C.O.W: Chapter 7

Battle of Gomatz, winter of the year three hundred and fifty two.

'Get to the stables!' Tris shouted at the top of his voice as he turned on the spot and lashed out with his weapon. The broadsword tore through the soldiers chequered red and black tunic and the man crashed to the ground clutching a death wound where his kidneys used to be just seconds before. Sorset arrows whizzed overhead and at the far side of the square four Harrillen defenders dropped dead. Another soldier charged round the corner where a constant flow seemed to emerge from and with an almost vertical cut Tris left a gash on the soldiers face, killing him with a single strike. As the soldier hit the floor with a dull thud more arrows shot through the air, Tris was pulled backwards out of their way by one of the Harrillen soldiers. The Sorset battle line rumbled into a charge and, now within range of the Harrillen archers, they returned fire with vicious flurries of arrows and bolts. Near to where Tris stood with the army of Harrillen the troops made a defensive line across the only way into the square, lining up with their shields in front of them they waited for the onslaught of Sorset, and inevitable death. Tris, finally finding some time when he wasn't cutting down the Sorset scouts, ran across the square to Kahlan, squatted against a broken door to an inn.
'Get out of here!' he yelled. 'There's nothing you can do here. Get on a horse, I saw some stables back there, and ride as fast as you bloody can to the palace city, let them know that Gomatz will have been destroyed by the time you're there. They have to mobilise their army and call for aid from Valiquet, if they don't then the kingdom will become a ruin under Sorset rule!'
'What!' she cried, almost too quiet to be heard 'what are you going to do? If you stay here to fight then you're going to die, you're seriously not that stupid are you?' Half of Kahlan's voice was filled with anger and rage that he might actually leave her on her own after everything, the other half filled with sorrow that he would almost certainly meet his death here.
'Don't you worry about me Kahlan!' Tris shouted back, louder than before 'I can handle myself. I'll harass the Sorset troops for long enough for you to get away, otherwise you'll never make it away from here then I'll get on a horse myself and hope they haven't got far enough to block off all the exits out from here! Besides, if the palace city are to be told about his then I need to know who's leading this army, which general I mean. Hopefully someone will let loose with their tongue before too long'. Kahlan looked at Tris, unsure of what to say. 'Captain, get her out of here' he yelled.
Two big arms came up from behind Kahlan, one from each side, and she realised that she was being dragged off from the battlefield to be sent away. As she kicked out and punched at the two man dragging her away Tris stood back up facing the captain. Immediately they heard the sounds of combat from the battle line, upon turning they saw the hordes of Sorset men set upon their own Harrillen troops and set about tearing them limb from limb. Arrows rushed overhead and two Sorset soldiers were felled, Sorset axes equalled that number however and as yet none of the Harrillen melee infantry had made a mark on the battle. How had it came to this, a last ditch attempt of saving Gomatz was surely going to kill him now. He had not slept the last night, after hearing the sounds of the Sorset attacking force Tris had rushed on ahead with Kahlan to warn Gomatz, sure that that was where the attack was headed. In time to warn Gomatz of the imminent attack it was not enough to evacuate the people, barely an hour after arriving in the city it was put under attack and Tris found himself rallying a defence. The square in which he stood in marked the centre of the small city, an inn, some stables, a church and some barracks were its major landmarks. There were four roads into the central square, one from each angle, and to the east of the square lay another, smaller, square which was famous in Harrillen for its marble fountain. One hundred and fifty soldiers manned the smaller square while one hundred more than that number defended the larger, central square. The city had been under attack since dawn, late as it was in winter months. Tris and the captain had climbed up the barracks tower and counted eight hundred Sorset soldiers set about wreaking havoc on the city with catapults. The once marvellous fountain now lay in rubble and much of the houses, indeed any building, lay destroyed where they stood. Many of Gomatz's people had fled since the first attack. Many more had been cut down by another four hundred soldiers on horseback lying in wait on the other side of the city. Taken completely by surprise the city was outnumbered by three to one, it was over before it had even started; what was left was nothing. Tris rushed back to the battle, the captain just feet behind him.
