Blademaster of Norda

Captain Grayhawk, knight Commander of the Household Guard, along with ten other knights, and retainers had ridden out from the Kings City with Crown Prince Killian, on a boar hunt to the far eastern forests of Keltan, at the foot of the Auserlian Mountains, near the head waters of the river Saar, There the forest is almost as thick as the Great Forests of Norda. On the fourth day of their six-day journey, Grayhawk sensed some sort of danger, from behind and informed the prince that they were being followed. Prince Killian surmised that they must be Gaulan bandits. Raiding north of the Keltani border, as they sometimes do, looking for caravans or travelers. However, Grayhawk knew that bandits would not risk attacking a party of armed Knights of Keltan. Though, a large enough group of the Drulgar, (evil servants of the Dark Lord) would. But, who ever they were, they were closing the distance as the day wore on, and that most likely meant an attack on their camp during the night. This was a common Drulgar tactic. “What do you recommend Captain Grayhawk?” asked the young Prince, “For I freely admit to having no experience with this sort of thing.” Grayhawk thought for a moment, and then answered, “Your Highness, I suggest we should prepare an ambush of our own, and beat them at their own game.” “Now that! Definitely sounds good to me,” replied the Prince. “I will follow your lead. How shall we do it? “First Highness, let us up the pace for an hour, to a canter, that we may have a goodly amount of time to prepare when we stop. If they are any good at all in tracking, they will see that we are moving at a canter and think we are just trying to make good time before stopping for the night.” “Then let it be so” said the Prince. The group moved into a canter and in the next hour covered about six miles. Coming to a good hilltop with rocks and trees, “Let us stop here and prepare a normal camp in the center of these large rocks” said Grayhawk. Everything must look as though normal, the same as our camps have been thus far.” They pitched their tents in an almost complete oblong with the opening towards the road. They then prepared a large fire ring in the center area, chopped and collected a good size pile of firewood, set out all of the campstools and other camp supplies as normal. They even placed the Princes pennant in the ground in front of the largest tent. Four smaller cook fire rings with iron tripods and stew pots were set up, two at each end of the inner circle. All members of the party were mounted, 35 men in all, counting the Prince, Grayhawk, 10 Knights, 12 squires, 8 yeomen, a cook and 2 wranglers, and 60 horses. The result was a fair sized camp. A hearty dinner of stew and trail bread was prepared. All members of the party ate well in preparation for what might turn out to be a long night. “What do we do now Captain”, asked the Prince, “Sit here and wait to be attacked?” “Not here, Highness. We will shortly move across the road and into the trees. All but a few, who will make the camp, seem normal after dark. Our enemies, who ever they may be, will likely not attack without first having a scouting report about the layout. It is the scouts who we must fool so that they go and report how relaxed and vulnerable we are.” “While we hide, back from the camp in the trees, waiting for the main body of them to commit themselves. For only then shall we come to know who, and how many are our enemies and then we shall deal them an unsuspecting blow.” “I see,” said the Prince. “Surprise them at their own game hey!” “Well Highness, we are sure to be out numbered, and must hold to whatever small advantage we may. The outcome of this is not set in stone for either side.” “Think you then that we are at some considerable risk to our lives in this?” “Aye Highness. We are. Whenever steel is drawn, life is at risk for someone. From there comes the primal question that all men face in these circumstances.” “And that question is exactly what? Captain Grayhawk” “Why, fight or flight my Prince! What else?” “Run! Why Captain, surely you jest?” asked the Prince. “That I do, my Prince. That I do.” And everyone around them was laughing. For Grayhawk’s love of fighting was well known. The camp was laid out East-West on the North side of the road, with the entrance facing the road or to the South. The horses were picketed to the North behind the camp in front of a large rock formation. The East end of the camp was also rocks and trees. The West end of the camp was more open. The layout was such that an attack could only be mounted from the West either up the road and through the front or through the trees to the West on foot. They will do both, Grayhawk surmised, splitting their force to achieve maximum effort in an attempt to catch the camp asleep and take it with minimum effort. After full dark Grayhawk detailed three knights and three yeomen with bows to be placed in the rocks to the east end of camp. Everyone else moved across the road and into the trees, well back from the road so as not to be seen, except for a group of 5 squires and yeomen who were left in camp as though sentries and servants were moving about. Two hours after full dark, the three scouts came, moving quietly and efficiently up the road from the West. A number of people could be seen moving around in the camps interior. The fires had burned low. The smell of the evening meal was still in the air. Horses could be occasionally heard blowing and stamping and jingling their bridles. Two of the tents had the soft glow of candles burning inside. The sentry at the front entrance was sitting on a rock sharpening a knife. Their scouts spread out below the camp, but only stayed to observe for quarter of an hour or so. Apparently satisfied, they pulled back as one and moved back down the road and out of sight. As soon as the scouts were gone, Grayhawk had stacks of firewood placed over the coals of the big fire and two of the cook fires. One at either end of the camps interior, stacked so that the wood was not touching the coals, but close enough to begin heating up. Then he had the two wranglers and the cook hiding behind the tents with prepared flasks of lamp oil to throw on the stacks of wood when the attack started. Everyone in the party was armed almost the same. All carried boar lances, most had recurve bows, a sword and a dirk, all except the wranglers and the cook. They each had a short sword and a dagger. The Knights of Keltan do not wear heavy plate armor, even on horseback. Their swords are heavy sabers, and they wear hip length chain mail with hoods and round steel helmets with chinstraps. Their shields are of the round buckler type, and their battle lances are similar to the boar lance only lighter and longer. They can and do effectively use their recurve bows from horseback even at a full gallop. Their squires are trained exactly the same. Yeomen are trained primarily with the bow and the straight sword and fight on foot in war, as light infantry. This night, the fight would begin with bows. Grayhawk instructed each man, after the scouts had gone back with their report, to take out five arrows and stick them in the ground on the right side of the archer in a line. He figured if each man got off 3 to 5 shots, then dropped the bow, picked up his boar lance, that even in a ragged line they should be able to take down many of their foe. He told them bluntly, that only the winning side could call a night ambush “honorable” and that their opponents intended to give no quarter, and take no prisoners, or they would not be attacking at night.