David Bishop and the Legend of the Orb

by T. C. Crawford

  He slapped her in the back cheerfully and started back through the camp towards the command tents, waving goodbye to her as he disappeared into the activity of the camp.

  Erin immediately set off through the camp, selecting and gathering men as she was ordered, excited to start training these men for the battle looming ahead.

  Chapter XIX

  By midafternoon she had gathered around two hundred men able and willing to fight for their cause. Erin had found volunteers ranging from a year or two younger than her, up to those as old as sixty. Despite their age, they all had one thing in common – they were all prepared to die fighting to regain their freedom and their home, a common ground strong enough to make a single man a fierce opponent, let alone a small standing army.

  She was happy to have found as many volunteers as she did. She started off the training exercise with high hopes for their chances at success.

  Erin walked up to the front of the crowd of recruits, all of which stood eager to hear what she had to say and to start training for the battle looming ahead. She stopped as she reached the center of the crowd before beginning her speech.

  “I stand here before you today with one intention – to train you all to become better equipped to defeat the traitorous heathens who now occupy our homes.” she yelled.

  The men all shouted in agreement before settling down to listen once more.

  “I expect nothing less than complete dedication to the task at hand, as doing so will likely be the deciding factor between those of you who will survive this fight, and those who will not. It will not be easy, it will not be fun…it may even seem impossible going against the odds we are now facing, but I suspect that you all understand completely what it is we are fighting for.” She could see a wave of nodding heads among the crowd, some clearly more enthusiastic than others.

  “We are fighting for our freedom, for our future. We are fighting to avenge our loved ones, our king, and our people. We are fighting for our very lives.” She paced in front of the crowd, slowly looking at the face of each man she passed.

  “I see courage in your eyes, but courage doesn’t win a fight. It will take dedication, hard work, sacrifice.” She stopped in front of a young boy around her age, his expression resolute. She could tell that he was nervous, most of them were.

  She gave him an encouraging smile before walking on. “I will train you all the best I can in every aspect of combat that I know. We will start with hand to hand combat and work our way to using handheld weapons and eventually long-range weapons. I will do the best I can with the time we have. If anyone wishes to quit, they have that right, but I implore you all to remember what it is we are fighting for and what the consequences will be if we fail.”

  The crowd of men before her all nodded with acceptance, they knew what the stakes were. They had all fled the carnage in the aftermath of the General’s coup and knew what awaited them if they were to fail. They had lost loved ones who were murdered before their eyes during the revolt. They had lost their homes and businesses in fires that sprang up from the fighting that raged through the capital that day. Not one of them made a move to leave.

  “All right men let’s get started!” she yelled to the crowd, to which they all shouted in agreement.

  ✽✽✽

  By the time the sun began setting in the sky above, Erin and the men were exhausted from the day’s hard training. She had been surprised at how quickly some of the men had taken to her lessons on simple hand to hand combat.

  Some had even surpassed her expectations and began helping those who were struggling with the lessons, allowing her to focus more on the ones who needed it most, allowing the training to go more quickly than she had first anticipated. They had even started working on some weapon handling techniques, particularly one-handed swords and axes, as they were the basic weapons that the blacksmiths had been working on day and night to forge and the easiest to manage.

  She slowly made her way through the training group, congratulating everyone for a job well done and promising to start again early the next morning.

  When she had acknowledged the last of the group, she started to make her way back towards her own campsite and tent.

  When she reached her campsite, she felt hungrier than she had ever felt in her life. The entire campground was filled with the aroma of succulent meats roasting over open fires. She walked past wild boar, chickens, rabbits, and some pheasants all being nicely browned while slowly spinning over the cracking flames. In her camp was a roasted boar and off to the side was a large pot of boiled corn waiting to be enjoyed by a host of hungry soldiers.

  She eagerly grabbed a wooden bowl and helped herself to a chunk of the pig and a husk of corn before sitting down on the bench near her tent. As she tore off a piece of meat in her teeth, she noticed Captain Ryan walking toward her with a bowl of his own. He sat beside her before asking her how the day’s training had gone. Erin quickly swallowed her bite of food, eager to relay the news of her training session.

  “It went well. I gathered around two hundred volunteers, each ready to fight for their freedom. Some of the men have really taken quickly to the lessons I’ve been giving and have even started helping train those who were having a difficult time grasping some of the techniques.” She smiled, happy to have such a successful first day and to be a part of something of such importance.

  “Great job, soldier!” Ryan said, smiling. He was happy to see her finally smiling again. He could see the training really helped keep her mind focused on the task instead of fruitlessly worrying about her friends.

  “Thank you, Ryan, for giving me the opportunity to help. I know you didn’t have to, but you gave me the chance to be useful and I really appreciate it.” She smiled again before starting on her corn.

  “I’m honored to have your assistance” he replied, trying to spot the best place to launch his next bite on his dinner. “You did a great job out there. You were trained well. These men will do good to listen to what you have to teach them” he finished, finally finding a decidedly delicious portion of meat to bite into.

