The Black Company

I couldn't believe what she was telling me. A man riding on a horse got a little closer and started shouting. His voice was deep and sent chills down my spine. He was shirtless and muscular with long black hair and two swords holstered around his waist.

"Hold fast Knights of Remus! This city will fall! Surrender and I will make your death quick. Open the gates and yield your lives to us. No one will come to save you!" Jack shouted

Sergeant William Marx walked to the edge of the wall and shouted down to him.

"We will never surrender! You have no chance of winning! We have plenty of resources to last us until a reserve legion marches down that road!" Marx shouted

Jack broke into laughter.

"So be it, if you will not surrender, then we will have to kill every last one of you. Screams of innocence will echo this town for eternity. Blood... the blood of the innocent will run through your streets. It will cover you. It will drown you." he said

"Archers!" Marx shouted

The Black Company quickly pulled back and stayed out of range but set up tents and fully surrounded Kelmarsh. Marx began barking orders and we were rushing all over the city and prepared for a long ride. Citizens were ordered to stay indoors and in basements if possible. And as for the soldiers, they were ordered to arm themselves and prepare for battle. A full unit of archers mounted the wall and would shoot anyone who got close to the wall. Marx counted food and water and started rationing them.

"We need to prepare for the worst. A siege is never easy. A few days in, the enemy usually waits and then tries to attack in the middle of the night. We need everyone on watch so take shifts when you get tired but never let your guard down." Marx said, talking to all of us.

Athena and I walked around the wall and saw them building siege equipment, tents, and they were destroying the farms outside of the walls. They didn't use fire because that would create a lot of smoke and attention. If Fort Zeke caught wind of this then the Black Company would be crushed. Athena told me that Jack is clever and wouldn't give up this golden opportunity. Since Kelmarsh is next to the border of Kralovia, no one else knows they are here. Jack would be able to withdraw the unit without repercussions. He also wouldn't want a long war. The worst of all, if they win the battle here and no one can stop them, they can easily march north and attack Fort Zeke. Athena also told me that most likely they have more forces on their way, but they wouldn't arrive for a few weeks at best. We heard heavy footsteps behind us and turned to see a man walking over.

"You two, go report to the quartermaster and get some food and water." he said

"Yes, sir." we said, making our way to get food.

"I wonder what they are planning." I said, picking up a tray

"Probably attack at night. Jack has no honor, so he would do anything to win." she said

"What do we do?" I asked

"Stay by the wall and defend it." she said

"That's it?" I asked

"Yeah. That's it. We can't leave this fort." she said

"Yeah." I said

"Don't be scared, Rowan. I'm the strongest here." she said with a soft smile.

Before the sun set fully, we heard loud banging on the fort gate. A battering ram. We rushed to the wall. Archers were trying to shoot, but the ram was fully covered. The gate itself was mostly iron and hard to break down. The only weak point was the hinges. And with enough men they could break them down.

"Get the boiling tar!" Marx shouted

We stepped out of the way and watched as knights dumped pots of tar onto the ram, the cover was wood, and it melted through and we heard screaming of the bandits under it. Archers of both sides began shooting arrows. Athena grabbed my shoulder and pulled me under cover.

"They are going to try to scale the walls and force their way in." she said

"Okay." I said

"What's the plan?" I asked

"If they use ladders then it is easy, but if they use a tower then defend with your life. I will be right next to you." she said

Marx was shouting. Arrows were flying. Men were yelling. This was a nightmare. There were so many of them. Too many. The sun was almost gone and then they started scaling the walls. Their army was trying to break into the city, but the archers on the wall were doing well. They shot anyone who was getting close. If a ladder was put up, someone would push it back down. But then a siege tower started its move. Athena got in front of me and grabbed a torch. Before the tower reached the wall, she threw the torch onto it and archers used flammable arrows to burn it down. I looked around at the field below us. There Jack was, smiling and laughing. Anger grew inside me.

"Focus Rowan!" Athena shouted

"Sorry!" I said

"The south side!" a knight yelled

We both looked over and saw a successful siege tower mounted to the wall. Marx, Athena, and I rushed over with a few other knights. The enemy was piling in. Someone was able to break off the tower and catch it on fire. But at least ten or more bandits made it inside. Athena grabbed me and looked into my eyes when talking.

"Listen to me carefully. These are professionals. Do NOT hesitate when fighting because they will kill you whenever they have the chance to. Stay close to me." she ordered

I nodded. Marx and the other knights began fighting. Athena jumped in and so did I. We were on the wall until a bandit tackled me and we fell down the stairs.

"Rowan!!!" Athena shouted, trying to follow me but kept getting stopped

The bandit had a sword and a bucket shield. I looked around quickly and realized I had to fight him alone. He lunged forward with his sword. I moved away and used my sword to block his attacks. He was stronger than me. We locked swords many times. I swung at his chest but he stepped out of the way. He was way more experienced than I was. He knocked the sword out of my hand and jumped on top of me. He raised his blade above my throat. I was paralyzed. My life flashed before my eyes, but suddenly the weight was lifted off of me. I saw Athena covered in blood and sweat, although she had no wounds herself. She charged the bandit and pierced his chest and aggressively pulled out her sword and he fell hard to the cold floor. She ran over to me and hugged me and then started crying as she inspected my body.

"Thank the gods you are okay!" she yelled

A horn was blown and the Black Company withdrew momentarily. We stood up and looked around. The field around us was littered with dead bodies. When Athena and I joined up with the others, they were patting each other on the back. Athena ran to Marx and he put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a smile.

"Great job, Athena. You too, Rowan." Marx said

"Thanks." we said

"They will try again, but probably not tonight. We will rest up and wait. We will treat the injured and burn the bodies. Hopefully the smoke will attract others. Go get food and quickly get cleaned and rest." he said

"Yes, sir." we said

As they left, I grabbed Athena's hand.

"I'm sorry about-" I started saying

"Shut up. I knew what I was signing up for when I asked you. I just didn't know that it would be this intense. I'm sorry, Rowan." she said, "let's do what Marx said."

"Yeah." I agreed.

"Are you injured?" she asked

"I don't think so. I feel like there's a lot of blood on me but it isn't mine." I said

"Same." she said

We went and grabbed food and drink and brought them to our room. We bathed quickly and changed. We took a short nap before awakening to help and see what had happened. I followed closely behind her as we walked around the city. We found that most of the buildings were still standing and everyone was accounted for. Most of the Black Company was still out there, but there were no more attacks. The following day was the same. They attacked a couple times but didn't seem to succeed in taking any part of the wall. The archers were doing well and most of the Black Company stayed out of range. I ran into Tarius while we were going to see Marx.

"Rowan!?!" he asked in a surprised tone.

"Tarius? Can't talk right now, but I'm glad to see you are alive." I said

"Likewise." he said

"See you later." I said

"Yeah, later." he said, waving bye.

We arrived at the wall and looked out over it. There were dead bodies of the Black Company. Athena ran over to the other knights and gave orders.

"Sir, what's the plan?" I asked, walking up to Marx.

"The same as yesterday. We will hold our ground. We will burn the dead bodies and pray that others see the smoke and help us." he said

But the next battle didn't come. Not for three days. The supplies of the city were dwindling fast. Marx told the citizens that everything was fine, but all the soldiers knew the truth. We wouldn't last five more days. There were no signs of any help coming, but I was hopeful. We all were. But the gods are cruel. The next battle was way worse than the first. They attacked in full force. Archers. Towers. Ladders. And a new battering ram with a metal shield above it.