It was a clear morning, and the wind carried a cool breeze down from the white topped mountains that bisected the Hulvan kingdom from north to south. The scene before Tim looked like something out of a fairy tale. Archava’s Pass was a mile wide gap in the mountain range that was the only land connection between east and west Hulva. It was said to have been created by a single swing from God of War’s mighty polearm as their armies set out from the Holy City of Velos to fight the Final Battle against the Dark One.
A pair of tall, sheer sided mountains stood on either side of the entrance. These mountains were called the Pillars, and between them, anchored into their sides, was a wall of pure white stone. It was over two hundred feet tall and curved inward so that any enemies who would attempt to assault the enormous gates set in the middle of the wall would find themselves under attack from three sides.
Arthur had told them that the Gates of Estos was the only structure allowed to block the Divine Path along its entire stretch. The people of Hulva took this to mean that Estos was the first and only line of defence of the faithful against the heathen hordes to the west, which caused them to look down their noses at their neighbours to the north. This had been the source of a friendly rivalry between the two kingdoms until the Betrayal.
Tim then looked up at the three square spires of a huge cathedral of the Three poked up from beyond the Wall and was the only part of the city of Estos that was visible while the gates were shut. Its reputation of being the most beautiful city outside the Central Kingdoms was well known even in Potter’s Hollow, and Tim wondered if he would ever get to see it for himself.
“What do we do?” Tim heard Arthur ask. The prince was looking worriedly at the Hulvan army that had arrayed itself just outside the wall.
It sounded as though they could be staying put for a while, so Tim set down the large kite shield that Arthur had somehow obtained for each member of his brotherhood save for Karl, who had refused his. Tim was comforted by its presence. The earlier encounter with the Hulvans had demonstrated just how defenceless they were, against armoured knights and every bit of protection was welcome.
“What do you think?” Horatio asked.
Huntsman, who had re-joined the army the day before, shrugged his scrawny shoulders. “The city was locked up tight when I saw it yesterday, but as far as estimates go, I’d wager they have five thousand men in defence.”
Arthur blinked. “That can’t be right, there are at least that many standing in front of the walls before us now.”
“It would be logical to assume that there are more than that manning the walls as well,” Erwyn added.
The Brotherhood of the Prince had been given the honour of leading the army’s march over the past week, and Tim and Eric now had a front row view of the discussion between the army’s leaders from atop their horses. The army was standing in formation behind them, ready to move out at a moment’s notice.
Horatio frowned at the assembled Hulvans before moving his gaze to the wall from which numerous flags fluttered in the building freeze. At length, he turned to Erwyn. “Have the siege engines taken off the wagons and get the North Men on them.”
“Lord General?” Erwyn asked, looking confused.
“Get it done as quickly as you can,” Horatio ordered. He then turned to Arthur. “Get the cavalry to the front, and I want the North Men just behind them.”
“Lord Carver, are we going to attack?” Arthur asked incredulously.
“At once,” Horatio nodded. “We’re attacking straight down the Divine Path. Speed will be the key.”
“But what about the Hulvan army stationed outside the walls?” Arthur asked.
“We will advance slowly at first,” Horatio replied. “But when they withdraw, we must move quickly.”
“And if they don’t withdraw?” Arthur asked, sounding increasingly exasperated.
“Then things may get a little hairy,” Horatio said. “Place yourself in the first infantry formation, My Prince. If things go badly, we might lose all our cavalry.”
Arthur looked like he was about to protest but was interrupted by a loud crash. Tim turned around to see the massive North Men throwing huge, disassembled pieces of siege engines off their wagons like they were pieces of kindling while the siegesmiths could only look on in horror.
“We’re going to regret that if we end up needing them,” Arthur remarked sourly.
“It will be worth it if my hunch is right,” Horatio replied as he studied the Hulvan army.
“You’re taking a hell of a chance, Horatio,” Huntsman warned as Arthur left to give the cavalry their orders.
