TNL 34 – Pirates Part Three
Even while the soldiers of the New Legion help the prisoners, the alarm sounds. Especially for this occasion Raidon had a trumpet brought along. Now one of the soldiers is blowing his longs out on the thing.
"By Mithras, that thing makes a noise. Harm clearly has more air to blow than he has talent," John grumbles.
The sound of the trumpet ensures that more and more pirates realize that something is going on outside of their palisade. One after another the pirates appear on top of the gatehouse.
Some of the prisoners are rather combative after breakfast and want to help. Unfortunately, most of the others are in such bad shape that the handful of stronger people have to take care of the rest.
"Brandon, it's time to have the men take their positions. If we don't start now, we might be too late," Raidon shouts to Brandon.
As Brandon immediately starts shouting to the second platoon that they have to line up. Raidon now turns towards his own men.
"Men, we have the right flank. Form a shield wall with the second and be ready for further orders. Think about your training, and we'll get through this."
After his pep talk, Raidon leads his men to the place where they want to fight the pirates. Raidon and Brandon chose this place the night before as the best location for the fight.
At some distance, right in front of the gate, the pirates can do nothing against the New Legion. To get to the soldiers, they will have to leave their safe defenses. With that, the biggest advantage the pirates had would be lost.
The soldiers are lined up in a formation of two men one behind the other. This formation has often proven its worth against the opponents of the New Legion. Just as they practiced it, a little later there are fifty soldiers standing next to each other. The two platoons stand next to each other to double the width of the formation. Otherwise, they would be surrounded in no time.
To provoke the pirates, both platoons have appointed a squad to take ladders and a ram. The pirates don't know it, but the ladders are tied together with pieces of rope and are weak and crooked. The ram also does not represent anything since it is only a large tree trunk that they have encountered on their journey across the island. Because of these 'siege attributes', the pirates may think that this small group really wants to storm them.
The pirates do exactly what Raidon had hoped for. Instead of waiting quietly behind the palisade, they decide to do a sortie. Because of their great superiority, they think that they can wipe out these tin cans in no time. When Raidon sees the gate open, he knows that his plan has succeeded.
"Men, throw that firewood away and then back in place. I think we have company."
More than five hundred pirates charge out of the gates in a seemingly endless stream. There are even more than Raidon and Brandon had expected. According to the reports Raidon has seen, there would be at most four hundred. However, this mass of people is a lot larger than four hundred.
Despite this unpleasant surprise, the soldiers remain calm. Raidon, who is in the front row today, calls his new orders.
"Row one, kneel and get ready. Row two, choose your targets."
The front row of soldiers, including Raidon, now kneels on one knee so that the men behind them can shoot over their heads.
"Row two, shoot!" shouts Raidon, after which fifty arrows strike into the horde of pirates.
Because the pirates are bunched up so close together, the soldiers can hardly miss. Each arrow of their first salvo hits a pirate.
Immediately after the first pirates fall, Raidon shouts: "First row, choose your targets." And right after that, "Row one, shoot!"
Once again, dozens of pirates go. Raidon is impressed with the crossbows. Never before has the New Legion used the weapons on a battlefield.
Next time we should try to shoot earlier. Then maybe we can reload for another volley, Raidon thinks.
As soon as the last arrows have been fired, the soldiers hook their crossbows back on their left leg. There, the soldiers are no longer bothered by the weapons.
"Grab spears!" it sounds.
At Raidon's command, everyone picks up their spear, which they had stuck into the ground for convenience. The front row of soldiers gets up again, to be the first to throw their spear.
When the pirates are about twenty meters away, Raidon has the first row of soldiers throw their spears. For this, they take a few steps forward to give their throw momentum. Even as the spears fly through the air, the second row follows with their spears.
With this second type of ranged weapons, another fifty pirates or more fall down. All in all, more than a hundred pirates are already dead or wounded.
The soldiers brace themselves to hold back the stampede of the pirates. Even with their heavy armor, the soldiers are pushed back a lot by the hundreds of pirates. Deep grooves in the soft ground show that the force exerted on the shields of the soldiers is enormous.
Despite the heavy losses, around four hundred pirates are still on their feet. Slowly but surely the soldiers are driven backwards. In addition, the pirates on the flanks begin to surround the army of the New Legion.
