THE HIGH FORCE
| Location: River Tees, Co. Durham |
| Location: River Tees, Co. Durham |
“To either side and below the falls thundered. But Holt had no eyes or ears for their grandeur, only for glimpses of the path between the swaying trees. His intuition had not played him false; they came out and stood at the place where he and his lady had first seen the falls, pointing and jabbering to each other. They must believe their quarry gone ahead, still unaware of their presence— or else they no longer cared to stalk unseen.
Their pursuers were boggans, arrayed in a motley collection of armour, probably plundered, and therefore probably well weaponed. Boggans were not the largest or strongest of Firbolg races, though they were fierce fighters, and while disliking strong sunlight they could and would endure it. But their intellect was not usually high, and even bogles had more cunning. Holt blessed that fact, seeing that there were four or five here for him to deal with.
He crawled back a little, well out of sight, in order to string an arrow, and laid several more on the rock beside him. A cautious look showed him that the file had just begun to move. In a single movement he rose to his knees and fired: one of the creatures fell transfixed. Even as the arrow flew he had seized another and fired again at the one behind, catching him as he stood gaping at his fallen companion. Another ran back amid clamour, and Holt loosed again. But this time he missed his target...”
