It was much later and well into the night when the rest of the forces arrived. Despite traveling from farther away, the Viscount's army arrived at the same time as Baron Harrowfield's force.
Even in the dark, Adrian could see the contrast between the three groups. Baron Hardinge brought about a hundred soldiers and with the servants, that's over a hundred people. The Viscount son, as expected, brought the most, Lord Cenroy had proudly announced in the hall earlier that he had gathered three hundred soldiers in a short time and was ready to send more.
Meanwhile, as Adrian approached the Harrowfield army and their small camp, he couldn't help but be glad that the Baron himself had arrived to handle matters at the castle in his stead. Compared to the other forces, even the Baron of Whitesand, who had just been attacked—Harrowfield only brought fifty or so soldiers. With servants included, they were barely sixty people.
And with the population of the Baron, Adrian was honestly surprised the lord managed to bring that much.
As he drew closer, Adrian recognized some of the faces. His lips pursed, more than half of their force weren't even soldiers, let alone trained.
"Devon… Dudley…" Adrian approached the two men he had worked with before to hunt monsters. Devon's expression turned a bit ugly upon seeing him, and he kept his distance. Adrian was confused by this until he looked down at his own lordly clothes and compared them to their worn gambesons.
Dudley straightened. Adrian could see the man trying to figure out how to treat him, so he rolled his eyes. "Relax… I'm not really a real lord. Even if I were, I wouldn't be that aloof." Adrian looked at the small camp.
"How is everyone at the village?"
Dudley hesitantly nodded and released a breath. "Bad. Everyone wores looks of indignant. We didn't have much to spare, people or resources." he said bitterly.
Adrian grimaced and nodded. "The village hasn't properly recovered yet, and now here is another conflict so close to us."
"Yes… what did you hear and do here?" Dudley asked, before realizing his question might seem presumptuous given Adrian's new status.
Adrian answered as best he could without delving into sensitive lordly matters. Seeing the ease of their conversation, others joined in to talk about the coming conflict.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Milord, I am only 15 and not fit to be part of the army, let alone second-in-command to Sir Cordell."
Adrian was kneeling in front of Baron Harrow. It was early morning, and all the gathered forces were ready to set off. They were near six hundred strong, while exceeded or even double compared to the enemy's numbers, the enemy had the advantage of a defensive position.
When Lord Harrow told Adrian he was to join the force as Sir Cordell's second, Adrian had quickly knelt to plead his case.
Lord Gareth Harrow, clad in plate armor and standing with an authority he hadn't shown back in the village, simply watched him. Adrian tried to calm his racing heart, but it wouldn't stop.
"You won't be fighting at the front, but in a safe area." the Baron said. "Lord Cenroy has eagerly volunteered to have his army lead the charge. We will be stationed along with Lord Hardinge at the shores to put pressure and in case the enemy tries to escape by water, while Lord Sanford takes the other side in case they scatter inland."
'That still isn't reassuring' Adrian thought, but he knew he couldn't protest any longer lest he earn the Lord's ire. The thought of not being at the lead consoled him a bit. "Understood."
Adrian stood, bowed, and left. He soon found himself at Sir Cordell's side, overlooking the large army with crossed arms. Sir Cordell would lead their force during the battle while Lord Harrow watched from a distance.
The knight glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "You shouldn't worry too much. You fight well for your age, stronger and faster, too. I know you're tougher than you look."
Adrian chuckled dryly, remembering how he had pushed himself through training yesterday only to spar again this morning as if his muscles wasn't protesting.
"I guess I just don't believe in my luck. I keep thinking a lucky arrow will simply find me."
That earned a chuckle from the knight. "Well then, keep your head low and let us hope your luck today isn't too bad."
He chuckled, and noticed some of the soldiers from other forces giving their area a pitying and looking down looks and smirks for how small their forces was but Adrian simply shrugged at them.
Adrian took in the army, waiting for the signal. "Any more advice you can give me?"
The knight had already given him several pointers the day before, don't plunge too deep into enemy lines, protect the chest and head, make sure limbs never get trapped and never fall of your feet and more.
Suddenly, a horn rang out. Adrian's expression hardened.
