
The walk back to the town – Carrick – was slow but satisfying. Naturally, I had my character sheet before me:668Please respect copyright.PENANAEO5WPUmKun
668Please respect copyright.PENANA3elirD7VO8
Sean de Courcy, king of Greyland668Please respect copyright.PENANAShCueU3jAi
668Please respect copyright.PENANAGwzKa36COq
Fighter, Level 2 HP 16 AC 0668Please respect copyright.PENANAz4L9FrF5Yq
668Please respect copyright.PENANAHUX9TiVUZe
Str 7668Please respect copyright.PENANAIJ3a0eNfaR
Dex 4668Please respect copyright.PENANAhMZEYbXu4N
Con 8668Please respect copyright.PENANADi25F3IXpR
Int 16668Please respect copyright.PENANAUK4NewfQ5t
Wis 16668Please respect copyright.PENANAHYxCmLF4zu
Cha 4668Please respect copyright.PENANAPWJWzwZtrh
668Please respect copyright.PENANAkZKN1ygkiJ
Skills668Please respect copyright.PENANAt3MlfYU4hk
Lunge 5668Please respect copyright.PENANAVZ01AerhfW
Parry 5668Please respect copyright.PENANAAGhrcriu7T
Wield Shortbow 3668Please respect copyright.PENANAQ9JjrVnX5O
Wield Rapier 5668Please respect copyright.PENANAF5gNjFhdyb
668Please respect copyright.PENANAUD4iLmsv5l
You have 1 attribute point to assign.668Please respect copyright.PENANA1wqghpjCH2
You have 5 skill points to assign.668Please respect copyright.PENANAZLerPrSksc
668Please respect copyright.PENANAliVJNoQ4XQ
XP 110/200
668Please respect copyright.PENANAYtt5bghLZ5
668Please respect copyright.PENANAxrDSDNrtbc668Please respect copyright.PENANAuNHqXORuCQ
668Please respect copyright.PENANANkjMeUUIqf
I was heartened that the system awarded a new attribute point on levelling: one that further justified my risky decision to be a Fighter. The immediate question was not what attribute to increase but whether to spend it at all. If it proved relatively easy to get attributes to move up from very low scores, but very hard to say, train Strength from 17 to 18, then I should save all my level points until I'd achieved as much as I could from exercise.668Please respect copyright.PENANAPZzthKlb12
668Please respect copyright.PENANAR6h41Wa9yL
Then there was the question of skill points. From the speed at which skills increased, I might have made a mistake in my Min-Max approach. I tapped Carlena on the back and asked that she wait with me while I took a breather. The cleric, however, I gestured to continue towards the town walls, which were less than a mile away.668Please respect copyright.PENANAOBJDGTFeeZ
668Please respect copyright.PENANAWq77HfIeuj
'Can you tell me about how to improve skills?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAebeQ0Zjq66
668Please respect copyright.PENANAHLUTfbRmTK
'I don't have access to the menus that you do, so anything I can tell you is conjecture.'668Please respect copyright.PENANArN7zQh5F0o
668Please respect copyright.PENANALe7XgeHCQd
'I understand.'668Please respect copyright.PENANA9pdTWq2XmK
668Please respect copyright.PENANAV9cgYrFRTI
'I believe that every time where you are in a situation where you have a chance to use a skill in earnest, there's the possibility you will increase your expertise in it. But you have to use a skill many times before you will be successful.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAjr8OjqBmb6
668Please respect copyright.PENANAQZBrBbuYSi
'Mine seemed to go up fairly rapidly.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAPPGEaYzm9o
668Please respect copyright.PENANAC58iGrbyNU
Carlena looked at me thoughtfully. 'Tell me my stats.'668Please respect copyright.PENANApb25Ta7MfR
668Please respect copyright.PENANAByD7IbsjIN
It took a moment to find the right menu, then I reported them to her: 'Strength five; Dexterity eleven; Constitution nine; Intelligence seventeen; Wisdom seven; Charisma eight.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAhovFXmwUDY
668Please respect copyright.PENANAtB5w446hhe
'Much as I thought. Although my Intelligence is slightly disappointing. Now, what are yours?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAzhtC5GdcVo
668Please respect copyright.PENANAXA3ODA3q3k
Although I felt reluctant to share this information for some reason, I reminded myself she was on my side after all. 'Strength seven; Dexterity four; Constitution eight; Intelligence sixteen; Wisdom sixteen; Charisma four.'668Please respect copyright.PENANApc2xraezfQ
668Please respect copyright.PENANAHfo5llVNkg
'By Miya's breath! Sixteen Intelligence and Wisdom? I never would have believed it!' Then she laughed. 'No offence, Sean, but I see the body of King Carlos and I see a very slow-witted man. It affects my perception of you.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAtcESOUwfZe
