Cold...so..cold...around me there is...only ice. Armor, weapons, bodies, frozen in bloody ice. The battle over, many dead and dying. I can't even feel my body...numb to it all. The cold even feels...nice, my friends dead and I'm all alone but I shall soon join them. I can hear their voices coaxing me to come... I go now to a better place.

...

Ray awoke in a gasp, goosebumps popping all over his body as he hugged himself tight. He felt it, the cold, the pain all of it. He felt the chilling grip of death almost silence him and drag him into an eternal slumber but was it just a feeling or was it a very real danger... Either way, the nightmares were getting wors- "Ray! Wake up! We have work to do!"

"Yes commander!" Ever since yesterday, Roland has become more strict ordering us around a lot more and keeping us busy. He apparently has made a lot of preparations just for today and would not afford anyone screwing up. As I walked by the tents, I could hear the chanting and prayers of every single one of them, begging for the gods to protect them.

A hint of crying mixed into the prayers, there are no soldiers here, just fearful men fighting for their lives and to get back to their regular lives. All these only sought to motivate Ray, he was one of them and he sure as hell was not about to die here.

"Men we're moving out!" 

We marched through the forest, cutting down small branches and weeds that blocked our path with Roland leading the way. "The beast men have been pillaging the nearby villages for food and gold and I suspect they'll be crossing a certain path through the forest to get to their next objective. What they won't expect, is us! Wahahaha!" 

A confident speech to rouse us from our depressing morning, it certainly helped morale to know what the plan was as well as having a good leader. Immediately, I heard several sighs of relief and a look of determination as we approached the clearing. Surrounding the clearing, there were several wooden platforms constructed above the trees as well as ladders attached to each one.

"I want two men per platform, until the beasts arrive you are to gather as many stones, spears, sticks or any other heavy objects and prepare to ambush them. Do not reveal yourselves." I was paired with Gurt and he seemed to have been affected by Roland's leadership, a small sliver of confidence showed on his face. 

While Roland and another soldier kept watch, the rest of us gathered up as many heavy objects as possible to prepare for the ambush, Roland estimated we would have two hours before a small section of the raid party came through here. We would be able to ambush them and steal their equipment and none of the beastmen would be even aware that we were here.

"Gurt sharpen these for me would you?" For now, we sharpened the sticks with our swords to form makeshift spears, it may not kill a beastmen but disabling an arm or a leg would be a great boon to us. Especially when they were in a small raid party of less than 10 men, one down is less dead for us.

"Yeah sure...hey Ray, yesterday I was thinking over it and...I'm going to survive. I'll kill the invaders and get lots of gold and then...and then I'll return home to my mom and take care of her..." Amidst the bits of croaking in his voice and tears falling from his cheeks, the message did come through. If Ray could, he would try to help him get his wish and get out of here safely.

An hour into preparations we heard the signal. "Beastmen! Everyone to their stations and not a peep until I give the word!" We were now in full battle mode, each pair went to their own platforms where they laid low and hid within the vegetation. As a surprise to everyone, Roland himself was positioned in the center of the clearing, a shield with a silver cross painted onto it in his left and a long sword in his right. 

Then we heard the sounds, the sounds of hooves and marching. Horse drawn carts with boxes of loot and armor came into view, carts of men, women and children bound in chains and covered with wounds. A caravan worthy of a rich lord, if not for the disgusting creatures that followed them closely behind.

There were a group of three of them, as well as various soldiers bearing the crest of Erihill armed to the teeth in green-painted armor. Looks like the count had prepared his soldiers well with equipment, don't think a wooden spear would do much damage to that. The beastmen on the other hand were armed with maces and tree trunks the size of a large man.

Two were simply oversized pigs with dirt and pus covering their bodies, wearing what seemed to be leather to cover up their privates and a helmet covering the topside of their head but leaving their mouths open. While the third was a giant, standing about an adult male taller than the soldiers accompanying it, horns covered in metal and a muzzle around it's mouth. It seemed like a captured beast but the way it led the caravan said otherwise. 

