Scalecharge

Fulcher pulled the reins as he turned to move with the tide of soldiers. The thundering footsteps of the gallimimus cavalry were only interrupted by the occasional squawk from the creatures. Ravage kept pace, rumbling as Fulcher took the lead at the front of the charge. Arrow ran alongside them, the fastest Fulcher had ever seen him.

As they approached the tide of leather-clad warriors under The Huntmaster’s command, Fulcher noticed the Corvidrop horsemen also beginning their charge. Both lines should hit at the same time, pinching the defending force between the tides of mounted troops.

I’ll find The Huntmaster, and get rid of him, Fulcher thought. Between losing their commander and getting hit from two sides, this first force should surrender. Then, we can focus on the army defending the gates.

“Spears!” the cavalry commander shouted. Each gallimimus rider unhooked spears from their backs, each with secondary swords on their side for after the initial engagement.

“Trample them all! Under scale and claw!” the commander shouted.

“Scale and claw!” the cavalry responded.

Fulcher felt the fire churning in his veins as the line grew ever closer. The Huntmaster’s men were struggling to get into formation, shifting to try and accommodate a secondary cavalry unit they had not expected. Spears were raised, but there were gaps in the line.

Ravage lowered his head as they neared, letting out a hiss as his hands stretched forward. With a sudden bend of his legs Ravage leapt over the front line of the defending soldiers, forcing Fulcher to clutch onto the raptor for dear life. They sailed over the first line of troops and landed on some poor archer near the back of the formation. Ravage was quick to sink his hooked claw into the man’s chest as he landed, quickly settling his mouth around the soldier’s head. Fulcher winced and looked away before he heard the snap, clattering his gauntlets together as he prepared for the counterattack of the nearby troops. Such an attack would never arrive though, as the rest of the cavalry charged past Fulcher, breaching the line of spears. A gallimimus thudded to the ground next to Fulcher as its rider rolled off, clutching at her sword as she joined the melee on foot.

Across the frontline dinosaurs were charging through and falling to defending spears in equal amounts, the riders’ spears leveled into the chests of their opponents before being discarded for swords. One of defenders who Ravage had leapt over turned then, charging the pair with his blade held high. Before Fulcher could even react, Arrow bounded over to the man and clamped his teeth around the man’s arm. The weight of the wolf brought them both to the ground, where Arrow repositioned himself on top of the soldier.

A sharp impact drew Fulcher’s attention away from the struggle as he peered at his side, finding the bolt of a crossbow wedged neatly into his ribs. Another shot collided with Ravage, forcing the beast to stagger as the bolt impacted his shoulder. Holding his arm close to his injured side Fulcher looked up, spotting a shimmer of metal in the distance.

It was The Huntmaster, fury in his gaze as he aimed and fired a large crossbow through the brawl and towards the rebel prince.

“Move!” Fulcher shouted as Ravage lurched forward. The bolt whizzed past where his head had been as the pair began weaving through the crowd towards The Huntmaster. Arrow barked and kept pace, weaving through the clashing weapons as they closed in on their target. Fulcher could feel the power surging through his gauntlets, ready to be unleashed against the first of the King’s pawns. 

-----

Schon stood with her mouth agape as she witnessed the sudden sandstorm far in the distance. As each grain of sand peeled away the air itself, it seemed to summon more and more soldiers of Ubukhazikhazi.

“Whoa,” she murmured. Vardia tapped his foot impatiently as he watched Fulcher meet with the Chronomancer.

“Is he returning? Certainly, he must. He is without protection!” Vardia stated matter-of-factly. He found his answer almost immediately as a war horn trumpeted from the Ubuk line, dinosaur riders beginning the charge towards The Huntmaster’s army. At the head of this charge was Fulcher, Ravage, and Arrow, running at the head of the spear that rushed towards the enemy.

“Bah, what is he doing?! Horsemen! Assist the prince!” Corvidrop shouted. The shouting of relayed orders echoed across the friendly lines as the Lord’s cavalry split from the formation and charged into the fray.

“He is brave, leaving us all alone to get all the glory for himself!” Akaj said, bursting out into a laugh. Vardia huffed as he lowered his visor.

“Lord Corvidrop, we should advance! The Ubuk army is preparing to march as well,” he said. Schon looked over at the distant allies. Just as Vardia said, commanders marched up and down the Ubuk lines, shouting orders as their troops prepared to engage in the fight. Towards the back of the army, several tall-necked thunder lizards trumpeted to one another as they slowly turned to their sides. On their backs were mighty siege weapons, and it seemed to Schon as if they were preparing to fire a volley.

“Indeed. Men! Push forward! Clean up the scraps left behind by the cavalry, and prepare to push into the main defending lines near the town!” Corvidrop shouted. Schon closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could feel the electricity begin to flow through her as she gripped her mace. Today they’d free the people, she was certain. As she opened her eyes again, Schon noticed smoke slowly flowing along the ground, beneath her feet.

What? she thought, turning around to find the origin. Several dark figures had emerged from the woods with silence, each one rapidly approaching Corvidrop and his Ravenguard.

“Look out!” Schon shouted. “Assassins!”

Benedict turned on his steed in time to dodge a dagger sent flying his way, with several more sinking into his steed. As the horse collapsed, Corvidrop did his best to stand as the smokey figures engaged in combat with the surprised Ravenguard. A shrill giggle escaped the closest of the figures as the smoke peeled away from his form, revealing a puffy yellow jester outfit.

“Ooo-hohohohooo!” Bobagem giggled. “My my! The little Raven who stole one of my spies away from me… you’re conspiring with these traitors? The false-princess and dishonored Custodi? Shame on you, Benedict Cor-vi-drop. Shaaaame…” The jester’s grin stretched up his face further than what should have been natural as two daggers slithered out of his sleeves and into his hands, each dripping with some purple toxin.

“Go!” Corvidrop shouted. “I’ve got them, support Fulcher! Push to the Cathedral and assault the Keep! We’ll catch up once we’ve slaughtered these harlequins…”

Schon looked nervously at Vardia and Akaj before they nodded, turning and running to catch up with the troops as they marched forward. Benedict leveled his blade towards the jester as his Ravenguard struggled to keep pace with the quick strikes of the assassins.

“Oh, Benedict,” cooed Bobagem. He dragged one blade along his tongue, tasing the toxin with a giggle. “You can’t spell slaughter, without a little laughter…”