Chapter 6

They were just deciding that they had done as much here as they could, when a sail was spotted on the horizon. There were two ships, and they looked like troop carriers. When a small boat went out to see who it was, it was attacked. They only just got away. The alarm was raised, and battle plans were implemented. The towers that had been built at the entrance to the harbour had crossbows mounted. Archers lined the docks and catapults filled with large rocks were readied. One little development they had made, was to attach small clay pots filled will oil to some of the crossbow bolts. The women and children had taken refuge in the castle. Other women manned the walls with their bows and axes.

As they did so, a couple of young women looked over to where Tom and Tony were moving towards the walls.

"He's so hot!" exclaimed one of the women, looking longingly at Tony.

"Behave!" said her sister giggling. "Oh, look at his thighs! He's got the nicest bum I'm seen in a long time."

"And he looks so strong, as well," her sister replied.

"Stop it, you two," said their mother behind them.

They stopped and blushed at being caught out.

"Mind you," said their mother, "that Lord Tom looks like he's got the experience to really show a girl a good time. And he's also got a really cute bum!"

The girls looked at her shocked.

"Mother!" they both said in unison. "Really!"

"What?" said their mother, "Just because I'm older, doesn't mean I'm blind!"

She walked off smiling, leaving two stunned girls in her wake.

Barricades had been set up at the end of the dock. They were six feet high with holes in them to allow pikes to be pushed through. Men waited with pikes, bows, scythes and anything else they could use as weapons.

Riders were sent out to all the outlying farms to get everyone into the town for safety. More were sent to the Hunter people, to tell them what was happening. They did not think help would get to them in time, but it would allow them to be prepared. Everything was ready. All they could do now was wait.

The ships drew closer, fortunately there was only a light breeze blowing, making the ships approach very slow. They were very large ships, they had black sails with a strange flag flying from the mainmast.

"It's the Black Guard! They are the crack troops of the Brotherhood. They say that these will be the last thing you'll ever see. They only give you one chance. If you don't surrender they will kill all those in the town," Heinrich told them. "We heard about them on the mainland. They are without mercy! Killers, every one of them."

"Well, they are about to discover The Second Rule of Life," said Tom.

"What's the second rule of life?" asked Heinrich, puzzled.

"Nobody is immune from death!" said Tom. "Now, let us give them a little surprise. Aim at the man at the wheel," Tom told the man behind the super-sized crossbow

The crossbow sang out, he missed the man at the wheel, but he did get someone standing close by. They could feel the breeze that was gently billowing the sails.

"Fire again. We'll prepare that little surprise we have for them, but I want them a little closer, first," Tom told him.

The man fired again, this time he hit the man at the wheel, the ship drifted slightly until another man took the wheel.

"See if you can hit the officers. See those men standing on the aft deck? Hit them," Tom told him.

From the other tower a flag was waved, and the crossbow from that tower sang out. It hit someone, and his scream rang out over the water. Again one after the other the crossbows rang out, hitting one target after another. Both sides knew that the casualties imposed were minimal, but the morale boost it gave to the defenders was immense. Suddenly, there was a shout from the wall. There was a group of men approaching the town from along the coast. It seemed that the slavers had dropped a large party of men further up the coast. These men were now approaching the town.

"Get the gates closed. Get everyone inside," Tom called out.

This was soon done.

"We're trapped in here, now," said one of the men.

"No we're not. They're trapped out there. We have all the food, in here. They need to get through us, to get to their ships, to get home. Sink or capture those ships, and the men out there are dead men, we can pick them off one by one. If they go off foraging, we know the countryside much better than they do. We can take them out, we can hunt them down, and that's just what I intend to do!" Tom told him.

From the other tower, a man took aim and hit the steersman behind the wheel on the lead ship. Again, it veered slightly as those on board struggled to maintain their course. This continued until they were within one hundred and fifty yards off the dock. Then Tom ordered another flag to be waved, and the oil filled arrows were lit and loaded. These were fired into the rigging, and the sails caught fire.

Tom waved another flag. Then taking his longbow, he started firing at the ship. Arrows rained down on the lead ship. Fires had started in the rigging and the sails were on fire as well. Men struggled to contain the blaze whilst arrows fell all around them. The men on the following ship watched in horror as their comrades were slaughtered. More and more arrows rained down, and more and more of the enemy troops died. The ship drifted out of control and seemed to stop about fifty feet from the dock. The screams of the men on board as they were either shot by archers or burned from falling sails and rigging filled the bay. Arrows swept the deck. The enemy hid, down below. Never had they encountered properly prepared defences. They were at a loss as to what to do.

