Haven Keep (Book 1) (50 page)

Tostig ignored the men with the bows, rode out of the trees and up to Flenn and Oded, matching their pace.

“Tostig, it’s good to see you,” Flenn said. “Do you have news?”  Good news Flenn hoped.

“None you’ll be happy to hear.  There is a small force of men waiting for you in the trees, just over the next rise.”

“How many is a small force?”

Any amount was more than Flenn wanted to encounter.  They must be Halfen, sent to keep Flenn from reaching Baiden with news of what happened at Stone Abbey.

“Fifty or sixty,” Tostig answered.  “I didn’t get very close.”

Flenn let out a wearied sigh.  There was no way his untested little band could stand against so many.  Most of them he’d brought hoping that just their numbers would be a deterrent against attack.  He didn’t expect Ky to have already moved so many of his men this far west.

“Is there any way we can avoid them?”

“I do not think so, but I have men with me.   If you go to the top of the rise and stop we will drive them into the open and you can use your bows against them.”

“If they know we are here they will not retreat in our direction.”

“They are inexperienced.  When we attack them from behind they will run.”

Flenn nodded in agreement to the plan.  Tostig was a veteran of battle.   The man knew what he was doing much more than Flenn did.  “We will do as you say.”

“There is more.  The Halfen have gathered an army and are marching toward Azmark.  They will reach it in a matter of hours.”

“Impossible.  The meeting of the chieftains has just concluded today.”  Ky had declared war without any warning.   “He could not already have brought them this far.”

“I”m afraid he put his plans into motion before he even came to Stone Abbey,” Oded said. “He is an ambitious man. That ambition makes him dangerous.”

“How large is this army?”

“The division marching on Azmark is four thousand strong.  The main body is a few days back and has over twelve thousand men.”

No wonder the Hywel and Whaleren turned so quickly to Ky’s side.  They must have known of this.  A force that large could rival anything the six remaining clans could gather.  Ky would have had to march through the Hywel lands and could have easily crushed any resistance.

If Baiden had warning he might possibly gather three thousand fighting men from the surrounding farms and villas.  Hopefully he was doing that already.  Behind the walls of Azmark he could easily hold out four thousand, but not sixteen. The walls were not that strong. Once the main army reached Azmark it would be a slaughter.  Even if Baiden armed the women and young boys they would still be overwhelmed in a matter of hours, probably sooner.

Flenn couldn’t imagine the situation being worse, but with the way Tostig was looking at him he knew there was more. “What else?”

“The Hywel are gathering their forces, so are the Kragen.  I cannot tell what their intentions are.”

“I have learned this day their intentions are not good.”  Flenn had left Azmark to try and cement the clans behind Baiden and the Kailfen.  Instead the Kailfen may be extinct in a matter of days.  “If we fight now against the other clans we will be doing the Horde’s work for them.”

“We will fight along side you,” Oded said.

“You will spend your strength in our civil war and the Horde’s victory will be complete.”  Maybe the Hywel were right.  Maybe it would be better to make peace with the Halfen than be exterminated.  No, it was better to fight.  Better to die with honor.

“We will not fall to the Halfen,” Tostig said.  Flenn was amazed at the calm and confidence Tostig radiated.  “The Horde is mightier than Ky,” Tostig continued. “We have not fallen to them.  He will learn the price of treachery.”

“I would not turn away your help, but then how will you fight the Horde?”

Oded spoke more cheerfully than Flenn thought possible.  “There are still the city states to the south.  Not all of them have bended knee to the Horde, and we have learned well how to fight superior forces and win.  We will do so here.”

Flenn hoped that were the case.  He knew his best chance for survival was to trust these men, trust their plan.  He saw no other way to get his band of men home safe.

“We will stop at the to top of the rise,” he agreed.  “I’ll pass the word back to the men.”

Tostig turned his horse and rode back into the trees.  Flenn realized he hadn’t asked Tostig how many men were with him.  It didn’t matter.  Flenn was sure Tostig would do as he promised, even if he needed to do it alone.

