Haven Keep (Book 1) (59 page)

Five hundred horseman thundered forward.

*                                          *                                          *

Von crested the last hill in the early morning and surveyed the valley below.  Mist floated through the trees, blanketing the forests and meadows.   Azmark was only an hour or so away now.  Von half expected to see smoke rising in the distance.  Relief washed over him when he did not.  Azmark had not yet been put to the flame.

He rode near Kaiden and Soren.  Each of them were able to procure horses along the way.  Jak drove the work sled now, which now held ten riders.  Everyone wondered at the craftsmanship of the thing and even more at how the horses pulling it never tired even with all the weight in it.

Yaris trailed a little behind.  Von wondered what Yaris was thinking at the prospect of fighting his own kinsmen.  His oath would hold.  Von was sure of it.

The foot of the long hill and the forest below were completely shrouded in fog and mist.  Further up, close to the Well Road he could see men on horses.  They were too far away to make out who they were, but they appeared to be gathering around the old well.

“Do you see that?”  Kaiden asked.

Von nodded.  There were not many of them.  Certainly not enough to take Azmark, not even enough to lay a proper siege.  If the Halfen were dividing themselves like this, maybe he and his companions had a better chance against them.

“Who do you think they are?”  Kaiden must be wondering the same thing he was.

“I don’t know.  I can’t tell from here.”  The men looked like dark shapes from here, he couldn’t make out details, only that they were all mounted on horses.  The mist made it hard to tell exactly how many there were. 
Four hundred, five hundred maybe?

“If it is a group of Halfen, maybe we can take them by surprise.”

Soren shook his head.  “We can run headlong down this hill and maybe get ambushed ourselves.  We’ll need to put scouts out.  Make sure the forest is safe.”

“So we take even longer to get to Azmark.”  Von said.  He knew it was good advice, he
just didn’t like it.

“I’m afraid so.  Unless you have a better idea.”

The horsemen at the well broke into a sudden gallop down the Well Road.

“Wether they are friendly or not,” Soren said, “they will reach Azmark long before we do. Either way, Baiden will need our help soon I am sure.”

“We need to risk it.  If there is an ambush we will fight through it, but I don’t think there will be.  Baiden is down there, and he needs our help.” 
Anora as well
, he thought.  “As fast as we can ride.”

Murmurs ran through the ranks behind him, speculation as to whether or when Azmark had been attacked.  Von did not care about speculation.  He needed to get down there.  He spurred his horse forward.  The others followed.

*                                          *                                          *

Flenn could see Azmark now.  Its walls swarmed with Halfen on ladders or grappling hooks.  Thousands of them.  Four thousand if the reports were correct.  It was hard to estimate the numbers in the melee.  Flenn wondered why they did not bother to build any siege towers.  The Halfen did have a battering ram, and were putting it to full use, but thankfully the gates still held. 

Men at the gate towers rained arrows down on the Halfen below.  There were men at the top of the wall as well, fighting to push the ladders off and cut the grappling hooks.   If the Halfen pushed harder they might break through.  It was a blood bath at the gates, but if the Halfen were losing numbers, the defenses of Azmark were weakening as well.  If the Halfen did not break through now, they would easily do so when the main body of their army arrived.  Maybe they were hoping to reduce morale enough so when the larger army arrived Azmark would surrender in despair.  Or maybe whoever commanded this force sought to gain status by winning here on his own.  Either way, they had played into Flenn’s hands.

Flenn and his men stopped well short of the field of battle.  The Halfen were still so occupied in the fight that they did not notice the danger from behind.  Flenn’s men spread into a wide formation.  The men in front dismounted.  Those men were armed with spears and shields, but all of his men had bows.

Some of the Halfen finally saw them.  They pointed and shouted, but it was too late.  Even if their companions could hear them over the din, they could not have convinced them to turn in time.  Flenn gave the command to loose and five hundred arrows shot through the sky.  Before the first volley hit a second was on its way.

