Hard Pressed

Aedric struggles to get King Travin to safety as the battle against Redburr's forces continues.

12.

Hard Pressed

 

 

Eleazar and Aurei stood back to back, surrounded on all sides by their enemies.   They had maintained the order of their forces for over an hour, withstanding wave after wave of Redburr’s forces, but slowly they were all isolated in pockets.   They had no idea how many of their friends survived, but battle still raged all around them, so some at least still stood.

 

On the walls of Westmark, General Luca kept a barrage of arrows against most of the massive army, but still they advanced, though not without heavy losses.

Around the Duke and Duchess were the dead and dying of Redburr’s army, but they kept attacking - perhaps with less enthusiasm than at first.

 

Neither of them had heard or seen the arrival of Aedric and Snoe with the Sylvan archers, but they did sense something had changed.

 

“Are you alright?” Eleazar called to his wife, while hacking down another infantryman.

“My arms are like lead!   Surely they will regroup or something!”   Aurei replied, parrying a swipe with one sword while running another man through with the other one.

 

Suddenly their adversaries on Eleazar’s left flank broke off their attack and turned to meet a new threat.   Both of them shot a quick glance to see what had happened.   They saw an Elven knight in fancy armor battling his way through, following the contour of the wall toward them, while other Sylvan Elves tried to protect a group of the Wood Elves bearing an injured man.

 

Both of them knew that the Sylvan people had very few knights who wore plate armor, and it seemed that the injured Elf also was wearing the same type of plate armor.

“King Travin!”  Eleazar said to his wife and she understood his meaning.   Without another word to each other, they moved as one toward the advancing knight and those following him, hoping to assist in protecting their old ally.

Those of Redburr’s forces caught in between the Dullerms and the Sylvan forces suddenly realized that they were in grave danger and quickly pulled back so that they would not have to defend from front and back.   As the gap opened, the Sylvan Knight and his group rushed forward to rendezvous with the Duke and Duchess.

 

For a moment they didn’t recognize Aedric, for he wore a helm that hid much of his features.   But just as they realized who he was, they saw following closely behind him a very pale, white haired Elf carrying two swords and closely guarding both Aedric’s rear flank, as well as protecting the Elves bearing the injured King.   Aurei cried out in delight upon seeing her second youngest daughter, while Eleazar breathed a silent ‘thank you’ to Yesh for her safety.

 

“Duchess, it’s King Travin; he’s grievously injured!”  Aedric called to her as she ran over to greet her daughter.   Aurei immediately stopped and relayed the message to Eleazar, who was fighting his way over to join them.

 

“We’ve got to get him inside the gates!”  The Duke said as he finally reached them.

“I’ll hold them back!” Aedric replied, grimly resolved to protect his grandfather.

“I’ll help!”  Snoe volunteered, running after the plate armored knight before her parents could stop her.   But to their amazement, she wasn’t the only one following Aedric.

For as soon as he rushed forward to counter more of Redburr’s men -who were now regrouping and focusing their attack on the party bearing the King-  about 10 of the Sylvan Elves surrounding the King immediately broke away and raced after him.   They recognized Lord Mattleos as he passed by, leading the Elves rushing to Aedric and Snoe’s aid.

 

Aurei and Eleazar looked at each other in wonderment, then turned and began to make a way along the wall for the Sylvan King and those who bore him.   As they began hacking their way forward, several of their own soldiers joined with them, including Captain Bruce and Lieutenant Lysa with about 18 of the Queen’s Honor Guard.

 

Closer to the gate, Aeric, Alis and their children were defending the gate with a handful of the Ducal guards.   When they saw the procession struggling to reach the gate, they began to fan out slightly and fight furiously to clear a path for them.

 

But Redburr’s men also saw it and intensified their assault.   Their numbers were far too strong and in spite of their best efforts, all of the Westmark forces were in danger of being overwhelmed.

 

All at once there appeared out of nowhere a huge ghostly hand that slapped at the advancing soldiers of Redburr.   Upon contact with the spectral hand, the men fell to the ground, and the giant hand moved forward, knocking men down as it went along, parallel to the wall.

Aurei was stunned by the appearance of the magic hand, for she knew of only one magic device that could produce such an apparition.   Queen Eioldth’s magic ring.   But they didn’t have time to wonder right then, for the appearance of the spectral hand had sent a panic through the ranks of Redburr’s forces, and they pulled back from the wall, leaving a clear path for the Sylvan Elves to reach the gate.

 

Aedric didn’t see the hand, but he knew something had happened, for the men he was desperately trying to keep back suddenly glanced at something to his right and a moment later they were retreating in terror.   Snoe nudged him with her elbow and nodded behind them.

“Look!   Close to that bend in the wall: do you see her?  It’s my great aunt Zeatt!   She’s using Queen Eioldth’s magic ring to push Redburr’s men back!”

“How did she get the Queen’s ring?”

“She took it, because she didn’t want Redburr’s army to get it when they took over Northmarch.   She wouldn’t have minded; she was very close to Aunt Zeatt and my Mom.”

“Well, come on, or her intervention will be in vain!”   Aedric and Snoe motioned for the Sylvan Elves nearby to follow them, then they turned and rushed back to rejoin those bearing the King.   As they retreated, Aedric saw one of their Sylvan soldiers wounded, but still conscious.   He rushed over to him and Mattleos joined him, guessing his purpose.

 

The two cousins put the injured soldier’s arms around them and pulled him from the field of battle, while some of the other Sylvan Elves followed their example and rescued two other injured Wood Elves as Snoe protected their flanks from any of Redburr’s men who were brave enough to risk the giant hand.  

Thankfully, none opposed them and they all joined up just before they reached the gate, which General Luca had ordered be opened enough to let them slip back inside.

 

Zeatt ran to join them, still maintaining the hand as she ran, though she looked very strained by the effort.

“Hurry!   Inside, everyone!   It will dissipate soon.”  She warned, and they all complied.

 

 

***

 

Gamel was fighting along side a small group of Westmark Ducal guards when the retreat was ordered back through the gates.   He had not seen his parents since arriving, but he knew they were well and so he and his group held off the last of Redburr’s infantry while the rest of their forces hurried inside.

 

Just as they were making a fighting retreat toward the gateway, he saw a commotion to the west and to his amazement he saw two horses at full gallop, attempting to crash through the leftmost flank of Reburr’s line.   He recognized the riders - it was his sister Amala and his squire, Sintore.

“We’ve got to help them!” He yelled to the men around him, but before they could formulate a plan, the duo broke through, due in no small part to Amala’s spinning sword work.   The Infantrymen in her way, weary from hours of battle, did not try to be heroes but mostly gave way to her; offering only the most token of resistance.

 

To his relief, both of them rode quickly up to them, and he motioned for them to hurry through the gates before Redburr’s archers decided to try to pick them off.

 

They rushed through, with Gamel and his men right behind them.

The sound of the heavy metal gate slamming shut behind them was the most welcome sound all of the weary combatants from Westmark had ever heard.

Reviews

[Elina]

"...motioned for the Sylvan Elves around them to follow them..." You can probably leave out the second "them."

[Eddie Davis]

Thanks, Elina, I will correct that.