"From the sides, from the shadows, from recesses that had previously seemed like mere irregularities in the rock, the goblins revealed themselves. There were many — more than twenty, perhaps — low and angular bodies, eyes reflecting the fire of the torches they carried. Some wielded knobby sticks, others stones already chosen for throwing. Among them, a few stood out with better weapons: short swords of worn metal, makeshift spears with irregular tips, sharp enough to kill. The siege began unhurriedly, as if that outcome had been rehearsed."