Men fell among the Halfen from what they thought was an unseen enemy.  Every arrow did not find a target, but many did.  The Halfen turned to see who was attacking them and were met by another volley, then another.  Their shields went up to protect them, but that left their backs vulnerable to arrows from the defenders of Azmark.  They knew their attack had failed, but they still out numbered Flenn and his men by more than five to one, though each volley of arrows cut that margin significantly.

The Halfen were aware they could not stand and fight at the walls.  They turned and mounted a disorganized charge against Flenn.  Flenn expected this, hoped for it.  The men in front dropped their bows and closed ranks behind their shields.  They were two rows deep and armed with spears.  They formed a great shield wall with the archers, still mounted, safely within.  They readied themselves to meet the charge of Halfen horse as well as the men who ran behind.

Kole and his men appeared from within the trees at the opposite side of the field.  Nearly three hundred men loosed their arrows into the backs of the charging Halfen.  Again and again.  The Halfen fell in confusion, but most still charged on.  They fought for their lives now, running past their clansmen who lay bleeding on the field.

Flenn fired twice more then drew his sword.  The Halfen crashed into the wall of shields and spears.  Men and horses screamed.  Flenn saw the gates of Azmark open.  The men who had been defending the city were sallying forth.  He thought he could see Baiden at the front, with Dell at his side.  Flenn charged forward to meet the Halfen.

*
                                          *                                          *

Von could hear the sounds of battle.  He raced forward, leaving most of the men who followed trailing behind.  He knew that riding his horse this hard would probably kill it, but at that moment he did not care.  Kaiden and Soren called something to him, but he could not hear what it was.  He left them behind as well and unless they were as willing to ride their horses to death they were not going to catch him.

Von could see the battle now.  The Halfen were about to overrun a small group of men pinned in the center of the fighting.  Probably the horsemen that were at the well.  The men from Azmark were charging out onto the field now too.  The Halfen did not see them coming, but they would arrive too late to save more than just a few of the men who fought in a cluster at the center.

Von could see someone coming up on his side.  So, someone else was willing to risk his horse.  No, it was Soren, running on foot.  That amazed Von, but he could accept it more readily now, after the events of the last few days.  He looked behind and saw  some of the men were at least not much further back, but most of them trailed behind like a drawn out snake, making its way down the road.

Soren called to him, “Von, wait, we must attack in force.  One man fighting alone will not accomplish much.”

Von yelled back to him. “You of all people know that is not true.”

Soren was at his side now, easily keeping pace with the horse.  He leveled his gaze at Von, then nodded.  Von did not think it possible, but Soren let out a burst of speed, sprinting out ahead.   Von spurred his horse again, the lather from it’s sweat created a mist as the horse struggled forward, trying to please it’s master.  The horse’s chest heaved with the effort. Von did not see Soren enter the fray.

Suddenly he was hurling through the air as he heard his horse scream in pain.  Von tucked and rolled, but still he hit the ground hard.  Rocked with pain, yet unwilling to stop, he bounced to
his feet.   He looked to his horse.  It lay motionless, its right front leg twisted with an obvious fracture.  The horse would need to be put down, if it did not die of exhaustion first.  Von felt a pang of sorrow and regret.  The horse did not deserve that.  He didn’t even know the horse’s name.

Von was given only an instant for remorse.  A man with a wicked axe swung murderously at his head.  The man had no chance.  Von moved like lightning.

*
                                          *                                          *

The Halfen pressed hard.  Flenn and the men who followed him were pinned inside a circle of angry enemies.  He prayed for Baiden to arrive soon.  He did not know how much longer they could hold on.  The circle was fast becoming smaller and smaller.  Men fought back to back hopelessly trying to keep the Halfen at bay.

Flenn fought next to Oded,  desperate to keep from being unhorsed.  The Halfen clawed and stabbed at him.  Oded had already saved his life more than once.  He would die happy, knowing it had been to save Azmark.  Baiden could cut the rest of the Halfen down with ease.  Only he would not arrive in time to save Flenn and his men.

