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Naturally it was the Varitai who reacted first, two full battalions, probably kept awake to guard against a surprise attack, for up to bar his path with their custo and presenting a hedgerow of spears However, for all their unconscious discipline, even they were not i their heads as the sun rose free of the mountains It caused a certain ripple in their ranks but was not enough to disrupt the more
The first spear-hawk streaked past his ear, close enough to feel the wing-tip brush his skin, dozenson either side an instant later They struck the centre of the Varitai line in a tight black sware or duck The centre of the Varitai’s line beca fro blood and flesh fro back down By the tile the Volarian ranks had already been broken
Vaelin took Scar directly through the chaos, seeing a Volarian officer dragged down by a trio of wolves, his throat torn out in short order The Volarians had for in er than the Volarian soldiery he had fought before, ht terror at the sight of the horde of beasts wreaking havoc before their eyes The bulk of the wolves tore into the to pieces under the onslaught in the space of a few seconds The neighbouring forht defensive circle andto cut down many of the wolves that assailed it They had no answer to the spear-hawks, however Having dealt with the Varitai, their shaainst the Free Swords, streaking down in a black rain as the wolves continued to attack, running forward in pairs to fasten their jaws on the legs of the Volarians and drag theht of a battalion coh as he rallied hisorders He angled Scar towards the co down his horse The man leapt clear as the horse screa to his feet in tialloped on to scatter the partly rallied round
Vaelin reined Scar to halt, glancing around to find Iron Claw pounding an unfortunate Volarian to death with hisalht gliht as the tribesfolk tore furiously at the northern peri from the south and west indicated the plan had worked, at least initially The Volarians were now assaulted on all sides and their ranks broken in the east But the cai with the automaton rhythm typical of Varitai This battle was far fro stock still, low to the ground and nose pointed at the centre of the camp where the densest mass of Varitai could be seen He wheeled Scar about and spurred hirowl as he followed, the wolves soon striking out ahead, ignoring the wounded or dazed Free Swords wandering about
The spear-hawks re-for the Volarian centre in a dense mass They were fewer in number now, but their ferocity seemed undimmed as they rose and fell in a ceaseless, deadly spiral, raining blood as eyelessand Varitai lashing out at thin air in du
Vaelin saw them then, a knot of liled Scar towards the around hih it, parrying spear-blades and hacking down any who strayed too close
The first two red men appeared before hi, both ht circle, their swords blurring as they cut spear-hawks froht for the towards hinition He spurred his horse to the left whilst his coht in a coordinated attack Vaelin leaned low, half-hanging out of the saddle as they closed, parrying the stroke froained the saddle and wheeled, hauling Scar to a halt as the two red ly puzzled by his iaze in turn, fixing them
Iron Claw reared up with a bellow, both claws raised high The red men tried to spur their horses aside but too late as the claws ca deep into the spine of both animals They screa clear of the carnage, coht down by Astorek’s wolves They struggled in silence, each held fast by four wolves, their jaws clamped on each limb They stared up at Vaelin with all the ht terror as Wise Bear clied and screauttural exhalations as the shaman knelt and pressed his hands to their foreheads The shuddering ceased in an instant, both redin confusion as Wise Bear reaped at each other then at Vaelinthen the wolves
“Brother” one said, looking up at him in white-faced entreaty
Vaelin turned Scar about as the wolves did their work, deaf to the brief screa above the chorus of snarls Mishara was at his side once ures near the western edge of what remained of the camp A brief survey confirmed most of the field was now in their hands The southern flank had been coht of the Wolf People’s nu spears held low, bunching occasionally to deal with small clusters of resistance To the north the tribesfolk had surrounded what appeared to be the remnants of the Volarian cavalry, a few hundredvainly to break free He watched rider after rider falling to the rained disunity seeotten now
“My lord!”
Vaelin ducked instinctively at Orven’s shouted warning, soed Scar about to face three htly ar a sword in each hand Kuritai
Orven blocked the charge of the leader, crouching low to sweep his sword at the slave-elite’s legs The Kuritai leapt the blade easily and whirled in midair, his blade aimed at Orven’s neck The captain, however, was no novice and parried the blow, jabbing his oord into the Kuritai’s face, then bringing the sword up and around in a swift and near-perfect riposte that left the age another as the third dodged past theh Misharahiave an audible crack
Vaelin spurred Scar forward, seeing Orven being hard-pressed by the re a swift and couardsman to his knees Vaelin was still ten feet short of therasp and raised his blades for the final blow, then abruptly stiffened, head snapping up as Lorkan blinked into view, arer into the base of the slave-elite’s skull
The Gifted withdrew the blade with a distasteful grimace and looked up at Vaelin as he trotted closer His face was streaked with blood fro him to continually wipe it fro a little as he pointed his bloody dagger to the raging struggle nearby “It’s Alturk”
The wolves went ahead of hied Volarian line of wounded and part-blinded Varitai, allowing hih with Wise Bear and Iron Claw close behind He saw Alturk twenty yards ahead, war club whirling as he spun and dodged a to co held back by a company of Kuritai, Lonak and slave-elite locked in a vicious struggle as the Tahlessa fought hopeless odds But still he lived, cuts on his ar as the red ednow, foa his flanks andwith effort Vaelin watched as Alturk dodged a sword and brought his club around to sla blow to the head as Vaelin had instructed The red men, however, had clearly allowed the blow to land to draw Alturk forward, two of thes He sidestepped the first stroke but not the second, the blade biting deep into his thigh and sending hirimace