Author's Notes: Hey everyone, glad that you like the longer chapters, as always I own nothing.
Karl was not sure how long he ran, carrying Clare in his arms, he only knew that he had to get away from the carnage that the battle had become. Gradually the sounds of the carnage died behind them and at last died out entirely. By now Karl was ready to rest, he had been fighting and running for hours and now that they were not in immediate danger his body suddenly seemed to realize how tired and sore it was. He gently put Clare down and then slumped to the ground, loaded his pistol in case he should need it and sat down with his back to a tree. He had only meant to rest for a little while and then continue on, but once he sat down exhaustion seemed to overwhelm him and he soon slipped off to sleep himself. He woke to the sounds of Clare stirring herself. She gave a heavy yawn and pushed herself up to a sitting position. She looked around, obviously confused by her new surroundings and then focused on Karl.
"What happened?" She asked him.
"We lost. We ran."
"Where are we?" He replied with a shrug.
"Somewhere in the woods. More than that I do not know."
"Have you seen anyone else?" He shook his head side to side.
"Surely we cannot be the only survivors!" She said it forcefully, but Karl suspected that she was trying to convince herself as much as him.
"I am sure that there are." He said, both to calm her and trying to convince himself as well. Seeing that she was still distressed he tried to focus her mind on something else.
"We need to keep moving. Can you walk or do you need me to carry you?" The question seemed to focus her mind and she smiled at him and blushed slightly.
"As much as I enjoy that, I am quite capable of walking and you need to save your strength. The Beastmen will no doubt stop to celebrate their victory, but that will not last forever. They will send out scouts to hunt for survivors and we need to be far away when that happens." Nothing more was said and they set off.
The nights were coming early but Karl was able to pick a path through the trees for them. Even so, their going through the forest was slow, they were weary from the battle and subsequent flight and Karl did not want to seem too adapt at navigating through the trees. Both of them kept their ears alert for the sounds of pursuit but they did not hear anything for some time. It was nearly sundown, with shadows deepening, when they heard something nearby. They could not see it but it was clearly not an animal. Karl pulled out his swords while Clare muttered under her breath, causing a ball of fire to form between her hands. Karl surreptitiously sniffed the air, what he smelled was a combination of human and Beastmen, which was confusing, whatever it was there was more than one.
The sounds grew louder as the source of the sounds grew closer and Karl moved to stand between whatever was causing the sound and Clare, then several figures burst from the trees. There were five of them and Karl saw to his relief that they were human, men clad in the bloodstained uniforms of the spearmen, explaining the smell of Beastmen. In truth though, the men looked little better than beasts. Their uniforms were filthy and torn, blood oozed from crudely bandaged wounds and their eyes looked more like those of hunted animals than men, the sight of them awakened the predator in Karl but he forced it back, these men were neither enemy nor prey. Seeing them the men stumbled to a halt, they stared at Karl and Clare for a moment then some of them relaxed.
"They ain't Beastmen." One of men said, relief clear in his voice. His relief was clearly not shared by all of the other soldiers.
"No, worse." One of the soldiers who had not relaxed said. "A sell-sword and one of those Sigmar-damned warlocks! I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't the reason that we lost, Sigmar would never support an army that lets dabblers of Chaos into the ranks of honest men!" Several of the others nodded their agreement. Karl felt his anger rising but before he could say anything Clare stood in front of him.
"I am Clare Hitzig, apprentice wizard of the College of Aqshy and student of Magister Hartnid, a man who died fighting, while you and your oh-so-pious fellows turned tail and ran!" The men scowled and muttered but did nothing.
"Now," she said, acting as if she had not heard anything; "We need to seek shelter and find a way to get word of what happened to the army. Do any of you know if there are any towns or villages near here?" The men looked from one to another, finally one of them spoke up.
"I am not sure, my lady, but I think there is a town somewhere around here." She nodded imperiously.
"Very well, you will take the lead. The rest of you watch the flanks. NOW!" She snapped out when they seemed reluctant to obey. They jerked as if struck by lightning and then they moved to obey.
"When did you learn to do that?" Karl whispered to Clare as they walked behind the soldiers.
"In the college, we are taught that we will never be accepted by many outsiders. As we will often be working with soldiers and we have to be able to command respect. Fortunately, soldiers have spent years learning to take orders, so all you have to do is speak in a commanding tone of voice and they will instinctively follow the orders of the speaker. It also helps that they seem to assume that all wizards are nobility."
They walked in silence for the better part of an hour. Just when Karl was beginning to think that the man had no idea where they were the man in question gave a happy yell. Before them the trees suddenly gave way to a river. It was both broad and swift flowing. Jutting out from the water was a stone that resembled a knife blade. Just beyond that the river split into two branches.
"I knew it!" The man exclaimed. "This is Knife Fork! Just a few miles upstream is the town of Hamlinburg. We could be there before sunrise."
