Chapter 7
The next day Crais explained what had to be done. The archers took up their positions on the slopes and Crais made sure they had firewood that could ignite quickly and kept dry and at the ready. He instructed the detail over the first trench to wait until the machine ground to a halt before they were to shoot flaming-arrows at it. If they could see bellows, sacks or containers on the machine that was to be their first aim, since it probably contained the incendiary materials. Once the machine exploded, they were to retreat to the slope halfway above the second trench and take up positions there and fire their arrows to the Marauders below.
He instructed the second detail, the ones over the second trench, to stay out of sight and not to shoot until the first Marauders on foot or horseback reached the second trench. Than they were to shoot at will. He also said this to the detail behind the second trench.
He took up position with the detail behind the second trench, near the side of the river where he could oversee the road but not been seen himself. When the guards spotted the Marauders, they were to get behind the trenches. Captain Tavek would then take his position and take command on the right flank near the river's edge. When the fighting started he would take up position in the middle Janek he placed near the slopes. Then it was now just a waiting game.
They didn't have to wait long.
Just before evening, which Crais took to be a godsend, they came up towards the first trench. As Crais had anticipated the machine was not quite at the front of the column but as near as. About two hundred to three hundred men were walking in front and around it. The machine would grind to a halt about the time the first foot soldiers would reach the second trench. If everybody held their own, as he had instructed them, they should be able to make use of the ensuing confusion.
The upcoming men were singing marching-songs, confident that nobody would oppose them and they didn't care that they were heard for miles ahead. Crais was glad they did. With their marching feet and loud singing he hoped none would notice the difference in sound when they stepped on the planks. Even with choosing the wood carefully he had not been able to eradicate the possibility of the different sound being detected.
Crais couldn't believe their luck when the first line of the foot soldiers came around the bend, saw the piled high defences but could not stop themselves from stepping in the second trench whilst simultaneously the wheels of the machine slid into the first trench. There was a grinding noise when the machine settled. Immediately from the slopes above flaming arrows were fired at the machine and were caught in the wood of which the machine was made of. In panic the men near the machine started to douse the fires while others were trying to run away as far as possible. It was to no avail. One of the arrows hit one of the bags hanging from the sides of the machine. It exploded in flames, immediately engulfing anyone near and turning them into flaming, moving torches in turn setting fire to anyone they touched. The fire spread around and with a great roar the machine exploded, throwing its liquid, deadly debris around it to great effect.
Crais noticed with satisfaction that the archers on the slope above had now moved to halfway above the second trench to take up their position there.
It was to the credit of the advance party of the Marauders that once they were over the shock of the mayhem and carnage behind them, they moved forward to attack. Crais signalled to the archers above to let loose the next volley of arrows. The advancing foot soldiers fell by the dozen.
In the advance party there had also been a detachment of archers, who had miraculously escaped the liquid fires of the machine, they let loose their volley of arrows but protected by the shields their damage to Crais' men was limited.
The remainder of the advance party were caught between the second trench and the destroyed machine. Retreat would mean certain death, since the machine was still spewing fire, standing still was no option with the archers above on the slope, so, they had to move forward using the dead or near-dead bodies of their comrades as cover prior to trying to clamber over the second trench. Crais barked his orders to his men to stand and fight as the battle was shifted to hand-to-hand combat. The defenders had the upper hand. Behind the mound they pushed the Marauders back into the trench with their long spears, the defenders quickly dealt with the few attackers who managed to get over the mound.
At a signal from Crais the archers moved their positions towards the remaining force of the Marauders and let loose their arrows to attack the ones near the machine who dared to come through. They took out many of the enemy-archers.
Crais was shooting with his pulse gun with one hand while using the other to hack at the nearest men with the long sword he had ordered from the City's blacksmith. He was everywhere. Both his weapons dealing death in great numbers as he spurred his own men to combat.
Still the Marauders came. Couldn't they realise when a battle was lost?
For a moment he was distracted when he glanced to his left and it appeared to Crais that Janek was in command of the men on his side of the battlefield. Taken out of his peaceful surroundings and thrust onto the battlefield he was a totally different man. Gone was the timid man who questioned himself. He seemed to be acquiring the ability to command and his men seemed to be following his orders without hesitation.
