War For The Kingdom (Part 7)

[dupuy 318]

The messenger, the field officer, and Bartholomew, along with the three men at arms had been behind Sir William and Sergeant Watts when they heard a rustling in the trees, behind them. The field officer looked back and, seeing nothing, dismissed the noise as no more than an animal. The messenger, however, was not convinced. He had a foreboding feeling that they had been followed in the woods and was sure that he had seen a figure rather than a shadow when he had drawn his sword. He had dismissed the thought as a figment of his imagination at the time but was less sure of himself now. He continued to silently brood over the possibility of an ambush for a moment longer before his fears were confirmed.

A towering warrior clad in black armor and wielding a greatsword broke from the underbrush behind them and streaked to where Sir William and the sergeant were surveying the enemy positions. The messenger rose from the ground with a yell and began to advance towards the scene before another Dark soldier apprehended him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw more enemies spring from the woods behind them and attack the men at arms. Bartholomew and the field officer were caught off guard but drew their swords and defended as best they could.

The messenger's opponent laughed menacingly as he executed his first move. The messenger countered and attempted to return an attack, but his opponent would have none of it. The warrior pressed the messenger to the length of his abilities, and he wasn't sure how long he could hold the brute off. The warrior moved to the side just far enough for the messenger to view the scene at the end of the cliff. Sergeant Watts was desperately battling against two Dark soldiers, and a third had Sir William backed to the edge of the cliff. Sir William's opponent slammed his massive sword into the general's defense, and the Crimson Knight faltered. He stumbled closer to the cliff's edge, unable to maintain his balance.

The messenger's view of the scene was cut off by his opponent, who had moved back in front of him. The messenger feared the worst, though. Once again, his fear was confirmed when his opponent moved aside once more and allowed him to see what was unfolding at the edge of the cliff. The messenger's heart sunk. Sir William was not in sight: the sergeant stood alone, battling three Dark soldiers by himself. The messenger nearly dropped his sword in sadness but quickly recovered. He had nearly forgotten about his opponent. By now, he had been forced to retreat by his massive enemy to the point that he was back to back with Bartholomew and the field officer. One of the three men at arms had caught a slice across the chest and collapsed unconscious. The messenger thought he was unlikely to survive. Despite this, it appeared that four of the Dark soldiers had been cut down. The messenger smirked briefly: perhaps the massive stature that these warriors sported was more for show than for action. He prepared to try out his theory and gather all of his swordsmanship skills in an attempt to break out of the circle in which the Dark warriors had he and his comrades trapped.

His first attack caught the warrior completely by surprise. The black clad soldier had assumed the upper hand throughout the entire duel and was shocked when the messenger executed a feint followed by an above the head slice, known as a fendente, which split his shoulder and caused him to drop his sword in agony. The messenger didn't stop there. He transferred his momentum from the overhand fendente to a cut from the side, known as a sotano. The Dark Warrior couldn't recover and was felled in a matter of seconds.

With his obstacle out of the way, the messenger sprinted to the end of the cliff where the sergeant, by some miracle, had managed to hold off all three of his opponents. He used the element of surprise to finish off two of the warriors, for now was not the time to be chivalrous. He was not in time to stop the third from taking advantage of an opening in Sergeant Watt's defense and thrusting his blade through it. The sergeant howled in pain as the evil warrior's sword thrust into his torso. The messenger's blade impacted the sword of the sergeant's attacker, too late to stop it from inflicting the wound. The sergeant, despite the gaping wound in his side, brought his sword up one more time to beat off his opponent, who retreated from the end of the cliff and ran into the undergrowth. With the last of his strength expiring, the sergeant collapsed to the ground.

"Fall back!" called a raspy voice from one of the Dark warriors. He clutched his forearm, on which a large gash had just been inflicted by one of the men at arms. Leaving their dead and wounded behind, the diminished enemy force stumbled back into the dark woods from whence they came. The messenger breathed a sigh of relief then stooped down to Sergeant Watts, who was facedown at the edge of the cliff. The sergeant was still alive, but the messenger feared he would not remain so for long unless he was taken back to the city. He called on the two men at arms that still remained to begin what treatment they could while he walked to meet Bartholomew and the field officer.

"Th' Gen'ral?" asked Bartholomew in a wavering tone. The messenger looked dejectedly to the ground before turning to the cliff's edge.