668Please respect copyright.PENANAwx314HRfaZ
'None taken,' I smiled. It was the first time I'd seen the sorceress laugh and it all of a sudden, my doubts about her retreated.668Please respect copyright.PENANAOzC4QMJi8Q
668Please respect copyright.PENANAGdaWwXbfNw
'That's the explanation: you will learn fast with those two attributes so high. They are extraordinary, I doubt there are more than a handful of people in the world with both Intelligence and Wisdom over fifteen.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAdlmHyKUUh0
668Please respect copyright.PENANAvmBe8UHdFA
'What's the maximum an attribute can be at?668Please respect copyright.PENANA5o4ik1Yaeb
668Please respect copyright.PENANAsgrICKADN7
'Again, this is conjecture, but I think for a human, twenty.'668Please respect copyright.PENANA1NybiPX56Z
668Please respect copyright.PENANAkvXMUtMrgp
I resumed my slow walk back to the safety of the town walls. It was hard to force my thick legs into motion, but my morale was high and the aches didn't trouble me. If I could get my core fighting attributes to increase, to at least to around eleven or twelve, then I could bump them up with my level gains. Meanwhile, I had a very advantageous situation in regard to skills. Obviously, I should spread my points widely, trusting to my Intelligence and Wisdom to bring them up fast. In time, I would be a very versatile warrior, capable of using a wide variety of weapons and actions at a high level, instead of a specialist in just one or two.668Please respect copyright.PENANACc20iyjt0d
668Please respect copyright.PENANAPjNrWLnRbD
I put a skill point into each of Bash, Block, Deflect, Defensive Stance and Dodge, which would get me started in those. And I saved my attribute point for now.668Please respect copyright.PENANA8Qg0D3Eb57
668Please respect copyright.PENANAqLagZHb5r3
By the time we reached the eastern gate of the town (a large metal portcullis that was already mostly down, I had to duck to go through), nearly four hours had passed. I hadn't forgotten the fact that the smithy was turning out pickaxes and as soon as the iron was all used up and I had twenty-four new pickaxes, I assigned them to the miners.668Please respect copyright.PENANA632LJ90K3d
668Please respect copyright.PENANAXXCHbzkNs2
The Cleric was just beyond the gate, waiting for us. My instinct was to thank her, but conscious of the looks of the guards and the townspeople, I simply said, 'be ready to do the same tomorrow.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAjG7zarMEr7
668Please respect copyright.PENANA3irKADUpBp
'Yes, sire.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAZkttsQqUBy
668Please respect copyright.PENANASMwHq9mxa7
With a promise she would join me for dinner, Carlena bid me farewell soon after and set off towards her tower, the one I had arrived at just two days ago (though it felt like I'd been here a week at least).668Please respect copyright.PENANAAma8D54lqI
668Please respect copyright.PENANA1aFNPns7v4
As I entered the keep, my thoughts were entirely on a bath and even a nap before dinner, when they were jolted into focus by the presence of Chancellor Parrin. My scout had been waiting in one of several chairs that were set outside of the solar for that purpose. My heart leapt. So much depended on his report. What did his face convey? Bad news, I thought, there was unease in the way his eyes caught mine.668Please respect copyright.PENANA600SQ2j17H
668Please respect copyright.PENANAwwoI1pvC0b
After taking my throne and ordering the servants to leave, I called the chancellor close.668Please respect copyright.PENANAPmUC6LDcAo
668Please respect copyright.PENANA0gbliaxRQU
'Well?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAmkdexdRarh
668Please respect copyright.PENANAKZX6ee2lOO
'They are moving an army towards us.'668Please respect copyright.PENANA7mZcUfNso3
668Please respect copyright.PENANAEW8WIoT8OG
'How many troops?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAMQttSDiYWv
668Please respect copyright.PENANARt62vTfEFI
'Sixty spearmen, twenty axemen, forty archers, thirty light cavalry, ten heavy cavalry…' he paused, 'with them are two commanders, one from each faction, and a Shaman with a sabre-tooth tiger pet, I couldn't determine their levels.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAwV2OATaXBY
668Please respect copyright.PENANALMH05UPRYg
