Tales of Cobardon

Chapter XVII

Roger

He his cavalry's big portion had shattered on the gates of the Eye. It had been a foolish decision and now he regretted it. A movement caught his eyes - the structure was disheveled. This was his opportunity; he raised a spear while racing the horse towards the gates. The spear had a special, fluorescent green flag to catch his army's attention. This flag meant he was calling them to form lines behind him.

From every side his men trickled through the maze of enemies and carcasses. A ball of mailed soldiers on well-bred horses were running towards the structure to punch and crumble it.

They hit the disorganized formation and it didn't shatter. Rather it slowly gave way to the pounding horse-riders, succumbing to their strength. Each man in the formation was crucial to its maintaining and when Roger had struck more than a few men were caught off guard. Someone had attacked it from the inside.

His eyes glimpsed a figure pass with such speed that its shape became blurred, maybe this was the person who had done the lion's share of work for them.

He steered his horse around while thinking, the Tower has been taken care of, now I just need to take down the remaining few ships who had survived Taperend's ploy. Then Rulerstead's victory would become near assured. His eyes focused on one ship, sailing Marienir - the widest river of all the rivers in Barren Lands. The ship was mightier than others and had the most gruesome figurehead on its forepeak. That is soulcrusher, Benz's ship, he determined.

"That smug, crone Dom has sent his son to be a martyr!" he muttered under his breath with aversement.

He kicked his horse and streaked through the fray, his horse's head donned with a spiked helm, he seated on the horse with one longsword on each hand, which were close together and in front of his body. The swords pointed outward slashing every soldier in his path. One warrior had stood right in his stallion's path and had been rammed by the horse's helm, whose spikes bore holes through the warrior's armor.

He was nearing the shore, ruins of a galley littering the first few metres of the ocean followed by an overturned ship. The plan was clear - he was to climb using the galley's ruins then leap onto the upward sloping hull of another warship and then he his horse would have to make a massive leap to reach Benz's ship, soulcrusher. It was a stupid plan but he could think of nothing else. His horse acrobatically and unbelievably danced from one broken sediment of the galley to other, ever ascending in height.

He paused for a brief moment - this was a crucial leap because a fall meant death, at least for his horse. He couldn't afford it! The stallion sprung and landed on the hull of the other ship. The horse tumbled, the hull was extremely slippery. I need momentum for the last leap, he decided.

Almost as if the horse heard its thoughts it ran the entire distance in one graceful bound. It vaulted! The sight he saw mid air relieved him - Benz stood near that edge with a bewildered look on his countenance! The horse landed on him, knocking Benz of his feet. At that moment, Roger swooped to grab Benz by his neck. The stallion didn't stop!

With a steady momentum, it kept running forwards and forwards, Roger dragging Benz by the neck. They were halfway through the warship, every other soldier onboard too shocked to take any action. Stop damned creature, stop for your own life, Roger cursed.

They were nearing the edge, soon to topple down 50 feet into the water. The impact would crush their bones. Benz groaned as his body was hauled across the wooden deck. "Horses can't swim, stop running," Roger yelled aloud. The trance of the other soldiers broke. One rushed towards him, a scimitar poised to strike. The edge was close, the horse was finally losing its momentum. It slowed to a stop, inches from a fall, as the soldier with the scimitar raced towards him. He barked within his head, now you stop!

Roger put his weight forward while yanking Benz's struggling body off the edge of the warship. He lost his grip on Benz as the body went swinging downwards. This provided the momentum and all three of them fell 50 feet into the ocean!

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Benz

He was falling headfirst into the ocean yet he was amused. This was a worthy opponent! He wondered regalingly, how had this horse and man come 50 feet skyward? Had they flown?

As he fell he glimpsed his attacker's face. All made sense - this was no soldier acting unexpectedly witty but it was the legendary Roger acting expectedly witty and mighty! He had heard stories about Roger since he was a child. What a fun thing to kill a role model, he mused!

The waterline rushed up to meet them. The impact was fatal. "Makhri, lend me your strength!" he roared to the lapping waves churning all the carcasses that fell into the sea.

It felt to him that the waves swung on his accord. He sighted Roger who was snaking out of the stallion's saddle. The horse was dead as its body sank deeper and deeper till it could be seen no more.

He gave two massive strokes and waves also rose to push him forwards. He rose upwards, being lifted up to the top of the waves, which was his horse made of water. It rode him towards Roger. He unsheathed his sword and towering above Roger brought it down. The wave shortened and its tip snapped and curled to launch him into the air, flying towards Roger. His blade was coming down, with him, to pierce Roger. Gliding through the air his sword's blade yearned to cut the legendary commander.

Roger brought his arms above him, muttering a spell. Benz's blade struck a shield of force which gleamed red, under the force, to disappear back to colourlessness when Benz withdrew his sword. He outstretched a hand and a rope of water darted to grab Roger's right hand. Benz struck again, he blow powered by the momentum of the waves. His balde struck the shield again, smaller this time, which sprouted of Roger's left hand.

Unrelenting, Benz struck again and the shield glew an angry scarlet before shattering. It gave way and the blade cut Roger across his chest.

His role-model burst free of the restrainment, diving onto Benz, submerging both of them into the depths. Out of breath, he stabbed Roger again and again, still the regent's grip didn't loosen. He was sinking further. He took the sword and cut of Roger's wrist. The grip was lost. His lungs were screaming for air. He swum up and burst out of the waterline, gasping for air.

After a moment of breathing he saw his warship and found no flag flying on it - a battle was going on the deck. He spotted some of his mean still onboard, fighting ferociously. They were losing! One of his man got knocked to the edge of the ship and slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Benz, his eyes shot open wide and burst up to return to the fight with renewed valor.

He felt a pull on his ankle! Bdoop! With a mighty splash he got hauled beneath the line.

Roger still lived! Doubts and fear surfaced into his mind for the first time since childhood. Thoughts burst out like a snake through its hole; Roger is a worthy match but, but is he too worthy? Shall even I live this?

An honourable death or his biggest victory! Both seemed pleasant to him. Anyway, he would never be as brave as he had been; or as some may say - he would never be as stupid as he had been!