Today marked my first official victory over Nessya.
In days prior, I had ventured into the Chetwood forest to rally brigands to my cause. I promised them a full pardon, land and training in a selection of vocations for them to begin their lives again if they joined my cause. Some of them are good men forced into a life of treachery because of a poor decision they made when they were young. I hadn't really noticed that before, at least to this extent.
Anyhow, the people who occupied the lumber camp heard about a force of brigands being rallied and they fled into the safety of Combe. Not that they had anything to fear, no innocents should die in all of this mess. None have and I plan to keep it that way. We entered the confines of the lumber camp and stayed there for a day. I had the ten men that I had brought spar with the fifteen brigands I had recruited, teaching them how to fight properly. It was all going well until Nessya showed up, bringing some thrity-odd men with her.
I rode out to meet her and we exchanged a few words. I offered her the deal that I have since the beginning; she steps down and all of this ends. Nobody dies. Naturally, she refused and I rode back to my men. Ordering them to rally. I instructed the brigands to each grab a bow and some arrows since they weren't proficient with close-quartered combat yet.
Nessya and her men began to advance and I ordered a wall to be made. I was at the centre, five of my trained men on either side and all the brigands behind us. Volleys flew back and forth but none of them were particularly effective. None of my men met their end with her arrows, one of the brigands was grazed though. I think only two or three of hers fell to mine. Then our forces met and I instructed the brigands to take up arms and join us to fight them from all sides but behind.
Nessya's men fought well. They were even able to break through our shield-wall after we had dispatched the first few men that attempted to do so. One of my most well-trained men fell to her forces. Then it turned into a moshpit. Men were charging in from every which way and you had to decide in a split second whether they were friend or foe.
I recognized one of the boys that came running at me. I had trained him when he first joined the Watch years ago. He was still green as grass. Wailing, he came charging at me with his sword raised high above his head. It was easy enough to slice open his exposed belly and allow the entrails to pour out onto the ground. As he fell, I noticed Nessya standing there in the chaos standing back at me. I prepared myself for her charge but instead she looked around, observing the current state of the battle. She noticed that she was losing. There were about ten of her men left and I still had a strong twenty. Almost as if it was a sign, one of her men turned tail and ran back to Combe.
"Retreat!" Called Nessya, not wanting the rest of her Watchers lives to be at risk, "Back to Combe! Go! Retreat!"
Her men were more than happy to oblige. I ordered mine to follow and so they did. We ran to Combe to find that there had been a makeshift gate installed there and archers shot at us from every which way. I saw three men fall immediately to the archers so I called, "Back to the camp! Combe will be ours another day!" That's a promise that I intend to keep. We can't assault Combe head-on, we'll have to find another way.
I just hope that Barsule is making some friends over in the west. I sent him there to rally more brigands to our cause but knowing him he probably got sidetracked somewhere.
