The Iron Teeth

Queen of Swords 10

The thud and crunch of heavy boots on cobblestones filled the air as the large wedge of shield bearing mercenaries marched. The enemy soldiers were headed right towards the large gaping hole that their mage had created in the barrier that Herad had ordered built across the road.

"What do we do?" Blacknail asked his master frantically.

The roar of the barricade exploding had sent the hobgoblin's heart into overdrive and it was beating a hundred times per minute. He twitched nervously as his every instinct urged him to run somewhere safer or to find somewhere dark to hide.

Any place that hostile magic men were blowing up stuff was a bad place to be. The only thing stopping him from fleeing was a desire not to abandon his tribe, in case he couldn't find them again later, and Saeter's reassuring presence beside him.

"Keep shooting," his master barked as he let loose an arrow at the nearest enemy soldier.

The old scout had aimed low, so his arrow hit the man below the shield and sliced through the side of his leg. The mercenary didn't look critically wounded but he stumbled and cried out as he fell.

Blacknail did as he was told and sent another arrow at Saeter's target. It hit the collapsed man in the center of his now exposed back, and the mercenary twitched and then slumped loosely onto the ground. He looked dead.

Unfortunately, there were plenty more mercenaries left, and they had now almost reached the shattered wall. Saeter took another shot and Blacknail was just about to do the same, when the sound of a horn rang out from behind the barricade. The hobgoblin froze and turned to see what was going on.

"That's the retreat signal," Saeter exclaimed.

"No, this fight's not over; Herad isn't out of tricks yet. It's just time to withdraw and reorganize," his master answered.

That sounded like it meant they were allowed to run away, so it was good enough for Blacknail.

"Time-ss to go, then," the hobgoblin replied as he hurriedly started down the stairs.

His master followed him, and when they reached street level the last of Herad's men were just jumping off the back of the barricade. The long stretch of rigged together pieces of wood stood empty as its builders hurried away and left it behind.

The only people still near the wall were two small squads of bandits who seemed to be keeping watch over the gap in its expanse, and the mercenary company that was quickly closing in on it.

The rest of the bandits were running further down the street but they weren't panicked or moving aimlessly. Orders were being shouted out by lieutenants and everyone was being organized into squads.

"Where's Herad?" Saeter yelled at the nearest squad leader.

The man pointed back towards the abandoned barricade, so both the hobgoblin and his master turned to look. Blacknail didn't see the chieftain, but now that he was looking closer he did recognize three of the larger bandits. They were part of Herad's personal guard.

"Shit, what now?" Saeter grumbled anxiously as he started running in that direction.

Blacknail sighed in exasperation as he followed his master towards the most dangerous part of the battlefield.

Ahead of them, there was a loud clatter as the pile of rubble beside the hole in the barricade shifted and two more of Herad's bodyguards straightened up and rose into sight. They were both holding up the end of a large heavy looking panel of wood that had been lying atop the rubble.

A second later two other figures appeared between the guards. One of them was Herad, and as they watched, she pulled Mahedium up from off the ground. Once he was standing, if unsteadily, she wrapped an arm around the limping mage's shoulder and began dragging him behind her.