So, in this thread I will present you the story I prepared for the Sepia Joust VII.
Frisia 28 AD
The sun rose from his night-long resting place under the see. Its rays pierced through the tall trees and brought light to the land of the land of the forest-dwelling Lesser Frisii, and focused on the Frisian king’s hall. It also revealed the strange visitors who had come to pay a visit to the king himself.
-“Amalric! Wake up you goatish bear-witted boar-pig. Some of these pesky Eagle –Bearers are approaching”, shouted a sentry to his colleague. Amalric woke up, still tipsy from the sweet Batavian mead he had been drinking the night before.
-“What is going on?”, he asked feebly.
-“Some of these Toga-Wearers are coming. They are carrying some kind of flag”, was the bitter reply. The sentry wished Amalric had shared the mead with him.
Amalric sobered up quickly and got up when he heard the word “flag”.What is a Roman legionary centuria doing near the king’s hall? , thought Amalric. Then he remembered that it was the first day of the summer, the day when the Frisii had to pay the tribute imposed on them by Germanicus more than a decade before. I have to warn the king, he thought, as he was dashing through the narrow alleys of the Frisian village, towards the king’s hall.
A little later he stood in front of the king’s hall waiting for the king to come out after he had delivered his message. The hall itself was not much of a hall. It was a tavern modified to be the new king’s hall in the aftermath of Germanicus’ German campaign and the civil war between the Frisian tribal leaders that followed it. Then, the dark wooden doors of the hall opened and king Hengist came out behind his two bodyguards. Amalric stared him with awe, as the aged but tall, fully armed king was an imposing sight. Next to him stood his son-in-law, Ingomar the Young Prince.
-“Let’s go and meet those pesky Romans”, said Hengist with a tone of unwillingness in his voice.
Amalric nodded and lead the king and his escort to the town gate. After passing through the series of hovels which comprised the village, they reached the gates, where Amalric saw the sentry arguing with a gigantic Frisian bearing weapons. He stopped, recognising Anzo, the town guard’s commander.
-“What is wrong lord Anzo?”, asked Amalric.
-“Your friend over here doesn’t let me, his own commander, exit the city and give these treacherous Romans a lesson.”, the man replied with a grin on his face. “Now open the gate!”, he barked at the terrified sentry.
-“There is no need for you frightening the sentry Anzo”, said the king calmly. “I’ll go out there myself . But I need you to be here if anything goes wrong”, he added to his guard commander.
-“As you command, my lord”, uttered Anzo.
-“Now, open the gate!”, Hengist ordered the sentry.
The guard lifted the piece of wood which held the gates locked and opened them.
-“You Amalric shall come with us as a translator for the Metal-Carriers”, the king ordered Amalric.
Afterwards the king rushed out of the gates, riding like the wind towards the Roman column at the foot of the hill upon which the town stood without expecting Amalric’s answer.
-“Go you fool”, Anzo told the surprised Amalric. “Protect our king”, he added. Amalric rushed downhill, where king Hengist had already engaged in a conversation with the Roman commander, a centurion, as the decorated helmet on his head and the wooden stick in his hand suggested.
-“This is the lead-centurion Olennius”, the king informed Amalric. “He has come to collect the tribute of Germanicus”, he added bitterly.
-“Roman scum”, whispered Ingomar who accompanied the king.
-“Let me do the talking”, Hengist scolded his son-in-law. “Now, ask the Roman how much is the tribute we owe Rome.” Amalric translated his king’s words in Latin, as had spent eight years in the Roman auxilia before being recalled back to Germania.
The short Roman centurion turned slowly upon hearing the question. “Five-hundred ox-hides for military use, each one the size of the aurochs, your large cows”, he spitted the words from his mouth as if he hadn’t pronounced that many words together for some time.
