For the first time, he knew they could catch them.
Thor kicked and screamed at his horse, and the others did too, and as one, they all charged down the hill, keeping the Nevaruns in sight as they followed their trail. Thor rode faster than he ever had, down rolling hills, over dirt roads, across meadows, and through a winding forest. They got closer and closer, the Nevaruns just a few hundred yards away.
As they got within bow and arrow range, Thor caught his first sight of Gwendolyn, just for a brief moment and was immensely relieved to see she was alive. She rode on the back of their leader’s horse, her wrists bound, her head down in shame, as he rode triumphantly in front of her, an arrogant smile on his face. They rode at the head of the contingent, several feet in front of everyone else, as the man led his victorious army home.
Thor could not help but notice that this army had left a trail of devastation in its path, pillaging small villages, from which smoke rose up on the horizon. Technically, these Nevaruns owed allegiance to the MacGils, as they were on the MacGil side of the Highlands; Thor felt certain that they would have never acted with such impunity under her father’s reign. But they were separatists, always hard to control, and now that Gareth was king-and had invited them to take away his sister- clearly, they did as they wished. They were never really loyal to the MacGils or the McClouds. They appeared to be loyal to anyone they did not feel like killing at the moment.
As they neared, still undetected, Thor realized that they needed to formulate a plan. After all, there were only nine Legion members, while there looked to be at least a hundred Nevaruns. Not only that, but the Nevaruns were huge, fierce warriors, half breeds, who lived for war, and lived for killing. Thor recalled Kolk’s stories of gaining his scars by their hand.
They could not face them head-on. Despite whatever erratic powers Thor might have, it would still be a losing battle. Thor knew it. His powers were not developed enough, and he could not rely on them. And if they gave way, it would be a slaughter. He had to come up with a strategy.
As they rode and rode, he wracked his brain, thinking of the best way to attack these men.
Thor surveyed the surrounding landscape, and he had an idea. He could see that around the bend, if they followed this road, the army would pass through a narrow strip, between two cliffs. The strip was a good hundred feet long, and for those hundred feet, the army would be vulnerable.
Thor looked up, to the top of the cliffs, and saw boulders perched at its edge. He had an idea.
“Conval, Conven!” he yelled out.
They rode up beside him.
“Do you see the top of those cliffs? I need you each to ride up to either side of them, and when I give a sign, release those boulders. It will crush the men below. Meanwhile, the rest of us will charge down below and attack whoever survives of the group. GO!” he commanded.
Conval and Conven split off from the group, and they charged up the grassy slopes leading to the top of the cliffs. Thor led the remaining men around the other side, taking the long way around so as not to be detected, and hoping to surprise the Nevaruns when they came out the other side. They took a path through the woods, circling all the way around, and he stopped at the edge of the tree line, all his men stopping with him, and waited.
Thor watched Conval and Conven take position at the cliff top, hundreds of feet above the Nevaruns, who suspected nothing. Thor sat there on his horse, waiting, watching, trying to be patient. He needed the boulders to do as much damage as possible, and needed to wait until the Nevaruns entered deeper into the chasm. He had to get as many of them as he could in one shot. And he also had to make sure that Gwen was first safe out the other side.
His horse prancing, Thor watched the opposite end of the chasm carefully, waiting for the first sign of Gwen’s exit, his heart pounding. He had to see Gwen’s face before he gave the signal.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the leader walked out on his horse, slowly, Gwen on it behind them-and Thor gave the signal.
Thor charged out of the woods, charging right for them, raising up a great battle cry, all his brothers charging with him. At the same time, Conval and Conven began to furiously push the boulders over the edge.
A great rumbling followed, as boulder after boulder went tumbling down, hundreds of feet, landing with a mighty crash into the chasm. There arose the cries and screams of dozens of men, as the boulders came raining down like hail, causing one great boom after the next, and the ground shook with the impact.
The Nevaruns broke out into chaos. Those that survived, narrowly dodging the boulders, burst out of the chasm, racing forward, close behind their leader and Gwen. Thor was hoping only a few would survive-but more of them escaped than he would have liked. There seem to be about thirty still alive, charging towards them, like ants, out of the chasm, and rushing to meet Thor’s group of seven. He was badly outnumbered. But he had no choice now but for a head-on confrontation. At least he had killed dozens of them; he would rather face thirty of them than a hundred.
A battle horn erupted from the Nevaruns and these fierce warriors barreled down on Thor.
Thor heard the whizzing of an arrow, and glanced over to see O’Connor firing three arrows as he rode. Thor watched them sail and was impressed by his friend’s aim, the three arrows finding their targets with deadly precision, three Nevaruns falling from their horses. Inspired, Thor raised his sling and hurled it, careful not to hit Gwen or their leader, and with his perfect aim, took out two soldiers himself, hitting each in the side of the head and knocking them off their horses.
Elden followed suit and threw his throwing hammer, and Reece threw his throwing axe, and they took out two more soldiers. The numbers of Nevaruns quickly shrank as they all braced for impact, Thor and his men now outnumbered only three to one.
Those were still tough odds, especially with warriors like the Nevaruns, who had devoted their entire lives to combat. None of them seemed afraid, and none of them even had a moment’s hesitation as they charged for Thor and his men, wielding tridents and axes and halberds as if they had been wielding them since birth. They let out a fierce battle cry themselves, and moments later, the two groups met in the middle in an ear-shattering clash of arms.
The fighting was fierce. Their leader singled out Thor and charged him directly, wielding a two-handed battle axe with a single hand and bringing it down right for Thor’s head. Thor had to be careful in how he defended himself, given that Gwen rode on the same horse. The leader, of course, knew that, and he smiled, reveling in it. Thor was compromised.
Thor raised the sword Kolk had given him, and blocked the blow at the last moment. It was one of the fiercest blows Thor had ever received, and he could feel the warrior’s strength reverberating through the handle. There was a great clang of metal, Thor’s arms shook, and he closed his eyes as he held his new sword, made of a material he did not know, praying that it did not split in two.
He was relieved that it did: it stopped the axe but inches from his head.
Normally Thor would have swung around and slashed back-but with Gwen on the back of his horse, he could not risk it. He was forced to just keep riding, past him, and as he did he caught a quick glimpse of Gwen’s eyes, wide with fear, as she sat there with her hands bound behind her.
“THOR!” she screamed out, frantic.