Chapter 11

A hail of arrows slammed into my chest and bounced off my shield as I galloped forward. Fortunately none penetrated my armour or struck my horse so I just ignored them. Instead I pressed onward closing the distance between myself and the troop of Mongol warriors. My target was the lead rider. He had a horse hair plume streaming from his leather cap and he was carrying a curved sword. Based on my first impressions, he looked like the troop leader. Whether he was or he wasn't, he'd be the first to feel the bite of my longsword.

We came together with a crash of metal upon metal. The Mongol threw up his sword in an attempt to block my attack. My blade had risen up as my horse had pounded down towards the man and as we met, I brought it down on him with all my strength. His blade proved no match for the metal of my high tech blade and it shattered before his very eyes and an instant later the point of my longsword continued downward until it sliced through his body from shoulder to side, cutting him in two and killing him instantly.

I did not hesitate as I rode past the dying man. My mount was still advancing and I was now surrounded by milling warriors' intent upon bringing me down. Those with swords closed with me in an attempt to stop me but they failed. Their swords either bounced off my shield or were parried aside by my sword. Arrows struck me from a distance but these hit my armoured torso and fell away like harmless toys. Still the Mongols tried and I was forced to close with one or two as I pushed through their ranks in an attempt to reach their rear and to draw their attention to me and not the biker that I'd left standing on the slope. One brave lancer came charging at me and I dealt with him quickly and cleanly. While his lance shattered against my shield I bore down on him and finished him off with a sweep of my sword before riding out of the mass of warriors. Once beyond them I reined in once more and wheeled about to face the horde and what would come.

That's when I heard the pistol shots. The Mongols had reined in as I had passed by them, frantic to bring the fight to me and amazed that I was still sitting my horse and ready to do battle. The pistol shots brought them up short, causing them to first glance skyward and then at the biker. It gave me an advantage and I took it. I kicked my mount into action again and drove back through the Mongols once more from the rear. As I did, I cleaved down two more riders.

"Climb up," I yelled to the biker as I reined in before him, placing myself between the Mongols and the person, "and I'll carry you to safety."

As I spoke I lowered my free hand towards the person to help him up. Instead the person backed away and pointed their pistol at me. It was an automatic and from the person's stance I got the feeling that they knew how to use it. Unfortunately I didn't get to say another word. It was about then I got hit with half a dozen arrows. Five struck my armour and bounced off, one struck my thigh. Fuck did that hurt.

"Run," I screamed at the person turning back again to face the Mongols that were now riding towards me. As I did, three more arrows slammed into my chest and then bounced off. By then I'd forgotten about the biker. Instead I was trying to focus on surviving.

I got my sword up to block a slash from the lead rider in the trio that had charged me. His sword clanged ineffectively off of my sword and when it rose again to strike me, I dropped my blade low and drove it into the wielder's chest killing him instantly with my thrust. As I pulled my blade out I found myself being pressed on both sides. That was when the pistol rang out again and the attacker on my right dropped from his horse.

The shot gave everyone pause again except for me. Seeing the opportunity that it presented I lashed out at the rider on my left and took his head off before he could block my attack with his sword. As his head fell, I glanced at the biker once again and saw the person sitting astride his bike. To my amazement the bike was hovering inches above the ground. The rider was looking at me and holding his pistol at the ready.

"Ride," I screamed at him, kicking my mount into action as I spoke. My leg hurt and I wanted to get out of there. If that bike was hovering over the ground it could move. At that point I didn't really care. I was outnumbered even with the other person using his pistol. Eventually, a stray arrow or lance would hit either me or my horse or the biker and that would be that. Flight was my best option now and I just wanted to get up the hill and back to my team.

I made it but not before taking another half dozen arrows in my back although none penetrated my armour. As I crested the hill with the Mongols hot on my heels, I was greeted by my party armed to the teeth with bows and as I rode through them, they launched a volley that sent the Mongols scurrying back down the hill, leaving another four dead on its slopes. As for the biker, he was nowhere in sight.