Crais felt an arrow enter his shoulder with a thud, numbing the arm that held his gun. He nearly dropped it but held on. He ignored the pain and with an effort he put the weapon back in his holster and now used both hands to wield the sword.
The Marauders closest to him were shocked when they saw him use the sword, with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder, hair flying wild and a mad gleam in his eyes. This devil in black couldn't be killed and they wanted to retreat but were stopped by the ones following them.
Crais' own men saw them retreat and with a roar clambered over the trench themselves to attack the retreating force. Crais knew he couldn't stop them now. He knew there would be many wounded men going back to the City and many dead but would it be sufficient to stop the Marauders in their tracks?
He saw Tavek lead his men over the mound and pursue the Marauders. He could hear his battle cry when he was attacked by three Marauders who now seemed to have only hopes of at least taking one of the commanders out. It was the last error they made.
Crais stopped for a moment to break off the shaft of the arrow. He left the rest of the arrow where it was lodged. If he took it out now he would start the bleeding in earnest. He followed his men.
From the smoke and carnage a man stepped forward who wielded his weapon accurately as well and Crais surmised that this was the leader of the Marauders. He moved towards this man, hacking at the men who came up to attack him. If he took this man out there was a hope that the band could be stopped.
When the man turned in his direction Crais knew that he had to stand and fight here and now. The leader of the Marauders realised this as well and made his way forward to Crais.
Crais sized the man up. He was big and strong and Crais knew that the fight at hand wouldn't be an easy one. The man looked at him and sized him up too, a smile grew on his face. This man was wounded and smaller than he was; it was going to be easy to take this leader out.
He closed the distance to Crais and attacked.
Crais caught the downward slash with his own sword and gritted his teeth when it jarred through his shoulder. The leader of the Marauders hacked at him with a grin on his face, he had seen Crais flinch and was hoping for an easy victory. His smile vanished when the smaller man wouldn't give and thrust and parried with the same force despite the wound in his shoulder. Worse, he was gaining on him. The Marauder had to fight to defend himself.
Somehow both groups noticed the battle between the two leaders and slowly the sound of battle almost grew to a standstill and both sides were watching their commanders fight it out.
Crais' sword was longer and heavier. As long as he didn't think about the pain in his shoulder he should be able to better his man. His attacks became more ferocious. He hacked, he slashed, he parried and drove his opponent further back but couldn't see an opening in his enemy's defence.
The leader of the Marauders couldn't believe his eyes. There weren't many people he could call his equal in sword-fights but this smaller, wounded man was not only his equal he might even be his better. The sword sang in front of his eyes and he had to do his utmost to parry the attacks. He was just holding his own. He then saw an opening and thrust and slashed sideways.
Crais saw it coming and could only step back to avoid being killed. The tip of the other man's sword grazed his chest and he knew he had been cut. "Blank it," his mind told him.
He saw the grin on the Marauder's face when he went into another flurry of attacks now that he had drawn blood. Crais only had one chance. When he saw the Marauder raise his sword above his head, he dropped low to the ground, steadied himself with one arm and thrust his own sword upwards into the Marauder's abdomen, driving the sword home. He saw the look of surprise on the man's face, the sword still raised above his head. As if in slow motion he dropped the sword in his hands and reached for the sword sticking out from his stomach. He looked at Crais with a confused expression of disbelief on his face before his eyes dulled and Crais knew he was dead. The man fell forward. Crais staggered backwards.
He bent forward to retrieve his sword and then turned towards the men surrounding him. He was breathing hard and pain slowly started to spread. He righted himself and brought his sword at the ready.
He shouldn't have worried. When the Marauders saw their leader fall they backed off, some dropping the weapons they held in their hands to the ground. They surrendered. Or rather, they ran, afraid of what Crais might do.
He leaned heavily on the pommel of his sword, which he now used as a rest.
"Shall we pursue them," he heard the voice of Janek speak next to him.
He slowly shook his head. "No leave them," he said hoarsely, "They will not bother us anymore." He heard the blood rush in his ears, muting the other sounds, "We have to gather our wounded." His body finally gave in and he slumped unconscious to the ground over his sword.
