It had been a week of marching through the lands north of Mirkwood, never lingering too far from the shelter of leaves and the shadow it provided. Uhruz's hulking frame was walking alongside the proud Hjelten, a subject to Teutagon . The chieftain of the village they were now going to secure.
Hjelten looked at her steed for the fourth time that day, biting her teeth and tossing anxious glances in the distance. Behind her a throng of warriors armed for skirmishes followed on the path she was leading. "No sense in worry.", the massive warrior said, "Maybe we are in time to save them or they are already dead and that makes running now stupid." She looked up at him, wondering how someone with so little tact or indeed intellect could be of any value in saving this village. She had seen her share of his sort, muscles up until their brow, but above that? Nothing but thin air. They would work themselves into a frenzy at the first sign of an enemy and die shortly after when impaled on a dozen spears in their mad rush to close the distance. Her chieftain had praised Tunaraz for being a man of honour. "He could've sent nothing either..", she supposed privately. She rose her chin up, "Would you not worry if your village was the one under attack?" Uhruz curled his lower lip inwards for a moment, it came out with the simple reply, "Never happened. Hoh! Stupid Dark Men keep trying and then I kill them!" The reply seemed to bring some satisfying thoughts to him. His gut was not growling, they had been lucky to catch a boar and he had eaten his fill on it and this meant his thoughts went somewhere else that was not the matter at hand. He began to think of Mauri and Frega, the twins. In fact he was fairly sure he would like to find them in the wood aswell as he had when a pack of starving wolves in their desperation saw a meal in them. They sure were grateful and he was not the man that denied himself a harmless reward.
His eyes went to glance at Hjelten, she was giving him a curious look. The way women look at men when they say something stupid or when they want something without speaking of it directly. He liked women, even if they were a strange lot. He knew better than to goad her further and just as he would with one of his warriors he slapped her on the back a few times, "There is always vengeance if nothing else." It seemed to make her think, .. his brother liked to think a lot too, they were words his brother would say to those with worries. Perhaps it was better that his brother was here instead of him, his brother was always right after all.
It was a few days later that they arrived, the fighters were exhausted and made up camp. Hjelten could not help herself, "I have to go see how it is!", she went on the saddle. The large man walked up to her, "No.", he said and with tremendous force he managed to keep the beast from going into a gallop. The beast whinnied and snorted at the confusing signals it was given and bucked up! Tossing Hjelten out, she didn't land on the ground though. Uhruz had grabbed her with his other arm and let her slide to her feet, "You will betray us and we do not have the numbers or resources to fight head on yet." She gave him a quizzical look, "My family is out there! Would you really want me to sit through the torture of watching the plumes of smoke on the horizon!" Uhruz looked at the sky and indeed north of the wood, beyond the hills , there were whiffs of smoke.. dark smoke like thatched rooftops., "It is good news. Means that the Dark men have something left they want to burn, but first we need food, water.. medicine." Hjelten didn't think, "Why didn't you take any with you? Do not tell me you forgot?!" Uhruz shook his head once while plucking something from his brown beard, "No, .. fadir needs it more and the Dark Men will give us ours." "How?", she asked, staring at the giant as he walked off with a deep chuckle.
"Another one!", shouted field commander Breda. Next to the short man a crew of engineers were dragging the corpse of a dead horse on a catapult. It was festering to the bone, maggots could be seen writhing within it's flesh and flies from all directions couldn't resist to join this disgusting feast. "Let's wake them up! It's late as it is haha!" His crew shared glances while they wore thick fabrics around their noses and mouths, otherwise completely dressed in leather to ward off what diseases rested within their projectile. They cranked the catapult back and then at the signal, "Loose!" They let the thing fly.. The corpse split into several pieces midway of it's flight and landed behind the walls. Shouts of dismay and horror could be heard and Breda laughed all the more for it, "These savages are too easy, wonder why Kruza hasn't let us set upon the village just yet." Behind him stood a hunchback, wriggling his hands together, "Terror will make their knees tremble and the sickness shall keep their hands from wielding their weapons with strength, your magnificence." Breda rose his chin and contemplated the words of his servant, "You may be right Rog, still even now we've born twothousand men ready to swarm over that pitiful village, we'd overcome them." "Maybe to spare the men?", Rog suggested. Breda laughed, "There'll always be more! No perhaps it is that we'll need captives.. slaves. Dead villagers would only serve when tossed on the bonfires to keep us from freezing in these cold parts of the earth. Anyways, report!" Rog proudly rose his head, "The camp's conditions are excellent, we have dug a trench all around the village and the towers are being erected as we speak. The men have set up living spaces within and the outer encampment has another trench being dug around it. We're well set!" Breda kept looking, "Forgot something didn't we?" Rog lowered his shoulders and head, making a pleading gesture with his hands, " We had another caravan being delayed." "That is the fifth one Rog! Supplies are running low and I would rather not be forced to look for beetles beneath the rocks!", the man grabbed a whip and struck Rog with it in the leg! The men fell to a knee with blood seeping through his trousers, "Mercy most benevolent of masters!", Rog squealed, "I well send a message to the general and request-" "No! No more requests, would you have me look like a fool?!" The commander gestured to one of his officers, "Atil, get fifty men and bring me back those supplies!" The athletic looking man made a salute, "Shall be done!"