-“This is without precedent”, king Hengist said surprised when he heard Amalrics translation. “We simply can’t afford that many ox-hides, our country is a poor one in large cattle. However, we can deliver 400 normal-sized ox-hides.”, he added
-“You had a whole year to gather the tribute. In this case, we have to confiscate your belongings: animals, grain and even your women if you don’t have enough of the first two”, said Olennius with a sardonic smile on his face.
-“This is unacceptable! How dare you demand our wives and daughters, our cousins and nieces, our families and our means of surviving through the winter!”, shouted Ingomar, not being able to hold his temper. Surprisingly, Amalric translated the warlord’s words in Latin.
The centurion was momentarily petrified.Are these men under Roman suzerainty? They definitely don’t sound like they believe that, he thought. Then, his body stiffened.
-“If this is the case, I’ll have to take them by force!”, he snarled back at astounded Frisii. “Men, confiscate everything”, he ordered the Roman legionaries under his command. The battle hardened veterans had already taken part in hundreds such operations under Germanicus not that many years ago and had learned never to question their commander. They simply deployed in a loose formation and began marching uphill towards the small Frisian town.
-“Ingomar, run back to the town and warn Anzo to let the Romans pass”, Hengist half-heartedly ordered his son-in-law.
-“Why, we can still resist them”, protested Ingomar.
-“No, we are outnumbered and they’ll slaughter us all if we resis. Now, hurry up”, Hengist mumbled, nearly begging him.
Ingomar sighed, then dashed uphill, followed by the two bodyguards, bypassing the slow-moving Romans.
-“Now Amalric, we shall ride to the nearby villages and gather as many men as possible. We’ll be able to catch these Romans on the way back to their camp and get our women back”, the king said.
-“So we shall, my lord”, Amalric responded. “I have my horses at the old warehouse nearby”, he added.
So they both ran, in the hope that their efforts and their women’s sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain.
Meanwhile, inside the small town Anzo was surprised to see the young prince and his bodyguards climbing up the hill. Behind them, he could barely see some soldiers marching towards the town.
-“Roman traitors”, muttered the battle-hardened warrior. “Open the gates”, he barked at the confused sentry. Within a couple of minutes Ingomar and his men managed to enter the town.
-“The king orders you to allow the Romans to enter and take their tribute without resistance”, he told Anzo.
-“Why?”, asked a puzzled Anzo.
-“We can’t afford their exorbitant tribute, so they are coming to collect all women present in the settlement”, was the bitter answer.
-“So we’ll just wait for them?” asked Anzo with terror. He had three young daughters.
-“King Hengist has gone to muster men from the villages nearby. He intends to intercept the Romans on their way back to their fort”, explained the prince.
-“Fine then”, was Anzo’s angry answer. “Let the Romani pass”, he ordered the sentries.
The Romans came through the town gates slowly, fully armed and prepared to face resistance. Olennius at the head of the column turned and looked at the gigantic 6 foot 10
Germanic warrior. “Order the women to assemble in front of your king’s hall. They shall gather their supplies too”, he told Anzo.
A glint of rage appeared in the Frisian’s eyes, but he obeyed the order. He dispatched the guard to assemble the women and gather as much grain and meat as possible, while he guided the Romans through the narrow alleys of the Germanic town. He only felt hatred for the Roman oppressors who ruled free people against their will. We are Friends and Allies of Rome, not conquered people, he thought with anger. When they finally made it to the king’s hall, the Frisian women were already lined up in front of it. Among them, he noticed his wife and his three daughters. The Romans are going to pay for this, he thought. Behind him, the Roman line stopped and the centurion gave his orders in Latin, a language he could not understand.
Then some of the soldiers moved forward and started picking the most beautiful and healthy women, as if they were slaves and not free people. Anzo flushed from embarrassment. Among the women the Romans picked was one tall woman wearing fine jewellery made from amber and silver, unlike most other women who were dressed as farmers. “NO!”, shouted Ingomar. “Leave her alone!”, he continued in German. The woman, Auda, king Hengist’s daughter and Ingomar’s spouse stared at him with utter contempt, saying: “At least this way I’ll keep my family’s honour intact”, while her eyes, cold as the winter, seemed to blame him for not resisting. Indomar was shaked by the ferocity of her reaction, and saw Auda being taken away by Olennius himself, who understood from the prince’s reaction that she was the king’s daughter.
