1000. Chapter 1000

After Much Ado About Murder

Episode 8.20

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Once more unto the breach for I do not own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

First, sharpened wooden stakes were driven into the ground with the sharpened points towards the enemy. They would not be sufficient to stop or slow down determined infantry as there were too few to do that, but faster moving horsemen would either have to turn, stop or run their horses into the stakes. The army would stand several paces in front of the stakes so that they would not be seen until they moved back, hopefully surprising the enemy.

The crossbowmen then set up their pavises, large shields that would cover a man's whole body, held upright by a stake in the ground behind the pavise. Caltrops were scattered in front of the army, being spikes welded together so that one spike would always be pointed up to injure the foot of man or horse.

Once the defensive measures were complete, the troops were assigned their positions. The center was held by dismounted English men at arms. Well armored, they were armed with mostly pole arms, spears, pikes, halberds and billhooks. A few preferred two handed swords, but in the heat of battle, it was quite easy to hit a man beside you as you swung your sword.

On either side of the men at arms were mixed companies of archers, crossbowmen and spearmen. Sir Richard Castle was surprised, but pleased, to have been put in the command of the right flank. Sir John Dunn held the left flank.

To Castle's right was the beginning of the marshes, covered by Irish hobelars. The horsemen examined the marshlands carefully to see where there was ground that would support a horse and rider. To the left, the woods were covered by a small detachment of Welsh spearmen in the woods itself and by the mounted stratioti waiting to fall on any enemy emerging from the woods.

Duke Rodrigo's knights and men at arms were kept back as a reserve, to plug any holes in the line that might occur, or to ride down a fleeing enemy.

Once everyone was sure of their places, patrols were sent out and the army settled in for the night.

Kate made some dinner while Richard put up a small tent for them. Once fed, they retreated into the tent.

"Kate," Castle asked, in a whisper, "will you stay with the women and the baggage train tomorrow?"

She shook her head. "My place is by your side. We are partners, after all."

"You know my life would be over if…something were to happen to you."

"As would mine should something happen to you. You know what will happen to me if we lose. If I must die, I would prefer to die by your side."

"But if you were to die and we won…."

"Then we shall win and both live." She kissed him. "Now help me undress so I can show you why you should win tomorrow."

He began unbuttoning her dress. "I already know that." He teased.

Everyone was up and in place well before dawn. Women brought bread and cheese for the hungry men and a bit of well watered wine.

Rick and Kate were mounted and Rick had borrowed a chain mail coif to cover Kate's head and had her wear a coat of plates over her chain mail shirt. In turn, she had demanded that he wear his waist length mail coat and a wide brimmed war hat of steel.

"Horsemen coming towards us." Someone called.

"Those are the locals that Duke Rodrigo hired." Someone else cried. Seeing that this was the case, the archers put down their bows.

Five minutes later a rider sought out Castle.

"Sir Richard. Sir James advises you that the scouts see de Braquenne's army on the march. They have left their baggage behind and are moving rapidly. The scouts say they'll be here an hour after dawn."

Castle nodded and then rode along the line of his troops letting them know that their enemy was almost upon them.

Yesterday had been warm and sunny, but when dawn came, it was dark and dreary, with more than just a hint of rain in the air. Soon there was a light mist.

"Archers! Crossbowmen! See to your bowstrings. I fear it will rain soon." Castle cried

The archers unstrung their bows and put their bowstrings in thick leather bags that already held spare bowstrings. Then the bags were tucked under their clothes to keep them as dry as possible.

Crossbows were harder to unstring, so the crossbowmen wrapped their weapons in whatever cloth, leather or metal they had handy and waited out the storm.

No sooner was this done than it began to rain hard.

"God, I hope this storm is a short one." Castle said. "Our main advantage is our English longbowmen, but if the bowstrings become wet and stretch…." He shook his head. "The bows will be useful only at very short range."

"No matter what happens…" Kate began.

"Wait! The rain is letting up!" Castle looked to the north, from whence the rain had come. "Definitely letting up." He leaned over and kissed Kate. "And there's now a stiff breeze from the north. Thank God."

"Is that good?"

"We'll be shooting with the wind and de Braquenne's crossbowmen will be shooting into the wind. We'll shoot farther and harder."

An hour after dawn, the last of the scouts rode in, closely pursued by de Braquenne's own light cavalry. At three hundred paces, Castle had picked archers loose their arrows. Two enemy horsemen fell and the rest fled.

De Braquenne's army remained behind the ridge some five hundred paces from the Duke's army, but Castle could see people sticking their heads up to look over at Rodrigo's forces.

"They won't like what they see." Castle said, raising his voice so his men could hear. "A solid line of professional soldiers with their flanks well anchored. They'll have to come at us straight on."

"And they probably will." Muttered Will Fox.

Suddenly, there was the twang of crossbow strings and hundreds of bolts rose from behind the ridge and arced through the air. They fell a hundred paces short. Even though, the archers did their best to take cover behind the pavises.

