Twenty – My First Cavalry Charge

The goblin party ahead was not well-armed. Certainly not for a cavalry charge. They had some spears, swords, and armor but little else.

Then again, we weren’t precisely kitted out for a cavalry attack. We were all on regular horses, not those big, heavy Clydesdale draft-type horses. I wasn’t sure what medieval types rode, but I suspected it was the latter with a lot of training for the horses.

I watched as the row of goblins got closer and closer as we charged in, and then suddenly, we were upon them. I never even had time to check how many or what levels they were. Everything was moving so quickly.

Slade was in the lead. Not only did his horse trample through two of the little buggers, but he swept his axe sending another one flying. The lieutenants on either side of him did pretty much the same. By the time I was in the goblin ambush line, a dozen blue cubes were floating in the dust.

And then our column slowed. Slade reared back, turning his horse to the left so he could swing his axe down from the right side. The lieutenants also slowed, turning in each direction and whipping swords around.

The mass of goblins all around us that had been lying in wait sprung up and rushed down the slopes with spears and swords. I didn’t have time to count or check levels, I just slowed to a near stop and started firing arrows. There were plenty of targets. The goblins absolutely outnumbered us.

To my left, Max started rearing his horse left then right, slashing his katana back and forth. I turned my back to him and started firing arrows at goblins rushing in on the right side. It got tricky when a couple of raiders from the back of the column charged up. I had to stop firing for fear of hitting one of them.

One thing that surprised me was that my bow kept tugging this way and that. Sometimes, the arrows seemed to leap out of my fingers on their own. Something was helping me with my aim, many of my shots hit targets I would have taken more time to aim at if given a choice.

The raiders, now to my right, were blocking my aim, which gave me a moment to look around. Behind me, Emma had her staff in hand, holding it up high. Two goblins came scrambling towards her rushing with spears. She pointed the staff, tucking the bottom part against her arm, and charges of black lighting leaped from the other end. The goblins shrieked and became cubes.

I’d seen that black lightning before, the glitch had shot tendrils of it out, touching the things around it down in the dungeon.

More goblins were swarming around the raiders to my right. The raiders fought viciously, slashing at them with swords and axes, but were at risk of being overwhelmed. I aimed and fired. At this point, if I did nothing, the raiders would be swarmed. It was now worth the risk of accidentally hitting them.

More often than not, my shots would land solidly in a goblin torso. They’d scream and fall, or drop to their knees clutching the arrow, or topple backward, then fade into a blue cube. Even then, it wasn’t enough. Goblins thrust spears into the horses, causing them to rear and throw their riders.

The entire charge bogged down into a bunch of smaller fights as groups of raiders separated to fight isolated groups of goblins.

Max, Emma, and I became one of those isolated groups. The three of us stopped as raiders went around us or split into their own little groups. Emma was obliterating the goblins behind us. Black lightning flickered, leaving floating cubes. To my left, Max whipped his katana around in a whir of black streaks, but his horse reared back, tossing him when several goblins were able to rush in and stab his red stallion.

There was a whoosh, and fireflies floated around us. Max’s horse darted off, the wound in its neck gone now.

In front of us, Slade and the lieutenants were destroying the last of the goblins they’d been fighting. As more rushed in, the three shredded them into blue cubes.

Looking back to my right again, I saw the four raiders struggling. They were off their horses now and fending off a dozen goblins. I started launching arrows as quickly as possible. Not all of them were kill shots; many were just wounding, but even that was helping those poor bastages as they fought for their lives.

Another woosh, this time, the fireflies danced around the group I’ve been helping. The raiders looked reinvigorated and started fighting with renewed fury. After another couple of arrow shots, the goblin hoard broke. The green skins ran away in every direction.

I drew back an arrow and paused, considering the ethics of shooting a fleeing goblin in the back, when a sharp pain stabbed through my right shoulder blade. At the same instant, something like a punch in the same spot did the worst thing I could imagine right then. I fell off my horse. Worse still, I landed on the same shoulder, and the pain shot through my whole body, making stars and blackness swim in my vision.

It was hard to see through the pain. There was a lot of noise, dust, and horse hoofs all around me. Struggling to my hands and knees, I saw a bloody spear. It must have been thrown at me, I thought slowly. Then there was a big pair of boots in front of me, and I could hear Slade making his warcry. I looked up to see Slade swing his massive axe, cutting through three goblins who’d been rushing in to finish me off. There was another whoosh, and fireflies floated past me. The pain in my shoulder was gone, and I could get back to my feet and snatch my bow up off the ground.

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By the time I had another arrow notched, the fight was over. Some goblins were racing away, and our group of raiders congealed into a defensive circle. I heard more whooshes and saw fireflies fluttering around other raiders.

There were lots of blue cubes floating, slowly spinning all around us. I hoped there weren’t any of our people among them. I looked around quickly. Max, Slade, and I were on foot, but Emma was still on horseback, behind us in the center of the defensive circle.

A cheer rang out, led, of course, by Slade, “Woot! Kick ass!”

Almost as if in response, a horn sounded to the north. The goblin riders that had been herding us south were massing at the far end of the valley we were in. Two steep rocky hills were on our east and west. The valley we were in ran north to south. The goblins to the north were on switftscales.