After the chose the best women, they loaded the town’s supply of meat, grain and ale on their mules and began marching slowly out of the town and towards the closest Roman fort in the west.
-“Now what?”, asked Ingomar.
-“Now we become their shadows. We will follow them and wait for the king to arrive with the men he is going to levy. Gather those me who are willing to follow us”, he told Ingomar.
-“If you say so”, was the answer. “Rorik”, Ingomar roared at the sentry, “assemble fifty men. Give them weapons from the royal arsenal. An axe and a shield for the farmers , bows and arrows for the hunters”, he commanded. “No armour, it will slow us down”, he added after some hesitation. His father always advised him never to face Romans witout armour.
-“Aye my lord”, the sentry replied while rushing to complee his task.
The sun had made little way across the sky when Anzo and Ingomar began inspecting the men assembled outside the town’s gate.
-“So, what do you think?”, Ingomar asked the battle-hardened warrior.
-“Well, I’ve led better warriors than them, but I’ve also led worse. They are good enough for the task at hand”, Anzo replied.
-“What route shall we follow then?”, was Ingomar’s question.
-“Well, the Roman fort is fifty Roman miles away from here. However, thirty miles from here there is an open, lightly wooded area surrounded by some mild hills on the one side. It’s where they will probably make camp for the night, as they are moving relatively slow due to their heavy load. In addition, they use the dirt roads they built twelve years ago to move through our forests, so I guess they’ll arrive there in about three hours. However, if we move swiftly cross-country using the old hunting tracks, we will be able to get there before them”, was Anzo’s reply.
-“Alright then, leave two men here to guide my father-in-law when he arrives, send five of the fastest and most experienced trackers to monitor the Romans and the rest of us shall follow the route you’re proposing”, was Ingomar’s orders.
Anzo nodded in agreement and executed the orders.
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Three Hours Later
-“There they are”, whispered Ingomar with a tone of excitement in his voice.
Anzo gazed at the newly-built Roman camp more carefully than his companion.
-“They have taken one of our women each in his tent. With only five enemy sentries, this is going to be plain sailing”, he observed.
Ingomar chuckled. “Have we received word from the king?”, he asked the old man.
-“Not yet, but we’ll have to wait for the moon to rise completely before we attack. Just prepare yourself”, was the quick reply.
-“I’ll try to get some sleep then”, said Ingomar.
The moon had made half of its journey across the sky. The tranquility of nature was unbroken if for the occasional shouts of the Roman sentries who were trying to make sure that they were still alive. Suddenly, the crystal clear sound of a war-horn filled the air, while chaotic warcries were seemingly coming out of nowhere. Ingomar and Anzo woke up and rushed to inspect the Roman camp. The horn was blown again, this time louder . Afterwards, a few hundred Germanic warriors wearing dark clothes emerged from the thin vegetation and charged frantically towards the Romans, shouting intimidating warcries. Leading the charge was a large man on a huge black stallion, carrying an axe on the one hand and a large banner with the image of a horse on the other.
-“It’s the king!”, said Ingomar with joy.
-“Then let’s join him!”, shouted Anzo for all his men to hear. “Raise my banner” he barked at one of his men. A triangular red banner bearing the image of the head of a bear was raised.
-“CHARGE”, shouted Anzo.
-“Otta-Laus!”, screamed the men. Yes, without fear, thought Ingomar as he followed the gigantic Frisian downhill.
