The last of the Dragons-Set 2

274

    We rode for perhaps a half hour, in tight formation with each other, no words exchanged between us. We rode through mostly wide open field, briefly whipping through a small grove of trees before re-emerging. Not long after escaping the trees, I could see a wall of men running at us on horse back in the distance.

"There they are! Split up and attack!" Ivan shouted from the front of the formation.

All at once, the five hundred men riding along side us split up and broke into a fast sprint at the soldiers, spreading out to the side. Some had guns, but many, like ourselves, had bows and spears. As we closed on the soldiers, gunshots began going off on both sides, though only two of our own horses fell to the gunshots, as we had spread out enough to make uncoordinated shots largely ineffective. The formation of soldiers quickly fell apart as arrows began flying as our horses flanked them on both sides. Before long, we had surrounded the bulk of the formation, with only a few managing to escape back behind their own lines. Quickly, the battle turned to men on horse back taking each other on in one on one shoot outs, or in some cases, hand to hand combat. I vividly remember blindly firing an arrow, which found its mark in the throat of a soldier as he rode past me-dropping him to the ground. I fired a second arrow at a horse off to my left, and hit in squarely in the head. The horse flipped over as it fell, crushing its rider under its enormous weight. I spun around instinctively, and was frozen at the sight of a soldier riding at me from afar. I kicked my horse into a run as I drew my bow. I shot one arrow, but missed.

"Come on you bastard." I uttered under my breath as I drew another arrow. 

Just as I was about to let the arrow fly, a gunshot went off, dropping my horse to the ground as the soldier rode past me-only to be cut down by an arrow that struck him in the side of the head, dropping him to the ground with ease. I stumbled to my feet, fully expecting to be cut down at any moment. I gripped my bow in my hand as I dropped to the ground, crouching up against my horses body in order to protect my back, leaving only the front to watch. I shot seven men off of their horses, as well as bringing down three horses themselves. One of my slaughtered soldiers landed right at my feet with an arrow stuck in his chest as he bled to death at my feet. After my spree of killing however, I had run out of arrows. Fearing for my life, I just played dead until the sounds of war around me died down to nothing.

"Hey, you alright miss?"

 I looked up from the ground to see Ivan standing over me, with Tahli and three other men standing over me as he extended his hand out to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said as I took his hand and pulled myself up.

"Did we win?" I asked.

Ivan nodded.

"Twenty-four dead on our side, nearly one-thousand on their side. The rest ran off amidst the fighting. They'll be back with more forces at some point." He replied.

"Why did they attack with so few men?" Amy asked as she and Bailey joined us.

Ivan shrugged his shoulders as he looked around at the dead men around us.

"That, I'm not certain. Perhaps just a scouting group, perhaps just a bluff. I am not sure. The Canster's are an interesting bunch, who aren't known for their brilliance." He replied.

I looked down at one of the dead soldiers who rested at my feet, before picking up my bow and starting towards one of the other horses.

"No sense in staying here. The battle is won. But mark my words Ivan, should that man in the robe not allow our dragons to fight along side us, your war will be lost, no matter what you do." I said as I turned and began riding in the direction from which we had come.