The next day Crais explained what had to be done. The archers took up their positions on the slopes and Crais made sure they had firewood that could ignite quickly and kept dry and at the ready. He instructed the detail over the first trench to wait until the machine ground to a halt before they were to shoot flaming-arrows at it. If they could see bellows, sacks or containers on the machine that was to be their first aim, since it probably contained the incendiary materials. Once the machine exploded, they were to retreat to the slope halfway above the second trench and take up positions there and fire their arrows to the Marauders below.
He instructed the second detail, the ones over the second trench, to stay out of sight and not to shoot until the first Marauders on foot or horseback reached the second trench. Than they were to shoot at will. He also said this to the detail behind the second trench.
He took up position with the detail behind the second trench, near the side of the river where he could oversee the road but not been seen himself. When the guards spotted the Marauders, they were to get behind the trenches. Captain Tavek would then take his position and take command on the right flank near the river's edge. When the fighting started he would take up position in the middle Janek he placed near the slopes. Then it was now just a waiting game.
They didn't have to wait long.
Just before evening, which Crais took to be a godsend, they came up towards the first trench. As Crais had anticipated the machine was not quite at the front of the column but as near as. About two hundred to three hundred men were walking in front and around it. The machine would grind to a halt about the time the first foot soldiers would reach the second trench. If everybody held their own, as he had instructed them, they should be able to make use of the ensuing confusion.
The upcoming men were singing marching-songs, confident that nobody would oppose them and they didn't care that they were heard for miles ahead. Crais was glad they did. With their marching feet and loud singing he hoped none would notice the difference in sound when they stepped on the planks. Even with choosing the wood carefully he had not been able to eradicate the possibility of the different sound being detected.
Crais couldn't believe their luck when the first line of the foot soldiers came around the bend, saw the piled high defences but could not stop themselves from stepping in the second trench whilst simultaneously the wheels of the machine slid into the first trench. There was a grinding noise when the machine settled. Immediately from the slopes above flaming arrows were fired at the machine and were caught in the wood of which the machine was made of. In panic the men near the machine started to douse the fires while others were trying to run away as far as possible. It was to no avail. One of the arrows hit one of the bags hanging from the sides of the machine. It exploded in flames, immediately engulfing anyone near and turning them into flaming, moving torches in turn setting fire to anyone they touched. The fire spread around and with a great roar the machine exploded, throwing its liquid, deadly debris around it to great effect.
Crais noticed with satisfaction that the archers on the slope above had now moved to halfway above the second trench to take up their position there.
It was to the credit of the advance party of the Marauders that once they were over the shock of the mayhem and carnage behind them, they moved forward to attack. Crais signalled to the archers above to let loose the next volley of arrows. The advancing foot soldiers fell by the dozen.
In the advance party there had also been a detachment of archers, who had miraculously escaped the liquid fires of the machine, they let loose their volley of arrows but protected by the shields their damage to Crais' men was limited.
The remainder of the advance party were caught between the second trench and the destroyed machine. Retreat would mean certain death, since the machine was still spewing fire, standing still was no option with the archers above on the slope, so, they had to move forward using the dead or near-dead bodies of their comrades as cover prior to trying to clamber over the second trench. Crais barked his orders to his men to stand and fight as the battle was shifted to hand-to-hand combat. The defenders had the upper hand. Behind the mound they pushed the Marauders back into the trench with their long spears, the defenders quickly dealt with the few attackers who managed to get over the mound.
At a signal from Crais the archers moved their positions towards the remaining force of the Marauders and let loose their arrows to attack the ones near the machine who dared to come through. They took out many of the enemy-archers.
Crais was shooting with his pulse gun with one hand while using the other to hack at the nearest men with the long sword he had ordered from the City's blacksmith. He was everywhere. Both his weapons dealing death in great numbers as he spurred his own men to combat.
Still the Marauders came. Couldn't they realise when a battle was lost?
For a moment he was distracted when he glanced to his left and it appeared to Crais that Janek was in command of the men on his side of the battlefield. Taken out of his peaceful surroundings and thrust onto the battlefield he was a totally different man. Gone was the timid man who questioned himself. He seemed to be acquiring the ability to command and his men seemed to be following his orders without hesitation.
