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Printed from https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/2145804-The-Flashes-Chapter-3
by Bruce.
Rated: 18+ · Chapter · Action/Adventure · #2145804
Scouting the Enemy.
Chapter 3


Baldwin and Morgan continued running up the bank. The enemy warriors pursued them but had no chance of catching the two very fit men. Baldwin glanced back. "There's only four of them, they are struggling and I think they are about to give up. It's a good thing they don't have an archer with them or we could have been in trouble."

         Morgan looked back. “They're not gaining on us but it doesn't look like the fools are going to give up; it's a big mistake they're making. If we're not going to lose them we might as well slow down a bit and let them catch us up. Do you think they have tired enough yet though?” Morgan asked.

         “Yes, they don't seem very fit to me. We can take them.”

         They slowed their pace until the four men were almost on them. “Let's do it then,” Morgan said. “Time to get these fools off our backs.” They both turned and hurried towards their startled pursuers.

         One of the pursuers stopped, stepped back in panic, stumbled and fell. Morgan’s sword went through his throat and he turned his attention to another of the men. Baldwin was keeping two men at bay and laughing loudly which further unnerved them.

         Morgan's sword connected a heavy blow across his adversary’s wrist and was able to easily run his sword through the disabled man’s chest. “Having trouble, Baldwin?” he shouted.

         Baldwin’s sword struck one of the men’s neck and he dropped. The other turned and ran but Morgan threw his dagger and struck the man heavily in his back. The man ran another few steps before he fell.

         “That’s three one to me then, Baldwin.”

         “You picked the weakest two. Best hurry and get your dagger. We need to tell the Duke what we’ve seen.”

         The two men set off back towards the camp. They were just approaching the outskirts of the camp when Baldwin put his hand up to stop Morgan. "Look," he said. "The sentry guard is asleep against the tree."

         Morgan crept over and wrestled the startled man to the ground before holding his dagger to the man's throat. “Not very good is it?” Morgan said. “If I were the enemy you would be dead now and the whole camp would be at risk because of your stupidity.”

         The man recognised Morgan when he let him go. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said.

         “You have a job to do,” Morgan said. “The enemy is only a couple of miles away and you need to be alert all the time. If I catch you asleep on guard again I’ll kill you myself.”

         “It won’t happen again, sir.”

         The two men walked off. “How come so many men call you sir, Morgan?”

         “Authority, Baldwin, authority.”

         “I have the same authority but they don’t call me sir do they?”

         “No, sir,” Morgan said. And they both laughed.

         They walked out of the woods and into the camp, a large area in a clearing dotted with tents. So many tents that some were erected amongst the trees. "I wouldn't like to sleep in a tent amongst those trees," Morgan said. "An ideal target for a hit and run terrorising raid. Especially if the sentry is asleep."

         "Or dead," Baldwin said.

         They got to the Duke of Lovat's tent in the centre of the camp. The Duke's bodyguard greeted them and took them inside.

         “Ah, my two finest warriors,” the Duke said. “What news do you have of the enemy?”

         Baldwin spoke first. “Down through these woods, there is an open meadow leading down to a brook. Past the brook, there is some denser woods before it opens out onto a large plain. The enemy is setting up on the plain."

         "How far is it to their camp?"

         "I should imagine it is about two miles away and they look to be about two hundred strong."

         “Not far then. And if they are about two hundred men, then according to figures from our agents planted in towns around the land, it must be his whole army. We have two hundred men as well. We could launch a dawn attack on them from out of the woods and catch them by surprise But we need to be quick. I don't want them coming out of the woods here and surprising us first.”

         “You could attack their camp,” Morgan said. “But it may be costly. You can bet they have scouts out the same as us and they probably know we are here. Half our men are archers and it would be best if we let the enemy attack us when we are at the edge of these woods. After they cross the brook and come up the open meadow our archers have the advantage of height and could devastate their numbers before we engage in close combat.”

         “You might be right, Morgan, but I think a surprise attack on them would be our best option. Go back tonight and let me know if the situation is the same. If it is, we will launch our attack at dawn. In the meantime, I'll put some more lookouts in the woods, just in case.”

         Baldwin and Morgan had some hot food from the cook’s tent and went to their tent to get some sleep. "What do you think of the Duke's plan?" Morgan asked.

         "It has its good points, but the element of surprise would be lost pretty quickly and then they might come under a counter-attack from those young fit warriors. Even if he wins the battle he could lose a lot of men."

         "There may not be an element of surprise at all if they have observers watching our movements like we are watching theirs. We'll have another look later but for now, let's catch up on some sleep," Morgan said. "It's been a long day."

         One of the night guards woke them at one o’clock and they set off into the dark woodlands. They worked their way around the enemy camp to get into a copse overlooking the camp. They were surprised the enemy numbers seemed to have trebled. Many more were turning up as the night went on and the men remained looking down from the copse until the sun was about to rise.

         “We have been misled,” Morgan said. “There must be almost a thousand warriors out there now. And over the back, there's about twenty horses. Those riders though are not soldiers. They belong to the sheriffs. I wonder why they are here.”

         “With such a build-up of men, they must be expecting a victory,” Baldwin said. “So the horsemen are here to hunt down and kill any stragglers in flight after the battle. Our camp has lost any advantage we had with our archers and if we engage in close combat our two hundred men will surely be overwhelmed.”

         “We'd best get back and tell the Duke that their numbers have swelled overnight. It's best if we withdraw and the Duke may have to re-think his plans. ”

         “You go, Morgan. I’ll stay here and watch for any movement. If it looks like they are preparing to attack, I’ll need to try and alert our men.”

         Morgan set off but had not been gone long when Baldwin heard a disturbance behind him and thinking it was his friend he called out. “What’s up, Morgan?” He turned and was shocked to see two men with swords drawn and an archer with an arrow aimed at him.

 The Flashes. Chapter 4  (18+)
The Uprising is Lost
#2253058 by Bruce.




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