Chapter 28: Discarded Drafts

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“Are you sure?” Catherine asked.

“Yes,” said Alfred.  “I saw it clearly.”

“So who were those men with your father?”

“I don’t know.  I’ve never seen them before.  I don’t think they’re from the mountain.”

“What are we going to do?” asked Shawn.

“We’re going to have to move fast,” said Catherine.  “Before they get a chance to hurt Carlyle or my mother.”

“Let’s not be too hasty,” said Shawn.  “They could be setting a trap for you.”

“I’m not afraid of them,” said Catherine.

*********************************

“Well, this is all going wrong,” Risoart said.

“What do you mean?” asked Brian.  “We got the mother with no problem.  And we got the first twin.”

“The problem with twins, though, is that there are always two of them,” Risoart said.  “It’s no good going to Ambrosia and presenting her with just one of the twins.  She’s going to know that there’s another one still out there.  It’s part of the definition of twins.”

“We’ll get the other one,” Brian said.

“How, though?  We’ve lost the element of surprise now.  Your boy ran off to warn her, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“And you yourself said that it’s very hard to find someone in the mountains who doesn’t want to be found.”

“But she’s not going to disappear.  We’ve got her mother and we’ve got her brother here.  She’s not going to just abandon them.  She’ll come to rescue them.”

“How long do you think we’ll have to wait?”

“Well, she won’t come tonight.  That’s for certain.  No one goes out after dark in these mountains.  After dark is when all the monsters come out.”

“Great.”

“Don’t worry, we’re safe enough in here.  The ogres might try to break down the door, but we can fight off the ogres if we have to.  You and your men are professional soldiers, after all.”

“We’ve never fought ogres before.”

“No, of course not.  No ogres in the forest, huh?  Well I’ve fought Ogres.  Lots of times.  I can show you how it’s done, if it comes to it.

Need to happen:

Carlyle down the mountain alone

Catherine stays

Attack during the day time?

Discarded Drafts: Chapter 27: Carlyle is Captured

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After a few hours, there was a knock on the door.  “That’ll be the twins,” Brian whispered.  “Dusk is coming, so they want to make sure their mother is safe.”

Risoart nodded knowingly.  He made hand motions to his men to stand on either side of the door.

“It’s me,” Carlyle’s voice called out.  “I’m back.”

Brian went to open the door.  He lifted up the bar, and pulled the door back.  Once the door was opened, Brian stepped to the side of the cave so Carlyle couldn't see him.

Carlyle noticed that the door had opened, but he couldn’t see anyone.   “Mother, are you there?  Where is--.”

Carlyle stepped in, and was instantly grabbed by the two men standing behind him.  They bound him with ropes, while Brian and Risoart put a bag over Carlyle’s head.  Carlyle struggled, but the four men quickly overpowered him.  Carlyle never even got a chance to draw his sword.  The soldiers were professionals, and within a couple minutes, Carlyle was bound and gagged.

Then, Brian saw something that he had not noticed before.  There was another boy who was standing in the doorway--another boy who had come along with Carlyle.  Brian recognized his son, Alfred.

Alfred stood in shock as he watched what his father had done to Carlyle.  then, he turned and ran.

“Wait, Alfred, stop you fool!” Brian called out after him.  “It’s almost dark.  Don’t run away.  Come inside where it’s safe.”  

But Alfred was already disappearing into the dusk.

Discarded Drafts: Chapter 26: Risoart Meets Margaret

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There was a knock on the door.  “Who is it?” Margaret asked.

“Margaret, tt’s me, Brian,” came the answer.

“Brian?  Where have you been?”

“Let me in and I’ll tell you all about it,” Brian said.

Margaret undid the bolt on the door, and saw Brian.  There was a man with Brian she didn’t recognize.

“May we come in?” asked Brian.

Margaret motioned them inside, and sat them down at the table.

“Who is your friend?” she asked.  “I don’t recognize him.  Is he new to the mountain?”

“What if I was?” the man asked.