  She nodded in appreciation, still chewing on a piece of meat. They finished the rest of their meal in a comfortable silence, happy to have the company of a friend in such times and both satisfied to have a nice warm meal to fill their starving bellies.

  When they finished eating and taking their plates back to the wash basin, they decided to call it a night. They waved goodbye and each retired to their own tents.

  The night was silent apart from the slow, steady crackle of the fires that were left to light the camp for those on watch and the seemingly endless chirp of insects somewhere off in the woods around them. Erin listened to the peaceful night, happy to be back in bed, letting the sounds of the forest help her drift off to sleep.

  ✽✽✽

  By the afternoon of the next day Erin had finished training the men in short range weapon combat. She had found the men who had taken to the training more quickly than the others and used them to speed along her progress like the day before, helping to train those who were grasping the concepts and techniques more slowly than the others.

  The process proved to be efficient and effective.

  She had requested for a series of dummy soldiers to be crafted by some of the woodworkers who were in her ranks. They chopped down a few small trees and, cutting them into manageable sizes of equal width, tied pieces together to make a cross shaped body with a small cross section for a head. They proved to be invaluable in teaching her men where to strike and how to land the most lethal blows to their opponent.

  As the day pressed on, she had the men performing normal training exercises on their own in small groups while others performed quick one on one combat skirmishes with wooden swords and shields.

  Her men were doing an excellent job at shaping up into battle ready soldiers. She estimated that by nightfall the next day they would be ready to use real weapons during practice.

  The day grew old and they
again retired for the night exhausted, waking early with the sun the next morning to continue their training.

  She found that she really enjoyed the training sessions with her men. They brought her a sense of purpose and order in the chaotic world that had almost a week before swept through her life, uprooting everything she had ever known.

  She found a routine with these men that she could rely on, at least for the time being, and it was something she found herself looking forward to each day. As anticipated, she had the men move on to real weapons training, and they proved to be up for the challenge. Only a few minor cuts and bruises had been sustained since the start of the training, something she had certainly accounted for, but the men had seemed eager to continue, despite the potential hazards.

  After another day of training she felt confident that her men were as prepared as they could be in such a short time and told them all that was left was years of endless practice and dedication, to which they all chuckled.

  She had spent the entire morning refining their techniques with their swords and axes before dedicating the rest of the day to long range combat with bows, slingshots, crossbows, and throwing spears.

  The men seemed to enjoy these lessons better. She guessed they felt that they were safer from harm’s way if they were using long range weapons. She quickly disarmed the men of these dangerous thoughts, explaining that in battle there is no safety until the enemy is eliminated. She didn’t want to entertain false hopes of safety that may prevent the men from maintaining their highest state of readiness.

  She knew that even a single moment of hesitation on the battlefield could be all it took to get killed by an unexpected threat and she wanted to make sure her men knew this and were prepared at all times.

  As she settled down for the night after eating a hearty portion of rabbit stew and bread, she felt her confidence rising for the first time.

  She felt that they really had a shot at taking back their home. With the two hundred men she had trained along with the soldiers who were already battle hardened, they had a sizeable force of around five hundred.

  She knew that in a direct assault they wouldn’t stand a chance, but if they could create a diversion with the main part of their force at the front gates and then have a smaller party sneak in through the side to take on General Krauss and recapture the city, then they could have a shot at winning.

  As she was lying on her bedroll trying to fall asleep, she heard footsteps rushing to her tent. She quickly jumped up when Captain Ryan came rushing through her tent flap, wide-eyed and fully alert. He said one thing before he rushed back out of her tent, “They’ve found us!”

  Chapter XX

  Erin jumped up and, after grabbing her sword and putting on her boots, quickly ran through the flap in her tent. The cool night air was filled with the sound of men yelling and soldiers shouting orders. The entire camp was alive with men rushing here and there trying to prepare their defenses. She could see an endless line of torches marching through the thick woods, slowly making its way toward their camp.

  Captain Ryan came rushing past her and grabbed her hand, forcing her to follow behind him as they ran through the camp. They were nearly knocked over, chaos breaking out everywhere as swords and other weapons were piled up for men to grab as they ran past. She could see men to her left and right gearing up and getting ready for combat. Some of those men she recognized from her training. She prayed they were ready for the battle that they were about to face. Training was one thing – actual combat was something entirely different.

  As they rushed through the camp, dodging benches, rocks, trees, and other people running back and forth, she could see a company of soldiers ahead waiting for their captains.

  They were clad in armor and had their weapons drawn and at the ready. They were the frontline and Captain Ryan was leading them… with Erin by his side! She felt a sudden wave of pride mixed with the horror of being on the frontline. She had never been in a full-scale battle like this before; she was terrified.