The small Germanic warband charged downhill to the Roman flank. The few sentries had already been overrun by the king’s men, so the battle had moved inside the Roman camp. The sight was terrifying to Ingomar’s eyes. Roman soldiers wearing just a chiton or even nothing were emerging from their tents holding a mere sword, only to be slaughtered by ruthless Germanic steel. He parried the blows of the few tired Romans who tried to harm him, while trying to keep up with Anzo, who was separating the Romans’ bodies from their heads with the calmness of an experienced warrior. All he could see was Frisian warriors slaughtering naked Romans, while his eyes teemed with cries of anguish from the Romans and terrifying cries of rage from their killers. Suddenly, as he was running towards the king’s banner, he felt someone grabbing his leg and he lost his balance, falling on the ground. The attacker, a naked, grey-haired Roman snatched his fallen sword and tried to stab him in the chest. Ingomar closed his eyes and grasped the hilt of his dagger so as to go to Wotan’s hall. However, instead of the excruciating pain he expected, he only felt a heavy load on his chest and warm blood running down his body. He opened his eyes.
-“Get up Prince. We have a battle to finish”, said a Frisian warrior bearing a battle-axe. He removed his helmet, and Ingomar saw it was Amalric.
-“Let’s do it”, he answered with a feeble voice.
However, when he got up he saw that there was little left to accomplish. The Germanic ambush had caught the Romans completely by surprise, as they were expecting no resistance. Now, the Germanic women were freed, and the men were reunited with their wives and daughters. Then Anzo and king Hengist arrived, both filled with blood and dirt, resembling the terrifying carvings Ingomar had seen in the shrine of Wotan portraying Ragnarok.
-“Twenty men will escort the women back to the village, along with half of the supplies. One of them will ride to Herman, king of the Chauci and Ragnar, king of the Ampsivarii to ask for assistance. Any forces sent are to meet us at the River Temple. The rest will rest here for the night and will resume marching in the morning.”, ordered Hengist.
Ingomar heard the king’s orders as he approached him, and asked surprised: “What happened?”
-“Olennius has escaped and has taken Auda with him”, was the bitter answer.
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Invincibility lies in defence, while the possibility of victory in the attack -Sun Tzu
Akouson me, pataxon de (hit me, but first listen to me)-Themistocles to Euribiadis prior to the battle of Salamis.
The sun rose from his night-long resting place under the see. Its rays pierced through the tall trees and brought light to the land of the land of the forest-dwelling Lesser Frisii, and focused on the Frisian king’s hall. It also revealed the strange visitors who had come to pay a visit to the king himself.
-“Amalric! Wake up you goatish bear-witted boar-pig. Some of these pesky Eagle –Bearers are approaching”, shouted a sentry to his colleague. Amalric woke up, still tipsy from the sweet Batavian mead he had been drinking the night before.
-“What is going on?”, he asked feebly.
-“Some of these Toga-Wearers are coming. They are carrying some kind of flag”, was the bitter reply. The sentry wished Amalric had shared the mead with him.
Amalric sobered up quickly and got up when he heard the word “flag”.
A little later he stood in front of the king’s hall waiting for the king to come out after he had delivered his message. The hall itself was not much of a hall. It was a tavern modified to be the new king’s hall in the aftermath of Germanicus’ German campaign and the civil war between the Frisian tribal leaders that followed it. Then, the dark wooden doors of the hall opened and king Hengist came out behind his two bodyguards. Amalric stared him with awe, as the aged but tall, fully armed king was an imposing sight. Next to him stood his son-in-law, Ingomar the Young Prince.
-“Let’s go and meet those pesky Romans”, said Hengist with a tone of unwillingness in his voice.
Amalric nodded and lead the king and his escort to the town gate. After passing through the series of hovels which comprised the village, they reached the gates, where Amalric saw the sentry arguing with a gigantic Frisian bearing weapons. He stopped, recognising Anzo, the town guard’s commander.
-“What is wrong lord Anzo?”, asked Amalric.
