"Oh, bloody hell," Penrod muttered, then picked up the hem of his robe and took off after his companions. Fear turned out to be an excellent goad and Penrod surprised even himself by quickly making up lost ground on his friends and was soon only a short distance behind them. The goblins, having shorter legs and only anger to fuel their effort, still managed to gain on their group, as the companions eventually began to tire and were forced to slow their flight.

Gondar-Nor knew they could not keep up this pace much longer and shouted to Gebo, "Where?" He hoped the dwarf had a serious plan and would share it with them, soon.

Running a bit farther, Gebo pointed with his axe to a clearing that appeared up ahead of them. He then jerked his head to the left and looked back to the Dragon Lord. Gondar-Nor nodded, even as he had to slow his own reckless advance as Magway was fast losing ground.

"Ready," Gebo shouted and ran a few more steps. "Now," he yelled and ducked into the bushes on his right and threw himself to the ground, pulling Gilder down as well. At the signal, Gondar-Nor dove into the thick brush on his left, taking an exhausted Magway with him. They hit the ground hard and he spun around, so he was facing the way they had come into the bushes.

Penrod, who had been looking over his shoulder to see how close the goblins were getting, completely missed seeing his friends dive for cover and he continued running right past where they lay hidden. Gilder started to rise and warn him, but Gebo grabbed her and roughly shook his head, putting a finger to his lips to enjoin silence.

The scribe continued his mad dash through the woods and did not slow down until he found that he was alone in the middle of the clearing. Completely and utterly along. Panting, he stopped and looked about. As he turned around and found himself facing the way he had come, the sound of the pursuing goblins reached him, their shrieks and battle cries causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end.

Stunned by the realization that he was suddenly on his own, Penrod ran a few steps in one direction, then stopped, turned another way and ran a few more steps. He finally threw his arms up in the air and broke into a zigzag pattern of panicked flight, heading in a roundabout way for the nearest cover, just as the first of the pursuing goblins burst into the clearing.