Stepping right into the front of the fray Tris avoided a Sorset arrow which continued on to pierce another man's armour and kill him. Picking up the dead man's shield he drew his sword again and parried an incoming attack by an already bloodied sword, sweeping down with his own blade he swung it across the range of his assailant and hacked through the weak bone of the attackers arm. Using his shield to punch the man backwards into his own line he watched as an incoming spear was wasted as it pierced a body from its own side. The captain soon arrived at Tris's side and made a large area around himself as he withdrew his own weapon and started swinging; a large dual ended battle axe, the bulky man used his brute strength to swing the weapon upwards into a Sorset soldiers guts. Though Tris and the captain headed the defence in combat arrows still fired overhead and took down another four Harrillen defenders, it just wasn't going to be enough. In the distance Tris could see a Sorset soldier with two golden stripes adorning his tunic; a lieutenant. Ever getting closer to him Tris swung with his blade and killed another two. Taking the first down with a low strike cutting off his leg he continued the attack and lunged his blade forward taking the second man by surprise, piercing his heart and killing him. The captain turned on his feet and smashed the hilt of his weapon into an attacking soldier. Continuing through he rotated his weapon around and attacked from up high cracking the attackers collar bone under the weight of his axe sending him sprawling into the ground. On the far flank of the battle Harrillen forces had somehow created a gap in the Sorset line and three soldiers rushed forward, hacking five enemies apart in a bloodlust. Almost immediately the Sorset lieutenant retaliated, drawing a throwing knife strapped to his thigh with a flick of the wrist it caught one man in the chest as the lieutenant reached his hand up to draw his three and a half foot greatsword. The soldier himself was a giant well over seven feet and swung into an attack that used all the force he could muster behind it and sent the Harrillen soldier sprawling three feet backwards into a wall, killed before he even touched the wall blood trickled from the defenders ribs. As the third enraged soldier closed in on the behemoth soldier Tris found himself back in combat, blocking the attack with his shield he stabbed down on the attackers guts, an attack that was soon followed up by the captains hacking off of one of the attackers arms. The lieutenant meanwhile stood back as the latest Harrillen soldier raised his sword up high, as soon as that happened and just before he was about to swing back in with a killing blow he was stabbed himself with a killing blow. The huge greatsword that had already killed one of his comrades suddenly shot forward with a jolt of great speed and embedded itself in the Adam's Apple of the man. He dropped slowly off the oversized blade as he choked on his blood practically welling up inside him. Eventually the blood spurted everywhere, both out of his neck and out of his mouth as he dropped to the floor and made his contribution to the pool of scarlet liquid that ran on the floor around him. Suddenly a crossbow bolt whizzed past Tris's ear from behind him, only being able to thump into an enemy shield. Tris was enraged the bolt had came so close to hitting him and even so it had not taken down its intended target. As that intended target got close to him Tris just waited for half a second until his opportunity became available. The soldier moved his shield just an inch away from himself, capitalising on the opportunity Tris wrenched the shield fully away from the man and proceeded to stab the man repeatedly to death. 'Watch out!' he looked up, the huge Sorset lieutenant was towering above him ready to reign down blow after blow onto him from above. Rolling away from the first attack Tris attempted to find his feet but was annoyed by a Harrillen soldier who accidently got in his way and he was forced to dodge a second attack that went through to kill his unfortunate ally. Finding his feet on this attempt Tris sized off with the large man. He quite simply dodged one attack and lunged forward with a slash across the lieutenant's body. The lieutenant this time stepped back before coming in to attack again with a dive forward that Tris sidestepped and put his shield in the way of to protect himself further as he turned to the man and slashed down against the man's arm. There was a great roar from the Sorset soldier as blood spurted out from his arm and he dropped his weapon, a defence by instinct immediately ensued  and he raised his hand which he promptly punched in Tris's face sending him back a foot or two. Both sides shouted over the din of battle for at least a temporary attack, just getting his breath back the captain charged down two more Sorset soldiers before they had no more chance to chase after them and a volley of arrows entered their sight from far off. The Harrillen defenders turned and ran, retreating from the large volley of arrows that darkened they sky from where the men of Sorset were coming from. In the bloody mess on the ground the captain picked Tris up and dropped him on his shoulder as he barged his way past his men to get to the front of the charge away from the arrows. As the arrows began to drop to the ground Tris could hear pain from the Harrillen troops but inside he knew that he wouldn't be hit by them, he was now too far out to be in range of the arrows but many of those he had had just fought with would be impaled by them. Suddenly he was dropped to the ground and found himself using his own legs as he turned and saw the captain head back into range of the arrows to pull out as many of his men as he could. Almost immediately the arrows started hitting their targets and those who hadn't made it to safety fell dead, the captain was saved at the last second by a soldier who rammed him out of the way, doubtless he would be in two minds about that; unable to save his soldiers he was still alive himself.
'Number count!' the captain shouted, from nowhere there came the sound of running and everyone turned on their six, half expecting a sneak attack from Sorset while they had the chance to take them unawares. Instead they saw the troops positioned in the fountain square, all battered from the fight their weapons were splattered with blood, Tris was barely able to count their number up to thirty. They came running up, panting for breath, 'We were taken by surprise, and by over four times our number. We had no chance, the square is overrun. With all due respect captain the only hope this city has is if we make a run for it, if we come back another time' the sergeant said in a low voice.
