| |
AT MIDNIGHT, FINN FOUND himself lying in a ditch. The Green Shadows lay in the ditch behind him; the Ochloroc camp across from the main gate was a bowshot ahead. Finn looked back towards Gilgin, waiting for the signal. He drummed with his fingers on the hilt of his axe. What was taking Gudmund so long? He should already be attacking the Ochloroc force on the east side of the city.
Their plan was that Gudmund's attack would draw away a large part of the Ochloroc force. This would give Finn a chance to get to the Ochloroc supplies and destroy them. From what they had seen from the walls, the supply carts stood towards the west at the back of the Ochloroc camp, which was what had decided Gudmund's target. An army travelled on its stomach, so destroying the Ochloroc's supplies would force them to react. Even if they didn't break off the siege, they might split up to forage or maybe try to assault the walls again. That would open them up to raiding.
Drums disrupted the night's silence. Gudmund's attack had started and was making as much noise as possible. The sound of troops clashing reverberated through the night. A distant Ochloroc horn sounded the alarm. The signal was picked up a moment later in the camp nearby. At the sound, the camp became a hotbed of activity. The golems around the perimeter raised their weapons and peered outward for any immediate threat. One in every handful of golems fell back and stoked the fires around the camp to illuminate the surroundings and blind any potential attackers. When the remaining golems didn't see any immediate threat, half stepped out of line and formed up in front of the camp. Ochloroc soldiers emerged from their tents, throwing on armor or drawing weapons, and formed up behind the golem formation.
These people knew what they were doing. No rushing around in the dark, running into a simple trap. They secured their camp first and assessed the situation. Someone shouted an order, and part of the army moved out. One golem unit led the way, followed by several units of Ochloroc soldiers. Gudmund would be hard-pressed when they joined the fight.
This was what Finn had been waiting for. He flashed a hand signal at the sergeant behind him and crept forward through the ditch.
A golem and a handful of soldiers stood on guard at the rear of the camp. Every now and then, one of the soldiers cast a look over his shoulder towards the fighting. The guards they could overwhelm, but the golem would be the issue here. It needed to be dealt with fast, before it could alert the rest of the camp to their presence.
Finn signaled to four soldiers, who unslung their bows. They would deal with the Ochloroc soldiers. He crept forward until his cover ran out, then motioned to Tuomas to go right. Finn would veer left. This would open a gap for two soldiers with war hammers to attack the golem.
Fin gave a count with his fingers. When the count was up, he ran forward. He heard the arrows fly past, and saw three Ochloroc soldiers collapse. A moment later the two remaining Ochloroc fell, each pierced by two arrows.
Then he arrived at the golem; he slashed at it and jumped away from the golem's retaliation. Tuomas jabbed at the golem from the other side, his axe chipping the golem's leg. It turned to face this new attack. Finn sprang forward and brought his axe down on the golem's arm. The impact send shocks up Finn's arms.
The golem turned back to Finn. Finn's strike hadn't harmed it, but it was distracted. This gave the soldiers with the hammers the opportunity they needed to attack the golem. They hacked at the creature's knees from behind, and it buckled under the impact. The hammerers then pounded at the golem's back and brought it down. It dissolved into gravel and boulders.
Silence descended. Finn looked round; apparently, they hadn't been spotted yet. He beckoned over the soldiers. "Remember, we're here to destroy their supplies. No heroics. We leave at Gudmund's signal, at the latest. Go." The soldiers scattered.
Finn ran to the nearest fire, Tuomas in tow. He pulled out a burning branch. "Let's light this place up, eh?" He rushed forward, axe in one hand and branch in the other. An open space separated the supply wagons from the rest of the army camp. Over on his left, a group of his soldiers was already setting fire to a wagon. Finn ran up to the closest cart. Crates with runes scratched on their side were stacked inside; hopefully they contained provisions. Finn held the burning branch to the cart. The flames crept up the side of the cart and licked the dry wood of the crates.
This was going too slow—it would take all night just to get all carts burning. Finn looked round. A pile of hay, probably for the pack animals, lay at the edge of the open space. Finn waved at Tuomas. "Help me," he mouthed. Together, they each grabbed an armful of hay and threw it on the cart. The fire took to it in seconds, and a moment later flames ran all over the cart.
Finn hurried back for a second armful of hay. He threw it on top of the next cart. In the distance towards Gilgin, a flaming arrow shot through the sky. "Shit!" It was Gudmund's signal that he was retreating. Finn lit the second cart.
"We need to leave," Tuomas said.
"Just one more," Finn said. "We've done so little." Finn turned back to the hay pile.
A horn rang out in alarm close by: they had been spotted. Tuomas grabbed Finn's arm. "No heroics, remember." His soldiers were running away from the carts. Finn cast another look at the hay pile, and saw Ochloroc rushing towards the carts. He turned and ran.
