Fear was rattling its icy breath on the back of King Felix’s neck, but he also felt the pride of knowing that the men around him were willing to fight. It made him proud that General Sals had acted in the same manner that the King had done, even without any orders. He knew that his officers were well trained. It was true that some were young and inexperienced, like Corlis, Commander of the Orrock Heavy Horse, but there was something to be said for a hungry fighter looking forward to his first taste of glory.
Many of the leaders of the King’s Army were noble born and appointed as much for their family connections as for their ability in the field, but most had fought the Skellmarians who trickled out of the mountains to attack settlements in the Great Valley, or Shirtac raiders who sailed their long ships down from the northern tundra and pillaged along the western coast of Yelsia. Felix hoped that experience would give them an edge in this battle and the ones to come.
The first invaders crested the hill and renewed their battle cry when they saw the Yelsians. King Felix knew that at any time his Royal Guard would arrive to whisk him away, but he needed to stay and support the fifty or so scouts who were slowly retreating down the hill. He drew his sword and shouted to his men.
“Hold that wall! Here they come.”
The first few soldiers threw themselves against the shields of the Yelsians. The scouts combined their strength and held the wall firm. The attackers were knocked back and then cut down. When the invaders rushed down in groups, the defense became more difficult. The scouts did their best to hold their shields together, but the weight and momentum of the invaders running into them at full speed knocked several backwards, and the wall quickly dissolved.
The melee that ensued could have been disastrous, but King Felix charged forward on his giant horse. He struck out with his sword a few times, but the real danger was Specter’s thrashing hooves. No one could stand against the mighty horse in his plate armor. Felix directed him in a circle around his small band of scouts. Several of the soldiers had been wounded or killed, but the space created by King Felix’s charge gave them time to reassemble. They set up their shield wall again just as Felix circled behind them. There were too many invaders for the ones cresting the hill to charge through. They had to depend on their superior numbers to push down the wall of shields the Yelsians were using to defend themselves, and it took almost three minutes before the sheer number of invaders gave them the strength to push back the shield wall.
King Felix was calling out orders from the back of his massive horse. He was calling the scouts into a steady retreat. They moved slowly down the gently sloping hill. As they withdrew, the light from the burning trebuchets increased. The invaders were just about to flank them when arrows went whistling over King Felix’s head and fell among the invaders. The volley, fired by Yelsian archers shooting from the river bank, was just enough to give the invaders pause once again, as the battle lust that had sent them charging down the hill evaporated and the terror of death settled over them.
The Royal Guard charged up the hill and surrounded the King, but he sent them to reinforce the scouts’ shield wall. The Royal Guard were elite fighters, both with short swords and throwing knives, but they didn’t carry shields. Instead they ranged behind the scouts and used their weapons to cut down the invaders by thrusting their swords over the scouts’ shields. It was a grueling effort, and the invaders were slowly overwhelming the scouts even though their attack was unorganized.
King Felix could hear the enemy commanders shouting orders and trying to arrange the invading troops into a shield wall of their own, but then a full century of foot soldiers from the Eagle Legion rushed forward with their spears leveled at the invaders. The long reach of the spears caused the invaders to stop their push onto the shield wall of the scouts.
“My lord,” called General Tolis as he rode toward King Felix. “We shall hold them here; please begin your retreat.”
The space the Eagle soldiers made was enough to allow the scouts and Royal Guard to retreat back with King Felix. He led them several hundred yards closer to the river until they could feel the heat from the burning trebuchets at their backs, then he ordered them to renew their shield wall. There were fewer than thirty scouts left, but it would be enough to cover the retreat of the Eagles.
“General Tolis!” Felix shouted. “Begin your withdrawal.”
The General shouted orders, and his men moved with quick efficiency. The invaders were darting forward now, trying to find a gap in the line of soldiers. Another volley of arrows arced over the line, and once again the invaders were scattered in panic. As the Eagle troops moved back, King Felix looked to the top of the hill. The soldiers there were massing for a concerted push. The King realized he needed to get his men down the hill and across the bridge as quickly as possible.
“Move, General!” he shouted at Tolis.
King Felix looked over to where General Sals had been and saw that the other group of scouts were now surrounded. General Sals was nowhere to be seen, but Corlis had the scouts formed up in a circle that was fighting ferociously. But they weren’t moving down the hill, and they had no avenue of escape. Felix turned toward his archers near the wooden bridges.
“Archers!” he shouted. “To me, archers. To your King!”
The archers jogged forward. Their commander, an older man named Verhok, came with them.
“Verhok, can you clear a path for those soldiers to join us?” King Felix asked.
The veteran archer nodded and called for several of his men by name. They lined up and fired their arrows in rapid succession, each one hitting its mark. King Felix made a mental note to reward each of the talented archers when time permitted.
Felix stood in his stirrups and waved his arms as he called to Commander Corlis.
“Lead them this way, Corlis!” he shouted. “We’ll cover you.”
The young commander met Felix’s gaze and then began shouting at the scouts around him. They broke from their position and ran toward the King. The archers picked off several of their attackers and over half of the dwindling group survived the run, including Commander Corlis.
“Where is General Sals?” Felix called to him.
“He was cut down in the initial charge,” Corlis shouted back.
Felix nodded grimly. There was no reason to continue the fight now. He needed to move his troops back quickly. The archers went first, resuming their position beside the bridge. They were followed by the scouts led by Commander Corlis. Then King Felix’s group of scouts and Royal Guard joined with the remaining soldiers from Eagle Legion and moved slowly back toward the bridge. The archers fired volley after volley, but most of the invaders had their shields up now and the rain of arrows had little effect.
Once the soldiers reached the bridge the archers crossed over first. The battle became fierce once the invaders saw their enemy escaping. They pressed in hotly, their timidity cast aside. The Royal Guard surrounded King Felix and General Tolis, who were shouting orders. Then arrows came raining down from the invader’s archers, forcing King Felix to retreat back over the bridge. Over half of the troops on the south side of the Tillamook River died in the fighting. The other half sprinted across the bridge then turned to hold the crossing against the enemy fighters who were crowding across the wooden structure. There was a wide drawbridge close to Orrock, but it had been raised and the draw lines severed, so that the bridge couldn’t be lowered onto the stone pilings. The bridge the soldiers now defended was a temporary structure, and as soon as his troops were across, King Felix order the bridge to be fired.