But then something unexpected happens. Behind the pirates, the gates close. It only takes a while before the first pirates realize this. A short moment later, the soldiers can suddenly hold the enemy back because the pressure has halved. Only the front pirates don’t yet realize that something is wrong.
While everyone looks at the gate in amazement, people suddenly appear at the top of the gate. The pirate flag is also lowered, it is clear that something has gone completely wrong for the pirates.
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Ryker, the old fisherman, still doesn't know if the plan he has made with the sergeant of the New Legion will succeed. The sergeant was very convincing and when he explained it, it seemed quite logical and easy. But now that he and his fleet are on their way to the pirate base, it seems utterly idiotic. Who is going to voluntarily go to a base full of pirates and large ships with only ten small boats?
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At least the weather is good, there is a nice breeze, but not strong enough to make waves too big. Fortunately, the wind also comes from the mainland. If we were downwind, the situation would be a bit different, he thinks.
Together with the sergeant, he has conceived the plan to attack the pirates in the back if possible. Both knew in advance that the untrained fishermen cannot do much damage to the trained pirates, but with a bit of luck an opportunity might present itself.
As soon as Ryker and his fleet get close to the bay where the pirate base is located, they have to be extra careful. If they are discovered by the pirates, then the whole operation falls through. That's why Ryker lets his fleet sail spread out. Most boats sail close together on the shore, where they can quickly enter an inlet to hide. Around it sail two boats that transmit signals when a sail is seen.
When the fleet finally arrives at a place where they can wait safely, at the back of an island in the bay, Ryker has a lookout keep an eye on the pirate base day and night. The coordination between the New Legion and Rykers fleet must be timed just right.
It's a bit of a wait, but a day later the lookout finally reports that something is happening. At night there was already more light to see from the land than usual, but now it is clear to see that something is going on.
"I think they've arrived, Ryker," says the lookout.
"Why?"
"Well, from the place where I was sitting, you can see that there are all these people out there at the farms. And not in the normal way like they go to work. I also think I can see a camp out there."
"Well, keep an eye on it. As soon as you see that the soldiers are preparing for battle, we have to leave too."
An hour later, the lookout comes running again.
"It's time!" he shouts enthusiastically. "The soldiers are ready and the pirates are pouring out of the base! There are so many that not one can possibly be inside anymore!"
Ryker doesn't waste a moment.
"Set sail! We’ll take the base from the inside and close the gate. Hurry up, this is our only chance!"
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One of Raidon's soldiers sees the gate close and immediately shouts to Raidon.
Raidon immediately responds: "Form a circle, men! Just a little longer before the reinforcements will be here!"
Of course, the pirates hear this. They don't know what's going on in their base. Frightened, the front pirates now also look around. The pressure on the shields decreases even further, only to disappear completely when the pirates take a few steps away from the New Legion.
Then a new surprise awaits the pirates. Instead of forming a circle as Raidon just shouted really loud, the soldiers of the New Legion straightened their lines. Within a few seconds, the whole formation is as neat as before the pirates attacked, only a few meters further back.
Then Raidon's voice sounds above the noise.
"ATTACK!"
And there the soldiers go. Now that they all charge in their heavy armor, it seems as if a wall of iron is rolling towards the pirates. Most pirates take a few steps back, causing them to bump into their own people. There is a lot of confusion and no one is ready when the soldiers arrive.
With a huge blow, the shields come into contact with the first pirates. These are literally knocked back. Some pirates seem to be able to fly!
Immediately, Raidon and his soldiers show that their short swords are very effective in the tight space. The pirates, who usually have longer swords and spears, have almost no room to use their own weapons.
Within moments, a third of the pirates are dead or injured. Nothing seems to be able to stop the soldiers now. The pirates suddenly decide that enough is enough and run off.
But when they arrive at the gate, they have nowhere to go. The gate remains closed. Stones are even thrown from above!
Raidon and his soldiers drive the pirates against the gate and the walls. It is a slaughter. Within moments, dozens of pirates are dead or injured. In desperation, the remaining pirates drop their weapons and surrender.