The man’s tone was inquiring, not hostile.  Margaret suspected he might be a new refugee from the forest, so Margaret answered him in a friendly manner.  “If you’re new, then I welcome you to the mountain,” she said.  “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you did in the forest.  If you’ve come to the mountain, then you’re one of the mountain folk now.  And we welcome you.”

Margaret sat down at the table across from the two men.  “Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.

“Take another look,” the man said.  “Are you sure you don’t recognize me?”

Margaret studied his face for a minute.  “Should I recognize you?” she asked.

“I guess I wouldn’t expect you to recognize me.  It was a long time ago, and we didn’t interact much.  But we both served at Castle Tauna about fifteen years ago.”

Margaret’s heart skipped a beat.  She looked at Brian quickly for help, but then she saw that Brian was grinning at her maliciously.  

“Those twin babies were supposed to be killed,” the man continued.  “Keeping them alive was treason.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Margaret said.  But her face betrayed her panic.

“I think you do, Margaret,” the man said.  “Or should I say, Larentia.”

Margaret recognized the man now.  This was Risoart.  But she didn’t say anything.

“Where are the twins?” asked Risoart.

“Didn’t Brian tell you?” asked Margaret.  “They’ve developed an independent streak as of late.  They are out forming armies and fighting monsters.  They never come by and visit me anymore.”

Risoart looked at Brian.  “That’s only partly true,” said Brian.  “They may be off having adventures during the day.  But they’d never abandon their mother at night.  The nights on these mountains can be quite…,” Brian paused while he searched for the right word, “...unpredictable.”

“So, we wait until evening,” Risoart said.  “Very well.”  He put his feet up on the table.  “Have you got anything to drink around here, Larentia?” 

Prologue: The Attack in the Night

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It was the sounds of snarling and growling that woke them up first.

They were all trained to be light sleepers.  In the mountains, you had to be.  You never knew when an attack would come at night.

They lay still, hoping the noises would go away.  But then suddenly, there was a loud thud as some creature struck their door.  “I smell humans inside,” it yelled.  The creature pounded on the door several more times.  

The door stood.  The door was made of strong wood.  Behind the wood were several steel beams that reinforced the wood.  And behind the door were two large boulders that they pushed into place every night before bed.  The door would hold, at least for a while. And then…

They were all looking at each other.  Finn put his finger to his lips to motion everyone to stay quiet.  Then, as quietly as possible, Finn climbed out of bed.  The others followed his example.  

Finn grabbed his sword from where it hung on the wall.  He took it out of its sheath.  Carlyle took one of the axes from the wall.  Margaret took one of the knives.  Catherine took the crossbow, and pulled back the strings, and fitted an arrow.

The pounding on the door stopped.  For a moment it was quiet.

“They’re looking for rocks,” Finn said.  “Stay ready.”

A couple minutes later, there was a crash of something colliding with the door.  The wood cracked.  The steel beams held.  The two boulders kept the door in place.

Another crash as another huge rock collided with the door.  Then another crash.

Pretty soon, most of the wood on the door was reduced to splinters.  Although the steel beams still held, there were big gaps between the steel.

One of the ogres stuck his face through the gaps.

“Now,” Finn said.  Catherine pressed the trigger on the crossbow, firing an arrow right into the ogre’s right eye.  The ogre screamed in pain and immediately retreated.

Catherine hurried to fit another arrow into the crossbow.

Another ogre put his arm in through the door.  Finn raised his sword high and chopped down.  The ogre’s arm came clean off.  

There was a cry of rage from outside.  “You’ve just made them mad,” Margaret warned.

There was a pause, and then they could hear one of the ogres running towards the door at full speed.  He crashed into the door, dislodging the door from its hinges completely.  The two boulders behind the door also wobbled from the force of the impact.

The ogre entered into the house and roared like a lion.

The ogres were inside.  The wait was over.  The real battle had finally begun.  They all knew that the next few minutes would be critical.

