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The attack on the palisade came far sooner than the traitor humans had planned. Massing at the far eastern end of the Celedryl’s valley the orcs could not contain their urge for battle any longer and moved to attack a week earlier than planned. The humans wanted the spring thaw well under way so the ground around the palisade would be a massive mud trap for the knights and heavy cavalry. In those conditions, the orcs would easily decimate them but now with the ground still frozen solid the cavalry will have the advantage. With their only choices left to them to follow the orc lead, or put to the sword a thousand humans on horseback led the way. The orcs would not tolerate human cowardice.
Leadyl was up in the northeast tower as her wont every morning watching the sunrise when she saw the five human riders heading for the main gates of the palisade with a couple leaning over in their saddles with arrows sticking out of their backs. Riding hard and fast one suddenly fell from the saddle hitting the ground hard rolling his arms and legs flailing to a stop unmoving. The main gates already swung wide to let the already mounted knights and four thousand heavy cavalry do a practice charge raced out of the gates in a V formation. The thunder of horse's hooves and shouting men broke the sereneness of the early morning startling Leadyl with the suddenness of it. The V continued to widen as the charge gained momentum forcing the four remaining outriders trying to make for the open gates to turn away from the charging knights.
The crash of steel on steel resounded across the valley when the knights slammed into the oncoming enemy riders. Like nothing she had ever seen or heard, she watched their lances rip men from the backs of horses as if they were made of parchment not flesh and bone encased in steel. The warhorses of the knights slammed into the oncoming horses impaling them on their sharpened spike horns sharply raising their heads cutting them wide open. Broadswords flashing in the morning sunlight dazzled the eyes as the heavy cavalry carved their way through the ranks of men and horse indiscriminately cutting heads from their bodies’ blood and body parts sailing through the air. Headless horses fell to the ground sending their riders flying over their decapitated bodies subsequently crushed by on coming horse’s hooves. The initial charge only lasted mere minutes but the devastation of the enemy was nearly total and through all of this, the screams of dying men and horses echoed across the valley.
Leading the column through and away from the stalled attack, the knights swung them around for another charge before returning to the palisade. They hit the milling horses and men shattering what were left of a thousand men and horses crushing it. Bodies of men and horses flew into the air in a shower of blood and body parts reminiscent of the previous charge through their ranks. Again, the knights led the charge their lances ripping into the men on horseback throwing them to the ground a broken ruin. The heavy cavalry came next slashing with their swords cleaving heads and arms from bodies’ blood splashing over men and horse alike. The cavalry slashed their way through leaving behind nothing but dead and dying men and horses with a few survivors racing off to the south and east away from the battlefield. Never in her life had Leadyl seen such a thing, sickening her to the point she retched over the side of the tower to the ground below.
Quickly reforming the column inside the palisade to the cheering and adulation of all except Leadyl being too sick to care, they found that some of the wounded men and horses needed treatment from the wounds received in battle. Quickly dismounting the soldiers let their horses catch their breath and give them a little water. Looking back toward the valley Leadyl could see the advancing orc line spreading the entire width of the valley. Fear gripped her when she realized the magnitude of this attack. Never has an attack of this size ever occurred with more than fifty thousand orcs marching on them. Shuddering at the thought, she looked down at the brave knights and soldiers below knowing in her heart that many of them would not be returning from the next sortie.
She had to do something to protect these men but what. Carefully climbing down the tower ladder in her wizard robes and carrying her staff, she raced to the front of the line placing her staff and robed arm on the armor of the first knight and horse in line. She drew on her power of imagination and utilizing the innate power of the staff and robe, she made their armor impregnable. Easy at first she got through all the knights and began working her way down the long line each knight and soldier profusely thanking her for what she was attempting to do. The farther she went down the line of soldiers the weaker she became, as did the spell she was trying to cast. Knowing what she was attempting to do is beyond anything that she could do before she forced herself to continue drawing on her strength and imagination. She simply lost track of how many soldiers she had tried to help and it did not matter for she was near done in from the strain. Eventually losing consciousness, a solder that had been walking next to her caught her and her staff keeping her from falling to the ground quickly carrying her to the infirmary.
Games of the Powerful Page 72