The men behind him took the news of an ambush with mixed reactions.  Some, mostly the older men, possessed looks of quiet reservation, as if facing an unpleasant task.  Many of the younger boys, no, men he had decided to call them, appeared too eager, almost excited.  They would soon learn better.

Flenn plodded his horse along, slower than his earlier pace.  Whatever the mood of those following him, he was not anxious for this to start any time soon.  He would have avoided it if it at all possible. 
Curse that Ky.

He reached the top of the rise and halted.  His men fanned out as instructed.  The Halfen must be able to see Flenn’s band by now, and would know they’d been discovered.  They would either be abandoning their attack or working their way around the flank of Flenn’s men. 
Where was Tostig?

*
                                          *                                          *

Anger boiled inside Tostig.  He schooled his thoughts, refusing to let his fury show.  Allowing your emotions to rule your actions was a good way to get yourself killed.  His storm dreams revealed to him the need to come to the north.  That it was key in their fight against the Horde.  His father said the same.  They needed the north to fight along side them if they were to ever attain victory, yet the north was willing to destroy itself in a civil war.  The Halfen were a problem he never foresaw.  He often wondered if the Demon Mage could foresee more than he or his father were able to discern.  The Horde was almost always one step ahead of them. 
How could that be?
  Tostig refused to believe there were spies within their own ranks.  The only other explanation was the Demon Mage’s eyes were further seeing than he wanted to believe.  He needed to believe not everything was subject to that dark sorcerer’s black magic.  If it was, they would have been crushed years ago.

Time enough for that later.  The Halfen needed to be dealt with now, and he would start with this bunch who thought they were hiding in these trees.  They were grossly unaware of what was about to fall upon them.

Tostig retrieved his spear from where he had left it with his men.  It was nearly long enough to be called a lance, terminating with a foot of solid steel at the end.  A spear was a formidable weapon in the hands of someone who knew how to use it.  He did, and so did his men.  They all carried similar weapons, if not quite identical.  Their weapons and armor were mismatched, pieced together as best as possible.  They appeared to be a ragged bunch of mercenaries, but that was not how they fought.

Tostig spent only a few moments explaining to his men what he wanted them to do.  They were battle hardened and could see the plan unfold in their own minds as soon as Tostig began explaining it.

The Halfen were hiding themselves on either side of the old dirt road, waiting for Flenn to ride into their trap.  They planned to attack Flenn from both sides.  Tostig would disabuse them of that idea.  He would divide his force just as the Halfen had and come up behind them.  Victims of an unexpected attack  from behind, they would run were Tostig pushed them.

Tostig had brought nearly thirty men with him.   There was no doubt his small force could take care of the Halfen themselves, even being outnumbered more than two to one, but there was no need to risk their lives.  This plan was better and would not allow for the chance of many survivors escaping to tell Ky what happened.  It also gave those young boys following Flenn a chance to blood themselves with little danger to their lives.  Tostig always thought it best to ease young men into battle before throwing them to the wolves.  This was an opportunity to do just that.  He would enjoy this.  The Halfen deserved no mercy, and he would give none.

Tostig put Morten in charge of half the men.  He gave Morten just enough time to put himself in position then started his own men forward.  It would take more than a few minutes to swing around through the thick growth and underbrush.  Tostig was confident Morten could do it without being seen.  These Halfen were so consumed with what they were doing they never even thought to look behind them, nor to set guards.  Foolish.  They were extremely overconfident.  Even after scouting this whole area for miles around Tostig still sent out rearguards and scouts.  The rearguards would stay in place up until the time the fighting actually started.  The scouts would then take over the duty of alerting them to any threat from behind.

The Halfen were in sight now.  Those fools were not trying to hide themselves from behind.  One volley of arrows and then a charge from horseback would send the Halfen running.  Morten must be about in position now.  He would not wait for Tostig.  Tostig made sure he understood he was not to.  There was nothing to make Tostig wait either.  He raised his bow and gave the signal.  Shouts arose from the other side.  Morten had started his attack.  Tostig let his arrow fly.  The snap of his bow string was echoed by a dozen others.  He raised his spear and charged.