They had about twice the number of troops we did. And strangely that gave me some hope. Given Greyland's tiny army, it could have been a lot worse.668Please respect copyright.PENANAHVxHGhUw1C
668Please respect copyright.PENANASIamTdkL83
'How long have we got?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAtPsiXGsypd
668Please respect copyright.PENANAtrOQ3rjk5E
'They will arrive at Three-Ways tomorrow, probably near enough to noon.'668Please respect copyright.PENANASxsRgiBjbc
668Please respect copyright.PENANAPvH68wHwFC
This was happening too fast. If I could have even had just a couple more personal levels, I could make a real difference to what happened in the melee. It was unfortunate too that the tower machicolations wouldn't be in place for this battle, one day and eighteen hours remained on that timer.668Please respect copyright.PENANA1cK3HhdjrZ
668Please respect copyright.PENANA3KBG6baeIu
Perhaps I was looking worried, because Parrin asked, 'can we stop them?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAIuDaC9zdcW
668Please respect copyright.PENANAYS08ypOQHF
I smiled. 'Of course we can. In fact, I think they've made a mistake. They didn't bring their full army?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAvcXPE8ccj6
668Please respect copyright.PENANAJFwSvodJ50
'No, this is about half.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAIwGOIqE4Z1
668Please respect copyright.PENANAyWkXGKqLsR
That really did feel like a mistake. If they had risked everything on overwhelming us, that would have been far more dangerous. Perhaps they were worried about losing control of our farmland in the event of being thrown back. Or perhaps the two rulers were not entirely of the same mind. Whatever the reason, the encouragement I offered the chancellor was not at all bluster. 'A lot will depend on how you, Lord Arval and Carlena perform, but this will be a battle we can win. We have a ballista, they don't have anything with the same range?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAUb8bE3RqoP
668Please respect copyright.PENANA8QbHG70flJ
'No.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAmx6lJ7uAYM
668Please respect copyright.PENANAOFtSTX1esk
'Because of that, they won't be able to mass their archers to eliminate ours and then drive us from the walls. They will have to come on fast and try to storm the fort while we are on top of them. And that's a big advantage to us.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAsYXpInKbDs
668Please respect copyright.PENANAZsIv2JDjQp
'True enough sire.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAU1qppeaKPT
668Please respect copyright.PENANAtOfLppnDbY
'Send a messenger on a fast horse with those figures to Lord Arval and tell him I'm coming; order a horse and cart big enough to carry me; let Carlena know to meet us at the fort tomorrow, early, and the cleric too, and any of the archers in the hospital able to fire a bow.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAuhm8NPR3ry
668Please respect copyright.PENANATZFuIwq7fs
We shared a look – for my part I tried to convey confidence and determination – and then he was striding out of the hall, his rapid footsteps echoing in the empty room. One day I would lead my armies from the front. If we survived this attack. But even if I couldn't fight in a battle effectively, I could be there to encourage the soldiers and give orders.668Please respect copyright.PENANArLFmfM6rT1
668Please respect copyright.PENANABIGNx3hA1R
After a wash and change and a meal (fish again) I went outside the keep to where a man sat on a long cart, which was drawn by two horses. I was going to have to travel through an uncomfortable night on those bare planks and over a bumpy road.668Please respect copyright.PENANAEaHTxWCLIf
668Please respect copyright.PENANAO5CboLQdMO
It really was a painful journey, several times I was jolted so badly even my bulky body rose off the planks. As best I could, I distracted myself by reading up on the game menus, giving particular attention to the stats on the soldiers. It was possible to get details on each soldier type, so our 33 archers, for example, read as follows:668Please respect copyright.PENANAvUcChO7lky
668Please respect copyright.PENANAOR1d1hM1R8
Greyland Archer668Please respect copyright.PENANAYquckBeqQ3
668Please respect copyright.PENANAEiMeRCuilP
Fighter level 0668Please respect copyright.PENANA0JwG1zoT4j
668Please respect copyright.PENANAaFDdvyhyRk
