"Now!" Jon yelled and drove down against one of the remaining Wild Ones. His slash ripped open the man's leg, but before Jon could apply the finishing touch one of the other barbarians killed his man and lunged at Jon, who parried and dropped the man with a swift chop. The realization hit him suddenly: _I'm all alone._ And the gigantic Wild One was moving slowly toward him to finish off the last of the Tower guards. Jon set his lips grimly. So the Tower would fall, after all, to the barbarians? _Not lightly_, he thought, and waited for the giant's advance. The sword the giant swung was nearly four feet long. It cut a sizzling swath through the air as he approached. Jon moved back, up against the comforting bulk of the Tower itself, and prepared to defend the Tower to the death. The giant charged. Jon parried his wild blow, felt the stinging shock ripple up his arm as their swords clanged together. He initiated an assault of his own, but the Wild One laughed derisively and parried as if he were fighting a child. "Ho, Free One! The Tower is ours!" "Not yet," Jon said. "Not while I live!" "How long will that be?" the giant asked. "Another minute perhaps?" His sword spun through the air in a shining arc. Jon parried desperately, but the force of the blow was too great for him and his sword went flying out of his numbed hands. He stood there, helpless, while the giant raised his sword for the final blow. And suddenly six inches of bright steel protruded from the giant's chest. A red fountain of blood bubbled forth. The giant stared in amazement for a second, then began to topple like a felled oak. Astonished, Jon looked up and saw the Wild One he had wounded standing there, holding a bloody sword. "You ... killed him!" Jon said uncomprehendingly. "Why?" The Wild One shook his head uncertainly. "I don't know," he said. "I--I suddenly realized he had to die." Exhausted, Jon leaned against the Tower to support himself, and shook his head. "Why did you save me? The Tower was yours. Why?" "I think I understand," the Wild One said slowly. He threw his sword to the ground. "It is something I have long thought of. We fight you because we hate you--because we envy your free life. You have something to fight for, in this Tower. I--I want to join you. I want to join the Free People!" Jon smiled. "You're welcome to come to our village with me," he said. "We believe in freedom--the way the Old Ones did." "And the Tower? What is its meaning?" Jon shrugged. "That we do not know, but we defend it because we think it is sacred to us--to freedom. An old legend, perhaps." He clapped the other on the back. "Come, friend. Let's signal the mainland that the battle is over and the Tower still in free hands."