Crais felt an arrow enter his shoulder with a thud, numbing the arm that held his gun. He nearly dropped it but held on. He ignored the pain and with an effort he put the weapon back in his holster and now used both hands to wield the sword.
The Marauders closest to him were shocked when they saw him use the sword, with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder, hair flying wild and a mad gleam in his eyes. This devil in black couldn't be killed and they wanted to retreat but were stopped by the ones following them.
Crais' own men saw them retreat and with a roar clambered over the trench themselves to attack the retreating force. Crais knew he couldn't stop them now. He knew there would be many wounded men going back to the City and many dead but would it be sufficient to stop the Marauders in their tracks?
He saw Tavek lead his men over the mound and pursue the Marauders. He could hear his battle cry when he was attacked by three Marauders who now seemed to have only hopes of at least taking one of the commanders out. It was the last error they made.
Crais stopped for a moment to break off the shaft of the arrow. He left the rest of the arrow where it was lodged. If he took it out now he would start the bleeding in earnest. He followed his men.
From the smoke and carnage a man stepped forward who wielded his weapon accurately as well and Crais surmised that this was the leader of the Marauders. He moved towards this man, hacking at the men who came up to attack him. If he took this man out there was a hope that the band could be stopped.
When the man turned in his direction Crais knew that he had to stand and fight here and now. The leader of the Marauders realised this as well and made his way forward to Crais.
Crais sized the man up. He was big and strong and Crais knew that the fight at hand wouldn't be an easy one. The man looked at him and sized him up too, a smile grew on his face. This man was wounded and smaller than he was; it was going to be easy to take this leader out.
He closed the distance to Crais and attacked.
Crais caught the downward slash with his own sword and gritted his teeth when it jarred through his shoulder. The leader of the Marauders hacked at him with a grin on his face, he had seen Crais flinch and was hoping for an easy victory. His smile vanished when the smaller man wouldn't give and thrust and parried with the same force despite the wound in his shoulder. Worse, he was gaining on him. The Marauder had to fight to defend himself.
Somehow both groups noticed the battle between the two leaders and slowly the sound of battle almost grew to a standstill and both sides were watching their commanders fight it out.
Crais' sword was longer and heavier. As long as he didn't think about the pain in his shoulder he should be able to better his man. His attacks became more ferocious. He hacked, he slashed, he parried and drove his opponent further back but couldn't see an opening in his enemy's defence.
The leader of the Marauders couldn't believe his eyes. There weren't many people he could call his equal in sword-fights but this smaller, wounded man was not only his equal he might even be his better. The sword sang in front of his eyes and he had to do his utmost to parry the attacks. He was just holding his own. He then saw an opening and thrust and slashed sideways.
Crais saw it coming and could only step back to avoid being killed. The tip of the other man's sword grazed his chest and he knew he had been cut. "Blank it," his mind told him.
He saw the grin on the Marauder's face when he went into another flurry of attacks now that he had drawn blood. Crais only had one chance. When he saw the Marauder raise his sword above his head, he dropped low to the ground, steadied himself with one arm and thrust his own sword upwards into the Marauder's abdomen, driving the sword home. He saw the look of surprise on the man's face, the sword still raised above his head. As if in slow motion he dropped the sword in his hands and reached for the sword sticking out from his stomach. He looked at Crais with a confused expression of disbelief on his face before his eyes dulled and Crais knew he was dead. The man fell forward. Crais staggered backwards.
He bent forward to retrieve his sword and then turned towards the men surrounding him. He was breathing hard and pain slowly started to spread. He righted himself and brought his sword at the ready.
He shouldn't have worried. When the Marauders saw their leader fall they backed off, some dropping the weapons they held in their hands to the ground. They surrendered. Or rather, they ran, afraid of what Crais might do.
He leaned heavily on the pommel of his sword, which he now used as a rest.
"Shall we pursue them," he heard the voice of Janek speak next to him.
He slowly shook his head. "No leave them," he said hoarsely, "They will not bother us anymore." He heard the blood rush in his ears, muting the other sounds, "We have to gather our wounded." His body finally gave in and he slumped unconscious to the ground over his sword.