We were about to experience what we had just done to the goblins trying to ambush us.

The horn sounded again, and the mounted goblins to the north began their charge. They kicked up a huge cloud of dust as they came. I looked around for any terrain that could provide cover and saw nothing.

The raiders started spreading out, forming a line as they could. Six raiders that were still mounted broke away from our group and struggled up the slope west. I couldn’t believe they were running away. We needed all the help we could get.

One thing I didn’t notice when we were the ones charging was how ominous the sound of all those trampling feet sounded. It was a dull roar that got louder with every moment. And as they came, they got larger. I felt terribly small, even knowing the swiftscales weren’t much taller than my hips, but with riders pointing spears and swords, they looked so much larger.

“Get ready, boys!” Slade bellowed.

I moved behind Max. He was smaller than Slade, and I could easily fire over and around him. I glanced behind our forming line to see that Emma was the only rider who had stayed with us. She was waving her staff and causing columns of light to whoosh around hurt raiders with health bars overhead.

Snapping back to the goblin chargers, I saw that they were getting within range of my bow. I pulled back and waited, then fired the moment my bow tugged. I wanted to watch the arrow's flight path, but instead, I just started grabbing and firing arrows.

Max hunched down just a little, then vanished, leaving an open spot before me. I was too busy to consider what that meant as arrow after arrow left my bow.

Slade roared, and then a cacophony of sound, vibrations, and dust engulfed me.

The arrow in my hand was frozen, the goblins were too close now. I watched as a swiftscales came bearing down on me. The goblin on top seemed huge, the point of its spear thrusting towards me violently. I was totally about to die.

And then Max poofed into vision, to the side of the charging goblin. A black streak flashed before him, and the goblin split and then turned into a cube instantly. I was so surprised by its speed that I stood in a stupor as the swiftscale lowered its head and rammed right into me.

When the lizard slammed into me, all the world's colors were knocked out of my vision. Everything faded to white briefly, and vision only came back in shades of gray slowly. I was floating. It was a pleasant sensation, just kind of drifting through space, watching the sky and ground pass by.

Landing wasn’t as much fun. I hit the ground hard. There was no breath to knock out of me, so it just felt like a giant hand slapped the crap out of me. I ate several mouthfuls of dirt and grit and spun end over end. When I opened my eyes, I stared up at the sky. It was pretty, a nice bluish tone with no clouds. I wanted a nap.

Fireflies sprang up all around me, and then there was that whooshing sound. I came out of my stupor in the center of bedlam. There was noise all around me. Struggling to sit up, I was literally in the middle of a maelstrom of fighting.

Multiple goblins were trying to stab spears into Max. He darted left and right, avoiding the jabs and flicking his blade back, killing one.

Slade was nearby, standing face to face with a huge goblin with a jagged sword. They traded blows, Slade’s battleaxe ringing sharply off the sword. Their swings went back and forth.

A goblin snuck between the two, charging me with a raised spear. I scrambled backward, looking for my bow. I grabbed it and lifted it hoping to shield myself with it from the attack somehow.

As the goblin got within murder range, he was engulfed in a web of black lightning. His entire body stopped and stiffened, and then he was a cube slowly spinning right in front of my face.

I felt a flash of guilt. Emma and Max fought for me, killing monsters just before they could kill me. And I was sitting in the dirt fumbling around. I forced myself to my feet and vowed they’d never have to save me again.

Slade was still fighting the massive goblin. I cocked an arrow and waited as the two of them exchanged blows. Slade couldn’t block every attack and occasionally took nasty hits from the brute. When Slade flinched from a blow connecting, I fired.

The arrow stuck into the goblin's shoulder, its health bar dropping a quarter. It screamed and swung at Slade, who ducked under the blow and came up with his battleaxe into the goblin's guts. The monster reeled back, and I hit it with another arrow. I never got to see how much damage I did because Slade stepped forward and buried his axe in its skull.

A blue cube with a golden outline floated in the air when Slade stepped back.

Slade’s reaction was to scream, “Woot!”

I switched to Max, who was still fighting two goblins. An arrow left my fingers and one vanished. Max sliced through the other with ease.

Beyond the gold and blue cube, another dozen goblins were forming up. They rushed at us.

A thunderous roar came swooping in as the six mounted raiders charged through the last of the goblins willing to fight. The ones in front of us were trampled or scattered. I’d been wrong. The raiders hadn’t fled. They’d just gotten enough distance to do their own countercharge.

And that heralded the end of the fight.

A rush of fireflies surrounded Slade, and the cuts on his arms faded away. The sounds of fighting also diminished. Squealing goblins began running away, chased by raiders who were tackling them instead of running them through with swords.

Slade turned and came stomping towards me. He slammed my shoulder with a beefy palm and said, “Thank you for the assist. That son of a bitch was damn close to gutting me.”

I stammered. Just moments ago, I felt like I was dropping the ball, underperforming deadweight, and carried by the team. In just a few words, Slade made all that vanish. In a clutch, he’d needed me. In the same way, I had needed Max and Emma.

I threw my arms around Slade, not just for lifting that burden off me, but because I was genuinely glad he hadn’t been killed.