In less than ten minutes, ten wagons had been cleared and the North Men climbed aboard, five to a wagon. Erwyn returned to the head of the formation and shook his head. “The siegesmiths are hopping mad, Lord Carver. Their leader threatened to march his men back to the Narrows.”
“I’m sure you dealt with it well, Lord Erwyn,” Horatio offered.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Lord Carver,” Erwyn said worriedly.
“So do I,” Horatio replied.
The boys withdrew as the cavalry and the wagons, which were made to look comically small by their new passengers, made their way to the front. To the surprise of those who weren’t standing close enough to listen in on their commanders’ discussion, Arthur and Erwyn climbed down from their horses and joined them at the head of their formation.
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“Men, as some of you may be aware, we are about to begin an attack on Estos,” Arthur was blessed with a ruler’s voice, and it was loud enough to be heard clearly by the men at the rear of the formation. “Follow my lead and may the Three watch over you.”
“For the Brotherhood!” Erwyn cried.
“For the Prince!” the men roared back.
Soon, a drum began playing a slow beat. The signal to advance into battle. Tim heard murmurs of confusion from the men behind them, and he pressed his lips in a thin line, consciously aware of how lucky he was to know what was going on.
“Brotherhood, forward!” Erwyn snarled.
“Today will be the first day of my legend,” Eric swore as they began marching forward. “Stay close to me, Tim, and your name will be well known throughout the world.”
“I will?” Tim ventured, happy for the distraction.
“Of course,” Eric grinned. “You will become renowned throughout the land as the sidekick of the legendary Eric Cooper.”
Tim rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb at Karl who was marching behind them. “I think you’ll have your work cut out for you if you want to outshine him.”
“I fear my tribesmen may not leave anything for the rest of us,” Karl said, wearing a concerned look on his face.
“Look at all of them,” Philip gasped as they crested a rise and began marching downhill.
Tim’s heart began to race when he saw the rows of Hulvan soldiers, both infantry and cavalry, standing in disciplined formations on either side of the Divine Path, and stood over a mile away from the Carthun army.
“I’d say there’s roughly five thousand of them,” Karl mused. “They could maul us badly with enough support from the wall.”
The boys jumped as a horn blasted a mournful tone from within the Hulvan ranks. The Hulvan army let off a defiant cry as they moved with disciplined precision to form a line with the infantry in front and the cavalry to the rear, poised to exploit any gaps they spotted in the Carthun lines.
“It looks like they’re ready for a fight,” Karl observed. “What’s our Lord Carver going to do?”
The drum beat continued, and the Carthun’s continued advancing towards the Hulvan line in their relatively narrow marching formation.
“We’re begging for a cavalry attack anywhere along our flanks,” Tim said worriedly. “We should fall back.”
“Old Horatio knows what he’s doing,” Eric replied, not sounding very confident.
Tim looked over his shoulder and saw that the rest of the army was hesitating too, and gaps were beginning to form in their line. A warning horn came from ahead, but the road had levelled out, and Tim was unable to see past the wagons in front of them and the new threat was left to his imagination.
The beat of the drum then began to quicken, and those in front began to pick up their pace. The boys made way as they heard horses coming up from the rear, and Emily rode past to take her position next to Arthur. She wore a steel cuirass and trousers. Nina rode by her side with a spear at the ready.
“You’re a big target up there,” he warned.
“Not as big as them,” she replied, indicating the North Men ahead of them. “We’ll dismount when the fighting starts.”
“Incoming!” Nina warned.
Tim jumped as a large rock landed just shy of the Divine Path.
“Steady men!” Erwyn roared as the beat of the drum quickened. Tim quickened his pace again, and the top of the walls of Estos soon came into view. On them were strange devices hurling huge rocks high into the air.
“That one’s going to hit,” Erwyn said worriedly as he tracked its path.
