Easily over nine hundred pounds on average, the massive creatures had a dark, greenish outer hide. They were clad in little more than crudely fashioned, short-sleeved hide tunics that extended down to the tops of their bulky knees. The earthen-hued tunics were slit at the sides up to the waist, having a protective quality in that the hide they were fashioned from was thick, and of a toughened constitution.
Resting upon bullish necks, their great heads featured elongated snouts, which exhibited thick, short tusks that sprouted prominently up from their lower jaws. Deep-set eyes peered out from underneath pronounced brow ridges. A dense, bristly mane of hair started high on their heads and ran down the back of their necks, giving the creatures a natural crest.
Brawny, bulging arms gripped oversized, single-bladed war axes, or great iron maces with flanged heads, not one of which could have been wielded by the strongest of humans within the entire column. The thick hafts of the mighty weapons rested upon the beasts’ broad shoulders as they carried them along.
Logan began to notice that all of the creatures had what looked like great scars running along their upper right arms. He would have attributed the blemishes to the beasts’ coarse appearances, if it were not for the fact that many of the creatures had scars bearing an uncannily close resemblance to those of others within their group. To him, there was little chance that the groups of scars sharing very similar shapes were mere coincidences.
The largest among the massive beasts strode at the forefront of the awe-inspiring group. It wore a longer-sleeved hide tunic of a decidedly better craftsmanship, further differentiating the beast from its other hulking brethren.
The exceptional creature glanced back occasionally at the others, glowering, growling angrily, or erupting with a few harsh, unintelligible words.
By their reactions and postures, it was very clear to Logan that the other brutish creatures readily deferred to the greater one’s authority. There was absolutely no sign of challenge or resistance to their obvious leader.
Logan had previously noticed that there had been a considerable amount of conversation occurring among the human infantry with the baggage train. Aside from the ordered, more attentive lines of spearmen and crossbowmen to their right, many of the marching men had relaxed expressions and casual postures as they interacted with each other. It was now apparent that most of the humans were greatly discomfited by the close proximity of the huge, bestial warriors.
The humans grew pensively silent, a hush falling over them as they nervously watched the contingent of gigantic creatures, around a dozen in number, tromp heavily by them. Even the throngs of mounted warriors, including the proud-looking ones of a knightly character, seemed to shy away from the beasts by angling their mounts closer to the main column, or spurring themselves farther ahead.
Only when the giant brutes had gone well past them did the humans in the main column begin to resume their interactions again; and even that seemed to be done with great hesitancy.
Packhorses, a great number of lightly clad riders, more throngs of infantry, and a couple more of the mounted contingents with knightly elements followed the baggage train, before the far end of the column came into sight at last.
Logan set his eyes upon the final contingent, feeling a wave of relief pass over him at the recognition of the column’s end. He was aching to move his limbs and taut muscles, though he was firmly resolved to remain still until the last of the force had traveled well past his group.
Trotting in formation, and bringing up the rear, the mounted warriors echoed the vanguard in that they had a very cohesive appearance, with a paucity of variation in their attire and equipment.
Most of the riders were garbed in white surcoats, and the rest in black ones, all of which bore the image of a red, upright spear affixed just over the left breast. They carried lances and swords, similar to those in the leading formation. Their limbs were fully covered in mail, with many having added protection on the thighs and knees.
Also like those in the forefront of the column, the warriors of the rearguard displayed a distinctive design upon their numerous pennons, banners, and facings of their wide, triangular shields. Roughly the upper quarter of the banners, pennons, and shields was solid black, with the rest of the ensigns being white.
A slight variant on this arrangement was in evidence, in which the colors were reversed in their position, and equal in proportion to each other. These latter versions contained an additional element, a black spear that was placed atop the white background of the upper half.
The black and white arrangement on the shields, pennons, and banners was combined with the red on white scheme on the rider’s white surcoats in the trappers covering their elegant mounts. The red spear image graced the neck and hindquarters on a white portion of the trapper that encompassed the horses’ heads, necks, and the upper half of their bodies. The lower half of the equine garb was solid black.
The faces that Logan could see among the men of the final group were uniformly bearded, and of steely countenance, as they rode tall in their saddles, scanning the forest’s edge continuously with their eyes.
The rearguard contingent was not overly numerous, soon proceeding by Logan and the others as they left the plains open once again and followed the rest of the great force heading due north. It was still quite some time before there was any hint of movement or discussion among the four observers.
Logan stared off towards the end of the column as it headed away, gradually growing smaller in the distance. The ground still reverberated underneath, but he could tell that vibrations were beginning to ebb in strength.
He was still incredulous at what he had just witnessed over the past few hours. It was as if something of an astonishing nature had been summoned right from the depths of a long-forgotten history, to live and breathe in the world once again. Yet the history that Logan was familiar with did not contain everything that had been present within that huge, marching army.
“I think that we should head back… right now,” Logan suggested at long last, speaking in little more than a whisper as the rearguard of the column shrank to the cusp of vanishing from sight, far off to the right.
Logan glanced at his companions, and quickly saw that he had voiced the inner sentiments of the other three with him. He received nods from them in response, with no arguments.
Peering from the ground level, where he was positioned behind the thick, arching roots of one of the trees, Derek held up a hand for the others to wait. He looked away and remained fixated upon the end of the column until it was no longer in sight. All the while, Logan noticed that Derek’s jaws were clenched in rigid tension, reflecting an intense level of concentration.
The sight of Derek’s great pensiveness helped to mitigate Logan’s impatience to fully stretch out his muscles and return back to the campsite. He did not doubt that Derek had a good purpose for his continued delay, trusting to the other’s judgment as he was from a military background.
Derek’s head then slowly swiveled in the direction where the army had come from, staring off resolutely towards the south for several minutes. To Logan, the passing of those few minutes seemed like hours, but he did not disturb Derek’s scrutiny.
“Keep it very slow, and keep it low,” Derek finally told the others in a subdued, yet adamant tone, his words unmistakably akin to an order. “Back up on the ground, and maintain your low profile. Use your whole body, from your knees to your arms. No matter what, no quick movements. We’re taking no chances.”
Logan did not blame Derek for the extreme caution, his mind still swimming with images of the massive column and its extraordinary non-human elements. Though the column was now well into the distance, the sounds of its passage and the vibrations had not faded entirely. The lingering sensations were good reminders to not let down his guard.