Clash

The very next day William woke up at around eight in the morning, he did not have to wake up so early while he was on missions or excursions such as this.

He nonetheless worked a light sweat to keep himself in tip-top shape, making sure not to tire himself, since today if everything goes as planned will be the big day.

As he was about to finish, he was approached by Marek from behind who asked.

"Since when did you start physically training your body? What is that anyway?"

William and without even turning to face his brother answered as he continued his push-ups.

"I needed to learn how to ride from Oswin and you know how he is, no mercy at all. I needed to have more endurance so I started training; these are called push-ups, feel free to try them out."

Marek looked at his brother struggling to push himself from the ground with his arms, shaky as they were and felt a tinge of sympathy for William. He had also suffered at Oswin's hands for years.

"You know that this is going to be dangerous? Father can't always protect you, all it takes is a stray arrow and your life will be gone. This is in nothing like the safe and secure castle district, this is the real world." Marek warned.

William got up, walked to Mareks side, put his right hand on his brother's right shoulder before answering.

"I know that very well Marek, the world is a harsh place and death can be just around the corner. Let's just help our father take care of this whole bandit problem today, I know you definitely want payback, just follow the plan sit back, watch the show and hope we learn something today."

William took his hand off his brother's shoulder, smiled and walked right past him adding one last comment.

"I am hungry, lets go get something to eat, we have quite the day ahead of us."

Marek stood there, confused and perplexed. William had never talked to him like this, he seemed way more..... confident than his usual self.

After taking their late breakfast lord Ulric ordered the camp to be lifted as they departed at around ten o'clock, making their way down the hill and towards the pass.

The lord had already informed his men of a possible attack, and his closest confidants had been informed of more details so that they may get a better view of the bigger picture, he had also instructed them to eat well in case they did not have the opportunity to do so later on.

They reached the entrance of the pass at around three in the afternoon, before crossing it the marquess ordered a scouting team to inspect the surroundings in case of an ambush, finding nothing suspicious they went in.

The pass was quite wide, allowing for the passage of two carriages side by side, though the road condition itself was quite poor.

On each side of the pass was a relatively steep cliff, the tops of which were covered with vegetation, making for a hard climb and those who take it to feel trapped, confined to either go forwards or backward.

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A few miles away from the entrance of the pass.

Talos with his hundred men were waiting for the scouts to report to him about the marquess's movements, soon enough they did. A rider came galloping towards them from the pass's direction, once he got closer he reported.

" The marquess had dispatched scouts to look for anything amiss, luckily we were far enough to not be detected. They had entered the pass not long ago."

Talos smiled at the news. "The old man still has some sense in him to be this cautious, too bad he fell for it anyway." he mounted his horse and gave his orders.

"We move now, lets close the trap on our prey, dispatch a messenger to Olivia to enter the pass from the opposite direction. Ride men, to RICHES AND FAME!!!"

As Talos rode forward the rest of his men followed suit with cheers, safe for the scout who went ahead on the fastest horse they had to pass the news to Olivia.

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Inside the pass, the marquess and his guards were going through unopposed, they had placed the carriages holding the precious cargo and some supplies in the middle splitting the one hundred and fifty guards into two, half at the front and half as rearguard.

William, Marek and the marquess were all in the middle of the procession near the carriages, ensuring their safety as well as giving them the ability to support the front or the rear in case something were to happen and happen it did.

About halfway through their journey through the pass a guard rushed to the marquess and reported.

"My lord! Enemies ahead."

"How many?" He asked

" We don't exactly know, but it should be about a hundred men, they're blocking the pass's exit."

Before Lord Ulric could comment another guard rushed from the back of the procession.

"My lord, enemies have appeared from the back, they have blocked our way of retreat." The new arrival reported as well.

"Halt the advance, get into battle formation and ready yourselves for battle." The marquess shouted his order as he prepared his men for battle.

William and Marek stayed in the middle observing all that was happening.

It did not take long for the enemy to reach their position, advancing from both opposite directions as they slowly closed the gap between them.

There was no negotiation to be had, the bandits sent none and lord Ulrix was not interested in talking either.

As the enemy charged screaming and shouting, the guards braced for impact quietly, they were ready for this, staying calm and collected, letting the training kick in and do the work.

Soon both sides clashed against each other, the guards were heavily packed together and backed by the weight of those behind them were able to quickly stop the push and hold the line.

"Hold the line, men! Let us show these foes what real soldiers can do." Lord Ulric shouted atop his horseback, going back and forth from time to time to check on his men in the front and back.

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On the southern side of the pass behind Olivia's men who were clashing with the guards, Night was on his horse next to her, both being quite a distance away from the front as they observed what was happening.

"Any news from the scouts?" Night asked.

"Nothing as of now, they report that the southern entrance to the pass is clear, no sign of enemy reinforcement as of now." She reported.

Even though everything was going according to plan, Night had nonetheless ordered Talos and Olivia to leave a dozen men at the entrances they entered from, just in case the marques had something up his sleeve. These men could inform them of any reinforcements, as well as hold them off long enough for Olivia and Talos to send help.

After all, it would be a bit comical if they try to encircle the marquess only to be counter encircled themselves, making for one hell of a stand-off. An encirclement within and encirclement. No one is crazy enough to try it right, Right?