Felix suddenly jabbed his knee into Lars' groin. With a whoosh like a blacksmith's bellows, all the air ran out of the big man. He doubled over. Felix grabbed his beard and pulled the man's head down to meet his knee.

He heard teeth break, and the trapper's head snapped backwards. Lars fell on the floor gasping for breath and clutching at his groin.

"What in the name of Taal?" said Hef. The other big trapper lashed out at Felix and the force of the blow sent him reeling across the room into a table. He tipped over a tankard of ale.

"Sorry," said Felix to the drink's owner. Felix struggled to lift the table and hurl at his assailant. He strained till he thought the muscles in his back would crack.

The drunk looked at him and smiled. "You can't lift it. It's nailed to the floor. In case of fights."

"Thanks for telling me," said Felix, feeling someone grab him by the hair and slam his head into the table. Pain smashed through his skull. Black spots danced before his eyes. His face felt wet. I'm bleeding, he thought then realized it was the spilled beer. His head was smashed into the table a second time. As if from very far away he heard footsteps approaching.

"Hold him, Kell. We're gonna have us some fun for what he did to Lars." He recognized the voice as belonging to Hef.

Desperately Felix jabbed backward with his elbow, ramming it into the hard muscle of Kell's stomach. The grip on his hair loosened. Felix tore free as he turned to face his assailants. With his right hand he frantically fumbled for the beer stein. Through a haze he saw the two gigantic trappers close in. The girl was gone. Felix saw the door close behind her. He could hear her shouting for help. Hef was loosening a knife in his belt. Felix's fingers closed over the handle of the stein. He lashed out and hit Kell in the face with it. The trapper's head snapped around, then he spat blood and turned back to Felix, smiling moronically.

Fingers, muscled like steel bands, grabbed Felix's wrist.