movement, a subtle brushing of darker shadows at the edge of Brynn's consciousness.
The woman couldn't react defensively, couldn't get her staff up to intercept the rushing creature as it ran past her, but she did let out an alarmed yelp.
His muscles toned to their finest warrior edge, Belli'mar Juraviel dove immediately to the side, launching himself into a somersault. As he came around, easily finding his feet again, he noted the shiny line of a thick blade, slashing through the air where he had just been. He started to call out to Cazzira, but saw that the Doc'alfar was already exploding into motion.
She came around on her tiptoes, her arms out wide, her small, golden-wood club flying at the end of one extended limb. She whipped it past the dark attacker, too far away for a strike, but with enough of a whipping sound to freeze the creature in place for an instant.
That was all Brynn needed. As the creature jerked upright, the woman dashed forward, slipping her bow between its widespread legs. She caught the leading edge of her bow with her now free hand and continued on, low-ering her shoulder as she lifted with both hands, slamming into the crea-ture, which was somewhat smaller than she, while her lifting bow took away its balance.
Down it went, crashing to the floor.
Before Brynn could pursue, she noted other movement, all about, and ,amst a sec- came up just in time to set herself in a defensive posture !" Juraviel yelled, as a pair of the creatures rushed through a t area, their ugly features showing clearly. The elf leaped toward then fell into another roll to avoid the thrust of a pair of spears. 'Ijrynn shifted her bow out toward him, and Juraviel grabbed on, wel-ding the momentum assist as Brynn pulled him right past her, to dive yet another roll that brought him up between Brynn and Cazzira, and 1 ser to the Doc'alfar. He started toward her, alarmed, but realized almost t once that Cazzira needed no help at that time.
Her movements were every bit as fluid, graceful, and beautiful as bi'nelle dasada, the elven sword dance. She twirled about, spinning on a pointed toe leaping and kicking, and all the while shifting her small club from hand to hand, letting it flow out from her, an extension of her perfectly con-trolled body.
She seemed to leave an opening, and a goblin rushed in at her back, spear leading.
But Cazzira spun and the spear went past her turning back, and the gob-lin got too close, inside the reach of her club.
The crack was so pronounced that Juraviel and Brynn figured the Doc'-alfar's club must have split apart, but when the strike was finished, Cazzira continued her dance, intact weapon in hand, and the goblin skidded down and lay very still, the side of its head caved in.
Cazzira's club swiped past another goblin, which hunched back out of range, then came on, for it seemed clear that the diminutive Cazzira had overbalanced.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. The club went sliding harmlessly past, but the Doc'alfar flipped it over to her other hand, her left hand, weaving against the flow of her body as she turned right to left.
Her left turned under and handed the club back to her right, reversing the weapon so that Cazzira took its thick end.
Out snapped that right hand, stabbing the thinner, handle end of the club into the face of the attacker, whose own momentum worked against it.
Two goblins down and the dance went on.
Belli mar Juraviel's fascination with the tantalizing dance of Cazzira nearly cost him dearly, for the goblins coming at him paid no heed to any-thing other than their intended prey.
Lne elf got his sword out in front to parry one spear and force the welder of the second to hold back its thrust. Then Breynn was there right behind the attacking pair, her bow-staff mentally before her with widespread hands. She punched out, left right, smacking both goblins hard. toe on the back of the head, on the shoulder, and both stumbled forwlrd.
Where JuravieJ's fine-tipped sword stabbed them, one-two, one-two.
The elf spun about, and Brynn leaped up beside him, but the remaining goblins on the flank ran off screaming and shouting, shadowy forms blend-ing into the darkness.
Both Brynn and Juraviel spun about to regard Cazzira, who seemed stuck in place, like a statue fashioned after a dancer caught in a pose, one arm ex-tended above her head, her