Catherine’s heart was pounding fast.  She could feel the adrenaline flowing through her.  She raised the crossbow and fired an arrow at the ogre.  Then, suddenly, the crossbow burst into flames while it was still in her hands.  Catherine screamed out and dropped the crossbow on the ground in shock.  Margaret quickly threw a blanket over the crossbow and smothered the flames.  Catherine looked over at Margaret.  Margaret looked back at Catherine.  Margaret could see Catherine wanted to ask something.  “Not now,” Margaret said.  “We need to deal with the ogres first.”

The arrow that Catherine had shot hit the ogre in the neck.  The ogre screamed out in pain.  Flinn swung his sword and sliced the ogre’s head out.

“Quick, out into the open,” Flinn said.  “If we have to fight them, then let’s do it where we have room to swing our weapons.”

Flinn dashed out the door.  Carlyle followed him.  Fortunately, it was a full moon, so they could see the ogres clearly.  There were five more ogres standing outside.  They were big ugly things, covered in blue skin.

One of them roared, and charged towards Finn.  Finn thrust his sword right into the ogre’s chest.  It fell over dead.

Another ogre charged at Carlyle.  Carlyle hacked at it with his ax to try to keep the ogre at bay.  Flinn quickly came to Carlyle’s aid and swung his sword and cut the ogre’s head clean off.

Margaret and Catherine followed them outside.  Margaret carried the crossbow now.  It was a little bit singed, but still functioning.  Margaret fitted an arrow into the crossbow and fired it at one of the ogres.  It went right into the ogre’s chest, but didn’t go deep enough to kill it.  (Ogre’s can have very tough skin.)  But it still caused the ogre to cry out in pain.  The ogre charged towards Margaret, but once again, Finn swung his sword quickly, and chopped off the ogre’s head.

It was at this point that the remaining two ogres decided to flee.  

Finn collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

“It’s over,” said Margaret.

“For now,” Finn said, panting.

“I don’t think they’ll be back tonight,” Margaret said.

Finn stood up slowly.  His joints ached.  “I’m getting too old for this,” he said.

“Just a few more years,” Margaret said, smiling.  “You did good tonight, Finn.”

“The door is completely shattered,” Finn moaned.

“The iron bars are still usable,” Margaret said.  “We’ve got plenty of wood planks.  And we still have those two boulders.  We can barricade the entrance for the rest of the night.  Then we can rebuild the door tomorrow.  I don’t think those ogres will be back tonight.  But we should get inside soon.  Aefar and the other vampires hunt during the night.”

Finn scanned the sky, looking for bats, or any other flying creatures.  “Yes,” Finn agreed.  “Let’s get back inside, before anything else shows up.”

Chapter 25: Brian Makes a Plan

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“I trust you’ve been enjoying our hospitality?” Risoart said sarcastically.

“You have no idea how good it feels to be back in the forest,” Brian said, biting into a ripe apple.  “It’s so hard to find good food in the mountains.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” said Risoart.  “No wonder everyone turns into a carnivore in the mountains.”

“Yes, you can’t blame them really,” Brian said.  “Food is so scarce up there.  It’s not like in the forest where there is so much delicious food just hanging from the trees.”

“It is a little paradise down here, isn’t it?” Risoart said flatly.  “I’m sure a man would say anything to get back here.”

Brian stopped chewing, and put the apple down.  “Now, what’s that supposed to mean?  Surely you know everything I’ve told you is true.”

“I don’t trust anything as a matter of principle,” Risoart said.  “So when something sounds unbelievable, I’m inclined not to believe it.”

There was a small silence.  Then Brian prompted Risoart.  “But?”

Risoart sighed.  “But, the man talked.  It took a couple of days’ work.  He didn’t want to say anything until we forced it out of him.  But everything he said confirms your story.  He told us about the twins on the mountain. ”

Brian picked up his apple again and took another bite.  “I know how you feel.  You don’t like having to trust me.”

“I don’t,” Risoart said.

“But here we are,” Brian said gleefully.

“Here we are,” Risoart admitted.