-“Your friend over here doesn’t let me, his own commander, exit the city and give these treacherous Romans a lesson.”, the man replied with a grin on his face. “Now open the gate!”, he barked at the terrified sentry.
-“There is no need for you frightening the sentry Anzo”, said the king calmly. “I’ll go out there myself . But I need you to be here if anything goes wrong”, he added to his guard commander.
-“As you command, my lord”, uttered Anzo.
-“Now, open the gate!”, Hengist ordered the sentry.
The guard lifted the piece of wood which held the gates locked and opened them.
-“You Amalric shall come with us as a translator for the Metal-Carriers”, the king ordered Amalric.
Afterwards the king rushed out of the gates, riding like the wind towards the Roman column at the foot of the hill upon which the town stood without expecting Amalric’s answer.
-“Go you fool”, Anzo told the surprised Amalric. “Protect our king”, he added. Amalric rushed downhill, where king Hengist had already engaged in a conversation with the Roman commander, a centurion, as the decorated helmet on his head and the wooden stick in his hand suggested.
-“This is the lead-centurion Olennius”, the king informed Amalric. “He has come to collect the tribute of Germanicus”, he added bitterly.
-“Roman scum”, whispered Ingomar who accompanied the king.
-“Let me do the talking”, Hengist scolded his son-in-law. “Now, ask the Roman how much is the tribute we owe Rome.” Amalric translated his king’s words in Latin, as had spent eight years in the Roman auxilia before being recalled back to Germania.
The short Roman centurion turned slowly upon hearing the question. “Five-hundred ox-hides for military use, each one the size of the aurochs, your large cows”, he spitted the words from his mouth as if he hadn’t pronounced that many words together for some time.
-“This is without precedent”, king Hengist said surprised when he heard Amalrics translation. “We simply can’t afford that many ox-hides, our country is a poor one in large cattle. However, we can deliver 400 normal-sized ox-hides.”, he added
-“You had a whole year to gather the tribute. In this case, we have to confiscate your belongings: animals, grain and even your women if you don’t have enough of the first two”, said Olennius with a sardonic smile on his face.
-“This is unacceptable! How dare you demand our wives and daughters, our cousins and nieces, our families and our means of surviving through the winter!”, shouted Ingomar, not being able to hold his temper. Surprisingly, Amalric translated the warlord’s words in Latin.
The centurion was momentarily petrified.
-“If this is the case, I’ll have to take them by force!”, he snarled back at astounded Frisii. “Men, confiscate everything”, he ordered the Roman legionaries under his command. The battle hardened veterans had already taken part in hundreds such operations under Germanicus not that many years ago and had learned never to question their commander. They simply deployed in a loose formation and began marching uphill towards the small Frisian town.
-“Ingomar, run back to the town and warn Anzo to let the Romans pass”, Hengist half-heartedly ordered his son-in-law.
-“Why, we can still resist them”, protested Ingomar.
-“No, we are outnumbered and they’ll slaughter us all if we resis. Now, hurry up”, Hengist mumbled, nearly begging him.
Ingomar sighed, then dashed uphill, followed by the two bodyguards, bypassing the slow-moving Romans.
-“Now Amalric, we shall ride to the nearby villages and gather as many men as possible. We’ll be able to catch these Romans on the way back to their camp and get our women back”, the king said.
-“So we shall, my lord”, Amalric responded. “I have my horses at the old warehouse nearby”, he added.
So they both ran, in the hope that their efforts and their women’s sacrifice wouldn’t be in vain.
Meanwhile, inside the small town Anzo was surprised to see the young prince and his bodyguards climbing up the hill. Behind them, he could barely see some soldiers marching towards the town.
-“Roman traitors”, muttered the battle-hardened warrior. “Open the gates”, he barked at the confused sentry. Within a couple of minutes Ingomar and his men managed to enter the town.
-“The king orders you to allow the Romans to enter and take their tribute without resistance”, he told Anzo.
-“Why?”, asked a puzzled Anzo.
