Chapter Eleven: Fire Burns Bright

"Nikolas! Get up you fool!" A hand grabbed me off the floor. My head was ringing. I couldn't see out of my left eye. My helmet was caved in from a blow from an unseen angle. A hand yanked it off my face.

"Come on Nikolas we haven't even started yet!" It was Alexandros. He was fending off strikes from two men at once. They were overpowering him.

I recover my war axe and move to aid Alexandros. It takes a moments to reach one of the two attacking him. My Axe finds the mans collar and digs in. They may outnumber us but they were mainly wounded or noncombatants. The element of surprise was supposed to be in their favor but there was simply too many of them.

I dodge a blow from another man. My fist connects with his face making the man stagger. Before he recovers my axe finds his groin dropping him to the floor.

There is fifty of us and we have barely made it out of the basement.

He couldn't fail. He had to prove to August he was worthy of the honor bestowed upon him. If he failed his first task it was hard to see August keeping him around any longer.

I knock over a man about to finish off one of my knights. The knight he was about to kill grapples him and repeatedly stabs him. I help the man off the ground and we set about killing the never ending horde of soldiers.

"RALLY ON ME! KNIGHTS OF ORPHEUS RALLY ON ME!" I shout to any who can hear me. Only eight are able to follow me but it is enough. I lead them stabbing, crushing, and bludgeoning to the main door to the room. 

Every step of the way we have to defend ourselves from a new enemy but the alternative is to be swarmed and killed one by one.

I kick a man off my axe to free it from his corpse. His broken skull leaks brain matter and fluids as it falls. I duck under a swing from a spear then hack the mans jaw in two. For every step we take we lose a man but another takes his place. It takes us a full eight minutes to make it to the door and bar it. It wouldn't hold long but it would give us enough time to secure the basement and count our losses.

Another five minutes pass until Alexandros finds me again. "That's the last of them. It seems we stumbled right into their sleeping quarter and infirmary." The screams of dying men still penetrate the air as he relays the information.

Nineteen dead and more wounded to capture the first room of the keep. If things keep up like this our mission will be a failure. 

I need to think. The door is barricaded so we have time to rest and gather our strength again but unless most of the garrison was in this room it is going to be a rough fight. 

"Alexandros. Send a messenger back through the tunnel and bring the second wave up we are going to need them. Once they arrive send some of the first wave to help bring any wounded back to the camp." Alexandros is quick to find the fastest runner in the group. With the second wave here they would be close to seventy men. That should be enough to capture the rest of keep. Hopefully August had a better time than me.

// // // // // // // // //

The courtyard was cleared the last pockets of resistance was limited to a handful of areas on the wall. The surprise of their assault ensured their success now the castle was theirs besides the keep and the areas Simon was dealing with.

A unknown knight approached his plate armor had taken a beating but he didn't seem to have any serious injuries. "Lord our team is ready to assault the keep proper. I have gathered forty men for the task." It would be enough. The rest were either tending to wounded or in defensive positions on the walls. Archers were streaming through the tunnel to take positions along the wall. The battle was all but won however with archers picking off any men in the first wall it would save the lives of at least some of my men. I would need as many men as possible if I was to win before the Marshall arrived.

"What is your name?"

"Alastor, lord." His face was obscured by his Helmet but his voice was distinctively youthful.

"Where are you from?"

"Dithos lord."

Dithos. I slightly recall dithos from a lesson from my tutors. It is a small farming settlement on the Northeastern border. It is rather small and poor but in times of war in the region it will be turned into a supply base.

"You're one of Marcion's men then. I thought Marcion withdrew his troops when he learned I took command."

"He did lord. I chose to stay against his commands I think you make a fine commander lord."

"You flatter me Alastor. I have to ask how did you come by that suit of armor? It's rather expensive." He was in steel plate armor like all the other knights assigned for the mission. Armor like that was reserved for nobles or the retinues of such men. Most people were stuck with whatever they had on hand in their houses like farming equipment. If the armories were in good stock spare weapons are armor like chainmail and spears would be loaned out. After battles equipment would be scavenged and redistributed to the victors.

"It was a loan from lord Macion. I am his bastard child, he took me in to become a banner man for his son when he takes the throne" That wasn't to uncommon amongst nobility. Bastards would be taken in to be trained as advisors, commanders, or any other role that needed to be filled.

"I see. Well then Alastor. I have a task for you."

"Anything lord."

"Pick ten men. When we enter the keep you are going to split off and find Sir Nikolas the man in charge of the other team. If the basement isn't secure return to me."

"It will be done lord."

With Alastor's orders given there is nothing else to do before taking the keep. All forty knights are swift to head the command and we enter through the large double doors.

