Pool of Radiance - James M. Ward [83]
The three left the wizard's chamber as quietly as they had entered. Outside, they were greeted by the reassuring snores of the gnoll leader and his mates. Just as they were about to step from behind the curtain, however, a deafening gong sounded in the courtyard, and squeals and screams resounded from one end of the compound to the other.
They could see nothing from where they stood, plastered tight against the wall behind the curtain, but they could hear the chaos in the room beyond when the gnoll leader leaped from his bed, kicking females out of his way as he scrambled to reach the courtyard. Then they heard scrambling noises as the dozen or so gnoll mates pushed and shoved their way out the door after him.
"Can you call that horse of yours out?" asked Ren.
Shal nodded.
"Good. Just as soon as we clear the door, you two mount up and get out of here while the camp is still in an uproar. I'll act as a decoy till you can get across the courtyard. You can count on the gnolls to fight in lines like fools. I'll manage somehow to dodge my way past them, but be ready to pick me up!"
Shal and Tarl followed Ren's instructions without hesitation. In moments, they were mounted on Cerulean's broad back, plowing through the center of the courtyard in the midst of the chaos. Shal held the Staff of Power out at just the right height to clip the tall gnolls in the neck as they approached, sending them to the ground like so many ninepins. Others who managed to duck under the staff reached up, grabbing, trying to stop the big horse, but Cerulean was relentless. Tarl, in the meantime, was swinging his hammer with passion.
At that moment, the air was pierced by a loud war whoop, and Ren emerged into the courtyard, brandishing his twin daggers. Immediately several disorganized groups of gnolls began to advance toward him. Ren knew that the key to fighting gnolls was to avoid getting hit. The creatures were big and gangly and awkward in their movements, but when they connected, the person at the receiving end of a blow seldom got up. In a blur of motion, Ren began to dodge, duck, and knife his way through the lines. One gnoll got hold of his shoulder and shoved him down roughly, so that his elbow jammed hard into the rocky ground. It took all of Ren's presence of mind and willpower to ignore the pain and jump quickly back to his feet, but before he could get free, a gnoll's spiked cudgel slammed into his left hand, goring through flesh and bone and pulverizing the flat of his hand with its impact.
The pain was like a massive electrical charge that jolted through Ren's body. He felt as if his insides were going to burst, just as air would explode from a burst balloon. He could no longer react rationally, but fought on in a frantic, instinctive, uninhibited frenzy. Pain and fear drove him forward with a fury that was frightening. With his good hand, he drew out a short sword and wielded it with such a vengeance that he emasculated one gnoll with a swing, then gashed partway through the belly of another with his next. Even the bloodthirsty gnolls grew wary, and Ren sensed that he had to keep moving while he retained the advantage. As he started to dart across the courtyard, he came face to face with the huge gnoll chieftain.
Obviously Cadorna hadn't lied about the ancestry of the gnoll leader. Ren had never seen such a creature. The chieftain had the ungainly height of a gnoll, coupled with the bulk of a brawny human. Ren might well have mistaken him for a giant, were it not for his face. A man's nose protruded like a wart from a hyena snout, and pink human lips framed slavering canine teeth. But it was the eyes that were most terrible of all. They were unnaturally large, wide-rimmed and wide-set like a gnoll's, but they bore the searing intelligence of a human being-a sick, crazed human being. The creature bore a monstrous double-edged sword and a long, sharp dagger.
"Human slug! Don't think for one minute you can run from me!"
The creature's speech was thick and difficult to understand. Obviously its distorted mouth