The Trappings of War: Volume XXVI

UnOrthOdOx · August 19, 2003, 13:33

An UnOrthOdOx view of the Glory of War

I awakened in a cold sweat. The waxing moon shown high above, giving off little in the way of light. I could hear the gentle rolling of the waves on the shore.

I headed back into camp, determined now on a course of action. “You! Over here.” I cried out to the sentry. “I want you to bring me GhengisFarb! Take your own mount, and the one attached to the wagon. Change mounts as they tire and do not stop until you return with him to me.”

“But, Sir! They say that he is mad! He has attempted to escape on several occasions, killing his guards with ease each time. And some say…well, you know the stories!”

His hesitation was annoying, though understandable. Ghengis was indeed a difficult person to deal with, though his ‘madness’ was exactly why I needed him with me. I grabbed up some parchement and wrote a hasty note. “Take this with you, show it to Ghengis. He will give you no trouble.”

As I watched the sentry leave, I wakened a few soldiers to help me with the wagon which held sEctArIAn’s lifeless body. We wheeled it down to the shore and removed the wheels, creating a make shift raft, and set dry brush around it before setting it to the sea. As it drifted to the very edge of sight, I grabbed up a bow, lit a single arrow and let it loose. I watched as the raft sailed away and my son’s ashes slowly rose making a quiet promise to never rest until I had seen MrWhereItsAt suffer at my own hands.

The first signs of light were now appearing on the horizon, it was time to press forward once again, and in no time the camp was awake and we were once again on our way, heading due south once more, seeing little signs of life along the way. Finally, we came to a mountain range and I decided we would best be served to await to cross the mountain’s path until the morning lest we walk into some ambush awaiting us.

Just before dawn, I was greeted with the sound of approaching hooves from the north. Stepping outside, I saw to my delight that Eira had returned quicker than I would have expected. A full battalion of Riders accompanied him.

Eira rode at the head, smiling proudly as he soluted. “We await your orders, Sir.”

I smiled looking over the troops in the field. “Very good, we just need to await the arrival of Ghengis. I seek his…unique…assets in the upcoming battles.”

The very mention of the name of GhengisFarb caused some alarm to flash across the faces of those within hearing. It was widely known that Ghengis not only had acquired certain tastes that were well outside the norm, but he was also notoriously difficult to handle, often going off on his own and ignoring orders.

Eira, however, seemed to understand. “That is very good, Sir. I took the liberty of having him set free and given similar training. He should be well prepared by the time he arrives. It seems he has even recruited some hand-picked personnel to fill a unit of his own.”

The thought of Ghengis in the lead of a full unit of like-minded soldiers was indeed an interesting thought. “Very good, Eira. Now, if you are correct, he should be arriving by this evening, we will make the mountain pass in the night then and see what awaits on the other side in the morning.”

Sure enough, that evening Ghengis came riding right into camp. The dull black of their armor reflected none of the light from the moon yet there was a wild look in all of their faces I instantly recognized as a hunger for blood and battle. And so we crept up through the mountain pass that evening and awaited the morning sun to see what await us in the valley below.

More will follow either today or tomorrow with the slaughter at Bilbao and perhaps up to the death trap layed by GS forces...