and held his spear in front of him as the orcs bellowed defiantly, racing towards them, howling for blood.
“Give them nothing but death!” screamed Tanus on his horse as he lifted his sword into the air. The wound in his shoulder had stopped bleeding but the injury still hurt. He shook off the pain, raised his war horn to his mouth and blew into it, giving the signal to move forward at the single step. The silent infantry slowly advanced toward the enraged orcs, spears and shields held before them.
The two forces crashed together making a noise like a thunder clap. The fighting was intense and the tired men fared poorly against the fresh enemy troops. The orcs were strong and powerful and they sensed that their enemy was tiring. Tanus saw his line starting to falter.
“Formation, get in formation!” he screamed, pivoting his horse expertly behind the ranks. All the warriors near him quickly got shoulder to shoulder again, their shields defending the sword arm of the soldier next to him.
The reserve line sent in fresh troops to fill the gaps and maintain the line. Orcs ran at the formation wall with no sense of control or organization. The trained men used their shields to block the attacks while their sword brothers jabbed and cut into the orcs with their short swords.
King Gavinsteal, dressed in full battle array and carrying a long glittering lance, rode his warhorse over the peak of the hill. Behind him were two thousand Finarthian Knights. His armor shone brightly in the afternoon sun and his royal sword was strapped to his broad back. The king was old but he knew the importance of leading his men into battle. His very presence would provide the resolve his warriors needed to defeat this large force invading their homeland.
The king looked down at the battle and saw that his infantry was holding the orcs back, but barely. His eyes narrowed in anger and his jaw clenched in frustration as he surveyed the scene before him. For every orc that died upon the line, another took its place. The reserve line was filling in the gaps perfectly but they could only maintain the formation for so long.
Dagrinal rode up next to the king and gazed at the battle below. “Should I give the signal, my Lord?” he asked. “King Olegaurd should be in place with his cavalry on the east side.”
Upon the signal, both cavalries would ride in to flank the enemy army, each group representing the fearsome points of the “horn of the bull” attack. The powerful maneuver was designed to crush the enemy from all sides.
But something didn’t seem right to King Gavinsteal. Where was the enemy cavalry? Surely they had some mounted warriors. Also, there was no sign of Lord Moredin or Prince Bomballa in the enemy ranks. Where were they? King Gavinsteal continued surveying the battle and the lands beyond, anxiously looking for some clues.
“My King, if we don’t give the signal the infantry will be crushed. What are your orders?” asked Dagrinal again.
The king put his hand up to silence Dagrinal as he mulled over the decision, his eyes never leaving the battle below.
Prince Baylin rode up next to his father. His royal armor was polished brightly and his double headed battle axe was strapped to his back. The visor on his helm was up and his father noticed his worried expression.
“Are you thinking the same thing I am?” asked the king, turning to look at his son.
“I am. Where is their cavalry?” Prince Baylin asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve been blinded all night and day. They have boargs patrolling their perimeter and none of my scouts have returned. The boargs continue to sniff them out,” added the frustrated king.
“We have to assume that their cavalry is waiting for us to make our move and then they will try to flank us,” replied the prince as he surveyed the battle.
“Where is Nelstrom?” asked the king, looking about for his younger son.
Prince Baylin now knew about Nelstrom not being his brother, but he said nothing to his father about it. He figured if he wanted to talk about it that he would bring it up when he was ready. For now, with all that was happening, the issue seemed trivial in the big picture of things.
“I don’t know, father. I haven’t seen him. But you must make a decision now or our infantry will be destroyed.”
They all looked down as the ogres threw stones the