Ch. 4 The nightly assault
He took the circlet from his forehead and placed it carefully in the middle of the brown cloth. Gently he folded it up so that the circlet was completely wrapped up and then placed it back in one of the saddlebags.
On the bed lay his battle armour which he had send to the tanner this morning. It was made of hardened leather, beautifully ornated with several natural patterns. Piece after piece he put it on, which he wasn’t accustomed to do on his own, usually he had a servant, a family member or even a fellow rider helping him strapping everything tightly to his body. He took the leather bracers and strapped them around his lower arm, the motive of the Golden Horse clearly visible he spoke a few words in an uncommon tongue upon looking at it.
A few knocks sounded on the door, “Enter” he said. The door went open gently and there stood Britt “Evenin’ sir! You ordered a few guards if I’m correct?” he said in a silly tone.
The stranger smiled back but rapidly pointed out to Britt that what they were about to do could mean death.
About five or six other guards came inside as well, which instantly made the small room a very crowded place.
“Right, I take it you all know who and what you are about to face?” the volunteers all nodded but for most, their eyes told a different tale. The blonde man noticed that and moved the small table to the middle of the room. “Gather round.”
All the men circled around the table upon which lay an improvised map of the area. “I see in your eyes that battle is something you know from tales, not from experience, therefore I shall make it as briefly as possible. We will hit these three camps…” with his finger he pointed at three locations around Bree.
“We must move swift and quickly from one to the other to keep our advantage of surprise. Open battle is no option, we must strike from the shadows and from a distance. Who here has a good arm to throw javelins or shoot a bow?”. Four guards held up their arm “I hunted with my father when I was little, sir.” Said one of them. The others had similar experience. “Very well…” he said and started to explain their positions, what to do and where to move in any given situation.
“We move first to here, make sure you wear the cloak and masks I gave you, it is absolutely imperative that none of them can recognize you. If they do and they live, your family is in grave danger. Therefore none must know what we have done this night.” All the men, a concerned look on their face, nodded. “And you, sir? I see only six cloaks and masks.” The blonde man smiled “Seeing as I’m a stranger to these lands I have no ties nor bonds in these lands. At least not natives, besides if they decide to threaten my family around here, they will find a whole other foe than me. That said, meet me downstairs at the stables in five minutes.”
The men left the room one by one until finally the stranger was alone again. He threw the drawn map in the small fire burning quietly at the north wall. Turning around he moved towards the corner of the room where on the floor lay a long brown cloth, he picked it up and unrolled it on his bed. In it were 4 finely crafted javelins, an ornate spear and a sheathed sword. The amount if details on the spear was staggering and it was clearly visible that it was a spear made by a great craftsman. In the metal spear point the same Golden Horse was finally visible, in the wood was a knot work pattern carved out from top to bottom. Next to it lay the sword “Time to use both your gifts in battle, cousins.” He said and picked his weapons up, placing the javelins in his pack and putting the sheath and sword on his belt. Finally he took his spear and left the room.
Gathered at the stables the men swiftly left, the less people that saw the leaving, the better. They went through the South gate, where a guard knew of their plans and would let them back in when they completed their task.
After a few minutes they went off the road and tied their horses to a tree, in the darkness of the night. Soon the only thing that would mark their position was the neighing of some of the horses. The men took in their positions and the stranger together with Britt and another guard moved slowly to the front entrance of the camp. “Ost Baranor, there it is.” Britt whispered. The stranger saw two brigands standing guard and made a hand gesture to his companions. He lay his shield and spear down and lined up his javelins next to him. Slightly kneeled he aimed for one of them, it was quite the distance and Britt doubted that he would make it so far, but the stranger was used to throwing spears and javelins whilst riding, he was not to miss whilst standing still. With a quick thrust he threw the javelin which hit one of the brigands right in the chest. The brigand fell forward and instead of the wood shattering under the weight of the javelin it pierced right through his body, the wood completely red of the brigands blood.
“Attaaaaaaaack! Alaaaa…!” the other brigand yelled but before he could finish his second word another javelin had already pierced his chest as well. The brigands coming out both in disarray and completely off guard looked around but saw nothing at first.