*                                          *                                          *

Flenn was sure that at any moment the Halfen would realize they were discovered and come charging out of the forest.
Could his men withstand a charge like that?
  They might only have time for one volley of arrows before the Halfen were on top of them, maybe two.  That was if the Halfen came from the direction Flenn expected them to.  Despite his nervousness, he would wait.  He needed to trust Tostig.  He did not know what else to do.  If he turned the other way, they might be pursued from behind.  He would wait for Tostig.

Shouts arose in the forest from the west side of the road.  Flenn stood up straight in his stirrups, trying to get a better look.   Half a moment later shouts arose from the east of the road as well.  The shouts turned to screams and cries, then men spilled out onto the road only forty paces in front of Flenn.  Some were in the act of fleeing, others faced the forest, defending themselves from attack.  Tostig was correct in his assessment.   These men broke easily and forgot the threat from the road.

A few arrows began to fly over Flenn’s head and into the Halfen.  Flenn rounded on his men with impatience, barking out orders.  “Hold!  On my signal!”

Some of the younger men appeared a little ashamed, but most wore expressions of alarm.  Flenn hoped they would stand their ground.  He waited for the road to fill with more men.  The Halfen continued to retreat onto the road, piling into each other.  Two of their officers tried to rally their men, but they no longer maintained any semblance of control.  A few men finally turned towards Flenn and, seeing their folly for the first time, attempted to mount a charge up the small rise.  It was too late.  Flenn signaled.  Arrows rained down on the Halfen, piercing the leather armor of men who were already in a panic.  A second, then a third time. There was no where to go.  The Halfen screamed in pain and desperation, facing a wall of spears and steel on one side and a wave of arrows from the other.  The trap was complete and devastating.  Some halfen still tried to run, but they had nowhere to go.

Then the forest fell silent.

It was over faster than it began.  The Halfen had no chance.   An occasional groan broke the silence.  Flenn scanned the road.  Not much movement amongst the fallen.  A riderless horse here and there, but no men still on their feet.  A total and absolute victory.

Tostig appeared through the trees.  He sat on his horse in a casual manner, as if on a leisurely stroll.  The death around him bothered him in no way that Flenn could see.

Another man emerged from the forest on the other side of the road.  In contrast to Tostig, he appeared ready to do violence.  He was of middle height, at least from what Flenn could tell of him sitting on his horse.  His beard was just a little darker than the light brown hair that spilled out below the helmet he was wearing.  His helmet and well used armor had seen more than just a little action.  The man scanned the field and the tension in the his body visibly left him.  Other men came into sight, lowering spears and sheathing swords.  The man Flenn did not know reigned in his horse in next to Tostig’s.  Both men approached Flenn and Oded.

Flenn was still in the same spot he had planted himself at the top of the rise.  He felt frozen in place.  Finally, the tension left his body as well.  He knew he owed these men his life. 
What would have happened if they had not come along just at the right time?
  Flenn did not want to think about it.

“I must thank you again Tostig.”  This was the second time in just a few short days Tostig and Oded managed to preserve his life, as well as the lives of the men with him.  If it was not for them, Baiden would be dead by now and Ky would have much more of a strangle hold on the north.

“As I said before, you will have much opportunity to return the favor in the future.  I’m afraid it will be much sooner than later.”  Tostig turned to the man at his right.  “This is Morten.”

Flenn exchanged friendly nods with the man.

“That was some fine shooting,” Morten offered.  “You will need that skill to get you through the next couple of days.”

“How so?” Flenn asked.

Tostig answered, “We must ride hard if we are to help lift the siege of Azmark before the main body of the Halfen arrive.   That is if it does not fall before we can get there.”

Flenn was not sure they could do any such thing. “How many men do you have?”