Episode Five: Three Brave Bignoses Get to Work

Vuk kept glancing nervously at the tree, unable to wait any longer for Mor’s signal. By now the Hermits’ army was gone, and only five goblins remained beside Warden Appo. Raising his head once again, Vuk finally saw Mor waving to him. He nodded quickly, stepped out into the open so the Hermits could see him clearly, and shouted:
“Hey, you there! Savages from the east! You stink of swamp so badly a body can’t breathe! Get off our land now, before I show you what my sword can do!”
Vuk made a fierce face, drew his sword, and began waving it around.
Warden Appo jumped up and grabbed his sword, thinking they were about to be attacked. But looking closer, he recognized the fat, red-haired goblin as the escaped Bignose.
“Well, what luck! He’s come to us himself. And where are your two friends? Run off to the western mountains already, I suppose, while you decided to come here and frighten me? It seems you’re not only the fattest but the stupidest goblin in your whole goblinum. Now you’ll pay for that stupidity. Seize him! Take him alive!”
Four Hermits rushed at Vuk at once, which was exactly what he’d been waiting for. Up above, Mor and Nuk watched closely, kegs in hand. The Hermits ran up to Vuk and stopped for a moment in front of his outstretched sword.
At that moment Vuk shouted:
“Throw!”
And immediately ran back.
The shout confused the Hermits. They hesitated for only a moment, but the kegs were already shattering beside them. Bees poured out and swirled around the four two-legged creatures, as if deciding whether these were really the ones who’d wronged them. The wild swinging of swords quickly helped them make up their minds.
The bees attacked the goblins, who desperately tried to fend them off with their swords. But this didn’t frighten the bees — it only angered them. The Hermits’ bodies began to swell at once.
Seeing this unpleasant sight, Vuk stepped back even farther, just in case.
Warden Appo watched the bees’ merciless assault in fright and was already preparing to flee the place.
Who knew what might occur to those flying monsters.
Unable to bear the pain any longer and not knowing how to get rid of the bees, the Hermits scattered in every direction. The bees, naturally, followed them.
Everything grew quiet again.
Mor and Nuk climbed down from the trees.
“I thought as much — that you’d be somewhere nearby. The three inseparable Bignoses. So what will you do now? Try to capture me? Kill me? You only picked up swords yesterday, and today you already fancy yourselves great warriors? Saviors of all the Bignoses? Go on, then, come at me!”
The Hermit standing nearby, drawing confidence from the Warden, was also ready to fight.
Mor, Nuk, and Vuk drew their swords and moved forward.
As he came closer, Mor noticed a cloak behind the Warden, with a casket lying on it — exactly the kind Brakha had described. But he quickly looked away. Let Warden Appo think they had come for him, not for the casket.
“So you’re a coward, after all,” Mor said. “Hiding here in the forest while your warriors die out there. What kind of Warden does that make you? You’re a worthless goblin no clan will ever bow to.”
Mor said this on purpose, so the Warden would grow angry, and then perhaps he would make a mistake.
“With the Ant Power, every clan will bow to me. And the Bignoses will be first. But you won’t live to see it, because you’ll die soon — just like your two friends.”
Warden Appo really had grown angry, but he stayed cool-headed and didn’t move away from the cloak. There was still no way to reach the casket.
The goblins crossed swords several times. But against two well-trained Hermits, Mor, Vuk, and Nuk could do nothing.
“Lay down your swords, and your deaths will be quick. If not, I’ll cut your bodies to pieces, and you’ll die in agony, bleeding out.”
Warden Appo had already seen for himself that the Bignoses before him were not very skilled with a sword.
Mor understood, too, that they couldn’t simply slip past the Hermits and get to the cloak. If Warden Appo had been alone, though, he would hardly have managed to keep track of three opponents at once.
As he considered what to do next, Mor suddenly noticed the ground behind the Hermits beginning to rise slowly. Soon enough a small mound had formed there, and the goblin had no doubt who had made it.
But why would the Hunter Mole set a trap right here? Mor thought. There’s hardly any grass around, so hares rarely come this way. Maybe it was drawn by the stomping of our feet?
He even glanced up for a moment, suspecting that someone up there really was helping them.
Whatever the case, Mor decided to make use of this unexpected help. After a couple more lunges toward Warden Appo, he stepped sharply aside and brought his sword down on the second Hermit. The Hermit hadn’t expected the attack and, defending himself, backed up a little — but didn’t step on the mound. Quickly recovering, he took his place beside the Warden again.
Nuk decided that Mor meant to deal with this warrior first and only handle Appo afterward. He joined in, striking blow after blow. Mor did the same. Now the Hermit had to fend off two swords at once. He backed away a little again. His feet came right up beside the mound, but never quite landed on it.
Meanwhile, Vuk kept hopping about in front of Warden Appo, pulling fierce faces and keeping him from being distracted.
And suddenly a wild scream rang out. The Hermit’s foot had finally landed on the mound and sunk into the hole beneath it. The mole instantly pounced on its prey, sinking teeth and claws into it, and began dragging it toward its burrow. The Hermit felt a sharp pain without understanding where it had come from. In a panic, he yanked his leg back sharply, jerked upward without meaning to, and lost his balance. In his clumsy fall, the goblin knocked into his Warden, and he too fell to the ground.
That’s even better, Mor managed to think.
He dashed for the cloak.
A moment later, the casket was in his hands.
“I’ve got it! Run!”
Nuk took off after him at once.
Vuk, meanwhile, still managed to leap and throw his whole body onto Warden Appo.
“That’s for ‘fat’!”
Thanks to the Ant Power, he managed to pull it off quite deftly. Springing back to his feet, he dashed off after his friends.
It took Warden Appo a few moments to recover from the blow. Rising with difficulty, the first thing he did was look at the cloak. The casket wasn’t there.
A loud groan echoed through the whole forest.
“You fool! What have you done?! Catch up with them now and get that casket back!”
The bewildered goblin, ignoring his bloodied leg, ran after the Bignoses, who had almost disappeared behind the trees by then.
Warden Appo walked over to his ram, intending to join the chase as well.
But just then Torul appeared from behind the trees.
“I bring good news, Warden. The anthills are ours, and before long the goblinum will be in our hands as well. You may ride out and see your victory for yourself. But what happened here?”
Torul looked around and saw not a single Hermit nearby.
“I no longer have the Ant Power. That’s what happened. Those three vile Bignoses just stole the casket. Well, no matter. If you say we’ve already won, it won’t do them any good.”
“Still, we need to find them and take back the Ant Power right away,” the Counselor said anxiously.
“You can be sure we will. Now take me to the conquered goblinum of the Bignoses.”
“Of course, Warden.”
Torul bowed and quickly turned his ram around. Because of this, Warden Appo didn’t manage to notice the displeased look on his Counselor’s face.