“Risoart, don’t be so glum.  This is your golden opportunity.  It’s not every day a chance like this just drops into your lap.  Ambrosia will reward you amply for his.”

“You’re right.  I wish it was someone else who delivered this news, but, well, here we are.  I’ve assembled a troop of soldiers…”

Brian shook his head.  “No. No. No troop of soldiers.  Just you and me, and maybe one or two other men that you trust.”

“I’m not going into the mountains unprotected,” Risoart insisted.

“What do you mean unprotected?  I’ll be there to guide you.  I know a thing or two about surviving in the mountains.  I’ve survived for over ten years.”

Risoart looked unconvinced.  “Thank you, but I’d prefer to have my men with me.”

“No, look, you can’t.  If we came up the mountain with a whole troop of soldiers, they’d know we were coming before we even got there.  The girl, you see, she has this special bond with the ravens.  They bring her information.”

“So what? Do you think she has a chance against my troop of soldiers?”

“Well, I wouldn’t underestimate her.  Remember she’s got Ambrosia’s blood in her veins.”

“Even Ambrosia couldn’t defeat a whole troop of soldiers on her own.”

“They’re not on their own.  They’ve got a lot of friends in the mountains.  But it’s not even a fight I’m worried about.  What I’m worried about is that they’ll hear we are coming, and they’ll disappear into the mountains. It’s very hard to find someone in the mountains who doesn’t want to be found.  Now, if I go back up into the mountains, that won’t surprise anyone.  I live up there.  They know me.  And if you come back with me, they’ll just assume you’re one of my friends.  And I think we can take a couple more of your men if you’re worried.  But any more than four of us, and we’ll start to raise suspicions.  The key is going to be to catch them off-guard.  We get in the house, we grab them, we get out, and we take them back down to the forest before anyone can stop us.”

“And how are we going to get into their house?”

Brian smiled.  “Ah, that you can leave to me.  I’m a family friend.”

Chapter 24: The Battle Against the Four Monsters

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It had been an exhausting day, but the sun was beginning to set, and it was time to head home.  “We should get back home as fast as we can,” Shawn said.  “We don’t want to be caught out after dark.”

They headed back, but they had misjudged how much time it would take them to get back.  Bats flew in the sky, and some of the bats swarmed around their heads.  And then, one of the bats transformed into a vampire right in front of them.

The vampire grabbed Carlyle by the throat with his hand, and picked him up.  Carlyle struggled and kicked the vampire, but it was no use.

“What are you doing?” Catherine asked the vampire.

The vampire turned to face Catherine.  “What do you think you’re doing?” the vampire asked.  “How can you hope to stand against our might?”

The vampire threw Carlyle down, and advanced on Catherine.  Catherine’s hands glowed, and she readied herself to fight the vampire.  As it approached, she grabbed at it with her hands.  The vampire suddenly changed into a bat, and flew out of Catherine’s reach.  Then the bat flew behind Catherine and transformed into a vampire again.  “Behind you,” it taunted menacingly.

Catherine turned around, but before she could act, the vampire seized her hands by the wrist, immobilizing her hands.  Catherine couldn’t use her powers against the vampire if she couldn’t grab him with her hands.

The vampire leaned down so that his face was level with Catherine’s.  His breath was horrid, and she tried to pull away, but he held her wrists tightly, and kept his face close to hers.  He opened his mouth, and showed his fangs.

The ravens Branoc, Bettina, Balsamer and Baldrick all fluttered around the vampire, and pecked at him furiously, but the vampire paid them no notice, and the pecking didn’t seem to hurt him at all.

Carlyle was back up on his feet now, and had his sword ready.  He swung it at the vampire, but the blade did not hurt the vampire at all.

“Fool,” said the vampire.  “Blades of steel do not harm vampires.  Do you know nothing?”

The vampire then inched its fangs closer to Catherine’s neck.  Catherine was squirming, and trying to pull away as much as she could, but the vampire had a tight grip on her.

