We topped out on a rise and saw the commotion we'd been hearing for several minutes now playing out in the valley below us. A troop of Kingdomers was being attacked by a larger contingent of foreign troops. The fighting was hard-pressed with both sides doing their best to eliminate the other, but the advantage was clearly on the foreigner's side.
I was impressed immediately with the skill by which the attacking force had managed to ambush the Kingdomers. The enemy was well disciplined and if left to their own devices they would come out of the skirmish the victors.
I couldn't allow that as I yet favored the side of the seven kingdoms over that of any Nicationer Kingdom. It seemed that I kept forgetting that, as a half breed, I had my foot on both sides of the divide.
"Shall we intervene Benaiah?" Thanuel asked.
I nodded, drew my sword, and urged my mount down the slope as fast as it could carry me as the others followed along, doing the same. We screamed our cries of war and the sound registered on some of the attacking force who turned in their saddles to see the cause of the disturbance.
The light forest through which we were charging downhill made it hard to gauge how many of us there were, but apparently our war cries made it seem like there were more of us than there actually were.
Enemy swordsman who had dismounted to fight in the melee quickly remounted or were pulled up behind warriors still mounted. The enemy force peeled away from the engagement, escaping down the valley in an orderly retreat.
Even though they had given up the battle easily and were on the retreat, it was obvious that it wasn't from an act of cowardice. They were well-trained and had good leadership. They were out to win the war and not sacrifice everything for one skirmish. A worthy adversary.
We stopped our mad charge and pulled up in front of the puzzled Kingdomer force. One who appeared to be in authority asked in a quizzical tone, "There are just eight of you?"
"Yes," I answered simply, as I re-sheathed my sword.
There was the blare of horns then and the sound of onrushing horses. At first I thought the enemy had returned, but the approaching host was filing into the scene of conflict from the opposite direction. They wore the blue and white tunics of the Kingdom of Philanthia as did the scouting party we had just rescued.
Philanthia was by far the strongest of all the seven Kingdomer Nations and many said that they were also the most noble. Time would tell.