The coming of the second night was welcomed by drums in the deep darkness that shrouded the woods. The rope-bridge upon which Sam stood swayed side-to-side under the rumble of an army of foul Goblyn feet. They scrambled like ants down below.
Sam raised her first in unison with the second commander, and all the sharp eyes of the woodland archers were on them, waiting for the command to strike. They raised their bows silently, only the stretching of bowstring and the notching of arrows could be heard. Sam gave the command and a volley of arrows rained down and slaughtered a great number of Goblyns – they shrieked and frenzied, but knew not where to run. A second volley was fired quickly after the first and dealt just as much damage. Then the order to fire at will was given, and Sam raised her own bow.
Talek had gifted her a fine bow in return for her service to his people. “This is the weapon of the Woodland Realm, whose archers bear the keenest eyes the world has ever seen! May it serve you well!”
Sam notched and fired arrow after arrow, and never missed her mark, but the wretched scrambling of Goblyn feet did not let up, and it was as if a black swarm of insects was blanketing the forest floor. This plague of monsters was not limited to the ground, as the darkness began to climb up the trees and envelope the archers upon their bridges. Sam spotted a Kyoryn – a tree hunting Goblyn – and put an arrow in him before he could drive a jagged blade through her companion.
“There are too many!” she cried to the captain, using the Netherian speech. “We must fall back.”
The captain hewed the neck of an approaching enemy and let it topple into the floor below. “Go! And warn your friend at the outer trench! It is too soon for my comrades and I to return. We will hold them while we can!”
Sam feared for them, but did as she was told, and cast herself in a flash to find the outer trenches.
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