The stranger took up his spear and shield and jumped from out of the bushes, upon seeing him they attacked without hesitation. Britt and the other guard ran towards him and both took his flank. “Nooow!” the stranger yelled and from four different sides arrow came flying in, hitting the brigands from left, right and centre.
The chaos was now complete and whilst the brigands frantically tried to figure out from where the arrows were coming they were being cut down by the stranger and his two allies. Soon the battle was over and the entrance to Ost Baranor was littered by corpses. The guardsmen cheered, after all they were just civilians patrolling the streets of Bree, this was something entirely different.
“Do not cheer yet, we still have more work to do.” The stranger said whilst pulling out one of his javelins out of a corpse. He took a rag, cleaned the javelin and threw it down on the corpse beneath him “Now why would you want to make my weapons so messy.” He said with a smirk. “Let’s move.”. They all ran to their horses for they knew speed was the key to their victory if any patrol would stumble amongst this massacre all other camps would be alerted.
After their second camp the guard standing with the stranger and Britt got hurt, one of the brigands managed to slash his arm and it made him incapable of holding his sword, they left him with Cartwell Leecher, a healer of some sort in Combe. A man down and the weariness on the guards faces worried the blonde man. Their third camp was the most heavily guarded and would require more than just an ambush. Besides there were multiple exits so their plan could easily backfire if some brigands were a bit brighter than your average orange.
As the fight progressed the stream of brigands seemed endless, he had already ordered the archers to fall back as they were being threatened to be surrounded, they now stood behind him and Britt, their inexperience beginning to show. Stressed and afraid they began to miss ever more frequently, two of them already being hurt were trying frantically to keep up.
At that moment the stranger heard a brigand yell and run towards them. “You dare attack me in my own home? You dare to challenge me?”. The other brigands stepping aside for it seems this one was their leader, he rushed towards the stranger, swung his sword and was barely parried by his shield. The stranger threw down his spear and armed himself with his sword. The leader relentlessly kept attacking and for a moment it seemed as if the blonde man would succumb under the sheer amount of blows on his shield, but then saw an opening and smashed his shield with full force to the body of the leader, who stumbled a few steps behind. The blonde man had now taken over and was attacking the ruffian. With a well timed hit he disarmed the leader and pierced his sword in the man’s chest. Blood streamed out of his mouth whilst he fell on his knees. The stranger pulled his sword back, the body of the ruffian falling on the dirt below.
It was the turning point of the fight, the brigands seeing their leader fall, routed in all directions. The archers seeing this found their courage again and started picking them off one by one. Britt cheered as the fight was over.
When it was certain all brigands were either killed or gone the stranger started checking the corpses. On those he found coins, be them copper or silver he placed it in a small money pouch. He picked up the corpse of the leader and with a few well aimed daggers he pinned it to the wooden gate of the camp. It served as a warning for those in the future who have ill intent.
Together they rode back to Bree, the guard quickly opened the South Gate whilst the stranger ordered Britt to take the wounded to their wives and family and get them treated. The men said their goodbye’s the stranger smiling “All of you have done something that is fit for tales. Alas those tales must never be told, for if they are, you and your family shall be in danger. Remember this well, you have done your family, your friends and your fellow citizens a great justice today, be proud of that, be proud of yourself.” The men smiled and nodded, the stranger made way to the house of Bernard and his wife.
“Ullooo?” a voice said sleepily from behind the door “it is me.” The stranger replied. The door opened “come in, sir, come in.”, it was Bernard’s wife, Mary. As she saw clearer, she noticed the blood on the man’s face and armour. “Oh my, are you hurt, sir? What happened?” The blonde man waved with his hand “that shall not be necessary, madam.”. He handed the small money pouch, that he had been filling with the spoils of the fights, over to Mary. “Take this, it is no solace for the loss of your daughter, but perhaps it may mean a new start for you and your husband.” Mary, nearly standing with her mouth open “sir…I cannot…take…” once more he waved with his hand “It came from those who stole from you, my lady. I merely gave back what was yours to begin with. Farewell Mary, tell Bernard, I shan’t need his help. Tell him, Aeldryt Graymare considers their deal as fulfilled.”
