In the end, Kazlin realized the elf quest giver had played the trolls against themselves. While she had promised each what they wanted – glory in battle for Tashtego, a fresh start at a quiet life for Bendi, and contentment for Kazlin – what she had dealt them instead was death.
As the wolfish hounds closed on the trolls, Kazlin let fly a volley of arrows and Bendi called down a blizzard to pelt the animals. A few of the dozen dogs faltered, but the rest simply bristled and sprinted onward. Cruel barking filled the midnight as the adventurers, seeing the meager effect of their attack, prepared to do the only thing they could to survive… flee.
"There will be other fights, other days," said Kazlin, grabbing Bendi by the arm and preparing to run.
When Kazlin looked for Tashtego, he found him already on the go… right at the hounds. The snarling warrior crashed into the pack like a ship splitting the surf. His battleaxe chopped deep into the flank of the lead dog. Then he spun, his weapon acting as a scythe and mowing down two leaping strikes. The animals swiftly encircled Tashtego, one jumping up on his back and clawing at his neck and shoulders. Kazlin and Bendi began to hurl missiles – both real and magical – at the nearest hounds, but they knew the fight was hopeless. More wild-eyed dogs ensnared the warrior's legs and torso. Only four of the creatures had been knocked out of action.
"Run!" yelled Tashtego, struggling to keep his arms free and his axe swinging. The monstrous hounds were slowly pulling him down. Like a drowning man with his head just above water, the warrior roared once and then disappeared into a sea of shadowy fur.
"No," said Bendi, a muted cry of denial.
The hounds' spectral master – the one Kazlin would come to know as Cernunnos, Lord of the Wild Hunt – walked indifferently into the writhing mass of canines, cracking his barbed whip to disperse them. As Kazlin and Bendi turned and took flight, the demon-god bent to pick up Tashtego's tattered corpse. "His flesh will feed my dogs of doom, and his soul will nourish the spirits of the fallen in my den. As will your own." Kazlin heard the raspy words inside his mind, like molten steel in the center of his brain.
"Gah!" exclaimed Bendi. "His words burn like fire." As the two loped on, Kazlin noticed a bead of blood falling from his companion's nose.
The trolls raced over the vale's crest and darted down the forested path toward Sun Rock. Behind them, the dreadful blow of the huntsman's horn split the air once more. The chase was on. Bendi and Kazlin forged ahead through the trees and snow, the only sounds coming from their ragged breathing and the raucous barking of the hounds in pursuit.
The pair ran for what felt like hours, the hounds always on their heels but never catching them. Cernunnos continued to pry his way into their minds, threatening and mocking. Escape is impossible, he said. And then Kazlin heard a sound above the din of the hunt. A howling sound that came from every direction beyond the trees, from the blackness. He and Bendi stopped and glanced at each other, questioning.
All at once, there came a mist – a swirling mist of dark purples and unpleasant blues. It was the mist that howled. The mist began to creep further toward the trolls, as if reaching out for them.
Kazlin moved close to his friend. "Bendi! What is this sorcery?"
Bendi's face was full of horror and her lips seemed frozen until at last she said, "It is the hunt master's magic. He conjured a howling mist to aid him. I cannot do anything against it. Ah! It comes!"
The mist began to surround them. Kazlin tried to disperse it by waving his arms, but it gathered too thickly. Its grim howling filled his ears, and its hideous colors blinded his eyes. He tried to rush through it, but it remained with him. And now he thought he heard words amongst the howls. "Kazlin is weak. Kazlin is foolish. Kazlin must die."
"Stop this!" he yelled. He bumped into Bendi and fell to his knees. He began to crawl, desperately trying to peer through the mist. He cried out for Bendi but heard only a mocking echo of his name. He shut his lips and his eyes and, still crawling, tried to free himself from the howling mist. It was no use. Sensing the presence of the dog pack nearby, Kazlin fell into unconsciousness.