A journey worth to be fought for

A taste of battle

The few torches in the Cuman's camp and outposts are the only artificial lights we can see, but I prefer to gaze at the sky, full of shining stars. The moon is halfway on its path, I should wake Oleg up, but this view hypnotises me. The moon, in all its glory, almost casting a magical spell on me.

I finally stand up and get on the boat, I start shaking Oleg gently, he wakes up grunting. It's finally my turn, I really need some sleep, I lay down on the deck, enveloped in the warm Cuman clothes, falling asleep almost immediately.

I feel a lot of humidity around me, as Oleg's hand is shaking my head, it's wet, it's raining and it looks like it's been raining for ages. <It's time to go> Oleg says <we've got work to do>, he's talking with his calm and confident face he always wears before battles. <Do you remember the plan?> he asks as he takes the weapons and prepares to set sail, I nod in response. I wash my face in the river's water, I'm freezing, but it helps my body to wake up.

We're travelling towards the outposts; I can see the torches lit up on each of them. I remember perfectly how they're structured, they're small, open spaces covered by a roof of wooden timbers sitting on pillars, they have only a back wall made out of timber as well so the warriors can sleep against it, as it is a slightly dryer place. Two torches are placed on the roof close to the river.

I can see the meander, I'm ready, I've the Cuman bow along with the arrows on my back. I'm wielding my axe, Oleg carries his axe and his bow as well, along with a small set of arrow, he's wearing his armour. My heart beats ferociously, even more than it did yesterday, as the anxiety mounts up. Oleg sees the bank close enough and, taking a long run-up, he jumps and starts running along the river, I hesitate for a moment, then I collect all the courage I have and follow him. It all happened in an instant, the anxiety is gone, I'm running swiftly as a coursing river, following on Oleg's heels.

The guarding post is very close, I can hear the Cuman's voices. I jump over a pile-up of terrain, Oleg is running around it, the torch of the outpost is right in front of me. Just below it, a Cuman who's armed with a short lance, screams seeing me wielding my axe. I don't lose time and raise my axe against him, the blow leaves him mortally wounded in the head. Two other warriors approach on the left, between and the river, but Oleg once in front of them, twists and delivers a tremendous strike which throws both warriors in the cold water, their short swords couldn't do much against Oleg's axe. There are three more warriors in front of us, one is stretching his bow, I realize the danger and throw the lance of the dead warrior on him, I'm very inaccurate, luckily the lance lacerates the side of his neck, it's enough to kill him. Oleg, now no longer in danger of arrows, charges the two warriors and kills them while they're fleeing terrorised.

Our raid was noticed and a horseman, who should be a scout, appears behind the construction, but I've heard the horse steps and I pierce his chest with an accurate shot as soon as he gets out of cover. <Quickly now! They know we're here> says Oleg as he starts running with the river on his left, I quickly follow him. The rain pelts down heavily on us, the terrain is getting muddy and a freezing wind starts blowing. I struggle to keep Oleg's step, there's a lot of noise coming from the outpost, the warriors are getting ready. This building has been partially dug into a big pile-up of terrain, an idea comes out in my mind. I quickly turn right, climbing the small hill, getting on the roof of the outpost.

Oleg is fighting, this outpost is more heavily guarded than the previous one, he has already killed three enemies, who are laying on the ground painting the terrain with their blood. Two warriors are pointing their bow against him, ready to shoot, I run as fast as possible, I jump down the roof, screaming as the fiercest warrior ever seen. They are just below the roof, one gets hit by the axe, carrying all the power of the fall, the other gets hit by my left leg during the fall, so we both end up on the ground. I'm laying on my back, winded by the impact, the warrior grasps his sword, I stretch my arm as much as possible to grab my axe, but he's getting closer. My arm starts to tremble, I can see the warrior in his eyes. My hand reaches the handle of the axe and, screaming with fear, I smash it into the warrior's neck.