The forest was thick and dark as ever, his men were sweating despite the cold as they perceived it "How can a man live in a climate such as this? I can not get used to this constant hurting in my fingertips.. ", the young man thought to himself a blue hue beneath his skin. He looked over his shoulder, his soldiers were the meanest and toughest of the army. The men were anxious to go amidst the trees, there were plenty of rumors by now that mentioned of how few left the forest once they went in. The brooding dark unnerved them, there was no sunlight even here.. "Keep your calm.", Atil said unto his men when they halted before what seemed a clue, there was a strip of cloth on the road," If this get's you wetting yourselves, then what are you going to do when we're supposed to scale the walls?" The men swallowed and as time goes on even fright needs to take place for boredom eventually. The men became talkative after they had found a curved blade clean andfreshly forged clearly meant to refresh the weapon supply. They joked and praised one another for cruelties done thus far upon the natives of this strange land. It wasn't until they were half a mile deep that they came upon a grove that some in their amazement openly laughed. A small hill with a circle of ancient toadstools around it presented before them. It seemed abrupt to have this open space all of a sudden, it felt as if they had spent their entire lives here. Atil was suspicious himself! Yet it was hardly all there stood.. the cart they were supposed to find and all it's contents were right there for the taking!
In their eagerness for some rest and to get back out of this brooding forest-realm the men did not even wait for Atil to give the order. They hopped on the cart and began opening up crates and barrels, their joy squelched when a man yelled, "They are empty!" "Not all!", yelled another man, "There are a few spearpoints here, but they're bent!" The officer cried out! But it was too late, a score of arrows flew from the bushes and picked men off with practiced efficiency. Atil's helmet was shoved over his eyes from behind him when a man fell against him, his head pierced by three arrows.. "Scatter! Go after them or we'll be picked off till none are left!" In their confusion the men still living just rushed in all directions by one's and two's and it was then that they found their attackers! An enormous brute from the north came roaring with a long-handled axe that cleaved through a man's shield! He was covered from head to foot in muck and leaves, they may well have been standing inches from him and Atil wouldn't have realized it! They fought like shadows from the dark tower in the south and his easterlings cried out in panic and horror when they had to defend themselves! "They're only men!", Atil tried to yell over the confusion and commotion of the skirmish, "Fight back! Fight back! We are the conquerors here! We ha-", his words were broken off when one of the shadows slashed a blade at him, this creature was a female and she was viciously swift! Her sword cut his armor and she only barely jumped aside from his own sword striking home! They danced for what seemed an eternity all the while Atil knew his days were numbered. From the corner of his eyes he could see the brute pick up one of the youngsters by the throat with a single arm. The young easterling's legs kicked desperately, but the brute only replied with a headbutt that made him go limp like a ragdoll before being hurled away and jumped upon by cackling spearfighters! The female shadow's blue eyes pierced his soul, she was eager to spill his innards, for each stab aimed at his belly.. he managed to crack his fist against her face and she reeled away.. Dazed. Then all went dark, only just before losing consciousness he heard the roar of that giant axeman.
Atil's head was throbbing , he squinted his eyes and he let out a cry in a panic, thinking he was blind! Wait.. where was he? He seemed closed in some confined space, another spark of panic seized his heart, had he been buried alive?! No .. someone was outside, the tongue these men spoke in was familiar. He heard the crack of iron and wood splintering and then the lid covering his head opened, the sun's light filled the space. Rough hands pulled him out by the shoulders, till he could see Breda standing there, "So what is this?! You call this retrieving our provisions!?" Atil blinked as he was pulled out of the cart and he nearly puked as he turned around.. He was back in the siegecamp, in a circle of Breda's personal guard the cart stood, tied to it were all the heads of his men. He looked back at Breda, "We .. we were ambushed.." Breda looked furious, "You believe I can not see that for myself?! Get this fool to the slavepen!! The only good thing out of this is that we got fifty less mouths to feed atleast!"
Hjelten was sitting next to Uhruz, whom was eating from the salted spoils, "Are you at ease now?", he asked her as they both could hear the screaming and yelling from the siegecamp. She looked back at him, "It is a start.." Uhruz laughed, "Joah, it is hohoh!!"
