EXCERPT - DUTY
    
    It had been five days since word had first arrived of the approaching army. With the Wood Knights of Han engaged in the Forest, Lord Kröhnheim immediately mobilised half of the Black Falcon cavalry that was garrisoned at Hamor and rode south to assess the situation. Along the way they passed a growing number of refugees who had fled their farms and villages, all heading for the protection of the northern towns.

The Condorian Knight caught his first glimpse of the orc invaders from the vantage of some low hills. He was initially dismayed at the size of the force, army was no exaggeration. The seasoned veteran estimated there were over ten thousand orcs travelling north and, if the fleeing farmers’ stories were to be believed, this was merely the smaller element of a Kadrur horde that was heading towards the Empire.

“There is our enemy.” Lord Kröhnheim had told his first Squire. “Let Vokdar worry about the rest.”

In the three days since, the Black Falcon cavalry had struck repeatedly at the advancing orcs. Each time Lord Kröhnheim charged his men against either the leading scouts or any units that had become detached from the flanks of the force by the unfamiliar terrain. The tactic was not one that yielded a particularly high death toll on his enemies but it slowed their advance without risking the cavalry too greatly, and to date only minor casualties had been received by the men of Hamor.

The horsemen finally returned to their current base with the orc forces camping in sight of the town’s defensive walls. The next battle would be for the survival of Hamor itself. Lord Kröhnheim was concerned to learn that the Wood Knights had still not returned and, dismissing his men to get a full night’s rest, the Marshal of Hamor began to organise the defence of the town.

Dawn found the Knight at the southern wall, watching the tiny glints of the orc’s campfires wink out one by one as the first sun rose. Suddenly a cry went up from inside the town.

“The walls! The walls are attacked!”

Lord Kröhnheim wheeled in anger and demanded the meaning of such a claim; for he could see the orcs were still over two hours march from the town.
“The north,” came the response, “Mardor are attacking from the Forest!”

It took several minutes for the Marshal of Hamor to cross to the northern wall. Sure enough the Forest of Han was disgorging a sizeable force of wood orcs. Wild and screaming, the Mardor ran towards Hamor in their loose tribes. Lord Kröhnheim had a rough idea of how many orcs were thought to inhabit the forest; at least half of them seemed to be sweeping down upon the town.

With a frustrated curse Lord Kröhnheim began barking orders to his sergeants. To a man he transferred every soldier from their posts on the south wall to new positions on the north wall. As the warriors jumped to their new duties the Knight began repositioning the supplies and townsfolk that would support the wall’s defenders.

The whole process took less than half an hour, by which time the first Mardor was in range of the wall’s bowmen. Lord Kröhnheim could hear the orcs’ screams of death as they were cut down by his archers. He didn’t need to look to see the situation, it was something he had planned for and drilled his men at for years.

Back at the southern wall the veteran Knight checked on the larger force. The orcs didn’t seem to have broken camp, let alone moved. Lord Kröhnheim saw the strategy and accepted the fate of his town. Hamor would be hard pressed to repel the unexpected Mardor attack, and subsequently unable to engage the main force of orcs. The southern army would then be able to either take Hamor with little resistance or, more likely, pass by unharassed.

As always at times such as these, Lord Kröhnheim considered his duty. As Marshal of Hamor he was charged with its protection. But the town’s purpose, as with the stronghold of Vokdar, was to protect the Empire’s southern border. If ever a force was to come from the south, whether Karnacos or a different enemy, Hamor and Vokdar were to delay such a force and allow the Empire time to gather a full defence at Tyra.

The most powerful asset at Lord Kröhnheim’s disposal was the three hundred elite cavalry of the Black Falcon Host that was currently on roulement at the town, a force that was unusable in the present defence of the town’s walls. The experienced Knight may be the Marshal of Hamor but his first duty was to the Empire and the protection of all its citizens.

His mind set, the Knight began shouting more orders. Though shocked, his sergeants ran to carry out his new commands. The town would be lost this day but Lord Kröhnheim would ensure that the Hamor Guard and every other able-bodied man would defend the town with his life.

As the cavalry gathered at the south gate, sounds of the first Mardor to reach the north gate spilled over the walls and into the town. On the streets women cursed and children cried as Lord Kröhnheim’s men prepared to leave them to their fate. The gates opened and with the command to never look back, the Marshal of Hamor led his men out of the town for the last time.

The horsemen cut an easy path through some scattered Mardor that had looped around the town, then cantered on towards the southern force. As they drew closer it was obvious that the orcs were unprepared to battle this day. Lord Kröhnheim led his men in loose formation through the camps of the forward scouts, killing only where the opportunity arose.

Beyond the advance camps the Marshal drew his men up into a tight wedge. Their enemy, used to war, was now prepared and ready for battle. Without fear, strengthened by courage and honour as much as their shields and armour, the men charged.

Like the blade of a mighty sword the Black Falcon cavalry plunged deep into the mass of the enemy. On and on they drove, night black horses screamed and brave men fell. The broad blade of Lord Kröhnheim’s wedge thinned the further it drove, becoming a still lethal rapier as his crack troops continued to push forward into the very heart of the orc army.