-“We can’t afford their exorbitant tribute, so they are coming to collect all women present in the settlement”, was the bitter answer.
-“So we’ll just wait for them?” asked Anzo with terror. He had three young daughters.
-“King Hengist has gone to muster men from the villages nearby. He intends to intercept the Romans on their way back to their fort”, explained the prince.
-“Fine then”, was Anzo’s angry answer. “Let the Romani pass”, he ordered the sentries.
The Romans came through the town gates slowly, fully armed and prepared to face resistance. Olennius at the head of the column turned and looked at the gigantic 6 foot 10
Germanic warrior. “Order the women to assemble in front of your king’s hall. They shall gather their supplies too”, he told Anzo.
A glint of rage appeared in the Frisian’s eyes, but he obeyed the order. He dispatched the guard to assemble the women and gather as much grain and meat as possible, while he guided the Romans through the narrow alleys of the Germanic town. He only felt hatred for the Roman oppressors who ruled free people against their will. We are Friends and Allies of Rome, not conquered people, he thought with anger. When they finally made it to the king’s hall, the Frisian women were already lined up in front of it. Among them, he noticed his wife and his three daughters. The Romans are going to pay for this, he thought. Behind him, the Roman line stopped and the centurion gave his orders in Latin, a language he could not understand.
Then some of the soldiers moved forward and started picking the most beautiful and healthy women, as if they were slaves and not free people. Anzo flushed from embarrassment. Among the women the Romans picked was one tall woman wearing fine jewellery made from amber and silver, unlike most other women who were dressed as farmers. “NO!”, shouted Ingomar. “Leave her alone!”, he continued in German. The woman, Auda, king Hengist’s daughter and Ingomar’s spouse stared at him with utter contempt, saying: “At least this way I’ll keep my family’s honour intact”, while her eyes, cold as the winter, seemed to blame him for not resisting. Indomar was shaked by the ferocity of her reaction, and saw Auda being taken away by Olennius himself, who understood from the prince’s reaction that she was the king’s daughter.
After the chose the best women, they loaded the town’s supply of meat, grain and ale on their mules and began marching slowly out of the town and towards the closest Roman fort in the west.
-“Now what?”, asked Ingomar.
-“Now we become their shadows. We will follow them and wait for the king to arrive with the men he is going to levy. Gather those me who are willing to follow us”, he told Ingomar.
-“If you say so”, was the answer. “Rorik”, Ingomar roared at the sentry, “assemble fifty men. Give them weapons from the royal arsenal. An axe and a shield for the farmers , bows and arrows for the hunters”, he commanded. “No armour, it will slow us down”, he added after some hesitation. His father always advised him never to face Romans witout armour.
-“Aye my lord”, the sentry replied while rushing to complee his task.
The sun had made little way across the sky when Anzo and Ingomar began inspecting the men assembled outside the town’s gate.
-“So, what do you think?”, Ingomar asked the battle-hardened warrior.
-“Well, I’ve led better warriors than them, but I’ve also led worse. They are good enough for the task at hand”, Anzo replied.
-“What route shall we follow then?”, was Ingomar’s question.
-“Well, the Roman fort is fifty Roman miles away from here. However, thirty miles from here there is an open, lightly wooded area surrounded by some mild hills on the one side. It’s where they will probably make camp for the night, as they are moving relatively slow due to their heavy load. In addition, they use the dirt roads they built twelve years ago to move through our forests, so I guess they’ll arrive there in about three hours. However, if we move swiftly cross-country using the old hunting tracks, we will be able to get there before them”, was Anzo’s reply.
-“Alright then, leave two men here to guide my father-in-law when he arrives, send five of the fastest and most experienced trackers to monitor the Romans and the rest of us shall follow the route you’re proposing”, was Ingomar’s orders.
Anzo nodded in agreement and executed the orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Hours Later
-“There they are”, whispered Ingomar with a tone of excitement in his voice.