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"A minotaur...I only heard about them in the stories, considered one of the stronger beasts and usually leads a small group of beasts with it. It takes about a hundred coordinated men to bring them down. What are we going to d-!" Ray quickly muffled Gurt with his arm, now wasn't the time to freak out, all our lives are at stake here...all we can do now is trust in Roland's plan.

But as Ray glanced over to where Roland should have been standing, he wasn't there anymore. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen, some of the men had begun taking notice and were showing clear signs of fear in their trembling and sweat. Our leader's nowhere to be seen and the raiding caravan was about to pass through.

A sort of silent agreement came upon us as we stayed quiet, swallowing our worries deep within as they began walking through the clearing. The beastmen's breath was heavy as they walked through, it was thick and the stench smelled of meat and rot, Ray felt something wet on his arm and realized it was Gurt's spit and vomit. 

But then we heard it, Roland's signature proud voice giving us the signal. "Now! Aim for the ugly ones first!" Everyone was temporarily stunned as the enemy turned towards the direction of the voice but we regrouped and let loose. Spears and rocks fell upon them and the beastmen without much armor took the brunt of the blow, now their attention was on us. 

The enemy soldiers began panicking and sought shelter behind the carts and under their thick armor, but unfortunately for them a certain someone was charging right at them, cleaving through two of them with a strong swing of his sword. "Come at me you traitorous dog! I'll slaughter you all by myself! Wahahaha!" 

Roland's sword, now caked in blood, continued to cleave down the soldiers. But with the shock of the ambush slowly dwindling away, the soldiers began to fight back. Now the time it took Roland to kill one soldier had increased and as more rushed towards him, it was about to get significantly more dangerous.

Ray chucked one of the spears and with a bit of luck managed to land it directly into a soldier's neck, with a bloody cough he fell. His confidence soared, we're going to win, no one is going to die. A thought short-lived as the minotaur roared, a beastly roar that cause some of our own men to flinch. But even worse, the minotaur with one hand grabbed an empty cart and literally threw it at the platform directly next to us.

Crash! Splat! Organs and blood sprayed directly onto us, two men dead instantly. But it didn't stop there, with the use of the tree trunks they began bashing at the platforms. They were out of reach however, the tremors caused made a lot of soldiers fall, breaking limbs or just outright killing them. Ray was no exception, grabbing onto a branch for dear life as the others continued to peck at the beasts with projectiles.

"RAHHHHHHHHHHH!" A blood soaked Roland rushed towards one of the pigs and plunged his sword deep into their back, now he had their attention. While the beastmen moved to engage Roland, whoever was still alive quickly grabbed their swords and slid down the ladders. "Help the commander! Kill them!"

The yells drew the attention of the minotaur whom after witnessing his entire raiding party get wiped out was furious. With a great bestial roar he rushed at us, his hooves causing tremors with each step. In an adrenaline rushed stupor some soldiers charged straight into it's first swing. Crack! Splat! Crushed by brute force, their bodies smashed into the trees or sent tumbling onto the ground.

The swing didn't stop there and Ray forced Gurt to hit the deck as the tree trunk smacked right into another man who tried to block with his sword, instead the sword got smashed into his body and he was sent flying, blood splattering everywhere. "Gurt! Pay some fucking attention!"

A bloodcurdling roar of victory from the minotaur, many of our comrades lay dead or broken with only 4 of us left. Roland was busy holding his own against two of the pigs and this minotaur was still on us, we were doomed... "Fuck this! Let's run for it!" The two soldiers threw down their weapons and ran for their lives only to be struck by a thrown trunk, pinning them under it.

"ARGH! MY FUCKING LEGS! NOOOO, FUCK!"

The screams of a broken man brought Ray to reality, it was kill or be killed, there was no more running for him. "R-r-ray...what're you...doing?" Picking up his sword and a rock in his free hand, Ray stood and smiled at Gurt. "Run. At least you'll survive." With that last sentence, he turned to face the beast, his confidence slowly leaving him.

Sorry mother, brother... I don't think I'll be coming back after all...