Sam leaned close to his horse's neck. The elves had set off at quite a pace through the dense forest. Thick trunks whipped past him him as they sped through the underbrush.

"They must have heard something!" Trey shouted, battling to be heard.

"Or smelt!" Roan added.

The clash of metal rang out in the distance, and it only grew louder as they approached. Sam pulled back on his reigns, not wanting to burst through and find himself in the middle of a battle he had no reason to join.

The group of Elves were just ahead of them. Stopped in a single line on the edge of a clearing and as Sam and the other two approached they all turned to glare at the newcomers.

"Who sent you, humans?" a tall elf demanded and pushed through the horses. His long blonde hair could be seen flowing from his helmet.

"Keeper Anya, my lord Jaeden. She instructed we be present, but not to interfere." Trey spoke up for the three of them. Relief flooded Sam at not having to answer the elf that stood before them. Trey and Roan were far less intimidated by elves and royalty.

The prince cursed but nodded his head. "Very well. Come see what we have then." Sam followed the eyes forward. A clearing lay ahead and on it a battle raged. It was fairly small and largely unfair. Two, unarmored soldiers were fighting a group of on-coming goblins and howlers. They seemed to be fairing, but were far from sweeping the field with an easy victory.

"Should we not help them?" Roan asked.

"We will but there is more at work here than goblins," Jaeden studied the land for a while and then turned to another elf and spoke in a foreign tongue. The other elf nodded and sent a few orders around the group before turning to them. "Stay here."

Trey nodded, so Sam did the same. The elves kicked their horses away from the three warriors, leaving them alone just outside the clearing.

"What do you think they plan to do?" Sam asked in a hushed voice. The other two shrugged their shoulders. Sam glanced at the two soldiers again. They were well trained, but they were greatly out-numbered. "We should help them."

"We have orders not to," Roan replied.

"But we should. They need our help. They're just men." Sam's voice was a hushed shout.

"Men?" Trey peered at the two figures and swore. "We have orders. The elves will do their best."

Sam shook his head. "This is wrong. Something feels wrong."

"Of course, something's wrong! There are bloody goblins in the Emarius-fum! How much more wrong can you get?" Roan lashed out at an unlucky twig.

"Easy, Roan. Lower your voice." Trey whispered. "We will do nobody any good if we attract all the attention."

Sam stiffened in his seat. "That's it!" Sam beemed at the other's confused faces. "If we attract the goblins' attention for just a bit, it could give the elves the thing they need to begin their attack and it will give the warriors some time to recuperate."

"That's crazy. We can't do such thing. We have orders not to fight." Roan stated rather irritably.

"We won't be fighting, we will be creating a diversion."

"How?" Trey asked, leaning forward in his saddle.

Sam felt the elation of his idea falter. "I haven't thought of that yet."

"Of course, you haven't." Roan threw his hands over his head. "You never think your plans through completely. Always acting before you know exactly what you 're doing. It's going to land you in trouble if you don't get out of the habit, you know."

"I have an idea." Roan and Sam both turned to Trey who had dismounted and was walking around. "Roan, can you still make that sound you always used to tease Anya with?"

"Not sure. Why?"

Trey's mischievous smile had not made an appearance in many months, but now it spread like wildfire across his face, just like it used to when they were kids making up crazy plans to land them in all sorts of trouble. "I have an idea." He said rolling a hollow tree trunk towards them. "But we will need an axe or a really sharp sword."