Aizertz pass

The next day a large force was waiting at the edge of Zuhaxea. I can’t believe this. There are probably hundreds of people. Some were mounted, while many more were on foot. They carried various weapons from axes, maces, swords and bows to polearms. Spears and similar weapons seemed to be the most popular. In terms of armour, mail seemed about the most anyone had and even that was rare. There was no plate armour. Some only wore gambesons or hardened leather. Amane, Luken and Oihan were mounted at the front of the army.

“Today we will get our revenge,” Oihan shouted to the army. “For all of the fallen ones. They murdered our brothers, sisters, our parents and children. Today they will feel the wrath of Errautsuen Herria.” The army screamed in unison. “Now march!”

The horses charged behind the three leaders. The footmen separated into different groups, each going at its own pace. The last were pack animals and their keepers. Corbin and others were riding close behind the leaders along with the newly trained gunmen. Despite his protests, he was given one of the pistols, which now hung in a pouch by his side. Scouts constantly separated from the main force, each going in a different direction in order to spread the word of the campaign to the nearby villages.

The army moved along using little to no roads, but with their knowledge of the terrain, they were never slowed down. As they exited the forest, the mountains were already visible in the distance. They rode on, making sure not to tire the horses out too quickly. At the foot of the mountain they left their horses behind and rushed on. The fastest of the footmen were not far behind them.

“Ilargi, are you alright?” Corbin asked between taking breaths.

“Of course I am, why do you ask?” Ilargi didn’t struggle to speak as much as had.

“I have a bad feeling that this might go horribly wrong for us.”

“Oh that. Don’t worry about it. Every battle should be seen as potentially your last. Even when your odds seem great, you have to keep that in mind. Somehow I’ve lived through more battles than I ever expected to.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For what? That I’m alive?” Ilargi asked. Corbin was flustered and wanted to explain, but as he looked at her, a huge grin already split her face and she started laughing. “Your face just now was hilarious. Come on, I wouldn’t be around any more if I was that sensitive. I understand things were different in your world. To be fair they are also different for a lot of people in this world. But yes, I’ve been fighting since childhood. Nobody expects a little girl to have a knife and a murderous intent. At least they didn’t back then. We might’ve changed that, but we managed to get a lot done.”

They ran in silence for a while.

“Kemen,” Ilargi said.

“Yes?”

“What do you want?”

“What?”

“Do you miss your home?”

“Yes I do.”

“I see.”

Silence followed once again. Is she distraught? He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came to him. He wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know if he could say words that were true. The terrain before them gradually became more difficult. They were past the rising and falling hills and were ascending a steeper slope up a mountain. The forest was so thick it was hard to see beyond the people right in front of him. The mountain wasn’t as high as those they had passed when escaping the prison and the Empire. The glimpses he could get of the other peaks showed that none were bare rock or covered with snow. They were able to cross over to the descending slope in as little as two hours.

The person in front of Corbin stopped and the hill became very silent. He was looking around in confusion, but everyone else was focused. Ilargi grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to her height.

“They can see the army in the front.”

“So do we just attack?”

“I don’t think so, we will probably prepare. The army snakes along the narrow path, it will be hours before the last of them will be able to pass through here.”

As she had assumed, the order came and they settled down behind the concealing cover of the thicket. As time passed more and more soldiers arrived. Those present didn’t rest however. They were busy preparing weapons and also finding large rocks, anything that could prove useful against the massive army they would face soon. Most of them were excited about the coming battle, driven by their anger and lust for revenge. It was a rare sight to see someone sitting down with his head in his hands and even then it was hard to say whether it was fear or mourning.

The path below wasn’t in the centre between two mountains or a valley, but rather in the middle of the descending slope, that Corbin and the others were on. It’s so bizarre just watching the people you will fight pass by. Do they expect anything? The road was only wide enough so that about four men were able to walk next to each other comfortably, or two horses or a single cart.

As the honorary assistant commander of the gunmen, he was required to attend the strategy meeting.

“Most of our forces have gathered. We can launch an attack at any moment,” Amane said.

“Don’t be ridiculous. We must wait for the right moment. If we attack the centre of the army, they may be able to regroup or worse: surround us,” Oihan said.

“We can still turn back you know. It’s not too late,” Luken said.

“Not this again, come on Luken you know we are doing this,” Oihan said. “Now listen. We will attack the final quarter. We start with arrows and rolling rocks, then take out the rest of them. But here is the best part: I heard from my sources that somewhere in that part of the army, all the loot they got for stopping the siege and what they raided on the way, is carried inside carts. This way they won’t only suffer defeat at my, I mean our hand, but also suffer financially. That should repay all the damage they did to us.”

The Sun was still high in the sky as the archers took their places. They were positioned so that it was easy for footmen to pass between them. In front of the archers the soldiers were holding the large rocks.

“There, when that cart passes by, we attack,” Oihan said.