"A great victory!" shouts Brandon as he and Raidon survey the battlefield. "We have captured more than fifty pirates and around four hundred have been killed. The others won't stop running for a long time, I think."
"Yes, but I think we lost some people," Raidon replies depressed.
A little later, the squad leaders come to report. Brandon speaks briefly with the various squad leaders before he can report to Raidon:
"The total losses are twenty dead and thirteen wounded. That's not bad for such a big battle."
"Yes, but they were friends," Raidon notes.
Brandon blushes a little. Raidon is right of course, and with the ones lost is also soldier James of Raidon's original squad. A fleeing pirate managed to stick his dagger in James' eye as he tried to run past the soldier. James is the first of the nine men to share a room with Raidon when they were still recruits.
When Raidon and Brandon walk to the gate with two squads, it opens. And standing inside is the old fisherman.
"Well, guys, your plan worked. There were no more than fifteen pirates in this entire place. Ten at the gate and five were with the captured women. When they saw that there were almost fifty of us, they surrendered without a fight."
Brandon looks at the old fisherman in bewilderment.
"Plan? What plan? I didn't know anything!"
Raidon and the old fisherman start laughing.
"So you didn't tell him anything?"
"No, I thought it would be nice to see his face when he saw you opening that gate."
Then the old fisherman starts laughing even harder. Raidon explains it to Brandon:
"Before we left, I asked him to bring a group of men. With them, he has been able to take the base from the inside pretty easily. In this case, we were actually the distraction. With their small fishing boats they could sail right in."
For a moment it seems as if Brandon might fall back into his old habits from the training camp, but then he manages to control himself. That time seems so long ago, and he can actually see the humor of it.
"I admit, you've got me. But these are important things to share with your commanders, sergeant. I would appreciate it if you take that into account next time. I don't want to lose more people if I don't have to."
The whole time Raidon kept an eye on him, to see how Brandon would pass this test. If he doesn't erupt in anger even now, Raidon is sure he doesn't have to fear that Brandon will fall back into his bad habits.
Not wanting to have to recapture this base, Raidon decides that a garrison on the island is necessary. Now that there are so many dead and wounded, this is quite a difficult task. In the end, Raidon and Brandon decide that the platoons need to be reorganized. Two squads are disbanded until there are enough recruits to replace the lost men. The other soldiers in those squads are divided among the other squads.
Now that they only have eight squads on the island and one on the mainland, it is necessary to look at where to station them. Since there are still more than fifty pirates roaming the island, Raidon is left with three squads. The other five, containing all the wounded, go back to the mainland with Brandon. Once there, Brandon and the other squad will ensure that Aran and Fort Alpha are protected. They also take all the captured pirates with them.
Raidon, meanwhile, appoints one squad to guard the pirate base, which is actually more of a village. The former prisoners will also remain in the pirate village. Once they are strengthened, they can choose whether to stay here or return to the mainland.
Raidon himself leaves with the other two squads to catch the remaining pirates.
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Aulis falls from one surprise into the next all day long. First they were liberated by those soldiers, they were fed and they were further cared for. Then they were told that they could go home and that transport was to be provided to get back to the mainland. And now suddenly comes the offer for volunteers to build a new life in this village.
While they are trying to process everything, they are still being cared for in the largest house in the village. Not only are there fishermen who try to do everything, there are also a whole bunch of those warriors with their beautiful harnesses who try to help where they can. According to one of those warriors, they are soldiers of the New Legion, whatever that means.
When Aulis is one of the first to volunteer to stay, he still has an urgent question for the soldier to whom he must report.
"I still have a request, sir," he tells the soldier.
"What’s up, boy?" he asks.
"I would like to send a message home to let them know that I am still alive. I would also like to ask if they can tell me if my father is still alive."
For a moment, Aulis is afraid that the soldier will get angry, but then he sees that the difficult expression is not for him.
"That we didn't think of that ourselves!" exclaims the soldier as he hits himself in the head. "Of course you can! We are going to arrange that for everyone. Great that you thought about it. So you see that not every soldier in the New Legion has a head for organizing. Rest assured, boy, we will take care of that. Just make sure you recover a little from your experiences here. Tomorrow we will organize everything here so that everyone who stays gets their own place to live."