Flenn realized his plan was flawed.  He resigned himself to his fate.  But not yet, there was still some fight left in him.  His coat was drenched in sweat and blood.  He swung his sword again and again, not even knowing if it was effective at all.  He blocked another blow aimed at his head.  The shock of the impact was numbing.  His arms ached with exhaustion, only he dare not stop for a second.  It would mean certain death.

The Halfen swarmed all around him now.  Somehow they had broken through.  It would be over soon.  At least for him.  Still he fought on, unwilling to give up what the Halfen wanted to take.

Then he saw it.  A pocket of death.  It moved through the Halfen like a whirlwind, speeding through the enemy ranks, cutting down everything in its path.  He had no time to decide what it was when he saw a second disturbance within the Halfen forces.  The second did not move as fast as the first, but soon the Halfen fled from it in terror.   The first, a man he thought, but that could not be, cut a path toward where he and Oded fought.  The second... a demon... it must be... destroyed everything that did not flee before it.  The Halfen turned and ran.

What could stand against this?

Some of Flenn’s men showed terror reflecting in their eyes.  They saw what Flenn saw.  Demons cutting their way through the Halfen.  The horror might soon turn on them.

The Halfen on the west did not yet know why those on the east fled.  They only knew they no longer could rely on their companion’s support.  They pressed even harder.  Then Baiden hit them from behind.  It was a hammer hitting an anvil.  The Halfen broke.

Flenn nearly fell from his horse in exhaustion.  He dropped his shield to the ground.  The men from Azmark chased the routed Halfen, but Flenn was content to let them go.  Out of the east
came more riders, who joined the chase.  Flenn did not know where they came from, and didn’t care.  He had survived, and so had Azmark.

The first whirlwind of death stopped.  Flenn saw it indeed was a man.  He wore some kind fur lined animal skin and no armor except a shiny helm, with mail that hung down the sides and neck. The helmet covered the top two thirds of his face and hid his features, but there was something familiar about him. 
Could it be?

The man removed the helm and confirmed Flenn’s suspicion.  Soren,...or his ghost.  Kaiden said Soren was dead.  Maybe he was, and this was an apparition.  What else could explain what had just occurred?

Flenn could not speak.  If he was not so tired, so exhausted, he would have been filled with fear.

Soren smiled at him.  “We have won the day,” he said, greeting Flenn as if he had not been the sole reason most of the men here still lived.  Well, half the reason.

“I thought you were dead,” Flenn finally managed to say.

“Tales of my demise were much exaggerated.”

The second man responsible for their victory abandoned his pursuit and trotted to Soren.  He wore a helm, much like Soren’s only decorated to resemble a menacing beast of some kind.  Unlike Soren he wore armor, plate and mail, not the fur.  Others started to gather around them.

The man spoke.  “They are lucky I did not have a horse.”

Von?

“I saw what you did to your last one,” Soren said.  He did not sound pleased.

“I am sorry for that.  He was more loyal than many men I have known.”

Flenn was sure it was Von now. 
How could that be?

Before he could ask Kaiden rode up to the circle.  He was all smiles.  “I’m sorry we did not arrive sooner.”

“I’m just glad you came when you did,” Flenn admitted, meaning every word.  He still hadn’t caught his breath.    He wanted to ask “How?” but again he was interrupted.

“Oded!” Von exclaimed, removing his helm.  He nearly pulled the other man from his horse.

“We hoped you were alive!”  Oded beamed, climbing down from his horse before Von managed to pull him out of his saddle.  Oded embraced Von like a son and both men had tears in their eyes.  Von actually trembled.  Flenn couldn’t help but feel sorrow for Von’s life.  How long had he been away from his homeland and kin.  Did he still have any kin?  Tears welled in Flenn’s eyes as well.  No, Von was alone.  He had no family.  At least no real family.