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they will fare no better in the air than they have on the
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ground. Still..."
"Something troubling you then?" said Clothahump.
The marten eyed the approaching cloud confusedly. "It is
strange, the way they are grouped. Still, it would be peculiar
if they did not at least once try something different."
Yells sounded from behind the Gate. The warmlanders own
aerial forces were massing in a great spiral over the camp.
They were of every size and description. Their kilts formed a
brilliant quiltwork in the sky.
Then the spiral began to unwind as the line of bats and
birds flew over the Gate to meet the coming threat. They
intercepted the Plated Folk fliers near the line of combat.
As soon as contact was made, the Plated Folk forces split.
Half moved to meet the attack. The second half, consisting
primarily of powerful but ponderous beetles, dipped below
the fight. With them went a large number of the more agile
dragonflies with their single riders.
"Look there," said Mudge. "Wot are the bleedin' buggerers
up to?"
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"They're attacking ground troops!" said Aveticus, outraged.
"It is not done. Those in the sky do not do battle with those
on the ground. They fight only others of their own kind."
266
THE HOUR Or THE GATE
"Well, somebody's changed the rules," said Jen-Tom,
watching a tall amazonian figure moving across the wall
toward them.
Confusion began to grip the advance ranks of warmlanders.
They were not used to fighting attack from above. Most of
the outnumbered birds and bats were too busy with their own
opponents to render any assistance to those below.
"This is Eejakrat's work," muttered Clothahump. "I can
sense it.'It is magic, but of a most subtle sort."
"Air-ground support," said the newly arrived Flor. She
was staring tight-lipped at the carnage the insect fliers were
wreaking on the startled warmlander infantry.
"What kind of magic is this?" asked Aveticus grimly.
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"It's called tactics," said Jon-Tom.
The marten turned to Clothahump. "Wizard, can you not
counter this kind of magic?"
"I would try," said Clothahump, "save that I do not know
how to begin. I can counter lightning and dissipate fog, but I
do not know how to assist the minds of our soldiers. That is
what is endangered now."
While bird and dragonfly tangled in the air above the Pass
and other insect fliers swooped again and again on the ranks
of puzzled warmlanders, the sky began to rain a different sort
of death.
The massive cluster of large beetles remained high out of
arrowshot and began to disgorge hundreds, thousands of tiny
pale puffs on the rear of the warmlander forces. Arrows fell
Aom the puff shapes as they descended.
Jon-Tom recognized the familiar round cups. So did Flor.
But Clothahump could only shake his head in disbelief.
"Impossible! No spell is strong enough to lift so many into
the air at once."
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"I'm afraid this one is," Jon-Tom told him.
"What is this frightening spell called?"
"Parachuting."
267
Alan Dean Foster
The wannlander troops were as confused by the sight as by
the substance of this assault on their rear ranks. At the same
time there was a chilling roar from the retreating Plated Folk
infantry. Those who'd abandoned their weapons suddenly
scrambled for the nearest canyon wall.
From the hidden core of the horde came several hundred of
the largest beetles anyone had ever seen. These huge scara-
baeids and their cousins stampeded through the gap created
by their own troops. The startled wolverines were trampled
underfoot. Massive chitin horns pierced soldier after soldier.
Each beetle had half a dozen bowmen on its back. From there
they picked off those wannlanders who tried to cut at the
beetle's legs.
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Now it was the wannlanders who broke, whirling and
scrambling in panic for the safety of the distant Gate. They
pressed insistently on those behind them. But terror already
ruled their supposed reinforcements. Instead of friendly faces
those pursued by the relentless beetles found thousands of
Plated Folk soldiers who had literally dropped from the sky.
The birds and their riders, mostly small squirrels and then-
relatives, fought valiantly to break through the aerial Plated
Folk. But by the time they had made any headway against the
dragonfly forces confronting them the great, lumbering flying
beetles had already dropped their cargo. Now they were
flying back down the Pass, to gather a second load of
impatient insect parachutists.
Glee turned to dismay on the wall as badly demoralized
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