More through good luck than good shooting, a few bolts managed to land within the English lines. Several archers were hit, but none seriously. The company's women and such doctors as they had attended to them.

Another rider came from Sir James to Castle.

"Sir Richard, Sir James feels the wind at our backs is increasing. We cannot see the enemy crossbowmen, but we can give them something to think about. Sir James wishes each archer and crossbowman to fire one arrow as far as they can. When your company is ready, I shall ride back. When Sir James sees me and the rider to Sir John Dunn coming, he'll have his personal banner waved. That will be your signal to loose the arrows."

Castle rode down the line of his troops, explaining what they were going to do. The archers prepared their arrows and Castle waved to the courier, who began riding back to Sir James. Then Castle saw Sir James' personal banner waving.

"Loose your arrows!" He yelled and two and a half thousand arrows and crossbow bolts sailed through the air. Most, but not all, cleared the ridge and landed among the enemy crossbowmen. The fire from the enemy stopped for several minutes, then resumed. However, the wind remained against them and most bolts fell short.

Then the bolts stopped and they could hear men yelling from behind the far ridge.

"They're nerving themselves up for a charge." Castle yelled. "Get ready. And don't fire until they're three hundred and fifty paces away, then kill them all"

He had no sooner spoken than the first of de Braquenne's troops ran over the ridge and headed straight for them.

"De Braquenne's smart. He's sending Demming's pirates at us first, hoping to soak up all of our arrows before he sends his own troops against us." Castle looked at the onrushing pirates. "More armor than when we shot them to pieces on the dock of Pola. I see thick leather coats, mail and scale armor and helmets, but very few breastplates. Our bodkin arrows should penetrate those fellows."

Castle judged the distance to be right. "Archers! Crossbowmen! Now!" He yelled.

The right flank shot two seconds before the left flank, but the result was thousands of missiles crashing into the mass of running pirates. Many fell, others staggered and slowed down, bit thousands still ran towards them, screaming as they went.

Missiles slammed into the seething mass of pirates, but still they came on in their thousands.

"Can't our men shoot faster?" Kate cried.

"Pulling a hundred pound bow is weary work, love. Archers shoot about six shafts per minute until the enemy closes."

Kate felt someone tapping on her foot. Looking down, she saw it was Gwen of Tyne, carrying a crossbow, a sheaf of bolts and wearing a claw around her waist.

"Perhaps, Lady Katherine, you should shoot your own crossbow?" She said diffidently.

Kate looked down and saw the crossbow in her hands, resting across the saddle bow.

She blushed. "Call me Kate, Gwen." She raised her crossbow and shot, her bolt going well over the closest pirates, but doubtlessly hitting someone in the rear. Soon they were again working as a team.

Kate saw a pirate not fifty paces from her, heading straight at her. Their eyes locked and she thought she recognized him as one of the man who had been with Demming in Pola the day that Castle had rescued her. He smiled and she was sure he screamed her name. But with all the screaming pirates coming to them, she couldn't be sure. She took aim and fired at the man, hitting a glancing blow off his arm. She grabbed another weapon from Gwen and put the next bolt into his throat.

Once the pirates were within fifty paces the arrows were shot powerfully enough so that they would go through one man, even if he was armored and into and sometimes through the next man, impaling a third. As the pirates fell, their bodies created a barrier to the man behind them. And as the pirates' rush slowed more and more fell, blocking those in the rear. Those in front began to try to retreat, but the great mass of pirates behind them pushed them forward.

"Give 'em hell." Castle yelled. He rode along the line of battle, directing his men's fire to where it was most needed.

Slowly, at first, then more rapidly, the momentum turned and the mass of pirates began to edge backwards. Then, the enemy began fleeing, chased by the arrows and bolts.

Once it was certain that the pirates wouldn't stop fleeing until they were over the ridge, Welsh spearmen began to trot out onto the battlefield to finish off the wounded and loot the dead.

Castle told his men to remain in place in case of another attack, but one Welsh archer, feigning ignorance of English, ran out. He ran to a man dressed in a good coat of mail, doubtlessly a wealthy man. But as the archer got to him, the pirate stood up, although an arrow had transfixed his thigh, and flourished his sword at the archer. The archer was armed only with a large dagger, much shorter than the pirate's sword, and a sledgehammer that had been used to pound in the sharpened stakes before the battle line. The archer came to a sudden stop, then began circling the pirate, hoping to either get behind him or open his wound so that he would bleed to death. Attracted by the duel, a spearman came up behind the pirate and stabbed at his neck, wounding him. As the pirate turned to face the new enemy, the archer slammed the hammer into his head. The pirate collapsed. The two men searched the dead man.

"Yon man hath only three coppers on him." Cried the spearman.

"We can sell his armor." Suggested the archer, and the two men began to strip their victim.

Castle could hear men yelling from the far ridge. "Everyone back. They're coming again."

Author's note. One thousand chapters and counting.