Suddenly the ground rumbled around them and was torn to pieces as catapults fired into the city once more. What was once the top floor of the inn fell to the ground and almost crushed five soldiers five soldiers sitting underneath it had they not jumped out of the way hastily. Two other soldiers had not been as fast though and their friends now mourned them. 'Take cover!' came the cry and from all over catapults launched rocks two times the size of men around the survivors. The remnants of the church fell to the ground and crushed another five men with sickening impact.
'You and you come with me!' The captain roared, pointing at the sergeant and Tris. 'I don't think the catapults are in range to fire upon the barracks or its tower. We need to get up there, see if we can make head or tails of their movement'. Tris nodded, if they didn't know where they would be attacked from next then it would be the end with the next attack. Instantly they moved off to the barracks, the few soldiers left standing now by its doors, what they thought as possibly the only safe place at that time. Once inside the two soldiers and Tris turned to the large stairs of the barracks that led to the old tower. Up up and up they went having no clue what was happening below them until finally they reached a hatch at the top of the stairs. Upon opening the hatch they looked out at clean air for the first time all day. The Sorset army having set alight to many of the outlying buildings before heading into the city to cover their movements had gave the attackers an advantage.
'Yes, I'm right' the captain said after a long gaze at the Sorset battle line. He picked out the catapults with a knowing glance and pointed them out to his companions. 'The catapults are out of range from this tower. But look' he pointed to somewhere closer, within the city walls 'they're coming back and this time it's all of them. I doubt we're at one hundred men left, sergeant, relay the order to evacuate the city. All troops, if they get out, are to head to the palace city and join with the defence there'. The sergeant nodded and turned to head downstairs when he noticed something.
'Sir' he began, when the captain bid him continue he did so. 'There are more men there, look on the eastern and southern flanks not just the north where you pointed. And I'd dare say that means they'll be coming from the west aswell, we're pinned in to this position'. The captain cursed loudly but then the sergeant spoke again. 'Shit!' he yelled 'the catapults sir, they're moving. If our troops take the chance to move now they'll be hacked to the ground. More importantly sir, If the catapults are moving then we're not in the best position up here!' Suddenly a rock flew up from one of the Sorset catapults, Tris saw it first and cried out to get the hell down the stairs as he put it. It made no difference, the rock flew into the tower and within a second the stairs two flights below were destroyed. 'Oh shit' Tris groaned as he looked out and saw another rock flying in to take the tower out, and if the tower fell then it would crush all the troops in the square, this was the end of Gomatz, brave as it was. 'Brace yourself!' he shouted and an instant later the three in the tower felt the impact of the rock and the tower began to topple. Tris rushed to the closed thing he could see that he could hold on to; in this case it was the banister of the stairs that were destroyed further down. Then the tower smashed into the ground, falling over sixty feet in less than five seconds. Stones flew everywhere and crushed both the men out of the tower and the sergeant and the captain in the tower.
*
Tris could hear marching in the back of his head, he also had a throbbing sensation that was simply agonising. His eyes were closed and he could barely feel his body; within a second it all came back to him. He shot back and hit his head against a hard rock in the destroyed tower. He opened his eyes only to find dust penetrating his vision and he sneezed loudly. His grip fixed around a weapon, his broadsword, yet once again it seemed like he was going to need a new crossbow. He picked it up cautiously with one hand as he moved around to find his shield. In the end he didn't find his shield, instead he came across the captain's shield which he figured was just as good if not better. He pushed himself up off the ground on which the dusty remnants of the old barracks tower now lay upon. Then he remembered the marching, the soldiers of Sorset were closing in on him. He started to run, aiming in the direction in which he thought the stables, or what was left of them, lay. As soon as he turned the corner around the destroyed barracks he saw the stables and a sigh of relief passed through him. Then an advance squad of eight soldiers marched around the wall to the side of it. At the same time they charged, he charged. As the first of the eight raised his weapon up high after sprinting away from the rest of the squad Tris saw his chance and sliced through the ribs near to the man's vulnerable armpit. Then the second soldier came and Tris hacked him down cutting his left arm off from a high attack. A bloodlust came over him; the first such bloodlust since the end of the war. He span and slashed, bringing down a third soldier, then he made a reverse slash and cut down a fourth. He jumped back as the fifth attacker lunged in then shot forward with a jolt and rammed the hilt of his sword against the soldier's forehead, the soldier fell back to the ground, unconscious this time not dead. Catching the fifth attack mid swing he held it off as he turned to face the seventh and eighth attackers they broke under the pressure and ran leaving Tris to finish off attacker number six with a backhanded attack that cut through the soldiers face. 'Stables, now!' Tris thought 'before they come back with more of them' putting his boot through the weakened door he stepped through to still see some horses that hadn't fled through fear or been stolen by the populace in the botched attempt at evacuating the city. Tris thought he heard a whimper from somewhere in the stables as he attached an oat bag to one of the healthier, faster looking horses, he looked around, there was definitely something behind the sacks of hay used as bedding for the horses. Slowly moving closer to them Tris picked up an old brush which he used to push away the sacks of hay, suddenly it shot out at him. It was Kahlan.
