Sally Forth

Dimwald was leaning against a tree when Tyre approached him. The heat of the sun was scorching. Thankfully, this tree was here to shade him.

"Fresh supplies just arrived" Tyre stretched his arms to Dimwald offering the apple that he was holding. "I happen to grab some."

"You mean steal." Dimwald laughed "Well, it's about time. I'm starting to get sick of eating salted food every day. My tongue is starting to have blisters." Dimwald said as he accepted the apple and took a bite from it.

Every week, fresh food from Tulosa arrives along with other supplies. Tyre was one of the people in charge of storing the supplies so of course he would not let go of his chance to 'acquire' some resources.

Tyre was a strange man. He was a lanky man in his mid-twenties with a curly hair. Dimwald just met him about a month ago, but he acts like they were best of friends already. At first Dimwald kept his distance, but Tyre did not stop on pestering him. In the end, he gave up and accepted him as his friend.

"Did the letters also arrive?" Dimwald asked as he took another bite.

"Yes." Tyre sat beside him "You've been waiting for a letter? I didn't know you are literate."

"From my sister." Answered Dimwald.

"Your sister is also literate?" Tyre looked at him with a surprised expression

"Yes" Dimwald smiled. "An old merchant taught us to read and write a few years ago" He explained. What he didn't reveal though was the identity of the merchant. It was their father. Their father was a small-time merchant in Tulosa. He was a good father and taught both he and his sister how to read and write. But one day his father was killed by bandits and stole everything from them. Dimwald did not want to discuss or even remember his father so he just labeled him as a 'merchant'.

"Oh. Good for you then. My father is literate and he sends me letters from time to time. But I can't read so I still have to pay an officer to read it for me." Tyre said.

"You want me to teach you then?" Dimwald offered

"No don't worry about it." Tyre shrugged. He leaned on the tree "I paid a merchant to teach me once, but I gave up after a month"

Dimwald couldn't help but feel pity for his friend. Like many people, Tyre must have once dreamt of being able to read and write. Literate people can have high-paying jobs. It was a shame he gave up.

"Well if you change your mind just tell me. I'll do it for free. It looks like we're stuck here for a long time so why not make use of the time." Dimwald smiled. It will help him pass time anyway. Sieges were boring.

"Yeah I'll think about it" Said Tyre. He then pointed at the Castle in front of them "These damn Castonians are stubborn though. They would rather starve inside the Castle rather than surrender. Are they still hoping that help would arrive?"

"Well you know how the saying goes, 'If something is as stubborn as a Castonian, then it probably doesn't exist'" Dimwald said with a laugh.

But his laugh was interrupted by cries that can be heard at the distance.

'Get your weapons! Get your weapons now! They are sallying forth!'

'Formations! The Castonians are attacking!'

'Form up! Cavalry units get your horses!'

Dimwald and Tyre looked at each other. The Castonians were the ones attacking them and not the other way around? Why would they attack? Are they stupid? Knightsend's walls were their biggest advantage. Why would they give that advantage up?

"I think we should get our weapons.."

The two ran back to their tents to get their weapons. While on their way, they saw three Castonian columns approaching their camp. Most of the horses were still being grazed so the cavalry units were unprepared to counterattack. Most of the Tulosans were either sleeping or unarmed at the moment. The Castonians were all sprinting towards their camp. No, not marching or running, sprinting!

"Dear God! How can they run that fast on full armor?" Tyre exclaimed. Dimwald agreed with him. Moving with armor was very tiring. He knew this because his gambeson armor alone makes marches feel like hell. The Castonian heavy infantry wore both gambeson and chainmail that covered most of their bodies. So how could they rush towards them at this speed?.

The Castonian Column on the left slammed against some dismounted Tulosan Knights. The knights were swept like dust on a windy day, completely trampled by the Castonians. The Castonian center reached part of the camp and started slaughtering unarmed soldiers. Meanwhile, the remaining column of Castonians were rushing towards them!

Courage started to escape Dimwald's heart. He went to his tent and donned his armor. He grabbed his dagger and spear. At first planned to fight, but after seeing the massacre in front of him he changed his mind.

"Tyre we need to flee!" He shouted. They need to run. There was no point in fighting the Castonians. The Castonian column was like a wall blades. Anyone caught by them were cut into pieces. What can they do against that force? He cursed himself for being a coward, but sometimes being a coward was the right thing to be. They really need to get away as far as possible.

Tyre just nodded and followed Dimwald. The pair ran but two Castonians saw them and chased. Dimwald was never a good runner. He broke his leg when he was a child. Since then, his legs ached from time to time. So although the Castonians were bugged down by armor, they still managed to corner them. There was no point in running now. They need to fight. One of the Castonians went after Tyre while the other faced him.

The Castonians had halberds while Tyre and he had spears. Dimwald bent his body a little and held the spear with his two hands. The Castonian also did the same. It was the Castonian who first made the move. He thrust his halberd towards Dimwald's face. The iron tip of the halberd stabbed towards his face. Dimwald dodged the attack and also stabbed his spear towards the Castonian. He aimed for the chest. The Castonian deflected Dimwald's spear with the other end of his halberd. Dimwald took a few steps back. The halberd was a versatile weapon, but it was a little heavier compared to the spear. Coupled with the fact that the armor of the Castonian was heavier, Dimwald knew that all he needed to do was tire his opponent. So Dimwald's plan was to keep his distance and tire the Castonian. But the Castonian must have already seen through his plans. Like a madman, the Castonian charged towards Dimwald. Dimwald was surprised but he quickly regained his senses and stabbed at the man's chest. The Castonian deflected the stab with his halberd and rammed his shoulder on Dimwald's chest. The impact was so hard that Dimwald lost balance and fell. Dimwald recognized the danger he faced. The Castonian swung his halberd towards Dimwald's chest. In a nick of time, Dimwald was able to roll to his side and avoid the blow. That was close. The bladed end of the Halberd could have split his gambeson armor like cutting through paper. He grabbed his dagger and pushed himself up. Since the Castonian wanted a close quarter combat, he will give him just that. Dimwald charged towards the Castonian and aimed his dagger towards the man's belly. The Castonian threw his halberd and grabbed Dimwald's hands preventing his stab. The two wrestled for the dagger. But the Castonian was stronger than Dimwald. He was able to tilt the dagger towards Dimwald and stabbed him on his shoulder. The stab was powerful enough to penetrate his gambeson. The Castonian then punched him in the face. Dimwald fell down. The Castonian kicked him in the chest. It was so hard that he felt one of his ribs broke. The Castonian sat on his chest and started punching him. Each punch blurred Dimwald's vision. He felt some of his teeth separate from his gums. One of the punches hit him in the nose. He felt his nose break. The Castonian was wearing a chainmail gauntlet so each of the punches shredded a part of his skin and flesh. A few meters away, he saw that Tyre had already fallen. The other Castonian lodged his sword into Tyre's skull. Tyre's body twitched for a while, but after a few moments he died. Although he had known Tyre for only a short while, he was already his friend. Dimwald could only say a silent goodbye to his friend because his mouth had already been deformed beyond use. Dimwald looked at the face of the Castonian that would soon become his killer. Dimwald closed his eyes. His last thoughts were that of his sister.

"I'm sorry Lina, I couldn't even read your letter"