Chapter Two; Sneak Peek #5

Life has gotten a lot more busy recently, and while the Short Story poll has just concluded, I've been largely focused on the grunt writing of ITUO. It will be published soon, likely on Friday. But for now, I instead have another sneak peek of the labyrinthian chapter that number two is shaping up to be.

This chapter features the first return back to good ol' ITFO-style combat. Oh how I've missed it. There is your first encounter with Rade's foreign mercenaries, and the danger in fighting men who can shoot on horseback.

Here is a brief snippet of one of the routes:

As soon as the shields come down, a dozen men are killed. The sound of the horn carries high and far across the plain, and in an instant the battle shifts. There is a tremendous cry from all around you, it echoes in your helmet and hammers against your skull.

And despite yourself and your tendency toward stoic professionalism before battle, you're pulled into screaming with the crowd.

The knights lower lances and charge. The infantry with spears and axes surge forward like a human wave, sprinting at full speed in a disorganized mass. You see them die. As you bring your horse around the line and set out, you can watch them fall in droves.

Many of the steppe-men wheel around and flee. Many still retain their discipline to shoot. But others, drawn close to the army by their confidence and complacency, are enveloped. Your men flood over them as if the horsemen stepped into an ant-hill.

Before five minutes can pass, the entire engagement is over. You yourself never even reach the enemy. Neither does Vedran either, who remains beside you still, his face pale.

You ride over the dead. You ride past your men. You join in the tangled and messy pursuit, but soon you call it off, and with another blast of the horn, the men draw themselves back into their positions.

The raid is over.