It was Gabrielle who saved the day.  She took out one of her wooden arrows from her quiver, and ran forward and impaled the vampire’s chest with it.  The vampire let out a huge screech, and immediately let go of Catherine’s hands.  He fell over backwards, clutching the wooden arrow.  His body quickly decayed into dust.

The other bats flying above their heads started flapping their wings furiously.  Several of these other bats transformed into vampires.

“Why did you do that?” asked one vampire.  “He was a good companion.”

“He tried to harm Catherine,” Gabrielle said defensively.

“He was only trying to eat,” the vampire lamented.

“Who are you?” Carlyle asked.

“I am Aefar, leader of the vampires,” he answered.

“I’ve heard of you,”Carlyle said.

“Yes, I expect you have.  I am famous in these mountains.”

“Have you come to harm us?” asked Carlyle.

“We have come to talk to you,” Aefar answered.  “We have heard that you are battling the creatures on the mountains.  We have come to instruct you to stop.”

“Creseus the Minotaur has come as well,” said a voice.  They looked, and saw a huge creature with legs and body like a man, but with a head like a bull.”

“As well as Serif, the Serpent.”  A huge snake-like creature slithered into view.

“And I, Garot, the Bugbear,” said a voice, and a huge monster that resembled a giant bear shuffled into sight.

“Is that all?” asked Carlyle.

“What do you mean?” asked Aefar.

“Are there any more monsters who are coming to declare themselves, or is this all of you?”

“We have many more friends in the mountains,” said Aefar.  “But these are all that you may expect tonight.”

“Well then, since you have come to parley, and not to fight, I will return the courtesy,” said Carlyle.  “These are our terms.  You are welcome to remain in these mountains as long as you do not harm any of the mountain folk.  But if you harm any humans, then we will kill you.”

“The wolves, the bears and the ravens are also under our protection,” Catherine added.

Aefar laughed.  “Foolish children.  I have a message for you as well.  If you persist in trying to fight us, we will destroy you.”

As soon as she heard this, Gabrielle grabbed another wooden arrow from her quiver.  She darted forward toward Aefar, but Catherine held up her hand.

“Wait,” Catherine said.  “We have promised a parlay.  For now, Aefar is free to say whatever he wants to say without fear of violence.”  She turned towards Aefar.  “That is what you want, right?  Or did you want to fight tonight?”

Aefar smiled.  “Your choice, my dear.”

Catherine smiled back, but spoke very slowly.  “Don’t…tempt…me,” she said.

Aefar looked into Catherine’s eyes.  He expected to see some fear there, but when he didn’t, Aefar’s eyes narrowed in rage.  “I suppose there’s no point in delaying the inevitable,” he said.  “If we are destined to fight, why not just fight now?”

There was the sound of Carlyle unsheathing his sword.  “Would you like a couple minutes to position yourself?” asked Carlyle.  “Or are you ready now?”

Again, Aefar was surprised by the lack of fear in the boy.  And again, it angered him.  “Now,” he yelled.  And suddenly Aefar darted at Carlyle.

Carlyle thrust his sword at Aefar.  The metal blade could not kill the vampire, of course, but it did at least act as a physical object which impeded his momentum.  Aefar was stopped by the sword.

Gabrielle rushed at Aefar with her wooden arrow, and would have driven it into his chest, but Aefar changed into a bat and flew away.  But the bat didn’t get far before Branoc, Bettina, Baldrick and Balsamer attacked it.  The ravens caught at the bat’s wings with their feet, and pecked at the bat with their beaks.

While Aefar the bat was shrieking in agony, Creseus the Minotaur let out his battle cry.  He shook his huge bull head, and pawed the ground with his hoof like feet.  Then he lowered his horns and plowed into the group.  Several wolves leapt at the minotaur and sunk their teeth into him, but Creseus shook them all off.

Kevin had a club which he hit the minotaur with, but it hardly seemed to affect the minotaur at all.  The minotaur just lowered his horns, charged into Kevin and knocked him straight down.

“Enough,” Catherine shouted at Creseus.  “Deal with me next!”