  She could feel her heart nearly jumping out of her chest but did her best to calm herself through practiced breathing techniques she had been taught years before. Panicking now would do her no good, she had to focus her fear into anger and her anger into a resolve to kill and survive.

  As they waited for the approaching army to draw close enough to charge, groups of soldiers, mingled with Erin’s militia of volunteers, joined in line after line behind them. They were all silently awaiting the battle that was only moments away from breaking the once quiet night into pure chaos and mayhem.

  Captain Ryan slowly walked forward and turned back towards the lines of men behind him, mist hanging lightly in the air between the trees behind him. He began addressing the soldiers with a loud voice that echoed throughout the lines.

  “Men, this is our moment! We stand here tonight ready to defend our freedom, our families, and our very lives. Let this night be a night that the enemy never forgets! Let it be the night that the cry for freedom rings through the valleys below and up to the highest peak of the mountains, a cry that strikes fear into the heart of all who will oppose what is good and true. Let us never forget this night – the night that freedom’s fire ignited from a spark into a roaring flame! Bring us victory! Bring us victory!” he screamed as he thrust his sword into the air.

  The army of volunteers and soldiers took up his cry, repeating his final words in an endless chant that rang down the lines, each man raising his weapon into the air, ready to take vengeance on those who took their homes, their families, their children.

  “Charge!” screamed Captain Ryan as he started racing to meet the enemy.

  “Charge!” screamed Erin as she ran after Captain Ryan with the rest of the men.

  Her ears began to ring with the thunderous screams that now echoed all around her. The ground began to shake under their feet as they charged headlong into the enemy that was just breaking from the tree line into their training area. The two armies clashed with a loud bang and the ring of steel clashing against steel reverberated throughout the air like a shockwave. Birds erupted from the canopy above, fleeing from the sound of battle below.

  Captain Ryan effortlessly dispatched man after man as he tore through the enemy lines, creating a vacuum of space in his wake littered only by the corpses of the men he had slain. Erin followed closely behind, swinging frantically after any who dared enter his wake of death and confront her in her battle rage.

  The soldiers they faced seemed somehow different than the ones she had faced back with David. These men wore a darker uniform and had an expression that for some reason didn’t seem human. They were moving too quickly to get a good look and she didn’t dare risk the chance of losing her focus on the task at hand. Killing and surviving came first. They could inspect the bodies later.

  As she followed Captain Ryan through the wake of destruction he lay before her, she could see that the others were delivering an equal amount of destruction to her left and right. They all seemed to be quickly dispatching the invading forces, but they were still vastly outnumbered. Something in her gut screamed for her attention, but she quickly silenced it, the battle waging around her demanding too much of her focus.

  A man jumped out from behind Captain Ryan and lunged savagely towards Erin who was still dispatching another enemy. She quickly spun and avoided the swing while unleashing a deadly counter as she spun around in a complete turn. She planted her right foot and swung with all her might connecting squarely with the back of the man’s head. It exploded as the blade crushed his skull and splattered blood through the air in a perfect arc. She continued to spin with the momentum of her swing, causing her to turn around and start heading back in the direction of Captain Ryan who was now even further ahead of her.

  He was in a fury of combat, dispatching soldiers left and right as well as directly in his path. He never slowed down, swinging in effortless grace as if in a trance with only one intention – kill. She quickened her pace to try to c
atch up to him and help with his charge through the center of the mass of enemies, but each time she got closer she was stalled by another enemy jumping in her path.

  The effort of swinging her sword began to take its toll but she pushed past the pain, knowing to slow down would surely get her killed. Instead, she doubled her effort and let her rage and adrenaline power her limbs, swinging hard and hacking down anything that stepped in her path.

  Moments passed that felt like an eternity until finally she could begin to see the flanks of soldiers to her left and right cutting through the enemy lines and thinning out their forces.

  It was no longer a charge but a crowded scene of chaos. The two armies blended together creating a huge mass of bodies and metal. Both sides intermixed and seemed to close in everywhere around them. She had caught up to Captain Ryan who yelled for her to put her back to his as they fought to hold off the enemy forces.

  They fought furiously for what seemed like hours, hacking away at any who dared enter their deadly arena. They spun around each other like dancers, slashing at anything they could reach with lethal precision. Limbs were severed and bodies were gashed and pierced with stunning efficiency. Every swirling cut they made met its intended victim with swift and merciless death.

  Suddenly, the chaos and screaming began to subside like a long-awaited crescendo, the battle was finally over.

  The two companions looked around at the landscape of death surrounding them. Their numbers had dwindled significantly, but they had defeated a force that had easily outnumbered them ten to one. They had fought and survived against insurmountable odds. Almost as if in response to their victory, the first rays of morning pierced through the thick canopy sending beautiful strings of light across their blood streaked faces. Erin almost felt the urge to smile…. almost.

  It took them the rest of the morning clearing away their wounded and finishing off those of the enemy force unfortunate enough to still be alive and wounded.