Between myself, the biker, and my party we'd thinned out the troop of Mongol warriors. Of the original number there were only fourteen left. In my books that was a good number. It meant that we might actually get out of this alive. As I scrambled from my mount I winced in pain from the arrow that was still sticking out of my thigh. Grabbing it I pulled it from the wound, feeling flesh tear as I did and the wet of blood running down my leg.

"Are you all right my mate," Kola called to me as she ran up to where I was standing beside my mount.

"Find me a cloth to staunch the blood and bind this wound, my mate," I told her quickly, "and then get me my bow and quiver. Once I've tended the wound, I will tend to our attackers."

Thankfully Kola knew when to talk and when to act and the force of my words told her that it was time to act. She ran to where the packhorses were hobbled and tethered and she started rooting about in one of the panniers hanging from the pack harness. A moment later she returned to me with a linen under-tunic which she started tearing up. After a moment or two, she had an improvised pressure bandage upon my wound and bound in place with strips of linen cloth. Then she took off again only to return a moment later with my longbow and quiver in her hands. While standing and waiting Kola's return I noticed just how lucky I was. An arrow had struck deep into the saddle of my mount and another had come to stop in the bedroll that I had tied behind it. It was a sharp reminder of how real this game really was.

"All right," I said to her once I'd strung my bow and slung my quiver over my shoulder, "let's go and see what's going on."

The knoll was a small hill in the centre of the grassland surrounded by lesser hills and spaces of open flat land. There were two boulders sitting at the crest of the knoll that offered scant shelter as they were only about a foot or so off the ground. There was also a small copse of trees to which Rory had tethered the horses. They were barely ten feet tall and they offered neither protection from the sun or from attack.

The Mongols were at the bottom of the hill gathered about in a group, deep in conversation. It was obvious that some had been spooked by the biker and his pistol. As legend tells it, the only thing that a Mongol fears is thunder and to them, the pistol had made thunder that killed. Unfortunately, where they were standing was well out of range of our bows, including mine and there was little that we could do but sit and wait for them to act. Of course, before they did anything, things went from bad to worse. Another flash of light appeared on the horizon and a moment later another troop of Mongols were riding across the grassland towards us and the other band of Mongol warriors. I just sighed at that sight and shook my head.

"Food and water," I called out to the people standing about me. "Get it and let's have a meal before we need to fight. It'll help."

I got dubious looks from Kola, Caitlin, and Rory but not from Nimue and Zahra. They ran quickly to the packhorses to gather what I'd called for and returned with it a few minutes later. It wasn't much besides trail meat and pouches of seed, dried fruit, and nuts, but it was something to fill our stomachs and take our minds of the pending onslaught and at that moment I felt that was what was needed.

Everyone was quiet while we sat and ate. It gave me time to think and to strategise and to issue instructions to my group. I had Rory run and grab every quiver of arrows or bolts off of our pack animals and drag them over to the low lying rocks so that we'd have them at hand. While he was off doing that, I dug into my carrying bag and dug out the caltrops that I'd liberated from Jared's armoury. There weren't many but I made use of them just the same. One by one I tossed them out in front of our position sowing them in a very thin defensive line. When I was done, I gave them orders.

"If they charge up the hill aim for their horses," I told them very seriously. "At the very least you've killed their mount and have put them on their feet as infantry which is less of a danger to us than if they ride down upon us as cavalry. At the best, when the horse drops the rider will go with it and he may either injure himself or possibly break his neck or if we're very lucky get ridden over by another rider. In any case he'll be out of the battle for a few minutes at the minimum and we can concentrate on the more dangerous targets. When they do come at us, I'll start picking them off with my bow. The rest of you are to wait until I say so and then you'll release a volley of arrows. After that, work as a team and cover each other. One fires and one protects."

I got nods of agreement and half-hearted smiles when I was done talking and then we went back to waiting.

The attack came half an hour later. The new leader split his forces into three parties. The main force lined up at the bottom of the knoll with the intent of charging us while two smaller parties moved out in opposite directions in an attempt to flank us. These two smaller groups consisted of seven men each and it was obvious to us that they were the survivors of the first group that we'd encountered. Seeing them heading out I shouted a last minute reminder to everyone to take care and then I rose from where I'd been sitting and brought up my bow. For a moment I held it above my head in defiance of those gathered below us. My act brought about an immediate response. A hail of arrows sailed upwards from the Mongol riders, arcing over the slope of the knoll. I stood my ground and waited, although I did tell everyone else to take a step back. It hadn't really been necessary. Like us they were out of range as well and their flight of arrows fell short.

