you to be a troll."
"Is that how I've been acting lately...?"
"Oisin, they've got Doona. And we're on our way to get her back before they cook her. Are you coming? And they've probably got Renny and Lilee by now, too."
"You mean to tell me that you know where their cave is?"
"No, but we're not too far from the Great Rock Wall. Isn't that where everyone says their caves have to be?"
"Yea, and nobody knows for certain because no one has gone there and lived to tell about it. Look Olloo. Doona's all you've got. I'll risk my skin to help you get her back. But mind you, I'm the eldest of us and that makes me responsible for you three. If I go with you and I think things are too dangerous, we're all coming back on my decision. You got that?"
"Indeed," said Olloo, giving his chest a proud thump which could be heard in the dark. "And you know what? Doona is the best sister ever, and if we get her back, I'll owe you forever."
"Well you lead the way then," said Oisin. "It looks like you know what you're doing."
Renny and Lilee ran on through the moonless dark, flinging aside saplings and stumbling.
"Stop Renny!" cried Lilee, gasping for breath as she staggered to a halt. "Did you hear that? There. What is that?"
"It's just some kind of big old owl that lives up in the mountains. I know it sounds awful, but it won't hurt you. Come on, we've got to keep going."
"But I don't think I can go another step."
"Oh yes you can. It wasn't that long ago that we could hear them tramping in the leaves."
On they went. Suddenly they found themselves over the edge of a hogback in the blackness, flailing their arms, taking long plunging steps down in the skidding leaves until Lilee ran headlong into a tree and fell limp astraddle the foot of its trunk. "Lilee!" wailed Renny, gently tugging at her arm. "Oh Lilee, please wake up...!"
A massive presence grabbed Renny's arm. "Pyrn-tey," he said with breath like smashed bird's eggs, "du-yuy...pyrn-tey," he said to Lilee, with a cruel shake of her shoulder.
At sunrise, Neron sat astride his unicorn looking over his search party. It was a small assemblage, scarcely more than a few family members of the missing, including Oisin's older brothers, Illiam and Orry. There would have been more had every available person not been needed to guard the camp and to help with the final preparation of the ships.
The Marfora Siofra had not come during the night. Instead there had been a mysterious fire aboard one of the ships. It was even suggested by a few that it had been set by the Marfora Siofra, but no one could imagine how trolls could possibly have managed it, even with their stealth and their owl-like ability to see in the dark.
Neron gave his head a shake. He needed to think about the task of rescuing Oisin and the children. It was not likely that he would have more than a day. " Let Faragher sort out the fire, " he thought as he gave nods to Illiam and Orry and shook his reins.
Chapter 2
The Great Rock Wall was considerably further than any of them had imagined.
With no moon, there was no way to get glimpses of it through breaks in the trees, and the only way they had of knowing that they were heading toward it at all was by going up the slope. Even this was bewildering at times, for unless they were certain that they were following the main ridge of a hogback, they could easily find themselves struggling up the side of some ravine, going off at a right angle to the way they wanted to go. In spite of this they were making progress, and after a time, most of the purple-ribs they heard were far behind them, down below in the timber.
Up here, great grey owls traded baleful wails hither and yon which could have stood the hair up on any of the young Elves were, they not tramping along bravely in each other's company. There seemed to be more pines and spruce. Not only was it beginning to sigh overhead in places, but
"Is that how I've been acting lately...?"
"Oisin, they've got Doona. And we're on our way to get her back before they cook her. Are you coming? And they've probably got Renny and Lilee by now, too."
"You mean to tell me that you know where their cave is?"
"No, but we're not too far from the Great Rock Wall. Isn't that where everyone says their caves have to be?"
"Yea, and nobody knows for certain because no one has gone there and lived to tell about it. Look Olloo. Doona's all you've got. I'll risk my skin to help you get her back. But mind you, I'm the eldest of us and that makes me responsible for you three. If I go with you and I think things are too dangerous, we're all coming back on my decision. You got that?"
"Indeed," said Olloo, giving his chest a proud thump which could be heard in the dark. "And you know what? Doona is the best sister ever, and if we get her back, I'll owe you forever."
"Well you lead the way then," said Oisin. "It looks like you know what you're doing."
Renny and Lilee ran on through the moonless dark, flinging aside saplings and stumbling.
"Stop Renny!" cried Lilee, gasping for breath as she staggered to a halt. "Did you hear that? There. What is that?"
"It's just some kind of big old owl that lives up in the mountains. I know it sounds awful, but it won't hurt you. Come on, we've got to keep going."
"But I don't think I can go another step."
"Oh yes you can. It wasn't that long ago that we could hear them tramping in the leaves."
On they went. Suddenly they found themselves over the edge of a hogback in the blackness, flailing their arms, taking long plunging steps down in the skidding leaves until Lilee ran headlong into a tree and fell limp astraddle the foot of its trunk. "Lilee!" wailed Renny, gently tugging at her arm. "Oh Lilee, please wake up...!"
A massive presence grabbed Renny's arm. "Pyrn-tey," he said with breath like smashed bird's eggs, "du-yuy...pyrn-tey," he said to Lilee, with a cruel shake of her shoulder.
At sunrise, Neron sat astride his unicorn looking over his search party. It was a small assemblage, scarcely more than a few family members of the missing, including Oisin's older brothers, Illiam and Orry. There would have been more had every available person not been needed to guard the camp and to help with the final preparation of the ships.
The Marfora Siofra had not come during the night. Instead there had been a mysterious fire aboard one of the ships. It was even suggested by a few that it had been set by the Marfora Siofra, but no one could imagine how trolls could possibly have managed it, even with their stealth and their owl-like ability to see in the dark.
Neron gave his head a shake. He needed to think about the task of rescuing Oisin and the children. It was not likely that he would have more than a day. " Let Faragher sort out the fire, " he thought as he gave nods to Illiam and Orry and shook his reins.
Chapter 2
The Great Rock Wall was considerably further than any of them had imagined.
With no moon, there was no way to get glimpses of it through breaks in the trees, and the only way they had of knowing that they were heading toward it at all was by going up the slope. Even this was bewildering at times, for unless they were certain that they were following the main ridge of a hogback, they could easily find themselves struggling up the side of some ravine, going off at a right angle to the way they wanted to go. In spite of this they were making progress, and after a time, most of the purple-ribs they heard were far behind them, down below in the timber.
Up here, great grey owls traded baleful wails hither and yon which could have stood the hair up on any of the young Elves were, they not tramping along bravely in each other's company. There seemed to be more pines and spruce. Not only was it beginning to sigh overhead in places, but
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