The keep was four stories tall a good size for the area it commands. The first floor; the one they were in, was made up of multiple rooms all split by a straight hallway end to end. They were mainly bed rooms and a dinning room for the garrison. It was surprisingly empty there wasn't a soul around neither Valburgian or Orpheian. It was likely most of the men had been dragged away to fight Nikolas.

The forty men spread out clearing the floor room by room. Nobody was found so we moved on to the next then the next after that until we stood on the fourth floor. The final floor of the keep held the war room and the quarters for the lord of the keep and a visitor's chamber. We took up positions on the sides of the door. Adonis and another knight took the front of the group.

Adonis being the brave glory seeker he was; was the one to kick down the door. 

Everything went up in flames in an instant. I flew into the closest wall along with the rest of my men. Something cracked as I hit the wall hard knocking all the air out of my lungs. Wheezing I struggled to stand using my mace as I attempted. 

Wood cracked under pressure I look up to see who is Walking. I recognize the hooded man as he turned a fallen knight to ash with a flick of his wrist. It was the unnamed man from the parley. Now the feeling made sense it was something I had felt before in my father's court.

A mage? Why would a member of the Mage's guild be here? 

Mages stuck to themselves and their guild most of the times but for the right price one could be hired by an anyone. Still mages were very rare and not something even a modestly rich nation like Valburgh could afford in the middle of a large war.

Adonis was the first one to rise only to be thrown back by a force of air and sent crashing into a wall. Some knights tried to rise too struggling against their heavy armor as they did only to be turned to ash or electrocuted in their armor.

I rose the best I could but it was far too slow. The man in the hood turned my way slowly then raised his hand; a ball of red fire began to swirl around his hand. He outstretched his arm towards me and flicked a finger.

I threw myself to my left feeling the heat from the blast as it pasted my armor making me break out in a sweat. 

The mage raised his hand again and flicked his finger. I threw myself to the right on top of the still burning flames I just dodged. I wasn't so lucky this time wincing in pain as the fire kissed my check spreading its embrace down my neck. I continued to roll not wanting to give the mage another chance.

"AARRRGHHHH" A shout sounded across room. A massive giant in steel armor charged the mage. The mage turned to the warrior and unleashed a stream of pain onto the warrior. The unmistakable figure of Adonis didn't falter in the rush grabbing the man in a strong bear hug throwing him to the ground with him. I quickly rose and ran to the mage who was too busy to trying to pry the presumably fried man in the armor off of him. 

My mace finds his face but a blue field stops the blow throwing back my mace. I don't relent swing again, again, and again until something unseen gives out. My last blow pulps his face his unknown features now unrecognizable. 

I take stock of my surrounding or whatever is left of them. Of the thirty knights that were tasked with securing the upper layers of the keep only fifteen remain standing. Of that fifteen maybe three could still hold a weapon and fight. Adonis lays unmoving on the floor steam rising from the cracks and joints in his rising.

I look into the room the mage came from. Arber clad in his full suit of armor stood unmoving waiting patiently for someone. I decide that he is waiting for me and stride into the room. My face still burns from the flames.

"You gave us quite a nasty surprise Arber." I have been fighting for most of the day unlike Arber. With my wounds too I would be at quite a disadvantage but I refused to let any more of men die.

"Ha. He was barely worth the coin we paid. Come then mongrel shall we get started?" Arber unseathed a large two handed sword from its leather scabbard and entered into a stance.

I charge him raising my shield to block his blow. The power of his strike was barely mitigated by my shield driving me to my knees. A second strike kept me stuck in place. With my free hand I swung my mace to his foot which he easily dodged.

I get to my feet just for a swing from his sword to cut into my thigh bringing me back to the floor. I swing again as I fall he easily side steps me a slices my back easily penetrating my armor with his strength. I can feel the blood pouring from the wound.

He is certainly a better fighter than me. This won't be good. 

I block another blow from the sword. My shield is ravaged barely more than wooden scraps at this point. I drop the useless pile of scrap and grip my mace with both hands.

I duck under a blow aimed for my head and strick his side. The blow hits home but it is weak doing nothing more than drawing a groan from Arber. HIs retaliatory strike digs into my side my armor barely stop it from cleaving me in two. I drop my mace from the pain and fall to my back. 

Well. It was a good run. I suppose I overestimated myself.

Arber stands above me ready to finish me off. I don't struggle. I couldn't stop him even if I tried. I close my eyes.

A wet cough greats my ears followed by the wet sound of torn flesh. But it wasn't me. I open my eyes. Nikolas stands above me his axe lodged in Arbers throat, Its is the last thing I see before my vision goes dark. The blood loss to great.