It was very quiet when we began to move-a steel sea lapping at the coast that was the Eldren camp.
As the watery dawn broke our forces sighted each other. The Eldren were still by their camp, but when they saw us they, too, began to move. Very slowly, it seemed, but implacably.
I lifted my visor to get a wider view of the surroundings. The ground seemed good and dry. There appeared to be no places with superior advantages.
The horses hooves thumped the turf. The arms of the riders clattered at their sides. Their armour clashed and their harness creaked. But in spite of this a silence seemed to fill the air.
Nearer we came and nearer.
A flight of swallows flew high above us and then glided away towards the far-off hills.
I closed my visor. The back of the horse jogged beneath me. The cold sweat seemed to cover my body and clog my armour. The lance and the shield seemed suddenly very heavy.
I smelled the stink of other sweating men and horses. Before long, I would smell their blood, too.
Because of our need for speed, we had brought no cannon. The Eldren, also wishing to travel rapidly, had no artillery, either. Perhaps, I thought, their siege machines were following behind at a slower pace.
Nearer now. I could make out Arjavh's banner and a little cluster of flags that were those of his commanders.
I planned to depend upon my cavalry. They would spread out on two sides to surround the Eldren while another arrowhead of horsemen pierced the centre of their ranks and pushed through to the rear so that we would surround them on all sides.
Nearer still. My stomach grumbled and I tasted bile in my mouth.
Close. I reined in my horse and raised my lance and gave the order for the archers to shoot.
We had no crossbows, only longbows, which had a greater range and penetrating power and could shoot many more arrows at a time. The first flight of arrows screamed overhead and thudded down into the Eldren ranks and then were almost instantly followed by another flight and then another.
Our shafts were answered by the slim arrows of the Eldren. Horses and men shrieked as the arrows found their marks and for a moment there was consternation among our men as their ranks became ragged. But then, with great discipline, they reformed.
Again I raised my lance on which fluttered my black and silver pennant.
'Cavalry! Advance at full gallop!'
The trumpets sounded the order. The air was savaged by the sound. The knights spurred their war-steeds forward and began, line upon line of them, to fan out on two sides while another division rode straight towards the centre of the Eldren host. These knights were bent over the necks of their fast-moving horses, lances leaning at an angle across their saddles, some held under the right arm and aimed to the left and others secure under left arms, aimed at the right. Their helmet plumes fluttered behind them as they bore down on the Eldren. Their cloaks streamed out, and their pennants waved and the dim sunlight gleamed on their armour.
I was almost deafened by the thunder of hooves as I kicked my charger into a gallop and, with a band of fifty picked knights behind me, they themselves surrounding the twin standards of Humanity, rode forward, straining my eyes for Arjavh whom, at that moment, I hated with a terrible hatred.
I hated him because I must fight this battle and possibly kill him.
With a fearful din made up of shouts and clashing metal, we smashed into the Eldren army and soon I was oblivious to all but the need to kill and defend my life against those who would kill me. I broke my lance early on. It smashed right through the armoured body of an Eldren noble and split with the impetus. I left it in him and drew my sword.
Now I hewed about me with savage intensity, seeking sight of Arjavh. At last I saw him, a huge mace swinging from his gauntleted hand, battering at the infantrymen who sought to pull him from his saddle.
'Arjavh.'
He glimpsed me from the corner of his eye as I waited for him. 'A moment, Erekose, I have work here.'
'Arjavh!' The word I screamed was a challenge, nothing else.
Arjavh finished the last of the foot-soldiers and he kicked his horse towards me, still flailing around him with his giant mace as two mounted knights came at him. Then the men drew back as they saw we were about to engage.
We came close enough to fight now. I aimed a mighty blow at him with my poisoned sword, but he pulled aside in time and I felt his mace glance off my back as I leaned so far forward in my saddle after the wasted blow that my sword almost touched the churned ground.
I brought the sword up in an under-arm swing and the mace was there to deflect it. For several minutes we fought until, in my astonishment, I heard a voice some distance away…
'RALLY THE STANDARD! RALLY, KNIGHTS OF HUMANITY!'
We had not succeeded in our tactics! That was obvious from the cry. Our forces were attempting to consolidate and attack afresh. Arjavh smiled and lowered his mace.
'They sought to surround the halflings,' he said and laughed aloud.
'We'll meet again soon, Arjavh,' I shouted as I turned my horse back and spurred it through the press, forcing my way through the milling, embattled men towards the standard which swayed to my right.
There was no cowardice in my leaving and Arjavh knew it. I had to be with my men when they rallied. That was why Arjavh had lowered his weapon. He had not sought to stop me.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE BATTLE DECIDED
Arjavh had mentioned the halflings? I had noticed no ghouls among his men. What were they, then? What kind of creatures could not be surrounded?
The halflings were only part of my problem. Fresh tactics had to be decided upon hurriedly or the day would be soon lost. Four of my marshals were desperately trying to get our ranks closed as I came up to them. The Eldren enclosed us where we had planned to enclose them and many groups of our warriors were cut off from the main force.
Above the noise of the battle I shouted to one of my marshals: 'What's the position? Why did we fail so quickly? We outnumber them…'
'It's hard to tell what the position is, Lord Erekose,' the marshal answered, 'or how we failed. One moment we had surrounded the Eldren and the next moment half their forces were surrounding us-they vanished and reappeared behind us! Even now we cannot tell which is material Eldren and which halfling.' The man who answered me was Count Maybeda, an experienced old warrior. His voice was ragged and he was very much shaken.
'What other qualities do these halfling possess?' I asked.
'They are solid enough when fighting, Lord Erekose, and they can be slain by ordinary weapons-but they can disappear at will and be wherever they wish on the field. It is impossible to plan tactics against such a foe.'
'In that case,' I decided, 'we had best keep our men together and fight a defensive action. I think we still outnumber the Eldren and their ghostly allies. Let them come to us!'
The morale of my warriors was low. They were disconcerted and were finding it difficult to face the possibility of defeat when victory had seemed so certain.
Through the milling men I saw the basilisk banner of the Eldren approaching us. Their cavalry came in swiftly with Prince Arjavh at their head.
Our forces came together again and once more I was doing battle with the Eldren leader.