"Stay alive." Sir Cordell said one final advice before moving out. Adrian released a breath, gripped the sword at his waist, and followed. The army moved.
----------------------------------------------------
To reach the Baron of Sawhead's territory, it would take a day and a half at their current pace, moving at land. Lord Cenroy had proposed traveling by water to arrive more quickly, but Lord Sanford had been forced to admit, much to his shame, that there were not enough boats or ships left to carry them after the recent attack.
The journey was both new and enlightening for Adrian. He watched how an army moved, though he spent most of his time trying to distract himself from the nerves gnawing at him. They stopped once in the afternoon before pushing on, finally halting an hour into the night.
Everyone went to rest immediately, as the plan was to wake well before dawn to reach their destination by midday tomorrow.
Adrian, however, was too restless to sleep. He spent the time training, sparring with anyone else who was awake. Perhaps inspired by his lead, several other men from their force eventually got up to join the practice.
An hour or two before first light, they were on the move again. Finally, in the distance, Adrian and the army saw the castle and the charred remains of the village surrounding it. They had arrived. Judging by the men visible atop the castle walls, the enemy had no intention of leaving and had bunkered down for a siege.
A brief meeting was held, allowing the soldiers a final moment of rest. Adrian followed Sir Cordell to the council but didn't dare speak, while the knight offered a thought or two during the discussion. Because the enemy chose to stay, the possibility of them awaiting reinforcements was high.
A long war of attrition wasn't an option, they needed to apply pressure on all sides before launching a direct assault so the plan changed a little.
But the lords had somewhat anticipated this, bringing a battering ram, shields, and a stockpiles of arrows.
After half an hour, the meeting broke and the army moved. The battle began the moment the first of Lord Cenroy's forces stepped into the village along with Lord Hardinge forces who had the most archers and arrows began to rain down upon them.
Adrian couldn't see how they responded, however, as he was at Sir Cordell's side, leading their own force toward the beach. Their objective was to seize the docks and ships to cut off any escape and pressure the castle's flank. They reached the docks quickly, but only one enemy longship was visible, the rest were small boats.
There were no other ships at all.
'Did we miscount the enemy?' Adrian wondered. He gripped a spear in his hand, a round shield slung on his back and a sword at his waist, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Find the oars and the side rudders! Burn them or destroy them!" Sir Cordell ordered.
Adrian turned his attention toward theSawhead Lord's castle, smaller than the one in Whitesand, where he could see defenders raining arrows down on Lord Cenroy's men. Suddenly, he heard splashing at the docks. Hands and ropes emerged from underneath it, sweeping through the soldiers' legs and pulling them under.
The docks shook and then collapsed. As if that weren't bad enough, enemies began to emerge from beneath the wooden planks and from behind distant rocks. Adrian managed to find his balance and jumped to the sand, driving his spear into one of the rising enemies.
He landed, drew his sword, and unslung his shield. Behind him, Sir Cordell was already at work, skewering one man with a spear before decapitating another with a powerful, sweeping slash, despite his unstable footing. Some of the men engaged in the melee while others scrambled to find distance to loose arrows at the approaching reinforcements.
Two enemies emerged from beneath the dock and charged Adrian, brandishing an axe and a mace. Adrian cursed, gritting his teeth as he blocked the first axe swing. The man with the mace moved to strike, but someone stepped in to intercept him, it was Dexton.
Perhaps because it was his first real battle, Adrian stumbled back, nearly losing his footing as the enemy relentlessly swung at him. He blocked desperately with his shield. A sharp edge of the axe caught the hauberk on his shoulder but the bite of pain brought a surge of adrenaline.
"Humph!"
Before the enemy could retract his weapon, Adrian hooked the axe head with the edge of his shield. With one powerful pull, he pried the weapon from the man's grip and lunged forward, stabbing his sword into the enemy's chest.
The man's gambeson offered some protection, but the blade still sank an inch or two deep. As the enemy grunted in pain, Adrian slammed his shield into the man's unprotected face, sending him reeling. He finished the fight with a swift swipe to the neck.
Blood splattered, and the man crumpled to the ground. Adrian caught his breath, realizing he had just killed a man for the first time, but as another enemy charged him, he knew he didn't have the luxury of dwelling on it.
Weapons clashed, and the fight raged on.