“Quick, get off the trail. Someone’s coming!” Birney whispered. The little Drelves slunk to the side of the path and sat beneath a bramble bush.
A huge Droll walked near them, stopped for a moment, sniffed, and looked all around. Invisimoss shielded them from the keen eyes of the sentries, and the gray berries disguised their essence form the guards’ keen noses. Drolls had destroyed the forest near the tower and laid bare the land. There was nowhere to hide. Sentries on the wall walk at the top of the thirty-foot-tall tower had a clear new of the area around. The tower sat about fifty Yardley paces from the River Ornash. Drolls constantly watched the river. A Kiennite wearing an ornate robe walked back and forth across the bridge near the tower and fired bolts of purplish energy into the water. Huge fires burned on both sides of the river.
Xenn said, “Magick Missile Spells.”
Birney observed, “Fishing? Guess they are too lazy to use poles.”
Xenn whispered, “We are out of sight and smell. There’s so much noise with all the chopping and fires, they won’t hear us.”
Birney asked, “Are we going to use the odd round balls?”
Xenn said, “Yes. How far can you throw one of them?”
Birney said, “Not as far as I can hit the enemies with my bow. I’m in easy range of the tower from where we stand, but there are too many to take out with arrows. In fact, even if your spells destroy the tower, there are so many Drolls about that I don’t think we can succeed. We ought to fall back, Spellweaver. In my greed for vengeance, I have placed you at risk.”
Xenn said, “No one is guaranteed his next breath. Let’s proceed.”
benjamintowe 