha's back, I could see above the grass. I saw a swath of it parting near Grundy. A smooger was sneaking around to surprise him.

“Behind you!” I shouted a warning. Grundy turned around in time to see the smooger fling a spear. The spear stuck his broad shoulder and hung limply. Without a wince, Grundy unwrapped the chain from his arm and swung it in the air over his head. The spear fell to the ground. A deep growl came from the grass. Another smooger crouching in the grass on the back of a black hound jumped from the side. Grundy struck the first goblin with his chain. The hooked links wrapped around the smooger’s neck. Grundy pulled back and yanked the chain free. Chunks of meat were ripped clear. The smooger fell forward. He gurgled as green blood poured from his mouth.

I kicked Sheesha forward. At the same time, a mounted smooger charged toward Grundy. The smooger aimed his stick at Grundy’s back. He grinned and drew back his weapon. With barely a flick of my wrist, I lowered my lance. It was beautifully balanced. No smooger stick had ever handled so well. Sheesha charged.

“My name is Telle Smellme!” I shouted as I bore down. The surprised smooger turned his head. His look of shock turned to horror as the tip of my lance slid between his ribs. I leaned into it. The tapered shaft ran right through the smooger. I rode until my hand was inches from his chest. His eyes were locked onto mine. Sheesha stopped. For an instant, the smooger and I were nose to nose. I spat in his face. He fell backwards off his mount and slid the length of my lance. He left green streaks along the shaft. I rode past. His mount chased me. It leapt and bit into my calf with pointed yellow teeth. I grimaced and held sheesha tight as she shook the beast free. I rode Sheesha past Grundy. His swinging chain caught the legs of the smooger hound.

I swung around. My lance dripped with gore. Freya crouched with her legs apart. She held her fists in front of her. She faced a mounted smooger. The crumpled body of another lay at her feet. I heard more coming from all around us. The smell of smoogers was strong. Behind me, Grundy finished off the smooger hound with his chain. At least five small goblins jumped up from the grass around us. We were practically on top of them. A huge smooger on a hound rode toward us. Jenna shouted in a language I did not understand.

“What?” I shouted back.

A black raven shot from her hands. It flew forward, flapping its wings. It struck the biggest smooger on the face and splattered across his neck.

“Graaaaw!” He shouted in rage. His hands went up to his face. Wisps of smoke came from between his fingers, and the raven ooze dripped into his shirt.

Freya spun around and kicked a smooger in the neck. It staggered back. She dove forward and tackled it. Her fists worked its body. I rode Sheesha toward one of the smaller smoogers. It looked up in fear. It turned to run. The tip of my lance struck the base of its neck. I ran the lance through the smooger’s neck. I put my foot between the smooger’s shoulders and kicked the dead goblin off my lance.

“You killed Gibble!” A smooger shouted in goblin. He brought the butt of his spear down as I rode past. I saw a flash of white and heard a crack. It felt like the back of my head was splitting open. I dropped my lance and fell forward onto Sheesha’s back. The fight slowed down. Shouts roared in my ears. I looked to the right to see Freya kick a smooger in the throat. Another smooger clung to her back and dragged her to her knees. Grundy’s chain was wrapped around a spear. A hound bit Grundy’s leg and pulled, knocking him to the ground. Several smoogers stood in a half-circle around Jenna. Her eyes were rolled back in her head. In one hand she held Ragnar’s beads. The smoogers advanced on her. Drexel was nowhere to be seen. I reached for my dagger and prayed to Kraken. We were killing smoogers, yes. But we were losing.