“We’re lost,” he shouted back. “They’re already over the wall,” he added and pointed farther in the direction the Tarina was headed. The man started toward a ladder and the town below but she grabbed him by the shirt and shook him slightly…he was very large.
“You stay and see to the wall…you stay on the wall. I will deal with anyone who makes it over,” she growled then without looking back to see if her orders were being carried out she ran across the burning section of wall. The heat was intense and she was forced to throw her arms up to protect her face, but once passed she quickly headed toward the west.
Within moments she came across a section of the wall that was indeed under attack. The men and women up top were fighting bravely; though it was clear the Knights outmatched them. Only a handful of Massi fighters were holding their own and most of these sported long pikes with which they skillfully kept the Knights at bay, but one…the woman, Cyndar Huntley was fighting with amazing skill and ferocity, especially since she was still nursing her injuries. As Tarina Grace pushed through a crowd of archers who were leaning over the walls firing steadily on the enemy below, she noticed that Cyndar was indeed fighting with both arms, though the kali in her left was only being used for defense…blocking and deflecting the blows coming her way.
Once passed the archers Grace saw why the ladders were having success in the area, the causeway in this section had not been fired, whether it was covered with oil she did not know.
“Oil!” She shouted to those below. “We need oil now!” She didn’t have the luxury of waiting to see if her order was being acted upon by those below because a pair of pike men nearly backed her off the wall as they retreated from a very aggressive Knight. He was slashing wildly in an attempt to clear a space for more of his fellow soldiers to gain access to the top.
“Move aside and watch my back,” Grace ordered and slipped between the two pike men, one of which was actually a middle aged woman, but despite her age and gender she handled her weapon fairly competently. They both made way. The Knight though clearly experienced and very brave, was not a Tar and it showed. He died within moments of his engagement with the Tarina.
“Get some oil up here,” Grace said shouting back to those below. She ignored the looks of awe in those near her…she was used to worship from commoners when it came to her fighting skills. In her opinion, commoners were easily impressed.
Tarina Grace leaned over the wall and frowned. There were already half a dozen ladders pinned up against the wall, but as she moved forward, a pair of pike men managed to send one ladder sliding down the face of the outer wall. About a dozen or so Knights were already on the top of the wall attempting to clear as much space as possible for the others who were climbing behind them. They were succeeding nicely and only Captain Huntley kept them from pushing farther to the west. Two Knights actually jumped to the ground below and tried to move to the main gate but they were cut off by a host of strong armed pike men.
Tarina Grace however, could not focus for long on the battle below because three Knights moved forward to intercept her. They approached somewhat cautiously having recognized her gray and blue robes, but they attacked as a group, which made them very dangerous, even for a Tar. Thankfully, the rampart was narrow which hindered their group effort, even still Grace had to ward off several close calls before she finally created an opening and stabbed completely through the left arm of one Knight and then sliced into the neck of his companion. The third Knight quickly retreated to where another soldier was climbing over the wall.
“Oil!” The Tarina yelled again to those behind her. She was about to yell again but then she heard pots shattering on the causeway below.
“Whoommphh!” Fire and smoke instantly belched high into the air and the Tarina knew that repeating the order was now unnecessary.
Both Knights in front of her were backing away slowly, avoiding the fight for the moment, but behind them Captain Huntley was being pressed to her limits and needed help quickly. Grace rushed the two in front of her and they panicked. One slashed forward and actually cut through the Tarina’s sleeve with the tip of his right kali before he lost his hand at the wrist. The man screamed, unnerving his fellow Knight who died because of the distraction, a kali through his heart. Grace then killed the wounded Knight and shoved him over the wall and with a quick glance saw another half dozen or so Knights were still on the ladders, climbing up swiftly to get away from the growing fire below. She killed the first, but couldn’t wait for more.
“Keep them off the top of the wall,” she yelled to the pike men, who were quickly repopulating the area then she turned and ran toward Huntley, who was down. She was lying on her back and frantically holding off the blades that were aimed at her prone body with the skill of the desperate. She even managed to slice through the lower leg of one man just as Tarina Grace rushed into the fight. Grace killed another but as she did Cyndar took a long sword through her side. Unfortunately for the Knight the tip of his weapon drove through the waist of the Massi Captain and deep into the wooden rampart and was momentarily stuck. Cyndar cried out and slashed at the hand holding the sword but missed. She did not have time to try again before the Tarina dispatched the unsuspecting man.
“Aaaaaggghhh,” Cyndar cried out, as she instinctively tried to move away from the weapon that impaled her, only dimly aware of the fact that the bitch from Noble was kneeling at her side.
“Be still,” the Tarina ordered as the Captain looked up at her with wild eyes. Grace examined the wound for just a moment. The sword penetrated only about an inch into her side, nasty but probably not lethal. The Tarina stood and quickly pulled the sword free of the planking and out of the injured woman’s side.
Cyndar screamed again and her hands immediately went to the wound.
“The wound is superficial, only through skin and muscle” Grace explained quickly to the Captain. “Get below and see to it,” she added then turned back to face more Knights as they managed to top the wall.
Three had made it successfully and were currently backing away from over a dozen pike men who were advancing like a hedgehog, spear points bristling. Grace leaned over the wall and saw the final causeway burning nicely, of the remaining Knights she saw nothing but suspected they had fallen to arrow fire for there were a number of dead at the base of the wall.
The clang of metal on metal brought her attention back to the fight before her and she killed two of the Knights backing her way before they were even aware of the greater threat coming at them from behind. The pike men dispatched the third with a rush of spear points.
“Huuuurrrraaaahhh!” the yell went up from the men as the last of the Knights fell. The Tarina glanced about but the immediate area was free of any threat. She looked down toward the main gate. The Knights managed to get a ram nearly across the causeway but it and the bridge below were now burning brightly. As far as she could see the gate was not under threat, nor could she see any problems beyond.
Making a quick decision, she bounded down a ladder to the ground and headed back to the section of wall that was engulfed with flames, but by the time she arrived the fire seemed to be contained, however a large section of wall was now in ashes.
“Huuuurrrraaaaahhhh!” She heard the shouts coming from atop the wall.
“What news?” She called loudly to a smiling Sergeant.
“The Knights are retreating from the attack,” he shouted down to her. “We’ve beaten them back.”
The Tarina nodded and continued down the wall inspecting the troops and the fortifications until she neared the spot where she’d initially climbed atop. Up ahead she saw a group of archers huddled close together directly below the ramparts, and when Tarina Grace worked her way through the crowd she saw Samantha lying in a heap, covered in dirt and ash.