Corbin and the gunmen were stationed close to the leaders. Their task was not to engage, but to wait for the right moment. Oihan held up his hand. Even the sound of breathing stopped for a moment. It was hard to say how long that lasted. It felt so long, but was probably no more than a few seconds. He lowered his arm and pointed forward. The forest was filled with the snaps of bowstrings. Seconds later the screams of men and horses came. The arrows thudded against armour, horses carts and the ground. Then the rocks began rolling down the slope, sending people flying into the abyss below.

“Charge!” Oihan screamed and the soldiers echoed his cry as they dashed down the slope.

The opposing force didn’t delay their response. Men took cover behind carts and walls of pavises were erected. Archers and crossbowmen returned fire, but were shooting mostly blindly since their enemy was not visible yet.

The ground shook beneath Corbin and gasps were heard from people that hadn’t charged forward. He looked around and saw a giant. No, it’s the giantess that Ilargi gave bread to. She was carrying a great stone monolith. Two more hairy giants appeared between the trees behind her. All of them stopped in front of the army, then hurled the monoliths over the heads of the charging rebels. The rocks smashed the walls of pavises and anyone unlucky enough to stand behind them. The giants released a blood-chilling roar, freezing people in place.

Horns sounded and more soldiers were coming to the aid of their ambushed compatriots, but the narrow road only allowed for a small number of people passing. The confusion and people running away from the fight only made it that much harder for the imperial army to intervene. They were taking heavy losses against the enemy coming from the trees.

Then a blue flash of light blinded Corbin for a moment. Just moments before he had been looking at an advancing squad of spearmen. When he could see again they were strewn around and their armour blackened.

“Disperse,” Amane shouted as more fireballs and lightning bolts struck into the advancing army. “Kemen, do it!”

Corbin ordered his men to shoot, pointing at the wizard that had come from the front of the army. He was surrounded by several men holding large pavises and heavy armour. They only lowered their shields whenever the wizard launched more magical attacks. Several arrows were already stuck in the large shields. Corbin’s squad fired on his command. One of the shield bearers fell, but the was quickly replaced.

“Scatter,” Corbin shouted. Moments later a ball of fire engulfed their previous position.

“Keep shooting!” Amane shouted over the noise of the battle.

The wizard turned towards her. No! He took a step towards Amane, but in a moment he was shoved out of the way. He looked up and saw Ibai, who had sprinted past him. He was still holding his rifle, but has also picked up a shield along the way. He was in front of Amane just as the shields were lowered in front of the wizard. The bolt of lightning struck out directly into him, throwing him against a tree.

“Shoot!” Corbin screamed and drew his own pistol. All that remained of the scattered gun squad fired at the wizard. More guards fell and the wizard’s fireball engulfed one of the shooters. Ilargi screamed and dashed down the slope while shooting her own pistol. The wizard sent a fireball flying towards her, but she was able to dodge out of the way. Then the blue light announced the coming lighting bolt, but just as he extended his arm, he recoiled and it flew into the distance. Some shots had finally landed. He fell to the ground and attempted to get back up, but then he fell back down and made no more movements.

“Ibai!” Fermin shouted and hurried to his side. He cradled the charred body. There was no response. Amane was there right after him, her mouth open in shock. She touched his face with a shaking hand.

“Go, fight and …” Oihan shouted.

“Soldiers!” Amane screamed over him. Every eye was on her. “Kill them! Kill them all!”

The soldiers shouted and charged furiously into the thin line of the imperial army. Oihan gave a poisonous look to Ilargi, but remained quiet. Corbin watched the two armies clash. It was a one-sided slaughter. Screams and horns sounded ceaselessly. On a closer look it seemed that while some of the imperial army was armed and armoured far better than any of the rebels, there were some who didn’t even seem to carry any weapons at all. Despite this all were slaughtered at Amane’s order. Corbin felt sick to his stomach. He looked at Ilargi and her horrified expression mirrored his own. Amane was still screaming and Fermin was now holding her. As the imperial army was being driven back, some of the rebel soldiers went among the carts and started carrying away chests and caskets. After a while Luken and Oihan came forward.

“Come on, we need to finish up here before the army is able to make a genuine response,” Oihan said. Amane looked up, her face was smudged with tears. Fury and sorrow fought on her face. She looked down at the battle and was taken aback. Imperial soldiers were trying to cross debris and bodies that were in the way. Most of the forces were just unarmed people. The rebel soldiers were killing them one after another. Some tried to surrender and others tried to run away, but nothing helped. No mercy was given and it wasn’t long before many who ran down the slope had arrows sticking from their backs. Corpses and dying men were strewn around.

“Fall back!” Amane shouted and her orders were echoed throughout the ranks. Soldiers started backing away from fights, but still taking opportunities to slash at any enemy. More loot was carried away as well as the wounded. The archers covered the retreat as the soldiers ascended the slope. Everyone helped carrying whatever they could back up the slope. A stretcher was pushed into Corbin’s hands and as he turned around, he saw Ilargi carrying a sack of loot or gear.