The other members of his unit were gathered outside the army camp. Finn did a quick head count; everyone was there. "Good job. Move out and stay together." Finn set off at a comfortable lope away from the army camp. The sound of pursuit diminished. Finn jumped a low wall bordering a field, and followed along the wall back towards Gilgin. He soon hit the flagstone road leading to the gates, at a point halfway between the army and the city walls. There, he picked up speed.
A shadow burst onto the road ahead of them: a golem, blocking their escape! Another one joined him, and a third. Ochloroc streamed onto the road behind the golems. Finn skidded to a halt, his unit forming up around him.
"There's too many!" Behind them, soldiers were streaming out of the Ochloroc camp. There was only one way to go. Finn fled off the road into the field, the Green Shadows following after him. Finn leapt over a ditch and glanced over his shoulder. They had opened up a small gap with the golems and Ochloroc soldiers, so he veered towards Gilgin. As he stumbled on the uneven ground, his arms flailed, trying to keep his balance. A hand steadied him. Tuomas was running by his side.
A cry went up behind Finn—a golem had struck down one of his soldiers. "We can't keep ahead of them!" Tuomas shouted.
Finn nodded. The safety of the city was too far away. He looked for a place to make a stand. "There!" Finn pointed at a small rise behind a low wall next to the road. A sprint took Finn and Tuomas to the wall. They leapt the wall and turned, ready to defend it. His rangers joined them in ones and twos.
The silhouette of a golem jumped over the wall right where Finn stood. It was all he could do to jump aside to prevent being crushed by a stone knee. Finn sprang up again and hacked at the golem's knees with his axe. The golem turned and swung a massive fist at his head; Finn ducked clear. He slashed once more at the golem, falling back to avoid the retaliation. One of the golem's knees buckled as a hammer-wielding soldier used the opening Finn had created to smash the side of its knee-joint.
Someone pushed Finn aside; he fell and felt a wind as a club passed over his head. One of his rangers had saved him by pushing him out of the way of a golem attacking from behind. The golem brought his club back round for another strike; Finn rolled to the side, but instead of focusing on Finn, the golem swung his club at the ranger, striking him in the middle of his chest with a sickening wet crunch.
Finn sprang forward with a cry and hacked at the wrist-joint of the golem. Something snapped in the creature's wrist, and its club fell to the ground. Another soldier attacked the golem from the side, distracting it.
Finn knelt by the ranger. The man was still alive, breathing raggedly. "I had to... save you... sir," the soldier said between breaths. "Protect... my family... in Gilgin."
Eyes tearing up, Finn gave the soldier a sharp salute. "I will, I promise, Casper." Swallowing hard, Finn straightened and assessed the situation. One golem was fighting three soldiers as another one jumped the wall. Approaching shadows announced the Ochloroc soldiers joining the fighting. Their position was untenable. "Back to the city!" Finn shouted.
Finn turned and ran. He jumped a ditch, and found himself back on the road leading to the gates of Gilgin. He sprinted towards the gates, his unit flowing around him.
They weren't going to make it. The golems and Ochloroc were too close behind.
A rumble like distant thunder in the mountains washed over him. Finn felt the road vibrate through the soles of his boots. A moment later, a group of Manhir charged past. They crashed into the pursuing golems just as Finn reached the gatehouse, where the small opening in Henge's wall allowed his soldiers to move into the city. Down the road, the Manhir had overrun the few golems that had pursued Finn, and were now hurrying back towards the city ahead of the Ochloroc troops.
Finn pushed his way into the city. His soldiers lay scattered on the other side of the barrier, panting for breath as servants went round handing out drinks. Finn did a quick count; only about half his unit had made it back.
"You could have warned him in time!" shouted Henge. He was standing in the street beyond the gate, glaring at Gudmund.
"Then he would have had too little time to destroy their supplies!"
"So you just decided to throw them down a hill to see how they rolled?!" Henge was quivering in fury.
Finn stepped forward. "What's going on?"
Henge spun towards Finn. He threw a bear hug around him, lifting him off the ground, then put Finn back down and stepped back. Henge pointed a finger at Gudmund. "He gave your retreat signal only after he was already back at the city walls!"
"They were on us too fast," Gudmund explained. "We were scrambling for our lives pretty much from the moment we engaged them. There was no time to warn you sooner."
"You started retreating the moment you saw the soldiers from the main camp approach!" Henge roared. "You didn't even try to hold!"
"We would have lost everyone if we had stayed any longer than we did!"
Finn stepped between them. "They were a lot more organized than we planned for. Our chances of success were slimmer than I hoped. Their reaction was near-perfect."
"I still don't like it," Henge rumbled. "You could have died out there for nothing."
"I know," Finn said, "But that was always a risk. Still, I survived. Most of our men did, thanks to the Manhir."
Henge deflated. "I guess I'm just tired, is all."
"We all are," Finn said. "What's done is done. Let's get some rest and revaluate in the morning."