Ranged attack: 15668Please respect copyright.PENANADP3tJ2P7aa
Melee attack: 8668Please respect copyright.PENANAaXEiyszopd
Armour Class: 2668Please respect copyright.PENANAWE5McGvhja
Hit Points: 5668Please respect copyright.PENANAnrhijCLQc0
668Please respect copyright.PENANANAFPVHGT4z
Skills:668Please respect copyright.PENANAd0FVGrP4J5
Wield Longbow variable, according to experience668Please respect copyright.PENANAjgWOlK4hyh
Wield Shortsword variable, according to experience668Please respect copyright.PENANAQfIHmGXKgt
668Please respect copyright.PENANAg0LNHhTA01
Monthly Upkeep: 4sp
668Please respect copyright.PENANAZcONyAGhGz
I had also been keeping an eye on the town menu and just after dawn, 4 iron ingots appeared in the resources area. That was excellent, it showed that applying steel pickaxes to mining really was an effective way to increase production. I allocated the ingots to the smithy, meaning I would have 48 new pickaxes in due course. Assuming we survived the day ahead.668Please respect copyright.PENANAK8KEeH5iXD
668Please respect copyright.PENANAJ382Kyqepa
Lively birdsong accompanied the spread of grey light across the sky. Because we were making our way down a valley, I didn't see the rising sun, only a pink glow that became a bright yellow sun by the time it rose high enough to cross the shadows of the horizon. It was a beautiful day and I was struck by the realisation that it might be my last. Unlike a game, this could be the end for me. I was placing myself in proximity to 160 or so enemy soldiers who wouldn't hesitate to kill me if they could. And there was no possibility of escape if it all went wrong, not with this body.668Please respect copyright.PENANANoDl4iEDGr
668Please respect copyright.PENANAi5ErrwM3pX
Did every soldier feel the same, the morning before battle? A heightening of all the senses? An appreciation of the sky, the breeze, the birdsong? Even of the breaths I was taking. Yes, I felt a certain amount of fear, but it was very much in the background. I had to do what I had to do.668Please respect copyright.PENANAKiG2yUUvI4
668Please respect copyright.PENANAFlZjtYDQFG
Three Ways was the area at meeting of two valleys at the confluence of two small mountain rivers with a bridge over the emerging river. The fort was a wooden tower on a rocky outcrop to my right, the river I was following was on my left. Extending from the tower and all the way to the riverbank where there was another, much smaller, tower was a wooden palisade. There was a gate where the road passed through the wall.668Please respect copyright.PENANAjbHLYVXSC6
668Please respect copyright.PENANALmLk4x8tt5
My first impression was positive. We had control of the main route up towards Carrick. In theory, you could march along the other side of the river, in the narrow strip of rocky ground before the hill began to rise steeply. That would let you bypass the fort, but it would be slow going and we could harass the enemy from our side of the river. The walls of the hillside were even steeper near the main fort tower, including slaps of sheer rock in places. There was no way an army could skirt around us.668Please respect copyright.PENANAx20cT3oHuk
668Please respect copyright.PENANAXKQa7HhGtc
A picket of a dozen light infantry called on the cart to stop and as soon as they saw me, they stiffened to attention. With some difficulty I got myself out of the cart and over to the soldiers who looked at me with solemn expressions.668Please respect copyright.PENANAqbikSP8KR3
668Please respect copyright.PENANAl14Dgfmevd
'Show me to Lord Arval.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAukENZFoN1D
668Please respect copyright.PENANAQhGlZfzQBW
A guard saluted and led the way towards the main fort tower; before we were half way there, a cluster of soldiers came out of it, Lord Arval at their head, body armour shining silver in the morning light.668Please respect copyright.PENANACxsndTxrtc
668Please respect copyright.PENANAUalDAUn5cR
'Well met, sir, well met!' Lord Arval offered his hand and shook mine earnestly. 'I have made my dispositions, but I'm glad you are here to check them and lead us in the battle.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAK7s1yFqRma
668Please respect copyright.PENANAh0cn3wAldT
'Thank you, Lord Arval. I don't suppose this world has invented coffee? No. Some hot water then if you can, while you explain your set up.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAzWlIWFcI2v
668Please respect copyright.PENANAsWyfkvO00v