The rock seemed to float in the air before crashing down at the rear of the Carthun formation, flattening a dozen or so men. The Carthuns replied with a fireball which soared from the rear towards the wall, exploding in huge conflagrations. Tim watched in morbid fascination as the defenders threw themselves from the two hundred foot tall wall in a bid to escape the flames.
The drum beat quickened again, and Emily gasped. “They’re falling back! The Hulvans are falling back!”
“Looks like Old Horatio was right, eh?” Eric grinned.
Tim’s pulse quickened as they broke into a run. The cavalry began to pull away from the wagons, which also began to pull away from the infantry behind them as they quickened their pace.
“Ready your shields, men!” Erwyn cried. “We are entering arrow range!”
Emily and Nina took the cue to climb down from their horses, and a pair of men exchanged their shields for the reins.
“I wish I could see what was going on up ahead,” Eric panted.
“Arrows!” Erwyn warned.
Tim looked up to see the sky was filled with hundreds of little black darts. More fireballs flew up from the Carthun ranks, and more Hulvans leapt from the wall. The boys raised their shields, but few arrows landed among their ranks.
“Where are their archers?” Erwyn asked in amazement.
“Lord Carver was right,” Arthur observed, speaking easily despite running at a brisk pace in his gold armour. “Most of their men were outside the wall. We called their bluff, and it is now backfiring on them spectacularly.”
“It’ll only backfire if we can stop them from closing the gate,” Erwyn pointed out.
“We’ll just have to trust our large friends up there to get the job done,” Arthur said, sounding disappointed as he watched the wagons slowly increase their lead.
The gates soon came into view, and they were beginning to swing close. Carthun cavalry had caught up to the Hulvan stragglers and some cut them down from behind while others broke off to go around them in an attempt to enter the gates.
“Men, hurry!” Arthur cried. “We cannot let Lord Carver enter the city alone.”
The prince increased his pace and began to pull away, when Erwyn gasped, “My Prince, wait for your men, please!”
Arthur looked at the North Men who had jumped down from their wagons and were running to join the melee and looked back over his shoulder at his men who were lagging roughly forty yards behind him. At length, his shoulders sagged, and he obligingly waited for them to catch up.
A horn played a sharp, alarmed note from the cavalry that had bypassed the Hulvan rear guard. The North Men fought with more urgency, carving their way through the Hulvan ranks that had by now turned around to fight their enemies. The gates of the city were slowly but surely swinging close, and Arthur’s urgency rubbed off on his men as they quickened their pace. They ran through the gap created by the North Men, ignoring the cavalry who were fighting along the edges, in their mad dash towards the gate.
Arthur and Erwyn pulled ahead while Tim grabbed Eric, who was focused on following the prince, preventing his friend from pulling away.
“What are you doing, Tim?” Eric gasped.
“The princess,” Tim said, cocking his head at Emily and Nina, who they had just overtaken. “We should stay back to protect her. I get the feeling she will be important once we’re inside.”
Eric’s face turned red, and he was about to protest, but stopped when he saw the look on Tim’s face. “Fine.”
Tim then turned to Emily. “Princess, we must hurry, the gates are going to close.”
“I know,” Emily panted.
She found a final burst of speed, and the quartet managed to squeeze through the massive steel reinforced wood gates just as they slammed shut. On the other side, they found themselves in a huge gatehouse with a tall, vaulted ceiling, that was large enough to accommodate over two thousand men. The black stones of the Divine Path underfoot were slick with blood and cavalry were fighting furiously close to the exit but were blocked off by the sheer mass of Hulvan defenders. Tim caught a glimpse of beautiful stone buildings and statues just beyond the gatehouse.
Then, a heavy steel portcullis fell from the ceiling, crushing the Hulvan defenders underneath as it came crashing down, trapping the Hulvans between it and the gate on the other side.
Up ahead, the cavalry and the North Men made quick work of the Hulvan defenders who were trapped in the gatehouse with them. Tim heard shouting from above and spotted holes in the gatehouse’s ceiling.
“We’re trapped!” Eric cried.