Their spirits buoyed by this discovery they set off with the man in the lead. As they made their way along they encountered several more men, a handgunner and two swordsmen who had escaped the battle. They quickly fell in with them. Shortly thereafter four woodsmen joined them as well. These last proved to be most useful as they were able to help the party move through the woods without Karl having to reveal that he could see as well in the dark as he could in the daytime. After walking for several hours the trees began to thin and then they ended. Beyond was an open space which consisted of fields and pastures. Beyond these, situated right on the bank of the river, was Hamlinburg.
It was a large place, there had to be at least three or four thousand people living in it. It was also well fortified, there was a low stone wall that ran around the town except the side of the town which faced the water and the wall was topped by a palisade of thick logs. The only entrance to the town was a heavy wooden gate with a watch tower atop it. Some of the men were for approaching the town at once but others objected. At this time of night anyone who approached the gate would likely only get a bolt from a century. They decided to wait till dawn to approach the town. The night seemed to last forever and they jumped at every sound but nothing happened and at last dawn came. As the sun came over the horizon they made their way across the fields towards the gate. As they approached the gate a cry came from the guardhouse.
"Who goes there so early in the day with the look of vagabonds about them?" Some of the men bristled but one of them, the one who had been suspicious of Clare, spoke up.
"I am Sargent Holt, of the Altdorf Crimson Spears. There has been a terrible battle at Tower Stone! General Nenker Hassel is dead, the army scattered and a massive host of Beastmen is heading north and may come here! We must speak to the master of the town!" Karl caught the sound of frantic muttering from the guardhouse and after a moment the gate began to open.
"Enter!" The man called out to them. "Erin will take you to see Bürgermeister Adler!" The gate groaned open to reveal Erin, a youth about Karl's age in a shirt of chainmail and a kettle helmet. He led them through the streets of the town, his spear held in front of him to clear the way. There was little need for that, most of the people of the town had not yet awoken and the few that were awake kept their distance from the newcomers. Karl could not help but notice that the looks directed at Clare ranged from curious to fearful to openly hostile. He looked at her but if she saw the looks she gave no indication of it.
Erin led them to the town hall, a large two-storied building and one of the few made of stone. They were led inside where Bürgermeister Adler sat at a large table eating breakfast. He was a tall man clad in velvet and with a golden chain around his neck. Despite the large meal that he was eating he was rail thin. He had brown hair and eyes and a large nose. Around him were a number of men with the look of councilors about them. Erin motioned for Karl and most of the others to stay back while he led Clare and Holt forward. Even though they hung back the chamber shape caused voices to echo. This, combined with Karl's superior hearing, allowed him to hear what was being said.
"Bürgermeister Adler." Erin announced; "Allow me to introduce Sargent Holt of the Altdorf Crimson Spears and…" His voice trailed off as he realized that he had not gotten Clare's name. She stepped forward and spoke for herself.
"I am Clare Hitzig, apprentice wizard of the College of Aqshy and student of Magister Hartnid, late of the army of General Nenker Hassel." Several of those at the table drew back when they heard what Clare announced what she was but Adler leaned in, his eyes narrowing.
"Late of General Hassel's army?" Clare's voice became a little distance as she remembered the disaster yet again.
"Yes, we marched from Altdorf to engage a Beastmen army. We met them at Tower Stone. It was a disaster, the army was routed and both General Hassel and my master were slain, along with much of the army. When the Beastmen move from Tower Stone they will likely move towards Altdorf and they may come here as they move."
This caused an immediate outburst among those assembled. Some calling of an immediate evacuation of the town, others demanding that calls for aid be sent and others apparently panicking without offering any suggestions at all. At last Adler rose and thumped his fist several times on the table till at last those around him fell silent and he could speak without having to shout. He paused for a moment and then began to speak.
"We will not abandon Hamlinburg."
"But "Bürgermeister!" One of the men said; "We cannot hope to withstand such a force if it should come here! To attempt to do so would be madness!"
"I am not speaking from foolish pride." Adler responded. "I am speaking from fact. There are not enough boats for all of the people and were we to attempt to move by land we would run the risk of being caught in the wilderness." That seemed to silence some of the objections, with several merely sitting in their seats and shivering at the mere thought of what Adler was describing. Seeming to not notice these men and continued to speak. We will fortify the town as best we can and pray. If we are fortunate they will pass us by on their way. If not, let us hope that they do not send their full strength against us. Sigmar help us if they do."
Author's Notes: I know that it is short, I promise the next will be longer, I just wanted to get this out. What did you think? Please let me know in the reviews. There will be another battle in the next chapter. Till then please pray for the Sudanese pastors who are now awaiting the results of their trial and the Christian woman in Pakistan who is appealing her death sentence for blasphemy, as well as the Christians seized in Libya by ISIS and all their other victims and all who are sick and need prayer. Bye and may Jesus bless you.