'Certainly sire.' He gestured an aide to obtain my drink, then began his account. 'Our light cavalry, twenty-four of them, are scouting further down the road. They will bring us word of the enemy advance.'668Please respect copyright.PENANATAufkxSWy8
668Please respect copyright.PENANAddSfVt9Nw9
I nodded.668Please respect copyright.PENANAzRyrK2iAB9
668Please respect copyright.PENANA6T6HiadENp
'The ballista is on top of the main tower.'668Please respect copyright.PENANA0FLt8n6lmK
668Please respect copyright.PENANAw82TanToOa
'What's the maximum range for it?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAZQoxq2us4R
668Please respect copyright.PENANAxVzYGoPrw1
'I can show you, if you'll come up to the palisade walkway.'668Please respect copyright.PENANA6aFm5dyChy
668Please respect copyright.PENANAAohJGMaDOd
It took some effort, and I nearly had to ask for a push from behind, but I got up a narrow wooden staircase and stood with the Paladin above the gate. Ahead of me, the road turned left to cross the bridge and then follow the river downstream on its left bank. That valley was where our opponents would arrive from. From here I could see the other stream and the mouth of the other valley, which was around the corner to the right of our main tower, with the stream running across the ground ahead of us to the main river about four hundred yards from where I was standing.668Please respect copyright.PENANAIFtZ17OBxq
668Please respect copyright.PENANAuy4kVtx00Q
'See that reddish rock beyond the bridge?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAet94jvx9u5
668Please respect copyright.PENANAxeSRL3fLRJ
'Yes?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAVvJ0TDfRcL
668Please respect copyright.PENANA1O3GdZpjSR
'The ballista can hit that. I know, I had them fire at it.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAmCRiLr9nXM
668Please respect copyright.PENANAyFZz80uK8P
While it was good that we could be shooting at the enemy as they crossed the bridge, I wasn't sure about placing the ballista crew in a position where they could be fired upon once the enemy was over the crossing. Not at all.668Please respect copyright.PENANA5QVu3v8Lu8
668Please respect copyright.PENANAdJ4OqjN9Oq
'All along the palisade will be our light infantry. They have been hauling rocks up ever since we heard the news. Also about half the archers. Only fifteen can fit alongside the ballista crew on the top of the tower.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAeIYRASZW0i
668Please respect copyright.PENANAfx3PZQXmXX
Lord Arval looked at me and then continued.668Please respect copyright.PENANAe3gnDh7t1p
668Please respect copyright.PENANAY8mfNxZ9Ef
'I was thinking that the twelve heavy infantry and four heavy cavalry should be there on that rise, as our reserve.' He pointed back the way I had come from.668Please respect copyright.PENANAR7gLhjNtTk
668Please respect copyright.PENANABYrWSvptTW
'And what about you and the Sorceress?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAvkv82oq1f6
668Please respect copyright.PENANApXs42mygNh
'It seems to me, she should be on the small tower, nearest the bridge, and myself with the reserve.'668Please respect copyright.PENANACB9JP9pJV9
668Please respect copyright.PENANAEvuzCbpOfC
For a while I studied the position and everyone waited silently, the only sound that of our flags flapping in a light breeze.668Please respect copyright.PENANACwwnTa03s5
668Please respect copyright.PENANAzVVjQydVee
'Suppose you were their general, what would you do?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAratdnz9mMI
668Please respect copyright.PENANA9X5FYhlQHo
Lord Arval looked thoughtful and rubbed his bald head slowly as he considered the ground ahead of us. 'I'd probably rush my archers to the main tower and try to silence the ballista, maybe having prepared screens first, so as to protect from incoming arrows from the walls. If I succeeded, I'd clear the palisade next, as much as I could.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAHHgVWcRgbQ
668Please respect copyright.PENANAwHvWZRWK58
'I think the same. So would you consider putting our ballista with the reserve? Too far for their arrows to reach but within range of them?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAHoylbmEqmO
668Please respect copyright.PENANAAbDixdSg4h
'We'd lose the opportunity to fire when they are crowding the bridge.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAmdhoeSoXUO
668Please respect copyright.PENANA6uqHbFTliZ
'If they are smart, they will cross in single file.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAf7HVjJJXY6
668Please respect copyright.PENANA3OyWUpFBEN
'What if they stand close to our walls? We might not have the elevation for the ballista to see them?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAwScOErrnzC
668Please respect copyright.PENANAQLHnkTXmzE
'We could put Carlena here, she has a fire dart spell that would do a great deal of damage or drive them off if they come close.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAbAcR3XjXbm
668Please respect copyright.PENANA3LDVBqSamY
'Aye.' He had a distant look, probably I did too. We were trying to imagine what the battle might look like. Though as any writer on warfare would tell you, no plan survives contact with the enemy. 'Aye,' he said again, more decisively, 'I think you are right.'668Please respect copyright.PENANARWZxbdhQZE
668Please respect copyright.PENANAR3VeOwyw77
'And the advantage of my idea is that we keep everyone under cover for the duel between ballista and their archers. Your way, we might win, but are likely to lose a lot of troops.'668Please respect copyright.PENANASf4yFf9TdT
668Please respect copyright.PENANAj0je8v6nga
'Very good sire. Shall I order it moved now, we need time.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAXgOpaJVBhp
668Please respect copyright.PENANAkG5NzYTw9B
'Go ahead.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAfXeuqeKqEE
668Please respect copyright.PENANAxj6XBZG34y
It took over an hour before the ballista was set up on the rise behind the palisade, even with a pulley to lower the equipment down the side of the tower. Not long afterwards Carlena arrived with Chancellor Parrin, the Cleric and two more archers, who had recovered enough in the hospital to participate.668Please respect copyright.PENANAPblsYchhM7
668Please respect copyright.PENANAVLxAxe7r8L
The Cleric was put in the reserve and then the four of us: Arval, Parrin, Carlena and myself went to the small tower while we talked over the plan. In short, it was to win the artillery duel and therefore be able to have the infantry throw rocks and spears from the palisade without fearing incoming arrows.668Please respect copyright.PENANAiJCjQmlaxy
668Please respect copyright.PENANAtEVx8LNkfh
Time moves slowly before battle. It was still early in the morning and I wondered if it was worth feeding our soldiers in the near future or not. I asked Lord Arval.668Please respect copyright.PENANAtK702FUsEf
668Please respect copyright.PENANAvSFeqX2akq
'Does a soldier fight better on an empty or full stomach?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAj35LuSPUdo
668Please respect copyright.PENANAkKO9UhxdTt
'No one knows sire. There is a story of an emperor who had the same question. So he took two groups of twelve soldiers and had them fight. One group did so after a hearty meal, the others with no food inside them.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAP7QZmvwDpp
668Please respect copyright.PENANAMj8yA381mp
'And?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAxqD2VXSAmI
668Please respect copyright.PENANAPOzKEVwqFt
'Inconclusive, sire, I believe the no-food side won, but only by a man. Personally, I find a small amount of food, especially fruit, optimum.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAqCJTycGxGz
668Please respect copyright.PENANAOd2LPgrUwQ
'Very good, distribute it now, in case the enemy are making good speed.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAHWGrHxwCdt
668Please respect copyright.PENANAZj059rBRaG
Our opponents did not, however, arrive until after a long, long wait, the sun well past midday. Then time began to move rapidly, beginning with the return of our light cavalry: a distant dust rising into the clear blue sky, then the sounds of their hooves and finally the sight of them clattering across the bridge.668Please respect copyright.PENANA38VYPF123y
668Please respect copyright.PENANA6XsqXGYEu4
When they were drawn up beside the four heavy cavalrymen, Lord Arval had the gates closed and barred.668Please respect copyright.PENANAnV3jykWhap
668Please respect copyright.PENANAg4NabJdtEh
'Ready sire?'668Please respect copyright.PENANAc2TfJXcJnd
668Please respect copyright.PENANAo8tf16F6UY
'Not quite, gather the soldiers, I'll speak to them.'668Please respect copyright.PENANA2GjBzidOmx
668Please respect copyright.PENANAbYebwNFVIq