Creseus bellowed in rage and charged full speed at Catherine.  Catherine’s hands were glowing.  Her powers gave her extra strength, and as the minotaur charged into her, Catherine was able to hold her ground without being knocked over.  She grabbed the minotaur with both hands, and allowed the energy to flow through her.  The minotaur howled in pain.

Meanwhile Serif the serpent reared up  to show his huge fangs.  He darted forward to strike, but his fangs were blocked by the swords of Paul and Marcus, who battled with him. 

Meanwhile Lucinda, Stella and Molly fended off the Bugbear with their spears, ax and staff.  The wolves also attacked the bugbear.

It was a fierce battle, but the humans, ravens and the wolves had the advantage of numbers.  The monsters couldn’t compete.

Aefar and his fellow vampires fled.  Creseus freed himself from Catherine, and fled.  Serif slithered away up into the mountains.  Garot the Bugbear turned and left.

“We won,” said Shawn, exhausted.

“But we didn’t kill them,” said Carlyle.  “They’ll be back.”

“That’s why we need to keep getting stronger,” Catherine said.  “And adding more to our numbers.”

Chapter 23: The Battle Against the Ogres

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“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Shawn asked nervously.  

“You’ve fought ogres before, haven’t you?” Carlyle asked.

“Sure, when they attacked my home,” Shawn said.  “But, I mean, we’ve never gone into the ogre territory before.

“We’re going into fight the ogres on their territory so that they won’t attack our homes,” said Carlyle.

The group was lined up to fight the ogres.  Lucas, Kevin, Marcus, Paul, Shawn, Stella, Gabrielle, Lucinda, Molly, and Abby were all there.

Jack and Anna and the children from the goblin caves were there as well.

As was Verus, the robber king, with his robbers.

And Catherine was there with her wolves and her ravens.

They were all about to go down to fight the ogres.

The ogres lived on one of the neighboring peaks on the mountain range.  To get there, they had to travel to the peak of the mountain they were on, and then go down the other side.  Then, after a ways, the mountain began to rise again.  Once they got to this part, that was the slope that the ogres lived on.

As they traveled up the next slope, they could see the ogres lying down on the slope.  The ogres were surprised to see them.  They did not expect to see humans traveling to their side of the mountain.

Ogres are giant creatures.  They are roughly the same shape as a human, but they are about nine or ten feet tall.  They have tough skin that can be either blue or grey depending.  They have a huge mouth, with sharp teeth like knives.  Their mouths are big enough that they can bite off a human head, and indeed this is one of their favorite things to do.  They love to pick a human up in their huge hands, bring the head right into their mouths, and then chomp down on it.

However, ogres are not invulnerable.  Their skin is tough--tough enough so that it is resistant to being punched or scratched by a human hand.  But not tough enough to withstand the steel of a sword. And because ogres can sometimes be slow and lumbering, it is possible to cut them or kill them with a good sword.  Finn had once cut down several ogres with his sword when he was defending his family.  Catherine and Carlyle had seen him do it.

The teeth of a wolf could also pierce an ogre’s skin if the wolves bite down hard.

The ogres saw them approaching, and began standing up.  They were talking to each other.  “They are surprised to see us,” said Shawn.  “They can’t believe we’re actually coming to them.  Usually they’re the ones who attack us.”

“They’re going to get a lot of surprises coming,” said Carlyle.

“Watch out,” Alfred said.  “They’re going to attack with rocks.”

Sure enough, the ogres began picking up boulders and hurling them down the mountain slope.  Everyone began moving frantically to get out of the way of these huge rocks.  Two of the robbers had their heads crushed by huge rocks. “It’s no use,” said Verus.  “We can’t stand against this rock assault.  We should run.”

“Keep calm,” said Catherine.  “There’s a limited amount of boulders up there.  I think they’ve almost thrown all of them.”

Indeed, pretty soon the ogres ran out of boulders to throw.  They then gave a horrible yell, and started running down the mountainside. Some of the ogres were carrying clubs.  Others picked up rocks or sticks as they ran down the hill.

