Siege

Richard felt his heart pounding as he pushed himself. Jimmy, as usual, outran the mal land disappeared around a bend in the road ahead. Just past the bend, the road ran straight and true to the main gate, with no buildings obstructing the view. Just as he approached the bend, the bells at the gate stopped altogether. The keep’s alarm bells continued to ring out frantically, calling all the city’s defenders to their posts. That was bad.

He rounded the main bend with ten or more of the men around him. Without a word, they all stopped suddenly. Jimmy stood not fifteen feet ahead, his drawn short at his side. A mile away, black, billowing smoke obscured the main gate from their vision. Men fought on the street itself not a quarter mile away. The gate had been breached. How the enemy could overcome their defenses so quickly when sis months of siege and random attacks had never been able to do so baffled Richard. He felt his jaw drop, and his heart fall.

"Oes help us all!" he whispered out loud.

Ahead, the forms of men in royal livery with drawn weapons could be easily seen gushing from the black smoke. First ten, then twenty, then a horde of hundreds, all screaming at the top of their lungs as they cut down the few defenders who tried to stand their ground in the streets. Several city defenders fled past them, running wildly with fear in their eyes. "The gate is breached! The gate is breached!" was their cry.

Richard stood for a moment also, unclear as to what he should do. He gripped the hilt of his sword so tightly he felt his fingers would bleed, but he had not drawn it yet. Jimmy, ten paces ahead, was backing away from the approaching mass of attackers. Richard felt the men around him slowly back away also. He could feel his own feet take him backwards and away from the attacking horde as if they acted on their own. He felt his throat tighten as the realization that the city was falling before his eyes finally hit his brain.

Even Harry was turning away from the rout before them. The small band of men in the street could never stop the hundreds that approached. Richard glanced over his shoulder to see that most had already turned and disappeared back around the bend in the road toward the main keep. His eyes met Daniel’s, and were greeted by a look of abject fear.

"Run. Now!" he heard Harry say under his breath. Without another word, they all turned and ran.

He sped around the corner as fast as his legs would take him. He could hear the screams of the attackers behind him. He didn’t know when the men at the keep would close the gates when there were still defenders in the city, but he knew he had to hurry. He ran for another half mile before he felt his legs begin to tire. He hadn’t noticed, but his breath was becoming very labored. The fear overrode such sensations, however.

With no warning, he felt a hand grab the collar of his shirt. His shirt was jerked roughly backwards and his feet flew out form beneath him. He landed on the cobblestone street with a thud, looking up at Daniel’s scarred face. At first, he thought of jumping to his feet and defending himself.

"Dammit, man!" Daniel was saying. "Did your ears take leave of your head!"

Richard looked confused for a moment.

"We’ve been trying to call out to you for the last mile! The keep’s already closed, you fool! We need to get off the streets!" Daniel said. "Now get up!"