[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

violently, all the while fending off the pathetic stabs of its companion, and when it at last stopped
resisting, he smashed it hard into the wall of rock.
The second creature squealed and fled, but he threw the first into it, taking it down in a heap.
He stalked past, crushing the life out of the second goblin with a single heavy stomp to the
back of its skinny neck.
Several of the creatures, females, too, presented themselves in the next room, some cowering,
but they would find no mercy from the giant. A trio of small spears flew at him, only one con-
necting, striking him right in the chest, right in the thick of the curious gray fur cape he wore.
The spear hit bone-the skull of the creature from which the cape had been fashioned, an unrecog-
nizable thing under a layer of ice and snow. The spear had not the weight, nor the weight behind
the throw, to penetrate, and it hung there, stuck in the folds and slowing the enraged giant not at
all.
He caught a goblin in his huge hand, lifted it easily, and flung it across the chamber. It smas-
hed into stone and fell still.
Others tried to run away, and he caught one and threw it. Then another went flying. With their
backs to the wall, a pair of goblins found courage and turned to meet him, thrusting their spears
to fend him off.
The giant tugged the spear from his cape, brought it up and bit it mid-shaft, tearing it in two,
and advanced. With his batons, he slapped aside the spears, furiously, wildly, with speed and agi-
lity that seemed out of place in a man of his size and strength.
Again and again, he pushed the spears aside and closed, and he moved suddenly, swiftly, bas-
hing the spears out wide and reversing his hands as he lurched forward, stabbing the batons into
the chest of the respective goblins. He rolled his hands under and lifted the squealing creatures
on the end of those batons, and slammed them together once and again, as one fell squirming and
shrieking to the floor.
The other, stabbed by the sharp end of the spear, hung there in agony and the giant dropped it
low and suddenly reversed, shoving it straight up as the spear slid deeper into its chest. He tossed
the dying thing aside and stomped down on its fallen companion.
 He stalked off in pursuit of the chieftain, the champion.
It was larger than he, a verbeeg, a true giant and not a man. It carried a heavy, spiked club and
he held nothing in his hands.
But he didn't hesitate. He barreled right in, lowering his shoulder, accepting the hit of the club
with the confidence that his charge would steal the energy from the swing.
His powerful legs drove on with fury, with the rage of the storm, the strength of Icewind Dale.
He drove the verbeeg backward several strides and only the wall stopped his progress.
The spiked club fell aside and the verbeeg began slamming him with its mighty fists. One
blew the air from his lungs, but he ignored the pain as he had ignored the bite of the cold wind.
The man leaped back and straightened, his balled fists exploding upward before him, slam-
ming the verbeeg hard and breaking the grapple.
Giant and man reset immediately and crashed together like rutting caribou. The crack of bone
against bone echoed through the cave and the few goblins who stayed around to watch, perple-
xed by the titanic battle, gasped to realize that had any of them been caught between those cras-
hing behemoths, it would surely have been crushed to death.
Chins on shoulders, giant and man each clasped the other around the back and pressed with all
his might. No punches or kicks mattered anymore. It was no contest of agility, but of sheer
strength. And in that, the goblins took heart, and believed that their verbeeg leader could not be
beaten.
Indeed, the giant, two feet taller, hundreds of pounds heavier, seemed to gain an advantage,
and the man started to bend under the press, his legs began to tremble.
On the giant pushed, the timbre of its growl going from determination to victory as the mighty
man bent.
But he was of the tundra, he was Icewind Dale. By birth and by heritage, he was Icewind Da-
le-indomitable, indefatigable, timeless, and unbending. His legs locked, as sturdy as young oaks,
and the verbeeg could press no more.
"I& am& the& son& of& " he began, driving the giant back to even, and after a grunt and a re-
newed push that had him gaining more ground, he finished, "& Icewind& Dale!"
He roared and drove on. "I am the son of Icewind Dale!" he cried, and roared and roared and
forced his arms downward, bending the stubborn verbeeg to a more upright, less powerful stan-
ce.
"I am the son of Icewind Dale!" he yelled again, and the goblins yelped and fled, and the ver-
beeg groaned.
 He growled and pushed on with more fury and stunning strength. He bent the verbeeg awk-
wardly and it tried to twist away, but he had it and he pressed relentlessly. Bones started to crack.
"I am the son of Icewind Dale!" he cried, and his legs churned as he twisted and bent the giant.
He had it down to its knees, bending it backward, shoulders leaning. A sudden and violent thrust [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]