As Tony stood there, he noticed a man beside him starting to shake. He turned to him and smiled.

"First time in battle?" he asked

"Yes," the man replied slowly turning white.

"Just stay calm and remember why you're here. These people are here to attack your family. Do you have a wife and children?" Tony asked

"Yes, a wife and three girls," the man answered

"Well, just remember what these animals will do to your wife and children, if we don't stop them!"

The man nodded and swallowed hard. Tony could see his resolve stiffen.

"Thanks," he said. "I'll be fine, now."

Tony looked at him and smiled.

"Never doubted it for a moment," he said.

The second ship was getting closer and closer. Targets were changed and fire was focused on the second ship. This too suffered damage, but not as bad, for when the captain saw what was done to the first, he ordered his sailors aloft with buckets of sea water to dampen the sails and rigging. This made the sails much heavier, and less able to hold the wind, which reduced the speed even more, but it did negate, to a degree, the effect of the fire arrows. It did, however, mean that the crossbows had even more time to bring death to the bridge of the ship. The captain was one of the first casualties. He was cut down as he was trying to stop the men from running below when the arrows started to fall onto the deck. Tom and Tony were picking men out of the rigging with their bows whilst the men with the crossbows continued to sweep the decks.

Finally, the first ship docked and the survivors stormed ashore. They were met with volley after volley of arrows. Very few made it to the first line of defenders. These were pike men. Buoyed by the success of the plan and the devastation caused by it, they held firm behind their barricades. The screams of the men as they fought and died rang out. Of the three hundred that were on the first ship, fewer than twenty survived. None were unscathed.

The second ship now approached the dock. Because of the actions of it's now dead captain, it came in slightly faster. As more of the men had hidden down below, it had more men alive when it docked. However, because they had to get out of the hatchways, arrow fire was concentrated on those areas. Many men died trying to get out.

Finally, some managed to get out, and onto the dock. Some of the defenders, encouraged by their success, decided to fight these men one on one. They pushed aside their barricades and ran out onto the dock. They were slaughtered. Tony saw what was happening, and at first could not believe it.

"Just what are those idiots doing?" he screamed. "Come on men! Quickly!"

He charged with his men, and arrived just in time to fill the gap.

"To me!" he screamed as his sword swung into action. He parried the first man's thrust and drove his dagger into the others armpit. The man's scream was cut short as Tony sliced off his head. He turned to the next and saw him about to stab one of Tony's men in the back. Tony's sword flashed and he caught the man on the elbow, removing his arm. Blood sprayed everywhere.

As he did this, another of the slavers moved towards him. He parried his first thrust, and the second. This man was good. They fought for a full minute. His opponent forced his attack, driving Tony back. Then Tony held him, and parried his swing. Tony then managed to get inside his opponent's guard and cut him across the upper arm. The man gasped with pain, but quickly recovered. He countered Tony's move and Tony was just able to avoid it, the blade just missing him. Tony then got lucky; he slipped and the man moved in, raising his sword to deliver what he thought was the killing blow but Tony threw his dagger and caught the man in the throat. The man staggered back, totally stunned that someone had beaten him. His eyes went wide; he froze, and fell to the ground.

After this the slavers seemed to lose heart. Finally, Tony and his men managed to plug the gap, and push the barricades back into place. More pike men came forward and the defences were secured. The slavers were now trapped. The barricades were in front and the archers on the wall were pouring fire into their backs. By now they were so totally out numbered they had no choice but to surrender or die. Many chose to surrender. Those that didn't, died.

Outside the walls the attackers could hear the screams. They expected the gates to open at any moment. When the screams died down and the gates remained firmly shut they seemed perplexed. Never had they been beaten in battle, so why weren't the gates opening? They cut down a tree to use as a battering ram, but were horrified when arrows started flying from the wall towards them. They fell back. Tom came to the top of the wall. He could see a large man, sat upon a horse directing the attack. They stared at each other. The man pushed his horse forward towards the gates.

"Open the gates and surrender," he called up. "You cannot resist. We will defeat you."

Tom smiled and replied, "Oh, but we can resist! In fact, we have! Your ships are ours, now! Your men are dead, or prisoners. If you surrender, now, you will live; if not, well..." he left the rest unsaid.

The man looked up at him shocked.

"Dead? How?" he exclaimed.

"Simple. We beat them," he was told. "You have no ships to take you off this island, you have few supplies, and you're a long way from home. Give up, now, and we'll feed you, clothe you, and house you. You'll have your heads shaved, and be indentured servants for ten years, you will not be branded. If you try to escape, then you will be branded, and your sentence will be increased to twenty-five years. It's your choice. I'll give you until tomorrow to decide."