I knew my place. I had been diligently playing this part for some time. When the knight and his entourage rode up to my clan, I knew to step back. We had seen this knight before and although I didn’t much care for him, I knew that he wasn’t there to attack us. I also knew that he was someone to respect. There was no need for me to intercede. Besides, I knew why they were here. Still, I didn’t trust him and at least, I knew that he was in need of help, he was desperate, and we had the upper hand.
The knight rode up on a muscular steed. It was pure white. He along with his mount were in full plate, which was polished to a bright shine and was covered by a white tunic. The crest on the front was of a white shield, within that shield was a red shield, and within that shield was a black castle tower. I had seen it before on the other knights from these parts. But, I knew that he was one of their leaders. When he dismounted, my leader stepped up. They exchanged greetings and quickly got down to business. Watching the interaction, I again realized that I had finally found the right clan. My leader didn’t wait.
“Unfortunately, my suspicions have been confirmed. The disappearances of your spies and the attacks in the east were, as I had mentioned before, an obvious indication of what was to come. We have just ridden down from the north and we have seen it with our own eyes. We warned you before about this possibility and now it is upon you.”
My leader paused to let the weight of the news sink in. I noticed the knight’s eyes darted over to me. I knew from before that he didn’t trust me. I could see his uneasiness with my presence, but I stood strong, not letting my guard down, clutching my mace and shield, and staring right back into his eyes. I could tell that the news posed much more of a threat than I did. Once he had heard it, the knight moved with anxiety. I could see him shift, ever so slightly in his armor. It no longer seemed to fit him . His hands clenched and then released before my leader started in again.
“We can help as you know,” said my leader. “But now our price has tripled.”
The knight’s jaw clinched. His eyes squinted. I could tell that he was desperate. After talking about terrain, numbers of troops, numbers of horses, plans of defense, among other things, the knight reluctantly agreed to the price.
“I wouldn’t usually make agreements with the likes of you, but we have a common enemy and your reputation is well known,” said the knight.
Just before they made the final agreement, my leader said, “You know that there is a good chance that you and all of your troops will most likely die?”
“Yes”, said the knight, “but I have no other option. I am willing to sacrifice my life for this.”
I could tell this was a bad situation. The word had not gotten out and we were in such a rush that the planning for this battle was hardly sufficient. I knew my clan was aware of the situation and I knew that we would be relying on all of our strengths to try to make this successful.
The available troops were disciplined but they were far out numbered and our only chance was to run a coordinated retreat. The knights were reluctantly in agreement because they wanted to see for themselves the forces that they were up against. The only word on the opposing forces came from us and we were not trusted. So, we waited. Unfortunately we did not need to wait long. Although most of the land’s forces were in the west, the ones here in the north east were ready to attack the oncoming horde. We stayed behind the front line, knowing what was to come and it wasted no time in coming.
The hill we chose was one of the highest in the area. It gave us an advantage of not only being able to see the oncoming horde from a distance, but it also gave us the advantaged of fighting on higher ground. We could see them far in the distance. They were closing steadily and fast. I, of course wanted to be in the front or to have them funneled to me. I wanted to crush them.
My leader held me back. We were to direct and to have Nomoci’s arrows cover our retreat. We could count on his arrows and my mace to always keep an exit free. I would protect us from the front and rely on Nomoci’s bow for my exit. He had protected me from what seemed miles away. Once I felt as if the end was near. I had been killing in masses. I was undefeatable, but the enemy just kept coming. I was dieing of a thousand cuts. Until his rain of arrows came. He decimated the enemy and he would always protect us from any push. We had no worries as long as his bow sung.
The battle went as we expected. We were totally overrun. The knights put up a valiant fight, but as we had warned, there were just too many of them. Fortunately Nomoci and I were able to get our hands dirty and hold them off for as long as we could. I tried to push our line where we could, but we always had to back off and start or help another push. Unlike Nomoci I like to look into the eyes of my dieing opponent. He kills came from afar. His joy came from the death of many. Mine came from crushing the moral of the many by defeating their best. He stayed behind the line, which became thinner and thinner the more we retreated. The battle raged for a whole day and went into the night. The darkness resulted in no pause. We all knew that it would only bolster the enemy. In the morning we could see the damage. The knights fought well, but most of them along with their troops had died.
During the next day, the battle evolved to the point of no return, the knight who had hired us retreated back to our position. When we were all together, he addressed the clan.
“I am glad that I asked you for assistance. You have all fought well and I am proud of the way that you have assisted our troops. I only wish that more of the lords from this region would have dedicated themselves to entrusting our word.” Pausing, he wiped the sweat off of his brow. I could see that the weight of the passed day’s events had no only taken a toll on him, but I could tell that there was disappointment in his eyes.
“I fear that this battle will soon come to an end, but I cannot leave my own troops here to die alone without their leader.” Looking at every one of us in the eyes, he continued, “I know that I must stay, but you do not have the same obligation. I have another mission for you.”
My leader stepped forward, put his hand on the knight’s shoulder and asked him how he could help.
“Unlike my past messengers, you can stay alive and deliver a message for me.”
Looking into his eyes, my leader said, “Anything, but you shall owe us for this.”
“Of course,” was the response, “Can you make sure that the Knight Commander of the realm knows of the impending doom of his lands?”
“Yes, we will tell him. As for you, keep yourself alive. You are better than this battle. Live to fight the war. Don’t die here for nothing.”
A smile crossed the knight’s face. Again, looking at all of us, the knight said, “Now go, hopefully I shall see you all soon.”
He left to rejoin his remaining troops in the fight. My leader turned to us and said, “You heard him. Let’s leave this battle. We need to get to Admunfort.”
