New Shores ➳ The Last Kingdom | Finan the Agile (The Northman's Daughter 1)

THE MEETING

They ate together, and after a while, the noise quieted down. Most of the men lied down for the night's rest. While others got up and walked around. They were keeping watch. Of course, everything else would have been negligent. But they seemed to be quite relaxed, and every once in a while, they exchanged a few words, and laughter was carried up to her hideout. But then the mood suddenly shifted. It became utterly quiet. Only the snoring of the sleeping men and the panting of the horses could be heard. The sudden silence amplified the sounds of the forest, and everything suddenly seemed eerier than it had a few minutes before. Even the wind that blew gently through the trees seemed more sinister. Feeling the change of mood, Shaylee sat up and watched the men below her more carefully. One of the men went to the north end of the camp and seemed to be seen something. He stood there for a minute or two. Then, he whistled quietly. The other man turned to him, and they seemed to have a wordless conversation. They stood a quick moment still, then one of the men turned around and woke up the men at the fire.

Shaylee heard whispers, but she could not hear what they were saying. Nor did she see what the man saw. Attentively she let her eyes glide over the bottom of the valley. She had a better view from where she was sitting than the men below, but it still took her a while till she saw what the man had seen. Other men! Another group was coming up the hill. They were tiptoeing, but Shaylee could see the drawn weapons in the light of the moon. Somehow Shaylee found it hard to believe that they had peaceful intentions. The men in the swale seemed to think the same thing. Even though most of them had been sleeping just minutes before, they were now ready themselves for battle. Shaylee was impressed by how fast they were all on their feet and ready for battle. None of them seemed to be scared, quite the opposite.

"They sure found us quickly.", she heard the man say, whom she believed to be the Deputy Leader.

"Well, wasn't that the plan?" the leader answered, and Shaylee was a bit surprised because she heard something like anticipation in his voice.

A soft laugh was carried up to her by the wind. Then the leader asked a bit more seriously: "How many men do you see, Finan?"

"9 comin' at us from the street. But these are the only ones coming. I will be walking the rest of the way.", the man answered, still with amusement in his voice.

Another man turned at him and grinned: "Well now, I almost wished they were no more."

Shaylee observed the men in the clearing with growing disbelief. How could they face a fight with such ease? However, the man was right. Shaylee could see them. They were coming from the East and would be at the clearing in a couple of moments. Shaylee could count about ten men. So, these five men below her tree in the swale would have to kill at least four attackers each. And to be honest, Shaylee doubted the priests down in the clearing would be much help.

Shaylee let her gaze slide over the men and wondered if it wouldn't be a better idea to get the hell away from this clearing. Or at least tell the men that they will be attacked by more than one side. But then the decision was taken from her. Three of the five defenders had just retreated into the forest when the first attackers broke out of the trees. They charged at the two men left behind, and for a moment, Shaylee thought they would overrun the men at the fire. But these two men were incredibly fast on their feet and handled the nine attackers with such somnambulistic ease that astonished Shaylee. The sound of our swords clashing resonated up to her. And in amazement, Shaylee watched as the men fought back-to-back against the attackers. But as good as they were as fighters, they were by far outnumbered by the attackers. And then, just as the fight came to a head and the defenders were increasingly under pressure. The rest of the men left their cover and joined them in the fight. The fight was frantic and violent. Suddenly one of the men fell, and Shaylee already feared the worst. But his leader jumped at his side and covered him while he got back on his feet again.