'What the fuck are you still doing here!' He shouted, outraged, slapping her and pushing her back into the wall 'I told you to get the hell away from here and warn the palace city but no, instead you decide to stay put and peer through a gap in an unstable wall to see how close we are to all dying!'
'I had to see if you were going to be okay!' she shouted back yet she knew it wasn't enough, she had betrayed his trust and it wasn't something she was proud of, she wished now that she's gone. But then, then she had to know if he was going to be all right.
'I said I'd be fine!' Tris roared at the top of his voice 'and this is how you repay your country that you declare to love so much. If you think you can do so well around here why don't you take a sword to the guts just like every other soldier who've just laid down their lives here!' he shouted and slapped her again as she close once more 'why can't you just trust what I say, it would've saved you so much trouble'. He said, calming himself down slightly as Kahlan had just shocked him after all, that being part of his anger. In all good conscience though, he thought as he pulled himself up onto the horse he couldn't leave her to be raped and killed by the Sorset army. 'Climb up then, but next time I say something, trust me when I say it otherwise I might not be so kind next time'. As he said that and saw Kahlan nod, clearly mad with herself, he wondered if he wouldn't be as kind next time something like this happened, if something like this happened again. It was still entirely possible that they would die before they got out of Gomatz, but it was a risk more than worth taking.
Tris spurred the horse forward, squeezing his feet and knees together to shunt the horse into action. The horse incidentally was a entirely black horse with a long mane bred only in Harrillen, though that was of no significance to anyone whilst trying to escape a burning city with enemies closing in on all sides. They burst out of the half closed door of the stables and almost immediately, on their left, arrows shot close to the horse, fortunately for Tris they landed well away from him. Turning right from the stables he spurred the horse on to the western gate which was fortunately the gate closest to the road leading towards the Harrillen palace city. Happy that this would mean no doubling back at some point at the day's end he could possibly, with some good luck, reach the city by midday the day after a week tomorrow.
'Tris' Kahlan said out loud 'I've just thought. Gomatz is almost halfway between the Sorset border and the palace city, how the hell have they got so close to it so fast?' Tris sat back in his seat, lost for words, how could they have done it? Sorset were making lightning strikes all over the Harrillen countryside but unless they had inside men in Harrillen they couldn't have got this far, taken Gomatz this fast. Tris tried to think of an answer but he could only think of one, and it wasn't a nice one at that any way he put it, not for Harrillen or Valiquet in any case; Herrier was acting as a dual agent both for and against the alliance. Now he would really want him dead. Tris sighed and tried to recollect his thoughts, he had to find out what was happening and what he could do to stop it. As he turned the corner however which would take him to city gate he saw something that really made him feel bad. A score of troops had been left by the Sorset army in case anyone tried to get away, this was not going to end peacefully. Instantly has hand drew to his sword once again and he sighed, silently thanking non-existent gods as the soldiers left their post to see if they could charge him down. Doing so separated them from a defended position making it just a little easier to get out of the gates, though it would still be unlikely to happen.
Boom! Suddenly, as Tris instinctively looked up, a cascading shower of rocks was falling from above. The catapults seemed to be back in use and firing from afar, taking pot-shots when they couldn't see his exact location. Sorset, it seemed, didn't want anyone to get out of the city alive. Inadvertently this gave Tris just the chance he needed; leading the reluctant horse directly towards to collapsing buildings he spurred the horse one even faster than before and shot forward before the rocks could even reach the ground. The soldiers, scared of the falling rocks finally realised their mistake too late and turned to rush back to their post not wanting to be reprimanded for letting somebody through their defences. Tris laughed though, it was too little too late on their behalf and, at the end of the battle they had got sloppy and made two mistakes. Yes they were only two mistakes in the battle but Sorset would rue the day they made those mistakes. By the time the soldiers ever got close to the gate once again Tris was well away from the city walls and down the road.