Lord Arval nodded approvingly, while Chancellor Parrin's long, bearded face was inscrutable. He probably had years of practice at hiding his feelings from Carlos. Carlena, however, was clearly sceptical.668Please respect copyright.PENANAL4t4cpkHwb
668Please respect copyright.PENANAk0clK2Blhv
From a rock on the rise, with a good view of the cavalry to my left and the infantry below, whose faces were tipped up towards me, I tried to remember some of the rousing speeches I'd heard in films.668Please respect copyright.PENANA7K9HdbT9NA
668Please respect copyright.PENANAL1hwJo7AkM
'What day is it?' I asked Chancellor Parrin in a low voice.668Please respect copyright.PENANAF6Xv7u7UIR
668Please respect copyright.PENANAIHhA1LJVvv
'Twenty-fourth of the month of Abya.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAhH6zRlpw7a
668Please respect copyright.PENANAqBmSuBwsPg
'Soldiers of Greyland!' I began, my big body proving good for this purpose, with my voice strong and echoing from the rocks. The men looked at me with hopeful expressions. 'This day, the twenty-fourth of the month of Abya, is forever going to be remembered in the history of our realm. For it is on this day that we will turn the course of this war.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAmSGrUfvDtC
668Please respect copyright.PENANAHNlrHaWkxT
Lord Arval gave a roar and shook a spear, which encouraged many of the men to do the same.668Please respect copyright.PENANAIphsJhzKVj
668Please respect copyright.PENANAZ3VUNdAtsT
'And you are the lucky ones. There will come a time when vast armies under my command will conquer the twenty-five kingdoms. And they will all know that it began here, with just a few of us, a lucky few. A band of warring brothers.668Please respect copyright.PENANAplCeeMbZCj
668Please respect copyright.PENANA3lBFpPuAo5
'You will be able to say, with pride, I was there that day. With King Carlos, with Lord Arval, Chancellor Parrin and Sorceress Carlena, when we smashed the army that tried to invade our mountains and sent them fleeing back down the valley.668Please respect copyright.PENANATYAchybrix
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'It will be a tough battle, they have more soldiers; but we have much the better position and the advantage of the ballista. Let no one think of retreat. Either we hold this fort or the enemy capture Carrick and enslave your families.668Please respect copyright.PENANAbdNDcq4uPt
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'This is where we make our stand. This is where they will break. Fight for yourself, your comrades, and your families at home.668Please respect copyright.PENANAC5XU8w5h8T
668Please respect copyright.PENANAS3JarNTxzN
'Those recruits in years to come who were not here will think themselves cursed. And listen in silence when any of you speak. You who fought at the battle of Three Ways!'668Please respect copyright.PENANA7dnEg9kg3W
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Lord Arval gave another roar and this time there was a really satisfying response, one that resounded all around us.668Please respect copyright.PENANApTWyvY62P6
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'Positions!' Our Paladin, now on his horse, led the troops back to the palisade.668Please respect copyright.PENANAhvh1xJwYFi
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Before she left, I called Carlena over. 'I think today might be the day for your potion.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAcfcfSxrJNs
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'You might be right.' She looked at me with an expression I'd never seen before from her: respect. 'You spoke well.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAF3VO0pswvV
668Please respect copyright.PENANAcd3V3z1c9B
Passing me a small bottle of turquoise liquid, she said, 'just drink and name the creature. Make it one around your size or it might fail. You will have eight minutes.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAjQwQEQh0I2
668Please respect copyright.PENANARUE33lvvyU
'Good luck.'668Please respect copyright.PENANAAzR9C2EfGQ
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'And to you.' She walked towards the gate and her position.668Please respect copyright.PENANAtVMhDbNHZN
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Before Lord Arval had returned, a new sound came from the valley beyond the bridge, an ominous deep series of thuds. The enemy were coming, marching to drums of war.