Three Must Decide.

Part 15 Courage.

Chapter note. the first 3 chapters have introduced you to the Three. Each faction is controlled, to a degree, by a real life person so decisions have to be made.

The Grand Duchess had to decide how to place there soliders and divided them equally along the wall and provided a reserve.

Terrill had to decide how to attack and decided to hit the defences in two places first and leave a third hidden option just in case.

Read on to see what they have decided.

Terrill had given command of the second half of his army to his son Earl Alden who needed to grow his own authority and reputation. This command could add a great deal to it but he would not be without advise. Berengar the Captain of the Cadre Guard and his entire command would be with Alden. Terrill had put his only son in command and the peril which inevitably came with it but he had also given him hundreds of the very best he had to follow and protect him.

There assault on the earth works would be at a section which faced the outer edge of the forest. Trees had been cleared to give the defenders a clear line of site but the distance between the wall and the edge of the trees was still within accurate range of the horse archers bows. The horses had been brought in to the trees but the entire command were on foot and concealed by the trees, although the defenders atop the earth works were clearly ready for an attack.

With guidance from Berengar Alden had lead them there and then made his was to the front surrounded by the guard. There was no need for horsemanship here. The distance had to be covered on foot and just like Terrills command scaled with the same style of ladder. When Terrill began his assault on the wall, Alden waited in the hope that some of the defenders would be distracted and then let lose thousands of shafts before rising to his feet and charging forward, breaking through the cover of the trees and out in to the open killing ground between the forest and the wall. They covered the ground to the wall quickly, their barrage of arrows out stripping the long bows reply from the True Order defenders allowing the Terrill Lancers to reach it largely unmolested. The Long Bows advantage of being more accurate at a longer range had been lost to the defenders and they simply did not have the numbers to match the Horse archers, the fight for this part of the wall was almost immediately given over to close quarters.

Aldens command was met by Men at Arms who stood and fought, swinging and stabbing their pole axes meeting out life ending punishment to any head, body or limb within reach. Alden reached the top of the wall and received a glancing blow which would have caved in his skull had he not slipped on the last rung of the ladder. Cader Guard all around him swarmed over the top driving back the True Oder and allowing Alden and Berengar to finally stand atop the rampart. There the fighting was brutal, the metal clad soldiers receiving blow after blow but still able to reply with crushing strikes in reply. The True Order stood their ground outnumbered 3 to 1 and only when they stumbled could they be brought down, finally over whelmed.

Berenger could see great potential in Alden if he could lead his soldiers, which he had done fearlessly, and be able to read a fight. Which had yet to be proved in such a battle but there was still time for that. The fight had turned in to a mela of soldiers from both sides mixed together. Terrills Lancers were there is great numbers but they were still struggling to subdue the Men at Arms who were still just managing to hold them in place by their shear presence.

Berenger saw that off to their left the earth work seemed to end in a encampment, if they could push along the rampart and through to it they had a chance to creating much needed space.

"take the camp my Lord" he yelled pointing off to their left.

Alden looked at him and then to where Berenger was pointing and understood. He turned and lead on with the Cader Guard relishing the fight as they followed him. Alden seemed to leap on to a Man at Arms , driving them off balance and to the floor before pushing on while the Cader Guard finished them off. On he went in to the camp and in that instant the dam of Metal clad soldiers collapsed. The True Order fought on but with rapidly increasing numbers around them until they fell or in small groups went back swinging while the Long Bow archers were in full retreat having no answer to the Horse archers who now lined the top of the wall.