“This is bad,” Verus said.  “We should run now.”

“No, whatever you do, don't run,” said Carlye.  “This would be the worst time to run.  You can fight them if you keep your sword steady and in front of you.  If you run, they’ll just get you from behind.”

“You can’t outrun an ogre anyway,” said Alfred.  “They’re too fast.”

As the ogres got closer, Gabrielle started shooting arrows.  She hit several of the ogres, but the ogres were so big, and their skin was so think that it’s hard to kill them with a single arrow.  They came on.

“Shoot for their eyes,” Catherine advised Gabrielle.  “You can’t kill them, but you can blind them.”

Gabrielle nodded, and took out more arrows.

The ogres were almost upon them now.  Lucinda threw one of her spear’s, and felled an ogre.  Abby hit another with her slingshot.

And then, the ogres were upon them.  Carlyle attacked the first one with his sword.  Just as he had seen Finn do once, Carlyle thrust his sword upwards, and stabbed right into the ogre’s chest.  It howled in pain, but then Carlyle withdrew the sword, and cut off the ogre’s head.

Kevin swung his club, and tried to knock one of the ogres down.  But it’s very hard to fight ogres using clubs.  Clubs are what ogres are most comfortable with.  The ogres swung back their clubs, and knocked Kevin right over.

Meanwhile, Shawn used his sword to cut an ogre down.

Catherine, since her adrelenaline was going full force, didn’t even have to start singing.  Her hands immediately started glowing with energy.  One of the ogres tried to grab her, but Catherine immediately grabbed the ogre back with her glowing hands.  The ogre howled in pain.  It turned and ran back up the mountainside.  Catherine tried to keep hold of it, but the ogre was too swift, and was able to disappear up the mountain without Catherine being able to stop it.

The wolves attacked the ogres in groups.  Five or six wolves would attack an ogre at once, biting at its legs, or leaping through the air and jumping onto an ogre. The ogres would try to throw the wolves away, but the wolves just kept coming back.  Pretty soon the ogres would get tired of fighting the wolves, and would turn and run up the mountain.

It was at this moment, just as some of the ogres were beginning to turn and run, that the bears came charging out of the trees, and attacked the ogres.

Carlyle was surprised.  “I thought the bear said they weren’t going to help us.”

“They wanted to see if we could fight the ogres on our own first,” said Catherine.  “They didn’t want to defeat the ogres for us.  But once they saw that we were defeating the ogres by ourselves, then they wanted to be part of the winning side.”

The bears were fierce opponents for the ogres.  Some of the larger bears, when they stood on two legs, were almost as big as the ogres were.  The bears also had sharp claws, but the ogres had thick skin, and strong bodies, so the ogres were able to withstand the swipes of the bear claws.  But if the bears bit down with their fearsome jaws, they were able to crush the bones of the ogres.  Of course the ogres also had fearsome teeth and mouths, so it was an evenly matched battle.

Perhaps if the ogres had only been fighting the bears, they could have held their own.  But now that the bears were simply added to the humans and the wolves, the ogres didn’t stand a chance.  Soon, all of the ogres turned and fled.

“Don’t stop,” Catherine called out to everyone.  “Don’t let up until they surrender to us unconditionally.”

However, it is one thing to defeat an ogre.  It is another thing to catch an ogre that doesn’t want to be caught.  With their long legs, and incredible stamina, the ogres could run very fast, and they took off in all directions.  The mountains shook as their huge legs pounded the ground.  

The king of the ogres alone remained to meet Catherine and the rest of them.  “My name is Azure.  I am the king of the ogres.  But my brothers have all run away and deserted me,” the king said sorrowfully.  

“Fear not,” said Catherine.  “Do as we say, and we will not hurt you.”

“And what must I do?”

“You must leave these mountains and never return,” Catherine said.  “Tell your brothers.  Ogres are no longer welcome on these mountains.  If we see any ogres, we will kill them.”

Azure bowed his head in silence, and did not argue.