"Sir William!" he cried, not expecting an answer. He waited for a moment. All that could be heard was the whistling of wind around the bluffs and through the trees, with an occasional moan from one of the wounded men. The messenger peered over the edge of the cliff, but it was too dark to see if the Crimson Knight's broken body lay at the bottom.

"L-let's go," mumbled the messenger as he turned back to his comrades. A tear began to streak down his face.
A single moan, followed by a nearly inaudible 'help' caught the messenger's ear as he began to walk back towards the horses. He stopped and turned again, running back to the cliff's edge.

"Sir William!" he cried, this time with hope in his voice. The moan was repeated, and the messenger heard the clanking of a scabbard somewhere on the rocks below.

"Bartholomew, run to the horses and get some rope!" cried the messenger as he bent over the edge of the cliff once more. He still could not see anything, but the moaning continued.

Bartholomew quickly returned with a rope, followed by a torch-bearing man at arms. The messenger took the torch and waved it as far as he could over the edge of the cliff. Sir William lay on a rock ledge several feet below.

"He's still alive!" said the messenger as he motioned Bartholomew to hand him the rope. The messenger tied it around his torso, giving the other end to Bartholomew and the field officer.

"Pull us up when I give a tug," he said as he began to descend to the rock shelf on which Sir William lay. The general was semiconscious when the messenger reached him, and blood pooled around his head. The messenger carefully felt for broken bones and was not surprised when he found that several of the Crimson Knight's ribs may be broken. His arm was limp, and the messenger was sure that its bone was split from the fall. Lifting Sir William over his shoulder, the messenger gave a jerk on the rope, which began to rise slowly as the men at the top heaved with all their strength.

Finally, the two men were lifted back over the cliff's edge and onto solid ground. Sir William was badly battered and would require much recovery, but he would live.

"Let's get back to town as quickly as possible," ordered the messenger as soon as he had removed the rope from around his midriff. "I don't want to be caught in the open for a long period of time." The entire party moved from the cliff to their horses, carrying their three wounded. The man at arms that was cut across the chest tossed and turned in agony throughout the trip but became still when they neared the clearing were the soldier assigned to hold the horses were waiting. When the two men at arms carrying their wounded comrade were preparing to place him on his saddle, the field officer stopped them. He checked the man's pulse and heartbeat before glancing at his eyes, which were open, glazed, and staring at nothing.

"This man's dead, Sir," he reported. The messenger slowly looked up from the reins of his horse.

"J-just get him on the horse. We'll get him back and give him a proper b-burial." The adrenaline had drained out of him and left in its place a crushing realization of the responsibilities he had now that Sir William was unable to lead from the front. Despite any attempt on his part to hide his emotions, they showed clearly through his drawn, haggard countenance. His was the face of a broken man who had witnessed death and lived to tell about it.

When all were ready, the messenger raised a tired hand to start the column of men moving back towards the city. Sir William was safe, but nonetheless, the days ahead were to be filled with uncertainty, dread, and death. The motive that kept the messenger, as well as all the citizens of the kingdom upright, was the hope of snatching victory from the grasping claws of evil.

Edited November 7, 2020 by dupuy

[Person_Random 4,991]

Approved.

Wow. That was some amazing plot development: a wave of action culminating into an emotional turning point for the story. It has to be one of the best installments of the series, and as mentioned earlier, it will definitely change the direction of the story. I can't wait to see what comes next!

Edits: removed a few commas.

Spoiler

I noticed some of them were due to the fact that they were placed after coordinating conjunctions such as "and" and "but". They are only used when connecting two independent clauses; in other cases, that would be a comma error. Other than that, great work!

 

[Lose 881]

Great continuation of the story! I look forward to more from you.

[dupuy 318]

7 hours ago, Person_Random said:

Approved.

Wow. That was some amazing plot development: a wave of action culminating into an emotional turning point for the story. It has to be one of the best installments of the series, and as mentioned earlier, it will definitely change the direction of the story. I can't wait to see what comes next!

Edits: removed a few commas.

  Reveal hidden contents

I noticed some of them were due to the fact that they were placed after coordinating conjunctions such as "and" and "but". They are only used when connecting two independent clauses; in other cases, that would be a comma error. Other than that, great work!

 

Thanks once again! You are right once again about the commas. I must remember to use just conjunctions ,and. . . to not add a comma before them. As this story progresses, a shifting of characters begins to occur that will significantly alter the position of the protagonist. It will also change the course of action for the story, and lead to several humorous, as well as serious encounters in the next chapter.