Anzo gazed at the newly-built Roman camp more carefully than his companion.
-“They have taken one of our women each in his tent. With only five enemy sentries, this is going to be plain sailing”, he observed.
Ingomar chuckled. “Have we received word from the king?”, he asked the old man.
-“Not yet, but we’ll have to wait for the moon to rise completely before we attack. Just prepare yourself”, was the quick reply.
-“I’ll try to get some sleep then”, said Ingomar.
The moon had made half of its journey across the sky. The tranquility of nature was unbroken if for the occasional shouts of the Roman sentries who were trying to make sure that they were still alive. Suddenly, the crystal clear sound of a war-horn filled the air, while chaotic warcries were seemingly coming out of nowhere. Ingomar and Anzo woke up and rushed to inspect the Roman camp. The horn was blown again, this time louder . Afterwards, a few hundred Germanic warriors wearing dark clothes emerged from the thin vegetation and charged frantically towards the Romans, shouting intimidating warcries. Leading the charge was a large man on a huge black stallion, carrying an axe on the one hand and a large banner with the image of a horse on the other.
-“It’s the king!”, said Ingomar with joy.
-“Then let’s join him!”, shouted Anzo for all his men to hear. “Raise my banner” he barked at one of his men. A triangular red banner bearing the image of the head of a bear was raised.
-“CHARGE”, shouted Anzo.
-“Otta-Laus!”, screamed the men. Yes, without fear, thought Ingomar as he followed the gigantic Frisian downhill.
The small Germanic warband charged downhill to the Roman flank. The few sentries had already been overrun by the king’s men, so the battle had moved inside the Roman camp. The sight was terrifying to Ingomar’s eyes. Roman soldiers wearing just a chiton or even nothing were emerging from their tents holding a mere sword, only to be slaughtered by ruthless Germanic steel. He parried the blows of the few tired Romans who tried to harm him, while trying to keep up with Anzo, who was separating the Romans’ bodies from their heads with the calmness of an experienced warrior. All he could see was Frisian warriors slaughtering naked Romans, while his eyes teemed with cries of anguish from the Romans and terrifying cries of rage from their killers. Suddenly, as he was running towards the king’s banner, he felt someone grabbing his leg and he lost his balance, falling on the ground. The attacker, a naked, grey-haired Roman snatched his fallen sword and tried to stab him in the chest. Ingomar closed his eyes and grasped the hilt of his dagger so as to go to Wotan’s hall. However, instead of the excruciating pain he expected, he only felt a heavy load on his chest and warm blood running down his body. He opened his eyes.
-“Get up Prince. We have a battle to finish”, said a Frisian warrior bearing a battle-axe. He removed his helmet, and Ingomar saw it was Amalric.
-“Let’s do it”, he answered with a feeble voice.
However, when he got up he saw that there was little left to accomplish. The Germanic ambush had caught the Romans completely by surprise, as they were expecting no resistance. Now, the Germanic women were freed, and the men were reunited with their wives and daughters. Then Anzo and king Hengist arrived, both filled with blood and dirt, resembling the terrifying carvings Ingomar had seen in the shrine of Wotan portraying Ragnarok.
-“Twenty men will escort the women back to the village, along with half of the supplies. One of them will ride to Herman, king of the Chauci and Ragnar, king of the Ampsivarii to ask for assistance. Any forces sent are to meet us at the River Temple. The rest will rest here for the night and will resume marching in the morning.”, ordered Hengist.
Ingomar heard the king’s orders as he approached him, and asked surprised: “What happened?”
-“Olennius has escaped and has taken Auda with him”, was the bitter answer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Invincibility lies in defence, while the possibility of victory in the attack -Sun Tzu
Akouson me, pataxon de (hit me, but first listen to me)-Themistocles to Euribiadis prior to the battle of Salamis.
[This message has been edited by Alex_the_Bold (edited 10-07-2013 @ 10:15 AM).]