I smiled with satisfaction at that little display of bravado and the Mongols futile response. It probably added a few points to the ratings of who ever had dropped these guys in our laps. Then I got serious. As I brought my bow back down, I pulled an arrow from my quiver and nocked it to the bow. A second later as the leader of the main group raised his hand to order his men forward, I drew back and let fly with my arrow.

The arrow flew up and across the open ground and right into the man as he led off the attack. We heard his death cry as the shaft penetrated his flesh and I watched with satisfaction as he fell from his mount. It didn't stop the charge, but it made me feel better. As he fell, the troops pressed onwards up the slope. A second later I had fired again and then again dropping two more men as they strove to cover the few hundred yards that stood between us. As I drew my fourth arrow from my quiver, I called out to my party and gave them my warning. Then I fired again and as I did the others fired as well. My shaft dropped another man as did Nimue's, while Kola and Zahra dropped a horse each. The men riding those horses were tossed head over heels as their beasts collapsed at a full gallop and they were trampled seconds later by the men riding behind them.

It didn't bring us a respite. I nocked an arrow again and fired once more, dropping a man who'd ridden within a hundred yards and then told Nimue to take command while I saw to our flanks. With Kola in tow and Tok trailing her, I ran to the right and drew out another arrow as I went. The Mongols were almost upon us when we got to the right of the knoll and I had only time to drop a single rider before I was ducking the swing of a sword. Thankfully Kola was there to cover me and she dropped the offending rider. Still it left five men against the two of us and matters were getting drastic. I threw aside my bow and drew my sword and ordered Kola back to help the others and to keep an eye on the other flank. Then I attacked.

The Mongols just wouldn't stop. The ones behind their leaders let loose with a hail of arrows that slammed into my chest once more and then bounced off. I pushed forward and then flung myself at a rider, thrusting my blade up into him as he grabbed for an arrow. As he died, I turned onto another man just as he loosed another arrow into me. Frantically I lunged at him and struck both the man and the horse that he was riding at the same time with my sword. The horse screamed in pain as the sharp edge of my weapon essentially disembowelled the animal as I lopped off its rider's leg.

I didn't stop at that for I knew if I did, I would soon be dead. Hearing the pounding of hooves bearing down on me I dodged to the side and dropped low as a sword swept over my head. As it did, I lashed out once more and again another horse screamed in agony. I ignored it and glanced about for any targets still standing. There was only one and he was pressing on by me in an attempt to reach the summit of the knoll. Instinctively, my hand dropped to my hatchet and I had it up and thrown in a matter of a second. The weapon slammed into the man's back and when it did, his arms flew wide and he fell backwards off of his horse.

That's when I heard the gunshots again.

Frantically, I looked about for my bow and on seeing it I grabbed it and ran as quickly as I could back up the hill. As I did, I scanned the hilltop to see what state of affairs we were in. That is when I spotted the biker standing beside his bike still holding his pistol in his hand. Tok was lying on the ground before him with several arrows in her and Kola was lying beside the wolf-dog. There was an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. Panic filled me as I hurried towards the spot.

"Everyone report!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I went, sweat pouring down my face from the exertions I'd just put myself through. In succession, Zahra, Rory, Caitlin, and Nimue shouted back that they were fine. Only Kola said nothing.

"Kola," I cried out as I got to her. She didn't even stir.

The ground in front of her was strewn with corpses of men and horses. Some had arrows in them, most did not. It was obvious to me that the biker had showed up and had added the strength of his weapon to our defence. The question still remained whether it was in time or not. Desperately I knelt down beside my mate to check her pulse. I felt it and it was strong.

"Let me have a look at her," the biker shouted down at me. "I'm a doctor."

That startled me. Not the fact that the person was a doctor but the voice of the person. I looked up and saw the biker pulling her helmet off of her head. It was a woman; a tall black woman with reddish dreadlocks and a chocolaty complexion. She looked to be in her twenties.